New Favorites

Hello November!

Oh my goodness I have so much to tell you all!  So much to show you.  Even though I was sick for about 4 weeks, I was still productive.  Discoveries made, techniques tried, and presents galore!  I will try to catch you up.

Crime Fighting Cape

Little B loves talking about fighting "the crimes" and "blasting off" so I knew he would love playing in a cape.  I used some flannel that I bought last year to make pj's and never used.  It has these really cute monsters on it that now in cape form sort of look like germs or something.

I just cut out a general cape shape and hung it up to him to get the length right (I didn't want it dragging on the floor)  Then I cut out a lining in the same exact size and shape (in this case I used a satin-y type fabric)  Then I placed right sides together, sewed along all the edges except the neck-edge.  Flipped it through the neck edge and sewed a twill tape neck strap that attaches with velcro.

Next the mask.  I think this must be his crime-fighting face because every picture I took he made some version of this same face.

I used the satin fabric on one side and the flannel on the other.  He said he wanted the satin to be facing out, so I used "heat n' bond" to adhere the two pieces of fabric together.  Then cut out the mask shape and zigzagged all the edges.  I attached twill tape to a piece of elastic and sewed that to the mask.  All done!

He loves it!  Can't you tell.  Just kidding!  There's that crime-fighting face again.

Sewing Clothes

Usually when I try to make clothes for myself lately, it's a disaster.  But this time it came out okay.  And I love this fabric from Joann's.

I bought this pattern from Goodwill for a buck.

The pattern is for a really cute vintage syle dress, but it wouldn't flatter my figure.

So I decided to make a shirt by extending the length of the front and back bodice pieces by 6". 

And Voila!





Funny thing is the armholes are so big that I had to wear a tank top underneath.  I guess this pattern was made for those no-bra-wearing years (70's or 80's).  I looked for a date on the pattern and there isn't one.

To me, this fabric is just dreamy!!  Oh and yeah, I had to make these photos headless.  :)

SHOW

I went to see Devendra Banhart & the Grogs with Twin Sister as the opening act on Friday and it was amazing!  Oh my goodness!  The show was at Warehouse Live.  It's so cool to see someone perform the songs I first started listening to 6 years ago and hear new favorite songs. 

Here's a video from some other city by some other person:



I even got a chance to tell Noah Georgeson that I loved the show and how grateful I felt to see them play!

Here he is:

Sisters Blanket

Recently, I was reading about a "sisters make the best friends" pillow on Sugar City Journal.  The blog is written by sister-in-laws who happen to be very creative!  Go check it out...in a minute.  The idea of sisters fighting over this pillow and all the memories around this one thing their mother made got me thinking.  I have several friends who have given birth to sisters and I wanted to honor what a cool thing that is, so I made my own version of the "sisters make the best friends" handi-craft...A BLANKET!

Check it out:

I'm already working on the next one!

I hope you all have a great weekend!

New favorites

Bon Homme - Mother from Fake Diamond Records on Vimeo.

What can I say?  I'm a sucker for a good old-fashioned dance song.  And the video is great!

Enjoy!

Taking Stock - It's awesome!

Recently, I decided to take inventory of all my supplies (sewing, crafting, scrapbooking, etc...) and I discovered that I have a lot of stuff!  Then, I made a list of everything I could think of that I can make.   And voila!  Magic happened.  Revelation struck.  I don't have to buy anything to make something.  Now this may not sound like much, but it is huge for me.  See, I have this little habit: every time I start a new project it almost always involves going to "pick up some things". 

And I am (without going any further into my deep psychological need to stockpile and "collect") ready to crack down and get creative for this Christmas.  Which is awesome, but how do I blog about all the projects I am working on without ruining Christmas surprises!?!??!  That's what I've been racking my brain, trying to figure out.  I will keep you posted on what I decide.

In the meantime, I tried a technique that I read about for transfering images to fabric that I want to tell you about!  It's super easy and if you haven't thought of it, after reading this you will think you always knew it!  (does that make sense?)  Ready for this?!  Use your computer as a light box!  For my first attempt, I used white fabric, taped it to my computer screen, and traced away.  It's the perfect remedy for creating an outline for embroidery, say.  But it could also be used for painting fabric. 

If you have any other ideas of how you would employ this nifty trick, please let me know!

Scribble Stencil Action

I've been holding off posting about this Scribble Stencil stuff because I saw it in the background of some photo somewhere and I was hoping I would remember, but I don't.  I like to acknowledge where I see inspiration.

Anyway, I am so into this technique!  It's really rewarding and fun to do.  I've been using my super-fancy Sakura Pens (gloss & souffle) and plain ol' ballpoint pens to make handmade cards.  Check it out:



Sorry for the poor quality photos.  I'm still trying to figure out how to take really nice pictures.



Coolest Quilt Ever

So I actually got my graph paper out for this one!  I saw this picture by Laura Taylor (who by the way is brilliant, heard about on Creature Comforts):

I love the old-fashioned calico prints on the big block background.  The white squares and blasts of bright colored squares are perfection!  I even like the worn out rips.  I'm mooning over this one.  Oh yeah and it's all on point, so it has that great diamond effect.  sigh.

Moccasin Love

How hard could it be to make moccasins??  I was checking out a blog a like to read on occasion, For Me, For You and saw these:

From Manimal.  If I was made of money, I would just buy them.

