Category : Crafts

147 posts

Gnome ornaments

I always like to have a little something to give to friends… usually it’s handmade…what else would you expect from me.

Mini-me brought home a large spool of kitchen twine that she had used in an art installation last year. I wasn’t sure how we were ever going to get through all the yardage until I started making these cute gnome ornaments.

I was inspired by a Pinterest video. https://pin.it/4wRPmea

I wrapped the kitchen string around my hand until it felt thick enough. I tied the middle then slipped off my hand and cut the opposite side from the tie. I then tied a loop of bakers twine to serve as the hanger before beginning work on the hat.

 I made a circle template with a bowl then cut it in half. I used scraps of flannel from my stash for the hats. After rolling my half circle of flannel into a cone shape.  I used a hot glue gun to adhere first the hat together then stick the hat to the gnome body being careful to thread the hanger loop through the top of the hat. I then added a coordinating button or two to the hat and a wooden bead tucked up under the rim of the hat for the perfect gnome nose.

Thankfully I also have a stash of wooden beads to make the noses.

They turned out so cute and I used up the whole spool! Renew, reuse, recycle. ♻️

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Small journal love

I was recently inspire to create some new journals. These are single signature journals.

I’ve never thought to create small journals such as these but I realized that these are going to come in very handy.

I used scraps of heavy fabric for the outside of the cover and recycled posters for the inside of the cover.

The denim cover is from a pair of jeans that my now college-aged daughter wore as a preschooler.

Since the embroidery was so cute on it, I saved the leg. Waste not, want not.

I used about 15 pages of various papers for the signature.

I wasn’t worried about them all being exactly the same size, in fact, I prefer that there is some variation.

The rose on the left is a digital creation of mine. I had a group of mine printed at Kinkos to make sure that they would print properly if I were to sell them as digital downloads. I have not taken that step yet but maybe someday. In the meantime, I have some fun and uniquely me pages to play with.

The right side has one of the tags I have created from the masterboards I’ve been creating with scraps. I like to stitch around them both for interest and to secure the edges.

Here’s yet another tag slipped in a side tuck on the page. The tuck is from my stash of mini colleges. Also a scrap busting project.

Both masterboards and mini colleges are things that I tend to do when I’m lacking that creative spark. They are quick, use lots of scraps and are great to have around for later projects.

Here is yet another example of both being used on one page.

Attaching an envelope to the edge of a page then folding it to the back creates a fun flip out that can hold a secret note or photo or whatever you want to tuck away for safe keeping.

I’m really having fun with these journals. They are quick, no pressure of strict theme, multi use and just really darn cute.

 

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Panda pillowcases

When I spotted some panda fabric at local quilting store I just had to grab it. Mini-me loves pandas. I thought I’d make her a cute accessory for her dorm room.

My neighbor has been making beautiful custom pillowcases for family and friends over the summer. I’ve been admiring her handiwork. I happened to be with her at this particular quilt shop and guided me on how much I needed to purchase for a set of pillowcases.

After giving me a brief verbal tutorial, she passed along the YouTube video tutorial she followed to create very professional results with French seams.

I tried to snap some photos along the way but honestly without the video, my photos may not make a whole lot of sense. Not being one to try to recreate the wheel…and really just wanting to get these made…I didn’t take enough photos to create a tutorial of any sort.

Sausage rolled fabrics that had me questioning my sanity.

I’m mainly sharing my images to of course show off the cute fabric, but also to show how crazy this process seems and how you may fear you are doing something wrong…but don’t worry…it all comes together in the end.

Again, this had me questioning my sanity…closing the seams with right sides out and raw edges exposed. All I have to say is, patience…follow the process…it will turn out right in the end.

I love this little detail. A small tab of contrasting fabric.

And here you have them…perfect French seam pillowcases…no exposed seams or raw edges. It’s a kind of magic especially when you think about the fact that I only sewed three lines of stitching, Crazy!

