This year's Cubbies gifts

I like to make a little something for each of the Awana Cubbies leaders at the end of the year. It's a tiring, year-long volunteer job and definitely deserves some thanks! I didn't get too super crafty this year, but I still like this gift--it's a dry-erase frame backed with fabric. Yay for another year complete!

Anthro purse hanger

After I made a new purse recently (I really like it), I wanted a place to hang it (instead of keeping it on the floor by the computer, where it gets stepped on). I couldn't find anything I really liked at a good price. So, inspired by this picture,

I got a few Anthropologie knobs, spray painted some scrap wood, and put this together:

I like it!

Living room update

I have never been very happy with the curtains in our living room and dining area. When we moved here, I still hadn't gotten into my sewing groove, and I just got the fabric at the local discount home decor fabric place. I also ended up disliking the fact that the curtains over the window and the sliding door were different.

Here's the first "before" picture I found:

So I replaced those with new, matching curtains for all the windows/door and made some new pillows too. I really love it all. I also realize that these pillows will never look this nice again. :)

Lace scarves

Doing the GAPS diet has taken all my extra energy, so I haven't felt like doing much sewing or crafting. But this week I came up with an idea for some of the vintage lace Mama gave me when we were in Virginia at Christmas: scarves. For my first try, I stitched a bunch of strands together, and then I stitched over the whole thing with some elastic thread. This makes it flexible and ruffly.

Then I stitched some straight onto knit fabric, after seeing this picture for inspiration:

Christmas crafting

Now that the MOPS boutique is done, I have been able to do a few crafty things for around the house. I wasn't feeling too inspired until I went to Casey's house. :)

I copied this one exactly (words and all) from one she did:

I wish I could take better pictures, but it's 16x20" in silver. I also copied the idea of this second canvas, using words from a favorite song. These words are from "Let There Be Love," which Jon and I danced to at our wedding:

(I love how this next picture shows the reflection in the top of the newly cleaned dresser. Thank you, monthly cleaning guy!)

Last, I made a couple of bunting/banner things. This one says "JOY" and is above the cute Christmas card holder we made at MOPS.

This one that ended up on the staircase was supposed to have letters on it (I settled on "Let us adore Him") but the idea of making that many fabric or felt letters (and then stitching them on) was too annoying. Maybe I'll make those in time for next Christmas.

Proud

In preparation for some family pictures today, I wanted to try to make a necklace similar to the adorable Allora Handmade rosette ones. Amy has a green one and let me borrow it so I could copy it.

I followed what I could tell from this necklace that I hadn't done with rosettes before: fold and iron the first part of your strip like it's bias binding and don't start twisting the fabric at first. Just make a super tight "snail." I really like how mine turned out!

I bought this lace trim a couple of weeks ago at a craft fair I went to with Colleen. This was the perfect use for it! Here's a side-by-side comparison of the necklaces. Mine isn't perfect, but I love it for a first try:

Yay!

Sewing to save some cash

The kids and I are out and about during lunch time a lot, and I always pack our lunches. I usually go through Ziplocs like crazy, but a lot of the time it's for things that don't make too much of a mess in the bag (e.g., carrots, dry cereal). So yesterday I used some scrap pieces of fabric to make some reusable, sandwich-size bags. Because a lot of the waterproof fabrics available are not food-safe (and the ones that claim to be are still suspect, I think), I used plain cotton on both the outside and inside and will wash the bags in the regular laundry. (Actually, one of the bags in the first picture does have a waterproof outside layer; it's a laminated cotton.) I played around with snaps and velcro closures and will see which we end up preferring.

Laptop bag

Every once in a while, I take our laptop with me to a coffee shop or Panera to do some computer work or blogging (either on a weekend when Jon is home or on a day like this past Tuesday, when my friend Suzanne watched the kids for 3 hours). I always feel a little silly and awkward carrying the laptop in my arms (as opposed to a bag, like everyone else has). So I whipped up this bag for the next time! It's lined in white and has some batting for a tiny bit of padding, and I put a pocket on the front to hold the wireless mouse. The main fabric is one I've had on hand for a while and couldn't decide how to use. I love it and can't wait to use the bag!

Nate's first sewing lesson

To kick off our summer (yes, Nate is done with school! Woo hoo!) and our unofficial entry into the world of homeschooling, Nate and I completed his first sewing project today: a cover for his homeschooling binder. He picked the fabric last week, and today we made a paper pattern for how we wanted the cover to end up, measured the pattern, and then added for seam allowance to get our measurements for cutting the fabric.




This was a perfect first project, since it involved just one piece of fabric cut into a rectangle. First I had Nate sit with me and help guide the fabric while I ran the machine. Then it was his turn.




Here he is in action:



Not bad! ;)

Lucy's room

Lucy got a mini room makeover this past week.

New bed, quilt, and pillow.





New sign for her play kitchen.





Rearranged wall decor (locations picked by Lucy, again)



My favorite part is still the dress quilts. :)

Last pictures from the camera

I broke our camera last night--dropped it while taking a video of Levi brushing his teeth (he does this cute imitation "spit" because he sees Nate and Lucy do it). I am so sad.

Here are some of the last pictures I took on the camera, of the embroidery project I finally finished:





Inspiration found here and here.

I also took these in-progress pictures of Lucy's quilt Sunday and yesterday. The baby clothes were some of my favorites when Lucy was tiny; I cut them up and used them in the flowers on the quilt:







And here's the final video, which includes the fatal drop: