If I had a baby girl...

A friend introduced me to Pinterest which I came across once at some point this past year but had no idea what it was. Now I know, now I'm getting to know, but really, this blog is to show this that I found on it...SO CUTE!! If I had a baby girl, I would run upstairs and sew this TODAY! Even though I found it on Pinterest, it was a tutorial blogged by Smashed Peas and Carrots here. YOU can make one too!

Oh...to have a baby girl....

Puppet Profit!!

Puppets, puppets EVERYWHERE!! One day back in June, my son and I had a spur of the moment idea...SOCK PUPPETS!! Toddler was playing with a sock on his hand, 4 yr. old decided he needed one too...VOILA! Craft idea!

We were at grandma's house who happened to have a HUGE bag of sock singles. We dug out about 2 dozen socks, dug out her yarn and felt stash, cut up her caffeine free Diet Coke boxes and searched all over for the hot glue sticks. Then made these fun Fairy Friends!!

SO CUTE!! Both boys got to keep one, then we sold the rest at the Ye Merry Greenwood Faire we went to also with grandma (who had a booth of fairies!) We didn't have to buy ANY supplies!

If you want to make one for your child...check out this tutorial by DownWithClutter.

ENJOY!!

Metal Mermaid Tutorial

I REALLY enjoyed trying a whole new material for this months Year Of Enchantment ornament-the mermaid. I thought I'd share how I did it since I kinda made it up as I went along. I always start my monthly ornament idea by researching. I Googled and Etsy searched mermaids and found a few inspiring websites and other crafty goodness out there. I found a paper mermaid doll website with a free pattern which is the one I used for my mermaid. I found another paper mermaid doll here that had both mermaids and fairies. A metal fairy could be fun!! And if you REALLY want variety, here is a third paper mermaid doll pattern. Okay, so here we go...

What you'll need:
Printed paper mermaid doll pattern.
Rusty old thin sheet of metal
New sheet of metal (flashing)
Tin snips or Fiskars heavy duty craft scissors
Leather gloves
Metal file
Hammer and small nail
Scrapbooking brads
E6000 (or other adhesive that will work on metal)
18 Ga. craft wire (I used copper)
small pearl beads
needle and thread

What to do:
1. BODY: Cut out paper doll pieces from the printed paper and trace onto the sheet metal.
2. Wearing the leather gloves, cut out the metal doll pieces using tin snips. I found that these were good to start the cutting or to cut out the general shape, but I finished up with the Fiskars heavy duty scissors. Because I was cutting small pieces and tight corners, the Fiskars performed better. File all edges and make sure their are no sharp pointy areas that could easily cut.

3. Arrange pieces so that you have a general idea of what body part is going to be above/below another when you layer them for hinging. I started out with both upper arms in front of the torso, but moved the left arm to be behind. With the hammer and nail, hammer all the hing holes. I tried to keep the nail hole centered on each area (a few slipped) and I hammered the two layered parts at the same time. For example, if the upper left arm is going to be behind the left torso shoulder, then I nailed through the torso and upper arm together. Make sense?? I think I'll leave it at that. Carrying on...

4. Once all the holes have been hammered in, insert a small scrapbooking brad into each hole.

YAY! You have a basic metal mermaid doll!! Sitting...

Swimming...Dancing...haha...that was fun...Now for the hair, I was inspired by this website here. Go check them out...Are those not the FUNNEST mermaid wall art pieces!! I REALLY want one, but where would I put it? That's my rule for house decor, must have a place in mind for before it can be purchased.

