Poking my head up...

I've been trying to post for like a week now, but I'm sick, and it just seems like by the time I finish all the necessary tasks like feeding the kids and putting on pants, I have nothing left in me. It's nothing terribly serious, just a sore throat, but I'm on antibiotics now, so hopefully it's on its way out.

So here's what's happening. We have a contract on the house. Yay us! Actually, we had a contract before this one, but the buyer backed out because the inspection turned up some foundation damage. Boo! BUT, we are getting it fixed in 10 days, with a lifetime transferable warranty, so it shouldn't be an issue. Even with that, the first buyer didn't want to stay on board. Fortunately, he'd been in a bit of a bidding war with another buyer, and they were happy to take his place with the assurance that the foundation work is being done.

So now the race is on to find our next house. We found one that we really liked, but it sold the day before the contract went on ours. And we've since found one that we really love, but there are some issues with it that would have to be resolved for it to be an actual option for us. It's all very much up in the air from our viewpoint, but God has definitely been moving and providing, so we will see what happens.

So as far as crafting goes, there's been a little bit. Not much, but a little. And I don't have any tutorials for you right now, but here are a few things I've made.

Back in July a little girl at our church had a birthday, and I made her this fun candy colored paracord bracelet and earrings set. The bracelet actually ended up being a little small for her, so I made her a bigger one and she sent this one back to Lily.

My friend Melissa just had her gorgeous baby girl MacKenzie. Her nursery is done in gray and yellow with accents of teal in an elephant motif. So back in August for her baby shower I made her a few gifts. First was this paper banner with bows made using my Sizzix Bow Die.

I found this yellow and gray photo box at Hobby Lobby to put it in for gifting, and she can use the box in baby girl's room.

I made her a couple of curved burp cloths out of white terry cloth and this super soft cuddle minky.

And I also made her a faux chenille blanket. I'll be honest, I wasn't entirely happy with how the blanket turned out. The blue looked more teal in the store, and I should have used it as the one of the chenille layers and not the base fabric on the back. I should have sewn the lines half as far apart so the chenille strips would have been more even and stuck out less from the blanket. But it's still super cuddly, and she said she loves it.

My mother-in-law Brenda's birthday was also in August, and I made her this card.

It's very simple, but I like it. I'd really like to get into making cards on a more regular basis. I've got stamps, stamp pads, and embossing folders for days, but not much of a place to do it right now. And most of my stamps and ink pads are in storage right now anyway. When I get a craft room one of these days I plan on making up a bunch of different elements and having my girlfriends/sisters in law over for a card making party.

I also made Brenda this pretty patchwork zipper pouch.

The mint fabric was a duck cloth remnant from Hobby Lobby I think, and the coral polka dot fabric was from a pair of pants in the giveaway pile. I made my Mom a very similar one for her birthday in July.

Inside the pouch for Brenda I included this simple bead and chain set I made with these awesome metal filigree beads I got on clearance at Hobby Lobby.

We also had another Walridge Baptist Church Ladies Craft Meeting last month, but that one deserves a post of its own.

We could really use your prayers that God will show us to the house He has for us and that everything will go smoothly with the sale/closing on our own house. It looks like the timing may end up pretty tight on it - for us to close on the new home the same day as we close on the old home we will have to find the right house and have an offer accepted in the next week or so. Exciting times, people!

Sizzix Gift Bow Bigz L Die by Stampin' Up

First of all, this is not a sponsored post. I purchased this die, and I just wanted to share how much I love it.

Back when I made the leather hair bows for Taylor's 13th birthday party, I cut them all by hand. And it wasn't hard, just time consuming. And there were some slight variations in each bow because scissors + my cutting by hand skills. At the time I looked for a Sizzix die to use, because I love my Sizzix Big Kick like a small child, but I couldn't find one that I liked and that would cut leather.

Then my friend Shawna started selling Stampin' Up products, and they had the perfect die! This is a Stampin' Up exclusive, so you can only get it through a demonstrator. And I don't get anything for referring you, but if you're looking for a demonstrator, I would highly recommend Shawna. She's kind of awesome. :) You can shop with her here.

