Ketchup ;)

Or, catch-up, whatever you’d like to call it. I think Ketchup sounds cute.

So it’s been awhile since my last confession…..lol, ok, ok lets’ get serious; I’m pretty sure that I’ve told you before that I am NOT Catholic but hopefully my fans get my humor.

Anyhoo, as my followers know, I am not as consistent with my blogging as I’d like to be. I just had my ONE YEAR BLOG ANNIVERSARY!! I have only made 31 posts??? Seriously???….well this makes 32—–but that’s still not a lot for 365 days of blogging! I just don’t know how other mommies do it. I know it can be done, I just don’t do it unless I feel inspired. Maybe one day I will feel ready to blog everyday, but until then this is me, and this is what you get. After all my blog is whatever I want it to be right? Ok, glad that’s settled. 🙂 Maybe I’ll pick up the pace and maybe I won’t, at least I ‘m enjoying this.

However—-I wanted to let everyone know what I’ve been up to lately, so here I am playing Ketchup. First of all, I’m still alive and my kiddos are all great! Oh and summer is almost here, can you believe it??

In the beginning, the idea for the creation of this blog was first that I wanted to start my own business. I know I’ve said this before but my creative style confuses people most of the time. Sometimes I’m sewing, sometimes I’m knitting, sometimes I’m making dream catchers and other times I’m melting plastic beads in my oven. So my reasoning for starting a blog was to show and explain to people what I can do. I am easily bored and I cannot stay on one project for too long (hence the reason for stacks of unfinished projects—-only my own of course, I never miss a deadline for my customers).

So far, my little blog is helping people understand me and I have started to build a small clientele. I am always that person who jumps in and says “I can do that!!!” Even though, maybe I haven’t done that before. My clients and friends are spreading the word and people are starting to understand me, and I love it! I have a few random projects I have done in the last few months that I have really enjoyed. Clients are being referred to me because if anyone can do it, Heidi can do it—-or she will know someone who can right? Yes I just spoke of myself in the third person, shhhh, don’t tell just let it go…..I will tell people if I can’t do something or if I am unsure. It’s up to my customers to trust me or not. Currently, I’m feeling a lot of trust here!

For example, I have made two baby quilts, a sweater and booties for a stuffed monkey, renewed the straps on a lovely Vera Bradley bag (TUTORIAL coming soon!!!), a crown/ tiara for a special birthday lady, and also plenty of little upcycles here and there. Recently I have been asked to replace Velcro strips on cloth diapers with snaps. This person was a new client and I admitted to her that I’ve never done this before, but I did a little research, and I feel confident about it so I  accepted the job. I am loving that I am building a trust with my new clients. For all of this I am thankful that I am finally being understood!

Want to see pictures of my latest adventures in randomness?

Ok you twisted my arm, I will share! So here is some of my last few projects in pictures…. (for some reason this blog is not cooperating with me today and I couldn’t seem to  arrange some of the photos 3 on a line, but whatever it is what it is right? 😉

This baby quilt was SO SOFT! Made with flannel squares and a fleece backing.

This picture does not do this quilt justice! It is gorgeous in person!

These are the elephant appliques for the quilt before I put them in place. I couldn’t find that perfect elephant fabric, so I made my own!

Lettering applique—-not too shabby if I don’t say so myself even though I hadn’t done applique in years!

This tiara/ crown was made for a special birthday lady for a surprise 70th birthday party. I made  mainly from recycled cardboard, newspaper, and Mod Podged fabric, YES FABRIC! The roses are handmade from fabric as well and the inside is lined with duct tape for ultimate flexibility.

 

Don’t throw that cute Vera Bradley purse with the worn out handles away! RENEW the handles! TUTORIAL COMING SOON!!!!

Mr. Monkey….:) That’s all I can say!

So that’s just a few of my recent projects. I also have been busy with some upcycles. Back in March I participated in a Designer’s Day on a closed Facebook group called Upcycles Galore. Maybe I can show you all some of the items I created for that day?? Some of them were customs, and some I have not sold—-I keep forgetting to list them on Etsy or they probably would have been gone by now.  There is another Designer’s Day coming up on June 1st that I am excited to be  participating in again! If you would like to see the sales or purchase items you MUST be a member of the group. So click the link above and request to join the group.

