limes and xanadu

More fun with covered buttons

2011-06-06T09:40:00.001-07:00

This is just a quick idea for another thing to do with fabric covered buttons: hair ties.

Not wanting to commit this pretty button to a lifetime as a hair accessory, I shoved a hair tie through the center of the shaft, looped it through it's self, and pulled it tight. Done and done!

A Couple More Button Necklaces

2011-05-31T09:40:00.000-07:00

I got on a roll covering buttons the other day and had these three large buttons left over. Rather than have them compete with each other on a large statement necklace I decided to let them each stand on their own.

Cutting a piece of variegated yarn that matched the fabric pattern, I tied the ends in a knot and slipped it through the button shank and looped it through it's self.

I like the yarn for a different look, it has a bit more of a boho feel to it.

Liberty of London Sampler Necklace Tutorial

2011-05-22T17:21:00.000-07:00

The other day while cleaning out my bag, I noticed my Liberty of London (ala Target) wallet wasn't looking too hot. I suppose a cloth wallet, that I throw in the bottom of my bag, is bound to get a bit dirty. However, the LASS gals had so much fun searching our pretties out, I really didn't want to replace something so sentimental. Luckily a bit of googling and a good scrubbing with baby wipes later the wallet cleaned up pretty well. This experience got me thinking about how I should have done something to protect my wallet in the first place, and also about maybe making some of my own accessories with Liberty of London fabric. Inspired by Susan Beal's tutorial on Craftsylish, and yet not having any bracelet blanks on hand, I came up with the following solutions:
Liberty of London Sampler Necklace Tutorial

Supplies:

Fabric scraps (I used a charm pack of LOL lawn fabric)
Covered Button Kit(s)
Jump Rings (one for every button)
Chain and closure (desired length)

The first thing to do, is to follow the instructions on your covered button kit. Using the circle template cut out your fabric to cover your buttons.

Cut out a fabric circle for every button, taking care to capture the elements of pattern you like on your print. You can change up the look of the necklace by clustering many buttons together, or vary the size of the buttons you use. For my first necklace I went for four 18mm buttons.

Having learned from my wallet, the next thing I did was cover the fabric with Scotchgard Fabric and Needle Craft Protector. I gave them two thin coats, waiting for the application to dry after the first coat before I applied the next.

The next step obviously it to cover your buttons. Follow the directions on your kit to assemble your buttons. If you have used lawn like I did, this should be very easy. However, if you used a thicker fabric or a pima cotton you might have to put a bit more elbow grease into it. Take your time and make sure you catch all your edges.

Now, we all like our necklaces different lengths, so trim your chain to the desired length and attach your closure. Open a jump ring and pass it through your button shank and also through the link on the chain. If you have never used jump rings before, do not pry the ring apart at the gap by pulling the sides back from each other. Instead bend one side to the left and the other to the right. When you're ready to close the ring, bend the two sides back toward each other, actually closing and passing the other side once, before you bend it back one last time to close. This will keep your ring closed tight and not oblong.

For you odd numbered button folks, fold the chain in half to find the center and attach your first button in the link there. Measuring up from your center button, attach the rest of your buttons evenly spacing them along your chain. If you have an even number buttons like I did, you can use your center measurement to place the button evenly on either side.

Viola, you're done. If you want a matching bracelet just repeat the above and shorten your chain. Go on now, make a couple for friends and wear with pride while sipping some tea.

Bandana Bibs & Binky Holders

2011-05-02T13:17:00.000-07:00

Bibs and Pacifier Straps

With my best friend having her second baby and my cousin having her first I've been looking around for some new baby projects. Using some more fabric I picked up on my LASSgo as inspiration I tried to find some fun fat quarter projects.

Rachelle's

I found this geat Bandana Bib pattern by Dessert Rose Design. It was such a quick and easy pattern, heck the hardest part was putting the snaps in! I wish I had a baby to model it for the photos.

Nikki's

I also made matching binky holders, pacifier straps, or whatever you wanna call them. I didn't use a pattern for these, rather I just looked at several on the web and gathered together my favorite details to make my own. Using the matching cotton and fleece that the bibs are made out of, I made a tube casing, attached a suspender clip at one end, and rather than sew on a pacifier that might wear out (do they wear out?) or put in a snap that might not be big enough for some pacifiers, I used a bit of elastic to attach the pacifier later.

Robot Bib

2011-04-22T12:24:00.000-07:00

My best friend had her second baby boy last night! I rolled around a lot of gift ideas in my head, but the "problem" with the second child is that mom and dad probably have most of what they need already (especially when it is another boy) but you can't not treat the new one as special as the first one! I've decided to take the easy way and just ask Nikki what she might like, but I also found some great fabric at Peapod Fabrics on a LASSgo which I could not pass up. I picked up this cool robot fabric and decided a bib would be the best way to showcase it! I used this great bib pattern from Chickpea Sewing Studio. The pattern worked wonders and I was really happy with the result! Hopefully this will tide the little one over until Mom lets me know what she wants.

Finally a girl!

2011-04-10T13:18:00.000-07:00

At long last someone around me is having a baby girl! I can't wait for the pink, the tulle, and the fun!
Starting it off is my favorite twist on a baby blanket: the stroller quilt. Readers know this great little idea, but for those that don't take a look!

Interchangeable Sweater Guard

2011-03-28T09:40:00.000-07:00

As promised, I gave it a go with clip on earring backs. The immediate advantage these have over alligator clips, is the flat back. This makes the super glueing so much easier.

The not as obvious advantage is that they make the end product a bit more flexible! First, if I leave the chain off, I could wear them as earrings (though they pinch a bit), but even better is that I can switch out the chain! I couldn't decide if these pretty red flowers should have a silver chain or a red chain. Both would go, but which would get more of a work out in my wardrobe? I already had a silver sweater guard, so why not use the gold chain I had in my stash? Even better, why commit to the gold chain, when I can attach some jump rings to the ends and make it interchangeable?

Of course this has led me to raiding my mom's clip on stash, and seeing what new sweater guards I can create with my new interchangeable chains! Unfortunately, Mom only wants to part with the gaudy 80's earrings, so it looks like I'm on the prowl for some new earrings...

Crab Finger

2011-03-21T09:40:00.000-07:00

'Della and I have a new hobby. As such we went shopping and got ourselves a new set up for the pier. We both got (almost) matching set of a 9ft surf rod and a medium duty spinning reel.

The spinning reel was new to us, as we had been using a convention reel, but the rod was a bit short for our needs. Since we can have two lines each, I thought I would try the other kind of reel, seeing as I read they were much easier to use. I suppose it was because I taught myself how to cast on a bait casting reel, that I don't find it all that much easier. What I did find, is that the extra two feet on my rod really helps quiet a bit for distance though and both 'Della and I kept hurting our fingers when they got caught up on the line during a cast.

Traveling the web for crabbing tips and tricks I found this great video, that has a fun tip: cut the finger off a glove to protect your finger. One trip to the dollar store later, both 'Della and I are outfitted with snazzy new finger guards. Halibu77 used a rubber band to keep his in place, but being frugal I used some hair bands that I had around. I cut the glove with pinking sheers so it would resist shredding, and used my handy awl to poke the hole. Simple, simple, simple. Now if these waves would just calm down, we can go take her for a spin!

Shamrock Pins

2011-03-17T09:40:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the wonderful tutorial on Skip to My Lou I made a couple of cute shamrock garlands last year. (I guess I didn't blog about them? What was I thinking?) Crocheting these shamrocks is nice project for my morning bus commute. They aren't so big that I have to wrangle them and because I can get a couple of them done on route, I always felt like I accomplished something before work!

These pins are made from a few spare clovers I had left over from the garlands and are meant to be surprises Thursday morning for St. Pat's. Fun!

A long time coming!

2011-03-07T09:40:00.000-08:00

My poor cousin Rachelle.

She has been married for two years now, and in fact has a baby soon on the way, and I just finished this blanket for her. What is really sad: it was was originally meant to be an engagement gift, that morphed into a wedding gift. Crikey.

More Sweater Clips!

2011-02-28T09:40:00.000-08:00

The actual request was for rhinestones, but I actually couldn't find any!

I wore my new sweater guard to work last week and was pleased that the number of compliments out numbered the number of comments like, "my great aunt used to wear those." Of course people might have just been practicing; If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. Whatever, I'll take it!

I swear my friend loves dogs, I'm not being mean...

I did have one friend mention she could use one, and another friend outright request one. Above are the results of the requests, which benefited from my earlier experience. I figured out buttons were a lot easier to use than jewelery findings. They have a nice flat back to adhere to and the loop on the back makes a nice to place to attach more baubles. I also picked up some clip on earring backs for more experimenting. Stay tuned...

Sweater Clip / Guard Tutorial

2011-02-21T14:25:00.000-08:00

I own a lot of sweaters.

Cute findings, alligator clips, and a silver chain (super glue not pictured)

I was not cognizant of this until about a month back a co-worker said to me, "oh, I thought of you this weekend, I saw this sweater..." I was taken aback hearing this. Why would someone think of me when they see a sweater? Apparently, I learned, because I wear a lot of sweaters.

Attach the chain to the alligator clip. I used the tabs on the end.

Buying some collared blouses, and doing my best to resist all the great winter sweaters I saw on clearance, I did my best to break the label of "the girl that wears a lot of sweaters." Unfortunately, my shopping ratio on theses trips was 1:1 for buying non-sweaters and sweaters.

Super glued the flowers on.

Now owning even more sweaters, and some collared shirts I probably wont wear, I awoke Saturday morning and realized that I wanted, no... needed a sweater clip. I should have stopped myself. Searching ebay for an accessory for something I was trying to distance myself from has to be enabling.

Well, at least I'm not modeling it on a sweater.

Not having the patience to buy one online and wait for it to arrive, and instead deciding I would just make one is probably going to make matters worse. I now have an adorable sweater clip, that I'm going to want to rotate through every cardigan I own. This will only mean my sweaters are going to get even more use. Ah well, if you love it, why fight it?

Yup, Another Doctor Who Freezer Stencil

2011-01-21T09:40:00.000-08:00

Roger's birthday again!

Well, it was when I made this anyway... last year. Just another quick Cricut lettering, and a simple blackout stencil of K-9. I'm aware it looks blotchy, but the paint wasn't dry when I took the photo. Honest.

Keep Pacifica Crabby

2011-01-15T21:26:00.000-08:00

I know, I know...

Honestly, I've been working on a couple of things, just haven't been posting anything! I should be better about it. Sorry.

One of the couple, was this freezer stencil, inspired by my new hobby of crabbing. I've managed to lure 'Della into this ferocious hobby, which so far has netted us three crabs (5 if you count the one that got away and the one that came up mostly dead after a sea lion got to it) and lost us many a bait cage.

This is a simple Cricut stencil for the lettering, but the amazing crab design was done for me by my partner in crab Della. She is always fantastic, and it was a joy to cut out. Thanks Hawkbill!

I've been bad...

2010-07-02T21:53:00.000-07:00

Honestly I don't have too much to post about, because I haven't been doing too much. Lucky for the blog; ages ago I bought these shirts as a surprise for my fellow LASSes on our upcoming Independence Day outing.

Nothing like a collection of clothing in various sizes, taking up desk space to motivate a girl back into the craft room.. Also, since I always have a mega roll of freezer paper, and large bottle of TARDIS blue fabric paint on hand, I really didn't have any excuse.

These shirts of course were done with my cricut, and freezer stencil. The bird comes from the Indie Art cartridge, while the font is Jasmine. Typically I use Jasmine with the italic feature on, as I think it looks a bit more like cursive. I actually forgot to hit that button this time around, but was rather pleased with the result.

Craft Room Clean Up

2010-04-19T09:28:00.000-07:00

I think I do this yearly; I make a post on how my workshop got out of control over the holidays, and how I had to clean it up, and I write a little blurb on how this is an excuse for why I haven't made anything lately. This holiday was a bit different, because there was a multitude of stressers that went with it, from the epically terrible weather that left me not wanting to pick up even a stencil brush, to having a new house and thus a new craft room, that I never felt I utilized right.

Liberty of London Garla quilt and After #1

I haven't been motivated to do much of anything for months, and every time I went into that room, I just felt so overwhelmed with what a mess it was. Then, I found that quilt, which in my opinion is GORGEOUS, and got a phone call that the in-laws were coming, and suddenly I was motivated to get into that room, totally re-arrange it and make it functional and cute. In-laws are good motivators, but mostly, it was that quilt.