You'll have to excuse these pictures because some of them were quick cellphone shots before heading out the door with a birthday gift. I have found that if you fold a standard piece of craft felt in half it will fit over the die perfectly and make exactly enough pieces for one regular bow and one double bow. I actually cut out a longer center strip from the felt remnant for the double bow just because the strip cut by the die is not long enough to wrap around all the layers. Of course if you are working with paper or cardstock it will be plenty long enough.

These were for the daughter of one of Nick's friends.

The other little flowers and bows were pre-made embellishments I got on clearance at Michael's and stuck on lined clips. Easy peasy!

These are so fun!

I added this one to a headband for my precious new niece Adelaide. Since I have no tiny baby girls in my house anymore, my lampshade got to be my model. Um, I need to dust.

This one is for my friend Amy's little girl Abi. 

I recently got to pass down to her a little pillowcase dress I made for Lily when she was itty bitty, and this bow matches it. Gratuitous (old) pictures of baby Lily that sort of show off the dress:

I'm dying a little from the cuteness. Those eyes! And those cheeks! Nom, nom, nom...

This one I added to a headband for big, grown up, already has a second loose tooth (sob!) Lily.

Oh my goodness, those giant Disney princess eyes...

You can of course use this die for paper gift bows too. I also made one from some yummy green leather, but Taylor confiscated it before I could snap a pic. :) I can see a lot more of these in my future!

My Favorite Crafting Tools

I have a few tools that I absolutely use all the time. They make crafting and creating so much easier! None of the links in the post are affiliate links, and I have not been compensated for this post in any way. I just really love these products. (Although, Sizzix and Silhouette, hit me up - seriously!)

Sizzix Big Kick:

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This is exactly the same thing as the Big Shot machine. The only difference is the color. I LOVE this machine. I got mine at Joann's using a coupon, so I paid about $60 for it. Joann's also has a pretty reasonable selection of dies to use in it, and the dies (as well as the machines) go on sale for 40% off about every other week. Hobby Lobby and Michael's also carry the dies and machines and also offer frequent sales. The Sizzix plastic backed dies will cut through tons of material, including fabric, felt, leather, paper, cardstock, chipboard, and even aluminum. And the Big Kick is super compatible with almost any brand of die out there. In fact, I've yet to find one that won't work, although the thin, metal only dies do not cut through fabric or eco-felt very well. 

I've made tons of hair clips using the shapes cut with this machine, as well as even some jewelry. The leather rose pin I sent to my Package Pal is one example. I would love, love, LOVE to have the Big Shot Pro one of these days, but at over $300, it's not in my budget.

My glue gun:

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This is the glue gun I use on a regular basis. I've got several of the little low temp $3 models, but this is my workhorse. I got it at Walmart for about $11, Even though it will work cordlessly for 5 minutes, I generally keep the 6 foot cord plugged in, and I almost always use it on the high temp setting. I have found that working with the high temp setting will allow you to get a very strong bond on most materials, although of course, as with all glue guns, you should be very careful not to burn yourself or anyone else. Keep out of reach of your kids if it's hot!

Sewing Machine:

My first sewing machine was a Brother LS-30.

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My mom got it for me for Christmas one year, and it sat in the box for almost 2 years before I had the nerve to try it. It is a very basic machine, but it worked great and never gave me any problems. I don't know where she bought it, but you can get them all day long for well under $100.

A couple of years ago, right before Sawyer was born, I upgraded to an embroidery machine, the Brother SE400. 

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This is an excellent sewing machine. It might even be an excellent embroidery machine, but I don't know. To try to make a long, infuriating story bite size, when I bought this, Sawyer was about to be born, then was in the NICU, then was a very tiny baby brought home with us. The SE400 sat in its box in the closet for many months. When I finally had time to open it, I had an unpleasant surprise. Someone had previously purchased this machine, used it for a while, then boxed it back up with only part of the pieces, and taken it back to Walmart. I mean major things, like the foot pedal, and the front of the accessory box that goes on the front when the embroidery arm isn't there. Plus it was working funny. 

