Success and Failure

The graduation party was a huge success. No sooner did we finish setting everything up than people started walking through the door. I took a million and one photos, but nearly all of them ended up being of family instead of my crafty exploits.

I followed the party up on Sunday with a trip to the emergency room that convinced me I need my own personal Michael Moore to tag along on future trips. Ugh...

BUT...I did, finally, just in the nick of time, finish my sewing contest entry. The contest was to make a creative apron using a basic pattern provided. I think I did a decent job on the overall construction, but what I am really proud of is the pocket. I had it pictured in my head for weeks. I would applique rain boots in the same fabric as the ties and then use fabric paints to make them look more like actual boots. Having it actually turn out the way it did in my head is awesome! That rarely seems to happen.



So the party is over, I'm feeling mostly better, and I have nothing on my schedule, yet. I have a million and ten ideas for things I want to work on though, so no worries. I'll just pick something out of the pile and see where it leads.

Dreadfully busy

I am still up to my ears in graduation party stuff. Who knew? The worst part is that though there are tons of crafty little things I have done for this party, none of it really makes sense on its own. I will definitely be taking pictures there and letting you all in on the big picture.

Sunday I went to my sister's for a very quick visit, mostly to drop some things off to her because we have an SUV and a trailer and she has a Ford Taurus. Anyway, while I was there she let me know that my niece needs some pillow cases. Her birthday is coming up in August, so I thought that maybe I would make her the pillowcases and a matching blanket.

I am hesitant to do that because she has a beautiful quilt that was given to my sister at her baby shower. So now I'm thinking maybe pillowcases and a dress? My sister did say she needs clothes. I have been googling when I should have been finishing up my contest entry and I really think I like this Simplicity pattern. I have never in my life sewn a zipper though. Every time I hear someone who is an experienced sewer say something gives them trouble (zippers, quilt binding, applique) I get all nervous and unsure of my ability to do it. I need to learn how, because I have the most adorably adorable Halloween costume pattern for Gabe this year that has a zipper.

My mom's birthday was the 2nd, so I took her a cute little penguin I made when I was visiting my sister. I completely forgot to take pictures of it though. I can't wait until Saturday has come and gone and my brain (and crafty exploits) can get back to normal.

How do people plan weddings? Sheesh...

Ooh-la-la

I must proclaim my love for Shutterfly. One of my graduation party projects was a collage poster of embarrassing and cute photos of my step-son. My mom summed it up nicely when she said, "I can't believe you're paying someone to make a collage!"

Here's why I did. Shutterfly is one of the few sites I have been on that lets you arrange your own pictures, not just upload them. I loved being able to crop and zoom in on the photos instead of the computer randomly placing the entire picture in the collage. That way, when I scan the 4X6 photo of the naked baby running through Grandma's living room I can focus right in on the butt and leave out the early 90's People Magazine on the coffee table. Not to mention, I can put that baby butt right on the wall and not have to worry about damaging that one of a kind (no digital file on the computer, OMG, how did we live?) picture with tape or glue.

It came today and it looks amazing! Being composed of mostly zoomed in and cropped scans of 4X6 photos I was skeptical that it would look as good as it did on my monitor, but it really does! Also, I ordered a 20X30 poster and was fully expecting some thin sheet of paper like a poster you'd buy at a store, even for $25. It's thick! Love Shutterfly...and the $10 off coupon I got didn't hurt either.

Now for a complete change of subject, my mother-in-law brought me this fabric pack the other day. If you know me, you probably know that I love frogs. I dress my son in frogs. I buy a frog or turtle every time I go on vacation to add to my collection. I love this fabric. I just don't know what to do with it. I wouldn't want a frog purse. I'm thinking a quilt, but 10 fat quarters isn't enough to make a blanket. I guess I'm looking for suggestions. What fabrics would you pair with this in a quilt? Do you have a favorite quilt pattern that doesn't use a large variety of materials?

A little bit country, a little bit rock-n-roll

And a little explanation for why I've been missing from bloggyland for a couple weeks. I have been simultaneously working on quite a few projects. The biggest project I have going is planning a graduation party for my step-son, the largest party I will have ever thrown. I like party planning. I think it really inspires my creativity because I am never without a very tight budget for any event. However, the scouring the Internet for every coupon deal I can find and comparison shopping, ugh...I should have started in January instead of April.

