WizardGir1

Just to Mention...

2011-08-17T21:14:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone!

I'm stopping for a quick line. Well, a link to be exact. I'm starting a photo blog at "boe's photos" I've tried finding an online gallery to organize my photos, but I've decided to go this route. A person doesn't need to say much on a photo blog because it's the photo that draws attention so I'll do more of my craft-talk here.

I haven't been crafting much at all this summer, hence the lack of bloggage - :) I do have several projects started that I will finish. The summer is coming to an end and I'll be able to finish up and start new projects. ...then blog. Of course blog.

Thanks for caring and visiting! I will see blogland again soon. :)

Lupine and Daisies

2011-06-11T19:48:00.000-05:00

Hi again...

I had to run out to photograph my lupine for you after all. They are so pretty!

And my daisies! Ooo, ahh, Ohh!

Alpha Male. Chubahka.

Alpha Male Wannabe. :) Lancelot.

Toodles!

Gluten-Free Experimenting and Gardening

2011-06-11T18:50:00.000-05:00

Hello Everyone. The motivation to write hit tonight! I hope everyone has survived the heat wave that came through. Our hottest day in the cities was 103° and our conditioner is currently broken. I somehow managed to survive!

Sooo, the past 3 or 4 weeks, no matter where you see me in my home, this book is sitting close by because I either just sat down to read it or I just set it down from reading it!

I've been experimenting.

This next photo is of rice and potato flour bread machine bread. It IS HEAVY! I didn't get the recipe from the book titled above though. I got it from the AiA cookbook, which I ordered. Soooo, the bread.

Heavy.
Slightly flavorless.
Biscuit-like.
Excellent with peanut butter and honey!!

It just needed a little more salt and sweetner. Oh, and butter. Next time I'll add an egg, lighter flour and more salt with butter instead of oil. You can totally tell how heavy it turned out. Brick similarities.

This next loaf - Flax Seed - turned out much better.

Fluffy. Just look at the photo!
Light.
Flavorful.

I added pumpkin seeds and that was good, but I used Bob's Red Mill all purpose gluten-free flour. I'll never use that again. They used two bean flours in their flour mix and it left and under-taste that I couldn't get over. I gave the loaf and the flour to my mom. She seemed to like it. :)

I plan to keep experimenting. I have to. I can't give up my breads and muffins.

I've been eating gluten-free for a while now and started to experiment with eating foods that contain gluten. Most recently, I ate some split pea and ham soup from Campbell's. I ate about 1/2 cup and I started getting the worst stomach cramps. I used to think this was from MILK! I will still experiment, however. I haven't had any cramps from milk, I'll mention.

I woke up at 4:15 AM this morning and couldn't get back to sleep for some reason.

So I did a little gardening bright and early - musta been before 8 am. Yup, I was shovelin' rock. Do I care about my neighbors? Ummm...no.

I added 4 new plants.

My gardens in the back yard are doing nicely. They survived the heat. I took this photo before the hot heat though. My Lupine is too cute when it is just a baby! It looks like baby corns or asparagus.

That's about all for food and gardening. Nothing too strenuous. I'll be starting a second part time job soon but I still plan to keep writing on the blog. That's what I seem to do - keep on keepin' on! The sewing bug will come around again, I just know it. It's part of my nature. :)

Until next time... happy days!

Vitamins and Garden Vegatables

2011-05-29T07:43:00.000-05:00

Greetings everyone!

I have great news: my energy has been up for two days! My results came back at the beginning of the week on my vitamin levels and other blood tests. I'm low on vitamin D, which so many are around this time of year - especially in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Something funky is going on with the proteins in my blood also, which might point to the gluten sensitivity but I am not going to pursue that further unless something else changes. For now, I made a daily food serving chart to mark off to help insure me that I am getting my nutrients. I never want to be caught in that fatigue state again! Here's my easy-peasy chart.

We made it to Fleet Farm to pick out our veggie plants for the 2011 garden. We chose tons of peppers and tomatoes. I picked out large grape tomatoes and La Romas for bruschetta. We like planting marigolds around the garden too. Last year, our marigolds grew like crazy and they were even a miniature variety.

I love the alyssum honey scent. I had to have some of that too. They grow into a bush with tons of fertilizer.

We're going to extend our garden by 100 square feet. The shape of the garden will be like an "L".

We worked on it a little bit last night - well, Ed did. I helped a tiny bit with the posts. He actually started in on the dirt and shaking the sod while I started supper. We plan on getting compost, black dirt, and manure. Ed also got a gigantor box of Miracle-Gro fertilizer to use this summer. We're going to have crazy veggies. He told me that he's taking over the garden this year. He told me that it's too hard for him to help me when he's not in a routine. Besides, he's the one who loves the food more from the garden. I mostly think it's cool to watch plants grow. :)

It was fun watching my herb garden plants come up. My yarrow is going crazy and my lupine looks great - although I don't think it's a plant that people should eat. I just put it in the herb garden because it's such a cool shaped bloom. I'll post photos of that when they bloom.

I have 4 chive plants. This one is in the front in a pot that is sinking into the soil. It looks so neat so I left the pot sinking. I can't believe the chives are ready to bloom! It seems like the snow just melted. We're having such cold weather still. I had a sweatshirt on again yesterday even. Well, when I wasn't mowing the lawn. I took it off to get some sun. I got a little pink, but that's it.

Today we need to finish what we can in the garden. Hopefully we will be able to plant our vegetables and seeds. I know, we're late for seeds. Such is life. We'll just harvest later in the season. I suppose I should get my garden clothes on and head out. We have to take the dogs to Petco to get their rabies shots before 11 am, so we need to move! :)

Have a great weekend!

Gluten-Free Bars & The Abbey Bag

2011-05-23T11:44:00.000-05:00

Hello again Friends and Family. :)

I thought I would try and get a post before 7 days have passed, but it didn't work out that way this time. But I did better than 12 days! Thanks for coming back!!!

I'll just mention that my time at the doctor on Friday was a good meeting. I feel like she paid attention to my plight. She sent me to the lab to draw several viles of blood. We're starting with checking my vitamin levels and cholesterol and other stuff. After I get results back, we go from there.

In the meantime, she's encouraged me to venture into the gluten-free diet. I've been as gluten-free as I can get for 4 days. I still learn a little more each day. I have even made a trip of the health food store to get ingredients for a new way of baking. I stopped at the library and got some gluten-free cookbooks. I browsed my personal collection first and tried a recipe. This is my first purposefully gluten-free baked dish - Pecan Shortbread Bars. My husband LOVED them. Directly out of the oven, they crumbled as I cut them. I put the lid on after they cooled and about an hour or so later, they cut nicely. Ed thought they needed to "rest" a little before cutting. Perhaps so. Here's the recipe I used:

Gluten-Free Home Made Pecan Shortbread Bars

1 cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup fine white rice flour {(next time I'll try the brown rice flour, as it is more nutritious.}
1 cup tapioca flour
3/4 tsp almond extract {I ran out of vanilla}
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
4 tsp xanthum gum
1 cup chopped pecans {I used 1 and 1/2 cups. :)}

Directions: Heat oven to 350°. Grease 9"x13" pan. Cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg. Add flour, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla. Mix well. Stir in 1/2 cup pecans {I added the entire cup}. Press dough in bottom of pan. Sprinkle last of pecans over the bars and press lightly. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Makes 32 bars.

Here's how mine turned out. Delicious! They were great with ice cream too! :) Okay, enough of baking.

On to sewing! Here's the wallet I made to match my tote. I added a pearl snap closure. I took the photo before I added that though... isn't it cutsie?! {I just realized that I haven't photographed my tote yet!}

Of course I have to share a picture of my new used sewing machine. It sews a little to the left of the foot, so I have to pay attention when I follow a drawn line. I do like the clanking of the mechanical machines. I'm thinking about decorating it with some glittery beads or something. I didn't spend a ton of money on it and I feel like I have a license to DECORATE now! :)

And you might remember that I am making a Sunbonnet Sue quilt with my mom. Here are some of my blocks. I plan on appliquéing other cutsie stuff on the blocks with her, for example, stars, hearts and little critters. That's why some of their heads and hands are placed differently. My favorite Sue is the one with the dark pink hat on.

I'm also working on a "Thread Catcher". This pattern is The Abbey Bag.

I found some emery sand at Northern Tool and Equipment. It's not called emery sand for sand-blasters. They call it Aluminium-oxide. :) It's mostly made from the material called Corundum {a stone?} and other particles are added. It's actually quite expensive. It's more expensive than I had originally planned for, but I wanted it badly, so I purchased it. Now I can make gifts with it.

Here's the bag part. I'm practicing my blanket stitch for my Sunbonnets. =D

I'll finish this up tonight, I think. It was fun to make. I feel like I can tackle more time consuming projects if I work on them in mini-sessions. I've been working on this pin cushion for two weeks, maybe...? I see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Well, that's all I have for today. Thanks for hanging in there with me! More Sunbonnets to come later. I'm also working on a different owl pin cushion with fabrics that are similar colors to my Abbey Bag. Oh, and I suppose I will be sharing a little more gluten-free recipes as I experience new ones. If you know of great gluten-free links, please leave them for me. I like the "tried and true" links. :)

Have a wonderful rest of the week everyone. See you again soon!

Sunbonnet Sue Lap Quilt

2011-05-15T18:42:00.001-05:00

Hi Friends!

I'm so sorry that it's been 12 days since my last post. I just haven't been feeling well at all. I've had such low energy that I find myself resting a majority of my days. I've had my thyroid checked and all is well there. I just don't know what my problem could be! I've gotta start at square one and find out. I'm going in for a physical this Friday with a new doctor. At any rate, when I do feel a tinge of extra energy, I push to get a craft started or finished rather than blog. Please hang in there with me. :)

I finished my tote and I'll be sure to post photos of it. I also made a matching wallet that is just so fun! I've continued hand quilting my king size quilt and still find hand sewing very relaxing.

Another project that I began was my Sunbonnet Sue lap quilt! It's a mother-daughter project, which means MY MOM IS QUILTING! She hasn't quilted in over 15 years so this is a big deal. I'll share photos of her Sunbonnets as soon as she gets them up and going. We're learning a technique from Eleanor Burns that utilizes lightweight fusible interfacing as an aid for the appliqué to bond it before hand or machine stitching. I took some videos of my work today to share the technique. It's extremely fun and the results are just neato!

I don't know how to operate a movie making program yet, so I have two movies instead of one. My camera battery died. So SORRY! I hope you enjoy them anyways. :)

Without further delay: Sunbonnet Sue Arm and Hand Part 1

Sunbonnet Sue Arm and Hand Part 2

Thanks for watching and see you again soon!

New Quilt Brings Other New Projects To Mind

2011-05-03T12:50:00.000-05:00

Greetings!

It's been 9 days since I last blogged. That's better than 14 days, but I promise to get back on a weekly routine. Summer is barely making its way here and it's slightly depressing. I keep pushing forward though. I've had a lot of energy for crafting, which is great!

Well, first off, I'd like to share a quilt. My sweet husband and I have decided to use a quilt that his grandmother made for him for our king size bed. It was brand-spankin' new. Never been used. As a matter of fact, it still has the chalk marks on it from her hand quilting. :) So, what does having a new quilt really mean? This means that I get to decorate our bedroom in all new colors! I get to sew new table toppers and curtains and pillow shams! I haven't decided which color I want to use from the quilt (in the photograph below) but I have time to decide.

Since my yellow quilt lost its place in the master bedroom, it is going to be a lonely spare in the house. I've decided to hand quilt this. I couldn't find a template I liked, so I drew up my own. I made a large flower for the center of each block and a small flower for the cross-road on the lattice (in the photo below- upper left). I will start hand quilting sometime this week, I'm sure. I think having an extra quilt on hand will be nice. I'm actually in love with the yellow lonely quilt now. I added a brown border - which I will photograph and post later - and I fell in love. It's such a pretty, pretty quilt!

Moving on... more hand sewing. This embroidery business has me addicted. Or maybe it's the hand sewing. There is nothing like it to bring me relaxation. I love using my hands and eyes together with fine detail. The results amaze me. Now this next photo is of the Kitchenaid cover I made. This was one of the most simple projects that I've completed in my life! A basic embroidery image of a Kitchenaid makes this cover just a little more fancy. I don't think I'll ever get tired of it. :) The side panels are cherries. I might have put a little more thought into the way the cherries are floating because they aren't floating the right way. =o) I'll remember that for next time. This type of mistake is what sewing is all about!

Random topic change coming now. Last night my girlfriend came over and we worked on making her garters for her wedding. She's asked me to help her with a variety of crafts - even stuff I've never done - and we've been successful thus far. She keeps asking me for more help. I'm so glad I am able to. All right, here comes another random topic change.

I'm not very smooth or fluent in my writing today. I suppose I would be a little more so if I were giving a tutorial of some sort. At any rate, here's my next project (next photo). :) I'm making a cute zippered tote. I like the tote in the pattern that has yellow and green stripes, so that's the one I'm starting with. My fabric is cheery light green with white polk-a-dots. The pocket fabric is this crazy bright teal with butterflies-all-over-it fabric (photo comes later). My girlfriend saw it and said "Yeah, that's Tawnya fabric." That comment made me smile.

Sorry for being sporadic or random. I have a lot of projects starting/finishing and wanted to get that all out on the table. (Which reminds me that I need to finish my crocheted white ruffle scarf.) My next post might be just as random if I can finish several projects. Time will tell...

Until next time, have a great week!

a Cherry on Top - Embroidery Fever!

2011-04-24T17:58:00.000-05:00

Good evening everyone - Happy Easter! :)

I made time to craft this weekend. It was much needed. I've been thinking that I want something to do later in the evening that won't take so much brain power but serves as a creative outlet just the same. I have always wanted to work on my embroidery skills; I began at www.colonialpatterns.com to see what was available online. I've seen the Aunt Martha's patterns ALL over, so I thought I'd just go to their home site.

{* As a side note here - they are an American family owned business. Support them! They sent me two messages letting me know how much they appreciate my support for their business. They are incredible. I had my order in two days and they also threw in a free transfer pattern: Rock'n & Roll'n. :) They went the extra mile, so I thought I'd share and go my mile.}

For my project. I started on a dish towel using a design from Kitch'n Stitch'n. {I love the toast and the teapots -argh, so fun!}

I cut out the design I wanted from the sheet {I think it was 18" x 24"}. I heated my fabric up before I placed the transfer on it. I pressed it for about 5 seconds. Each transfer can be used several times.

A color chart comes inside the "Stitchers Revolution" line of transfers. I LOVED IT! If you look at the bottom of the chart, there are blocks of color names that they suggest. How easy is that? Yeah, I don't have to think. Love It!!

I picked the colors from my floss box that matched most closely to the color chart that came in the package.

OH! You'll need needles. I picked these up at Millie P's quilt shop in downtown Anoka, MN. {I want to visit the Mary Arden website.} I used one of these. I didn't see how they were any more special then the Dritz needles I've used previously. I guess I just wanted to try something new.

I also purchased a plastic hoop. Hoopity, hoop! I like the wooden ones better. This one became heavy on for my thumb to hold up. I eventually switched to a smaller wooden one. :)

Look at what my mom got me for Easter - BUNNY EMBROIDERY SCISSORS! CUTE adorable, FUN and CUTE! ...did I mention how cute they are? {I sort of have a thing for scissors. I love to look at all the pretty colors and creative designs. I know I'll have a million pair when I die.}

Okay, here's me starting to stitch. I started from the right and worked left, for no reason. I just wanted to.

Fiona wanted to sit on my left, for no reason. Just kidding, she wanted to lay on the heating pad that I had on my lap under my needle work, which she eventually shoved her way onto. LOL

Here's the finished wordage for the dish towel.

And here's the completed project. I worked on this on and off all day yesterday. Today I ran out and got some fabric to make a Kitchenaid cover. I downloaded and printed off the patter for that yesterday too. Ooo, that reminds me now, I need to get that in the dryer after posting this.

That's it for the embroidery project. Here's the last bit of my cutsie tote. I hand stitched the velcro band down. I'm so glad I chose to do it that way. You just can't get such a nice look if you use a machine. I guess "each to their own". I have come to learn that I really like hand sewing.

This next photo? I couldn't remember if I shared my idea on what to do with extra fabric on this blog. I drew up my own teddy bear pattern about a year ago and when I have extra fabric, I make these cute little bears! Today I had the great idea to draw up an owl pattern. They are really trendy right now and I've been bitten by the love-owls-bug. I can't seem to get enough of them. I run google searches just to look at them - tons of them! I'll show ya what I make when the times comes.

Thanks for reading today. I hope I encouraged someone to pick up an easy no-brainer embroidery project. If you get going strong and finish, please take a photo and show me! ---especially if it's of OWLS! :D

Until next week - have a good one!

Tabel Runner, Tote, Chinese Lampwork Beads

2011-04-16T20:51:00.004-05:00

Hi Everyone... I'm sorry for the two week lag. Yeah, tomorrow it'll be two weeks since I've blogged.

In my previous entry I mentioned that I started cutting and sewing the "Butterfly Trail" blocks for a table runner. I managed to get them pieced together. I trimmed the topper and this is the semi-finished look. I still haven't decided if I want to hand or machine quilt it yet. I'd like to make a black top stitch along the inside of the light pink triangles and use a light pink thread along the darker triangles. I still have to put more thought into it. Overall, I'm very pleased with my work. My points look great! I just might put this one up for sale. While I'm taking time to think...

I've almost finished up a tote. I think these colors are so beautiful together. The purple with small print has dainty gold leave flecks that I just can't get over. I quilted the top with gold metallic thread on the purple fabric and then I used an invisible thread on the floral pattern. I sewed a hook and loop closure instead of a zipper. I have to sew the inside flap down and I plan to hand sew that.

Here's the patchwork on the back side of the tote. The straps are long enough to pull over your shoulder with just a little ease for movement. I didn't want disproportional looking tote handles.

This tote is also tagged! "WizardGir1". I think it's a nice finishing touch. :)

Moving on... I know that I'm not the biggest fan of quilting, but the tote project and the runner has encouraged me to make a small quilt. (DOH! I'm not even finished with my king size "Winning Hand" quilt yet. More on that at a later entry, as I have the border strips cut and ready to sew!)

This photo is of an Amish design. The pattern explained that the Pennsylvania Amish folks (a.k.a. Pennsylvania Dutch) didn't use bright yellow, orange, or yellow-green in their quilts. The neutral color used was black. I have always LOVED Amish quilts. I think they are so clean and easily read (they aren't busy with fabric colors and patterns). The particular block used in this quilt is called the "Bow Tie". Isn't it lovely? Do a Google search for this block in color. My printer ran out of ink. :D It's much more pleasing to the eye in full color. For this specific quilt pattern, I need 24 scrap strips of fabric.

These are my fabric strips. And no, they aren't solid. I think I might have only a few solid colors, but I have a different plan. I'm going to try to place them in this gradient color order after the blocks are made. That's the real reason I took the photo, so I could use it as a reference when it comes time. I think these prints will look adorable against the black color. I'm excited. All right, that's my quilting talk. Moving on again.

