artsy-crafty babe

Teach Yourself Visually Crafting with Kids :: blog tour & giveaway

I am so happy to share with you today the wonderful book by Jennifer Casa – Teach Yourself Visually Crafting with Kids!  First off, I want to thank Jennifer for asking me to participate in her blog tour.  I didn’t even have to think about saying yes because as a long time reader of her blog, I knew that the book would be fabulous.  And it is!

Already my copy is looking a bit ragged from looking through it.  We have pages bookmarked and dog eared.  I say “we” because Lily has looked through it just about as much as I have. Yes, the projects are great, but I think I love it more because none of them are complicated or require complicated materials.  You probably already have many of the materials at home, but if you don’t, they aren’t hard to come by.  After choosing several projects to make, I stocked up on supplies to have ready when we get the crafting bug.

For my participation in the tour today, we chose to make the sun catchers.  I wanted something that all my kids could make without a whole lot of mess – this one certainly fit the bill.

As you can see, we got a little more complex with Lily’s version, adding a bit of glitter and used our cookie cutters to make fancy shapes, but Alex and Ava kept it simple.  We’re all about hanging things in the windows these days, so it was perfect.

Lily and I also decided to make the fabric wrapped letters (okay, it was me who wanted to do this one).  I made an L for my L wall and Lily made an L to hang on her door and an A for Alex.  Pretty cool!  While we were at it I also made a heart.  I *heart* this project!  See, it’s not just for kids, but you can let them help you if you'd like :)

If you’re looking for some fresh ideas for things to make with your kids, this is your book.  I have a feeling that this will be our go to book for craft ideas this summer.  Thank you Jennifer for making such a wonderful, easy to follow book (the pictures are so great, you hardly need to read the instructions)!  

If you’d like to win a signed copy, simply leave a comment on this post now through Wednesday May 4th – I’ll announce the winner on Thursday May 5th.  Good luck! I'm the last stop on the tour, but be sure to check out the other great reviews and projects:

JCasa *handmade

The Crafty Crow

Sparkle Power

WhipUp

A Stitch in Dye

Smile and Wave

Elsie Marley 

Maya*Made 

Stitches in Play

Aesthetic Outburst 

 

peachy

It took me way longer than normal, but I finished a bag in one day!  Wahoo!!  After looking through my stack of fabrics, of course I went with a bag.  They're my go-to project of choice when I need a quick fix.

A few months when I was cleaning out my studio I came across some Martha Stewart kitchen towels that I had purchased with the intention of turning into bags.  Do y'all remember those? I made a few bags with the cocktail kitchen towels (holy cow, that was 4 years ago!!), but I never got around to doing anything with these fruit ones. 

I suppose I was in the mood to do something fun and a bit different, so a peach bag it was. I like it!  Lily, my almost-10-yr-old fashionista wasn't so impressed, but what does she know?  I think it's fun and perfect for summer. The warm weather months are the time of year to have fun with your bag, don't you think?

There are a few more kitchen towels from the fruit series in my stash, so I don't think I'm quite done with them just yet.  I feel like I played it safe this time, next time more pizazz!

Bag making will have to go on hold for a bit because the kids and I have some crafting to tend to while they're out of school on Spring Break.  If you haven't come across the blog tour for Jennifer Casa's new book, Teach Yourself Visually Crafting with Kids, I'm pulling up the rear.  I'll have a post up on Thursday with our crafts and a review of the book.  I can't wait to share!

happy easter

From my family to yours, have a very Happy Easter!

could it be?

Man, am I ever sick and tired of feeling sick and tired!  Thankfully, the sick part is happening less frequently, not so much the tired.  I hate that yesterday on Good Friday I spent a good chunk of it feeling icky, unable to move myself from the sofa.  It's getting old!

