Teacher Gift

Sorry about the not so great picture.  I was trying to take this before I sent the kids off to school.  I spent most of last night trying to get it done.  Kirsten's Student teacher is having her last day today and the last couple of weeks have been way to busy to get anything done.  So I scrambled to the store yesterday thinking I would just get her a gift card or give her some handmade cards I already have made, but when I was there I saw this tote bag that was a blank canvas.  I had seen this idea on UCreate and thought - I can do that. And it will be easy.  I cut the fabric into 4 inch strips and roll hemmed the edges both top and bottom.  Then got out my ruffler and ruffled the top edge on both.  Followed the instructions from Ucreate and then added the pink rickrack.  I was trying to figure out what type of bow to make when I remembered I had seen a rickrack rose and thought.  Perfect.  That is just what I wanted.

I found the tutorial at Crafting Chicks.  They are pretty easy to make.  I loved how it looks on the bag.

The tote bag was only $3 at Joann's (with my coupon) and all the rest of the stuff was scraps.  It was practically free.  LOVE IT!!
Kirsten was so impressed this morning.  She said.  That Ms. D loves pink and black.  (Guess I am just lucky.  All I knew was that she liked pink.)  This turned out pretty cute and I am thinking I might need to make one for Peter's teacher and teacher aide.  We will see, I have two weeks to get those done and the one I bought material for Mrs. Duffy.


Speaking of not getting anything done.  I had to wipe away the cobwebs from this blog.  It has been awhile since either of us have posted.  It has been a slight dry spell around here.  Not much crafting.  More pinning then crafting I might say.  But this has been the kick in the pants I needed.  It was so much fun to make things and see your handiwork loved by your daughter.  Now on to the house work.  That won't do itself.

April Craft Group Project

SO What is for dinner at your house?  Diana Bowler has a wonderful project that she wants to help us make, that will maybe change our lives!!  Okay maybe it will just make our house a little cuter and give us something to send the kids, spouse or others to, so everyone knows what's on the menu.  Are you excited?  I think it is awful cute and need to find a space to hang it in my house.  It is magnetic and the papers are able to be changed out each week.

Well, are you interested?

 Here is the scoop:

• Date: TUESDAY, April 24th
• Time: 9 am to noon
• Projected time to complete: about  1  to 1 1/2 hours - (You might be able to do more then one?!?! Mother's day idea anyone. Birthday, Christmas?)
• Location: Woodridge Church building
• Cost: $10
• Size is about 12 inches wide by 15 inches tall
• WE NEED TO KNOW if you are interested in making one of these by Tuesday, April 17th - We have to order a couple things online and need a little bit of a cushion to make sure they are here.

What do you need to bring?

Necessary:

• 3 or 4 coordinating papers (1 or 2 of each)
• Embellishments to match: Ribbons, bows, flowers, metal accessories, bling, buttons, etc

Optional: (If you have these then bring them, don't go out and buy these items.  We will have extras on hand.)

• Paper cutter, scissors
• Spray adhesive

We will also have additional papers you can go through if you want and possibly some embellishments on hand.

If you are not interested in making a menu planner, you can come and do something else with the items.  We are supplying the metal board, magnets, epoxy stickers, bottle caps, modge podge, etc.  You can come up with what ever you think of.  Maybe a FHE board, a chore chart, or what ever else your heart desires. 

Please respond to Amy at amy (dot) kirstensmom at gmail.com if you are interested.

One last thing.  The days of the week are going to be printed before hand.  We need to know if you would like them red like the example or what color.  We will probably print up a couple in black and brown.  If you have color preference then let me know that too.

Here is a sample of the days of the week. 

Here is the original idea and a link to the site where Diana found it.  http://heartlandpaper.typepad.com/heartland_paper/2010/08/menu-planner-on-studio-5.html

Another sample of how you can make it look.  This one is from Diana's sister.  So cute!

Edited to add:
Here is a picture of what we could use for a chore chart.  Let us know what type you want.

(Designed using a digital kit from the Ettes.  Here is a link to the shop if you want to buy it.)

New Spring Wreath

Welcome Spring!  We have some unseasonable warm weather this week.  I'm afraid our 80 degrees is going to go back to 50 or 60, but we are enjoying it while it is here.  This is a little project I have been working on.

A new spring wreath for my door.  I have seen a couple I like on pinterest and decided to mimic them.  Basically I took an old wreath that had the green flowers all over it, but was loosing the flowers and tore it apart.  It had a foam circle underneath.  I wrapped it in burlap that I had cut in strips and then bought some flowers to make it spring like.  Wa-la!  I love it.