After #2, aka "I can see the desk again."

Wait, it isn't as short as all that actually. See, awhile back a certain friend of mine introduced me to Liberty of London. I was planning a trip to the UK at the time, and made a mental note to stop in there, check it out, and pick her something up. That store was very cool, and I found it amusing that, at that time, they were showcasing fabrics from Amy Butler's quilting collection, but the thing that sticks out the most in my mind, was just how rude the girls in the fabric department were. I went to that shop with the intention of getting 'Della a souvenir, and to say that they were unhelpful, would put it mildly.

80% done re-arranging and cleaning the room.

So, when Della shared that Target was doing a LOL line, I wasn't all that excited. She showed me some photos, and they were cute, but really there wasn't anything that was impressing me enough, to get over my experience in the shop in London. Then some wacky fate intervened and the line happened to come out, just at the same time as a wave of the action figures I collect was released. This meant, that I was going to be at quiet a few targets looking for the new Young Aquaman figure, and that I could keep an eye out for some items that 'Della hadn't managed to score, due to too many hipsters and ebayers around here buying everything up.

I really should have taken a picture when it was more of a mess than this. This doesn't do it justice.

Seeing the items in person, without a sullen salesclerk breathing down my neck, totally changed my opinion on LOL. There are some seriously cute housewares going on (though the style of 99% of the clothing isn't me at all) and I broke down and actually bought a few pieces for the house. It was nice, because I honestly, in almost the year that we've been at the new place, I haven't bought much of anything new for the house. Everything we owned, was brought over from the old apartment, which is frugal, but not exciting. The excitement of getting a few pieces, coupled with 'Della's interest in the line, led to us going on wacky and fantastic road trip, along with Wahoo, and that road trip turned out to be one of the most fun weekends I've had in months. So, not only was that quilt gorgeous and motivating, it's chic reminder of a great time! Win-Win.

What I did this weekend...

2010-04-18T17:25:00.000-07:00

These little fellas would be a big reason why I haven't worked on much of anything this year.

They kinda got unruly, and I kinda accumulated a bunch that sat on the workshop table, instead of going on the shelves, taking up valuable craft space.

The shelves were out of control too, being a bit of domino situation, where touching one figure, would mean they would all fall over, and the cat would take Zatanna's head for a plaything, because for some reason, every time she falls, she loses her head.

No, of course I can't blame my general craft malaise all on these guys, there was the whole malaise part too. I really don't want to get into that here, let's just talk about the clean up effort.

The rest of the room looked like the Wicked Witch came in with her monkeys, tore up the joint, and did something with my little dog too. It was pretty bad.

I spent 10hours this week, trying to get everything into order. About an hour of this was just on my JLU/ DC Heroes collection, and the rest was totally re-organizing the room so that one could walk through it, let alone use it.

I have pictures of the rest of the room, they're coming soon, but I know some of my friends like to see just how I waste my spending cash. Moreover,two of my LASSes did accompany me on an epic and successful road trip (well, successful road trip and a day at Wondercon) to find the missing four figures for my collection, so I couldn't possibly deprive them of seeing them all together, could I?

Also, I was so happy when I actually got most of my figures to actually stand all at the same time, I thought I would take some pictures. These poor figures often suffer from a combination of a wobbly legs and top heavyness, that does result in major toppling, and then dominoes, as I mentioned above.

Thus, like a baby taking their first steps, I really needed to capture the moment where they weren't all laying in a giant pile. Alas it wasn't until I uploaded these, did I notice that Black Canary, and a couple of others had taken a spill in the three minutes it took for me to get my camera, set the light meter, and click away.

One might also note, that I tried to group the figures together in my own logical way. Yes, there is a shelf that is more or less "my favorite figures/ characters," and yes there is something that resembles "Batman villains, and that guy too," but kudos to anyone who can comment with a couple of the other themes I had going.

Even bigger kudos to anyone who can give me a couple more pairings for these last few shelves, because they kinda got divided into "good guys" and "bad guys," due to my exhaustion at Gentlemen Ghost falling over every three minutes. I have one empty shelf, and considering how hard these are to get your hands on now a days (we can't all hit 9 Targets every Saturday), I doubt it's going to fill, so any hints on grouping these last ones logically?

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

2010-03-17T09:01:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been so long. I don't have too much of an excuse ... so SODA BREAD. I made one traditional loaf for dinner, and some scones with currents to bring to work. You got to love quick and easy breads!

Woops, where did time go?

2010-01-22T19:13:00.000-08:00

Typically, I would have had my annual, "wow my craft space is a mess, but I got it cleaned up," post by now. Honest truth is, I don't have it cleaned up yet.

What I do have is some tea towels that I stenciled for my favorite crafter Della. They feature our favorite LASS bird, amongst the changing seasons.

I used freezer stencil for the bird, based on the original badge that Della's designed, as well as a craft punch with freezer paper, for the flowers. The actual branches I free handed.

Wahoo actually found these tea towels for a certain wedding shower we were throwing, but at that time they were all sold out. I was happy that they came back in stock again by Christmas though!

I ordered quiet a bit of them, with some plans for embroidery later on, but I still have to clear off that desk!

The Modern and Stylish Baby

2009-12-15T11:13:00.000-08:00

Here is a quick collection of some onsies I made for my dear friend Nicholle. They're all mostly done with a Cricut, or just hand sketched, and cut out.

This one was actually for Nicholle's husband, who had a requested an entire Link outfit, but that was a bit out of my talent range. Instead, I opted to make him the classic Zelda design. The D in the "saved" is actually open, I just forgot to pull off the freezer stencil for the picture, woops!

I love the colors on this particular one, but unfortunately Nikki didn't get it right away. Maybe it's a bit vague, but I adore how the bomb has a Dr. Strangelove feel to it!

This one will be pretty awesome for dress occasions I think. I'm hoping Peanut is going to be one of those kids that just wants to be overdressed for every occasion. You know, like the kind of kid that wants to wear his Christmas best to the shopping market?

This last one, was actually a present for Nicholle's twin sister Sara, who just happened to also have a little boy. Sara is one of the best hair dressers out there, and she got a real kick out of this.

Oh yea, and this... man maybe I'm slow but I finally figured the best way to get excess glitter off my stencils: a lint roller of course! Oh, that made clean up so much easier!

Happy Birthday D! (Yea a day late...)

2009-12-11T09:50:00.000-08:00

Poor D, all he wanted was a Catman shirt, and I nagged and nagged him to draw out those cat scratches with the intention of whipping it out for his birthday. Of course, the best plan of action would have been to open the shirt that I ordered, to make sure it was indeed "the perfect color" of khaki, poopy brown, sooner than right before I was about to stencil it.

Mmmm no.

Woops.... as it turned out the shirt was way more Booster Gold, than manila envelope. So, after some discussion with D, and much promising that I would find the perfect shirt, we decided the only thing to do with this shirt, was to make a Booster Gold homage.

You can really see here, how hard it is to photograph the color of this shirt. The main image is most true to life.

Inspired by the Booster Gold Fan Club shirts that are running around out there, we thought we would go beyond just putting a blue star on the front. Recalling that he was a football star in his own time, we went with a jersey idea. Maybe there is actually a cannon jersey number for Booster, but if there is, I'm just not that big of a fan girl to know it. So, we went with a 01, because if Booster got to pick his number, I'm fairly certain it would be 1 or 7.

Yup, we're gonna have to coordinate at SDCC, so we don't wear these at the same time.

Having the blue paint, and my star stencil out, I thought I would make a shirt for myself. I had picked up a yellow shirt on clearance the other day, that a coworker thought was so ugly, they asked if it was supposed to be "ironic." Right, so I wont be wearing that to work anymore, which makes it perfect for this little project. Not wanting to be too twinsies with D, I just went for a play on the term Booster Club. Hey, what I can I say? I love me some puns. Also, of course I love glitter too, so my shirt has a healthy dash of gold glitter on the blue paint. Cute!

Nicholle's Stroller Blanket

2009-12-05T14:06:00.000-08:00

Christmas crafting is on hold until I finish up some baby gifts for a very dear friend. It seems my luck hasn't changed with friends having babies, as she is going to bring another boy into the world. I just hope the little peanut likes comics...

The first thing I worked on this weekend was a stroller blanket, in a kicky yellow and red scheme. I know little boys are down with monkeys, I just hope the same holds for lady bugs, which I thought were too cute to pass up.

Eargh

2009-11-23T18:25:00.000-08:00

Don't you love it when a plan doesn't come together?

No, of course not. Neither do I.

This was the second birthday present shirt I worked on this weekend. The first one was so fouled up, I wont even share. This one got some lovely paint splatter on it, from when I closed the bottle. The splatter was so awesome Goof-Off failed to do anything but take my nail polish off. Thus the addition of two extra monarchs, which really takes away from the effect anyhow.

Ugh.

Happy Birthday Lassy!

2009-11-19T10:01:00.000-08:00

Our Top Banana, Lass Lady 'Della is having a birthday...

Inspired by this post, and the fact that the beloved birthday sign that my mom had when I was growing up, has totally been abducted by my brother; I made this simple and cute birthday banner. I didn't actually read the linked post, I just looked at the lovely pictures and thought, "well, there is a great use for Cricut."

Glancing at the other post now, I can say we both pretty much followed the standard birthday banner design. I used the Cricut to cut out 5" letters and some bridges, my Martha Stewart hole punch for the holes, and packet of scrapbooking brads I picked up at Micheal's to string them all together. It was pretty simple, fast, and I think turned out really cute!

Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY 'DELLA!

WIP

2009-11-08T22:00:00.000-08:00

LASS

2009-11-04T20:18:00.001-08:00

LASS ladies are the best ladies.

Bass Boat Pots

2009-10-12T12:00:00.000-07:00

For everyone around me, this blog has been a long time coming. I can't even recall at this moment what awoke this obsession, that I had as a kid, but let me just state that I'm all into metallic flake at the moment, particularly of the bass boat variety! I was heavy into it as kid, from those kiddie rides at the county fairs, where there was a "car" on a spoke, of a Ferris wheel kinda thing? When it went in a circle, it was often accompanied by what some might call obnoxious, but I felt fabulous, "beeping" noise, that I do believe was supposed to be the vehicle's horn. These rides actually came in different varieties, be they helicopters, motorcycles, boats, space ships, or even little trucks; I LOVED them all. The only real question was, did I love the ride, or the just the paint job most of them had? I'm pretty sure it was the sparkle. My father didn't really help with this obsession, being that he understood it completely, offering to paint my first car... a 1996 dodge neon, with candy apple red flake.

D was utterly patient with me, as I first tried to describe the rides, then the paint as "depth sparkle," then looking at countless photos of random people's hot-rods, until I finally communicated exactly the kind of paint job I was looking for. Once we got over that hurdle, he helped me with the reason I went to his genius in the first place: how to achieve this on a terracotta pot. After much back and forth, educating myself, and expounding on his own paint knowledge, of such things as gelcoats, rattle cans, and air guns, we finally decided the best way to bass boat paint a pot (without hauling out my Dad's compressor) was epoxy resin. However, once I was at the store, holding a can of pour on resin, I spotted Decoart's Triple Thick Glaze. Since it was non toxic, and about half the price of the resin, I thought I would actually give that a go first.

I'm pretty happy with the glaze results. I made two different pots, and had a bit of trial and error. The first pot I made, had a base coat of burgundy, and a lighter red glitter coating. It had exactly the tone I wanted, only the glitter size was all wrong. Playing around, I mixed a goodly amount of orange fabric glitter into the glaze, and slapped that onto a plain pot. There it was, the missing key for bass boat sparkle: tiny fleck.

The next day I headed back to the store, purchased red fabric glitter (I suppose you could use any small fleck glitter, but I liked the loose fabric glitter, because I could use it for freezer stencils later), and mixed it in with the glaze. Following some popular directions for painting your car with metallic fleck, each pot got three glitter coats, and one clear coat, to achieve maximum depth. I let each coat dry at least 24hours before I put on the next one, and flip them over frequently, to minimize drips.

My Dad used to have a little thing he did, to show me how nice the shine on a car was. He would put his watch up next to the car, and if he could read "the time" in the reflection, he said it was testament to how well done the paint job was. Now, I'm not crowing about my "glaze job," but I think the above photo with the flower reflection, gives a really good idea of how clear and shiny the glaze sets up.

