Yesterday's Craft

This is what I did yesterday.

Since I wasn't doing my normal past time of chatting online with my hubby, he thought I had abandoned him for reading a crappy YA novel.... But no I was doing something much more useful, trying to sell my wedding dress, (that took over hour in hopes of building a relationship so the girl calls back and decided to give me the money), and making this wonderful trick or treat bag. A few days ago I was in Ross and saw little trick or treat bags for kids, they were $3. I thought I can make this. Sure I ended up spend more than $3 on the material and a heck of a lot of time, but doesn't every 19 month old need his own personalized homemade trick or treat bag? Thats what I thought too. (Here is the real truth, if I would have come home with the $3 bag my husband would have said, $3 for this?! but if I come home with $6 of material my husband is glad I have something "productive" to do with my time, and then after a day of work, he is so proud at my awful sewing skills.) Its not so wonderful, as you might think, but it was the first bag like this I have ever made. The stitching is terrible, that's why you don't get a close up of the tag. But on the back side of the tag is my kids name, so he doesn't get it confused with the other homemade trick or treat bags of all the other kids on the street. I know I was thinking ahead when I thought of that idea. But see here is where I was really ingenious -- it is a bag that can grow with the kid. You might notice in that first picture of the bag, that it looks like a mighty big bag for such a small kid, BUT you can fold it down and make a much smaller bag. The only problem is the handles are too long, and by the time my kid fits the full sized bag, he won't want to take it trick or treating.

So my kid is totally not excited about his trick or treat bag, he started to cry after this picture because he didn't want to hold it. I wonder if its because he accidentally heard me call it a Halloween purse. Dang it, yesterday's craft is ruined.

By the way I bought a yard of material and used every inch of it to make this bag, not a single piece was left over, I don't think I have ever used all the material on just one project. To me this was the biggest accomplishment for the day.

Picture Update

Last week, my ward had super saturday. I made way too much, my husband will tell we do not need more holiday crafts. But this metal magnet board is perfect for me. When my husband saw it he said you made that? with a smile on his face, I said yeah, its perfect for me isn't it? And he laughed saying yeah. Now I have to make fun festive magnets for it.

This I thought would be cute to put with the presents under the tree, although I do have a kid, so who knows how that will work. So this bow looks so ugly. But everyone told me it was great, but compared to the bows my mother and aunts make it looks so awful. Everyone told me I should make everyone elses, and I said oh no, I am so ashamed of this. But then I did end up making a girls bow because she needed help and she did like mine. Oh, but I'm ashamed to have produce a bow like this, with the type of bows my mother and aunts make. One of my aunts wraps presents the most extravagant way. She says it one of her favorite parts of christmas.

Although I do have too many christmas decorations, I didn't feel like a fall one, would be adding too much. Sorry the picture is blurry, but it looks pretty much the same without the headache. They designed super saturday we people like me in mind. Well not really, I didn't spend all day there, my crafts took less than two hours, and that is with chasing my kid all over the place, since he had to come with me, because my husband took the scouts out camping.

This is what happens when you are an only child, and your mom is a princess and a pea.

AHH! help please!

So I have an activity day activity coming up on saturday. I have been dreading, the only thing I could come up with is making family trees. WHY?! Did I pick that? I'll tell you why the Faith in God book has it has a requirement. Ahh, why did I pick this?! this looks awful. (By the way, I am cameraless and the paper was too big for my scanner, thats why it is cut off, and the thing in the top left corner is the bottom of a butterfly). Someone help me give me ideas on how to make this better by Saturday. Or do you think the 8-11 year old girls won't notice it looks awful. I've figured out these girls don't have as high of craft standards as I do. Maybe it will be fine for them. Oh, but to me it looked so much better in my head.
One thing I did fix, was on my tree templates my branches are skinner at the end, I think that will help. And I don't really mean for the girls to do pink leaves, I picked it so I wouldn't waste the right color paper for the girl's trees but then I realized maybe they'll want to do crazy looking trees. The tree looks a little leafless but I don't know how to add more leafs since we aren't in a polygamists ward. I mean a couple is made of two people, which means one leaf per branch, so I can't fix that problem. But if anyone has suggestions, please. I'm freaking out. I need advice, and right. Please suggestions. or at least meaningless complements lie to me, tell me the 8 years old will love it, and most likely only 6 will show up anyway. But if you have useful suggestions then don't lie tell me the cold hard truth.

Its coming....

Halloween is coming... barely more than a month away, which means I have to come up with a Halloween costume for my son. If you haven't been able to tell, I'm a big planner. If I wouldn't have made one last year, I could have probably put it off for another year. Last year he was a dinosaur.
Dang cute I know! The tail was detachable.
I made the costume for some strange reason, I thought a 10 month old needed a homemade costume. So now I am planning this years.