Here is one I saw for Valentine's day, but if you changed the fabric holder it could be anytime of the year.  This one is made with packing twine rather then burlap.  I like the look too.  Here is the where I got the idea from Craftaholics Annonymous.

More Vinyl and wood

I know it seems like this is the only thing I am doing lately.  But I have another project that I have finished that I want to show you.  Just need to see if I can get a better picture of it.  Liberty wanted to make one of these "keep calm" signs and I like them but don't really love them.  One day I saw someone do one with Trust God and I was hooked.  So I made this one.  It isn't the best picture of it.  The background is a nice gray and the words are a light yellow color.  I really like it a whole lot.  It fits on my wall with my other signs that remind me of what is really important.

Rag Quilt Craft Group Meeting

Rag Quilting Craft group will be March 16th AT THE WOODRIDGE CHURCH BUILDING at 7 pm.  We hope that this will be a fun night.  All are welcome to come even if you don't want to make quilts.  Bring a project to work on and just chat with us.

I have a work sheet for what you will need fabric wise for this project.  If you are new to making rag quilts or sewing for that matter, this is a real easy project.  It is a forgiving project and you will hopefully find it doable.

To be practical we ask that you make either a baby or toddler size quilt.  They are quick and you will find much sucess.  I will give you information for other size quilts and you can make those another time.

Material:

Toddler size Quilt (40 inch by 60 inch) – Need about 4 to 5 yards of fabric.  Based on how many fabrics you want in your quilt will determine how much of each.  (Example – 2 fabrics buy 2 ½ yards of two colors, 4 fabrics = 1 to 1 ¼ yard of each)  Best to use flannel or other fabric that frays really well.

Baby size 30 inch by 36 inch– uses about 2 ½ yards total – 1 ¼ of 2 fabrics

Toddler size about 40 inch x 60 inch

Baby Size about 30 inch x 36 inch

Here is a link to instructions how to construct a rag quilt along with a guide to making larger quilts.  Click on EASY FLANNEL RAG QUILT INSTRUCTIONS to get this information.

We will be probably only be able to get the flannel cut out that night.  We will plan a second night to do the next steps. To cut the flannel we will need to have rotary cutters, self healing mats and long rulers.  Liberty and I both have these items.  Please bring them to this meeting if you have one.  You don't need to go out and buy these items.  Any questions please email me.

Winner!!!

So I have no excuse.  I am just a slacker.  I realized this morning that I was supposed to tell you who was the winner of our giveaway.  I know, it is almost 3 days later.  SO here is the random number generator.

And that means we have a winner!!  I will be contacting you to get your vinyl to you.

Thanks everyone for playing.  I am glad we had a good event.  I found something else that might be helpful if you are looking for a specific shape or design on the cricut cartridges.  I find that the craftroom features of search are pretty weak.  I know that some of the items are available on the cartridge but when I search for them on that specific cartridge it doesn't show up.  So I found this website that is a pretty good search engine for cartridges shapes.  http://mycutsearch.com/

click here to get to site.

Craft group Cricut Tutorial Day

Today was our craft group all Cricut Tutorial Meeting.  We had a great time learning the basics of cutting with our Cricut Machine, mat care, favorite cartridges and how to use Cricut Craftroom.  I am going to consolidate our meeting and give you some basics that might help you if you were not able to come.  Meagan was a wonderful hostess and she let us make a really fun card that we used our Cricut machine to cut out the words.  Isn't this card so cute?  (Sorry it looks a little blurry - must be my wonderful photography skills.)

 cartridge used doodletype

Amy created a table of cutting helps that she collected from different sources off the Internet.  Of course you have to figure out what works best on your machine.  But here is a general guide for most things you might use.  It is extremely helpful if you use Cricut Craftroom since there is no guide to where to put your settings on.

Click HERE to download a word file or

HERE to download it in a PDF file

Amy and Meagan both have used the Cricut Craftroom and love it.  Amy doesn't even know how to use all the bells and whistles on her new Expressions 2 since she almost always uses the craftroom to make things.  Just as an example of things you can use the craftroom to make I am posting a couple of my latest projects using my Cricut and Craftroom.

For Valentine's Day

Edited to add: Here is a link to the inspiration - she also has a printable if you want. CLICK HERE.

 

For the 4th of July (on the back of the Valentine's on above ) 
Edited to add: Here is the link to my inspiration -- some of it is exactly as she did it but some is my own ideas.  CLICK HERE

And for my Daughter (and also for my son - not finished yet) a board to put in their rooms to remind them about who they are and how important they are.