However, I realized just from trying to find example pictures, how hard it is to photograph metallic fleck, let alone the "depth" of it. In my photos, the reflections actually make it look a bit bumpy, which the glaze, shockingly, is not! There are a couple of air bubbles and drips on the rims, which can be completely avoided with a bit more patience, and rotation, however they, the red pot especially, came out exactly how I wanted! Now, I just have to figure out what else needs a bass boat paint job...

Smoking.... also, part two in a three part series.

2009-10-01T18:59:00.000-07:00

As you saw last week, I've been playing with my smoker in order to master the art of the world's greatest smoked salmon™. I had a very good reason... I wanted to make "wedding salmon." Now, the actual brining and smoking of the salmon is a pretty passive thing. It doens't take take talent, it just takes time. There are a couple of variables you can do to change things up, and I will share what I did, but the real talent is knowing "when to say when." There are two of stages in the smoking process that you just have to "eyeball," like when the pellicle has formed, and when it's sat in the smoker long enough to be cooked. These stages, unless you have someone to show you, you're just going to learn to identify by google fu, trial, error, and common sense, because they're a bit hard to describe and even harder to photograph.

For those of you unfamiliar with the smoking process, I'm going to go through it now, so I can share my couple of tweaks. First thing you have to do is get a nice fillet of fish. Being in the Bay Area, this isn't hard for me, and I have my fishmonger clean it for me too. It's important that you remove the bones, especially the pin bones, and take care while you do it, to not ruin the appearance of your pretty fillet. If there are any bones that manage to make it home with you from the shop, I use a pair of needle nose pliers (cleaned thank you) to carefully pull them out. After that, you make up a brine and bring it to room temperature. Now, this is where the world's greatest smoked salmon™, becomes the world's greatest smoked salmon™.  The brine ratio's are typical enough (1/2c salt, 1/2c sugar, qt water), however for the sugar I used brown sugar, and for the real kicker, I add a shot of apple brandy to the brine. I boil all this together, or at least warm it, stirring until all the solids are dissolved, and then I slightly cover it (so no errant nasties fall in) and let it cool. Once it's brought to room temperature, I place the fish in a large, heavy duty plastic bag, pour the brine in after it, seal almost fully, squeeze all the air out, fully seal the bag, place it in the fridge and let it get it's osmosis on for at least 8 hours, flipping the bag over occasionally. So yes, it's best to do this a bit before you head to bed for the night.

Once the fish has brined, you take it out of the bag and gently wash it under cool running water. Then, I take my fillet, place it on the rack I'm going to smoke it on (which is actually the top rack, but it's on the bottom rack for the picture) and let it develop it's pellicle. What's pellicle you ask? Well, google it, but the short answer is, it's important and it's hard to photograph, so I'm going to let you use your great web research skills to figure that part out.  While the pellicle is forming, I get my smoker going.  I like to use apple chips, about a handful at a time, and place them in the smoker pan, plug it in, and let it heat up.  I have a theory that preheating the smoker will speed up the whole smoking process, but I do realize I let an awful lot of smoke and heat out, when I put the rack with the fish in it. Which, of course is the next step: once your pellicle is formed, you carefully take the rack out to your smoker, snuggle it in there, and DON'T PEAK AT IT for several hours.

The no peak rule was one of the hardest to learn. I am known for my want of immediate gratification, and I will admit that my first salmon took a lot longer to smoke than it should have, because I was opening the lid every  hour and "checking on it." It's really rather important that you don't do that, and actually only open it so that you can add some more chips when necessary, or when you actually are getting close to it being done.  Now, you want to smoke your fish until it reaches 180* (a thermometer is best, but once you've smoked a couple you get to know what a done fillet looks like), and most sources will tell you to only have the smoking chips in there for the first couple of hours. I don't disagree with the chip instructions, but I will say that if you really like the smoke flavor, you can play around with how long you keep your chips going. What's really great about smoking it yourself, is you can make it the way you like it.
A couple of important things during the smoking process; is to try to do it in a sheltered area, so wind isn't robbing you of your heat, and watch what you put your smoker on, especially if it gets really hot.  Oh, and always open the lid away from you, or you'll get a nasty face of smoke.
Once the beauty is cooked, you can take it out, let is rest, and then go at it! Personally, I can just flake off a piece of fish and be happy enough, but for the wedding it was served with creme fraiche, creamed cheese, red onion, and capers for garnish. I had a small basket of different crackers, but personally I like a water cracker or a saltine, because I don't think either takes away from the fish too much. Though, it's pretty hard to take anything away from the world's greatest smoked salmon™.

Cheese! (smoked that is)

2009-09-21T18:41:00.000-07:00

The real Old Faithful

Anyone who is really close to me, is familiar with the above image. They're also familiar with the severe weight comes with it. Spiderman's uncle might think that "with great power, comes great responsibility," but what are radioactive spider powers, compared to trying to recreate the lost recipe for the world's greatest smoked salmon™?

Top: Irish Cheddar & Pepper Jack. Middle: Sharp Cheddar. Bottom: Garlic Jack & Idonotrecall
Akin to Atlas, I've taken up this epic task, of trying to recall, just exactly how to make the world's greatest smoked salmon™, and when I need a little break I smoke whatever I can get my hands on. The other weekend, I asked Shawn if he could pick up some cheddar for me, when he went to to the store.  Figuring I was going to smoke it, he came back with five bricks!

It's a smoke-HOUSE.... it's mighty, mighty...

My personal favorite woodchip for smoking is apple, but I had a ton of hickory on hand, so I used that instead. Smoking cheese is really great for those, like me, who love immediate gratification. We cut up the bricks into one inch cubes, while I pre-heated the smoker, and got the chips really going. I covered the racks with tin foil to make clean up easier, but the smoke would probably have penetrated better without it.  However, after about 30mintues in the smoker, both the garlic and cheddar jack were so soft, I think it would have glooped through the rack!

Back to the immediate gratification: like I just mentioned, it only takes about 30mintues for the cheese to take on a good smoked favor. Cheeses without additions (like the garlic and the pepper) held their shape better, than those with (which turned into little blobbies). The shape is kinda moot though, if you're like us and use the cheese in the world's greatest macaroni and smoked cheese™!

Quick and Familiar One...

2009-09-04T14:19:00.000-07:00

"And now for something, not completely different"

Upon the debut of a certain sweatshirt, a couple months back, my friend D declared that he wanted one of his own. Being that he was the one that got me into the show, I really couldn't refuse.  However, I don't care to make things exactly the same twice, so I rearranged the placement of the wording, pulled out the good old BBC T.A.R.D.I.S. stencil, and then deployed a certain other trick, which I haven't shared yet. I am about to share now though:

One of the more laborious things for me, when doing stenciling, is cutting out words. Words have all those bridges and tunnels to create, meaning the take more time, and you have less room for error, since everyone knows what a letter looks like. For a while, I actually avoided doing any stencils that needed a phrase or a word, because I just disliked cutting out letters so much.

Luckily, I had an epiphany, while trying to figure out, "what in the world I was going to do with that Cricut." Shawn bought me a Cricut, a couple years back on Black Friday. Not being a scrapbooker, I really never put it to use. Being that he braved the crowds at the wee hours of the morning, and really got a spectacular deal on it, I couldn't have him return it (he also refused to return it), but I also was never motivated to take it out of the box. That was, until I realized the little Cricut could cut the letters out for me!

Now, I've tagged this blog with "craft tutorial," but it barely qualifies. Basically, if you're blessed enough to own a Cricut, you should totally use it to cut out quick stencils for you, using freezer paper. Just apply freezer paper to the sticky pad, like you would any other paper, and have the little guy do all the work. Yes, you have to make sure you keep track of the centers of the A's, O's, and what not, but it makes doing phrases, names, and other wording a breeze!

UPDATE: I got a good number of hits from people who seem to be looking for a TARDIS stencil. If you like the trusty one I have, please click here.

First in a three part series...

2009-08-27T14:36:00.000-07:00

Adorable and yummy goodness.

A certain Lassie was having a wedding, and it only seemed fit to have hen party with her girls, before she became a Mrs. Lassie. Of course, our idea of party is listening to Coast to Coast AM, Golden Oldies in Spanish, and crafting up a million butterflies.

All of this was fueled by proseco and a couple dozen lemon, spritz, sandwich cookies, which were inspired by this posting at Cannelle et Vanille. Maybe I'm kicking it in the dark ages, but the basic idea of using two spritz cookies, to make a sandwich cookie, blew me away. Adding the lemon to the mix, just sealed the deal.

I didn't follow the recipe of inspiration, rather I used my own family's spritz recipe, added a bit of lemon zest and juice, and did the same with my favorite butter-cream frosting. If you're a veteran of the mass assembly line spritz making, as many of us become Christmas after Christmas, then you'll be able to knock these out in nothing flat. Just don't have your husband help you fill them, like I did. If you do, you'll end up several cookies short and might not have enough frosting!

Another Quick Gift Roundup

2009-08-18T09:08:00.000-07:00

Well, not really a mandrake...

Sorry this is late, but it works thematically as these were a couple of belated birthday presents for one of my godsons. I found this wonderful label by Craftylilthing on one of my lost weekends wandering the interwebs. Frankly, I thought it was great and I knew the mom of my godson would just adore it too. Also, I figured, I could attach it to any plant, as both her boys are really into "watering" plants right now. Kids, go figure...

Two is a good age to start rebelling.

The plant was coupled by a simple Star Wars Rebel insignia, freezer stencil shirt. Which, like Harry Potter, is another fandom of the mom.

Sport this, and you too can be part of the Rebel Alliance and a traitor!

I'm going to be sad when my godson grows a little older and figures out his birthday presents are really aimed at his mom. Sure, I can stencil a Thomas the Tank Engine, but it isn't nearly as fun!

Comic Con Schwag Wrapping

2009-08-07T21:47:00.000-07:00

No one needs two Spartacus shirts, they might not need one.

Have more schwag than you can handle? Then here is a good solution for anyone having a birthday or other gift giving event close to San Diego Comic Con (or any other schwag infested event). Just make sure your friend didn't go too.

"How about a little snippy, snippy?"

All you do, is grab one of those free shirts, that you probably ran over three small children and five other fans of the "popular arts" the get. You know the shirt. The one, that once you got home, you realized you were only going to wear it on laundry day? Yes, that one. While you're at it, also grab one of those lanyards that the pretty girl handed you, even though you were already wearing one.

Put it with all those others things that "might come in handy later," and are plugging your craft box.

Cut off the handy dandy lanyard clip, saving it for yourself, and take the remaining lanyard ribbon and cut it in half. Now that you have two "ribbons," use one to tie close the neck and arm holes of the shirt.

It is of dire importance that you actually put a nice gift inside the schwag wrap. Believe me.

Place whatever the real present is, inside the shirt.

VIOLA

Take your other lanyard ribbon, and tie close the end of the t-shirt so the gift wont escape! There you have it; once less t-shirt you wont wear, and some impressive looking gift wrap! Enjoy!

Back.

2009-08-01T11:22:00.000-07:00

Greetings Lovelies,

The blog continues.

It just feels to magical to be back.

I thought it would only be natural for a blog that had such a long hiatus, to come back with post that was about a week too late too. So, yes here are some photos from SDCC.

That is one sad Monarch. I like to think Hatred was teasing him.

The Con, of course, is still too crowded. Oddly, it didn't actually feel more crowded than it did last year, but the same problem of not being able to get into any panels, unless you camped out for hours, was still there. We managed to get into two panels (I'm not counting the one I had to sit through to be in the next two) though, and I will say they were both well worth it.

LOVED this guy, he even acted that part perfect!

The first that counted was the Adult Swim Venture Brothers panel, which any loyal reader would know, was going to be a piece of fried gold for us. Shawn and I had agreed before hand, that of all the offerings, this was going to be one that we would get into, no matter what.

Prettiest Dr. Mrs. The Monarch I've seen, even if D complained it wasn't low cut enough.

I suppose our excitement for the panel would be why, of the few photos I did take, they were almost all Venture Brothers centric.

I still miss British supermodel Betsy.  I know, I really need to give that hope up.

With two important exceptions; this Psylock I photographed for a certain Mortadella, and frankly because she was a great Psylock.

Imagine the collective power between these two, and they still have to carry their swag in a free bag, like the rest of us.

... and this photo because: FANNY PACK. OK, yea I feel for those who dress in costume. I know they don't have pockets, and you got to put your coffee money and house keys somewhere. But come on, you're Green Lantern, imagine something a bit more creative.

It was a photo choice between big and blurry or small and dark. Sorry.

