“MOM, YARD SALE!!!!” Well my kid’s started it this morning. It wasn’t me I swear.
I had a few errands to run. I had to pick up a t-shirt from another mom, and bring my Boy Scout to the dump first thing this morning (8AM to be exact) and I am NOT a morning person. I usually don’t make plans before 10am….too much work to wrangle up these kiddos, but this morning we HAD to. Every weekend the local scout troops and packs take turns sorting the returnable bottles and cans at the dump and in return they get a portion of the money.
So we decided to pudge around a little bit while the big kid was working with his Scout buddies. I went and picked up my shirt and we saw a few yard sale signs on the way there. *SIGH, I was bored and I couldn’t say NO!
So what kind of crafty finds can we find today???
I found this cute little sewing box, complete with a bunch of patterns and goodies for $5!
All the goodies inside!!! How perfect are these patterns? I love making kid’s clothing and these simple patterns suit my style—I can easily dress them up with ruffles. 🙂 I know I don’t NORMALLY use patterns, I usually draft my own but it’s always good to have something basic to start with. especially if I am trying a new design.
Found some great fabrics, cotton prints and some corduroy!!Cute little tray??? I love the tiles. I keep saying one day I’m gonna do some mosaicing….I even bought the tile grout.
The woman had $5 price tag on the tray and the fabrics were$3-4 each but this was a yard sale and most people are not firm on their prices. She told me to make her offers on the fabric so I offered $10 for the tray and the fabric….. she was fine with that. Woo-hoo!! I can’t wait to use that corduroy for something in the fall!
I know this shirt is wayyyyyy too big for me. But it’s a gorgeous color, and it’s NEW! I think I paid a quarter for it and it still has the extra button attached. I am already envisioning this refashion!
Any crafty finds for you today? Did you stop at any yard sales? It is a great day on the Cape for it!
This year we went to the “Hands on the Arts” festival and craft fair in Eastham, Ma, for the second year in a row. Last year the kid’s had so much fun and I couldn’t wait to take them back!
If you didn’t catch my post last year about this fair you can find it HERE.
The brief run down of this event is that it is all FREE! Well, the kids activities are anyways! They had a puppet show for the Littles, and a big tent set up with many tables so the kids could do all kinds of free crafts. Then of course there are awesome craft vendors to peek through! (****remember to support your local crafters!! They work sooooo hard!!!), and a few food vendors—did I mention the mouthwatering BBQ?? YUMMERS!
Anyhoo, enough with the words, this is what our day looked like:
Peter and the wolf puppet show. Thie kids LOVED this!Sorting seashells for the mosaic project…
I have to say here that my youngest, Shelby, was too small last year to really participate in the activities, besides putting her handprint in some clay. So this year she was very excited to not have to sit in the stroller. She had so much fun beading her own necklaces and choosing the beads. As you can see she is very proud of her work here!
Painting seashells, rocks, and starfish. You can never go wrong with toddlers and a bucket of paint. They love it!
My oldest daughter, Hannah was very interested in the pottery wheel. Here the woman is teaching the kids how to use it. This was not a take-home project because many kids would assist with one item, but it was still a great hands-on activity for the kids to learn from.
You can’t see Hannah’s project too well, but she made a girl out of clay. Very inventive.
I was finally able to snap a pic of what Spencer was up to! He loves to mess with tape, glue, cardboard, paper towel rolls, and anything random!
Each of the kids had an absolute blast. It was a day to be creative without restrictions. They had many choices of mediums to use, and nice works of art to take home.
And then we discovered that I locked my keys in my car. ://////// OOPS! Here are the Littles sitting in a shady spot while we waited for the AAA person to come pop open my door—–
*sigh, it never ends does it? 🙂
At least we had a good day anyway!
As Always — Don’t forget to visit me on ETSY, and LIKE my page on Facebook to keep up with all the goodies!!!! Remember to support your local crafters!