I took it to our local Sew N Vac, and they fooled around with it a bit, got it to working, and sold me a couple of parts, like a foot pedal and a bobbin case. Walmart refused to help at all (even though they had sold me a machine with missing pieces) because it was over 90 days since my purchase date, and Brother (who was not actually at fault here) could only offer to waive the shipping on the parts that were missing.

Sew N Vac got the embroidery portion up and running, but after a few days I was having no luck with it. So for me, it's just a sewing machine. I rarely have any problems out of it in that function (and if I do, it's user error). Someday I may try to get the embroidery part of it serviced again, but for now it's not worth the cost to me. If I were to buy another machine, it would probably be the XR9500PRW Project Runway™ Limited Edition Computerized Sewing Machine. It has all the things I love about my SE400, like the drop in bobbin, and the start and stop button, and plus many more built in stitches.

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Silhouette SD:

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You cannot buy the SD anymore, but you can buy a Silhouette Cameo or a Silhouette Portrait. I want a Cameo with my whole heart, but I just can't afford it right now.

But I use my SD all the time. I use it to cut the stencils for my pillow covers, to make cards, and to cut vinyl. It's definitely a must have for me.

Woodburning Tool:

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I've not used this for woodburning (although it's on my list), but it's the perfect tool for working with ribbon. I use it to cut and seal my ribbon at the same time when making hair bows, and it works great for things like cutting a curve (just use a large coin or other round metal object as your edge). I've also used it with Hotstamps to brand leather. This is definitely an after the-kids-are-in-bed sort of tool though. It gets crazy hot, and you don't want to risk burns on curious hands!

Those are some of my must have crafting tools. I may do a second round of this featuring my favorite hand tools for crafting. Happy Saturday!

Last Mother's Day

So Mother's Day is in a little over two weeks. Gah! How does it always sneak up on me? I've got a couple of ideas, but we'll see how they pan out Meanwhile, I thought I'd show you some of the things I made last year for Mother's Day.

First of all, I tend to show the love to sisters and girlfriends on Mother's Day when I can. We all know that when your babies are small, you don't always end up with a thoughtful gift, so if I have the time and resources, I try to make it a special day for ALL the mommies in my life. My father-in-law made me a wind chime for my second Mother's Day. It was the only thing I got that year, and it meant so much to me that he thought to do something special for me, so I try to pay it forward.

So these are the sister gifts. And please understand that this was pre-blog and another one of those last minute, taken at night in my dark living room, not for anyone to see, just for me to have a personal record or what I made, super lame photo shoots. Ahem.

My SIL Rachael had a still pretty new baby boy, and she also had some blue and yellow in her home, so I thought I would try my hand at some pop art painting. I used my Silhouette to cut a stencil of the words, and I just blocked off the sun's rays with straight pieces of vinyl. Looking back I see all kinds of things wrong with it, but I guess it wasn't too awful for my first attempt, especially considering I am so not an artist.

My SIL Leah was pregnant with baby Lawrence, and her best friend (also a good friend of mine) Melissa was pregnant with baby Jackson, so they got matching gifts that fit right in with their sense of humor: We Made a Baby on This Bed pillow covers.

In fact, Melissa wanted it featured in Jackson's 3 month shoot. :) These can be requested as a custom item in my shop. :)

I sent my SIL Kristin in Texas this leather scalloped banner. I cut scalloped circles out of black and gold leather with my Sizzix Big Kick and cut each circle in half. Then I attached the circle halves to black satin ribbon with strips of Heat N Bond.

For my mom and MIL, I had three things. First, I made them each an infinity scarf (sorry, no picture). I also made them each a burlap wreath. The pink and blue was for my MIL, and the red and cream was for my mom. My mom had just redone her kitchen, and I made hers using the same Waverly fabric her curtains are made from. The flowers for both were made using a main fabric, felt, and drop cloth. I just cut the burlap in 2 inch strips and wrapped it around the wreath forms, securing with hot glue.

The last thing I did was to embellish a couple of Mason jars. For these I just wrapped them in burlap, then wrapped lace on top of that. I cut out several layers of patent leather medallions, again with my Big Kick, and attached them to each other and then the jar with hot glue.

I also made a few things for Nick's grandmother also, but I didn't get pictures of them. Anyway, I'm off to try to figure out what to do for this year!