Like God was rubbing our tummy, the wacktackular Venture Brothers panel was followed by the Doctor Who: Planet of Dead and Torchwood: Children of Earth screening, and was introduced by none of other than Mr. David Tennant himself (oh yea Davies and Jack were there too). I really wish I could have gotten better pictures, but I was basically having a fangirl meltdown. Tennant was a funny and lovely rally guy, getting us all hyped up for the screenings, and basically making the entire room go ballistic when he kissed John Barrowman.

Couture indeed.

Wrapping up this spastic coverage, I'm going lament that there wasn't much swag that got me excited this year. We got an awesome Venture Brothers decal and a cup sporting this tragic image from the Adult Swim booth. Other than those, my one true score I made on the trolley back to the hotel.

We were actually attempting to get our grubby paws on the above beauty, when we instead were given two gigantic Chuck/Big Bang Theory bags and four Lego Rockband t-shirts at the Warner Brothers booth. Disappointed, we shoved the t-shirts in the bags and continued to wander the floor.

I was lamenting our poor swag findings, until our ride home when a lovely lady shouted at my husband, "you want to trade for that bag you have there?" She offered us everything from autograph signing tickets for It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia to Naruto tote bags, but I said I we were going to hold out for that ring.

Confused, the girl with her turned around and said, "this thing?" And there it was in all it's flashing glory, the accessory I'll wear to every function for the next year. The nice lady felt bad making, what she thought, was an unfair trade, but I couldn't have been happier!

Hiatus

2009-04-21T09:14:00.000-07:00

Obviously, I've been rather busy as of late (who hasn't), and I happen to know for a fact, that this busyness will not be slowing down anytime soon. I promise to come back as soon as I can come up for air, but in the meantime, take a look at this wonderful craftblog.

Is that not a wonderful basket?

Not that you were worried...

2009-04-01T23:59:00.000-07:00

Revamping the Blog

2009-04-01T10:47:00.000-07:00

With the constantly broken sewing machine, and the abundance of craft blogs about, I've been giving my own blog some thought. What I have come to is the fact, that there are certainly not enough cat blogs about, and it's about time I fixed that.

Starting today this blog will be transitioning to an all cat blog. Well, with some comic book stuff thrown in, because there isn't really anyway I could avoid that.

Updates coming soon!

C.C. Deux

2009-03-12T21:48:00.000-07:00

Littler Solution for large charms...

On an afternoon craft store trip with Mortadella, I came across the perfect solution for my charm needs! Just add a jump ring, some chain, lobster clasp, and I'm all set.

Wondercon '09 Followup

2009-03-02T09:06:00.000-08:00

There were actually a lot of Henchmen, but these guys were the best!

Oh Wondercon, every year more fun, every year more crowds.

I'm just going to type this and leave it alone, because there is no way I can fathom that the people running the con did not realize, once things got going, the mess they created: Less space for "waiting to get onto the convention floor" is in dire order. Especially, when that space remains empty the entire day. That space needs to be given to the actual "floor" space, so that people can move and breathe. I'm sure Wondercon is getting flack from the city, about people lining up on the street (I recall the cops from a few years back screaming at everyone). However, the current setup isn't working. If the city saw the mass of people in the crowded aisles, I'm sure their next complaint is going to be "fire hazard."

Dean Venture in his pajamas.

That typed, let's talk about fun stuff and my godson's meta costume. Originally I had big plans of dressing the wee one up as The Monarch from Venture Brothers. However, and luckily, for him I'm still in the midst of sewing machine issues. Not wanting to fully submit to store bought, I thought it would be funny if we dressed him in some Spiderman pjs and called him Dean. What can I say? The Venture Brothers and their pajamas is one of the funniest things on the show, for me.

The official Dean Venture shirt.

Knowing that we needed something more to convey that the babe was dressed as Dean Venture, and not just in his jammies, I came up with the lack luster of idea of putting a name tag on him, which would read "Dean." Thankfully, D came along and shared with me the official Dean Venture t-shirt, which:

a) made me feel a bit better about my lack luster idea

b) helped me figure out what the name tag should look like

Our very own Dean.

The "costume" was bit high concept, but we actually had a couple people stop and laugh. However, my favorite moment was when we saw an excellent group of Monarch Henchmen, and decided to ask them for a picture. The conversation went a bit like this:

Me: (gently touching the arm of a Henchmen rushing to get somewhere) Excuse me, could we get a picture?

Henchmen: (polite but annoyed) Uhmmmmm

Me: We just want a picture with our Dean

Entire group stops, excited, curious, looks around. Nikki wanders up with "Dean" in her arms.

All Henchmen: DEEEEAAAAN!

It was pretty awesome. They fussed over his button and laughed, and I got my favorite picture from a con ever. Our Dean was wonderful too. I think he was truly fascinated by The Henchmen, which only convinces me that he must indeed be cutout for a life of crime.

It figures that a Green Lantern would have to give the X-men directions.

Speaking of crimes, there weren't many, if any, costume "crimes" this year. We saw a ton of wonderful, impressive, and cool costumes.

Vision and FRIGGIN Hellcat!

There was even this Spectacular Hellcat; Patsy Walker, costume. Which delighted me because, I've never seen a Hellcat at convention before, and I'm really digging the latest Hellcat mini that just wrapped. Believe me, if you like silly and surreal writing, and lovely art pick it up.

Female Robin

Actually, I don't recall seeing one costume that looked like it never should have crept out of it's parent's basement. People stepped it up a notched, which was a bit disappointing for me, because I do also enjoy the ones that make you shake your head and wonder.

I wish D hadn't stepped out to get food, otherwise I would name this dude.

There was also a good deal of crowd stopping costumes and creations about. A larger number of these were Transformers, and were pretty jawdropping.

Aww, doesn't that girl in the background look nice?

My problem though, and I know I said I wouldn't complain anymore (and it's such a tired complaint) is that these things really are crowd stopping. You get an entire mess of people trying to get a look at these fabulous creations, and you can't get around them. Actually, the Transformer fans were pretty good about this, and did try to step off to the side, or pose in unpopulated areas. Cheers to them.

Look, if you're gonna ruin my lunch, I can take your picture.

The same really can't be said for the guys running their remote controlled, super loud, R2D2 units. One almost ran over our little Dean, when we were in a totally remote area, trying to give him a bottle. They then proceeded to blare their damn bloops and bleeps, then the Star Wars theme song, and collect a gigantic crowd right on top of where we were sitting. They could have just moved 20 feet over and we wouldn't have a smushed baby and a ruined lunch, but I don't think these dudes have any concept that not everyone is excited by the color changing paint they used.

Dean is gonna finish cleaning some droids... droid's clocks that is!

All in all, it was great time spent with good friends and it just makes me more excited for San Diego, later this year. But, I better get a handle on my crowd frustration before then. Last thing we need is me hulking out, and maybe tearing off a car door panel or something.

SLIGHT UPDATE: It seems I'm not the only one who thought this was a great photo. When this woman was taking the photos she was crawling all over the ground, taking a million shots. I was terrified until she introduced herself from SFWeekly.

Wondercon '09!

2009-02-25T16:06:00.000-08:00

Free handed (with the help of a cup) Blue Beetle symbol stencil

It is that time of the year! Sadly, I've been a little swamped, and wasn't able to come up with anything too creative. Then end result is a freezer stencil Blue Beetle T-shirt. I had played around with the idea of getting a light blue shirt and painting over the shoulders and back the beetle design (like Ted's own costume or something Snapper Carr might wear), but I was afraid that fabric paint in that large of a quantity wouldn't look nice.

Close up detail

Applique is out of the question, as long as my machine is decommissioned, so I just stuck with what I know. Sadly, the broken machine also means that I can't get too creative in what the godbaby is wearing this year. Let's just say mom scored a deal, and I have a "Dean" button to make. I promise... pictures are coming!

Little solutions, for large charms.

2009-02-18T14:43:00.000-08:00

My Juicy charm collection

There comes a time in girl's life when she realizes she can't craft whatever she likes, and ends up with an expensive hobby. For me that would be my Juicy Couture charm bracelet. It is a bit of a hodgepodge in the sense that I won the actual bracelet on a Goodwill auction, and took off the lipgloss charms to make more room for my own charms! I never would have used the lipgloss, and the money I saved on the bracelet means I can buy more charms; call me ghetto, but I'm happy with it.

Juicy Charm Catcher

Now, I love my little collection, but having a job where I spend a bunch of time at a computer, I find it a bit difficult to wear (and impossible to type with). Not wanting to just wear it out in the evening or to random coffee meets with the girls, I went about looking at how others wear their charms, when they're not on the bracelet. One of my favorites is the idea of attaching it to your purse, but I'm a bit too violent with my purse for that. The other solution I came across was the Juicy Couture Charm Catcher necklace. I've never actually seen it in person, but I liked the idea and the style of it.

Pinwheel charm on faux charm catcher

Of course I could go to the Juicy shop downtown, or the near by Nordstrom to see if I liked the look of it, or I could go into my own jewelery making component and findings collection and see what I had there. What I had was a nice loop that came in a three pack, which I bought for another necklace awhile back. I pulled out that loop, spray painted it gold, set it on a jump ring, strung it on a chain, and then placed one of my charms on it. I can't say I was wild about the end result; my faux catcher was too big for my taste, so I set about on another idea.

Juicy charm on large chain

My next idea was to pull out a large chained necklace I had laying around. I do believe that JC sells charm necklaces that follow this same idea, but of course the chain looks like a larger version of their bracelet. Again sadly, I felt this was just too big, not very me, but would probably look great on Mr. T.

Juicy charm on simple chain with jump ring

I was getting to the bottom of my jewelery case, when I decided to try the charm on a simple gold jump ring, strung on a chain. This isn't exactly earth shattering, but it is the best solution I found that evening. I'm still on the lookout for a smaller gold loop to make my own charm catcher, but I haven't had much luck. In the meantime, this should work out fine. Alternatively I could try a ribbon, but I'm afraid that weight of the charm might constantly untie it.

My idea well has run dry... any suggestions?

Slight Hiatus

2009-02-11T13:22:00.001-08:00

Sorry readers, I am currently, and again, without a sewing machine pedal. This of course slows my crafting, and what I have done this month is ultra top secret Valentines Day and Birthday stuff, that I can't share until later. I'm promise... craft to come.

"You... live in Scooby-Doo's house."

2009-01-24T12:59:00.000-08:00

It's been quiet a week, and I actually haven't made anything new.I did however, manage to join the legion of people who have made their own, infamous, "The Angels have the phone box" shirts.

Phonebox? Phone box?

Well, sweatshirt as it were. This was another gift, Christmas present really (of the much delayed variety), for Roger, our comic book friend.

Still drying

The actual phone box... or police box, (sematics I suppose when it is a phone box to call the police) stencil was once published on a BBC craft source, that was long gone before I started making Doctor Who fun stuff. It is however, a pretty nifty thing for them to have had for their fans. It's a shame when things like that disapear.

Quiet Book

2009-01-15T11:16:00.000-08:00

Quiet Book Cover

My youngest godson turned one. As this is a super exciting thing, I thought long and hard about the kind of present I wanted to give him. Then I jumped in my WABAC machine and recalled a super fond item I had myself; A Quiet Book.

Inside Cover & "Put Your Hand in the Mitten"

This is the kind of thing that there aren't a lot of patterns for anymore. I suppose they may have lost their popularity, or be a relic of sorts. They are however soft books, with little activities in them. Inside are pieces to attached by velcro, or other fun things like the one you can see in the picture above; a little mitten to put your hand in. The idea being, that while you mess with the book, you're quiet and hopefully entertained! hahah

"Match the Balloons" & "Match the Pieces"

I had one that was made for my family, by a family friend. It resided at my grandmother's house and I loved it. We weren't ever very quiet when we played with ours, generally there was a lot of screaming and fighting over who could hold the book, and how "you're doing it wrong."  I think I was still messing with it, well into my teen years.

"Put Something in my Carts"

Psh, who am I kidding? I still mess with it today, because I had to basically study it, in order to figure out how they're made! Alright, yes I still play with it too.

"Hang Clothing on the Line" & "Make my Face"

The biggest difference between my own and the one I made, was that mine was made with polyester pages, with a cotton quilted cover.  Also, mine came with the pieces ready to play. However, in the best interest of a one year old, his pieces are stitched to the velcro, until mom decides he is old enough to take them off. Then she can take out the scissors and snip!