Here is the second part of my post from yesterday. If you didn’t catch part 1 you can find it HERE.
These are my most recent upcycles from another Designer’s Day event. These are all handmade by ME.
This was another $1 giveaway!!! A pair of white jeans turned into this cute little ruffle skirt!I Love gymnastics tee turned into a sundress!Hearts and Palm trees! The design on the shirt is very glittery and this skirt fabric has silver hearts all over it. Lots of twirl!Itty-Bitty Patriots fan!!! This was a tiny Pats onesie that I turned into a mini-cheerleader dress. This is to-die-for!!Another fabulous upcycle for the Boston Red Sox fan!With extra ruffles on the back.4th of July!!! Cute, summery, and ruffled up!
Thanks for viewing my upcycles!
As Always — Don’t forget to visit me on ETSY, and LIKE my page on Facebook to keep up with all the goodies!!!! Any of the above items that DID NOT sell are listed in my shop.
So here it is, I promised to show you how I made this cool basket!
This is not a simple task, but it’s not overly complicated either. It is a LOT of work with many little steps – so this is a LONG post. Pay close attention, and if I missed something, don’t be afraid to ask! I searched everywhere all over Pinterest, google, and Etsy, and NO ONE is making baskets like this! So this was my first and only attempt (so far) at basket making.
Lets start with materials.
You can always size this down for a different sized basket. I am considering making more in different sizes and shapes.
***Sorry I don’t have exact measurements of these items—I don’t work that way generally. I’m just a fly by the seat of my pants kinda gal. I did try to take pics for the blog but I didn’t think to measure the dowels, the zip ties, or the blue jean sections. I like to make most of my stuff flexible so sizes can be easily adjusted. Sewing is a completely different story so we won’t go there!
I started with 4-5 pairs of jeans
A good heavy duty pair of scissors for the jeans
6 or so large heavy duty/ industrial sized zip ties (*My hubby used to do A/C work and this is where I got these!)
clamps, clips, or clothespins
heavy glue that will bond plastic—I used 527 in this pic, but I ended up switching to Amazing Goop which holds plastics much better!
Pliers/ cutters for cutting the zip ties
Wooden dowels for side supports
needle and thread for hand stitching
Some quilt batting for cushioning the handle
I had the idea that I was going to make a basket, a rather large basket, and I wasn’t sure if I was going to weave it or braid it. I had started a braided rug-like thing a while back with blue jean strips, and I thought this would make a great bottom for the basket. The rug was taking FOREVER, so it was sitting in my to-do bag anyway and I’m glad to get rid of it!
First I began by cutting the buckle end off of the zip ties. I knew I would be using the plastic bands for the bottom support, the top support, and the handles. Just FYI, it took two bands each for the bottom and top circumferences of the basket. Do not glue them yet!
Second I began by cutting the legs off the jeans to get as much of the length as possible. I threw the top half of the jeans in a basket of jean scrap stuff that I will use later for another project. I don’t throw ANY part of the jeans away.
Then I cut one of the side seams open. This picture below was after cutting one seam so the pant leg is open. I cut the side seam out on the left, then the seam in the middle so that I was left with 2 strips of denim fabric with no seams.
I was planning on cutting the bottom seam off the leg as well when I noticed that the seam was about the same width as my zip ties. So I threaded the zip tie through the bottom edge of the denim seam! It fit! I was super excited that I could leave part of the original blue jean look!
How awesome is that?
Anhooo, moving on.
Planning on using this edge for the bottom of the basket—-Why not?—-I cut all the denim pieces about 10 inches up from the bottom leg seam. (SET THE LARGER PIECES ASIDE, you will need these later!) I knew I wanted the basket to measure about 8-9 inches tall and I needed the extra inch or so for the top seam too. So the 10″ pieces with the bottom hem you will be using now for the bottom of the basket. I began threading these blue jeans strips onto the zip tie until it was full. I added a second zip tie, I overlapped the open edges of the zip ties through one of the seams. The seams were tight enough with 2 bands going through it that I did not have to pre glue them but I did add a drop or two of glue on them before sliding them together just for added support later. Once I had the diameter I wanted for the bottom of the basket I overlapped the two open edges of the zip ties (another drop of glue) and threaded them together inside one of the seams again. This should form a circle or oval depending on what size basket you are making.