So now I'm seriously thinking about trying to figure this whole moccasin thing out!

Pillowcases: finally finished!

So I put the trim on the pillowcases and so now they are officially done!!  YAY!!

New favorites

SUMMER CAMP - Round the Moon from Paddy Power on Vimeo.


I find this video even cooler than the other Summer Camp video I posted a while back.  Mesmorizing.  I literally just tried to do her dance moves from the club scene.  yep.

More on Corn Husk Dolls

Okay, this will probably be the last post on corn husk dolls.  I just have to get it out of my system! 

I went nuts and bought a bunch on ebay.  You have to see some of these amazing dolls.  They make my doll look like a pumpkin head.

And this is where is gets really ridiculous!  Corn husk mice!

That's when I turned my computer off, no more ordering corn husk things on ebay!  ha!

Corn Husk Doll

Some of my most favorite Christmas ornaments are made out of corn husks.  I decided to search for more a couple of days ago and I found a bunch on Ebay.  So then I thought, "I want to make corn husk dolls!"

I bought corn husks at the grocery store for $2.50 and printed out instructions from here.  The first corn husk doll was for my boy.  He wanted a superman corn husk doll.  It was harder than I thought and came out super creepy and was broken and in the trash before I could get any pictures.  My next doll was much cuter and much easier to make!  check it out:

Maybe it's super nerdy.  In fact, it probably is, but I had so much fun making this doll.  Now I want to learn how to make brooms!!!

Summer Camp '88

Speaking of Summer Camp (see below).  yep.  that's me...second in from the right (with the hand that is not on board with the plan).  And guess what, we came up with this pose ourselves! Isn't it magically delicious?!

New favorites

I love, love this song: Ghost Train by Summer Camp.  A nice 80s sweet vibe to the video too.


Summer Camp - Ghost Train (viral) from Paddy Power on Vimeo.

New favorites

My favorite source for music is Gorilla vs. Bear.  And here is a new favorite song.  The video is really cool too.



TRAFFIQUE // NORA from Brandon Tauszik™ on Vimeo.

Embroidery Pillowcase Project

I started this pillowcase project when my cousin got married like 7 years ago and I finally finished them (well, almost finished...there's one more thing I want to do).  I used this Bucilla kit that I had been eyeing for awhile, thinking it would be a nice wedding gift.  I didn't like the blue-theme so I picked my own colors.

So I proceeded to go to town on it, only to totally run out of steam.  And believe it or not, I have picked it up through the years to work on it.  Last week, I completed all the embroidery and I now I want to add a little bit of a fabric border around the opening to make it look a little nicer. 

Here it is so far:

Cool Thread Bobbins

A few months back I came across these cute printable thread bobbins for embroidery thread created by Wild Olive blogger Mollie Johanson.  And then I saw them again at How About Orange, a blog I read at least once a week.  And it again filed away in the back of my brain, to be retrieved yesterday when I decided to tackle my office.

I discovered that I had a terrible setup for my embroidery thread and had some extra from that stocking project, so I got busy.  I printed the thread bobbin pdf on full sheet labels, stuck that to some leftover thin cardboard, and cut them out.  It's funny because I think I printed out 3 sheets thinking that would be plenty.  OH NO...that was not plenty.  6 sheets and a day later.  My embroidery thread looks like this:

 These thread bobbins are the greatest!  Seriously cute and it feels so good to look at my embroidery floss now.

Pom-Pom Garland

So the very next day after seeing that awesome pipecleaner chandelier, I purchased a pom-pom maker.

And it was super easy to use!  And I went nuts!  I made two garlands for my boy's room.

I hung them over his bed.  Talk about a satisfying project and super inexpensive.  I think the yarn (and I had a little left over) came to $6.  I'm thinking everyone's presents from now on will be topped with a pom-pom.

Pipecleaners vs. Chandeliers

So I just checked my mail and look at what I found in the Land of Nod catalogue.

I can't believe my eyes.  It's a chandelier made out of pipecleaners and yarn.  And wait, is that a yarn pom pom!??  Yahoo!!  I just rode off into the sunset on a unicorn!

I know just who I want to make this for!  I think I may take a crack at it tonight.  I'll keep you posted.

Christmas Early

I just finished this Christmas stocking.  It probably took me about 45 hours to do, but totally worth it!  Lots of fun!

The Sketchbook Project 2011

I signed up for the Sketchbook Project 2011 and received my black cover moleskin about two weeks ago. To be involved in a touring art show, well, it thrills me to no end.

The category I chose is "Happy Thoughts" which got my mind churning with ideas. I was even thinking of doing a "pre" sketchbook to warm up with, but I think that would sort of ruin the thing.

So this is page one. I'm excited to see where this goes!

A Beginning

Here we go again! I have had private blogs, blogs that were essentially online notebooks ( so I wouldn't forget things), and lame attempts at marketing/selling my talents. If at first you don't succeed try, and try again. Look at that I've already effed up my new clean slate of a blog with a sloppy quote. Oh well. It's better you know now, this will be a colloquial blog.

Let's get straight to the goods.

I make stuff, a lot, and that's what I'll be sharing here. Music, art, words, pictures. MAWP.

hugs,jp