"Pick Apples from the Tree" & "Back Cover"

Also, the pages of the book are made from felt, hand sewed onto organic muslin. The cover is a cotton fat quarter, which I actually bought for a different project for my godson, before he was even born, and which obviously never came to fruition...

How it was "bound"

Every piece of muslin was designed with two activities, one for each page, with the exception of the middle page, it has the train spread.  I sewed two of the muslin pages right sides together, with a piece of quilt backing in the middle, turned them right side out, and sewed them shut. The cover was made the same way, with the addition of some freezer stenciling I did before sewing. Lastly, all the pieces were laid on top of each other, in the proper order, and I sewed down the middle, to bind the book.

Felt French Press Cozy Brainstorming

2009-01-06T08:50:00.000-08:00

I got a comment from one of my favorite bloggers and commenters Lidia, asking for a non-knit, low-sew french press cozy. My first reaction (sitting here with a cozyless new french press, I got for Christmas) was, "oh pie, just take a piece of felt and wrap it around the thing. Felt cures all!" Then a few things occurred to me:

1) "pie," is a fun phrase, but not nearly as fun as some others
2) I'm not wild about telling people how to do things, that I haven't tested myself
3) Not being wild has never stopped me before
4) Lidia might not be aware that felt is the panacea, because basically you never have to hem it (now you know!)
5) I'm sure others have beaten me to the whole "felt" french press cozy, let's see what they found out...

The very first hit I got on google for a non-knit/crochet version was from Felt Cafe (via CRAFT). They have a pretty nifty tutorial on felting your own er felt to make a french press cozy. While that is very cool, I know Lids, and while she would be down with the concept, I'm thinking she might not be actually down with the execution. Of course, there is no reason why one could not follow these same instructions, but substitute in some bought felt.

As this project doesn't look too time consuming, I would start with a square of good old used-to-be-25cents-polyester-fun-felt. Once you have the piece cut to fit, you can use it as your muslin, or pattern for the one you're really gonna make.

Well ok, you could totally use the fun felt one, but just thinking on it, I'm going to say that poly felt is too thin to properly insulate, even though polyester is notorious for "not breathing." Therefore, I would make my own cozy out of some nice thick wool felt or maybe even some industrial felt. However, those other felts are sometimes hard to come by, so I wouldn't rule out the idea of whip stiching (wonderful tut here Lids) together two nicely coordinating pieces of felt for better insulation, and bit of panache.

Lastly, if one was to say, whip stich two pieces together, they might want to keep a couple things in mind:

I would recommend you sew the snaps in place before you sandwiched together the pieces for whip stitching (this would hide all your little threads...)
Personally though, I might take a book from these beyond cool looking quilted ones, and use some ribbon closure, that you could sandwich between the two layers
If you do manage to find really thick felt, I would hidy-ho over to either the 99cent Only store or Big Lots for a package of multi variety Singer sewing needles they always have, in order to procure your very own "THE NEEDLE," which would be long and pointy enough to stand up to the thick felt
I would also think to choose felt in dark colors, because inevitably you're going to get coffee on it, and frankly felt isn't that washable
Felt applique totally rocks, if you're that enthusiastic and you want to add some personality and individuality

Oh actually, the real last two things are as follows:

Wahoo and 'Della if you have any ideas to add, something I might have breezed over or forgot please comment!
Lids... PICTURES PLEASE!

Spats

2009-01-05T14:33:00.000-08:00

I took a bit of a crafting hiatus over Christmas break, meaning basically I only worked on one project I needed to get done, and one project I wanted to get done.

Spats!

The project that I wanted to do, was a pair spats. Wahoo, 'Della, and I saw spats at the Bazaar Bizarre and I fell in love with them. Amazingly the spats artist is wonderful enough to offer a spats pattern on her own blog. Mine are not nearly as wonderful as her's, but they are fully reversable, ankle length, and I think pretty cool.

The pattern took a little play, and a bit forethought, as it didn't come with instructions. However, once I played with the pieces enough, I was able to puzzle out the best way for me to put them together, for my needs. I didn't put snaps or buttons holes on them, because I did want to make them reversible. Instead I used pin backs for closures, making them not only reversible, but fully adjustable! 

Annual Cleanup

2009-01-02T16:13:00.000-08:00

Stuff.

It is that time of the year... the time to clean the mess on the desk. I think it officially took me five hours, but I also took everything apart, went through it, deemed worthy of keeping or not, and then reassembled; which was all prefaced by the hardest of all: just getting all stuff out of the way, to get to other stuff.

WIP.

I did manage to get a picture of my almost done spats. They were a bit maddening, as I had a pattern with no instructions, which actually needed you to cut some pieces backwards, and not just for the other foot... also in the end they came out a bit shorter than I would like, but I way over bought fabric, so I think I'll give spats another try. Just need a bit more space from the first.

Huzzah.

After five hours of cleaning, it is a little daunting to have everything put back, basically how it was. However, knowing that every little bit is super organized, sure makes it worth it!

~Merry Chrismas~

2008-12-25T00:01:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays & New Year

Ornaments: Wreath

French Laundry Marshmallows

2008-12-17T09:03:00.000-08:00

After helping my mother, the madwoman of baking, with her Christmas cookies for loved ones, neighbors, and fellow workers, I was too burned out to bake for my own this year.

Too much stickey on hand to get the camera... so sorry this is from the phone!

Not to mention that I actually don't bake that well. So instead I stuck with the treat things I find easier: candies! In addition to the few that I've got down pat, I thought I would try my hand at something new: making marshmallows. The "French," "designer," "homemade," or whatever kind you want to call them (that you see everywhere now) always look so pretty to me, and I thought I would give them a shot.

The lighting here kinda looks like 1970's marshmallow porn....

The recipe I followed was for French Laundry Marshmallows, however I added the addition of bit a Scharffen Berger chocolate. The end result? I think I'm in love with making marshmallows. I loved watching them grow like the blob in the mixer, I loved them sticking to everything imaginable when I wrestled them into the pan, and I loved pulling them off in long strips when I got ready to cut them down to a manageable size. The only thing I didn't love, was cutting them down into smaller pieces, but luckily Dr. Who was on (a Donna episode, score!) so that made it much more pleasant. I realized in the end why these are always so big, in addition to looking stunning, it's a lot of work to make them mini. My next batch are totally going to be huge!

Chistmas Crafting

2008-12-11T22:39:00.000-08:00

Tis the season that frustrates me as a craft blogger. I really try to stick with that little sign on the side that reads, "Now with weekly updates!" However, the handful of readers that I do have, are also the handful of people that are getting crafted gifts.

What is a craft blogger to do?

Ssssshhh!

Well, unfortunately for my Mom, the one place she has the internet, also blocks photos on my blog. How sad is that? Mom can't read her own daughter's blog...

Well, her loss, is my gain, because I can post the photo of the necklace I made her. This lariat necklace is composed of a sterling silver chain, with an agate center piece, a collection of rose quartz cubes, and finished with a magnolia charm.

This was a real learning piece for me, because I made all the findings myself, and attached the agate through many rounds of trial an error. It is worn simply by placing the chain around your neck, and sliding the magnolia, through the center of the agate, and then adjusted to whichever length one prefers!

This is probably going to my last post until the new year, yea, I know what I wrote a few paragraphs up... but I would like to wish my readers a happy holidays and wonderful new year!

Little Bunny Foo Foo

2008-12-02T09:12:00.000-08:00

Amazing Bunny Courtesy of 'Della

It's still baby season around here, and another dear childhood friend is popping another one out.  I suppose at this time in my life, baby season is just an going thing?

Ahhh Freezer Stencils!

This particular friend has a wicked/ lovely sense of humor and when we were growing up together, we managed to sing Little Bunny Foo Foo on more than a few occasions.

Foo Foo Lineup

These fond memories inspired me to make a collection of burp clothes and a onsie, all themed Little Bunny Foo Foo.  I asked a very talented friend, by the name of Mortadella, to sketch me out the spectacular bunny with a mallet.  Looking at the wonderful stuff on her blog, you might think it a strange request, but I assure you it was not.

Burp Cloths.

I combined the amazing Foo Foo stencil with some craft punches I had on hand, and made a set of four burp clothes and a onsie.  For the mouse, I actually used a puppy punch, and added whiskers and ofcourse the fairy is a butterfly punch, but let's just use our imagination shall we?

Foo Foo battles on.

I did have an unfortunate surprise, when I opened my fabric paint drawer and noticed I really didn't have any colors appropriate for a little girl.  Thus, there was a lot of blending going on this in this craft hour.

Foo Foo and Friends

Last step was to bundle them up, wrap them up, and send them to shower.

Does this make me look metrosexual?

2008-11-24T14:51:00.000-08:00

Accessories for the modern male.

Some time back, this particular laptop cozy tutorial caught my eye. I will admit that the most intriguing thing about it, for me, was the wonderful color combination of the felts. I had looked at it for some time, considering making one of my own, but I had never been too keen on copying the exact example from a tutorial.

Times like these you really bless your rotary cutter.

This weekend however, brought Shawn and our friend Roger's birthday, and since this particular friend is way into tech, I thought I would give the tutorial a spin. After reading through the entire tutorial and the comments I knew I was going to make a couple of small adjustments.

Pocket and Patch

The first adjustment I made, was to add the B.P.R.D. patch.  Roger is our comic book friend. Not to say he is our only friend that reads comics, or that we only do comic related things with him, but as it turns out we go to just about every convention together, and he was actually the one who told me what the heck this patch was, when someone handed it to me at SDCC.

fin
The next two alterations were a bit more complicated. The first; I sewed the lining to the outside. Frankly Stitch-Witchery is fine if you don't have a sewing machine, but I have one and I plan to use it. Second; I left the last outermost edge open, but sewed it shut about 10" down to create an outside pocket. I also, added a little tag, because I didn't think that it was that obvious on first glance what it is! hahah

I miss you Cafe lo Cubano
With the left over felt, from the laptop cozy, I made a matching coffee sleeve.  I would love to know, of the three sleeves I have made  so far, if any of my friends have used them. I obviously think they're pretty nifty, but every time I make one I think, "this is going to get left in Starbucks," or wonder if they ever remember to bring it along, let alone want to use it!

Jolly Roger... get it? Don't blame me...

I affixed a little label to cozy too, freezer stenciled on a skull and crossbones, and bundled it up for gifting.  I was delighted to see that Roger seemed to really take to the laptop cozy, and the tutorial was certainly simple enough that I was would recommend it to anyone, and follow it again.

Other things I dashed out...

2008-11-19T14:48:00.000-08:00

It would be so much cooler if it was blood...

I had a bit of a frightening experience on Halloween, and this was after I took my costume off! Har Har Har... yea I know what you're thinking, but I'm actually referring to the fact that, after I said, "SHAZAM," I looked down and saw my body was stained red. It was an unpleasant site, but not wholly surprising, since I had already saw what my cheap red cotton fabric had done to my sewing machine. Speaking of that machine...

Nothing is taking this stuff off!

I made reference two blogs back, that my mom needed the pieces of her sewing machine that I borrowed back. I guess that's what comes from borrowing. What also came of it, was that I became motivated to finish up any mending I had to do. Moreover, it got me playing with some old shirts that I had been planning on doing some "reconstruction" on. A couple years back, a certain Soprano and myself were in a bookstore, and I came across Generation-T. Flipping through it, I got really excited. See, being a fangirl, I own a quiet a few t-shirts emblazoned with Batman, The Avengers, Flash, etc, and I liked the idea that I could slice them up and make them not only more interesting, but maybe a bit more feminine.

Disappointed. 

Initially, I was hesitant to cut into my precious stash, so I asked around for old shirts donations, so I could do some test runs. I was really glad that I did, because the few projects I tried, did not turn out so well. However, there was a stand out, the kinda Greecian drape top, which had me holding onto the book, considering trying some more.

University of Sunnydale

However, this past weekend I got a phone call from a good friend talking about how she can't afford any clothing that isn't pajamas or work clothes. That call and the one from my mom demanding her parts back got me thinking. I went through my own closet, taking out any clothing I thought she might get more use out of, and then pulled the Generation-T book off the shelf. Before throwing it in the box of clothing to mail off to her, I thought I would try two more projects that were haunting me.

Sunnydale High School

The first was adding a sash to a shirt that I felt was a bit too short. That one again, didn't turn out so hot, but the second was a tote bag I made out of two old Buffy shirts. That one turned out better, however the instructions I felt were really poor. Maybe they assumed I was going to sew by hand, and that's why they took some odd steps, but luckily I had some tote experience in the past, and was able to just skip the suspect parts. All in all, I was happy to send that book on my friend. Perhaps she'll have more luck with it, and at the very least it is really fun to look through...