Fabulous

How great is this picture?
I love it!

At Bryce Canyon, in the visitor center, this picture was outside the women's room. And I thought it was just so fabulous that I just had to take a picture, and void any copyright. It had no information about the picture, not title or artist, so what other options did they leave me?

I also like this picture, but I love the first picture. I hope to be this flexible when I'm 76. Although I'm not that flexible right now, I'll have to work on it. I think if I keep doing yoga I might make it by the time I'm 76.

Sling

Yesterday I made a sling. I wanted a way to carry my son without spending a $100 on a babyback carrier that didn't involve a stroller. I loved my Baby Bjorn, but since he hasn't fit into that in almost a year, I needed something. Not to mention, I am traveling with my son once again on a plane, and I'm so sick of traveling with a stroller. You spend more time closing and opening the stroller one handing while holding a kid then you do pushing the kid in it. You have to close it up to go through security then open it again, then you have to stand in line to get a gate check thing, and then you have close it up again to get on the airplane, then wait for everyone to get off while they get your stroller for you, and then open it back up. Its a nightmare. I already planned to not take the stroller before I decided to make the sling. I decided to go with the sling, when I started to realize every time I hold my kid on my hip for long periods of time, I get a bruise. I got the pattern from Jan Andrea's Baby Craft site: (this is the pattern)
I picked out this material, its striped denim, the site said I should to pick up a bottomweight material, for the safety of my child:

The sling is suppose to be like these at this site, Hot Slings. I don't quite know if it turned out that well, but mind you I don't have a professional taking my pictures. Not to mention, the slings are pretty with all their paisley and floral material, but I thought I should pick something more masculine for my son. But I did save $30 by making it myself. Here it is:

I added a pocket to put my keys and wallet it, it can be seen in the first picture. I didn't want a sling with rings. (No offense to you ring slingers.) I wanted on that could fold up super small, so thats its a tube sling, since its fitted the one I made really only fits people the same size as me.
I had to get two yards of material and cut it lengthwise it gave me enough material to make two slings. I made one for hubby since he is longer than me, especially with his broad shoulders. (Since I made two I actually saved $75) Now Hubby doesn't have to carry my son on his shoulders when we go on hikes. I'm not quite sure which way is more comfortable for him though.

My son really liked being in the sling. Hubby said my son might not like it where he didn't grow up being in one, but he would usually fuss when I would take him out and put him back on the ground. I guess he finally likes us to hold him.

September Craft

This is my September craft. I finished it barely in time for its display. One day I'll have a different pillow for each month. I know I'm like an old lady, maybe thats why my husband likes me.

This middle lowercase p is my favorite part of the pillow. There the bottom part crosses over the vertical line. I was impressed with my abilities that it turned out so well. I would have thought for sure it would have turned out as gobbly gook.

Heres a close up of the feather, I was also afraid that was going to turn out terrible, I fretted about it the entire time I was doing the lettering, but it worked out.

If I ever redid this, which I won't, I would make the pillow square, put the feather at the end of the "people" and just put a small 1787 next to the bottom of the p, under the l and e. Anyway, I finished, we'll see if my October pillow or my December pillow gets finished. I already have a November pillow. It looks awful and needs to be redone but I will probably put it off for a third year.
On a side note, we moved my desk, that I use for crafts and sewing in our bedroom, and moved the bookcase in the living room. Now both of our bookcases our in the living room, and I'm wondering why we have toys for Jo because all he does it play with the books. Not only is it working fantastic, because I can do crafts and without putting them away, but it is so much more aesthetically pleasing. Now if I'm in the middle of a craft I don't have to put it away I just have to shut my bedroom door and Jo can't get into things. It is also more aesthetically pleasing, because hubby's desk which we use the computer with is a light wood color, along with both of our bookcases. While my desk is a dark wood color like our dressers in our bedroom. So now all the wood matches, it makes me happy as I fall asleep at night knowing this detail, although neither desk is really wood, its the fake plywood plastic covered stuff, you know cheap instead of expensive but no complaints here.

project project project

I have so many projects to do, I am almost done with one, but the idea of restarting any of my other projects is totally overwhelming. I can't finish the one I'm almost done with because I need more black embroidery floss and I don't have a car seat to go buy more with. Here is a list of all my projects waiting to be finished or made...