I helped my friend make her wedding earrings today. While we were at the bead shop, I saw the funky-fun (yes that's the technical term) Chinese lamp work beads. I had to have them. These will be adorable for summer. ...yup, another thing to look forward to (other than summer). By the way, I have to mention here that we got a half an inch of snow last night. GRR! That's just crazy. It's April. Not only that, but I'm SO done with winter here in Minnesota. It's just getting too long. I better stop complaining there. I want this to be a happy blog! :) I want to write about things that make me happy!

Guess I'll close now. LOL. OH WAIT! I have one more thing to say. I saw a Kenmore Ultra Mini on Craig's List for $25 last Thursday. This machine has excellent reviews. It's made by Jamome, so it's good, of course. It's a 3/4 size machine weighing in at 11 pounds, but it has a full size motor in it. That means it has power! I want it. They sell for $100 at Sears. I contacted the seller to let him know that I was interested in buying it. He had to leave town and plans to call at the beginning of next week. My fingers are crossed though, because a person never knows how these things turn out. I tried getting a different machine once, and they never responded to my email. At any rate, you better believe that I'll mention whether I get the machine or not in my next post.

Until then, keep pushing forward through your projects!

Beginning Butterfly Trail

2011-04-03T08:40:00.000-05:00

Happy Sunday everyone! I'm so sorry that I missed my usual Monday entry, but busy-ness took over. I'm still trying to get my gym visits into routine so I can manage to get all my tasks done during my allotted week. I subbed again last week so my health took priority over my crafting. It turned out all right because I had quilting group on Saturday. I was able to get some cutting and sewing in. Well, I got some cutting in at the group and then I came home to sew a little.

I picked up a new pattern for a table runner since I didn't do well with the Simplicity pattern. This Piece Tree pattern looked easy enough and I consider myself a beginner when it comes to quilting. It is such an art! One of the gals at my group, Mary, was hand quilting. I liked it a lot. Quilters are so creative! The actual stitching reminded me of the embroidery work that I've done. The embroidery work is very satisfying, so I'm considering hand quilting one of my quilts - probably not my king size (Haha) - maybe on this table runner.

Okay, so moving on. Here is the Piece Tree pattern for my new table runner. It looks pretty basic and interesting. With the choice of fabrics, it could be marvelous!

These are my cuts. This is all that is required to put the table runner top together. The backing and batting isn't pictured so I'll need those too. I think I'll use the black for the backing since the black strips are my border.

I'll sew some more of the blocks together today. I should be able to blog again on Tuesday so you can see my blocks. (I go to the gym Tuesday evenings, so I have a time slot open between shifts.)

This next photo is of me wearing my scarf. It was 50° yesterday so I didn't need a jacket, but the scarf was nice in the AM. Sorry it's blurry, I didn't want to go into a big photo shoot with my mom during quilting. Sort of a slouch too - I'll work on that next time! :)

Well, the table runner project is off and running. This one will be finished before I start another. Actually, I think my next project is going to be to finish my king size quilt. I'll close with that. I'd like to get started on my day so I can get some seams in. :)

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and I'll see you next week!

Blue Haven Brown Bread

2011-03-21T13:24:00.000-05:00

Greetings friends and readers! I've been thinking. I used to publish more tutorial"ish" entries on my blog. Lately, I've been so busy that I've been posting my finished results of whatever the project is. My question to you is: would you like more of a tutorial or do you prefer the end result. Please send me an email to tawnya {at} wizardgir1 {dot} com or, of course, leave a comment to let me know either way. Maybe you don't have an opinion and you just like my logo! that's fine too! But, if ever you develop an opinion that you want to share. My ears are open. :)

Spring break is over for our school district. I was working different hours, so again, I was thrown off schedule. The only craft I dabbled in was making a delicious Blue Haven Brown Bread. I got the recipe from "The Best of Irish Breads & Baking", which was written and published in Dublin, Ireland. COOL HUH?! I will share this recipe.

Blue Haven Brown Bread
Ingredients:
1 lb./ 450 g/ 4 cups wholemeal flour (whole wheat)
2 tsp/ 2½ US tsp salt
1 tsp/ 1¼ US tsp black treacle (molasses)
1 oz/ 25g/ fresh yeast
12 fl oz/ 350 ml/ 1½ cups of tepid water

Mix the flour with the salt and set it to warm in a cool oven. I just placed it on the burner that the heat releases to warm mine up. Mix the treacle/molasses with a little of the water in a small bowl and stir in the yeast. Leave it in a warm area. I placed my bowl near the warm burner. I used 1/2 cup water for the yeast mixture.

Grease one large pan or two small ones and put them in a warm place, also. In 45 minutes the yeast will froth up like mine did in the photo above. Stir it well and then add the remaining water - 1 cup.

Stir the mixture into the flour to make a fairly wet dough. Mine wasn't wet at all so I added more water. I didn't measure, I just turned on the tap and ran it in the bowl until it looked right.

After it's mixed, place it into your greased pan for 20 minutes to rise. The book says it should double in this amount of time. I let mine rise for 45 minutes. It rose a little higher, and totally filled out the pan, but I don't know that I would say it "doubled". While it's rising, preheat oven at 470° F/ 230° C/ gas 8. When I was satisfied with the rise of the dough, I put it in the oven for 40 minutes. The instructions say to bake for 45 to 50 minutes until nicely browned and sounds hollow when tapped.

Cool on a wire rack. And here is the finished bread! YUM.

This is a nice heavy bread. Serve with butter and honey! (Or if you're on a diet like I am, serve with jam.) I do want to mention that this bread is pretty salty. Next time, I might put 2 teaspoons or 1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt into the mix. I don't know if breads are more salty in Ireland or what. I'll have to browse the other recipes. I would totally make this bread again!

Hope you try this recipe because of the ease. If you do let me know if you do anything different. :)

I don't have much on the agenda for this week - other than attending the gym and working on my white crocheted scarf. If I get a bug to work on my quilted tote, I might do that.

Well, until next Monday... have a wonderful week!

Floating Beads, Scarves, Art Doll, and a Cute Quilted Tote!

2011-03-14T19:08:00.000-05:00

Happy Mid-March! I'm a bit later in posting my entry this week because I've had a small life-change that needed to take place. Can you guess? Can you guess with all of my complaining about weight gain? Tawnya has joined the gym! I couldn't take it anymore. After I learned that my insurance pays a percentage of it, there was no reason to NOT join. I joined Friday and have gone each day since. I know, 4 days, big deal right? It really IS a big deal though - I've recommitted to a healthier lifestyle. So that's why I'm later today.

Now on to my crafting! My girlfriend, Korrina, is getting married this summer and asked me to help her make her bridesmaid's jewelry: earrings and necklaces. We did that this weekend. I haven't made a necklace that gives the illusion of floating beads around the neck but I've always wanted to. It was a lot of fun figuring out! Korrina was very pleased with how the pieces turned out. She has other craft ideas for her wedding and I've offered to help do whatever I can.

I had some time to work on my art doll. I was stuck on her shoes and finally decided to go with a blue cotton with lace trim and sequins for buttons. After I got the shoes completed, I got creative and finished her lace sleeves with some blue lace trim and gave her a blue bow-tie necklace.

Here's a close up of her shoes.

And here is a close up of her sleeve trim and bow necklace.

I said that I was going to post my colorful scarf last week, but I didn't want to pose quite yet. I will mention that I have worn this scarf several times and received some really nice compliments. I'm not gonna lie, I was slightly worried that I looked like a clown! Haha... Women just loved it! They mentioned it looked so fun. (Thank you!!)

And because I loved the frilly or ruffly look of the scarf, I decided to make one out of this really pretty white yarn that my ma gave to me. It's a very soft 100% acrylic with tinsel woven through so that it reflects light and looks sparkly at a glance. I'm a sucker for sparkles. :)

Maybe you can see the tinsel a little better here.

I also had some time this week to work on some quilt squares of my own design. I debated if I should continue making random quilt squares and make another quilt blanket, but I decided not too considering my king size quilt isn't even finished yet! I DO, however, need another tote that is a small size for carrying things to the gym in. :) (I love mentioning that I "go to the gym"!) Anyways, the photo below is one side of the tote.

Here is the other side of the tote. I'm not sure how I am going to do the handles yet. Time and creativity will tell.

Well, as you see, I have three projects to finish. I don't think I will start any new ones this week. I'm taking my ma's cats for two weeks, beginning Thursday, so I am not sure how much time I will get for projects this weekend. I have a gym date this weekend too, with a gal from work - she's invited me to Zumba session. Since it's so popular, I thought I'd give it a try. Although, I'm terrible at keeping tempo or anything that requires memory to movements. :D So again, I don't know how much crafting I will get to.

Okay, my Sweety is in the kitchen ready for dinner...waiting for me. Have a great week everyone. Thanks for reading! :)

Pillowcase Cuties!

2011-03-07T12:35:00.000-06:00

Hello. To those of you who've been looking for me, I'm finally here! I've decided to implement a new routine. A fitness routine. After my AM shift. It will leave less time for crafting on the days I do not sub, but, such is life. My health and fitness is just as important, if not more.

Last week, I subbed only once, but I had meetings to attend on other days, so that ate up craft time also. Good thing I had a quilting group to go to on Saturday. I was determined to get something finished, no matter how small. I learned how to make pillow cases! Some of the gals at the group told me what to do step-by-step (thanks Sue and Mary!). They are quite easy to make and the technique I used to apply the band hides all seams. It's so neat. I can't wait to make more. (Oh my gosh, now after I said that I realize a photo of the inside would have been neat to post. Normally I would take a snapshot "now" but I'm having issues with my card reader. Sorry. I'll make a note of it to put it on next week.) My first photo is the pillowcase I sewed at the group. It's for Lancelot, our Corgi. Well, Lance's doggy bed.

Here's a close up of the fabrics. They don't match quite perfectly, but I liked the large print with the small print. The case is going to be on the floor and under the dog so I wasn't concerned with how fashionable it was. :)

Here's the pillowcase I made at home on Sunday after church. I sewed a welt in this one. Again, the colors don't match the best because it's for the other doggy, Chubahka.

Here's a close up of the fabric choices. The welt is the lavender strip.

Moving beyond this... I've almost completed my colorful scarf. As soon as I get off the computer (and some other small daily living tasks), I plan to finish it. I have a few stitches left. Then I'd like to model it for the blog, though I'm not the biggest "ham". I'll post that next week also.

I should get this posted. I'm fading quickly after my workout. I usually need a little rest in the midday anyway. I hope everyone has a great week!

See you next Monday. :)

Restringing and Puffed Flatbread

2011-02-28T13:27:00.000-06:00

It's a new week and it's the END of February. Didn't this month fly by quickly? Geez, it seems that I just made Edward's Valentine's Day card. :)

I had another busy week last week, but I managed to get a couple hobby things done. A lady at work told me about a magnetic bracelet she purchased that was falling apart. I told her that I would take a look at it for her and restring it with a clasp, if I could. Here's the bracelet strung on the stretch cording. You can see the elastic broke.

Here's the finished piece with a sterling silver toggle clasp. I didn't realize that she wanted a magnetic clasp. I brought it in today and it fit beautifully. I was worried because I had added about an inch with the clasp length. Apparently she works with a child who gropes and pulls at her accessories and needs them to be "breakaway" style. I brought it home to restring it with a magnetic clasp. I'll work on that after I'm finished here. :)

In addition to beading, I also made bread! Baked Puffed Flatbread to be exact. This bread tastes so incredible and the texture is amazing - firm on the outside and soft in the center.

Here's the recipe.

1 package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for brushing
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 cup plain yogurt (I used vanilla)
1 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus extra for sprinkling
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups bread flour
2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Directions
In a medium bowl, sprinkle yeast over warm water. Add oil, sugar, and yogurt. Mix with wooden spoon until combined well. Add wheat flour and 2 cups of bread flour. Mix until flour is incorporated, about 3 minutes. Turn out of bowl onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 12 to 15 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Squeeze dough gently with full hand: if dough is sticky, sprinkle with flour and knead just to combine. Place dough in medium bowl with plastic wrap in a draft-free spot. Let rise until it doubles 30 to 45 minutes.

Turn dough onto a floured work surface and cut into 8 balls. Let rest for 5 minutes. With a rolling pin, roll each ball into a flat circle - 4 inches in diameter. (Mine aren't uniform.)

Brush tops of circles with water and then sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Use a rolling pin to set the seeds on the surface of the dough. About 30 minutes before baking, adjust rack to lowest position and line rack with a pizza stone or baking sheet at 500° F. Bake dough for 5 to 6 minutes.

When it's done it will puff up and the bottoms will turn golden brown. Transfer breads to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes.

Serve warm.

Serve "Edward" style - butter and jam. This bread is very easy and could easily be made into flat rolls for a gathering of sorts.

I still want to get some sewing in, but I just haven't had the time to get started. I have some new ideas and when that happens, I feel bombarded. I know, I know, I do it to myself and I have to get a grip. I need to write down my ideas so I don't feel pressured. After this week, I don't have any sub jobs for two weeks. I plan on getting some sewing in within that time. Laura, you are right, beginning a dress may motivate me to lose those pesky pounds!

I didn't intend on baking a new bread this week, so we'll see what comes of next week.

...until then, happy days to you!

Migrating Eagles, Scarf Update, Wire Hoop Earrings

2011-02-21T15:44:00.000-06:00

Happy Week! :)

Edward and I took a drive down south this weekend to see if the eagles were migrating yet. There were several eagles soaring but not many perched.

For this shot, my lens was racked out and I still didn't get a clear image. You can tell it's an eagle though. The weather was beautiful - sunshine and no wind. We plan on going down again in a couple weeks. It's so neat to see them perched along the river ice to fish.

Weather now? Minnesota is getting a ton of snow - I suppose over a foot by now. Snow plows have knocked down garbage and recycle cans all down the block. I've only gone out once today and that was to take back my Redbox movie. :) I think it's great for skiers and snowmobiles. Moving on to jewelry...

It was my jewelry week, but I didn't make any. The original plan was to make girls jewelry, but I didn't get around to it. I had a 40 hour week so that took up most time. The next two photos are of some earrings that I made a few weeks ago. These are an antiqued gold pair - faceted crystal for the focal bead.

I used the wire jig for these next earrings - I love using wire more each time I work with it. I like hoop earrings too. There are more complex designs out there, but I wanted to start simple and work my way up.

Since I was busy with work, only a few nights this week was spent working on my colorful scarf. I hope to get it done soon enough to wear it before the season is over. I actually was going to sit down and start stitching and then I remembered that I should update my hobby blog. So here it is!

This week is a sewing week, according to my hobby schedule. I feel like starting a dress to wear this spring, but I've gained 8 pounds. I feel a little discouraged because of that. Maybe I won't feel so pretty in it. Maybe that's a good reason to make a new dress! I'll have to see. I'm just gonna go with my inspiration - no matter what hobby I work on. :)

Have a wonderful week!

Cloth Diaper, Booties, Amiguruami Turtle

2011-02-14T11:45:00.000-06:00

Happy Valentines Day everyone! I hope you're seeing hearts everywhere... :) I got a Valentine from a little girl at work that said she was glad to see me again. I'd worked with her at a different site in the district. I thought that was too cute. Valentines is a great day for kids to practice edifying one another. I like it.

Moving on to crafts and such! (Sorry, no Valentine projects.) Last week I mentioned that I sewed up an adorable item - well, the item was this cloth diaper. I had to put some hook and loop tape on it before I could photograph it. I used a diaper cover pattern for this cloth diaper so it's a tad large for a newborn. It's a decent enough prototype. I'll have to experiment and cut the pattern down. The pattern is nice for older babies. Like everything I do, I need to tweak it for its purpose.

Next, I sewed up this make up bag. I had the idea to apply a cute gingham ribbon before installing the zipper. I've had this project sitting in my sewing room for several months now. Isn't this fabric so colorful and fun? This fabric reminds me of spring and fall. Make up bags are easy, but I sure procrastinated on it. Typical behavior for Tawnya. I'd fail as a true wizardess. :)

Moving on to crochet... If you look back at my previous entry, you'll read that I really was uninterested in crocheting this week. I really want to stay with my plan to switch my hobbies up every week so I don't get bored and to stay up to date with my projects. I started out small. I found a pattern in one of the last crochet magazines - Baby Booties! They are adorable and cozy, but THEY DON'T MATCH! I asked my ma to come over and help me with the pattern. I did just fine on the bootie I stitched up while she was here, but the second one got a little funky. She'd mentioned getting a new pattern, so I thought I'd do the same. Maybe I'll try that next month.After I get a pattern down, I thought they'd be cute to sell at WizardGir1.

Anyways, I kept on crocheting. I found this amiguruami turtle pattern on one of the yarn websites and wanted to give it a go. It was really fun stitching up. The instructions directed that the feet be sewed on after the body is stuffed, so that's what I did. However, (get ready for a little story here) while I was sewing them on, FIONA swiped one off the sofa and scooped it right up. She brought it to her secret room in the basement. You know the one? The room that cats store everything in which they steal. Yeah. that's the one. I thought it was gone forever, but then I had an idea to wait it out. Twenty minutes later I went down the basement stairs and there the turtle foot lay on the last step. Fiona had come through for her wonderful master! :) Good Kitty.

After I finished the turtle, I grew excited to begin a new project. I have been eye-balling this wonderfully colored yarn for about two months. I finally decided to throw it into my cart. It's called "bikini". I know, it's a dumb name. It's a dumb name just like the bag pattern from Janome. It was also called a "bikini bag." Whatever. But the color isn't less exciting because it has a pathetic name! It's so fun! I'm looking forward to wearing this scarf on cold spring and fall days.

Along with my colorful yarn, I threw in some acrylic beads that I intend to use for making children's jewelry. This next week is my jewelry making week. Woohoo! I'm looking forward to that one. My friend says making things for children is a must because they enjoy the smallest treasures. I'm also going to try to make time to finish the colorful scarf too. I welcome you all back next Monday to see how far I've come on the scarf, if I haven't finished it.

Until then... Happy Week!

Art Doll and Bikini Bag

2011-02-07T14:11:00.000-06:00

Hi. :)

So I left last week's entry talking about my art doll. I've finished her apron and part of her sleeves. She is turning out so beautiful! I purchased a small strip of decorative trim that I might put around her wrist or neck - I haven't decided yet. The trim is really cool colors: gold, blue, & pink. I also need to find an arm band for her lace sleeves. I might try and be creative - make something on the Elna serger, if I can round up some time. :) Aren't the bows on her arms too cute! Before I started this doll, I didn't understand why it would be considered an "art doll". I now understand. Each piece is so important to the overall design. A lot of time goes into making decisions as well as the construction. Goodness, just wait until I paint her face!