I'm in good company...

2008-11-14T11:30:00.000-08:00

Via Poor Mojo

DIY Better Digital TV Reception

2008-11-10T15:00:00.000-08:00

Much like the Keatons, and to the shock of about everyone but 'Della, I don't have cable. Actually, to further clarify, I don't have cable, digital cable, satellite, or any other form of pay television. Until a few months ago, I only had my TV, a pair of rabbit ears, and I was content. Then along came this whole 2009 Doomsday scenario, and I got what is now known colloquially around here as a "ghetto cable box." Maybe not PC, but I went from about 10 channels to sometimes 33.

Why sometimes 33? Because believe it or not, I get worse reception now, then I did before I got the converter box. Whereas the signal used to just be weak and blurry on certain channels, now those channels distort into little boxes of unwatchable pain and lack any audio, that is, if they come in at all. Heck, if it's raining I may as well just read a book, because all I'm left with is the 24hour wedding infomercial and maybe something in Cantonese.

Ok yea, I should probably read a book anyway, but this weekend was particularly frustrating. With Shawn going out of town, rainy weather, my mom taking back certain precious pieces of her sewing machine, and my want to do nothing more than basically read old Uncannies and watch TV, it was just not the right time to loose all my channels.

I did everything I could to get those precious channels back, including placing tinfoil on random pieces of the antennae (I have no idea if it would help, but I think I saw it in a trailer park once.) The foil was no help, but I did notice, the further I pushed down on the long pieces, the better the reception got. Then, in the midst of pondering if me touching the antenna was fixing the reception or was the further extension really helping, I happened to snap one of the pieces off.

Now, I was pretty angry. HULK SMASH angry in fact, and figuring the piece of junk antennae was now an even bigger piece of junk, I decided to snap off the other long antenna piece. Not exactly rational, but my gut was telling me I would feel better if I made them match.

Well guess what? No sooner were those two pieces snapped, than I got great reception. Now, I'm no scientist, but I think I'll offer a little tutorial for those of you out there that want to do some DIY on your own indoor antenna:

Step One: buy a crappy indoor antenna, preferably like this
Step Two: expose yourself to gamma rays or find some other way to attain inhuman strength
Step Three: snap off one of the long pieces
Step Four: repeat step three with the remaining long piece
Step Five: Sit back and enjoy your 15 new weather channels!

In other creative endeavors, I also tried my hand at making a reusable "wimp sleeve," aka "coffee cozies" or "coffee sleeves," this weekend. There are a few tutorials for these, floating around on the internet, but I just took a cardboard sleeve I had on hand, opened it up, and used it as a pattern. This particular one was made from two (for insulation) pieces of felt. I appliquéd and ironed on the little doggy patch on one piece, before I sewed the two together. It took about 20 minutes all together, and I was pretty pleased for a first try. I hope the birthday recipient gets some use out of it.

An Inspirational Weekend

2008-11-03T18:24:00.001-08:00

Because, I got so many requests to see the "gothic amulet"

Halloween went rather well, albeit wet. Wahoo came over and sculpted the most awesome pumpkin with a rat on it, but I on the other hand dropped the ball and didn't have my camera to immortalize it. We had a rather low turn out of trick or treaters, with the majority of them being young girls dressed as Harry Potter one really sad Indiana Jones, and one kid showing up at 10pm wearing a full nine yards kilt. I also learned, that I'm not fearing the day Shawn goes gray, because I think he looked pretty good as Dr. Orpheus/Dr. Strange hybrid, even if he was wearing my pajama pants. Also, my Modest Mary Marvel costume has got to be the most comfortable costume I've had in years.

Snazzy passes they have for APE

Saturday was more wet, but we had the dry and crowded den of APE to keep us safe. I was rather surprised how much crafty stuff was at the Alternative Press Expo. My favorite was the Nanamation booth, where I got these adorable coffee cards. Amongst other things, I saw scarves, paintings, various clothing items and bags, tons of monsters and plushes; and not all were tied into a comic book. In my opinion, that's what makes APE cool, the blend of comics with other alternative interests, as it were. Oh, that and you get in free with your ComicCon pass!

Business cards, fliers, and freebies

Sunday, held still more cool arty stuff. Wahoo, Della, and I met for coffee, before we walked over to the You Bazaar. Now, Wahoo and I thought we were going to the Bazaar Bizarre, as we did last year. Luckily, Della had her stuff together and pointed out that the B.B. will be later this month, which I guess explains why the event was so small. What was more unfortunate, was that there wasn't a lot of people visiting, and I felt bad for all the great vendors, because there was so many cute products to see. My favorite, hands down, were the lariat necklaces by Katy Kristin. The girls bought some kits, and lucky for us, the lack of crowds meant be got to take a good amount of time at all the booths, and actually talk to the crafsters. The not so cool part was that we were done all too quick, though it definitely whetted our appetites for the 30th.

Countdown (to Halloween)

2008-10-29T21:22:00.000-07:00

Mary... you are like a quarter of the size of your brother.

After couple years of really generic, lazy Bat-Family costum es, I thought I would put a little more effort into my costume. Sure it was easy to dig in a drawer, pull out a batman shirt, grab a black skirt, and a batarang I happened to have laying around, and call myself "Batwoman," but my geek cred would whisper in my ear, "you're really not dressed anything like Kathy Kane."

Looks comfy enough.

So, this year I got to thinking, "hey I have a craft blog that I like to produce content for, and I need a Halloween costume, why not lightly indulge in some cosplay?" Of course the next question was, "who to dress as?" I might love Kitty Pryde and Zatanna, but I wasn't about to terrify children with my fishnets.

SHAZAM

The second thing I considered was that I didn't really want to join the legions of girls wearing "sexy supehero" costumes, especially the kind that don't even make sense. If you know your comics and read my blog, the answer to my dilemma was pretty obvious, and no it isn't Ted Kord.

Mary Marvel

Borrowing the proper pieces to fix my broken sewing machine, and a $15 trip to Walmart, I whipped up my Modest Mary Marvel costume. The dress was made from a Butterick Fast and Easy dress pattern and I freehanded the cape. Everything was trimmed with a couple of packets of baby blanket binding, a yard of curtain cording, left over spraypaint, and two design-a-buttons.

The white version was always my favorite, but it lost in the informal friend poll.

Now, I call it my modest costume, because it happens to come to my knees and elbows. This might be a little ironic considering where Mary is/was at now/recently in continuity, but I like to think of it more as dramatic irony. Also, I think that Mary would approve.

I finally figured out why heroes wear capes: warmth.

Originally I hadn't planned for the costume to be nearly as detailed as it is. I had forgot about the belt, when I was buying trim, and I had no plans of making the two tiered cape. However, something came over me on Saturday, and I kinda just went for it.

Dashing.

As soon as I figured out how to do the two tier cape, I started digging around to find something that would work for the buttons/epulates that the Marvel family are often drawn with. I ended up using some design a-buttons I had on hand, and spray painting them. Also, luckily, I had just enough trim left to scrimp out the belt. The only things I'm missing now are the those large cuffed boots she is sometimes drawn with (they're just cooler than the gold slippers I have) and the decoration for the cape. If I go that far though, I might just have to wear it to a convention...

Lemon and Fig Cake

2008-10-20T13:05:00.000-07:00

The inspirational photo.

Last Thursday was "Boss's Day" and the perfect excuse to make the Lemon and Fig Cake that I had read about in M.S. Every Day Food magazine. I haven't had much experience with figs, but there was something about the photo in the magazine, that I thought "I really want to make this."

Oven dried figs.

As luck would have, the very same boss we were celebrating, had been bringing in her excess figs all week. I gathered about ten or so of them, but didn't realize until I got home, the recipe called for dried figs. This of course led to a quick tour of the internet, where I learned how to dry the figs in my oven, over several hours of low heat.

The cake, finished and cooling.

Once they were all dried out, I simply followed the recipe, with two exceptions. First, I didn't feel up to slicing the dried figs, instead I placed them in my mini chop, which basically pulverized them. Ah well, they spread through the cake more evenly. Second, the only lemon I had in the house, had been in the fridge a bit too long. So, instead of lemon zest, I used the juice of the lemon, subtracting an equal amount of milk.

Isn't he the most photogenic beast?

Then I threw the whole thing in my Mom's square tart pan ("much easier to cut and share for the office," she insisted), and waited for it cook. Now, I always turn my baked goods 1/2way through the baking time. When I turned this one, I saw that it was already starting to brown on the edges. So, between bouts of playing with and being stalked by The Misty, I kept an eye on that cake. I ended up taking it out a full ten minutes sooner than it called for. I'm glad I did, because this is a pretty dense little cake, and I don't think it could take being dry.

The square tart pan, really does make cutting it up easier.

When all was done, it was a pretty interesting cake. Definitely the kind one would like to have with a cup of coffee in the morning. In the recipe notes, it suggests using other dried fruit, if you don't care for figs, and amongst the suggestion was currants, which sounded really great to me. I think I might just have to make it again with that alteration, and the fresh lemon zest.

All Things Orange

2008-10-13T09:28:00.000-07:00

Arata Pumpkin Farm

It's my favorite time of year, and thus I took a trip this weekend with a certain Soprano and her two youngin's, to my favorite pumpkin patch.

Check out the sweet new Minotaur, ah yea...

It's still pretty classic, albeit a little more crowded, with what I guess is people wanting to avoid the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival crowds next weekend. Or maybe word got out, just how great this patch is...

Poor fallen Samurai...

They have added some new things, one of which was the "world arena of swords" or something close to that. This was a hay arena where some guys (clearly shopping at the renfaire down the road) "battle" each other. Most people watched in confusion of how it fits into a pumpkin patch, but really it was free entertainment, so why complain?

I love all the new jewelery options you can get at craft stores lately.

Motivated by all the lovely orange colors, I worked on some jewelry projects when I got home. This pendant was inspired by one they had on display at Michael's, but changed up to suit my taste a bit more.

You do not want to take me when I got my rocks!

Along with the pendant I whipped out this resin bracelet, which sadly I think is going to be too big to wear to work. I love the look of it, but I think it makes typing pretty impossible! In other good news, I also got my Halloween costume cut out! Now to just pop over to my parents and borrow my mom's sewing machine...

Getting my Act in Gear (hopefully)

2008-10-06T10:17:00.000-07:00

Of course my sewing machine has puttered out at the minute, and it really isn't a good time for me, because it's HALLOWEEN! I had promises to make a knock off of the above R2D2 costume for Aidan, not to mention my own costume, which I have all the fabric for, but not machine to put it together with.

In the meantime, I have some beading that I was planning on doing and posting, but every time I walk to the craft desk, and see my poor mangled machine, I end up doing nothing. Which is really bad news, considering that I need to get started now, if I'm going to get my Christmas crafting in. (I know, I know, no one likes to mix holidays, but with how busy we crafters are, we have to get a jump start)

In fun news, I totally found a "Gothic Amulet" in the Halloween accessory section of Walmart that bears more than a passing resemblance to Eye of Agamotto. I grabbed it up, along with a a can of white hair spray, for Shawn to be certain doctor of the occult. Though after much laughter, I think Shawn will probably be a certain other doctor, his costume is so much easier to make anyway!

Charmed, I'm Sure

2008-09-26T13:40:00.001-07:00

I'm back more or less. I kinda have a ginormous mess on my craft desk, which I can't even get to clean up, because we have an even bigger mess in the office, where the desk resides. So this week, we're gonna make do with a bit of fluff.

I took this myself!

Have I admitted on here before that I have a thing for charms? I love them. Not only do I have a charm bracelet of my travels (which I'm featuring here today), I have another of charms I just find charming, a third of charms of places my mother went, and even one of those huge Juicy Couture ones.

What do you mean you can't make them all out?

Here is my current travel bracelet. For kicks, let's see what I collected on here in the last 5 or 6 years. Starting from the front I see my little Notre Dame from Paris, a horse shoes and dice from Lake Tahoe, a southern belle from Charleston, a beer stein from Boston, a leaning tower from Pisa, a truly awesome rum bottle that opens to reveal a ship, a Washington monument from D.C.,  an articulated alligator from New Orleans, a fishing lure I found on the beach in Mykonos, an abalone shell from Monterey, a sombrero from Puerto Vallarta, a little couple from New Orleans for my 1st anniversary, the back of saint's icon from a wedding in Ohio, the infamous Las Vegas sign from er Las Vegas, and a little totem from Hawaii. I only get charms of places I actually enjoyed, so all trips aren't represented here.