• I have an apron to finish
• An alphabet book to make
• An alphabet quilt to make, I think I should try another take at quilting, last time the results were terrible, but this time I understand better- I am going to try again, but first I need my birthday rotary cutter
  
• I have embroidery pillow patterns to finish
• Scrapbooks to start and finish
• A skirt without a pattern to make
• A Halloween costume to create, hubbt wants me to make a banana suit for Jo, I am at a loss on how to do that
  
• Christmas stockings -- 9 I think, the number gets bigger every year, at least it gives me a present for my dad, assuming he gains a grandchild every year, no he didn't get 9 new grandkids, I also make stockings for many of my siblings and their families. So that usually means every kid that is born in my family gets two stockings from my creation
• Birthday cards to make
• Pictures to scan in for my scrapbooks that are being waited to make
• And many more crafts that are sitting in my head, but I don't start because well... I used to live underneath a girl who fills her idle time with projects, who had a lot of paints, and so I never invested in them, and now I don't live anywhere near her or her paints, which means I leave all the paint ideas in my head
• Oh I also have an old shirt of my husbands that I cut up to make a shirt for my son with, because that was my husband's dream in life and now the shirt is just in pieces, I'm a failure what can I say.
  
• I also have cake decorating books waiting to be learned from but yet... I haven't baked since I got the books, I either had homework or it is too hot outside
• I also have dreams of learning how to cook with beans, legumes and lentils--they are so healthy for you, and my husband doesn't really care for food so why not eat healthy, but yet, that is just sitting in my brain, first I need a cookbook for that type of stuff.
  

Really the truth is with all the ideas waiting for me to make, how can anyone expect for me to get anything do, my head is always planning so many ideas, it doesn't have time to make any of the ideas. Heck this is just so much work to remember all the things I have stored in my craft boxes.

• Oh I also have baby flannel rag quilt, that is all cut up that is waiting to be sewed. There is a reason I picked unisex colors for the quilt, I knew by the time I finished sewing it my boy would no longer be a baby.
• Plus so many other projects that I find in magazines and on the internet, that my brain starts planning out. Like I found these cute little flannel baby shoes in an old copy of Martha Stewart, luckily I don't have a little baby so the shoes can also wait.
• Embroider Tea Towels
• Baby Blankets for upcoming nieces
  

See I just can't get anything done because I have too much to do, that is why I posted three things today. Ahh. I did do some useful things, I went through my piles of boxes like I previous mentioned.
I guess we'll see what tomorrow has in store maybe I'll work on projects and maybe I'll be lazy, or maybe i'll clean my house, that needs to be done too. This is the reason I don't own a TV... I am not responsible enough with my time, books at least might make me smarter, while we all know TV does nothing of the sort.

Oh by the way this is the blanket I made for my oldest brother's kid who was born in July I think. Yeah, I'm pretty sure thats when it was. I love the little ducks! I am getting some projects done.

Telling Time

I wanted to make my son a clock to match the fabulous quilt my sister in law, Pam made for him. Here is the clock:

Yeah, I know it is no where near as cool as the quilt, but I think it matches fairly well. I went to the scrapbook store with the quilt in hand and it was so hard to find papers that matched. Most of the papers where either floral, or girly colors, mostly both. (By the way the uneven stitching on the clock, is not a copy of the quilt, Pam did an excellent job on making the stitching even, and perfect.)

Here they are together on the wall, best friends, until my son out grows the manly childhood decorations of his youth.

me

This is me. I saw it as an advertisement for like scissors, or something in a craft magazine. And I thought this is me, so then I searched for it one the internet, and I've had it saved on my computer all this time. I'm a weirdo like that, saving things from the internet on my computer. I have a folder of over a hundred pictures of crafts I might one day try to copy. By the way, I feel like this even when I give a homemade present to my sister and she has to like it she is related to me. You might have to click on the picture to blow it up so you can actually read it.

With the girls

I just got called to be Activity Days leader, for our activity, we were made votive holders for our moms for our mother daughter activity. These are mine:

I know so seasonal.

I'm not planning to send them to my mom. What they are is baby food jars covered in tissue paper. I think they turned out pretty good. I wasn't planning to make a jack o lantern in July, but I just couldn't bare to pick a pretty pastel color like everyone else, so I picked orange. And then one thing let to anther, and the next thing I knew I was making a set of three Halloween decorations. They will look great on my windowsill in just 3 short months. Really this is just the type of girl I am, making Halloween decorations in the middle of the summer.

Sunday Activity

Here is my latest creation:
A quiet book for my kid

The End!
as you can tell it good for little hands. I opened it up to take pictures and the next thing I knew my kid was right there, playing with all the buttons. I guess it was worth the $30 of supplies, and the hours upon hours of work. Only a crazy first time mom like myself would make this. I hand embroyered all the pages. But I realized today during church that i need to add pockets on the inside covers.