5. HAIR: I wanted her to have the shiny wet hair look...she's a mermaid after all, her hair will be wet. So I used some new flashing that we had in our garage. I first traced one side of her head to create a matching curve, then from the top and bottom of that curve I cut straight across to basically create a rectangle, except the one side was curved. Remember, I made this up as I went so I hope it makes sense. The longer the rectangle, the longer the hair will be. I think mine was about 6 inches. With a pencil, I trace the rest of the shape of her head to give myself a reference point of where to stop cutting. I then cut thin strip, anywhere from an 1/8" to 1/4" wide, from the straight end of the rectangle to the reference point just drawn.
6. I then used the pencil to start curling the hair. I laid the pencil on the top of the metal, held one end to it and rolled it towards the head so the curls curled inward towards the face. Just curl tightly as possible without tearing the metal. I realized my 1/4" wide strips were a little too wide, so I went back and cut all my strips into two. See the difference?
More curling...I thought the pencil was a bit big, so I went to a screwdriver that was slightly smaller.
LAST curl...whew!
7. After all that curling, I placed her hair piece back behind her head and started stretching them all out into a desirable shape. You can see the three on the bottom are stretched. I wanted her to have a flowing watery look, so I stretched them out the the right.
I figured she needed bangs, so I trimmed a few on top. It was also to help cover up the top forehead.
More pulling and placing of curls...
Once you're done primping, follow the instructions on the E6000 for gluing, allow to dry for a day or two and your done! YAY, you have a metal mermaid doll with hair!
8. EMBELLISHING: This part stumped me...the challenge was to use paper...I tried MANY ways...I just couldn't do it. So I pulled out more metal; metal wire, metal buttons, metal beads, metal rings...and of course pearls. A mermaid has got to have pearls. The pic below shows her with two metal buttons for a brazierre. Of course that was not was she ended up with.
I beaded a pearl necklace and pearl bracelet onto her. The bracelet was with thread, the necklace was on a small gauged wire so that I could shape it around her neck. Using the 18 Ga. wire, I spiral wired a different brazierre which looped behind her neck and back down to the other side, also being a spiral shape. Surprisingly I did not take any pics of my mermaid by herself before sending her off to her new home. This was the best I had, a cropped photo.
I hope this all made sense! One thing I thought of but did not have the tools to follow through with it was to texture her tail fin with scales. My dad had a metal alphabet set for stamping into metals, we couldn't find it. I wanted to use the parenthesis symbol to create tons of crescent shapes all the way down her tail like they were scales. This would have created a fun texture, I think, but I guess we'll never know.

Now go...make a metal mermaid (or fairy) and enjoy!

I Spy Friday...and a tutorial!

I spy with my little eye...Mount Adams in the distance...can you see it? Baaarreeelly?? Right in the middle where the hills meet the sky...a pale white bump. Well, I do.
As promised, here's my super quick and easy baby blankets that I make for many new moms now, they've become my staple shower gift, along with nursing cover. They were made for me for my first born and they ended up being my FAVORITE blanket out of all the ones I received. Maybe it's because they were made just for me, maybe it's because they are the perfect size for almost everything you do with a newborn to toddler...I don't know.
What you'll need:
1 yard cotton fabric (like quilting cotton)
1 yard cotton flannel fabric
thread (matching or contrasting)
scissors
sewing machine

What you'll do:
1. Because it's a baby blanket, I prewash all fabrics. Just regular machine wash and dry. If they're too wrinkly, use an iron on cotton setting.
2. Place fabrics right side together, if desired, pin together. Sew 1/4" to 1/2" around edge, because of the prewash and shrinkage, they might not line up perfectly, especially along the long edge, the quilt cottons tend to be 2" longer than the flannels. Leave about an 8" opening on one side, but not at a corner.
3. Cut edges down and clip corners. Turn right side out.
4. Iron. I like to iron the edges flat, it makes the next step easier.
5. Sew a straight stitch either an 1/8" or 1/4" in all the way around the edge. This is both decorative and stitches the opening shut. Sometimes I'll also do a narrow zigzag at just the opening.
6. Pick a decorative stitch and practice size and width on a scrap piece of fabric. My sewing machine has a "stretch" setting that does a few stitches that appear more decorative on non-stretch fabrics. You can see the vine/feather looking stitch just below the monkeys head in the pic above. Once settings are established, sew all the way around about 4-5" in from the edge.
7. Sometimes I do a second round of straight stitch either just above or just below the decorative stitch, depends on my mood and really how much thread I have left. I also will change the top thread color and the bobbin color to match each side. You can match the fabric closely or pick a contrasting color to stand out, that's the great thing about this blanket, you don't have to match thread colors.
8. Fold, gift wrap, throw in a pair of baby shoes made from StardustShoes tutorial with matching fabric, give them all away, and enjoy watching someone receive the perfect sized baby blanket and baby shoes made with love!!

