Crafty

The crafty bug has been biting me again lately. But I struggle with having the energy and motivation to actually sit down and make something. I need to get working on the baby bag for my new niece/nephew that will be arriving in less than a month. I also have the working to create a burlap wreath for my own door. I made one for my mom that turned out pretty well. I need to do some more research on how to make these a bit easier. It was a pain in the rear to add color to it. My brain doesn't seem to want to comprehend things. I don't know if it is because I am out of practice with creating things or if it is related to the MS cognitive fog that happens. Sometimes I just can't wrap my brain around how to make something that five years ago would have been so easy. Hopefully the motivation to create things will continue to grow and I can start crafting again. I have really missed it!

Six Years!

Yesterday was my and Steve's six year anniversary. Hard to believe that it has already been six years in some respects, but then it feels much longer in others (in a good way). It feels as if we have always been together and the time before we were together was more of a story that I read at some point and remember vaguely. While he is in no way perfect (me either), he tries, which is more than I can say for most husbands out there. He doesn't try to be perfect, but he tries to give me what I need. Unfortunately for him, that seems to change on a daily basis! But he keeps trying and keeps communicating - which is really what I actually need.

We had a good weekend together, mostly spending time together going out to eat. But it was very enjoyable and gave us time to reconnect. We also began reading The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman out loud to each other. If you have never read out loud to your spouse or had him read to you, you are really missing out! It allows the imagination to really take off like listening to a book on tape does. You don't have to focus where you are on a page and can just let your imagination run wild. All around fabulous!

Otherwise, not much going on in our world. I haven't had the time, the clean space, or the motivation to do much crafting lately. I have some fabric to make kitchen curtains and need to find the time soon to do that. I think the old ones, covered in a thick layer of cat hair shall be going in the trashcan. I have also been working on a baby gift for my new niece/nephew that will be arriving next year. It's looking good and I think I will have time to get it all done before baby arrives.

So, six years down, another sixty to go! :)

Homemade Coasters!

I have been looking for a new set of coasters to use in the house. I wanted to find some that I could get several of so they could be the same all over the house. I couldn't find any at the local stores so I ended up deciding to make some. Here is a quick tutorial of homemade coasters.

Items needed:
Tiles (found for 37 cents a piece at the local Lowes)
Backing (I used foam found at Jo-Ann Fabrics for 48 cents a piece) (cork is also an option) - this is used to ensure the tiles do not scratch the furniture.
Glue (I used some I had around my craft room)
Rotary cutter and mat (every crafter needs/has these!)

Take your tile and make an outline on the backing so you know where to cut it out.

Cut out your squares of your backing material. Don't worry about being too neat because the rotary tool will be used to clean them up later.
Put glue around your tile square.

Lay your backing on the tile and press down to seal it. I used some pretty quick drying glue so make sure you don't lay it on too crooked.

Do this with all the tiles until you are done. Let them sit for awhile to ensure the glue is dry. Using the rotary tool, and about a 45 degree angle, trim around the outside of the tiles to remove any excess backing.

After this, you're done!

Just put them on your tables and enjoy pretty and inexpensive homemade tile coasters. These ended up costing about $0.51 a piece which is much less than you would pay if you were buying them already made. There are always a lot of options regarding design in the tiles you can find at the store. I got these because they were inexpensive and had brown tones which match my furniture and decorations. I think they look fabulous!

Fall Pumpkins!

My project this weekend has been working on these cute little fall pumpkins. I found all this fabric at either the Salvation Army or as a remnant. The tutorial I used wasn't that great and I ended up changing a few things in the process of making them. I am pretty happy with the way they turned out! I am planning on making another set for my mom, I figured I would give her the second set as they are bound to be much better! Cute Cute!

Crafts! A Thread Spool Holder

I saw a tutorial on how to make this Thread Spool Holder at Shannon Makes Stuff and decided that I would like to try it out. So, this afternoon I worked on it and am very pleased with the way it turned out. I did a little tutorial of my own as I changed a few of the steps.

Step 1: Get an old picture frame. I got mine for 25 cents at the Salvation Army


Step 2: Sand the frame lightly to take away any gloss or shinyness so that the paint will stick better


Step 3: Fill in any holes with wood filler, allow it to dry and then sand it until smooth.


Step 4: Find something to set the frame on so you can paint it. This microwave box was the perfect solution.