"Italian" I'm sure...

Heck, I love charm bracelets so much, I even have one of those "Italian" charm bracelets (which I do doubt they have in Italy) or otherwise known as a modular charm bracelet. This one I'm a bit lackadaisical about, because it is getting increasingly hard to find fun charms for it, let alone find any at all. I think I saw them a few times when I was in London (but none really caught my eye) and didn't see any at all in Scotland. In the end, I ended up buying an Underground charm that read "mind the gap" on ebay for this last trip. Not exactly a souvenir, but still better at 99cents, than with our poor exchange rate!

What does one do with a little homeless henge?

As for my traditional bracelet, I got this adorable little phone booth to represent England. (Well as you can see I got a little henge piece too, but it ended up being too big and out of scale from the rest of my charms) Scotland was a bit more difficult, because I didn't actually see too many charms that weren't very expensive. I ended up buying these thistle earrings instead, which I was able to easily dissect and turn one into a charm!

I swear they're right where I said they are.

There's the thistle nestled between the sombrero and the couple from New Orleans, while the phone booth is shinning brightly between my gator and the fishing lure. I know they're a bit hard to see (even with my new camera), but they are so very small and I was bit limited with my light sources last night.

Results of the ghetto version of turning my flash off (i.e. holding my finger over the flash)

Though they could have been worse.

Sickerdoodles

2008-08-27T09:34:00.001-07:00

Hey Friends, I'm back but sick, so here are some badges I made willy nilly before I left. I hope to be back with more exciting stuff soon!

and I'm off!

2008-08-26T14:01:00.000-07:00

I really...

Well, not quiet yet. Tomorrow afternoon really, so there wont be any posts for a short bit. I apologize to my multitude of readers, all five of you...

... don't have...

Couple things before I take off, I made this handy little camera bag out of some scraps last night. It was a pain, because my machine stopped running about a 1/3 of the way through the first seam, and I had to turn the crank by hand. Well, not crank... but you know what I mean.

... much to say.

It is lined with a bit of cushy fleece for protection, though I will be keeping it mostly in a hard case I already had.

Shocking, I know.

The pull string has this adorable little angel who is covering his eyes. Oh wait, maybe not adorable... I've seen all the Dr. Who episodes now; I've seen Blink!

Right so... I'm off. Talk to you all later!

and one for my companion...

2008-08-20T08:51:00.000-07:00

Honestly, it isn't crooked at all.

Now that I'm outfitted for the trip, I have set about pimping out my mother's travel gear. This is of course another passport holder, made using the same Bunnybum tutorial.

I like how the red pops.

Like all projects, it went swifter the second time around, because one knows what they are doing. The fabric I used, might be familiar to some readers, as I used left over trim from my portfolios, and a squidge of fabric I had left from a couple of Christmases ago where I tailor made tote bags for friends.

Deep pockets? Not a problem for me!

The "Christmas" fabric was really ideal for this, because it was a stretch cotton. Stretch gives it, well obviously, a bit stretch, for those pockets turn out a wee bit small or their seams a little deep. Which, was a problem I ran into, when I switched out the trim on my own holder... Woops

My mom is totally hotter than Rose. Oh wait, did I just say...

Its no TARDIS key, but I think it lets my companion travel with a bit of panache. Oh and Deuce, thanks for another addiction. I'm wanting to see that Donna custom now...

and then there were three...

2008-08-14T09:31:00.000-07:00

Amy Butler Sweet Greetings Small Portfolio

After tackling the Amy Butler Sweet Greetings Large Portfolio, I still had fabric left over and thought I would try my hand at the small portfolio for a dual Moleskine carrier. The lovely soprano gifted me with a super cool London Moleskine, which I have big plans for, and although it has a diary section in it, I know with the combination of my handwriting and long windedness, that I'll need another Moleskine just for my journal writing. This of course calls for a two pocket carrier and the SG Small Portfolio would do just fine.

Pen holder addition.

Now, I wasn't that wild about the large portfolio pattern, but I figured that that experience was going to make this one much easier, as I already knew what to look out for. With some forethought, I measured the pocket patterns first, making sure they were big enough for my two books (as I didn't want to run into the problem I had with the A4 paper on the large one.)

Snug as a bug...

Once I was sure the pattern would suit my needs, I just went ahead and followed the instructions. The small pattern instructions actually went together exactly how I decided on my own to put the large pattern together. The only alterations I made were adding a pen pocket (following the directions from the larger portfolio), and using the red fabric for both the outside and the inside pockets, keeping the flowered fabric for trim only. I think it works aesthetically better this way, with these two particular patterns.

Trinity.

After I was done, I went back to the passport holder I made awhile back. I changed the trim on the outside to the red polka dot, so that everything was all matchy matchy. Well almost...

Still in need of a good pressing.

If I hadn't had such a frustrating time with that large one, I might have gone back and changed the ribbon trim on the outside of that one too. Who knows, maybe I still just might do so?

Now all I need is to tie them altogether with a big ribbon, and skip to school.

However for the time being, I am pleased enough.

Amy Butler's Sweet Greetings Large Portfolio

2008-08-04T10:48:00.000-07:00

I really need a new camera, with a better macro. 

With the emotional aid of the great Soprano, I was finally able to pick out the contrast fabric for my Amy Butler Sweet Greetings Portfolio. We went to our local Joanne's, because it was located by some other shops we wanted to hit Saturday morning. I do like the fabric we picked out, but the state of the calico selection there is pretty sad.

"You say Twee, like it is a bad thing..."

My original fabric looks a bit rosier, than the true red that it is, in the photo here, but I'm really pleased with the English tea time/whimsy/twee feel to the combo. Which is perfect for my trip.

London Walks cards.

Now, I did read through the instructions before I went into making this, although I don't think I paid as much attention, as I wish I did. The one thing I noted looking at the pictures, was that I should measure the pockets and make sure they were useful for my needs. I knew that I wanted some pockets to hold my London Walks Cards. (I had bought this same deck for Paris and loved it. Although, I have not heard exactly good things about this deck, I managed to score this set for 99cents on ebay!)Checking the pattern measurements, I could see they were plenty big to hold my cards, and I figured anything bigger could fit into the larger paper pockets.

Gathering all the necessary items.

Only thing is, there isn't "larger paper pockets." I thought that this portfolio was built like a folder with large pockets for A4 sized paper, in addition to the smaller ones on top for other things. As it turns out*, the large "pockets" are not pockets for paper, actually they are sewn shut to hold in the chipboard. Woops.

OooO Pretty Colors.

Never to be stopped by a pattern simply not being what I expected, I set my mind about how I would get those big pockets, I so dearly desired. I had, of course, already cut out all my fabric, creating a sorta fabric tangram, that I was sure I could make into the shape I wanted. The answer of course was easy enough, "don't put the chipboard in, just leave the pockets open for the paper." Sine I'm cheap and was planning to use part of an old box I cut up, rather than chipboard, it wasn't that great of a loss. Also, the added result was that the portfolio would be soft if I wanted to roll it up for storage in my tiny suitcase, once I had tossed all my travel notes along my way!

"Depends on what you mean by real."

The next funny thing about the pattern that surprised me was with the small pockets. They give the illusion in the picture that they closed with little buttons. However, once I got into the pattern I realized, they were only the other larger pockets, folded over, sewn down, and had "decorative" brads attached. One could stick tiny items behind them, but they  don't open and close. Obviously it is less work to do them that way, but I'm throwing that in the same pile as those shirts that have half a vest sewn to the front.... they fool you for a moment and then you think they're stupid.

The best shot I got of it (damn my foggy city and it's lack of natural light.)

I do get the aesthetics of the faux pockets, and rather than the toss the idea entirely, I added some gold grommets where the brads should be; thinking that perhaps about key ring attachment and frankly, I always have a ton of grommets in my sewing kit. This retain the effect of breaking up the pockets, so it looks like you have more than just four of the same, and at the same time wouldn't add the bulk that brads or buttons might.

 Fin.

Once everything was puzzled out, the project came together easily if not a bit wrinkled. I used grosgrain ribbon for the front and the ties, to keep the symmetry with my passport holder, and decided to use the contrasting fabric for the pen holder, (the patterns calls for using the main fabric) as I thought it was cuter. Personally, I think without the large pocket modifications this project is bit useless, but I don't do many "paper projects." My end project though, suits my needs very well, and I think is rather adorable!

_____________________________
*to be fair, maybe I totally misunderstood the directions. I don't think I did, however Amy Butler's crew isn't exactly known for their most clear directions. This entire pattern was made of rectangles, and yet the page diagrams don't really label what you're looking at, so you can't tell a pocket from a appliqué.

Brock Sampson, Ladies and Gentlemen

2008-08-01T11:43:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I had kinda a busy weekend and am still recovering. So, yes I don't have anything I made this week (don't worry, I do have plans to hit the fabric store this weekend, to start work on my travel portfolio.)

Animated Brock Sampson

I do however, have some featured work to share. Some of you may recall, that I have featured D before, and of course he is linked on my side bar. However, this time the feature comes with one of the best stories to come out of this years San Diego Comic Con.

Sculpted Brock Sampson

It involves D, the creators of the wonderful Venture Brothers, and a lot of talent. Yea that picture above? Hand sculpted from wax and painted... color me impressed.

Read it, really it is funny, cool, and touching.

Daddy's Little Helper

2008-07-23T09:51:00.000-07:00

My parent's neighbor is a contractor, and he helped Shawn and I out of a sticky wicket last week. While we were in the middle of the wicket, he was telling us about his screamingly, adorable daughters and his frustration in teaching them how to use a tape measure. I'm sure this is very important to a contractor, but maybe not so much to toddlers?

Dressed for Trouble

None the less, as a "thank you," I whipped up these two aprons for his little apprentices, and bundled them with a six pack of Guinness. Now, I just hope there isn't a mix up on who get's what...

Big Sis.

These aprons are completely free handed, measurements basically coming from a handy children's sizes knitting chart, I came across the other day. I honestly, have no idea how big children are at what age (they all just look miniature to me), so this was really handy.

Little Sis.

The hardest part, was waiting and hoping for the sun to come out, so I could take some decent flash-free photos. I finally had to give up that dream, used the flash, and wouldn't you know it, the sun came out today.

Bundled and ready to go.

The one touch that I'm quite happy about on these, is that these aprons can actually grow with the girls. I folded up some of the length on the apron, forming a pocket out of the excess, and made two stitches on either side to keep it tidy. Once the girls are bit taller, all one has to do is snip the seams on the "pocket," and viola: extra length! It isn't that different, than what I do myself, when tying my own apron on, so my short legs aren't tangled in extra fabric. I think the stitches though, make it a bit more little-girl-friendly.

Craft Tutorials (of sorts)

2008-07-14T09:16:00.000-07:00

One could of course just use my "craft tutorial" tag to find all of these babies, but I thought I would make a picture summary page, because I felt like it.

If you happen to use any of these, please share the results with me! I would love to see them!

Traditional Lavender Bottles
These lovely sachets of sorts, make great gifts out of all that end of the season lavender.

Excalibur Plush
I'm still willing to make a PDF of my pattern, if anyone feels they need it, to tackle this project.

"Brass" Goggles
My second attempt at Time Travel Goggles, along with a steampunk armory and some other accessories.

The Peek-a-Boo Bunting (Modified) Tutorial
A modified version of the lovely original; a simple baby blanket that ties to the stroller, rather than drags in the dirt.

Time Travel Goggles Take One (aka "the red ones")
My first attempt at the goggles, which were a lot more work than the second attempt, but much more individual...

The Shopping Spool
This one was a bit of a gag (and totally useless, now that I have all the JLU figures), but if you have a collection, and the hubby can't keep straight which ones you have, and which ones you need, this might just help them out.

(Insert Whatever Tool You Want Here) Tutorial
This is a step by step tutorial for making a tool roll for your makeup brushes, colored pencils, crochet hooks, or whatever else you might want to roll up.

The Stamp Necklace
A fun way to hold onto those stamps that are just too cool or pretty to actually use.

Pocket Warmers
A simple project made from felt and rice, to microwave and keep your digits warm.

Sand Dollar Snowman Ornaments
The name pretty much says it all. Great for kids, but maybe not for the designer Christmas tree.