I am also working on a sewing contest entry. I asked my mother-in-law to enter the contest with me (you must have a team) months ago, confiding in my husband that I was nervous about it, she could be a bit flaky. When she came over last week she announced she had finished her part of our entry. You can bet that the second she walked out the door my husband was needling me. Who was flaky? How far, exactly, had I come on my half of the entry? Yeah, yeah. Don't let him know he lit a fire under my ass or he'll get on my case more often.

Then, there was this. My sister is famous for asking me to make stuffed animals for every one of her friends' babies, always at the last minute.

I got smart. I called her when the woman in question was five months pregnant and said, "Hey, were you going to want me to make an animal for her?" She said yes, asked me to make something girly and told me I had quite awhile until the shower.

Then, the mommy-to-be committed a huge faux pas by sending her shower invitations out two very short weeks in advance, and my sister made matters worse by not checking her P.O. Box for five days. So this giraffe that I was so on top of now had zero notice. Oh well! She turned out cute and I was able to put my contest entry on hold to get her out in time.

I picked plaid because the expecting couple is very country. They own farm land, and had the baby been a boy I'm sure his room would have been John Deere Green. I went to a fabric store near my house that is just weeks away from announcing it's closing. It is convenient, but getting less and less so as they dwindle down their selection. This plaid happened to be the only pink plaid they had in stock. I didn't have much choice. It wasn't what I had pictured and very hard to match.

I found some mottled pinks, and some different plaid, but nothing looked just right until I found this tiny leopard print. So cute, so girly, and a near perfect match. It turned out a little more punk rock than I had planned, but I'm pleased with it. It could only be better if it reminded me of a Monkees song every time I looked at it instead of Donny and Marie.

Aloha

I made this little bracelet for a luau themed sweet sixteen party I was invited to.

I really had no idea what kind of gift to get for the girl, but I saw these hibiscus looking glass beads and thought I'd try something I hadn't done in a long, long time: macrame.

It always amazes me that my hands remember what to do. Macrame is really relaxing, and I find that I don't even need to look at it when I do it anymore. I absolutely love it! It does require a lot of material though. I think the rule of thumb is something like 3 times the length that you want the finished product. So even though I am now longing to do a pretty bag, I think my 18 month old is going to make it very difficult to cart that much string around. Oh well, he's worth the sacrifice.

Happy Mother's Day

Okay, so Mother's Day is still a few days off, but I will be out of town for the actual occasion taking my mother's gift to her. My mom expressed a want for a little counter top herb garden, so she got several of these cute little planters and a packet of herb seeds to go in each.



I found these adorable tiny watering cans in the dollar bins at Target (right next to the planters) and grabbed a couple up. I knew I wanted to paint something for each Mom and they were just perfect!



I am not the best painter in the world, but I try hard. Usually my creations turn out somewhere slightly elevated from cartoons, just like this, for my mother-in-law.



I got my mother-in-law a planter complete with potting soil and flower seeds for her own little indoor garden too, and had every intention of painting something on it. However, the painting always goes slower than I think it will, and I ran out of time. I made this little fabric ribbon and rose in the same colors I used for her watering can to dress it up a little. It makes me feel slightly better about shipping the planter unpainted.



Happy (early) Mother's Day to all of you moms out there!

I told you so

While I'm busy crafting Mother's Day gifts I thought I'd post some pictures I have taken recently. I love this time of year when I get to see colors after a long white and gray winter.

Of course, as it is just barely May, not every tree is with the program yet. I still couldn't resist taking this picture. They might not be green, but they're still pretty.

Look at the tiny little leaves on this though. Click on it, there are even little drops of dew in there. I took this picture while our truck was stuck in a giant mud puddle on a seasonal dirt road (that my husband just had to drive down). Even in the struggle to get unstuck, I had to take a minute to give this little branch the attention it deserved.

Lastly, look at what is growing in my yard already! I love the colors of these tulips. I swear that last year they weren't this brilliant. So, so pretty!

I warned you all in my very first post that sometimes I go all Urkel (read:"Did I do that?") with my photos. These are three good examples of my inner nerd screeching annoyingly. Enjoy!