And because my girls have hundreds of bows that needed a home - I created this cute one.  The ribbons will hold the many bows and ribbons that they have.  It needs a staple gun and you would think we have one - BUT no, not one that won't send the staples all the way through the wood board.  (I have to borrow one and then I can show you this on the wall in the Girl's room, with the bow extravaganza.)

Any way just a couple of notes from the class that I thought might be helpful. 
Meagan's Favorite cartridges -

• Joys of the Season
• Doodletype
• Plantin Schoolbook
• Everyday Paper dolls

Amy's Favorites-

• Lyrical Letters
• Doodlecharms
• George and Basic (for basic shapes)
• Storybook (for fun decorative designs)
• Once Upon a Princess (similar to paper dolls) - Really good for homes with girls.

Cricut Craftroom Helps

First go to Cricut Craftroom and download the appropriate version for your computer, you will also have to open an account.  Just remember what ever computer you are going to use with the Cricut is the one of the computers you want to download it to.  You will also need to update the Firmware on your cricut and that will require you to hook your computer to the Cricut machine.  (You will need a USB cord with an end that will fit into your Cricut - some come with them, others you might be able to buy a printer cable cord.  Check the back of your machine to see what slot it goes in. You might find more information on the website, it has been a couple months since I did this.)  They are really helpful if you need help, look on the website to find a phone number.

Meagan and I find that you need to have patience while you are trying to get all this done.  Although the Craftroom is really cool it is still a bit temperamental - so don't expect to do all of this quickly.  Especially if you are trying to get that project done before tomorrow.  Find a time when you can work with it and it will probably all go smoothly - despite what we say.

Second go to the Main Page - It is really helpful to go through each of the tutorials and figure out how to use craftroom.  It is really worth your time. 

Lastly - play around with it.  I go in there and design things like the 4th of July subway art I made, I just played with different fonts and different things to make it look how I did.  I guess what I am saying is play with it so you can feel comfortable with it and when you are in a crunch and trying to make that project for tomorrow - you will be able to do it without as many problems.

**I noticed today while researching the information that Cricut is now selling the cartridges in a digital form that loads right into your Craftroom account.  I think they are $39.99 each.   Much better then the original price of $90 that they retail for.  I guess that is better.  We will have to see if they come down in price.

Which reminds me that we talked about places to get cartridges from.

To Buy- check out Amazon, Custom crops, or Cricut Machine.com or Meagan suggested just putting in the name at google and finding what comes up.

For Vinyl - I like Expressions Vinyl or if you are in a pinch sometimes JoAnn's will let you use a 40% off coupon if they are not on sale.

Okay if you got this far down then you should win a prize.   I am going to order vinyl in the next couple of days and I will be giving a 12x24 piece of vinyl in either black or white away.  Just leave your name and a way to contact you - an email or if I know you from craftgroup then I probably have your email.  This is open to anyone.  Let me know if you want black or white.  This will close on Saturday February 18th.

Thanks,
Amy

A little vinyl, some paint and wood

I noticed I hadn't posted some things that were made a little while ago, but then I realized we hadn't had much sun lately and I hate taking pictures when I know they aren't getting natural light.  (I am not an expert photographer but I know some times I can make my pictures look better by using natural light.)

So I have been playing around with my vinyl and my new cricut machine.  Liberty and I got together a couple of weeks ago and made these cute signs.  There are reversible  - since that makes it easier for storage.  We made these two.

 And then these two:

( I love the flower and the bling on this spring one.)

Then after a sucessful craft group and making snowmen, I was left with a bunch of smaller sized blocks.  So I decided to use up some of my vinyl and the blocks and to make a couple of words to put up around the house.  I thought I would make it a family affair and the kids and I spent an afternoon making these.

Mine

Kirsten's

Peter's 

(I showed him conversation hearts online and this is what words he wanted.  I also let him decide what colors to make it.)

I think they turned out pretty cute.  Now I have a million ideas running through my head.  Hopefully I will be able to do a couple of them.  I have wood waiting in the garage that I need Dave to teach me how to use his table saw, so I can cut it and other things in the future.  I might even have him teach me how to use the router.  (I'm not afraid of power tools and I like to use them. Except the bandsaw - it isn't my favorite.)

Wood Snowmen family

Here is our next project for the Woodridge Craft and Sewing group:

(I know that I am missing arms, I didn't realize it until began to post these.  I will try and take pictures tomorrow with the "twig" arms.)