Dork Punk Pins
Simple pins, made from old comic books (or whatever image you like) glass pebbles, and pin backs.

Something coming soon....

2008-07-12T15:16:00.000-07:00

I promise. I have just uh, been so busy...

Have a good Independance Day!

2008-07-03T08:02:00.000-07:00

Gearing Up: UK

2008-06-24T09:08:00.000-07:00

I'm going on a trip to the UK. Being that I am one of those people that likes to research and plan, I'm also one of those people that brings along all sorts of little notes, maps, and things. On my trip to Italy I just shoved some papers in my backpack, and soon realized that I could really use some way of organizing them. In France, I had a basic folder, which worked fine, but things slid out. In Greece I had a plastic zip carrier thingie, that ripped about half way into the trip. Thus, for this trip I'm putting a bit more thought into my paper storage solution.

Ribbon trim added.

The plan was, to start work on the Amy Butler Sweet Greetings Portfolio, but I was at a bit of an impasse in regard to which fabric I wanted to make it out of. I had the above fabric and some red and white stripe, that I was wobbling between. However, when I unfolded the piece above, I noticed that I had already taken a chunk out of it. Woops...

Sewing it up.

Luckily, the chunk was only an inch longer than what I needed for a passport holder and left just a bit more uncut fabric, for what I need to make the portfolio! I think this is what is sometimes called "a sign from god to use that fabric."

Fin!

I used bunnybum's passport tutorial, which is really fun and easy. I love the hand written notes! Also, I feel that open tutorials like these, the kind that don't tell you to use this fabric or that trim, are so much more fun, because you get your creative juices going, while you think, "what can I do to make it mine?"

Open.

I added a bit of grosgrain ribbon, which I plan to also use on the portfolio, giving the two pieces a bit of harmony. The pattern made up super quick, about an hour, even with the additional ribbon, and my accidentally sewing the pockets a little too deep.

It fits!

This is definitely a stocking stuffer idea for anyone that has a passport. I'm already planning on making two more for my mom and the hubby.

Such a good tutorial!

Now to just tackle that portfolio... of course I still have to figure out the fabric for the trim.

A Whole New Meaning to: CAUTION BABY ON BOARD

2008-06-19T10:50:00.000-07:00

Yea, yea, just let me reach in the back seat...

First off, does anyone actually think that having this suctioned cup to their back window is going to make that idiot on the cell phone, putting on their mascara, changing the CD, and drinking a frappuccino drive any better, let alone not careen into you and your baby? This might be cliche, but you have got to know, if they're not going to look over their shoulder before changing lanes, they're not going to heed your sign.

I can see why this is such a popular stencil; so easy!

In less annoying ramblings: Nikki and I share similar taste in many things, but top amongst these is the color orange. Now, my favorite color in the world, let alone shade of orange, is ocher. Whereas, Nikki's favorite happens to be terra cotta (yes there is a difference between the two). Yet, there is one particular shade that we both hold in high regard and amusement and that is SAFETY ORANGE. One summer, several years ago we took a class on promoting and managing bands (a lot of good that did us), and every class night, a fellow classmate came in wearing a safety orange tech vest. He wasn't a raver or a construction worker, he wore it without irony, and was complete oblivious to what an unusual choice in apparel he had on.

Nikki and I loved that vest, oh how we loved that vest!

Never enough glitter around here...

I was reminded of that vest, when I came across the astoundingly bright onsie. I not only bought one for Aidan, knowing that Nikki would be amused, I bought one to put away for my nonexistent child. As far as I'm concerned, every child could use a bit more safety orange in their life.

Hazard indeed

The next big question was, "how will I decorate it." The obvious answer, was some sort of "caution" sign, but thanks to Della, it was decorated with a much more fun, and bit less tired, Biohazard symbol.

1st this, next stop orange jump suits!

I added some copper glitter to the hunter green fabric paint, to give it a bit of pizazz. Pizazz, which straight males can only have, really, under the age of 6. Sadly, Nikki and Brian partied too hard last Friday night and had to bail on me for our planned Euro 2008 watchings, and poor Aidan is delayed in the presentation, of what surely he will see many years from now in a photo and say, "my godmom made that for me, didn't she? Why did you let me wear it?"

Banana, Peacan, Chocolate Chip Cookies

2008-06-13T14:46:00.003-07:00

Banana, Pecan, Chocolate Chip Cookies

Of all the sweet treats my mom made for us growing up, the one that reminds me the most of childhood, would have to be Banana, Walnut, Chocolate Chip Cookies. Even then, I wasn't the biggest fan of the walnut, but still "suffered" through eating the cookies...

Dusted with cinnamon and sugar, and ready to burn.

So this week, when I was craft lite and banana heavy, I thought, "why not make the infamous cookies?" Typically, now that I'm grown up and in charge of my own baking, I can feel free to adjust the recipe as I see fit, and adjust this one I did. My norm would have been to just leave the offensive (to me) walnuts (those damn mushy things) out. However, I had quite a bit of pecans left over from a Chocolate Charlotte, so instead I substituted those in. I was so very pleased with the pecan results, I wrote up a note and attached it to a sample cookie for my mom read and taste.

The note read something like this:

Mom!

I finally "fixed" those cookies... we should let Jean-Marie know.

Me

ps
They're pecans!

Tasty and Cute.

Now, you might be wondering who Jean-Marie is. Well, actually I have no idea. The recipe I have for these cookies, is a xerox of a typed 3x5 card, which credits the cookies to this mystery woman. Curious, when my mom wrote me back, letting me know she approved of the adjustment, I replied asking her, "where did this recipe come from anyway, and who is this Jean-Marie?"

Here is the response:

That recipe came from the wife of a patient I cared for in 1957, as a new graduate nurse. I saved his life one night, and she always made them for me weekly until I married and left town. They gave us that pretty wooden salad bowel as a wedding gift.

I always cook my cookies 2 minutes or so less than any recipe says.

Ok, so I kinda feel terrible for adjusting the recipe now, but really Jean-Marie, you should try them with pecans...

Accessories!

2008-06-03T11:36:00.000-07:00

Translucent Ribbons, tacked on for ties.

Well, I couldn't send the poor dear out there without some accessories, could I? Loyal readers know, I firmly believe, that "one should be properly dressed for every occasion."

Oh so many pins!

First, there was the cap, which Nikki declared made him look like a Puritan. An adorable one I might add. This cap was actually... remarkably more frustrating than those tiny sleeves. I managed to first sew the back onto the front... woopsie!

Hoping to sew the correct pieces together, and only the correct ones.

Once I ripped the back off the front, and started sewing it to the proper seam... I was able to sew various portions on the sides to the front! WHO HOO, thank you seam ripper for saving me once again!

Congo modeling the unpressed, finished product.

Congo is modeling the finished, untrimmed, and un-ironed cap. When I presented it to my mom to get a proper pressing she laughed and said, "oh no you don't." Luckily, for little Aidan, she relented and made it lovely with her magical ironing skills!

Pressed and ready to wear.

Ok, so it doesn't look like much on the deck, but believe me... one you insert a cute, drooling babe inside, it turns into something simply wonderful.

He may be a ginger, but he can handle THE NEEDLE

Next, I got out THE NEEDLE, and Speedy helped me with one of my old stand by's: a Christening Blanket.

Finished blanket.

This was a quick and simple affair. I quilted together four pieces of bridal satin for the front and did the same with a super soft, white flannel for the back. The pieces were tacked together with some simple white buttons, held on by the same translucent ribbon I used for the cap ties.

Rolled and ready for gifting.

Funny thing about the finished blanket, we only used it for two minutes, when Nikki needed something to place Aidan on, while we changed him out of his civies and into the gown. Oh well...

Bias tape reinforcement.

The last "accessory" I made was a garment bag. While researching and looking for inspiration on the web, I saw that many of these kind of heirloom gowns came with their own garment bags, and I thought it would be fun to make one.

Basic bag, ready for embellishment.

For the garment bag, I simply took two pieces of unbleached muslin and cut them just a bit wider and longer than the gown it's self. I then took a baby hanger, laid it along the top of the fabric, and traced and cut to follow the curves of the hanger. Next, I used some left over bias tape for the hanger opening, and sewed it along where the opening in the top would be, in order to reinforce it.

Garment bag opening.

On, what would be the front, I cut the piece in half, right below where the hanger bottom reached. Then I hemmed the two halves, slightly overlaid the top over the bottom, turned the entire thing inside out, and sewed both sides up and along the top, until I reached the top opening! Once I was done, I made some hand sewn button holes (as I don't have a button holer) with yellow embroidery floss, and added some wooden buttons.

Unpainted stencil.

Then at last, I got to finally break loose. I thought, and thought about what kind of imagery would be cool to decorate it with, something untraditional and a bit more me, when I finally went with a kind of tattoo stylized Sacred Heart. A quick freezer stencil later, and I felt I really added a bit of my own style to it.

Sacred Heart of you know who!

Once the stencil was dry I wrote a personal message in the bottom corner (which I apologize is too personal for a public blog) and sewed the bottom up.

Fin.

Viola, a neat little package to wrap it all up in!

Done!

2008-05-28T08:39:00.000-07:00

The Gown and Slip.

Buttons and snaps are sewn, and the sun just barely came out long enough for me to take some flash free photos on my parent's deck...

Solo Slip.

Also, I'm very grateful to my mom for doing such a lovely ironing job. She almost succumbed to madness too, when working on those tiny sleeves.

Yea, that is right... I'm still trying to shoot around those darn sleeves.

Sadly, the gown stayed crisp for you about two minutes once it was on little Aidan and he started being smushed from admirer to admirer.

I swear there are tiny glass buttons on top of the snaps here...

It's the first impression that counts though, right? I also have some accessories that I made to go along with the gown, but I need a bit of breather from it for moment... so coming soon!

Collar and Sleeves! aka "Such Tiny Hands"

2008-05-21T11:38:00.000-07:00

Who knew they would just pop on?

All right, I'm on a role now, I have the collar, all the trim, and the sleeves on. I didn't actually take any photos of the sleeves or the process, because they were so bothersome! The circumference of the sleeve was too small to fit around my machine, so I had to keep twisting it. Which also meant, that on more than one occasion I caught up some of the excess sleeve fabric in the arm hole. In the end though, they came out perfect.

Not maddening at all...

The one nice part about putting the sleeves in, was that it drove me to the conclusion to open them back up along the seam, before I applies the bias tape trim. I know for certain, that if I had left the sleeve sewed closed, that there would be no way I could get that skinny bias tape on properly!

I swear it isn't this pink.

The collar on the other hand went much easier than I could ever had imagined. I like the trick of just lining the neck portion with bias tape, it was very simple, and there is no way it would ever show under a chubby little neck.

Just need to buy white snaps...

The back casing wasn't an issue either, once my Mom lead me through the directions. Again, I apologize for the dark/flash photos, I've been sewing in the evening again. After applying all the trim to the bottom, the sleeves, and the collar, sewing the sleeves, attaching the collar, and making the button casing, all I have left is to run out and buy some white snaps (which if I had the forethought to do snaps, I would have bought one of those fancy strips, instead of sewing them on one by one, ah well) and attach them.  Once I had a moment of sunshine, I promise to take some lovely photos of the practically finished project!

Aidan's B.G. II

2008-05-16T09:12:00.000-07:00

Lace pinned to the slip

While I was waiting for a free evening to discuss the button holes with my Mom, I worked on the rest of the gown.  I was able to finish the under-slip in no time.

Yes, the bathroom has the best lighting in the house

Unfortunately, I'm doing most of my sewing in the evening, so I had to use the good old flash on the photos, sorry! I was really happy with the lace on the linen now, it looks so Irish and perfect for a little one named "Aidan Patrick!"

 So adorable...

My only complaint about this linen, beside the wrinkling (though I expected that), is the unraveling. I'm pinking everything so it doesn't shred on me before I have a chance to sew it together!

Bias tape and pleats

Rather than gathering the bottom of the gown to the bodice, which I feel adds bulk and makes babies look like cream puffs, I pleated it and sewed it on. I feel the pleating looks a bit more sophistacated, and with my years of RenFaires, it is a lot easier for me than gathering. Also, here you can see the bias tape trim that I choose to go with in the end. Is it just me, or does it kinda give it a nautical feeling?

Like a gaping wound of frustration

Now all I have left are the teeny tiny sleeves, the collar, and getting this hole and button holes sewed up in the back! Oh and trim the rest of it too, I suppose.