Almost finished the oval!
I pre glued two of the plastic bands to begin the top edge of the basket. Leave one side open because you will need to thread the top edge through. These bands are so thick that they will NOT just glue together, you have to clamp them and walk away for at least 2 hours. The MFR recommends 24 hours for complete bonding, but it will be mostly dry after 2 hours.
Next I cut the denim at 1″ intervals. Actually I snipped a starter piece at the edge and then proceeded to rip the denim lengthwise on the grain. Denim will tear into perfect strips very easily if you cut it lengthwise. 🙂 The tearing automatically stops when you get to the bottom seam. Perfect!
If you don’t have the image going in your head of how this is going to turn out, it should start taking the basic form now. These strips of fabric are going to be the vertical pieces of your weaving.
Next fold each strip down along the top edge about an inch(wrong side inside the basket) so that you will form a tunnel at the top for the plastic band. Machine stitch 1/4″ away from the open edge of the jeans. ******I know this sounds confusing and I don’t know how to explain it better—-It is just like hemming the pants but you are leaving enough of a hem that the plastic band will fit through the top edge just as you did for the bottom. Check out the picture below to see if this helps!
Here I pre-pinned where I wanted my stitching. I folded the jeans over the edge of the plastic band so I knew how deep my seam needed to be. I took the plastic band out and then stitched the seams. I used a “chain piecing” technique, often seen in quilting, to get through the seams fast enough. This means I did NOT snip the threads in between each strip of denim, I just continued stitching onto the next piece as though it was one piece of fabric.
After all the stitching is complete, then go back and snip the threads in between the strips (if you want to—you may be fine to leave them stitched together).
Now insert the plastic band around the top edge of your basket. Overlap the edges of the band once you have the desired size you want. By this I mean—-Depending on your basket shape, mine is an oval and I chose for the top edge to be wider than the base. You may choose to have it the exact same size. It’s all about personal preference. 🙂
Place a little bit of glue on the plastic bands before you overlap them and make sure they are covered inside your seam. You may have to clamp the bands again and allow to dry if your bands are not sticking together.
And now you can really see the basket taking shape!
Woo-Hoo!
Now add side supports. Cut wooden dowels (about 1/4″ or 3/8″ diameter?) into 9 inch sections or whatever the depth of your basket is. You need about 8 supports. Place them vertically along a strip of denim, evenly around the inside of the basket and stitch them by hand into the strips. Again I forgot to take a picture, but you are just whip stitching around the dowel, and through the denim, over and over from one end to the other. Now you can really see the basket coming together.
Next you are going to go back to the big pieces of denim.
With your scissors snip just a tiny bit of the edges at one inch intervals; approximately—a little size difference won’t matter, in fact it adds character, so don’t bother measuring! Then grab the two pieces and RIIIIIIIIPPPPP! Down the length of the jeans, just as you did for the smaller pieces. My husband actually said OOOO that’s cool, let me try, I wanna help!<<<<Something about guys and ripping fabric, LOL.>>>>> So I had a big helper to rip my denim into strips. I used all of the pieces from those 4-5 pairs of jeans. I ended up with a big pile of strips., but I forgot to take a picture. 😦 Sorry— there are a few places I am missing pictures!!!
I took my denim strips to my sewing machine and stitched them end to end in random order. I made each longer strip about 3 pieces long in order to make my pieces that would be the horizontal strips of my basket. The three strip length was long enough to go around my basket with a little bit leftover.