These are a great winter transition from Christmas to Valentine's holidays.  I never know what to decorate with in January - seems too soon for Valentine's and I want the Christmas decor gone around New Years.  We found this idea from Today's Fabulous Finds .  She made them a little different but the 3 blocks on top of each other is the same.

Our next Craft Group will be on Wednesday, January 18th at 9 am at the Woodridge Church Building. 

We plan on bringing:

• Wood blocks
• Small piece of wood for hat
• Paint (both Black, Orange and White)
• Bamboo Skewers (to hold them upright)
• Hot Glue
• Sandpaper
• Sanders
• Paintbrushes
• Mod Podge
• Blush/chalk for cheeks

What you will need to bring:

• Anything you want to decorate them with -
• Buttons, Ribbons, Flowers, yarn, jute, fabric, scrapbook paper (click this LINK for other ideas)

Cost:

• $3 for a 3 block tall snowman.  If you would like a small one  (2 blocks) like the hot pink one above then those will only be $2
• We are setting a limit on the number you can make (otherwise Amy will be cutting and sanding for days.)  No more then 5 complete snowman please.

Please respond by comment on this post or by email.  Please indicate the number of snowmen you want.  (I will assume 3 block snowman unless you let me know.)

Last day to order is Saturday, January 14th.

Now I just wanted to show you how cute my kids are.  While I was making these snowmen, I let them create their own snowman.  They both thought it was pretty cool.  We only got a little paint on our clothes (even with aprons.)  But here are their masterpieces.

Peter's

Kirsten's

Ruffly Crocheted Scarf

Wow....three posts in one week...we are on a roll. {make sure you scroll down and see Amy's AWESOME Christmas dresses. My husband and 12 year old son didn't really want ruffly Christmas dresses so I just bought them red ties to match the red shirt I got myself for $4 at Target on clearance.} Amy's are GORGEOUS, don't miss them! 


I did however make some super cute ruffly scarfs for Christmas gifts {one for myself} and the other ones for gifts. I LOVE how they turned out. Super ruffly and soft. I used Lion Brand Homespun Yarn that I got on sale at Joann's Crafts. I used this tutorial that I found on Pinterest, and then made a few adaptions. I used a N/10mm hook {because the yarn is so bulky} and changed the pattern as follows:

Ruffly Scarf 


Chain 113 

Round 1: Work 1 double crochet (dc) in the third chain (ch) from the hook. Dc in each ch to the last ch. 


Work 5 dc in the last ch.


Do not turn. Work along the back of the foundation chain working 1 dc in each ch to the first ch.


Work 4 dc in the first ch for a total of 5 dc and slip stitch (sl st) to the beginning dc to join.


Round 2: Ch 3...


Work 2 dc in the same stitch.


Work 3 dc in the next dc and every dc thereafter... 


...working around the end and all the way around the scarf.


Join with a sl st.  Weave in ends. Wear!

The Christmas Dresses

YES, I AM CRAZY.  If you haven't figured that out yet, then you will when you see these two photos.  This year I decided to make Christmas dresses for the girls and then it snowballed into something for everyone except Dave.  But he really started the whole thing by buying that Burgundy colored shirt.  I was in love (with the shirt) it was beautiful.  {Funny side note: you can barely see it in the pictures.  Trust me it is the most beautiful color.}
So the quest began to make dresses to match the shirt.  Then the snowball began moving and TA-DA - The DRESSES.

Oh, yeah, two matching ones for the girls, one for me, and to make it fun - a vest for Peter.

I saw the idea for the girls dresses on one of my favorite blogs - Make It and Love It.  She is amazing and she made a ruffle dress for her daughter with a t-shirt and ruffle material.  I wanted to step it up a notch and so I made the shirts out of stretch velvet.  I actually found my ruffle material at Hobby Lobby, where I was able to use my 40% of coupon to bring the cost down a little.  You can buy the material at the Ruffle fabric shop but I wasn't sure how much I needed and didn't want to pay the price for it.  I can't say anything about the quality of either compared to each other.  But I liked the ruffle material, but with any of them you are going to have to match ruffles on the sides and that was a pain and I did clip some of the ruffles unintentionally when I was cutting my top out.  It worked out okay.  Anyway, when I bought the material I was a bit generous in my purchase because I had come up with an idea for me.  NO, I was not going to wear ruffles on my butt (it is NOT little and I don't need to accentuate that point.)  I think I bought 2 yards. 

For the girls I used various patterns I have at home and patterned the tops after dresses they already had.  The skirts are just pieces of the material gathered on just like Ashley did in her tutorial.  I also followed her instructions for the sash.