During sewing club, we learned how to make this cute little "bikini bag". (It's a dumb name.) Our instructor pulled the directions off of the Janome website, if anyone is interested. This item was made for my friend, so it won't be at the WizardGir1 shop. I made one similar, however. I need to put the drawstring on it yet. I used brocade and a cotton fabric that has a woven design in it - much like a table cloth. The patterns complimented each other well, so I went with it. That bag will be listed at the shop.

I had a little more time to sew last night (while my Sweetie watched the game). The item I made needs some top-stitching before it's revealed. It's adorable though!

This week is my crochet week, but to say the truth, I'm not really into it - yet. I've hit a point where I just want to be at home and make things. I don't want to have to shop for items to finish projects. I need to purchase some items for the crochet projects on my current list. But, by using my creative problem solving skills, I'll come up with a clever project. ;) ...if there is nothing crocheted, I'll have my other sewing project ready to share!

With that said, I'll be back next Monday. Have a great week everyone!

Polyclay Creations, Beaded Earrings, More Pee Pee Tee-pees

2011-01-31T12:19:00.000-06:00

Oh, happy February to everyone! Yes, I am a day early but that's okay. Could it possibly mean that I am on top of things lately? Of course it's thanks to the new planner I purchased on October 25th, 2010. How do I know the exact date? My planner says "Buy Planner" on that date. I just wanted to write something in, so that was it. :)

Well, I said that I would have clay creations to share this week, but I didn't have time to complete the projects (maybe I'm not so "on top of it!"). I've varnished both sides of these pendants and earrings, but I have to hang them up in order to varnish the sides. Here's what I have so far. These pieces will be strung with beads or wire.

This next one is mine. :D I'm not selling it... It's very pretty with the cherry tree embossing and the platinum metallic powder to enhance it. I will make several more in different shapes and then sell those.

This black pendant and earrings emboss pattern remind me of snake or turtle skin. I used a pretty piece of lace for the embossing and these are the results. It turned out wonderfully.

Here are some fun copper earrings that I made with the Wigjig. I really enjoy working with wire as a medium and plan to further my education and skill. I made each component of these earrings - aside from the beads.

Sun shaped chandelier earrings with Swarovski crystals.

Pale Pink crystal earrings.

I even made time to crochet this past week! Here is a Primrose pot holder. It's slightly different from the dishcloth: this has 5 petals and the dishcloth has 6.

Of course I wanted to make more of these little baby-changing helpers too. They fold nicely for a drawer or could hang near the baby changing station.

More pee pee tee-pees in a different theme - teddies.

This is a project that I am not going to sell, but will if I it is requested. I work with children who have special needs. Many of them are drawn to certain fabrics or objects that create a specific sensation in their hand or against their cheek. I made this textile sampler so different fabrics could be removed easily with a snap.

Last of all, a charming, soft, blue baby afghan! I did not make this one. My mom crocheted this and it's for sale here. I've always admired her shell pattern stitches - they are PERFECT! This afghan has a double ruffle and finished with a blue ribbon. The acrylic yarn is spongy soft and welcomes a sleeping, snuggly baby.

I am going to try hard to stay on my craft rotating schedule in order to keep up with the latest techniques in each hobby area. Last week was polymer clay and this week is sewing. I actually pulled my art doll out and worked a little more on her. I finally purchased some lace! She has so much detail to work out and after adding a detail, I come up with another idea. ...I'm NOT complaining!

I've invited my ma over for another craft day, which I think I will be sewing either my Flying Geese table runner, or my gorgeous art doll. (I really hope I'll be able to part with her when I'm finished. The intent was to sell her, but I'm falling in love!) More photos next week!

Until next Monday, have a nice and relaxing week.

Pee Pee Teepee

2011-01-24T12:09:00.000-06:00

Hey I made it back here before my week was up! I'm doing great. :) The reason why I am blogging on a Monday instead of Tuesday is this: I am subbing so much lately that Tuesdays usually end up being my 10.5 hour day. I was called last minute to sub today, but I had to turn it down. I NEED to get some stuff done around the house and, of course, my BLOG!

So last week was a crazy week for me, but I did manage to get a little sewing in this weekend. One of my new friends at my monthly sewing club brought in a project she made to class: Pee Pee Teepees to put on the wee one when he's getting changed! LOL They were too cute! When I got online to search for the pattern I came across a couple sites that demonstrated them with a ribbon and thought it was a good idea. The ribbon will serve as a nice handle to avoid touching the soaked teepee.

I made two different ones. I made one backwards, as the flannel is on the outside, but it'll still do the job. One could turn it inside out if they wanted to badly enough. I'm looking forward to getting some infant themed fabric to make some more. I plan on listing these at the WizardGir1 shop.

Moving on... Today after work, I had realized that I didn't have my cell phone. I noticed this when I was pulling out of the bank. I pulled over and looked under my car seats and rechecked my purse. I drove all the way back to work and still didn't find it. When I was leaving the school building, I stopped in to talk with the secretary and let her know that if someone should find it and drop it off that it was mine. Well, she pointed to her counter and there it was! Geez, I was relieved. I don't remember ever "losing" my phone like that.

After I got my phone I made a stop at the fabric and craft store! I picked out my lace for the art doll I am making. I think it's going to look beautiful. And I'm so excited because I purchased some new tools to work with my clay. I'll be trying them out this week and, of course, I'll post my little creations!

I've decided that because I have so many hobbies, I'll have to rotate them on a weekly schedule so I can stay fresh in them. For example, this week is clay (soon to expand into metal clay). Then it will be sewing, then crochet, then jewelry making, etc. I love learning about all of these and this is my lastest idea to help keep me sane AND productive. :) So next week I should have an entry on my clay creations. If I get more done, great. If not, at least I'm being productive. OH! I almost forgot to mention that I cut some triangles for the "Flying Geese" table runner I'm working on too this past weekend. It's slow going, but that's because I'm frustrated with the pattern instructions. Ick. I already have a new table runner pattern chosen for my next one.

Okay, if my plan works out nicely, my next post will be next Monday and all about my clay crafting. With each passing day, my life becomes a little more organized and I can breathe a little deeper. :)

Until Next Monday, "easy does it." :)

Copper Chandelier Earrings

2011-01-18T18:26:00.001-06:00

Evening Folks...

Today is my third wedding anniversary and we are heading out to Red Lobster for a date. :) I hope to find a sampler so I can try many things. I've never had real crab or lobster.

My mom came over at one point this week to help me on some crochet stitches but we weren't in the mood to work. We were in the mood to chat and have lunch, so that's what we did instead!

I've still been working on making jewelry. I picked up a new tool to help me make chandelier earrings over the weekend. Copper and brass metals are extremely popular right now, so I thought I'd make some with those materials. Here is a photo of the second pair of earrings that I made and I fell in love. The beads are natural pearls and semi-precious gold stone (just gorgeous and sparkly!). I cannot sell these! They're MINE! I have worn them two days in a row. I finally took them off to replace them with earrings that matched my sweater for our anniversary date. Things a woman must do! I'll probably wear them again tomorrow.

I'm hoping to do more work this weekend - anything! Sewing, beading, crocheting... Next week is only slightly fewer hours at work than this week. It's hard to balance everything. Working out has gone by the way side. I finally cleaned my house really well this weekend, after being down with a cold for 10 days. This weekend, however, is my PLAY weekend. I'm going to the library to get more books on my hobby crafts. I hope to have a goal set and met concerning the product I list for February. Maybe I'll have a plan more solid by next Tuesday.

Until then...

Beautiful Beads - Hand Made Jewelry

2011-01-11T11:26:00.000-06:00

It's been one week since I last posted and it's been 11 days that my online store has been open. I am currently in the process of designing new business cards to help in the advertising department. I'll put my order in on Friday. Then eventually, I'll advertise in a couple news papers in the Twin Cities.

I've sold a few items thus far, and I am even more excited to share with others and see where this little business leads. I'm also taking a trip to Garden of Beads this weekend. Garden of Beads is located downtown Anoka, MN. Anoka is right on the river so it's a pretty old town. Before my cold took a toll on my energy bank, I designed some pretty jewelry. All items posted are for sale, minus two; however, I will take orders to recreate the piece - or take suggestions for changes in design. :)

This badge lanyard can be ordered.

Pearls and Shells chandelier earrings.

This piece is available here.

This piece is available.

"Under the Sea" badge lanyard is made with coral and purple freshwater pearls.

This badge lanyard can be custom ordered.

Elegant Pearl and Glass Bead dangles.

This piece is made with faceted crystals and cat's eye glass.

I know this next item isn't beaded, but I mentioned in a post or two back that I had another crocheted item to post, so here it is! This is a Primrose Daisy washcloth or potholder. :) Country blue isn't readily available in too many stores nowadays, so I am going to stitch up a few of these.

I am working on the Flying Geese table runner - after my cold, I plan on getting back to that project. ...I had a vision of a a thick-walled tote that was embellished with beads. It might be a great idea that never forms into reality, but then again, it might be the inspiration I need to create something really special! :) Time will tell.

Until next Tuesday....

WizardGir1 Opens Online Store

2011-01-04T12:58:00.001-06:00

Welcome back!

So if you haven't already guessed what the “big idea” that I've been working on for the past 4 four months, the “Shop” graphic at the top must tell you that I've started my very own online business! Yup, and I'm very excited to take this plunge. No longer am I the “closet artist”! No longer am I uncertain of how adorable my art and crafts have become. :) Of course I like them; I created them. I'm like God that way. Yes I have the guts to say that I am LIKE GOD. ;-) (A lot of self-help books tell me that! LOL)

In the past, people have questioned whether I sell my stuff or not. I've been encouraged by this. I was hired once, in my twenties, to make a quilt for a gal's son's wedding – I haven't sold my products otherwise, just gifted them. There's a first time for everything!

It's been a really neat learning experience – all the way down to the programming languages needed to get WizardGir1.com/shop or "WizardGir1" to look just the way I want. Each time I tell myself I have “one more step” another one follows that needs to get done. I love this! I invite you to browse my store and please remember that there is “one more step” that I need to do before it's completely completed. :) ...well, I don't imagine that will ever happen. LOL

I've been a little more busy than usual, as I'm picking up sub jobs at work, but I keep pushing forward with my crafting. I have some beaded, sewn and crochet work that I'll be adding to my store next week.

Thank you to my online friends, local friends and family for reading my updates, and encouraging and supporting me to take the plunge. A special thank you to my Sweetie for sacrificing “togetherness” time so I could focus intensely and reach my goal. Love you! (Yes, he reads my blog. LOL)

More next week – unless I can squeak in some time this weekend...

My Favorite Christian Holiday Has Passed

2010-12-28T12:43:00.000-06:00

Can you believe it, Christmas is over?! It came and went so quickly - aside from stores setting up for the holiday. They start that in July. :| I'm okay with the holiday passing by because goodies come around less and less. However, I will mention that I am going to begin baking again! I've asked my Ma over to bake - you know, these are activities that we enjoy doing together. Is it all that insane? :D

All right, I'll move on. Ed liked the beret that I crocheted up for him. it was part of his Christmas gift. I would show the hat with a photo of him instead of my model, but he is burned out from me taking his photo so much. I doubt I'll ever get a decent one of him again! LOL When he has the beret on, he looks like a fella in the military. It looks nice and he claims it's comfortable. Whew!

As some of you know, I try to crochet after dinner to keep me from eating. Well, I eventually put down the hook and took up the fork and spoon. I've been eating so much ice cream that it's crazy. I thought I would try switching up my hobby to keep my interest and my body out of the kitchen! So, beads it was. I made this beautiful bracelet with glass bugle beads, seed beads and semi-precious amethyst stones.

These pretty earrings also have the semi-precious amethyst stones as accents. Both of the pieces can be considered "green" since I used the beads from pieces that I took apart. The vintage tear-drop green beads were also from a piece that I took apart. When stones and glass become too heavy to wear around the neck on a string, it's nice to break it up and make smaller pieces from them.

I just love the Swarovski crystals too. I'm a sucker for the aurora borealis finish on ALL beads. I just can't stop looking at them! The blue color of these beads are so cheery for spring or summer jewelry.

I mentioned in my last entry that I was going to work on a "flying geese" table runner. Well, I was finally able to get into my sewing room just yesterday. I frantically started cutting my fabric up and I didn't realize that I was following the wrong instructions. I cut up my fabric in all sorts of strip widths! I had to start the project over with some other fabric I had in my stash. This morning, I cut the new fabric choices into strips and I was extremely careful to follow the correct instructions.

What am I going to do with all of my erroneously cut strips? ...coasters, of course. I love making quick projects. In between making the coasters, I plan on working on this "big idea" I have. My goal is to be finished by December 31st, but it might just be January 1st. That wouldn't be bad. Either way I'll be bringing something new into year 2011. I plan on revealing my "big idea" here, next Tuesday. It's very exciting so please check back!

Have a great New Year's Eve!

Until next Tuesday...

Clay, Clay and More Clay

2010-12-21T10:39:00.000-06:00

Ooo... two more days until Christmas break! I'm very excited for this. I have been subbing in the school district recently. Because it's not my routine schedule, I'm a little tired. But I have good news - I was offered a permanent position in the AM! I'm so glad for this, as I have been applying for various part time jobs with no luck. My search stops here!

As busy as I am, I have made time to play in my sewing room. Although, I am not sewing. I made some snow people decorations for the tree from polymer clay. These people were not my idea; I think I saw them on an etsy shop. I'm glad that I made several because I was able to gift one to my Aunt-in-law with her card. I actually gave her this cute snowlady.

Here's the snowman.

I saw a tutorial on youtube to make Hello Kitty. All the kids at work have Hello Kitty all over their jackets and back-packs. When I saw the tutorial, I thought it was too cute to pass up. Yes, it's lumpy and crooked. I need more practice, but she's still adorable! I REALLY need practice painting whiskers. The tutorial showed black wire. I could have used the wire I had and then painted it with black enamel. I plan to do that next time. I suppose I'll be able to use these figures at work with the children I support. I plan to make some googly-eyed type monsters with goofy clothing that the boys might have interest in.

The Christmas holiday is just around the corner. I haven't had too much time for baking and I think it's a good thing this year. I do plan to bake some throughout the winter since I missed the "big bake" this year, however.

Upcoming projects: Flying Geese table runner. "Flying Geese" is the name of a quilt block. I'm not going to appliqué geese to the runner. :) I'm getting my fabric ready next Monday, just in time for quilting on Saturday, January 1, 2011! I don't know if I will have much to blog about next Tuesday. I'm not sure how much time I will get in my sewing room. We'll see.

Until next time...

Merry Christmas!

More Little Wallets & Four Coasters

2010-12-14T10:28:00.001-06:00

Holiday greetings everyone! So the holidays are coming up and I've been subbing more in the school district. What does that mean for my craft life? It's getting squished - but it's not gone! Attending sewing clubs and groups keeps me motivated to get at least one item finished per month. I like to blog each week so that's another motivation.

So this week, I worked on two more wallets. This time I added a trim to the flap. I used white and cream trim and I like them both the same. I still would like to put my "WizardGir1" logo tag inside. I think I'll have to hand sew them in.

And to keep myself away from food after dinner, I've picked up my crochet hook each night. I'm planning to crochet every night for the rest of my life. :) Okay, it's cool and I want to become really good at the craft. So I have to practice. If I am not crocheting, my other option is knitting or the treadmill! :)

These are coasters for my mother in law. I have no idea if she uses them, but I know she likes crocheted stuff. She crochets too, so I don't know if she'll like them that much. I'll find out.

We had a ton of snow come over the Twin Cities and the Minneapolis Metro dome caved in and then finally collapsed. We drove down to look at it before it collapsed. No photos of that, but I did see other things that were snapshot worthy! I thought the spare tire of this SUV was too cute to pass up. Click on the image if you can't see it that well.

Getting right into town.. there is this big brick guy on the rooftop. It's on the same block of the Utrecht art supplier that I shop at, so I see him at each visit. Isn't he just cute!?

Look how high the snow is! People were crawling over the mounds of snow all over the place. The snow doesn't seem to slow us down! The Old Spaghetti Factory is the best place to eat with it's fun ambiance. It has old cathedral stained glass windows inside. These are gigantic!

I thought this structure was neat to look at. I first noticed the heart pattern and then it drew my eye down the length of it. Some of the patterns look tribal to me. This is by the dome, btw.

That's it for me today. It wasn't too elaborate of an article, but I promised myself I would do this once a week. I have had an itch to play with Sculpey polymer clay so that's what I'm going to do. Of coarse I'll take photos to share. The dishes can wait! :)

Art of Amiguruami

2010-12-07T09:35:00.001-06:00

Well I can't believe it. Another week flew by! When I looked at my planner this morning, I gasped when I realized it was blog day. I thought "Ah, WHAT AM I GOING TO BLOG ABOUT?!" Then I realized that even though I haven't been sewing this past week, I have been crafting. Yup, I sat down with my mom and we started an amiguruami frog pattern. From the research I did, "amiguruami" is Japanese style of crocheting in the round. Geez, it's a lot of fun! You gotta try it.

This guy is made of 100% acrylic worsted weight yarn - the color is "olive", Vanna's Choice from Lion Brand. His legs are the same brand of yarn, and I think "fern" is the color. He's just an adorably goofy looking froggy. The style of his pupils is my creative edge to give him a Kermit The Frog look about it. I stuffed him with poly fill that the local craft shops carry.

I also finished up my winter hat. When I began, I found extra yarn that I had in my stash - there were no labels on the skeins. After I finished, I realized that it was left over yarn from my felted purse project. It's 100% wool. Do you know what that means? I need to hand wash it unless I want to felt it for a baby! :) The skein is soft to the touch, but it's itchy on the head. Next hat I make will either be a blend or 100% acrylic. (I love acrylic!)

When I went to quilting group on Saturday, I learned that my "Flying Geese" ruler doesn't make 2 ½ X 4 ½ blocks, (it makes 2 ¼ x 4 ½) which is the size I need for my table runner project. Needless to say, I didn't work on my quilt project. I'll have to cut strips manually and piece it together. I also need to work a little more on my art doll. I set her aside after I finished her skirt. Like I've mentioned before, I need to get new lace to be excited for the next step. :)

Until next week, Happy Crafting!

Afghan, and Doll Skirt Finished

2010-11-30T09:03:00.001-06:00

Okay, it's been a week and do I have a treat for you! Well, maybe the treat is more for me, but I think you'll like it, maybe not as much. Sooo, I finished my Victorian Ruffled Afghan! Woohoo! And here's a little story.

I didn't want to complete the entire 4" ruffle around the squares because I thought it would take away from the look I wanted. I wanted a smaller ruffle, just an added softness. So here is a photo of that.

Now ON TO SEWING! This blog entry is really about ruffles and gathers. The afghan had them and now my doll's clothes has them - all over the place! All right, let me interject something here...

So, I'm broke. I'm always broke. Even when I have money, I'm broke. I don't like spending money frivolously. This isn't a bad thing - I've come to realize. It really pushes me to be more creative. I wouldn't classify myself as a lazy person; I'm efficient. My point to this interjection is that if I can get a ruffle for my dress without spending the time it takes to run to the store, match up the fabrics, pay the money and then come home again, I will. I creatively made this ruffle for my doll dress!