Anyway, today I feel good.  So good that I'm inspired to make something.  I went up to the ole studio (which is a complete disaster due to three young people who have been hanging out up there) and grabbed a bunch of fabrics.  I didn't have a plan other than trying not to think too much about it.  From that selection I'll make something fabulous.  Look at those choices - how can it not be?  (okay, I hope I didn't jinx myself!)

stars

Somebody got a hold of a sheet of star stickers.  I'll give you one guess who.

on the counter and remote

the stools (yes, one on all 4 of them)

the cabinets

the fridge (need to clean that!)

a plate and the phone

*sigh*, they were everywhere.  And guess who got to pick all those little suckers off because guilty party couldn't?  Oh yeah, the glamorous life I lead!

 

a little garden at last

I am so behind on my garden this year.  By this time, it is usually well under way.  I thought about not doing a garden at all, but Saturday afternoon I felt well enough to go to the garden center for some plants.  Then on Sunday, I actually planted them!  I tried starting seeds twice a few months ago, but nothing ever came of it. 

Really, I had big plans.  BIG plans.  Lots of seeds and a garden twice as big as last year.  I don't think this will be the year for that, which is totally okay.  Heck, I didn't even plant my full garden, only half.  I'm still contemplating what I'll put in that second half.  As of now I have some tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, and eggplant.  I'll probably plant the same again in a few weeks to stagger my harvest.  We can't get enough tomatoes & cucumbers around here.  The basil is already going in pots along with some heat wave lettuce.  Just those things together are a complete meal.

It's only been a day, but already this little garden is making me happy. 

converted

Oh yes, relief is already needed in the pants department.  Wait, that doesn't sound right.  Let me rephrase that - I've outgrown all my pants!!

Yes, maternity wear has come a long way since I was pregnant last, but it still leaves much to be desired.  What's with all the trashy hoochie-mama wear?  I'm sorry, but I don't want to look like a floozie with a big ole pregnant belly.  I don't want to look frumpy either.  The only options I've found that I like are way too expensive for my budget.  So, what's a girl to do?

 
Well, after a bit of searching I found numerous tutorials about how to convert your regular clothes.  Bingo!  I tried it out on a pair of white cropped pants that have been hanging in my closet for years.

 
The best part is that this didn't cost me a dime!  I had everything on hand already - the pants, the elastic, and the cotton jersey fabric (left over from my alabama stitch skirts).  I'd give you a link to the tutorial if I had it, but I looked at several to get the gist, then went at it.  The process is quite simple - remove the zipper, sew up the fly, cut off the waistband, then attach the new stretchy waistband.  I'm thinking I like this style for non-maternity wear, it's so comfy!!  Hooray for the internet :)

P.S. Thanks for all the well wishes on my latest news!!

 

so...

I feel like I owe you an apology.  I haven't been in this space much lately.  The truth is that not much has been inspiring me.  All my inspiration is gone.  It left weeks ago.  Along with it went my brain function and just about every ounce of energy.  Instead of dreaming about projects or making, I've been doing a lot of sleeping...and feeling pretty miserable.  If you haven't figured it out already, baby #4 is in the works.  Crazy, huh?  We're all pretty happy about it, and I'll be even happier once I start feeling better!!  

Gosh, I sure hope I start feeling better SOON - all this down time is killing me.  Plus, I'm in need of a new wardrobe.  I have my patterns picked out and ready to go as soon as I get some energy.  As my friend Chris said, "Baby #4 isn't so subtle".  Amen to that!  (yep, I'm in good company:))  

I don't intend to document like I did last time, but I'm sure pregnancy and baby projects will make their way to this space.  Thanks for coming along for the ride!

sewn by hand :: blog tour & giveaway

 
 
When asked by Lark Books if I would like to participate in the Sewn by Hand blog tour, I JUMPED at the chance.  You all know that hand sewing is a new found love of mine. Believe me friends, this book does not disappoint! 

