Christmas Wish List

This is my first crafting Christmas Wish List. This is not a list of items that I want to get for Christmas. It is rather a list of things that I want to get done for Christmas. With November almost halfway over, I think I’d better get a move on…

#1- Glitter Foam Christmas Trees from eighteen25 as seen on i Heart Nap Time.

#2- Spool Advent Calendar from Just Something I Made

#3- Shoe holder Advent Calendar from eighteen25

Here’s another one from Chica & Jo (I’m not fond of the Grinch but you could do a million different stories/themes)

  

#4- Yarn Ball Wreath from Life Through the Lens

#5- Stick Snowflakes from Dollar Store Crafts (Love this blog!)

#6- Casserole Cozy in a Christmas plaid I picked up on the free table at co-op.

this isn’t the Christmas print…

#7- Christmas valance for the kitchen window

   This is the print I’m using

#8- Christmas Apron  I have no idea what I’ll use yet!

#9- Embroidered Tea Towels with one of these fonts from Just Something I Made

#10- Christmas Quilt that I bought at my favorite quilt store Center Diamond I love the colors and the vintage look!

I Will Never Do That Again!

When I got the call in August, I was so flattered. Someone finally liked something I made well enough to buy them… And not just one, but 13 sets! So, of course I said yes.

That was dumb!

Now I know I’m no entrepreneur and that was very quickly apparent as I began gathering and purchasing the supplies to make the order.

When I made the original ones, I used all materials that I already had on hand and charged what I thought people would be willing to pay. But buying all new materials to match what she wanted was a whole different ball game. If I hadn’t already had quite a bit of the material or would have not bought things on sale, the project would have cost me about $130 more than I charged her. It did cost me a bit out of pocket but not that much. Thank goodness!

Needless to say, all this made this little project more than a little frustrating. Somehow sewing for someone else just seemed to suck all of the joy out of it. I could have had it done weeks ago if I hadn’t found so many things I would rather do like scrubbing toilets, mucking out the chicken coop or just about anything…

On the bright side I LOVE these things! They are probably one of my favorite patterns I made up myself. I use mine all the time! So I will probably be making more in the future (I’ll just be charging more for them). :o)

    This set is my favorite one!

I love the cherries, apples and cupcakes!

In case you were wondering, this is how you use them…

Slip the bowl into the center

 

Cinch up the strings.

Ready to go…

This is my favorite of the two cozies…

Pull the flaps over…

Velcro it into place…

And off you go!

To Makeover Or Not To Makeover

I bought this sweet little strawberry bread box today at one of our favorite thrift shops in Seaside. It’s in really good shape and was only $2!

My debate is to leave it the way it is or should I do something fun with it???

Cannon Beach Finds

Every time I go to Cannon Beach I look forward to my stop at Center Diamond quilt shop. Every year I find fabric I adore and this trip was no exception… There they were right in front of the door just waiting for me!

I love the pics and the cute little sayings on this adorable retro kitchen print!

I hope to have enough of this to do a couple of projects!

I just had to get this chicken print, too!

Fabric Sales Are Evil

Tonight I went to JoAnns with my friend Susie. I went because I needed fabric to finish up my casserole cozy order and because I needed a night out with a friend. I went this week because they are having a sale this week.

I have a weakness for fabric! I know this for a fact and have a closet full of fabric to prove it! And resistance is futile if the fabric is on sale. Did I mention that all that fabric in my closet was on sale or given to me???

I did get the fabric I needed and got some help in decided what to get from Susie. Yay! But I also got some that wasn’t on my list, but was on sale…

When you see them, you’ll know why I HAD to get them!

  This gorgeous fall print has a vintage country look that reminds me of my grandma’s house. I have no idea what I’m going to do with it, but until then I will just enjoy looking at it!

This holiday print practically jumped off the shelf and into my cart. It’s fun, retro and colorful! It will be perfect for???

Oh yeah, fabric sales are, without a doubt, evil!!! LOL

Bird Seed Eggs

I saw these little bird seed eggs this summer at the Bible Camp gift store and immediately wanted to figure out how to make them myself! My only drawback was to determine how to get all that birdseed to stick together. Thankfully my friend Stephanie came up with a water/flour paste. Not a couple of days later a blog popped up on my Reader board, and she was right! You do use flour and water.

So I made my own (finally) and I love the way they turned out! The egg shapes are my favorite but you could make them whatever shape you like…

Step 1- Grease Jello egg mold

Step 2. Make a paste of water and flour that is the consistency of Elmer’s glue.

Step 3- Add bird seed until it is a sticky goo. There needs to be mostly bird seed but still sticky enough to sticky together.

Step 4- Pack very tightly into both side of Jello molds. Overfill them just a tiny bit. Be sure to keep hands moist with water to keep bird seed mixture from sticking to your hands!

Put both sides of mold together, lining up the two halves and press together.

Lift off the top mold.

Step 5- Gently pry eggs out of mold with butter knife. Pack them tightly together using your hands. Be sure to keep hands moist with water to keep bird seed mixture from sticking to your hands!

Step 5- Place back gently into molds and let dry in a cool dry spot for at least 24 hours.

Flip eggs over and let dry another 24 hours.

Step 6- If you added a string for a hanger while packing them into molds, you can hang them from tree branches. Otherwise, place in bird feeders and watch the birds this winter from your window!

Bath Towel Mat

In my mind a bath mat should be able to be washed. I had no idea that putting the cute little round bath mat from IKEA in the washing machine would totally destroy it!

It’s been a couple of months since the boys’ bath mat met its untimely demise, and I decided I had had enough of the ugly old bath towel laying on the floor. It’s just too cute of a shower curtain for that… :o)

So I took another bath towel, folded it in half and sewed a few wide stripes across it to hold it together in the washing machine. :o)

Then I took some of the fabrics and denims I used in the shower curtain and made the binding to go around the edge.

*Note to self: my sewing machine does not appreciate going through multiple layers of denim and terrycloth. Next time, use only cotton.

But it did turn out pretty good and I think it will wear just fine in the wash!