First, I sewed 3" wide strips of fabric that equalled the length of two yards. I finished the raw edge of the maroon fabric with my serger, but this can be done with the zigzag stitch and look quite decorative. A cording foot could also be used to finish the edge in a cute fashion. I used crochet thread in my lower looper to achieve the look in the following photo. Then I ran the fabric through my ruffler foot.

Here's a video on how to make a ruffle using the ruffler foot. (I know how everyone likes videos and my last one went over quite nicely! Thanks for watching. Hopefully is was entertaining at the very least. I'll also add the Ruffler Foot video to the "videos" tab.) I purchased my foot from the local fabric store - it wasn't a special order and if you have a 40% off coupon, use it!) I feel a tad awkward making a video but I hope you can follow it with ease. I am not a ham. :)

After I made the ruffle, I added some vintage lace. Even though the light blue color doesn't match exactly, I liked the look it gave to the skirt. I strategically pinned the ruffle and the lace to the skirt fabric so I could sew them both on at the same time. Remember, I'm efficient! :D

I carefully sewed the lace onto the skirt. I went as slow as I needed to in order to get a nice straight stitch.

This was a new method for me to gather my doll's skirt waist. I used a very long strand of crochet thread and zigzagged over it using invisible thread/nylon thread.

After I finished with the gathering cord, I firmly held the tails and eased the fabric into the gathers that I wanted. I used a doll making needle to pull the threads to the front of the doll. I plan on adding beads to the stands and tying it in a bow. I think it will look cute!

Some of you know that I've taken a little over a month to go through some rooms in my home to clean out the clutter. Well, today is the day for the Lupus Foundation to pick it up! Here's the first shipment. Among the lot is a nice vintage Christmas tree. I thought it was perfect timing and someone could have a new tree this year. It's quite nice, but I'm downsizing, cleaning out clutter and creating an easy way of life for me and my husband. Last year, I bought a short Christmas tree that sits on a table. Hopefully, I can find a table the right size to set up in front of our living room window.

Back to the doll for a quick second. I'm not too pleased with the lace I have for the doll's apron, but I might make it work. I don't know yet. I'd like to make a pair of pants soon and I might pick up some lace that I like more when I make a trip to the fabric shop. I crocheted a winter cap and I have to make a flower for it yet too. Photos of that will come soon. I wanted to finish it first. My Sweetie liked my cap so much that he requested one for Christmas! That made me feel good!

It's time for me to close. I'm going to begin my day. I've spent more time here than I intended - how efficient is that?? :P

See you next week!

No Bunny!

2010-11-23T08:37:00.001-06:00

I know that I have mentioned a couple of times that I want to get a stuffed bunny going, but my heart wasn't into it when I started it this weekend. I folded my cut pattern pieces and put them in a large plastic envelop to store it until I want to begin the bunny again.

So if my heart wasn't into the bunny, what was my heart into? A doll. But not just any doll - a cloth doll. But not just any cloth doll, not like the Sophie doll I started a year ago. The doll project I started this week is an Art Cloth Doll! My goal is to see how elaborate I can make the details. I want fine detail - makeup, jewelry, painted nails and beautiful lace trimmings! Okay, this all a goal - something for me to work towards. I think I've found my niche.

I've wanted to make an art cloth doll for over a year. I used to rent the books from the library often and just drool over the work people have put into making these! They are so cool! I've started storing the littlest scraps of neat and unusual fabrics and beads so I could decorate nicely when the time came. The time is almost here. I'm in the process of constructing the doll body. I don't have a name for her yet, but I will share it when it solidifies. Here she is in pieces.

There is quite a bit of hand sewing. I am learning to enjoy it. More detail work!

To make the elbow, you draw a thread from seam to opposite seam tightly to squish the elbow and then wrap your thread around it a few times. The floral fabric shown here is her bodice.

Her fingers have been stuffed and defined by the stitching between them. I did one of her hands by hand sewing and the other by machine. The machine worked hand turned out better. The stitching was tighter which created a fuller finger form. :) These little fingers will be painted as a finishing touch. :D

I'm using Cloth Doll Artistry to learn how to make my own art doll. If this doll is enjoyable enough for me, I just may become a "doll maker" in my spare time! :) I've asked my ma to set up another sew day with me. She's working on kitchen curtains - country house style. Hopefully I will get to work on the doll a little more this week! If not, I will make time this weekend for sure!

Until next week...

Little Wallets

2010-11-16T10:33:00.001-06:00

All right! My mom accepted the sew day invite and we stitched to our hearts content! We made Little Wallets by Valori Wells Designs. It was so much fun to put these little cuties together.

The directions on the card said to trace the patterns to make templates, so that's what I did. I used card stock for the template material.

The card stock makes a nice firm edge to trace around. We needed 2 of each pattern template.

My mom chose a beautiful holiday fabric, while I chose a pretty rose patterned fabric.

Here is an image of the layout before we sew it all together. We were instructed to sew the pockets and then turn and press them to get a nice edge in the wallet.

This is the Little Wallet after everything is sewn together!

My mom had decided to use a decorative stitch so I wanted to also. Her stitch mimicked the pine tree bristle really well. I used the same principle in choosing my decorative stitch. I used a rounded leaf.

I'm not quite sure what I will sew up next, but I do have my bunny pattern cut out for a stuffed bunny. Time has been holding me back on that project. I'm still trying to go through stuff in the house to donate it. November 30th will come up quickly now, so I want to focus on getting that done. I'm hoping to make a good dent at the very least. :) Maybe I can make time for a small sewing project. :D

Until next week...

Crochet Ruffled Gingham

2010-11-09T09:58:00.001-06:00

Okay! It's been 1 week since I last posted. This planner thing is keeping me going strong. I must be a planner - 'cept when it comes to fitness and food!! LOL

I have been sewing, but not with woven or knitted fabrics. I pulled out my crocheted Afghan squares that took me two winters to complete (150 squares total). Last year I was hung up on the "whip stitch" that I was supposed to use to connect the squares, but this is what I finally decided to do, if you can make it out from the photograph. The blanket is not for a competition, so I did what would work best for me. :)

Here's the Afghan spread out over our sofa, so you can see that it's not too large. It's not completed as you can see - still need to sew the rows together and make the ruffle border. I think the directions said the finished size was 40" X 60". I'm sure the kitty will take it over unless I keep it in our bedroom. I loved the colors of the Afghan in the book, so that's why I went with this pallet, but I don't decorate in these colors. It's just going to be random throw that I love. It's a really soft yarn. :)

I haven't been feeling the best. This is day 3 with a sore throat, but it hasn't gone to my head or chest. It's just lingering. I do plan on drinking herbal tea several times today and hopefully a walk. I have energy for it. YAY! I've invited my ma over for a sew day - we have purchased fabric to make cute little card wallets. We picked up the pattern from Bear Patch Quilting in White Bear Lake, MN. I haven't heard back from her, but I invited her to come over on Friday. That means I'll have another project to post next week! I have a gorgeous rose patterned fabric that I'm so excited to use!

Okay, I better scoot off to get my walk in.

Until next week...

Update of the Previous Post

2010-11-03T12:33:00.000-05:00

★★★ Okay, I had to post this! I finished sewing the last two columns on. Now, ON TO THE BORDER!!! Laura suggested I take a shade of brown in. :) I am leaning towards that color myself.

★★★ Toodles.

Quilting the "Winning Hand"

2010-11-03T08:54:00.000-05:00

★★★ This past week I've been stitching away at my king size quilt. I am not even half-way done at this point-the point where I've left off. If you remember, I had to sew on these annoying little triangles before I could sew the lattice to the block. Here are the finished blocks with all of their yellow triangles. I wanted to lay out all the blocks so I could see my most crappy sewing and then hide it (by rearranging square layout) as best that I could.

Well after 100 triangles or so, it was time for the lattice strips. At this point, I'm beginning to see how it will come together nicely.

And this last photo is where I've left off. Argh! I have two more columns to sew together before I can begin my border. I'm starting to love it, love it, love it. It looks fancier than I intended.

I watched Sewing With Nancy today and I had an idea to pintuck my first border. To do this, I'll need a piece of border fabric twice as long as the original length. I haven't decided for sure. It's taken me 15 years to get around to this and I might just want to get it done--no more fussing! I have to buy a border fabric and I'm not sure what color to choose. I have a small pallet to choose from: yellow, white, green, and brown. I'm tired of green, but a light shade of brown might look nice. Our carpeting has brown flecks in it. :) I'll have to finish the step I am on before I can make decisions. Any suggestions?

That's all for now.
Until next week...★★★

2010-10-27T12:10:00.000-05:00

★★★ I'm still learning! In my most recent sewing class, we learned how to use a 3-way cording foot to make a coaster: "Mug Rugs". They were a lot of fun to make, although it did take time. I began making a video on my Olympus but 2 seconds in to the video, the camera ran out of memory. I do plan on trying it again on the Sony video camera. Here's a photo-shot of my foot in action. Basically, you keep seaming in a square, but always seaming the entire 4 inches. We used Aqua Magic for our stabilizer; it washes away with water. It's SO COOL!

After you've completed your square, there will be loops to cut. You can see some of my loops forming in the photo above. I combed my cut loops so I could measure and trim for a more tidy look. I didn't read how short to trim it, but I thought an inch looked good. :) Here it is finished.

Moving on: The most recent project I completed is this cute organizer for my planner. (Using a planner is an old system that worked well in my past, and I've started using one again.) I wanted to apply what I learned with the cording foot to this project.

The cording is the bottom trim (sewed with a decorative stitch) and and I added another decorative stitch just to see how it looked. :) I like seeing what my machine can do!

I added a gold cord between the two fabrics, but it's hard to see. I used a regular zigzag stitch to keep that in place. I have been watching Sewing With Nancy on Twin Cities Public Television 3 days a week. This week I learned how to use my zigzag stitch as an appliqué stitch too. I attached the elastic pencil holder using that method.

I need pockets - lots of 'em! This one is for my cards.

And of course I have to have a pocket for all of my craft coupons and other notes I might need to take. And that's it! It was nice to not follow a pattern so I could use my mind to come up with design ideas. I like practicing my decorative stitches.

And yet another project: I made some place mats over the weekend too. These aren't quilted or batted. They would work well for bed night stands, especially since I made only two. :P My corners are perfect. I used a tool that is designed to give me perfect corners every time. It's called Sewing Revolution Double Mitre Ruler. Made in the USA. I learned about this ruler in my sewing class too! Thank God for my sewing class!

I think my next project will be a bunny doll. I've already started cutting out the pattern pieces for it. I saw some 5 3/4" lace trim last night at Joanne's Crafts that I might be able to incorporate into the petticoat or something. Joanne's has a crazy sale going on with items being 50% off. I should pick up that lace pronto. OH! (Changing the subject here) I saw cute tiny sequins/lills pins while I was picking out my appliqué pins. I've never used them for sequins, but I bought them so I could try it. I like the detail work. I'm going to have to get a new book now! :P

All right, I've written a "blog" day in my planner each week to help me stay on top of it. So, now I can say "Until next week..." as my closing. So...

Toodles, until next week! ★★★

Cute Salmon Kitty

2010-10-22T06:59:00.000-05:00

Good Morning!

This morning I have sewing club in Champlain, MN. Our instruction is to bring 4 yards of 3 different color decorative yarns and our sewing machine. We're making coasters and I have absolutely no idea what the heck we're doing. It interests me somewhat, but it's not an overwhelming interest.

What does interest me is my latest project. My sweet Salmon Kitty! She is too cute.

Kitty front-view

Kitty rear-view

Kitty features... I decided on a light nose because my kitty Fiona has a light nose, although it's pink not white! :) The features are cut from synthetic woolen felt. I decided to glue the features on instead of a fancy hand stitch. Of course, the whiskers and eyelashes are embroidery thread, not felt.

This kitty was easy to whip up. The directions are just as easy as making chocolate milk! :) I used Simplicity 2613 for the pattern. I'm also going to make the elephant.

I'm going to scoot off. Sewing With Nancy plays on TPT (channel 17 if you're in the Twin Cities) at 7 am and I've kept in habit watching it on Mon, Wed and Fridays, as those are the only days she is on air. :)

Blessings!

A Holiday Table Runner and Poly-Pumpkins

2010-10-17T07:22:00.000-05:00

I have had an itch for a couple days to sit down and write again. When I arrived here, I was reminded that it's been 9 days again (Thanks Laura!!). I can't believe how time flies. One of my new hobbies lately is to sit at the computer for at least an hour at a pop and research sewing machines. (That's where the time goes!) I was starting to lose hope in the Kenmore I sent in to have fixed. I thought for sure I screwed it up bad because I have a tendency to be really hard on things. Nothin' delicate about me! I dig in full force! Well anyways, I got a call two days ago that my Kenmore was back in MN and I picked it up. The only thing wrong with it was the bobbin tension and timing. I thought for sure I messed up the gears somehow. HAHA! (That's why I've been reasearching new machines. Well that, and I want a new one "just because".) I started to sew up a table runner in beautiful blues last night and it runs like a dream again. I will mention though, that I messed with the bobbin before I started my project. I'm PICKY ABOUT MY TENSION! It may be my weakness as a seamstress. Hah.

I'll move on. I learned how to sew this table runner in my serger class.

The desk it is displayed on is my old sewing desk. It's around 70 years old and I love it!

This next photo is a result of a day's worth of work! I went through all of the fabric my new friend at work gave to me. I measured it and separated it into their piles. When I was finished folding and organizing, I counted the yardage: 70+ yards! Woohoo! What a blessing. The table runner that I'm working on is from that stash. She has excellent taste in fabrics! (A photo of the table runner will be posted as soon as I finish it.)

I don't know if any of you remember that I made some cupcakes out of polymer clay a long while back. I just couldn't stop making them after I got started. HAH! They are too cute. I wear them for earrings and people just love them. So do children, little girls especially!

So, my husband was impressed with these cute little miniatures and encouraged me (repeatedly for days!) to make pumpkins for the season. I finally set my stuff up and made them and they turned out adorable! I even made little vines for them. Cute, cute, cute! They will be used as earrings, pendants and charms. They were a lot of fun to put together. My last step is to polish and varnish them, then put on the findings. :)

My mom and I have planned to go to a craft show in Blaine, MN today. Oh, a handful of women from work are also going to meet us there. It will be so fun! Apparently, this is the only show of it's kind for crafters to make as much money as they do in the state. I'm not going to spend money though - I'm going for ideas and to compare my craftmanship! Shhh...:)

A 9 Day Update

2010-10-07T09:06:00.001-05:00

Doh! The last time I wrote was 9 days ago! I've said this before. I always have intentions of writing each week, but that isn't realistic for me at times.

As some of you already know, I have had some big ideas and some really big ideas as of late. I'm getting my cute little ducks lined up in a row because I like things to operate smoothly when it comes to implementing my ideas.

First off, I met a friend at work who is a quilter, Evie. It's torture for me to not completely blab about sewing while I'm on the clock! She's been quilting for around 20 years and had accumulated a little stash of fabrics that she has tried to get rid of - she's cleanin' house! Well, I gladly took that extra stash off her hands. :) I thought a basket of fresh veggies from our garden would be a nice "thank you". I stitched this dish towel up on the Kenmore 19233 and it rode "shotgun" on our journey to Evie's. :D She liked the basket of vegetables! She'd mentioned taking a photo of them, and I told her that I did!

So with some of the fabric stash, I worked on sewing up a cosmetic bag. I started with a pattern from Sew Pretty Homestyle and decided that I didn't care for the construction of the bag. I adjusted the pattern for cleaner construction. This is what I have come up with.

The day before my birthday, my "WizardGir1" labels arrived in the mail! I will now start adding labels to my finished items. :) I'm quite pleased with the way they turned out. You can definitely tell that the last letter is a number one and not the letter "L".

For my birthday, Evie gave me this beautiful Croton plant! I'd mentioned to her that my Croton wasn't doing so well and it's a bummer because the foliage is so gorgeous with color variegation.

My husband, Ed, bought me a Nikon for my birthday! I love the grape color. This is such a great gift for me because I always say "where's my camera!" when we are out and about and I see something snapshot worthy. This little baby fits right in my pocket! Woohoo! (I took the photo of the Croton plant with it.)

We had a frost a couple nights ago, so I figured that I should get out to the garden and harvest all that I could of our vegetables. These are quite the carrots! They didn't do this well last year. Never overwater your carrots - that causes those ugly cracks!

When I was harvesting the week before, I came across this little guy. It's going to be a Swallowtail butterfly, but I'm not sure which one. I have an easy laminated guide I use to determine caterpillar varieties. :) I'm not only a shutter-bug, I'm a "bug-bug" too! What a pretty caterpillar.

Well, there's a little introduction to my big ideas, and what I've been up to since I've last posted an entry. I still have some more duckies to line up before I can unveil anything further than this. Things take time. :) Until my next post...

Still Curving Around

2010-09-28T08:56:00.001-05:00

Hi everyone. Have you ever been so curious to know what's inside our tomato shaped pin cushions? One day recently, I was using a new cushion and as I was slipping my pin in I heard a squeak! That did it. Time to take it apart and reveal the truth.

(Of course I took it apart delicately; I am keeping the pattern!)

SAWDUST!!! Eeek! That's terrible. I'm sticking my pins in wood? It's not even cedar so it's going to rot. You know they didn't treat it because I didn't spend the money for treated shavings! Yeah, my pins will rust. For SHAME! *Gasp* One day I will stuff a cushion with emery sand.

It seems pretty easy to make a pin cushion. It's just a rectangle fabric cut with a cute "star" on top. The top and bottom were gathered as if making a yo-yo.

Moving on from the terrible tomato. I'm still working on my curves and bettering my mitten pattern and construction.

Although fleece is a dream to work with, I'm learning alot about it. First, I use a walking foot on my Kenmore. It's so much easier for the curves (besides the fact that I need to move my hands to raise the presser foot - I'm GETTING A KNEE LIFT machine!). There are different piles of fleece. I thought that I wanted a very thick pair of mittens, but my pattern didn't work well with thick fleece, hence the Jersey knit lining (see photo above and then 2 below! lol :}. To say the truth, I am having a hard time working with such thick fleece. I might have been better off with a thinner fleece and then using it for the liner also. My goal is industrial construction standard. I can do this; I have had classes! I looked at my ready-to-wear (RTW for short, for those of you who might not know the abbreviation - specifically my mom. :})...at any rate, back to - my RTW mittens are double lined with a thin pile fleece. My thick Polartec has got to go. At least go to another project. Yes. A hat and scarf! :)

I eliminated half of the cuff band to make a smoother transition on the serger. It's still a trial and my machine is working hard. Although it's performing beautiful results, I am the one who is working too hard to get the result. There is an easier way. I want to be able to embellish the band and this stuff is just too thick. They will make warm and snuggly mittens though. I love the buttery soft pile! The serger finished the edge quite nicely in the end.