Window Treatments

I am blogging super early today, because I woke up super early. I blog while my kid is asleep, because it is a quiet activity in hopes that he will stay asleep.
Today's post is my window treatments. I have 5 rooms in my house, each with one window, which means I have 5 windows. But only 4 needed me to make a treatment for them. This is what my bathroom window looks like. Fancy huh? That print on the white is 80's sea shells. Not my top pick for curtains, but you can't beat a $1 a yard. We have a frosted bathroom window, but I like to keep the bathroom window open, so I need the privacy that pratically see through material gives you at night with the window open.
This fancy window is my kitchen. I know it is hideous, but it looks worse in real life. (Darn it didn't work, the kid is up.) So the kitchen, it more about function than form. It is thick dark material that blocks out the sun. The window faces the west so it gets so hot and hot in the kitchen in the afternoon and evening. The ugly curtains, have actually made the house feel about 10 degrees cooler. Plus since we live in a rental apartment, I didn't want to put curtain rods up in all the rooms, and then get charged an arm an a leg, so i bought tension rods that, just sit in the window frame, but since the window has venetian blinds it had a big gap between the rod and top of the window hence the top fuffy stuff. This material was only $2 a yard, got to love the walmart clearance fabric.
This is one of my favorite window coverings. The chilean flag also on a tension rod, in my son's room. For all you who don't know, that is where my husband went on his mission.
And this is my bedroom. Not on a tension rod so I'll proably be charged. We are hoping the landlord doesn't care, that there is a curtain rod in the bedroom when we leave. My bedroom needed curtains because my husband does not want any of the neighbors to see his wife changing. He does not trust the privacy of venetian blinds. Maybe he has a point, I do have a tendancy to walk around in my skivvies. Funny story, I was watching a movie a few weeks ago at like 8 pm, in my skivvies because it was hot. When all of a sudden the doorbell rang. I freaked out, and ran out of the room, to get my husband to tell him to answer the door while I got dressed. Dang ward members trying to be friendly. Anyway, it was totally emabarrasing and they didn't even know it.
So now I am done showing up my curtains. Oh, this material was also $2 a yard. I realize this is probably a boring post, but all I can say is thats me.

Holey Purse

In the beginning of summer, I decided I wanted a summer purse. I'm just this kind of girly girl, that needs purses for the different seasons. I couldn't find one I liked that fit my requirements. I need a zipper or my son takes everything out of my purse. So I decided to make this beauty.

Looks good I know. I told my mom this saga, and she told me she wanted one too. So I sucked it up and made another one. The second process was worse than the first. I didn't really enjoy making the purses. My husband told me I should start making them and selling them, I told him, no one would pay $50 for them and thats as low as I would go because it was so miserable to make. Although if I didn't include a zipper, so it was just a hobo purse without a hidden pocket i could do it. Maybe I should try.

So here they are, unfortuanlly because of the zipper, my purse has had a few holes in the seams. I went to go sew up the last hole I have found and I don't think I know how to do it. The problems in my life that I face.

Father's Day

These are hubby's father's day Presents.

The small newspaper one, Jo picked out, it was the Red Badge of Courage. We got a Hardcover copy for a $1.50! The diaper box, was his second present. I didn't use wrapping paper, because all I have is pink, and hubby is too functional to see the use in wrapping paper. I just use newspaper, because he would rather that then me spend money on buying wrapping paper for him.

(Although I do buy wrapping paper for other people.)

This is what came out of the diaper box. A blanket that is almost three years over due. I bought the material when we were dating, I was planning to make him a blanket. But I never had time, until now. I gave him the material for his first birthday we were married, and told him I was going to make it for him, but that yet still never happened, and so finally I finished it. He loved it, as you can tell by the smile on his face. He was so excited. He said the other day he was thinking he was hoping you were going to finish making it. So it was a great present.

So here is the deal with the blanket. I was going to make hubby a blanket because isn't that what girls who know how to sew do for their boyfriends? We'll I never had before, before hubby no boy was worthy of any effort on my part. Somehow my husband past the test, so I was going to make my husband a blanket. That way he could think of me as he was falling asleep or something I don't know that was the plan. But I was always too busy either working, going to school, planning a wedding, being pregnant or being a mom, to finish it until now. Doesn't quite have the desired effect as it was suppose to be. my husband doesn't need a blanket to think of me, he sleeps next to me at night. But he does love blankets. When it isn't blazing hot outside, he always wants to be wrapped up in a blanket, so although he is no longer my boyfriend. Apparently even a husband needs a blanket. On the back side I wrote a secret message, he hasn't found it yet.

In tiny embroidery it says, LEH heart BRH