I had found a dress at a swap our church has yearly for clothing.  It was too large for me but I had hopes that I would be able to take it apart and adapt it for me.  When I started thinking about this project, that dress came to my mind.  It was perfect.  I cut off the top and "designed" myself a top.  To be honest, I had some knit fabric that I made a muslin out of to test the sleeves and the neckline.  It turned out okay and so I proceeded.  It took me a couple of days to get the sleeves right.  First try I looked like I was going to be playing in a Mariachi band.  I have to admit I was a bit down and didn't want to try any more.  I thought to myself.  This "designing" thing is for the birds.  But as you can see, it turned out beautiful and I was excited to walk into church as that "MATCHY MATCHY" family for Christmas.

You would not believe how close of a match the material for our sashes and Peter's vest were to Dave's shirt.  Dave even said it looked like they were cut out of the same material.  Peter's vest came together in a little more then and hour.  He was pretty grumpy this morning when we pulled him away from his toys and MADE him where THAT vest.  I promised him chocolate kisses (and mommy kisses) if he wore it and the tie.  I used a pattern I bought a year or so ago.  But you could really use an old vest and make a pattern off it.

Lastly, I am quite proud to say that I had them finished the day before Christmas Eve.  I finished up the final touches around 1 pm and was able to spend the rest of the day playing with my family.  So I made the flowers from instructions form Vanilla Joy for Satin Peony Flowers.  I made two for the girls hair and 3 for our dresses.  For the girls I used a tutorial from Make it or Love it for non-slip hairbows - and Esther's stayed in the whole time at church.

Okay so here is a better picture of the dresses.  I like all our faces (except Peter) in the one above, but this one is actually a better picture (and took less time to photoshop out the table in the background.

This is one of those times I am proud of my sewing skills.  It was crazy for me to make these but it worked.  {Of course the kids didn't get new sewn PJ's for Christmas because it took me longer to make my dress then expected - but they got a TON of things for Christmas anyway and didn't notice.  I guess I'll try and get them done for New Year's instead.:) }

**My jewelry was made by Liberty.  She is so awesome.  Now I have a really beautiful set of jewelry from her.  And for a special treat, I had her make bracelets for the girls.  They loved them.  Esther kept hers on the whole time.  She is really one of those girly girls.  She loves to put on jewelry and carry around purses.

Merry Christmas

What the back of the card said:

This year has been full of many FIRSTS

Kirsten started FIRST grade * Esther had her FIRST birthday * Dave started his FIRST commute on the bus and train to his new job in Chicago * Peter started going to his FIRST preschool * We took Esther (and her siblings) on her FIRST airplane ride and trip to Utah * We lived through our FIRST blizzard in Chicago * Kirsten had her FIRST toothless school picture (missing both top teeth.) * Esther took her FIRST steps around Halloween * Kirsten passed her FIRST spelling test with flying colors * Peter had his FIRST ride on the Metra Train (along with the rest of the family) *

Hopefully we can be the FIRST to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

EASY Christmas Idea!!

My mother-in-law found this ADORABLE idea. It's super easy and I even made the printable for you so you can just print it and attach it to a roll of paper towels and you have a super easy gift for your neighbors and friends. Get the printable HERE.  Or try HERE.

Family Wood blocks

So I have had these blocks for a long time.  If I had realized I didn't have a before picture then I would have taken one of them.  But think "toll" painting.  Mainly each letter a different color in a blue, brown, burgundy pattern (ABC for those with primary grade kids) and splattered with black and white paint.  Really cute but they didn't match my decor and I was "tired" of the look.  Then while I was in Utah over the summer I saw that my sister-in-law had painted hers all black.  It looked awesome and matched her frames so great.  I decided that I was going to do that when I got home. 

Well almost 5 months after we got home and I finally got around to it.  I decided after making my Be Thankful sign last month that I LOVED the pattern and coloring of the paper.  I ran back to Micheals and bought more so I could mod podge the paper on my family blocks.  I sanded the old paint off and painted the sides black.  Mod podged the paper on and then did a little smudge on the sides of the letters to make it look a little messy.  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE how they turned out.  It only took me a little bit of time and it looks awesome.  It is even better that I didn't have to touch the heart.  It matched perfectly and give it a nice look.  It also matches my frames - they are black and burgundy.

Sorry about the glare on the pictures, I tried not to but the reflection just happened in all my pictures.  Plus it was finally a nice day with sunshine since this room doesn't get much "good" light for taking pictures.