Step 5: Spray paint the frame using several light coats to prevent running. The front took about four times around and the back took about three to get even coverage.


Step 6: Measure out even distances and screw in five eye hooks (I found them at Lowe's) on each side of the frame. You can tell by the nicks that the pliers and I were arguing. But since these are on the back, I didn't bother fixing them.




Step 7: Put wire through one eye hook on one side of the frame and twist it to secure it. This will remain stationary.


Step 8: Bend the other end of the wire to make a loop and twist around the wire. Then thread the spools on the wire


Step 9: Push the end of the wire with the loop through the eye hook. To make the wire a bit more taunt, I bent the loop over for added security.


Step 10: Step back and enjoy your work!

Crafty, Crafty! My new tote bag!

I worked all day on Saturday to finish a bag from a pattern that was inspired by A Quiet Little Life and found on www.burdastyle.com. I wasn't sure about my ability to complete this as the instructions were written for someone with a bit more sewing background than I have. But with the good help of Google, I learned how to do a flat felled seam and other such fun stuff. I am very pleased with the way the bag came out. This fits my school stuff quite well and is much more comfortable to carry than the bag I was using. So here are some pictures of the finished project!

My new bag! It is larger than it appears here!

A top stitch around the top of the bag to make it look more finished.

The inside of the bag. Visable seams but they are closed seams and will not fray.

A nice little pocket perfect for a cell phone

 A much larger pocket for pens and such things.

New (Shower) Curtains!

When trying to find new curtains for the living room, I had the idea that I could use a shower curtain and split it into panels in order to make curtains out of it. Here are the steps that I took to make them and how they turned out.

This is what I started with:


This is what the old curtains looked like. You can see the kitty going into the light:


First step was to cut the curtain in half. Then I pinned the hem to make it ready to sew. I made the hem quite small since I wanted the curtains to be as wide as possible.


I then sewed the hem all the way down.


I debated on how to hang these and considered using show curtain hooks but decided that I didn't want them to look like shower curtains that I had split. So I took the top:


Folded it over:


Pinned it:




And sewed it:


Then I hung them up and found them to be wonderful and exactly what I wanted!


As you can see, they match the couch pillows.


There you go, instead of paying $17/panel for regular curtains. I paid $16 for a shower curtain that made two panels. Love those savings!

Spring is around the corner!

Even though there is still snow on the ground, I can feel it in my bones that spring is just around the corner. As spring gets closer my creative ideas get going more and more! One thing that my family and I have in common on both sides is a creative streak and it has always been something that I enjoy. I am planning on taking out the fish pond that has been "gracing" my back yard for the last few years and put in a garden and water fountain that is much easier to maintain.

The pond has been a huge hassle every spring that I really don't enjoy. Last year I had to tear down and rebuild the fountain part of it several times because it had settled and water was going backwards instead of down the waterfall into the pond. We had fish in there for a year or so, but they were eaten by a raccoon last spring and I didn't see the need of spending more money to replace them when I wouldn't have anywhere to put them in the winter anyways. Since it was there when we bought the house, I don't really have any idea of how it was constructed and so fixing it has been difficult.

So my plan is to pull it all out, discard the rocks that I no longer need and fill it in with soil. The area has a lovely lilac bush on one side of it that will stay and serve as a good anchor for that side of the garden. I am not sure yet what plants I will be getting as I need to study what the light is like in that area. It gets some sun on the east side of it, but the tree creates a lot of shade most of the day. So, likely plants will be ones that don't mind partial sun or mostly shade. I really loved having the sound of moving water of the pond so I am working on creating a water feature. I found a great set of instructions for making a fountain with clay pots. This should easily cost me less than a hundred dollars and I will be able to design it myself. And it will be much easier to maintain, will use much less water, and possibly less energy (if I am able to find a reasonable solar powered pump). So mother earth and I both win!

I am very much looking forward to the spring and getting everything looking pretty again. The plants in my front area should all come back this spring, I just need to cut back the pampas grass and the growing vines. I will have to do something next to the garage again this year, perhaps more tomato plants since they seemed to thrive there last year. I wish I could figure out what to do by the garage corner that gets zero sunlight. Grass won't grow there and it's always muddy. Ideas? I don't really have a green thumb but I am getting better. I get almost all of my plants from Jim's Greenhouse on Hwy 61 so they are quality plants which helps.

So between that and all of the painting I want to get done this spring inside the house; I should keep plenty busy!