My blogging goals for this week:

1) Tutorial for the Vera Bradley bag Renew

2) Post another Ketchup so you can all see what I created for the last Upcycles Galore Designer Day

I’m glad we could Ketchup! Looking forward to my next post. 🙂

 

As Always — Don’t forget to visit me on ETSY, and LIKE my page on Facebook to keep up with all the goodies!!!!

Dirty Little Secrets

It has been 14 days since my last confession….

Not really, just my last blog post! (I’m not really Catholic either, I just thought it sounded funny, haha. Hope no one takes offense to that.) Holy cow does time fly when you’re having fun, or in my case carting 4 kids around town, keeping them busy, and trying to organize my life at the same time. So here are my confessions, yes I’m airing a little bit of my dirty laundry…

Confession #1. My basement is a complete mess.I am NOT a hoarder. But my basement was beginning to look like it. I had the last six months or so of recyclable material piling up in my basement. I had newspapers, plastics, cans, bottles, cardboard, and whatever else. I can only upcycle so much material myself, this was just overwhelming. My issue?? The dump sticker! We had a sticker on my hubby’s truck but not on my car and around here they go on sale in June. I refused to pay for a half a year sticker for my car. I want my money’s worth darn it! Every week I tried to get my hubby to lend me his truck and he can go stylin’ in my minivan to work. Did that happen? Fat chance, which is why I sat in this predicament for so long. I was running out of room to shove things and trying to clear paths just to get to my craft room or the laundry. Sorry hubby but you’re admittedly a little stingy with your truck. He knows this, we’ve had this conversation.

Exploding recyclables….This is just one corner.

AHHHHHHHHHH!!!

There were 3-4 more piles of newspapers 2 stacks deep just like this. UGH.

Every time I went to craft something, I had no room to work. No matter how hard I tried to organize my craft room, I couldn’t. I had no room. Recyclables exploded everywhere. So to craft I would bring a bag or box of stuff upstairs, then back down stairs in a pile. I never had the room to get in there and really put stuff away. So needless to say my life has been complete chaos.

There is an ironing board under there but it is currently serving the purpose of holding items that I have used and need to be put away.

Can you find my sewing machine(s)??

Sheesh! Just outta control.

Finally we got our new dump stickers — one for my car too, because I do the recycling.

Only having an hour or two of time (little people naptime around here) to myself where I could get into the basement to clean, it has taken me the last two weeks and I’m still not finished. But this is what I have been up to the last 14 days…

Five or so runs to the dump in my minivan and I can finally move around in the basement. It’s far from fully clean and organized but I can at least see the floor and it’s a start.

I put the papers on the stairs so that I could do a relay run…I brought one stack at a time out to load up the car. This was quite a workout seeing how I did this over 5 days to fill up my car. Up and down those stairs!!!

Confession #2. I am slacking with my coupons. I get so many inserts from week to week that sometimes I fall behind and they pile up. I found 4 boxes of coupon inserts from months ago that I apparently lost behind my recycling junk. This was from when i tried to use the box method of not cutting all  my inserts. That hurts. I send all my expired coupons overseas to an Army post and I have even been behind in that. To see all these expired coupons go to the recycling bin bothered me. The overseas posts can accept expired coupons for up to 6 months past the expiration, but you shouldn’t send anything more than 2 months expired. This gives them time for mail travel, then sorting time, and getting them to the families that can use them. These were beyond a usable expiration.

expired coupons…:(

So very sad!!!