Right off the bat, author Susan Wasinger talks about "soulful stitching" - hand sewing and why she loves it – I couldn’t agree more.  She brings up aspects that I’ve mentioned here many times, such as the portability of it and how relaxing it can be.  One point she brought up that I hadn’t thought of was the silence of it.  Yes, silence.  I don’t know about you, but with my chaotic household, silence is something I cherish.  It is so nice to be able to be sitting with the family quietly working on a project.  Have you ever tried to hold a conversation while sewing on your sewing machine? 

If you haven’t tried hand sewing for the pure enjoyment of it, I highly recommend it.  I think part of my own resistance to hand sewing was the fact that I don’t care much for hand sewing when it is utilitarian in nature – mainly mending, which was my only exposure to it. Now that I’ve been hand sewing projects from start to finish, I have a different attitude. You truly can make quality, well made projects all from hand. 

Along with a primer on hand sewing and a description of stitches, this book contains a wide variety of projects for all levels.  Even if you’ve never picked up a needle and thread before, you can make these projects.  I chose to make a few projects from the book to show you.

First up, I made the Big Soft Sphere.  The exposed seams intrigued me.  I chose to use some sheet scraps that I had lying around.  It was quite simple to put together.  It rated high on the portability scale (I love that the author includes a portability rating for each project – brilliant!).  Most of this was made while sitting out at ball practice (yes, we’re in baseball season around here).  Once I had the ball stuffed, my kids thought it was for them. They immediately wanted to throw it around the room, then Lily asked if she could make one for herself.  Yes, even my 9 yr old could make this! 

The next project I chose to make were the Personalized Bibs, though I chose not to personalize them.  I think this went together even easier than the ball.  Again, it was the exposed raw edge that got me (not all the projects have raw edges, promise!).  An interesting aspect to this project was that you are to use 4 layers of fabric for the bib.  I wasn’t sure how I would like this, but I love it.  All the layers make for a very sturdy bib. I don’t think there will be much seepage with this one.

I did find that the ribbon length recommendation was a little short, but that’s probably for safety reasons.  I chose to lengthen the ribbon on my second one.  I think the button accent is a nice choice. 

Lastly, I made the Owie Puffs.  Oh boy, these will be in high rotation at my house!  As soon as I finished them they immediately went in the freezer to be on standby for the next time we have some sort of accident, which seems to be daily around my house. Aren’t they cute?  It was fun going through my scrap basket to find some fun fabrics to make these out of.  

I obviously chose to make some of the easier projects in the books, but that was mostly due to the time factor.  Had I more time, I would have loved to tackle the apron made from a man’s shirt (the author does a wonderful job of incorporating repurposed materials for many of the projects), the linen bag (of course), and the slippers, which look pretty interesting.  Lark currently has a free project from the book up on their site, if you’d like to take a look. 

So, would you like one of these books?  Lark is giving one away along with a small hand sewing kit, including some vintage goodies!  Just leave a comment on this post now through Sunday April 17, then I’ll draw one name as the lucky winner.  Good luck! 

Be sure to check out the schedule for more chances to win!

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Update:  Winner is comment #38 Angie - congrats!

 

 

ten on ten :: april 2011

It's 10 on ten time again. I love when the 10th falls on a weekend. This 10th of the month was particularly nice, as we had absolutely nothing to do.  No ball games, no practices, no nothing.  It has been FOREVER since we had a weekend day such as this.  As usual, my ten take a bit longer than 10 hours - I promise I tried!! That movie watching in the middle kind of tripped me up, but it's all good :)

I finished up a project (then blogged about it).

I tackled lots of laundry.

Worked on some hand sewing while movie watching (we watched Mermaids, such fun music in that one).

Lizard watching. They drive her nuts.

Found some basil sprouts in my flowerpot. My plant from last year must have deposited some seeds here.  That was a nice surprise.

Baked and ate banana bread. (thanks for the bundt pan idea, Cathy!)

Helped the big girl with a project.

Supper clean up.

Spoon flipping (i have no idea).

And finally, some tucking in.  Thank goodness!!  Now it's my turn.  It's been a long (good) day!