Now to begin the weaving process—-the FUN part! I placed one strip along the bottom edge of my basket, leaving out about 4″ or so hanging out, I began weaving the rest in and out of the vertical strips already in place. When I got around to the beginning again I decided to knot the ends together, and I rather liked the tied look of it. I was originally going to stitch the ends together by hand, but this came out so much prettier. Gosh I love it when things just happen!
Here are the tied ends in the picture below. I decided to stagger each row as I began so that the knotted pieces each started one more row over for a pretty effect.
Detail of ties up close! ***and my label of course. 🙂
Once all the rows were completed I was kinda stumped on the top edge. I could see some of the plastic bands in between the strips of fabric, YUCK. So I took some leftover strips and braided them—–with each turn of the braid I took one strip and wrapped it through the edge of the basket so I covered those ugly plastic strips poking through.
Now the basket has a beautiful braided edge all the way around the top. <<<And I think I just tied this one on the ends as well!
OK, for the bottom of the basket.
Here I used all my leftover “seams.” I have a box of seams from all the jeans I have recycled. You can use other strips if you don’t collect like I do. I sew these together end to end and then braid them together. Then I sew the braids together by hand in a round or oval fashion, like a braided rug. When I did this the middle of the “rug” puckered a little so I had to steam and press the finished mini-rug with my iron. I used a little bit of homemade spray starch (water and a few TBLS of cornstarch) to get the fabric to stiffen a little and maintain it’s shape once I pressed it flat.
How cool is that? Hubby says, you should make a rug like that. I’m like really? No DUH, lol that was my original intent….but it takes SOOOOOOOOOO long and I only have a piece the size of a large basket….
After I was satisfied with the size and shape of the bottom of my basket I flipped the basket over and whip stitched it into place along the bottom edge of the jeans.
Ok, lastly, the handle! Ahhhh, I bet you can’t wait to be done with this project—-I know I was by this point!
I took four blue jean strips, about 8 inches long each (by 1- 1/2″ wide) folded them in half and stitched along each edge, leaving a strip in the middle that formed a pocket about 4 inches long now. I took two of the plastic bands. placed a little bit of glue on each end, and slid the bands into each blue jean pocket. You should now have two plastic bands that have each end covered with blue jean strips. You will be using these “pockets” to stitch your handles down. These pockets ensure that the handle will not just fall out when you lift your basket by the handle.
I cut a two inch wide strip of quilters batting and wrapped it around the plastic band. Then I took my leftover LONG blue jean strips and wrapped them around the batting covered bands for a nice cushioned handle. I hand stitched the strips at each end of the handle. I made two of these handles and criss-crossed them as seen in the finished picture here:
Upcycled Blue Jean basket!
You can see in the picture how I placed the handles. It actually doesn’t show the cross at the top but oh-well you get the idea? I placed the ends of the handles through the weaving and hand stitched them into place.
Finished! Viola!
This is a OOAK basket—-If I make anymore they will be different I’m sure. I would love to make some smaller ones for fruit bowls in the kitchen, or decorations around the house. The plastic bands do not offer enough support for carrying laundry or anything, so I wouldn’t recommend this for anything other than decoration. I actually thought it would be a cute PHOTO PROP for a newborn baby……for all you photographers out there. 🙂
OK so life started out this week crazy per usual….I am finally getting around to finishing up some hat orders for some Kiddos. I had an order for an owl hat. Now, I’ve seen these owl hats everywhere, and I’ve already made some penguin hats, which are very similar to the owls….just add some ears and tassels….and the beak a tad smaller, no big deal. The hat order was generic. The mom left me plenty of creative freedom. All I could picture was the owl from the Tootsie Pop commercials. “one…..Two….THREEEEEE!” I thought I would make the owl kinda woodsy looking. I wanted him brown, maybe dark and light, with some red and orange. The image I had in my head was great! Something very fall-ish like a Thanksgiving turkey—BUT MORE LIKE AN OWL.
