I just can't help myself...

Well, my bulldogs lost last night, even after I'd made the coolest throw pillow showing my team spirit.

I had so much fun making it and I was bored today, so I made another one. I think I may like this one better. It has a black polka dot flange instead of piping like the one yesterday. I also put a zipper in it because, quite frankly, I like putting in zippers....

I think I may be obsessed...excuse me while I do laundry and look for more t-shirts to turn into one of a kind pillows to decorate my sofas....

Goooooooo Dawgs!

I love college football. Actually, I love watching The University of Georgia play football. I am a diehard Bulldawg fan. Seriously, I bleed red and black. Win or lose, I don't care, as long as it is a good game.

In honor of the first game of the season, I decided to show my spirit by turning a t-shirt into a throw pillow. I think it turned out great!

It even has a zipper, so I can change it when football season is over or quickly throw it in the wash if someone spills or drools on it......

Projects with My Midget

When I was young, I was allowed to try different crafts. I spent a lot of time under my grandmother's dining room table as she sewed. (That table is now in my dining room and brings back fond memories whenever I look at it.) I used to take the scraps of fabric as they fell to the floor and make clothes for my Barbie. I was encouraged to use my creativity in any crafty outlet that seemed appropriate. Because of that encouragement, I learned to sew, crochet, tat, cross stitch, and many other fiber arts.

My daughter is a lot like me and seems to have a thirst for all things crafty. We have spent many hours drawing, coloring, painting, and playing with playdough. She is extremely interested in whatever I am doing at my sewing machine, which scares me. For some reason, I am terrified that she will stick her finger under the needle as I am sewing or embroidering.

Lately, I have been looking for crafts appropriate for Maggie and I to do together. One of the first ideas I came up with is stringing beads. I love bracelets and always wear several, so I thought that might work out well. I bought some inexpensive wooden beads and some clear elastic thread. Maggie and I laid out a sequence of beads, and then Maggie strings them.



When she is done, I tie the ends together and we marvel at how pretty the bracelet is she made. Of course, I reap the benefit of extra jewelry and the broad grin of excitement when she realizes I am wearing a bracelet she made. I think we will be giving bracelets for Christmas this year.

January, again...

It is January. again.

Again, I kick myself for not making all kinds of incredible Christmas gifts for my friends and family. I love looking at other blogs for ideas and inspiration, but when the time comes, I never remember all of the good ideas I see throughout the year, or if I remember them, I can never remember where I originally saw them. So, since I am basically just talking to myself when I am writing on this blog, I've decided to use it to jar my memory of great idea for Christmas gifts.

I love this Recipe Card Holder from Life's Sweeter with Chocolate.

How about Monogrammed Hand Sanitizer/Soap Bottles or Personalized Hand Sanitizer Bottles from the Idea Room?

I REALLY want to make a Ballard Inspired Paper Holder by Infarrantly Creative for the midget. She would love it. I am also adding Infaffantly Creative's Grocery List Tear-off Pad to my list. This would be a quick, easy, and very useful gift.

My Recent Activities

My friend who owns a quilt shop is teaching a class on an adorable double ruffle dress. I wanted to make one for the midget to have her picture made in. I chose a raspberry pink corduroy for the main fabric, a hot pink, white and lime check for the lining, and a sweet floral for the ruffles. All of the fabrics are from Fabric Finders.

I had previously purchased an embroidery design from SWAK that used a similar floral design as the flowers in the ruffle fabric. I thought it matched rather well. I forgot to take an image of the completed dress, but I will and add to the post later. I did remember to take a picture of the dress before i added the ruffles. The dress got rave reviews at daycare, at church , and of course M loves it!

I know, I know....I haven't posted in about a month, but I've been busy. I'm trying to complete 2 ebooks at one time and it is almost killing me. I've also been working on some custom orders. Here is a photo of one of the custom orders I did for a friend at work for her first grandchild. I forgot to take a picture before I gave her the items, so she was gracious enough to take a picture for me!

What Have I Been Doing?

Apparently, not posting, as C has been reminding me lately. I have been busy chasing my midget, sewing class samples, and of course, working. On the bright side, I have been taking pictures of what I've been creating. Since I've been busy, this will probably be a long post. :) So, in no particular order, here we go.....

First, isn't my midget cute? Ok, now that you are smiling back at her, notice the awesome car seat that she is sitting in. That car seat happens to be the spare car seat given to us by a friend. There was nothing wrong with the car seat, other than it was not particularly pretty (sorry, ML). So, being the wonderful, crafty mommy that I am, I did what any die-hard bulldawg fan would do. I used left over fabric from her room and reupholstered the car seat. Now, it shows her teams spirit and draws comments from everyone.

I've had this idea for a beach towel roll-up in my head for quite some time. I think I saw one in a boutique shop a couple of years ago. Anyway, M and I were in the big K one day and she saw and snatched up a black beach towel with pink polka dots (child after my own heart). Since we will be playing in the pool this summer and going to the beach, I thought this would be my chance to see if my idea worked. After, a couple of hours of head scratching, I came up with my pattern. the towel rolls up so that it can be carried on your shoulder leaving your hands free for holding other things.

I also included an interior zip pocket that is hidden when the beach towel is rolled up. It is perfect for stashing keys, money, and even small bottles of sunscreen. You know, all that stuff you try to hid in your shoes or under your towel. I think it turned out pretty well. I got several requests to make them for co-workers when I showed it off at work. I got my directions finsihed and I will be teaching this at Deb-Bee's soon.

ML saw one of these somewhere and then we got into a head scratching about how to sew a sphere. It's really not hard if you go with your first plan instead of second guessing yourself. I guess I've had too much calculas and need to make things complicated. Anyway, I think the taggy ball turned out pretty cute. M certainly likes it. It is on display at Deb-Bee's for an upcoming class, and everytime we stop by there, M points at it and says, "MINE!"

M was invited to a pool party, and yes we were sporting the pink and black beach towel roll-up. The party was for a set of twin girls who were turning four. Their mom is a good friend, fairly crafty and an avid sewer, and knows I'm a craft genius, so buying gifts was, unfortunately, out of the question. Then, at the last minute (this is whenI do my best work), I had a brilliant idea. I made each of them a bow holder. Ok, so the girls weren't really excited about it, but the mom was (and that is what is important). I got plenty of ohhhhs and ahhhhs for some of the other moms, and I got a personal phone call later that night telling me how awsome the bow holders are.

This isn't everything, but it is all I can remember at the moment.