In the next photo, I matched up seams. WOW! I did that! Out of 6 or 7 pairs, this is the only seam that's matched up. Sigh. I have three layers together. and even when I pin it, the Jersey knit layer shifts. There's another reason to use fleece for lining!

I've cut out three more pairs of mittens to sew up, but I don't think I am going to do that today. I might work on a hat or scarf instead.

My Sweetheart is working in Wisconsin again and he'll be home tonight. I wasn't ready for him to leave so soon. I miss him. I made him peanut butter cookies for his return. Nothing says love like FOOD! LOL

Well, I'm going to get this online. I woke up late (because I was up until midnight! and should start my day.)

PS. Here's a photo of my coaster that I worked on. I'd forgotten to post this and couldn't remember what I said I was going to post, but my ma let me know (thanks for reading my blog mom!). I need to practice home-dec construction. The bias edge need serious help!

And to my Auntie Shirley - I added you to my list so you will get this when I update the blog. :)

Stitching on the Curve

2010-09-24T06:54:00.001-05:00

Greetings!

Well, I can't remember what I said I was going to take a photo of to post, and I can't find it written in my blogs either, but I know there was SOMETHING. Maybe it will hit.

I've been working on stitching on a curve. I want to have a smooth transition around all curves that I sew. And, you might remember that I wanted to make some mittens out of the orange fleece that I had left over from making doggy boots. I finally got around to them two nights ago. They were so incredibly easy to whip up, I plan on making a ton. The pattern calls for wool too, so I thought I'd try that fabric with the pattern too.

Here are some other cute items I sewed up to practice the curves.

I'm also trying to "putz" around in the sewing room so my creative juices get flowing, but when there are times that I am too tired to think, I pull out the quilt I began 12 or so years ago. LOL Here's one of the squares.

The quilting I've done has been so boring. I thought the other day "No wonder why women get together to quilt, IT'S BORING so they need to chat and sew!" Hahaha... Well, I've planned one day to sew with my mom, and that's tomorrow, but I'm not sure if I'll be working on my quilt. A gal from work also mentioned that she quilts and wouldn't mind getting together to have a sew day. So, I think I have plenty of opportunity to get the quilt done sometime this year. LOL Well, that's my goal.

I have a sewing class to go to this morning at the new shop I found for sewing supplies. My ma is also going with me to that class. It's nice to be around other gals who sew too. I hope to make some good sewing friends. :) I suppose I should get read for class.

I have something on order that I will either come on Saturday or Monday. When that item gets here, I'll post again with photos!

Until then... happy stitching!

Stitch Practice & My First BURDA Issue

2010-09-21T07:58:00.003-05:00

It's been days and days since I've show up here, but I'll never give up the blogging! I need to take the time to work on projects and then share what I've been doing. With that being said, even though I've been working on projects, they are mostly to get stitching practice in. I made a coaster (and I forgot to take a photo of it!), some needle cases and I've just started a teddy bear that I patterned out yesterday.

I had to show this photo of the disaster sewing room. This is after I rearranged and added a table for my serger. I love sewing by the window now! It's so nice to look out the window on my little "thinking breaks". The kitty sits by the screen and watches the birds. I suppose those days are soon to be over before the snow falls. :)

I practiced some embroidery stitching on my Kenmore. Although, I like the idea of the stitching, I think the stitching might turn out better on a more stable piece of fabric.

Here are the finished needle cases. I decided to attach bows to them because I was having a hard time getting my pearl snaps on. I purchased a snap setter from Hancock's Fabrics yesterday after work. I used my 40% off coupon, which was AWESOME! Even though I consider it a "notion" they may have other ideas. Anyways, I'll have snaps on everything now. :) LOVE IT!

My very first issue EVER of Burda Style magazine arrived yesterday. I thoroughly eyeballed it and have several projects picked out to sew over time. It will be slightly challenging, I think, since it's a new way of instruction layout. Here's a run down...

★ This cap is adorable. I love hats. I have purchased two other hat patterns to make also. :)

★ A velvet bag with leather straps. Too cute for words. This is totally something I would drag around with me. :)

★ I like these trousers. I have another vintage pattern that is similar, but these are allow for more flow at the ankles. I might try this one before the vintage pattern. I was born in the wrong era!

★ Yup, the skirt too. I have experience with buttonhole making now, so this isn't so intimidating. I have the can-do attitude. I can sew anything I want, no matter the level!!

★ This top is hard to see in my photo, but when I work on it, I will take a better photo. I really like the Bermuda shorts too. The tip on the page suggests to wear these type of shorts turned up a tad to add the appearance of longer legs. I thought that was cool.

That's not all of the patterns I love from the issue, but I just wanted to share a few this morning. I'm pretty sore from weight lifting yesterday, so it was nice to take some "sitting time" at the computer. I'm getting something done and at the same time, RESTING! :)

I made note to take photos of the coaster and teddy to post. They are just basic patters to get my stitching practice in. I'm trying to open a creative avenue in the sewing field. There are soooo many possibilities. I want to make a physical log now.

Okay, I'm off to the sewing room! My Sweetie is out of town working for a few days, so that means I get to slough off of the house work and sew, sew, sew! :D

★ Happy Stitching!

Oh my gosh! I forgot to mention that I ordered a new sewing table. It's called Gidget. :) I ordered from allbrands.com. That's where I got my Consew iron also - all the way from Louisiana! Woohoo!

Green Skirt Modeled

2010-09-11T09:58:00.000-05:00

G'mornin'. I decided to wear this today after all. Here it is! I guess I like it alot better on me than on the dress form. :) It's cute. It fits nice. It matches the earrings and necklace that my mother-in-law made for me. Plus, you can't see my accident; it's in the back. LOL.

2010-09-10T20:24:00.000-05:00

Okay, this skirt is done. I know that it looks like every other photo that I've posted, but hopefully a little different since I ironed it now. LOL I had some issues getting this thing finished.

First, of all I cut the skirt fabric when I was trimming the seam allowance. Not only did I cut the fabric once, but TWICE. Sigh. I wasn't that devastated because it's broadcloth, but still... I used some woven interfacing to mend my cuts and I'm really hoping that no one will notice. I'll have to ask my Ma when I see her. What a bummer. Oh! But there is always the trim idea to fall back on, right!?

So after I get the cuts fixed, I poked my finger when I sewed the facing down to the zipper and got a little blood spot on the back of the skirt. Off to the sink I went to scrub it with soap! Eeesh! It came out like a charm, luckily. LOL

I'm sick of looking at this skirt! I think that's not such a good thing. Shouldn't I want to look at it continuously? I think I'm not into the fabric. But it's a nice basic garment for the 90° days.

Taking a photo of it one last time on the dress form is closure for me. :D Here it is.

I need a breather from sewing. I need to gather my items and organize my sewing room. I need to organize my thoughts. I am, however, going to make another notebook cover for my sewing room 5 subject notebook. That will be nice. :) Maybe I'll put some lace or ruffles on it. Whatever it is, it's gotta be something totally girly. Right!?

I heard back from the staff at Burda Style magazine. I will receive my first issue for the month of October. I'm really looking forward to it. I subscribed in time for the holiday issue! I wonder what the Christmas dresses will look like!

On a different note: I ordered my own "WizardGir1" labels for clothing and crafts today too. They are woven cotton made in Europe. How cool is that!? (Unless they shrink, then I'll be bummed. lol) I'm still searching for a different style that is a reasonable price, but I think I'm going to like what I ordered.

I labeled and described some sewing feet that I use on my {feet} tab, if anyone is interested in learning a tad more, if not anything new. :) When I'm finished here, I am going to add another link to Creative Sewing Solutions in the {feet} tab also. They have videos of the feet in action. *DROOL* I love my feetsies! :)

All right, I'm off to collect my thoughts. Cheers to all!

Not Quite the Green Skirt Junkie Lately

2010-09-07T22:10:00.003-05:00

Greetings. Well, my steam for the a-line skirt has been interrupted, I guess. I've had headaches in my eyes for a couple weeks, they've worsened over the weekend, and I learned today that I need new glasses. They'll be here in 10 days! Such cute frames! I'll have to post a photo of them. :) At any rate, this is as far as I got on my green summer skirt.

I sort of feel like I should be sewing up something for fall, not summer. But patterns for summer seem to be easier to me for some reason. I was planning on getting these basic patterns down and then using a heavier fabric for all of the seasons. Can it be done? Anyways... about the green skirt.

It fits great in the waist. I love it! I love it when I sit too. Looking at the skirt on the dress form looks terrible in the hips. This is definitely a skirt that I wear a longer shirt with. I have the fit at the waist down. Sandra Betzina says that a gal should have 2" of ease at the hips and when I measured the 16 grade and 18 grade - the 18 calculated better. I don't know though - maybe I need to finish it, wash it and wear it. Then I will know for sure.

Now about the trim. I was also planning on adding a trim, but I'm not into that idea any more. This next photo is what I was thinking about. It's from 1966. I was honoured to receive a box of sewing supplies when my step-grandmother passed away a couple years back. I just think it would be cool to use this trim, but maybe not for this skirt. I should mention here that my whole point of making this skirt is to go with some earrings that my mother-in-law made for me. They are native beading with porcupine needles (I'll post a photo of them too) so I was shooting for a Native American look.

I'd like to use some of the cute stitches on my Kenmore, (flowers and vines are part of Ojibwa and Cherokee art work) since that's a big part of the reason why I chose this machine, but broadcloth needs to be interfaced before embroidering. Right now, do I feel like interfacing a large portion of the skirt? No. What about a cute patch pocket? This might be more realistic. Maybe something like a cargo style pocket? Sigh. Maybe I just need time away from it. Maybe the next step is just to hem it and wear it. I can always come back to it later. Boring? Maybe, but it's an empty canvas. Oh no! What if all I make is canvases? Argh! Baaaah, that's impossible. I'm a crazy woman. I can come up with something to add character.

Gasp - what about those weird little rosettes? Ooo... see, now my juices are flowing.

Seriously though - I might just hem it up and start my dress with princess seams. (Eeek!)

Oh oh oh.... two more things. I was at Barnes and Noble today looking at sewing magazines and found one called "Sew Hip". It's popular in the UK. I have been thinking about getting a subscription to this magazine also. I just want to study the heck out of sewing. Okay, and I looked at Singers sewing book and was pretty impressed. It has gorgeous photos that made me drool. I might order it one day. It's only $6.50 on half.com right now for a used copy. I could totally live with that!

Sorry I'm all over the place tonight. I better wrap this up. Tomorrow is a new day - I solemnly swear that I, Tawnya Boe, will sew for at least 30 minutes. Heh. Life is good.

2010-09-04T10:28:00.000-05:00

Wow, do I have some neat news!

I wore my shirt to dinner last night and I got a compliment on it from our waitress. Geez, that made my night! She asked me where I got it. :D After two weeks of working on it, someone tells me that it's cute. Thanks Luanne! (Hopefully I got your spelling correct.) After we talked for a minute, I couldn't contain my excitement and gave her my card to visit this blog. She mentioned that she'd made a Halloween costume last year and I told her that I would love to see it. So cool!!

Well I'm not into switching gears right now since I have the supplies for my next project - Butterick skirt B4461. I chose the pattern during our 95° weather (it's 61° right now), but I'm still going to make it out of a lightweight cotton. If I want to wear it in the fall, I can wear some heavy tights. :) Sorry about the shadow on the photo. Hopefully you can get the idea from what I post.

Here's the fabric and trim options that I threw out. It'll be interesting to see what I come up with.

More cool stuff? I ordered a 3 month subscription to Burda Style magazine. It seems that's what many of the sewing blog gals read and sew, so I thought that I would give it a go. Each issue comes with 60 or so patterns, a size chart and a sewing course and step by step instructions. To say the truth, I am intimidated as heck, but I'm GOING FOR IT! It's sort of exciting at the same time. I seem to be driven to jump in and do things when I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing. It stimulates my brain. I like working my brain. :D

All right, I had some things that I wanted to do today: 1) measure for our hoop house plastic (greenhouse) so I can get that ordered and 2) paint the trim on our windows of the house. (We'll see about this one!) Tonight, I plan on cutting the pattern out of B4461.

Until I post again...Happy Saturday to you!

Photo: Wearing 3684

2010-09-03T13:30:00.000-05:00

Okay here I am in my new shirt! :) I felt like a dork earlier in my sewing room. I took 10 photos to get one that I liked. LOL. After all that, I still didn't smooth the back of the shirt out - the wrinkles aren't so prevalent at the bust dart, but they still exist a little "milder". What can I say - a beginning seamstress! I had a blast and will continue to sew to solidify my skills. Next is my cotton skirt using Butterick B4461. Today I'd like to sort through my lace, zippers and other trim before I cut the pattern out. We'll see how far I get. :D Hopefully I can get something up on the blog tomorrow!

Simplicity Blouse 3684 - Completed!

2010-09-02T17:34:00.002-05:00

Ooooh okay! I am DONE! It's taken me 12 days to complete Threads 3684. Of course I didn't work on it each day - but almost. If I wasn't working on it, I was reading the pattern before bed to fully understand the next step before I dove into it.

I went with shell buttons after all. I picked up some wooden ones, but after holding the shell up when the lace was on, I liked the look, so I went with it.

I wanted to video record my first button hole on the blouse. If you're interested, you can watch how my Kenmore 19233 works! {I'm going to try to embed it.} I mentioned on the video that it's the first button hole on a garment I've made, but I made a crazy lime green dress with hot pink polk-a-dots when I was a teenager. I'd forgotten. I just want to correct that right now! Hahah...(I even wore the dress! Eeek!)

Here is my finished new top! It's in the dryer right now, but I promise to post a photo of me wearing it. That seems to be what all the sewing gals do on their blogs. I feel like I accomplished something HUGE. I'm proud of myself to stick with it until the end. =D

Topic change: I have decided to make myself an emery sand pin cleaner thingy. Usually, the strawberries that are attached to the typical tomato shaped pin cushion are supposed to have emergy sand in them. I was taught that regular sand or glass doesn't do the job like emery sand. I met the inventor of the Spiral Eye Needle at the Minnesota State Fair on Tuesday and she sold me a little pouch of it for $2! Her invention is amazing for those who have a hard time seeing the eye of the needle to thread it. CHECK IT OUT! She's working on manufacturing a needle that is large enough to accommodate a 4 ply yarn with ease with a sharp point for quilters and such. She's just so helpful to us! My mom purchased a couple of her needles and I'll probably get some too one day!

More on the state fair. I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I want to have a chicken coup one day. The next photo is a chicken, obviously. But LOOK AT HER! She's panting! LOL!!! It was hot in the poultry and sheep building. I like these little blonde chickies. I might want some in my coup.

Back to sewing: I'm not sure what's coming next. I know that I want to make the A-line skirt in a green cotton, and now I want to make the emery sand thingy but I haven't decided what will be next. Of course you'll be the first to know! :)

Until then... may your creativity explode and inspire you! :)

Simplicity Blouse 3684 - Almost DONE!

2010-08-30T20:53:00.000-05:00

Hello, hello to my favorite readers!

Is that a cheesy greeting? Umm, well all of the people who read my hobby blog are my favorite. ♥ ♥ ♥ ...now I got that out of the way.

Okay, so first I want to mention that the humongous squash we found in the garden was woody with a pumpkin like skin. Ick. We didn't even let our dogs gnaw on it. Haha... It was fun to find in the garden though [Edward and I discussed our hoop house tonight - that's the next big adventure for the Boe's. :)]

Can I get on to sewing now, paaaalease?! 12 Photos enclosed.

It looks like I'm going to have a new top for the new school year. I worked on my blouse all day today. Well, among a few other things. I had a hard time getting up enough nerve to get busy on the collar. This next photo is of my very first attempt at constructing a shirt collar in school. DOH!

Dear God in HEAVEN ABOVE! I am so sorry that you had to see that! Hahaha... But can you understand why I had an avoidance issue? LOL. I decided that I have been doing an okay job so far and I shoved my way passed the emotions. The first step was to pin the collar before basting and sewing it on.

After I sewed, I had to take a look at my work. CRAP! What the heck is that? At this point, I was too tired to perfect anything. I thought I would work all those little hang-ups with the iron. I learned that the iron can do wonders for a seamstress while I was in school. That's why I ordered a nice Consew iron. :)

I pressed and pressed and pulled and ironed. This next photo is the outcome. You can still tell there was a glitch in my skill, but not too ugly of a job.

My gosh! Doesn't this collar look TEN TIMES better than my school-made Oxford? WOWZA!

And up-close??? I would totally wear this in public. LOL.

Here's the collar in the back. No pulling at the seams. This fabric is excellent for beginners to work with! BUY SOME if you're a babe like I am! LOL.

This next photo is showing my gathering technique to ease the sleeve caps into the shoulder seam. I had fun doing this.

After the sleeves were eased, I had to sew on the sleeve bands. I remembered a technique I learned in school to match up seams using the pin in a clever way. (I'll put photos up of it, if anyone is interested - just let me know. You all might already know the technique.) The seams matched up nicely! Woofta. Phew. Sigh. :D Both sleeves are together, it's hard to differentiate them in this photo - sorry about that. (After the hoop house is up, I'm going to request a large window for better lighting! LOL)

The following photo is the completed shirt back with collar and pleated sleeves. It sure looks and fits better than when it had these darts.

The shirt front.

See the pretty pleates on the sleeves? The directions didn't say which way the pleates should go, so I hope there isn't a shirt-making rule that I should have followed. I might be embarrassed. ...at least I'm learning and pushing through my self-doubt. :D

I tried the shirt on and my shoulders slope a little more than what the dressform does. The shoulders could have been 1/2" to 1" shorter. Live and learn. I'll make a note of it on my pattern directions.

What do I have left on this "old fashioned" looking blouse? (My Sweetie said it reminded of him of old fashioned fabric. :) ...I'm not sure if I have feelings about that or not. lol) I have four things to do yet.

1. Hem the blouse
2. Add buttons
3. Finish the raw edges in the sleeves
4. Add the lace trim to the sleeves

I'm sure I'll be able to work more on this top on Wednesday. I have that day off of work and all that I have planned is to lift weights! :-D (I can't wait. I'm craving it!) Thanks for letting me share this with you! ...Until Wednesday - Happy Days TO YOU!

3684 Shirt Band, HOLY SQUASH!

2010-08-29T21:02:00.002-05:00

Time to chat!

WARNING: This entry is a lot of ramble. Feel free to SKIM! :)

Yesterday, despite my physical state (super tired), I worked on getting my shirt band on. To say the truth, I got a tinge of boredom after I learned that I had to move the darts. First, I had no clue what I was doing ... (geez, I forgot to take a photo of the new darts - I'll get to that for next time). Then, I put the new darts in TWICE, and decided that the entire shirt is going to be too big and that's that. A pang of discouragement came onto me and I sulked a bit. I didn't get back at it until after I went to Hancock's and got some new tools. :D Tools always make me happy!