The nearly finished hat? Not so much… I finished the hat portion, started the eyes….then placed the eyes on the owl before stitching them and I HATED IT. See for yourself:
It was horrible. I don’t know why, I was just put off by this. ZERO wow factor for me….I know it still needed the nose and such, but something just looked wrong. The colors reminded me more of a pair of grandpa pajama pants, or a 70’s shag carpet. BLECK! I don’t know if it was the red or the funky mango orange. Whatever I was just disappointed.
So I contacted the momma and let her know I was having an artists block. Similar to writers block but it happens to crafters too. I asked her if there were any other color choices she would like. She suggested blue and grey. Perfect, I had a new idea! I so I set aside the yucky hat, not sure what I wanted to do with that yet.
So creative juices were flowing again, and back to crocheting. Halfway through the blue and grey hat, BAM——I had that ah-ha moment where I figured out the durned brown hat. Over a days time (hit or miss between my 2 year old pulling yarn from my bag), I finished 2, yes 2 owl hats and I LOVE them.
I ripped out half of the brown hat, took out the orange stripe, then put the lighter brown back on. I really liked the olive green I added into the eyes. It really gave the owl that woodsy feel that I wanted from the beginning. Why not add some eyelash yarn for eyelashes? I really love this now and have NO PROBLEM putting my brand name on these. 🙂 Oh and I like the blue and grey one too. It was a great color combination from the mom. Thanks mom.
Have a look at some close ups.
I love the eyes!!!The blue and grey really work well togetherI used the green in the braid as well
So I have to say, I was pretty upset when the hat didn’t turn out how I wanted it to the first time. But now I have two finished products that I’m in love with. The mom will purchase one and the other will be listed for sale in my Etsy shop. This project may have taken me longer than normal, but I’m much happier letting my customer know I had a good reason for the delay, and I’m satisfied that I’m putting out a great product. Quality is more important to me.
To me this is what I call a Clever Catastrophe. Wink wink.
PS Don’t forget about my Fingerless Gloves Giveaway!!! If you haven’t checked it out yet, please do. We are 23 likes away from giving away an awesome pair of gloves!
As Always — Don’t forget to visit me on ETSY, and LIKE my page on Facebook to keep up with all the goodies!!!!
Sheesh it feels like forever since my last blog post! I couldn’t fight it any longer. I’ve had this draft sitting here since Monday and well I couldn’t get my act together for the life of me! My sincere apologies….it’s a little nutty around here. But I’ve been hearing this from other bloggers as well, so I’m glad I’m not the only one. The end of the school year is FINALLY here, and apparently the summer heat too. I’ve been so busy with the end of school things, kids performances, last days, and parties. Now I can take a breath. No wait—-I’ve got baby showers up the wazoo, so I’m working on projects for those, and I have to keep the big kids busy now too. This will be a fun filled crafty bloggy summer that’s for sure. I have so many great things upcoming to share with everyone! So please stay tuned… 🙂
Anyhoo, back to the real blog post.
This past weekend was Father’s Day, so happy belated Father’s Day to all the daddies out there. Where would we be with out you? 😉
So on Sunday my mother-in-law called me because she was working at a craft show here on the Cape. (She is a FABULOUS artist by the way – just thought I would mention that). She says you should bring the kids down. They have a tent set up with all kinds of crafts for the kids to do. AND ITS FREE. I said, FREE??? OK, I’m there!
I love to go to craft shows anyway. I love the inspiration. Sometimes I buy and sometimes I browse, but either way I love to enjoy the artistic feeling that comes over me. I can’t wait to go home and make something myself.
Pay no attention to the peeps in the pic I just wanted to take a picture of the windmill and the tents. 😉
Inside the big craft tent the kids played with clay, mosaicing, beading, and a few other things. They made all kinds of things that they could take home, and again it was all free. I spoke with some of the artists and apparently the town puts on this show every year with grant money. So nice that they do this for the kids!