Grosgrains: A Frock by Friday!

I'm participating in Grosgrains A Frock by Friday sew-along...I'm SO EXCITED that this talented woman is sharing her secrets and inviting us all to join her!!! I have waited SO LONG for her to have a tutorial of this type!! Yippeeee!! Below are my fabric selections for the dress and optional sash, however, after speaking with my hubby, he'll be wearing a navy uniform this Friday for his fire academy graduation ceremony, so I got to thinking...
Should I stick with my original color combination...or...
Should I match his uniform color?? There is a light blue and navy pinstripe in the fabric, so it's not like I'm pulling it out of nowhere...It's a navy fabric with stars on it...a little too mystical for the stripe pattern, but since I need to go buy a zipper, I could also buy a solid navy that matches his uniform color better. What do you all think?? Maroon sash or navy sash??

Bird Swing Tutorial

I thought it would be fun to share how I made the bird swing for Aprils Year of Enchantment ornament. I was inspired by Spool's bird mobile and I last blogged about it here. They are pretty easy to create if you have all the right tools, and could probably be made for people who keep birds...I'm just not sure if there is any kind of safety issue with any of the parts I used. That would be up to you, bird owner, to decide if this is right for your pet or not. :) Otherwise, it's PERFECT for the Spool bird pattern that I used! Here we go...

Things you'll need:
1/2" thick sticks or dowel
18 gauge plastic coated steel wire
ribbon or mini-garland
ruler
plant pruners
sand paper
pencil
drill
5/8" wood drill bit
needle nose pliers
can of foodWhat to do:After searching and locating the right size twig/branch/stick, mark about a 4" long area to cut out.With the pruners cut sticks at the marks. Try to cut swiftly, this will create a cleaner edge...as you'll see next...This part could also be done with a circular saw, hand saw or the likes, but I wanted to avoid large equipment and/or sawing by hand. See those broken ends?? Sometimes that happens, but since they're actual sticks, and just work with it and keep 'em some-what natural.Sand edges smooth. I angled mine like a pencil to soften the edges as well as straight up in a circular motion to soften the very end.

Turn the stick around to determine which side you would like facing up. (Well, that's just silly, why? Some of my sticks had a dirtier side or a knot in the middle or were slightly bent. Not that it matters, but I wanted the pretty side up.) When you have found "up" mark each stick about 1/2" from each end. Using an edge (table edge, 2x4, step, whatever...I used my dining chair) drill all the way through the stick at each marked spot making sure not to turn your stick.Cut a length of wire about 18" in length, lightly mark or bend the center. Using the end of a stick, wrap the wire around it at the center point, pull each side tight to get that top circle, then twist like a twist tie 1-2 times. Center the twisted point of the wire on a round can to curve the wire into shape for the top of the bird swing.
Push both ends of the wire through the drilled holes on the stick.
Push the stick up the wires to the desired height for the perch, I did mine around 3-4" inches high while keeping each side equal in length. This is a good time to do a little reshaping too, in case it got a little bent out of shape.Mark the wire 1/2 below the wood perch and trim off excess with wire cutters or the pliers. Bend the ends up 1/4" and flatten shut. Push down the wood perch over the exposed bent end of the wire, trying to tuck it into the drilled hole.
YAY! You have a bird swing! Now the final step is to decorate it with a mini-garland. I had mine left over from Christmas, since its a Christmas ornament swap, or ribbon.and then create yourself a perty songbird to perch on it! Like I mentioned at the beginning, my birds were from Spool's bird pattern and are super easy and fun to make.
If you have any questions or any bit is confusing, feel free to ask!