What I learned about darts is this: they begin at a point of fullness on the body and end just at the beginning of the next fullness point on the body. :) I'm not sure if mine look funny, but if they do - I'm sure someone will tell me. Like I mentioned, I'll get the photo up for you to see.

After the darts, the next step was to construct the shirt band. The directions seemed pretty clear, but I kept reading them over and over and over again. It was the stupidest thing. Yes, "stupidest" is a word. Heh. I decided to just get the needle to it to find out if I understood the directions correctly or not. From the look of my next photo, I DID understand them just fine. :)

My edge-stitching looks very nice, although not perfect, of course. I wonder if anyone will be able to tell if it was "home made". I'll soon learn. (I didn't take an up close photo of the stitching here either. My brain isn't quite working. I'll get that later too.)

The sides of the yoke are wrinkling. That's MORE fabric that I take up in a dart, but I'm not going to. I'm going to make note of it on my pattern directions though, in case I decide to make another one of these shirts.

Just in case any readers are interested in buying a new machine, I want to mention that my Kenmore 19233 has a gage on the left side of the needle plate for times like now (sewing on the shirt band). I LOVE IT! I wanted to start sewing at a specific edge, which is uncomfortable usually, but it was a tad easier knowing that I had a guide to follow. Go KENMORE! Although, I don't know if this is a standard feature for machines today or not.

My next step on the shirt will be to apply the collar to the shirt. Sigh. My fingers are crossed.

Done with shirt talk and onto a tip I learned from my Threads magazine. I painted my needles with nail polish to keep them easier to grab. I'm a mess when I switch needles. I am in a hurry and usually set two down on the table and then I get all screwed up. LOL Hopefully this will help me stay organized.

I bought this basting fabric glue at Hancock's too. I glued some fabric together, but I haven't sewn with it yet - so I don't know whether my needle is going to get sticky or have a tough time getting through the fabric or not. Putting it on seemed fine - maybe I put too much on. The directions didn't say whether I let it dry or not, either.

Part of my motivation to get my shirt band on, and skip the side dart fitting, was that I have new patterns that I want to make. Hancock's sale was $0.99 for all Butterick patterns. YAY! I got 5 of them. Pattern 1: This T-shirt pack - Shirt fitted, semi fitted, and fitted. I need a basic T.

Pattern 2: An easy A-line skirt. This is perfect for cottons. I'm looking forward to a basic pattern that I can use with fun prints for summer, spring and fall. :)

Pattern 3: I liked this next pattern for the basic sleeveless top. I'm huge on sleeveless, but I've been wearing the ribbed knit tops that have a sporty look. That's okay for Reebok shorts, but I'm going to be wearing more skirts now, so I need a good style match.

Pattern 4: This is TOO CUTE! I like view B - the brown shirt on your left, in the front. I saw a substitute teacher wearing one at work this summer. I fell in love with the light cotton fabric. I was quite happy when I saw the pattern in the book. I actually went LOOKING FOR IT. :) Yeah, $0.99!!! It's designed for broadcloth - so that'll be a quite inexpensive top for sure.

Pattern 5: I love the hat in this pattern. It's sort of hard to see in this photo, but the rim in the front is larger. I also thought the small apron for my sewing room would be nice too. I don't like hanging things from my neck, but I love using pockets for stuff. The long apron on YOUR left is for gardening, I may or may not make this one.

You know, I was thinking. What is it about sewing my own clothes? I mean, WHY do I want to do this so badly? Well, I suppose it's for the fit, ultimately. I know if I keep at sewing, I'll eventually get my fitting right from working with different patterns. But it's also more than that - I can't stand the fabric designs on so many of the clothes in the stores. I want more selection and better quality fabric. I guess I want to "express" myself too. I'm not going to get all freaky or do anything bizarre. I like lacy and more feminine looks. I like trimming and hearts, pleats and gathers. Who cares if I look like some weirdo from Pretty Pretty Princess. LOL ... okay, I'm not THAT bad. Do you know what I mean though? I want nice and quality. I want my garments to wash up nicely. I'd rather wear my crappiest (yes "crappiest" is a word) craftsmanship around until I get better, before I spend any more money on someone else's crap. LOL

Anyways... moving on.

Last photo, this has nothing to do with sewing. Check out this squash! I couldn't believe my eyes. It was growing along side the garden fence post so we both missed it when we'd harvested previously. I put some scissors up next to it to show the size. CRAZY! I wonder if it'll be any good. We'll probably have to make some more SQUASH SOUP! Mmm....

All right, I guess I had a lot to say tonight. That's it for now. Until next time -- HAPPY SEWING! Or HAPPY ANYTHING that you do! :)

Pin Cushion Pattern Weight

2010-08-26T16:59:00.000-05:00

I found this tutorial for a pin cushion jar online and decided that I wanted to make one of my pattern weights into one of them. It's a small project. Short and sweet. :) Oh yeah, and NO SEWING. The hot glue gun works the magic to bind it all together.

I'm going to see if I have enough energy to sew new darts into my blouse tonight. If I don't, I will try to get to it this weekend. Reading my Threads magazine that came today might be all the energy that I have. Nevertheless, I will post the "dart-work" immediately after! :)

Simplicity Blouse 3684: 1st Problem to Solve

2010-08-23T21:17:00.000-05:00

Good evening. I'm pushing forward with this blouse. I was able to run to two stores this morning in order to find my lace for the project. Both Hancock's and Joann's didn't carry the heart stuff I was looking for, but they did have a lace that would work just fine. Before I went to the store, I had something with scallops in mind if I couldn't find hearts. Well, the scallops available didn't go at all, but they were the frilly girly lace look that I wanted - just the wrong size and color. The lace that I did bring home is going to dress the blouse down, but I'm going to go with it.

Here, I started to hand baste the lace to the SHIRT FRONT (just capitalizing the pattern pieces). After I saw this photo, I decided that I actually do like how the lace reflects the points of the flower in the crinkle voile. The circle in each point on the lace mimics the round flowers in the fashion fabric also. So it works well enough for me.

In the next photo, I finished with hand basting the lace trim to the YOKE. My machine has a basting option, but it's really sloppy. Either that, or I haven't figured out how to use it yet. Haha.. I get perfection with hand basting anyways. Since I am a beginner, I'd like to get some of the handwork under my belt. Sure it takes longer, but I'm "Thirtysomething", I have time. :D

Simplicity Threads gave the direction to clip along the curve of the SHIRT FRONT before attaching the lace, so that's what I did. (Have I ever mentioned that I'm a chronic nail biter??? Yup, since I was a wee one. I can't remember NOT biting my nails. I try to stop myself by painting them. I apologize for not having model fingers or artificial nails for visual appeal. Haha...)

The YOKE is pinned to the SHIRT FRONT and now it's time to sew them together.

I picked up my walking foot from my ma's today on the way home. I love this foot. I love sewing regular ANYTHING with this foot. I love the little clicking noise it makes and the ease in sewing it brings. :) If you don't have one, buy one tomorrow! (I got mine for $30 at Hancock', but they can get mucho! expensive. I'm so happy my old one fits the new Kenmore.) I wanted to mention here that I'm using a Microtex Sharp Needle 70/10 with this Crinkle Voile. I don't know if the thread is poly or cotton or mixed - the sticker fell off. The color is "Baguette" though. :P

The trim is sewn on!

I finished the seam allowance with a three thread wide on the serger. I didn't want little threads tickling my chest. Knowing me, I'd freak out like I had a bug down my shirt and I'd have my nose down my blouse! LOL

I also finished the shoulder seams with the overlock, but I needed to draw a seam line for myself, since I'm still new at using the serger.

In this photo, the majority of the blouse is constructed and I get a better feel for the fit. Well BOO! Bad fit! Big problem. It's my first issue with this blouse - EVEN THOUGH I MEASURED AND MEASURED AND MEASURED. Well, I should know that I was going to have this issue. It's the same issue that I have with just about every shirt pattern and one piece dress I make. The DARN waist sits too low. DID I MENTION THAT I EVEN MEASURED THIS TIME?! LOL One option that came to mind to fix this issue it to move the darts up in the back. The bulk of the fabric is pulled out right where I need more room - MY HIPPERS! I'll try ripping out the darts and replacing them. I'll post that journey, of course.

Well, I better get to bed soon. Okay, okay... it's time for frozen yogurt and candy sprinkles, I CONFESS! Until next time... Happy Clever Sewing!

Beginning Simplicity Threads 3684

2010-08-22T19:55:00.000-05:00

Hello All!
I'm going to try something a little different tonight. I usually try to keep my paragraphs to a minimum and show some photos. However, tonight I am going to maybe talk a little more than usual and use MORE photos. I LOVE blogs with photos, but I never know which shots people would be interested in seeing. I'm going to practice at sharing more - bear with me please! :)

All right, this is a continuation of my previous post. I wasn't certain which project I would start. Well, I decided on the Simplicity Threads blouse - 3684. I decided that I wanted to use a portion of the "Embroidered Crinkle Voile" blouse fabric as the skirt pleat in pattern Simplicity Threads 2758. I didn't know how much I would have left and I wanted to see if my plan would work. So far, I think I have enough fabric left to do that - if I don't mess up on the blouse and need to use more fabric. Eeeek!

My first battle of this blouse construction was to choose a size to make. It seems that I have weird measurement - 34, 33, 42. DOH! So I'm more of a pear or triangle than I am hourglass shape, like I thought. I think during my weight loss, there was a point where I was more of an hourglass. The pattern envelope said that my bust measurement is a size 14, waist 20, and hips size 18. The pattern doesn't go up to 18 or 20 and that got me worried. I measured the largest pattern that came in the envelope - size 16. I know that apparel sewers are encouraged to choose their blouse pattern sizes by the chest/bust measurement, but when I measured the size 16, everything seemed to match up to my measurements okay. I even excluded the seam allowance on the measure. :D

This particular pattern came with a little cube of information on measuring that I cut out to put in my 3-ring sewing binder.

So, I chose a size 16 blouse and went hard at it. I got my pattern adjusting tools out and worked my magic. If I mess up, I want to be able to trace the pattern again to fix my mistake.

After my pattern was traced and adjusted - which was only an add of 1/2" on the hip/hem of the blouse, I cut it all out . (I want to be able to wear baggier jeans with this blouse too - my belly expands when I sit. My Reader's Digest New Complete Guide to Sewing book from school says that I should have at least 2" of wearing ease on the hip. The waist is 3/4" to 1" and the bust is 3".)

After I cut out my fashion fabric I marked the darts and pleats with the water soluble fabric marker. I tested this many times on my fabric too - it's so pretty and there isn't a guarantee that I will be able to purchase more if I ruin what I have.

The directions said to stay-stitch the curves of the neck and yokes.

Here is my fabric loosely pinned on my dress form. It seems to look fine and dandy. I'm not too worried at this point. I know that 5/8" seam allowances will take up some of that bulk you see.

My darts seem to be in the right spot too. 10" from shoulder to bust point. :) The dart should stop 1" away from the bust point, but this blouse has a different design from the Oxford fitted blouse. Again, no worries yet.

Okay, on to the trim! I don't HAVE it yet, but I used a piece that I did have that is the correct size for the project. The HEARTS are so CUTE! I am planning on purchasing a nude color of hearts lace if I am able to, otherwise, I might get white and dye it. In these photos the white doesn't look terrible, but it's not quite the look I am shooting for. I might stop up at the fabric store tomorrow. ...hope I'm home within 1 hour. I was at SR Harris for FOUR HOURS! Argh!

This last photo is showing (trying to show) my new Consew iron system. I'm madly in love. It's SO heavy and I don't EVER have to "press" my garments. I just let the weight of the iron do the work - very slick. I'm excited to press each seam after I've sewn it now. That was a "hit or miss" task for me with my old iron. BOO! Bad sewing behaviors! Hahaha...

Before I close tonight, I gotta just mention my fear about this blouse. Well, TWO fears, actually. Collar. And sleeve bands. Sigh. OH! OH! And, buttons. So THREE fears. I'm already dreading this process, but I want the blouse and I want to learn something new - build confidence and such. I will press forward! No pun intended. :P ...I will lead my one woman army into victory.

I will post my next few steps after I've had time to complete them. :) Until then... Happy Sewing!

PS. I caught 10 fish today and kept two for dinner - Pumpkin Seed and Largemouth Bass. :D YAY!

A Successful Trip To SR Harris!

2010-08-20T10:28:00.000-05:00

Ohhhh I'm EXCITED! I took a trip to SR Harris, Fabric Outlet yesterday!

Sorry about the bad photo - it was my cell phone photo. (“Greetings”, by the way. :D )

I have many new ideas and new fabrics to share. I can't wait to implement these ideas. First, I have to mention that when patterns go on Sale at Hancock's, they can be as low as $0.99, so I stock up. I have 4 patterns that I have wanted to try (and have had them at least 1 year) but have been chicken. Two dresses, two blouses and a skirt. The dresses are intimidating. One of them has princess seams. Eeek!

Okay, discussion of the patterns! I like the bottom right skirt with the pleat. CUTE! The pockets are so adorable too. For the most part, I think it looks like a pretty basic skirt to make, but the pleat and clever pockets add style.

I like the pink dress on the far right. I will be able to wear this for all seasons. During the winter, I will be able to wear a sweater with it to stay warmer.

Okay, on this pattern, I like TWO of the blouses, and I'll make them both, but I am going to start with the top left. I really like the scoop in the front. I don't know if anyone will be able to tell by looking at the image, but the scoop is lined with lace and so are the sleeve cuffs. :D So pretty and feminine.

This next pattern is the pattern that intimidates me. I love the dress on the top left. Well the yellow dress that the model is wearing is essentially the same dress. I actually bought some ribbon choices to wear as a belt also. I decided that it's ridiculous to be scared to jump in and sew this up. If I don't jump in, I won't get any better than I am now. It's all a learning experience. This dress calls for 2 1/4 yards of fabric. I got 2 1/2 yards. I think it totalled $10, so big deal if it's a flop. It's the learning experience that I'm after.

When I was at the fabric outlet, I found the perfect fabric for these garments that I dare to sew up. This photo is the dress fabric. The third fabric from the left (burgundy-rust color) is for the pleated skirt. I'm going to make a green one first. I don't have a photo of that fabric yet.

This next photo is of the fabrics I chose for shirts. I selected two knits for tank-tops that I plan to knock-off of ready-to-wear tanks that own. :) The tan embroidered crinkled voile is what I plan to use for the blouse with short sleeves. I think I'm going to make this first.

Well, that's it for now. Projects are in mind and fabric is supplied. I have buttons and zippers to pick up and that's all part of the fun. I can't wait. Hopefully I can get this blouse started this weekend. At the very least, get the pattern ironed and cut out. Until my next post, as all the sewing blogger's type "Happy Sewing".

Consew Is Here!

2010-08-16T07:07:00.001-05:00

Yay, the iron showed up!
I have it all set up but I need to take photos.

...isn't it beautiful????? :D

Consew CES-300 Gravity Feed Steam Iron

2010-08-09T07:00:00.003-05:00

This will be a quick post as I have to jump into the shower in 2 seconds. :)

I'm very excited! I ordered a Consew industrial iron (CES-300) this weekend. It was on sale at $100 off. I HAD to get it. I've wanted one for three years. It has a hand guard for prolonged periods of steaming and weighs 4.6 pounds. COOL! I don't know how many days it will take to get here, but it's coming UPS and I assume 7-10 business days. It's shipping out of Baton Rouge, LA. :) I was spoiled at school – we had industrial irons and machines to work on. One day I'll get the machine (they have KNEE LIFTS! ..Oooo so dreamy!) :) So I've been either too busy to write or too tired. I've mentioned on other blogs that I have 14 days left after today of this busy schedule. I hope everyone is doing well and I'll be back strong in 15 days. :D Woo hoo!!!

Sewing Up A Storm!

2010-08-01T17:59:00.007-05:00

Back to the tote! I worked a little more on my REVERSE APPLIQUÉ TOTE project today. I'm not going to lie, this type of hand sewing IS NOT for me. As you can see from the photo below, you clip your fabric and turn it under then hand sew the edge down with a hem stitch. That got old for me. I hand sewed the petals and the center of the flower but when it came the stem and leaves, I moved to my sewing machine desk. IT'S QUICKER! Hello! Also, the machine stitching will handle washing better in the machine. I'll learn what sort of job I did when I was the tote for the first time.

Here's the finished product! It's a little different from my drawing, but it's very close. I should have clipped the stem a little more on the curve to get a smoother edge, but in the end, I think it looks artsy. Even the leaves aren't as smooth as the petals. If I ever to this project again, I will remember the technicalities. :)

I still need to put the handles on the tote. I picked up some "webbing" in the upholstery section at Mill End Textiles. This was priced .65 cents per yard. I've never purchased webbing before. If I remember right, I learned to use the webbing for handles at sewing.about.com. I think I'd like to put a facing along the inside edge to give the tote a finished look.

While I was shopping at the fabric store, I made sure that I checked out the water soluble fabric markers. I read about them all of the time in my Threads subscription. Check this out! You just use it like a regular marker (Kwik Sew 3054 is the pattern I purchased. I'm getting to that!)

When you're done with the marking, you just mist some water on it and it INSTANTLY dissolves. THIS IS SO COOL! I tested it out on some mauve broadcloth too - works like a charm. :)

There are several brands (okay, there was 3 at the store I was at) to choose from, including Clover, which is a brand in the quilting supply section. The Clover marker ran $5. I forget the other brand for $4.19, but I grabbed the cheapest at $3.89. Photo of the package below. I have a few other Collins products in my sewing supplies and I've never been disappointed, so I went it. I was a little nervous to put any marker on my projects, to be honest. But it turned out as SUPER COOL. Glad I got it.

So Kwik Sew 3054! I picked out a cute basic skirt/tank-top pattern. The designer (Kersten Martensson) is just awesome. (Same designer for the bras that I like to make.) She designed this skirt and top pattern for fabrics of georgette, silk, silk-like fabrics, charmeuse, crepe or challis. I picked out some baby blue linen, because I didn't want to make a lining for the skirt. I guess I'm still looking for a few basic patterns so I can reuse them with different fabrics for the seasons. I really like Kwik Sew because all the patterns are tested. :) How Cool is THAT!? I haven't had to make any adjustments to a pattern yet. My tastes are pretty basic too.

My finished skirt on the dress form.

And instead of ironing on a tag to the back of the skirt, I sewed a button on the front. I doubt that I would ever tuck a blouse in, but I won't lock myself into that idea just in case I come across a top that looks cute tucked in.

This gal made the top. Check it out. I love her fabric! I need more experience sewing satin fabrics. I used the wrong needle and I had threads running all over th place. I basically ruined the fabric. :( O'well. Now I have learned!

Veggies & Tote!

2010-07-27T08:03:00.000-05:00

My eyes hurt – I must be at the computer too long. But I can't help it today. I have veggies to share! :) This photo is of our first “harvest”.

We've been eating lettuce and random squash but nothing has grown this plentiful – a plate full. I'm thinking about finding a squash soup recipe because one of our squash is GIGANTIC.