Sebastian painting seashells
Just a bunch of giant seashells on a table, a few buckets of paint, and Sebastian was as happy as a clam—pun intended, HAHA!
Making a necklace with beads and seashells.
He made a necklace for himself and I put one together for Shelby.
Shelby ate hers.
Hannah working with claySpencer with clayHannah’s clay horseHannah’s mermaidAwe, Shelby…Mosaicing
Sebastian really enjoyed the mosaics. It’s just an old plate, tile grout, shells and marbles. So cute and he was really proud of himself! This was something I never really thought of with the kids, I don’t know why not, it’s so easy! We tried making some stepping stones for Mema’s birthday once (not here at the craft fair, this was last year) and they came out cute, but then they cracked and started falling apart….so I still have yet to re-do that one. Sorry Mema…we’ll get that done soon!
Ok, ok, so enough with the pictures right? I still had more to share, but I can only share so much right?
I am just so thrilled with this craft fair though I just had to share as much as I could! Next year we will be there again, that’s for sure! For those of you locals –its the “Hands on the Arts Festival” at the Windmill Green in Eastham, MA. I’ve driven by it a million times….thank goodness we stopped there this year!
Were there any craft fairs near you this weekend? Have you ever been to a fair like this where the kids get hands on entertainment for free? What do you like to see at the craft fairs?
As Always — Don’t forget to visit me on ETSY, and LIKE my page on Facebook to keep up with all the goodies!!!!
I came across this really interesting sun-catcher on . I love this site! I love sharing on it and I love to find nifty little creations that I can do at home myself. As you all I know I love to craft anything I can get my hands on. My first day on Pinterest I thought I was losing my eyesight, I was soooooo addicted to pinning that my eyes were burning. I think I woke up with a Pinterest hangover. If you haven’t tried Pinterest, then I suggest you check it out!
So anyhoo, back to my crafting experience. I found this awesome picture:
I thought, wow, so pretty! It must be complicated right? NOT SO!!!! VERY, VERY simple I promise. You buy the clear-ish plastic pony beads form the craft store, I just so happened to have some from my hair braiding days, or I’m sure you could use any clear plastic beads. You dump them into a round non-stick cake pan in a SINGLE layer, no greasing necessary (yes this made me nervous) and bake them in the oven on 400 for about 20 minutes. My oven took closer to 30 minutes, but it also depends on what kind of effect you want to have I suppose. The less time you cook them for the bumpier they are. I prefer them a little smoother so I kept checking them every 5 minutes after the 20 passed. As you can see, some melted differently. The clear ones still looked a little bumpy, but I was happy with it.
Baked and melty-looking
***NOTE, this does smell a little in the house so if you are bothered by melting plastic smells, I wouldn’t do this in your house. Maybe purchase a toaster oven that you could put outside?? I don’t know, but I know some people complain of the smell. It really didn’t bother me. I suppose if I was doing this as a full time job I would pick up an old oven and keep it in a shed or garage to bake in. But one time isn’t going to kill me. AND ANOTHER NOTE **** Just because I wasn’t sure how this was going to turn out, I went yard sale-ing for pans and paid .25 each. I didn’t want to use my own in case they got ruined, but I also don’t want to melt plastics in them and then cook food in them if you know what I mean. I’m not one of those nutty people who freak out over all things plastic, it just seemed weird to me, so I’m keeping separate pans for craft stuff.
So once the baked beads cool, flip the pan over and the plastic”cake” falls right out! No more worries about not greasing the pans. Woo-hoo!! I am so excited about this silly little NEW thing! Why didn’t I think of this?
After baking the first plastic cake, I was hooked. I got so many ideas! Now the original instructions said that you can drill holes in the sun catchers wherever you want them. Again this made me nervous thinking the plastic would easily crack, so on the first sun catcher I put a heart shaped metal cookie cutter [you can see in the picture above] at the top thinking I would make my own hole. The cookie cutter DID NOT pop out so easily. It was actually pretty well-stuck in there. I had to perform serious wiggling tactics to remove it. Finally it came out, so not too bad but I won’t try that again.