My problem? Well when I started couponing I used the binder method. This works for me because I am organized and I can easily find the coupons I need when I need them. However, I started getting a little overwhelmed with the amount of inserts I was recieveing. I even shared them with friends and I fell behind with my clipping. I decided to shift gears and use the box method that invloved NOT cutting up the inserts. You have to look up online in coupon databases to find the coupon and which insert it came from. Then you look up the insert by date and VOILA, you have your coupons. Yes this saves clipping time because you are only cutting the coupons you need. But as you can see, THIS METHOD DOES NOT WORK FOR ME. Works for other people, but NOT ME. I lose track of what coupons I have, I let too many expire, and some databases don’t HAVE every coupon. I can’t tell you how many times I KNEW there was a coupon for a specific item and I couldn’t find it. BAD BAD BAD. If you are a couponer, the first big trick is staying organized with a method that works for you. The more organized I am the more money I save.

Confession #3. I have been nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award by fellow blogger friend at Colouring With Yarn (an awesome little blog with tons of nifty knitting and crocheting inspirations!) and I still have not sat down to do my THANK YOU and my big blog post for this!!!!

So here I am making my “Half-New Year Resolutions.” I say half because it’s now half-way through the year and I don’t recall making any New Year’s resolutions.

Resolutions:

1) Get organized. This includes coupons, craft room, and recycling items.

Organizing my binder.

One week’s coupons in need of clipping.

2) Stay on top of the stuff I am organizing….DON’T FALL BEHIND. It is so difficult to get ahead after you have fallen behind. No one wants to look at a gigantic pile of laundry, but the longer it sits there the LESS I want to attack it.

3) Keep up with my blog posts. I admit that I like my blog and what I have started here is really something. I enjoy this and I need to keep up with it. Two weeks is WAY TOO long between posts. I was doing really great for a little while and kept my posts not more that 2 or 3 days apart. So NO MORE THAN 3 DAYS between posts. Does that sound fair?? I would like to do a post every day or every other day at best but I’m going to commit to less than 3 to keep it fair to my crazy little life here.

What have you been up to these first few weeks of summer? Did you let some of your organizing go? I really hate getting SOOOOOO behind with stuff. Ever let things pile up and you just can’t bring yourself to start attacking it? Do you keep your coupons in a binder or boxes?

 

As Always — Don’t forget to visit me on ETSY, and LIKE my page on Facebook to keep up with all the goodies!!!!

This is me….

Today I am randomly inspired to write…..thanks to my blogger friend at http://www.thesavingsmomma.com, HAPPY BIRTHDAY Ashley!!!!

Blogging? I can’t blog. I’m a stay at home mom of 4 and a crafter, that’s just what I do. Do I sell my crafts? Not really…Why not? Your stuff is awesome, you should! I would buy that! People always ask me, ” How do you DO that???  Well maybe I should start writing these things down.

So why don’t I sell my crafts, that is a good question. So let me attempt to answer that.

Well the story goes, I tried a few craft shows, but I have a tough time choosing my direction. I want to knit, I want to crochet, I want to sew! I am like Veruca Salt in Charlie and the Chocolate factory, I WANT IT ALL! I get bored with one thing; I crochet a baby blanket and then I’m tired of that, I want to knit something. Or it’s summer time and I want to make beach cover-ups and sun hats for the kids, sundresses and flip flops. I see something on TV and I want to make it. I want to do it all, and quite frankly that confuses people. I’m like a an ADHD kid in a Game Shop; I don’t know what I want to do or where I want to go first. I have sooooooo many ideas that I get frustrated with the fact that I have to choose just one….just one? BORING!!!!

I’m going to make some of these someday with BLUE JEANS!!!

Have you ever been on Pinterest??? Holy crap!!! Talk about a kid in a candy shop….I couldn’t stop pinning! My eyes are burning from the last 24 hours. I was recently introduced to the site and well, I’m addicted! There is a ton of inspiration on there, but I’ll save those details for another story. In the mean time, I’ll let you check it out for yourself.

Anyhoo, I’m one of those people who loves to go to craft shows not to shop but to be inspired. I’m not a thief; I don’t steal people’s ideas to resell, that would be morally wrong. I’m just semi-frugal, simple and artistic. I like to build and create things with my hands. I cannot open my wallet for something I can so easily do myself for pennies on the dollar. I just can’t. I REFUSE to buy Halloween costumes, I love to make them! Ok, I bought one once, but that’s it. Isn’t everything better homemade? Did I mention that I made Spongebob Squarepants from yellow sponges???