Taxes, Tutorials & Mobiles

I HATE doing our taxes. I don't know why, they're not hard. I'm about 95% complete, I just need my hubby to look them over one final time with me. I don't fully get all the deductions and junk. BLEAH!!! >:(

Okay, now that I've got THAT off my chest, I've been doing some surfing for bird tutorials for this months Year of Enchantment ornament theme "the songbird." I've found so many fun things to make...I just had to share them with you all...
First of all...I love, Love, LOVE this mobile!!! It's funny how you start blog surfing, and one blog talks about another blog, and another and another until you come across a blog that will have a tutorial that you just fall in love with!! I borrowed this pic from their Flickr group, but it was blogged about here at Spool Sewing and they go on to say that they actually have the pattern and tutorial for the birds here. YAAAAAYYY!! I've already made four of them that I'm going to have to photo tomorrow, as soon as I sew up their tail ends. I may make more, I don't know, I was sewing along and thinking about all the different ways to put them together for individual people. Now I have a list of people that I want to make them for.

Random thought: Maybe I should start surfing for mobiles and featuring them here....I've ALWAYS wanted to make one, why haven't I?? I need to put that on my TO-DO list.

I also came across this flower tutorial, it was originally intended for scrapbooking...naturally I'm going to make one and put it on something else. Not sure what yet though. I do have a whole corner of scrapbook stuff, I really should use it or destash it...hhmmm...more food for thought. Prior to finding the flower, I learned about the LollyChops blog. I've added it to my list of blogs to follow. YAY! She has A TON of fun things she creates and shares how to. She recently did a Week of Wallflowers, each day she did a wallhanging with three dimensional handcrafted flowers using all sorts of mediums....yarn, fabric, scrapbook paper, floral supplies, buttons, felt, you name it. My personal favorite: Orange you glad it's Monday. I LOVE ORANGE!!! This is what Lolly Chops created for orange:
LOVE IT!! I just love it when people as wonderfully creative as this share how to create their wonderful stuffs!! Yet another craft on my TO-DO list.

Current projects...

I thought I'd show off some of my up and coming projects that have fabrics already pulled together. All of them were in my stash that I've combined with others OR were purchased that way (years ago).
A pirate quilt kit I purchased for my toddler....when he was an infant!!

A Skinny Bunny pattern by Carol's Zoo using the leftover green fabric from last Halloweens dragon costume. I'm waiting to purchase the right size eyes...just have to get out of the house to purchase them. I bought the pattern at the Sewing & Stitchery Expo in Puyallup when I was pregnant with now toddler (oh, say...2006)! I swore to never go back to that AMAZING and WONDERFUL expo until I completed at least one of the four patterns I purchased there that year. haha **bashful grin**
For my baby boy (and many of my friends babies and maybe babies to come), I found this WONDERFUL baby shoe pattern and tutorial over at Stardust Shoes. I recently learned about her blog (and now follow it), she creates a lot of fun stuff and has some really great tutorials. I'm curious about her current venture of Circle Happy.
And finally...my European Cat Quilt fabrics which I've changed on the project progress side bar to say London Cat Quilt. A while back I visited a new quilt store in town with my mother-in-law, and I mean a while back, like...maybe over a year ago?? I came across these fabrics and fell in LOVE! That led to splurging....yeah, there are nine different fabrics there ranging from 1/4 to 1 yard in size. The lady cutting my fabric also managed to talk me into a quilt book to create a quilt with them called Turning Twenty...Again. I'm either going to use that book or a tutorial I found online here that's called the Disappearing Nine Patch.