I thought I would make some smaller plastic cakes to hang as little dangles from my big one. So I took these muffin pans I also yard saled for a quarter each and put some beads in them ready to bake. This time I used a rivet for my holes (you can see the rivet in the pre-baking picture below) to see how this would come out, knowing I was going to leave them in as decoration. Now I didn’t realize that the cupcake pans were not completely non-stick coated like the cake pan was so I had to really pop the bottom of the cups to remove my cakes. I also noticed a “texture” on the bottom of the cakes from the pan and I could also see very tiny scratches. So note that any imperfections in the pans MAY be noticeable in your sun-catchers.
beads in muffin/ cupcake pans
So I now have one big sun-catcher, and 6 small ones. I imagined my sun-catcher with 3 long dangling strands each with 2 small ones on them. I realized that I have 6 circles with one hole each, and my big circle only had my top hole shaped like a heart. Oh boy. I HAD to break out my drill and proceeded to drill 3 holes in the bottom of the big sun catcher, and one hole in each of only 3 of the small ones. The ones hanging on the bottom of the strands only needed the top holes with the rivets. It really wasn’t that bad. No major cracking when I did the drilling. Next time I will not be worried to drill the holes later, but that won’t stop me from thinking of other creative ways of making cool shapes for holes.
NEXT STEP—I creeped into the shed —real sneaky-like—-and stole some of my hubby’s fishing line…..I couldn’t find any new packages, so I just took it right from the reel. HEHEHEEEEE, yes clever isn’t it? Fishing line is perfect for this project and if you have a hubby that likes to fish it’s probably something you have laying around the house—one less thing to buy, LOVE it!
tying fishing line in top and bottom holes
I tied all the pieces together exactly where I wanted them and VOILA!!! ***Tip- I dangled mine from the table so I could see exactly where I wanted to place them.
Hanging to see how they fall as I tied themoutsideThe whole shebangTrying to get pics in the sunlight…A semi-sunny pic….at least of the top half
So my picture-taking skills aren’t so great, but you get the picture (no pun intended). I love this new creation and I have so many ideas that come with it! I could make different shapes, I could put different non-clear items within them before baking, I could even make wind chimes. I can separate colors and make them one or a few certain colors each. I can make swirls or patterns with the beads before I bake them….It just goes to show how flexible some crafts are. No one says you HAVE to follow the directions to the “T.” I liked mine sun-catcher longer, I did that on purpose. You could make yours shorter, or put more small pieces on it. Have fun with it, make it your own. Send me pictures!!! I wanna see what you come up with!
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I made it to match Shelby’s blankie with the leftover yarn 🙂
Baby hats! Oh how I love all things baby, cute and cuddly, small and smelling so yummy. Yes that newborn baby smell and rubbing my cheek on silk soft hair. STOP! All these dreamy thought of babies, ahhhh, that’s probably why I have 4 children. I’m done, I promise, cross my heart and hope to die….I’m enjoying the baby stage with my last little one, savoring each “little” moment because I know they don’t last long. So now it’s time for other people in my family and friends circle to have babies. I can enjoy cuddling with their babies and then I can give them back.
I love to make little things for babies, and I’m so excited to have a few people around me having babies. I can make all kinds of sweet things for little heads, hands, and feet. Oh joy!!!
My first, very first baby blanket I made was about….oh jeezums, now I have to think, well it was at least 12 years ago, maybe 13? I made a baby blanket for a little girl and it became her blankie. That did it for me! I was hooked at making handmade snuggly things for the babies I know! Just seeing this little girl walk around with a blankie, all tattered and torn, knowing she couldn’t sleep without it….and I made that for her just makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. I have made a baby blanket for just about every baby I know. There are a few I have missed over the years, but I have not forgotten them. Those babies will still get something special from me. 😉
Which by the way, random thought but I had to share….I finished the fringe on Shelby’s blankie. What do you think??