This is Sebastian. He loved his costume!

Yes that’s me. Now you can see where I’m going with this blog. I am one of THOSE people. I go to a craft show and say, “I can make that!” Sure there are lots of people who say that, the difference with me is that yes I can make it. Sometimes I can make things better, I put my own touch on crafts that makes them different and my own. I literally absorb what I see and I bring that inspiration home.

I have to give thanks to my grandmother, who likes to be called, Mema. Thank you for giving me the crafty gene, or crafty jeans as I like to call them. [JEANS!!! Did I mention that I am absolutely obsessed with recycling blue jeans??? Yes, yes, I am!] Anyhoo, Mema is truly my inspiration. With 6 children she managed to make all the kids Halloween costumes every year, she made other clothing for them as well. I see pictures and I always hear, oh your grandmother made that outfit, sewed on Girl Scout badges, cooked, cleaned, and she still had time to play. She ran the household. If she can do it so canI. Mema started this all! She gave me a needle and thread when I was about 4 years old—YES, 4. No I’m not kidding. I clearly remember the day.

My first recycled blue jean purse!

Mema was visiting, and she was sitting down working on a hem on a skirt. It was a blueish-purpleish striped skirt. ***NOTE*** Mema ONLY wears skirts. This is just the way it is. She cut a few inches off the skirt and I asked her if I could have the pieces. She asked me what I wanted them for and I plainly told her I wanted to make a purse. That’s when it happened—-she threaded a needle for me, and placed it in my hand.  <<<<<<<<ahhhhhhhhh>>>>>> like angels singing! It was one of those moments where the light of God surrounds you and shimmers upon an item. (You know what I’m talking about right??? I’m probably just nuts…)

Anyhoo, it was a magical moment. Mema taught me how to sew a basic running stitch, and sewing right sides together. I made something that looked a little like this:

No….mine didn’t look like this, it was just 2 rectangles sewn together on 3 sides, with a single loop from one side to the other for a handle.

Nothing spectacular, but I was 4 so what do you expect? I couldn’t find something that looks just like what I had made, and I didn’t have the time to recreate one today….maybe next time. 🙂

So that was the beginning.

The next <<<<<ahhhhhhh>>>>>>>> inspirational moment, I was about 10 years old and rummaging through some of Mema’s things when I came across a pair of knitting needles. Yup….oh Jeez!!

I honestly could talk about all my “firsts” in crafting, but I’m sure that would bore you to tears. I will keep things fairly short and sweet just to give you a peek at my life. The rest will come with time. The amount of history in crafting I have is half the reason why I am beginning this blog. I am always asked how to make crafty items and I guess it’s time to share.

The other half of my reasoning for this blog is that I woke up this morning and just felt like a blogger. Sounds strange huh? Well, it’s news to me too. I mean, I hate writing. Well I hate writing research papers anyway. Here I am just 4 days away from completing my Bachelor’s degree. I have had endless amounts of writing and I’m tired of it. Now here I am on the verge of a new adventure. But that’s what they say don’t they? You close one door just to open another….

So here’s to a new adventure—an adventure down the crafty road, my road, my chaotic life, and welcome aboard! There will love, laughter, inspiration, and a ton of creativity. With 4 kids in tow this will be quite the show (Did I just rhyme? Gosh that was cheesy), because nothing is ever simple in this life.

Many times I find a bedroom full of children and hundreds of crayons and it can be a gigantic catastrophe, but at least it’s a creative one. Some days we chase butterflies and dig for dinosaur bones, other days we play in cardboard boxes and go commando— but only if you are 3 and your name is Sebastian. Some days my house sparkles and other days I would swear that a paint truck crashed in my living room, and a hydrogen bomb exploded in the bathroom (ok that was excessive, but how about an h2O bomb. This is a snapshot of a day in my life, one page at a time. Welcome to my Clever Catastrophe, and all things crafty. 🙂

Chasing Butterflies, and finding giant moths!

Don’t forget to visit me on ETSY, and LIKE my page on Facebook to keep up with all the goodies!!!!