Two Saturdays ago, we sprayed Ferti.lome on our plants because of the invasive caterpillars. I thought I got all of the squash that were eatable size, but I guess I missed one and it just kept on growing. Wow! I wouldn't have been able to put this garden off alone. I was growing discouraged to the point of having no energy to take care of the issues.

I guess if a person wants to have a vegetable garden, they gotta spray for bugs. I just wash the veggies off with soap and lukewarm water to get any remaining chemicals off, if any. It's rained since we sprayed, but I wanted to be safe. :)

On the sewing front: I've been working on another creative project. A tote! This tote is nothing like my other totes though. I'm using reverse appliqué for the design. This is where I got the idea.

Here's my design.

I'll take photos of my fabric choices and how far I've come on the project later. I tried getting my colors true to form, but GIMP wasn't helping me today – or I wasn't choosing the right options. :P More to come later!!!

Tawnya Goes Bug Bonkers (and sews a little more)

2010-07-18T11:45:00.000-05:00

Aaaaaaargh! I HATE bugs! Just look at our garden! Sigh. When I see all of those bites taken from the leaves of our food plants, I don't even want to eat food from plants that are NEXT to these in the garden. I gave up on the broccoli and cabbage a few days ago, but my sweetheart decided to “beat the bugs” and told me to go pick up some poison. I picked up some Bug B Gone by Ortho, but we wanted to try this new sprayer tool out that he picked up so we're going back today to see if we can find a liquid mix. In this photo, our broccoli plants are being destroyed. Our cabbage plants are far behind!

Here is a photo of one of the nasty villains too: Cabbage White butterfly. Yes, it's in the category of a butterfly but it looks like a moth to me. I'm not helping it out of the net. (Evil grin)

Meanwhile, I'm very pleased with how the summer squash is growing. I'm sick of the ants that crawl all over, but maybe we can dispose of them with the poison we put on the plants.

I wanted to share how large my marigolds have grown also. They are as big as our lettuce! Crazy! I didn't know that Marigolds grew so large. The package of seeds said they are miniature, and I "assumed" that meant the whole plant. LOL.

I have been very busy working more but I still keep trying to stay sane with my hobbies. When I had an itch to sew and began my new rose bra, I didn't know it would snowball. I made some ladies boxer shorts to match! Again, the pattern I used was Kwik Sew 2489. Shorts are SEW EASY! Everyone should make a pair. I plan on making flannel boxers too! Cute cute cute. They'll keep my bum super warm on cold nights. :P (Okay, I didn't need to make that stupid remark, but I'm "free associating" here. Just going with what's on my mind.)

I ordered some more supplies from Sew Sassy Fabrics to complete the bra. I paid $8.99 for ground shipping. I think the location it's coming from is Alabama, but I'll have to double check that. I'm in Minnesota (in case you're new to my blog). I'd much rather spend my $8.99 to the supplier! (just in case someone who works there reads this) but I am just as happy to pay the fee because I don't have a local supplier. WHAT!? Yeah, I live in the Twin Cities and NO BRA MAKING SUPPLIERS! Sigh. *Lightbulb* "Maybe I should open a bra/corset making supply store!" (It'll never happen; I just have great ideas.)

I impressed myself with matching my crotch seams perfectly! This practice is paying off. I can see my skills strengthening. :) It's fun!

In order to distinguish front from back, I used an iron-on tag. This is a brilliant idea. They wash well and don't scratch the skin.

Well, I hope you've enjoyed this crazy episode of "Tawnya Goes Bonkers (and sews a little more)". :) Until next time...

Sewing Up a Bra!

2010-07-16T06:47:00.004-05:00

Well, I had to start a new project. I put the Flower Guy in the storage closet. I minimized him so much on the new drawing that I couldn't get the detail to his face in, and it just didn't look the same. But I've had an itch to sew for quite some time, so I started a new project: a brassiere.

My fabric is a pretty rose pattern on lightweight cotton. I don't know what I was really looking for to begin with, but then I saw the roses on the light blue background and decided to go with it! My pattern is Kwik Sew 2489. Kwik Sew is a pattern company located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Kerstin Martensson is the designer. Kerstin also has a book out on making lingerie that I am interested in. A copy awaits on my half.com wish list. :)

I was intimidated the first time I attempted making a bra. It just sounds intimidating, doesn't it? Well I learned there is almost nothing to making a bra! And this time around, I'm going to apply some cute lace to it—if I have it. LOL. It's quite a lot cheaper to make your own bra then to buy a cheapy at Target. I use Sew Sassy Fabrics for supplies. The link is also on the side bar for my own easy access. :) They ship FAST! I encourage everyone to choose a pattern that they like and GO FOR IT!

Now this is a photo to show how much I did yesterday with the rest of the supplies to finish it. I plan on finishing it on Saturday (along with beginning my new weight training program!) and then hopping online to display a photo (not modeling it though, sorry! LOL).

I'm pretty satisfied with my stitching, although no one is going to see it, I still want to have nice quality. :) The topstitching on the cups are my favorite. I had the idea to sew the stitching in another color after I did it, so that will be the next bra! Wish me luck on finding the perfect lace for this rose pattern!

Flower Guy is Finished!

2010-07-07T21:59:00.002-05:00

I finished my Flower Guy tonight. I think he turned out pretty cute!

I had the idea to illustrate the Flower Guy doing a few different things and putting a story to it, but not right now. Maybe I'll try something in a different medium – who knows with me! To say the truth, I really want to work on my afghan and it's been over 80° outside! Argh! Haha... Of course I'll post the next thing I work on. :)

Peeping on Summer Squash

2010-06-30T18:52:00.005-05:00

Aaah! I am so excited! I am finally able to see the beginning of our summer squash. I couldn't believe my eyes. The flowers kept falling off and I was getting so discouraged. I did some research online and learned that squash plants have male and female flowers. Male flowers do not produce fruit (go figure!) and fall off. In this photo, you might be able to see the skinny stems with nothing at the top – the flowers had already fallen off. It looks like I have two squash growing side by side. YUM!

I read to harvest when the fruit is 3 to 4 inches long for the best flavors, so that's what I plan on doing.

The last photo is the full garden. I just wanted you to be able to see the difference of now and when I just planted it. It sure is rewarding to see the difference in growth! :) Yes!

Tomato Hornworm & the Flower Guy

2010-06-29T07:29:00.004-05:00

Hello hello!

I have been meaning to write on this blog for about a week and just haven't made myself until this morning. Yes, today is THE DAY!

Garden talk: Our garden keeps growing and, unfortunately, so do the bugs in it! Every day I pick off these little green caterpillars that are munching away at my leaves. It's a lot of work, and a lot more work than I'd hoped for. Well yesterday I found this caterpillar munching away on a cabbage leaf.

I think it's a Tomato Hornworm Caterpillar. I haven't looked at my tomato plants closely since I planted them because I've been so worried about the cabbage getting infested. Today I will have to inspect the tomato plants thoroughly. One of my cabbage plants was so infested with caterpillars that I tore the entire plant out and threw it in the trash. I've decided to pick up some bt to spray. I'll keep picking until this weekend, and then I'll purchase some bt. I've read that people spray every 2 to 4 weeks.

Where do these little larva come from? Moths. They can lay 100 eggs at a time and if a person sees two moths flying around their leaves in the garden at night, that is 200 eggs they are laying!

Other news: I suppose this is “Art News”. I'm drawing a Flower Guy. I haven't finished yet, but this guy is also into flowers and gardening.

I thought I might try to illustrate the Flower Guy working in his garden and possibly riding his bike with a basket full of flowers and put a story to it. I haven't decided yet. I guess working with kids motivates me to a point. I also have great ideas and high drive, but the problem lies with having TOO many ideas to implement in a timely manner. :P I get around to some things, and not to others. Such is life.

Well, I plan to post the Flower Guy again when he's completed. :)

Note: The medium used to render the drawing is Prismacolor colored pencil.

Garden is Up & Growing!

2010-06-06T16:53:00.005-05:00

Okay, I'm back with an update on the garden front. If you remember, I hate bugs—especially ants—so I tried to get rid of them with the Borax/granulated sugar mix. Well, that was all wrong! I needed to use POWDERED sugar. I don't know if I killed any ants or not, but I saw several crawling around yet. It wasn't quite the entire colony, but still gross! But here's the real issue. Not only are ants gross, they have eaten my seeds in the past and I wanted to get rid of them. Blah blah blah – I said all this in my last entry. So anyway, I tried the powdered sugar but I think they are just too darn smart and didn't go near it–blasted creatures!

So this next part is funny. I gave up on killing ants and planted seeds anyway. Did the seeds sprout? OF COURSE THEY DID! I was slightly worried, but that's because I tend to lean toward anxious thinking at this juncture in my life. :D (This too shall pass!) Haha. I got over the entire ant thing as soon as I laid my newspaper and straw mulch. Everything is growing nicely. I found a bug nibble on my bell pepper plants and sprayed them immediately. Since I sprayed, no more munchie-marks.

So here's the entire garden: planted, mulched, and all flowered up. I finished cutting sod for the gold stone and even planted some moss in the dirt around the edge (hopefully it will take off). Edward did a fantastic job on building the fence and Petunia shelves. I'm in awe every time I look out the window and see the garden.

Here's new garden-news. A new addition to our front corner garden is "Prickly Pear" cactus. It's a gift from a nice gardener-gal who lives just a little ways from us. I read that Prickly Pear is native to Minnesota, but I can't cite it, so …sorry. But it is all over the state. It thrives well in sandy soil and that's what we have here. The bloom is a big yellow flower – unlike other flowers I enjoy. The blooms are like a soft yellow wrapping paper tissue. I suppose ours won't bloom this year, but I'll be anticipating them next spring with camera in hand! :)

All right, tonight is “date night” at the local A&W for me and my Sweetheart. Time to go get all dolled up!

Learning The Garden Ways

2010-05-28T07:55:00.013-05:00

Greetings!

The garden is coming along fantastically, but I have been running into some things that I need to add, change or discard. I have a small handful of photos to share.

To begin, the day I put my first set of plants in (tomato, jalapeño, bell peppers, cabbage, lettuce, & broccoli) I noticed all of the ants. Two years ago, I planted green beans for the post, 15 seeds. Six of those sprouted. I KNOW the ants ate them because the area was infested. So when I saw the ants, I was reminded of my experience two years ago. I decided to take some action this year! That's right, I'm in charge of my garden.

A person could search all day long on remedies to rid the ants, but I tried one that I found in one of my perennial books and adjusted the recipe of destruction. :) The book suggested 3 cups of water, 1 cup of white sugar and 4 tsp of liquid boric acid. Bring these to a boil and pour into small containers. The other suggestion was Borax and icing sugar – equal parts. I used the latter, however, I chose white sugar instead of icing. I totally messed that part up, but ants ate like mad. Hopefully some of the Borax was ingested (and administered to the QUEEN!). I didn't seen ants in the garden yesterday when I looked, but I'll be planting seeds today and I will get a closer look.

I hate bugs. I hate them with a passion, but I love flowers and food so I must come to a truce so I'm able to work the garden. Several plants bring beneficial bugs to the garden (and some eat the bad bugs!) so I am trying to plant those. Since I'm broke, I'm starting everything from seed. Plus, it's more fun to watch the growth from the beginning stages of a plant. At any rate, what I just learned is that Chrysanthemum (Daisy) deters ALL bad bugs! I planted two of them in front of my broccoli and cabbage.

A list of other plants that attract beneficial bugs are:
Ajuga, Aster, Black-eye-susan, Butterfly weed, Coneflower (Echinacea), Feverfew, Goldenrod, Marguerite, Monarda (which is somewhat invasive), Speedwell, Thyme, Yarrow, Clover, Dandelion, Dill, Fennel, Lavender, LEMON BALM (which I have seeds for), Lovage and Queen Anne's Lace.

Hummingbirds are also beneficial for the garden because they eat insects! I have a Hummingbird feeder hanging near the garden post and I am setting up some pots on the high posts full of “Dreams Burgundy” Petunia. Apparently the birds are drawn to this plant for nectar. (I plan to dig in the gold stone for the garden entrance in the next couple of days.)

I also planted “Red Star” Petunia in 10 pots along the front of the house. This is somewhat of a problem area because it's shade most of the day and then from about 2:30 pm on the sun creeps along the front of the house and boils up the area! HOT. I tried shade plants there, but it's just too sunny at the end of the day. I love terracotta color so those are the pots I chose, matching the mocha house or not, I wanted it. :)

For the deciduous shade garden, I planted Vincas, Mimulus and Impatients. The mimulus is a guess because the label in the plant said it needed different light from the sign on the table they were sold on. They were in the greenhouse so I am inclined to think they would do better in the shade. I'll just keep fertilizing them and see what comes of it.

And finally, the mystery plant bloom REVEALED! California Orange Poppy! I hated the foliage at the beginning of the year, but thought twice before I weeded this creepy looking stuff. I have been weeding this poppy flower out of the garden for two years. I am uncertain whether it calls to beneficial insects or not. I did brush off a squash bug though. I think it was a squash bug at any rate. I will keep a close watch out, of course, to see what insects it brings in. But it is BEAUTIFUL! Ed loves the orange color too. :)

Took the Compost Down!

2010-05-16T21:34:00.006-05:00

Oh my gosh, do I ever feel like putting a heating pad on my back! I've been doing garden work all day and I would use the heating pad if it wasn't for my sunburn! Today was so beautiful (after many days of rain) that I wore my swimsuit in the yard. I couldn't reach some spots of my back too well with the sunblock and since my Love is on his fishing trip, I had no help. :P

All right, this is what I did out in the yard today! I have been keeping a compost for the past two years in the back yard by our shed. Today was the day that I de-fenced it and used the rest of the dirt in the new flower bed. I smoothed the area out. I can either put more plants there, or we can just use that space for storage. It doesn't get many hours of sun, but it's the hottest sun of the day that it does get.

Our rhubarb seems to be doing fine in that space. I'm going to see if the chives do well in next to the rhubarb. This is why: Our doggy, Chubahka, has discovered that he loves chives and couldn't stay away from them. He ate most of them down to the dirt. When I saw him, I hollered at him to get away and he ran over to me, wagging his tail and panting. It was the first time that I actually loved smelling his breath. Haha! So, I moved the chives on his account. They now need to be fenced.

So now the flower bed! This garden has all of the little seedlings I started indoors now. I've been bringing them outside for a week or so, before the rains, so I know they've had some time to get acclimated. But they aren't ready for the cool nights yet. They need that added protection. That's why the milk cartons are over them. I plan to run outside as soon as I wake up to check on them. It's not good if they get too hot, either, so I'll take those off when I check on them – if the weather is dandy.

Off topic – sort of. When I went to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, I fell deeply in love with Lemon Bee Balm. I want some! During my trip to Walmart today, I saw the seeds and freaked out (inside though). I might have jumped a little. Maybe a small pant or two. LOL! They were a buck! Into the cart they went. I'll put some of this Lemon Bee Balm in the flower bed because the foliage is just gorgeous and it SMELLS SO PRETTY!! Get some and grow it in your kitchen at the very least! :)

All right. I still need to locate the photos to post here and I'm really sleepy. I think it took me an hour to write this entry tonight. LOL! I gotta get to bed. :) Nighty night!

Mother's Day Craft

2010-05-12T08:53:00.003-05:00

Yes! My Sweetie is going to the reservation for his annual fishing trip with his mom. He's taking a long weekend. I made an assortment of goodies yesterday for him to bring and I plan on making Portuguese Sweet Bread and Crab Noodle salad also.

The reason for the post today is to share the craft in this plant I am sending home with him. I have had an itch to do something small and cute. The project I completed fit the bill. I got the idea from a plant that I picked up at the grocery store. The plant in the store was in a coffee mug. The designer tied a bow on the handle and stuck a wooden stick into the soil. Trailing off of the stick is a butterfly on a wire. CUTE! {I bought my mom one for her birthday. :) }

So here is my rendition.

Here's a closer look at the detail.

I used a wooden craft stick (a dowel would be just as cute). I painted the dots with enamel paint. I drilled a hole into the stick in order to secure the wire. I used wire that I picked up in the beading section at the local craft shop. To shape the wire, I wrapped it around a wooden dowel. The lady bug ornament is a bead that I made out of polymer clay. I didn't have any butterflies, but now I have ideas! I wanted a bow on my gift too, but I didn't have a handle. The next best place was the stick!

I looked up the plant care directions in a houseplant book. I don't think she would need the directions at all, as she has a green thumb, but I thought it would give it a “finished” look. :)

So that's it!

George

2010-05-08T14:59:00.005-05:00

There is a new little man in the house! Yup, I got a fish. But this isn't just ANY fish, it's “George” and he's a Siamese Fighting Fish – or “Betta”.

Since they come in so many colors, I actually took a little time to decide which one I wanted. I thought the terracotta fins looked very pretty. He doesn't seem to be in too bad of shape for hanging out in a little cup for who knows how long.

I suppose I'll upgrade his bowl soon. Walmart had a neat round bowl and I think it was 1 gallon, but until then he'll live in this little bowl. I can make room at my work station for the 1 gallon bowl later. The plan is to make him my praying/journaling buddy in the AM. :D

Well, I don't know too much more to say about it. It's a fish. I won't eat this one. Heh. :|

Elna 945 Knob

2010-05-06T12:02:00.003-05:00

Well, well, well. Guess what!? I got my serger knob replacement!

I called yesterday to see if it was in from the manufacturer yet and it wasn't. The owner of the store took my call and he was in awe that it wasn't in yet. He put me on hold for approximately 4 seconds. :| When he came back on the line he said “Yeah, I got a knob here for ya. We had an exchange from an Elna 905 and they use the same knobs. I'll put it at the front desk for ya.”

So I drove through the Twin Cities to the south side, about an hour away from home, to pick up this little knob. Two hours of my life spent for this knob. It was a beautiful drive—there and back again. :D

Okay, it's a used knob and it's cracked too, but it's a knob that is going to stay on my machine handle. And it was free. Yeah, no charge for a cracked knob that I can clean up easily. I'm going to swipe some epoxy into it before sliding it on the metal handle. Badabing-badaboom! Got my knob. Isn't it beautiful? :P Now I can move onto the next chapter in life. :)

Wild Lupine And Poppy

2010-05-05T14:43:00.007-05:00

Happy May 5! Okay, I'd rather it be October 5 because that's my birthday. :)

Okay, if you've been keeping up with my blog here lately, I talked a little bit about the Karner Blue Butterfly (endangered species) and the host plant for the caterpillar – Wild Lupine. I really wanted Lupine this year so I planted some seeds. I don't know if it was “the” Lupine that the caterpillar prefers, but I was hoping.

After much hoping, I found some Wild Lupine behind our shed. I told my Sweetheart that I wanted to dig it out, but it's blocked off by boards and other “equipment” so it would take a little bit of work to get at. Ultimately, it doesn't matter if the seeds I planted would be a preference for the caterpillar because I have some wild stuff that is attainable.