Instead of tucking in the ends, I just made more fringe! Haha!
Anyhoo, I’m glad to be finished with Shelby’s blankie because it’s time to start new projects. Oh how I love the beginning of a new project. I don’t know what it is, just that fresh start that motivates me, I love it! Now, I cannot get into too many details over upcoming projects just yet. A few of my preggo friends may read this post and I cannot risk them finding out all the cute stuff I have up my sleeve. I promise you that as soon as the mommies know, I will post picture of the pure sweetness, after the baby showers. It wouldn’t be fair to spoil the surprise right? I want the mommies to be the first to see their keepsakes.
So about those baby hats….I have never been big on making hats. I’ve made a few, but never found any great patterns that I went ga-ga over. Last week I was at my neighbor’s house having a glass of wine (Thanks Kim C.) and we were talking about knitting baby things. Then she showed me this book, itty-bitty hats, by Susan B.Anderson.
(Anderson, 2006)
I am just in love with the patterns. This book has a simple style that starts out with a few “basic” hats and then the book develops from there. Flipping through the book, this one was the first to catch my eye.
(Anderson, 2006)
This hat uses different pattern stitches in each little panel, all panels knitted together (not sewn – yes it’s an interesting technique!) and the number of panels depends on the size of the finished piece. Don’t you love it?? I LOVE things that are just different. I’m not one to conform to most standards in regards to, well, just about everything! I guess that’s the artist in me.
I have a few more hats in the book I want to try before I return it to my neighbor. The original plan was I was going to photocopy just two or three hats that I liked and then return the book to its rightful owner, but after diving into this book I’m putting it on my list of must-have-craft books! I also went to her website and found that she has more “itty-bitty” books! I’m adding these to my wish list as well!
I am a pretty experienced knitter and am able to do just about anything so what seems easy to me may not be easy to some people, but I hope this is just as easy for a beginner. The book comes complete with a set of how-to instructions in the beginning of the book and includes terms and illustrations for the stitches, techniques and patterns used within it.
(Anderson, 2006)
The patterns start out simple near the beginning and gradually get more complex throughout the book. When I say complex there is nothing in knitting that is really that complicated. As knitters we all know there are 2 basic stitches, knitting and purling, and everything else is a combination of the two. I believe that this book would be great for even a beginner and many of the patterns seem very versatile. I can see myself being able to make many hats of my own creation from a few basic patterns.
(Anderson, 2006) I just love girly stuff and frou-frou!(Anderson, 2006) AWE-DORABLE!!!!
This book has many more patterns than the ones I have shown; these are just a few of my favorites. Every time I look at the book I find another one I want to make. There are so many possibilities with this book! If you like knitting baby stuff like I do, than this is the book for you. Even if you have never tried hats before I think you will be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is and this author is just fabulous!
So here is Miss Shelby in her new hat…
I can’t wait to get started on some more….
Just FYI: I am not a professional blogger and no one paid me to review this book, this is all my opinion. I am not including any patterns they are all copyrighted material. I just wanted to share about this awesome book with my crafty friends! I have included proper references to cite copyrighted photos. The other photos are MINE. 🙂
As Always — Don’t forget to visit me on ETSY, and LIKE my page on Facebook to keep up with all the goodies!!!!
Reference: Anderson, S.B. (2006). itty-bitty hats: cute and cuddly caps to knit for babies and toddlers. Artisan; A division of Workman Publishing, Inc. New York, New York.
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 youDOthat??? 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!
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I know this shirt is wayyyyyy too big for me. But it’s a gorgeous color, and it’s NEW! I think I paid a quarter for it and it still has the extra button attached. I am already envisioning this refashion!
Clever Catastrophe 