bribes and pocket pets

The more fun toys you have in your purse, the more cute little babies at church will want to be your friend. This is my plan for cute baby monopolization.

card crafting

Today was a great day. It was the day my order from Joann.com arrived. It would have been better if all the super-cute fabric I ordered had not been suddenly out of stock, but I can deal. What did arrive was some bargain-priced paper I ordered to make cards, and my purchase far exceeded my expectations.

These two paper stacks are great. The Cardstock Stack (12x12") is a steal because each page makes two 4x6" folded cards and two 4x6" note cards. Plus, the cardstock has a beautiful texture. The Retro Prints Stack just has really fantastic prints. I love them all. Here are a few examples of my handy-work:

my mom is cool

Reason #246 why my mom is awesome: she encourages all of my crafty endeavors. Mom recently sent me a sewing project-in-a-box. She makes many very cute and thoughtful baby shower gifts, including a baby bib and burp-cloth set. Not only did she include the pattern, instructions AND a complete set of the final product, she also cut out tons of fabric for me to start with. She's so great.

Last night I started on some burp cloths, and, being as this is my first time to sew on fabric in about two years (I've been practicing on paper towels in fear that I would ruin the cute fabric), they are turning out quite well. I can even sew in a straight line! Kind of! It's all very exciting.

Before these babies are done I have to run them through the washer a few times so they will get all frayed and cute around the edges:

a-like so:

The final product:

Cute, right? And very practical at this point in my life when ALL of my girlfriends are soon-to-be new mothers.

my husband, the gangster

Jared asked me to make him a plain black hat because it is getting quite cold here and he needed something to keep his wee ears warm. I tried to get a good photo of him wearing it, but all I got were outrageous facial expressions.



I showed him this picture and said this is what I planned to post, hoping he would want to retake it. He said, "Awesome. I look like a gangster."

A gangster? Really?

I love you, Jared.

It was a busy weekend

This weekend, I also finished a pink hat using some leftover yarn. It should come in handy for the incoming winter weather.

hand crocheted baby cardigan

I've recently acquired some new crochet books which gave me great ideas for some new projects. Today I finished a crocheted baby cardigan. I made up the pattern for the cardigan and used a pattern from one of the new books for the flower detail. I like the look of the hook and eye closures down the front.



One of my goals this year is to design a line of baby items (hats, sweaters, blankets, etc.) and open a store on Etsy by December 2007.

Sew Fabulous

I am extremely excited and happy to have a sewing machine to call my own. I have had two lessons (two years ago) so I have a lot to learn, but I can't wait to be able to whip up something fabulous. I had a dream last night that I made quite a stylish jacket. I think it will take a while before I realize that dream (if ever).

Here is my machine, in all of it's glowy glory:

And a picture of me where it almost looks like I'm hugging it (I'm not, but maybe I should because I love it so much!)

Many thanks to my in-laws who bought me the machine and my mom who hooked me up with all the supplies. I can't wait to post my first project.

bunny boxes

This is almost too silly to post. Our rabbit, the beloved Buns, loves to play in boxes. More specifically, she loves to shred paper while inside of a box. We are more than happy to indulge her, but I was getting a little tired of looking at this in my living room:

So, the next time we got groceries, I jazzed things up a bit. :)

what's this?

a new box for me?

and ... it's good!

Painting

If I could redo high school, I would have quit marching band (lame) and take art classes instead (I would also have played tennis). Maybe someday I can still take an art class or two. This year for our 3rd wedding anniversary, Jared and I decided to make homemade presents. I made him a painting.