So—cool. But here's more good news. TODAY I FOUND SOME MORE IN OUR FRONT YARD! Look at this!

And, it looks as though it's a home for a baby caterpillar by the look of the holes in the leaves. YAY! I'm going to transplant it because it's smack-dab in the middle of our yard. LOL BUT HOW COOL IS THAT!? I hope I get some photos of the little bug. :)

And here's a photo of a poppy bud – the mystery plant. Now, I think I planted orange, but I'll find out what shade of orange soon enough. :)

Garden Posts Are In!

2010-05-01T13:01:00.004-05:00

Boozhoo! (“Hello” in Ojibwe.)

We busied ourselves until after dark last night to finish securing all the garden posts. Okay, well Edward busied himself and I stood where he told me to to hold the posts while he drilled them in. LOL. And doesn't it look amazing so far!? I am in awe.

The idea big idea, for now, is to put lattice along the back posts—which would serve three purposes; it will look nice, provide a place to climb for a vine, and block the neighbor's junk.

Ed's going to cut the front posts down lower and I'm going to screw down pots that I can set plants in—much like the mobile greenhouse nurseries do on their wooden fences when they set up in grocery store parking lots.

I put in the little brick garden in front of the veggie garden a while ago, but I am not certain what I will plant there—perennials, annuals, herbs, veggies or a combination of any of these. I like digging and moving plants around and adding, so maybe I will only need to decide what I want there THIS YEAR only! I still have some tidying up to do with that setting. I'm excited to continue through the season and watch things grow and come together for a pretty and cozy place for us to spend our time. :)

Garden Seedlings

2010-04-29T10:43:00.008-05:00

O si yo! ("Hello" in Cherokee for those of you who don't already know.)

Well, we still have some time before we move our seedlings into the garden here in the Twin Cities. We had frost on our yard furniture yesterday morning. DOH!

I am way too anxious to get everything going. I planted seeds in buckets from previously purchased plants and set them out around the raised garden two days ago. I hope the seeds faired well enough through the minor frost to sprout at least ONE seed! I planted at least 9 of each seed: Marigolds, Painted Daisy, Pink/Red Daisy, Alyssum, Columbine, and a couple Sunflowers that reach over 7 foot. I'll post photos on that if any come up, of course.

So the photos today are of my seedlings that I constantly trail back and forth from under the lights in the house to the sun and back again at night - “hardening off”. I will continue this process until it's time to plant them in the garden. It's going to be more work than I thought it might be. I'm already having ideas for a cold frame and a $400 greenhouse from a local hardware shop. I think that's the key to raising beautiful seedlings, really.

So the following photo is my Wallflower Siberian seedlings. These are going to be beautiful soft orange (like the meat of a Mango) in color – and delicate in appearance, much like a pansy. They are perennials. I have already replanted them in large pots because they were getting extremely leggy and falling over. I didn't want them to die. This is my second year trying to grow them from seed. I topped the pots off with moss to prevent root rot - “dampening off”. I hope I am successful with this and I hope I don't suffocate the seedling. I'll soon find out. So far, it doesn't seem like they've grown since the transfer.

The Marigolds look like they are thriving. Not too much to say there other than I wish they weren't so tall.

Lupine are next. I read that Wild Lupine is a host plant to the Karner Blue butterfly caterpillar, which is an endangered species in Minnesota. I see a couple butterflies each summer, but that's because my neighbor has Wild Lupine in her deciduous shade garden. I hope my Lupine become a host plant. The seedlings look to be doing very well.

My basil is doing wonderfully! I actually planted 12 seeds. Six are in soil which contains compost and the last six are in a soil mix of: perlite, vermiculite, and peat moss. The basil I planted in compost mix sprouted almost immediately. The other seeds sprouted some time after, but caught up quickly. I hope to give basil plants to friends and family, if they want some. I'm going to have so many plants that I won't know what to do with them!

All right, time to go pick up some straw for the garden with my mom. Sweetie and I are taking a short break from the garden fence, but all the vertical posts are up now. We have to mid to late May. That leaves me time to plan for cold frames and greenhouses next year! :)

Garden Prep

2010-04-21T19:13:00.010-05:00

I've been doing a ton of work out in the yards and I wanted to make sure I get some photos online to share. My Sweetie cut out 144 square feet of space for a new vegetable garden. This is the beginning stage.

We have posts in, but not all of them. When the fence is finished, I'll post again. I learned how to use a "post hole digger." Well, that's what I call it, and I think I call it that because it's what Ed called it. LOL. I'll have to ask him again to make sure I have the name right. God forbid I post something on the internet that is not true. :| Heh.

I started seeds about a week ago and many are up, almost all of them. I'm waiting for the sage, mint and parsley to sprout. I think we keep the house too cold for them yet. One day, they will sprout – unless I need new seeds. Here's a photo of the vegetable/herb tray sprouts. This was taken about three or four days ago, so they are much larger now, of course.

My complete list of seeds that I planted is as follows:

FOOD

Dill

Sage

Thyme

Parsley

Sweet Basil

Mint

Iceberg Lettuce

Lettuce—Grand Rapids

Cabbage—Copenhagen Market

Brocolli—Green Sprouting Calabrese

Squash—Early Prolific Straightneck

FLOWERS

Lavender

Marigold

Wallflower—Siberian

Yarrow—Summer Pastels

Oriental Poppy—Brilliant Red

Lupine

Hollyhock (yes, I am trying AGAIN this year!)

In addition to seeds, I plan to plant tomatoes, peppers and onions. I've already planted some garlic in my container with the chives. My chives are established quite well. :)

I swear on my life that I will take photos to post here. :) Okay, if they die, no photos. If that is the case, I may just move right into another hobby! LOL
All right, I'll get this published.

First Vector Attempt For WG

2010-03-21T08:57:00.002-05:00

This is my first attempt at creating my cartoon logo for my online alias "WizardGir1" using the Inkscape program.

A Fiona Photo Shoot

2010-03-10T15:59:00.003-06:00

I recently read in a photography book to take photos of subjects you like. Well I like my cat, ALOT! I take photos of her all of the time. As a matter of fact, I switched from Windows to Linux and in the process I lost over 5 gigs of photos. A TON of them were of Fiona, of course.

I decided since then to post the photos I think turned out really well, so I don't lose them again. So with that, In the photo above, Fiona looks like she is really TRULY posing! I loved it. In truth, she was laying on a heating pad and at her most content state. Haha...

Since I've learned about aperture, I am trying to take a photo to appear the way I see a result in my mind's-eye. Seeing how the fur grows on Fiona's nose amazes me so I wanted the focus on that. I wanted the rest of her face to blur out. I love the science that the macro captures.

She was wonderful to sit as long as she did. I'm pretty happy with the results of this photo shoot. :)

I have an account at photoblog.com, but I am limited to posting only 5 photos as a time and only once per day. I have more freedom to upload as many as I want here. Thanks Blogspot!

Computer Mouse Wrist Pad

2010-02-05T11:56:00.001-06:00

I'm finally back at the Kenmore. Well, for one small project at least.

The joints in my hand have been swollen and achy lately, especially when I use my computer mouse, so I decided to make a bean-bag wrist pad similar to what they sell in the stores.

The first step was to draw out a pattern and cut it out and grab a bag of beans from storage. I used Lentils.

The next step was too trace my pattern onto the fabric choice - blaze orange fleece - and make a zigzag stitch to allow some give. I also left a spot open to pour the beans in.

It was easier to cut the pattern out after it had been sewn. It can be difficult to sew around a curve with a knit fabric and I wanted some extra fabric to guide through. I still had a hard time with one of the curves, but I figured I would make do.

I left a huge tag of fabric to tuck in after I turned it inside-out and poured the beans in. That's a little trick I learned from Tone Finnanger, author of "Sew Pretty Homestyle".

And this is the final photo. A finished BLAZE ORANGE wrist pad. I'll use it for a few days to see if it alleviates any swelling or pain in my joints. I have a minor concern that I may lean on the nerve in my wrist. It won't be long until I know for sure.

Ooooh... I just had an idea. Maybe my Mum would think about sewing a few of these up for her quilting group-gals for their holiday gift exchange. I'll have to send her this link. ;) Hmm... My wheels are really spinning now!!

Subject: Chubahka

2010-01-27T14:05:00.001-06:00

Did I mention that I want to improve my photography skills? I do!

This photo of my dog isn't a photo that sticks out from every other photo in this world, but it's my dog and he's cute. He came outside with me while I practiced shooting yesterday and I noticed he was eating snow. I had to capture his face! The lighting is pretty nice too.

(I planned that. Heh.)

Dog Boots

2010-01-02T12:48:00.002-06:00

Well, I've wanted to make our doggy, Lancelot, booties for quite some time. I actually wanted to be finished with them before it got below zero, but it didn't happen. This morning it was -20° so I was very motivated. I couldn't think of sending our little dog out into subzero temps. It's -6° as I write this. Anyways, time to move forward. This is where I got the pattern and "how to".

This is the pattern and my pieces. I wrote notes directly on the pattern in case I lost a boot or a two. I have extra fabric for that too.

And the second photo is the finished boot. I didn't turn the seam to the inside because I didn't want to chance the seam bothering the dog. I did trim the seam allowance closer to the seam, however.

So after all of my labor, I decided to stick the booties on. They fit nicely, but the elastic seemed too large on his back paws. I'll have to shorten the elastic. Lancy was ready to go outside at the same time my husband came home. When he opened the door, Lance took off and rear booties flew off. LOL... I just rolled my eyes and then shrugged my shoulders. The others came off also. Hahaha... Guess I have some problem solving to do!

150th Square Completed!

2009-12-24T06:54:00.002-06:00

I can't believe it. I finished crocheting my 150th granny square this evening.Yes, yes. I am ready to sew them together. Directions for that step are as follows:

"Thread light rose yarn into tapestry needle. Hold 2 squares with right sides tog, join with overcast st in outer lps only. Work across each square, carefully matching sts. Join all squares in this manner whether joining squares for a row or joining rows of squares."

My question at this point is "Is an overcast st the same as a whip stitch in embroidery?" Geez. Time to pull out the crocheting resource. :D

55 Down, 20 to Go

2009-12-20T12:44:00.003-06:00

I wanted to post an update on my crochet blanket. I'm really beginning to enjoy the act of crocheting. I can think deeply during my crochet time and not pay attention to my project, and still produce something. It's a double whammy!

I found something to be interesting as I ran out of my yarn last night. One pound of Caron yarn at 4 ply makes 55 squares at 4" each. I am going to write this information down on a note card and store it with my knit and crochet samples. Good information to use for future projects.

I have 20 squares to go in the rose color, before I begin the ruffle for the blanket. I am considering sewing the squares together before I complete my ruffle. Since this is the first blanket that I've crocheted, I don't know if my gage is off enough to matter for the ruffle pattern. I have a little bit of time to think about it. :)

A Little Gift For The Tree

2009-12-16T22:13:00.001-06:00

Isn't this such a cute pattern!? I decided it would be a perfect little hand made gift for my mum for the holidays. I found the pattern here.

My mom is a member of a quilting group, but she's the one who crochets at their meetings. She just might want this pattern to make them for the gals in the group next year. :D

Cards and beads, cards and beads...

2009-02-18T08:43:00.001-06:00

Okay, Good day! It feels so great to be back in the saddle again (good song). :)
I have been working on finishing off projects that I have started as well as accomplishing little new designs for earrings.

First off, my "Girl, you have ... Style" card. I adore it. I got this theme in the clear stamps at Michael's for $1. Spectacular. Since I sew, I fell in love with the dress form and could not pass it up. And, I don't wear high heels EVER, but I just love the hip artsy look. I'd like to make a necklace using a heel as a pendant. One day, perhaps sooner than expected. :)

Now the beading! I love the loom. It's a different type of beading. At this point, my designs aren't very intricate but they will get there. Practice and desire makes perfect. Ed thought my flower was a kitty and the heart an arrow. ...he's got bow hunting on the brain! Haha...

Here are three pairs of earrings that I designed. The first pair are okay. I needed the color to go with something I was wearing. The copper pair: I made all of the findings you see with the steel plate and hammer technique. I definitely loved doing it, but I need a jewelers block badly. I like altering the state of the wire. (...I can picture the molecules moving under the force of my hammer with each steel tap and smash. Mmm, the thrills of physics!)

The gold necklace was me practicing my flower chain and finishing with double cup clams. I need all the practice I can get. I haven't taken any beading classes to learn what I know. I just talk to people and read books. So far, I think I get it. I'll just keep it up.

The teal bracelet: that was a loom project. I was experimenting with loopy-loops but I am not too thrilled about the turn out. I guess I was hoping for something a little more lacey. No biggy though, I have another technique in mind that might give me the results I'm looking for. ;D That's it for now!

Bead Earrings

2009-02-13T20:12:00.001-06:00

I haven't posted in a while, but that doesn't mean that I haven't been crafty.

Here are a couple designs of earrings. I'm not very interested in the cat earring with the dome overhead as much as I am with the wire tri-loop jump ring design. Cute cute. I was practicing making bead links and I thought this was the perfect opportunity to apply what I have learned.

I'd like to finish off the cat earrings by pounding the copper tri-loop flat so it catches the light nicely. :) Ed said he'd help me do that tomorrow. That means "I got the tools that will help you accomplish that, Baby." YAY!

The next set is what I call Tiger Eye but it was listed as "Cateye" at the store. I found an adorable silver bead cap to top it off. I made them for Valentines Day. Again, cute cute!!

Teal Waters Bracelet

2009-02-02T06:52:00.001-06:00

I've been so tired the last two nights, but I was still able to create something new. A piece of jewelry.

The first night, I drew up the design and got the clam-shell on the beading string and the second night I was able to implement my plan. I used Miyuki seed beads and Czech beads but I forget the shape name. Some sort of faceted glass, anyways. It's a pretty bead. :) At the end of the fringes I used a cheap seed bead I purchased in a bulk bag from Joann's Fabrics and Crafts. I gave this bracelet a name. I got the idea to name it while browsing bead store websites. Most places have classes and they have named them according to the name they have given to the jewelry piece. So this is called Teal Waters. =D

"For You" Card

2009-01-24T21:19:00.001-06:00

This "for You" card was made with my markers and clear stamps. I'm sorta frustrated that the ink doesn't stick thoroughly to the surface of the stamp. I didn't read the directions on the bag after I purchased them. It might say to do just that. The effect is similar to mixing oil & vinegar and then pressing it onto the paper. The stamps probably have an oily substance on them.

I love this little chicken or chick-a-dee. Whatever you want to call the bird, it's cute. After seeing the card here, I am going to go back and fill in the tag with some background pencil. Next card that I do, I'm going to try some watercolor pencil. I also made some copies of my own art that I will color. :) That will be NEAT-O! Okay, that's it for this entry.

Acrylic Stamp Organizer

2009-01-24T18:36:00.001-06:00

Today I made an organizer for my acrylic stamping blocks. I'm so excited to share this! I didn't like the idea of stacking them in my Rubbermaid tote with my stamps. They weren't fitting the way I wanted them to and I grew too frustrated too quickly. :p

I really like how it turned out concerning the appearance of it. And all of my needs were met--so I think it will be just as functional as it is cute. The fabric was inherited from my Grandma Kay, so I didn't shop for the supplies. The ribbons and lace were also hers.

I wanted something cutsie in addition to the lace. The idea for a pleated pocket hit when I refreshed my memory on how to make a pocket in A Complete Guide To Sewing--an excellent teacher!

The photos are posted in the process order of Last to First. I was going to be super lengthy, but I hate trying to adjust my wordage layout with my photos. I guess I get too easily frustrated with that too. =)

First Wedding Anniversary Page

2009-01-22T20:04:00.001-06:00

Well this is the most recent page that I've done. I've been busy interviewing and working longer hours on my side job and working more hours as a sub in the school district. It's fun, but nothing is as stimulating as creating cards or scrapbook pages, drawing or baking! :)

Ed and I went to Tucci Benucch--Italian Country Dining for our first wedding anniversary meal. We have more photos that I will scrapbook and hopefully within the next week or so!

Anniversary

2009-01-22T18:43:00.002-06:00

Well this is my latest page.

1st Year Wedding Anniversary

2009-01-18T18:32:00.001-06:00

January 18th, 2009. Ed and I have been married for 1 year! The year seemed to go by quickly. We've now settled in nicely.

We decided that it might be fun to go to Tucci Benucch for our anniversary since it was the first place we had a meal as husband and wife. The food is delicious and the desserts are even better. The waitress took our photo--what a blessing. Now I have something to post here! I know it's not a craft of mine, but it was a special day!

After we ate here, we went to Micro Center and got our free 2 gig jump drives! Haha...

Elephant Illustration

2009-01-16T06:17:00.000-06:00

This is "Baby Elephant Wants a Cookie". It's one of my watercolor, watercolor pencil, and regular color pencil illustrations. In case I ever illustrate for a children's book, I want to get some practice in. =D I had fun with it. I was playing around with the light source, but it's not perfect. I love the bright yellow though. I didn't know exactly what I wanted to come across, but I think the cheery softness lends itself well to the story.

Pumpkin Spice Balls

2009-01-12T14:38:00.001-06:00

This late morning I decided to make Pumpkin Spice Balls.

Cookie Recipe:
1 cup butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 cups flour
1 cup chopped pecans

Glaze:
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp pumpkin spice
3 to 4 tsp milk

Preheat at 325. Blend w/ mixer: butter, pumpkin spice, sugar and vanilla for 30 seconds. Add the rest and stir. Roll into 1" balls and place 2" apart on sheet. Bake 16 to 18 minutes or until bottoms are lite brown. Dip into glaze after completely cooled then let glaze set for 1 hour. Keep at room temp for 3 days or freeze for 3 months. =D

These are delicious! They melt in your mouth and give you that nutty texture to chew. Mmm...one of my holiday favorites but I didn't bake much this holiday season. I'm catching up now. ;-)

I'm off to card-making or scrap-booking now. Toodles!

4 Bird and Branches Cards

2009-01-11T20:57:00.002-06:00

To begin, I am not the best at laying these out for the blog. I have such a hard time placing them where I want them, to present them as nicely as I can. I have more work to do concerning HTML. I gotta switch over. Moving forward, I made 4 cards tonight. Two have branches on them and two have birds on them. All backgrounds are from the same cardstock. They look nicer than previous cards that I've made. This one is a little boring. I should add a border or something. The sides are so bare--too bare.

This one is cute. My husband taught me an "old wallpaper trick" concerning mitering the corners. I think it looks sharp. A lot nicer than what I had originally--to flat edges together. EEK!

I like the birds. This one is nice with a Prismacolor gold pencil border. I also added some glitter glue to add a little sparkle, but I could do something different too--add a bow for instance. My husband, Ed, said that he liked the gold brads on the last card. I like hearing stuff like that. It's encouraging. I keep getting more and more ideas. That's it for cards tonight. Tomorrow I think I am going to work on scrapbooking. We'll see. I'll post what I create! :)