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T Tuesday: catching up again edition

Once again I’m playing catch up here on my blog. Spring definitely gets away from me. School gets more demanding as we near the end which leaves me too tired to do anything beyond feeding my family and preparing for the following day.

This spring we also have the added pressure of Mini-me graduating from high school! Stressing over whether or not there will be a graduation ceremony, a choir concert, grad parties, etc. And if there are…how comfortable do we feel about it. We finally got the answer to a couple of those question marks. There will be a concert but it will be single choirs to limit people and possible exposures. There will be graduation which will look similar to those in the past due to since our governor announced a step down in restrictions taking effect before graduation. This does make me nervous even though we are all vaccinated. Mini-me will not be having a graduation party.

Last week was an eventful one. Wednesday was my birthday…next year is a big one… I was spoiled by friends and coworkers with kind words and thoughtful gifts.  Thursday, Mini-me and I drove to Duluth to move J home from college for the summer. It was a quick up and back trip.

We had to take a quick detour into Canal Park before heading to campus…we love Duluth so much. I wish we could have spent more time there.

If you look closely there are two ships in this photo. The closer one is a “salty” meaning it traveled in from the Atlantic Ocean. The other one on the horizon is one of the Great Lakes fleet of ore boats.

I did manage to fix my journal. I plan to add some beads along the spine to cover the extra holes but decided that it would make the most sense to wait until the journal is complete.

Look at all the pretty papers! I can’t wait to start using it. I know my birthday cards and notes are going to have a place right away.

I have been sewing too..no surprise there. It is so satisfying to be making a major dent in my scraps. I have yet to decide if this will become a bed size quilt or a couple of throws.

I had to share the mug J bought for me. He said it was a combo b-day and mothers day gift. So sweet.

This summer appears to be getting more back to normal. Both kids have jobs…thank goodness! Mini-me will actually have two. J currently has two but his school job will end in June obviously and he will be able to put in more time at his internship. It’s so very exciting to see them both taking those next steps in life. Although I’m not even going to pretend to be completely ok with being “empty nesters” next fall.

 

T stands for Tuesday
What are you doing today?

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T Tuesday: minecraft edition

Hello and welcome to another edition of T stands for Tuesday.

It’s been a pretty standard week for me…work, home and errands keep me busy. I was tasked with a project by Mini-me though. She has been playing Minecraft for 10 years now. If you’ve never heard of it, here’s a very basic explanation…it is pixel and block based building game so everything is square but check out the link if you want to know more.

She wanted to make the windows in her room look like glass blocks in Minecraft.

Out came the Silhouette portrait machine. We fudged the blocks slightly so that they would be attached for easy placement. Something you’d never notice on the final product unless I told you.

My crafty neighbor had gifted me with some white vinyl a while back, I wasn’t sure how it would work but Lord knows I kept it just in case. It actually worked perfectly!

 

Look at the fun shadows it creates as the sun sets.

I can’t leave without sharing a sweet photo of Marvin on Caturday Saturday.

And this is just a photo of Marvin being very helpful as Mini-me works on her classes.

I’m totally loving my new mugs with one minor issue…I usually bring a cup of coffee with me to drink on my way to work. My new mugs do not fit in the cup holder of my van. Yes, I use really mugs with open tops in the van. I’m a nut, its okay, I’m good with it.

T stands for Tuesday
What are you doing today?

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Minions diorama

Creating miniature terrain and dioramas is a passion of mine although I rarely indulge myself in it. Silly, I know.

I think one of the main issues it that I have to spray paint outdoors and it’s not really warm enough to do that 2/3 of the year. With that said, I was totally inspired to create a diorama after finding a couple Minion figures at the dollar store.

I have a coworker that is a true kid at heart. She loves Disney. She loves Minions. She loves dinosaurs…especially T-rex. So when I saw the Minions, I tossed them in my basket with her in mind. I honestly was just going to sneak and leave them at her desk randomly. But then I decided to challenge myself to a diorama.

This was what I came up with. The white structural pieces are a thick craft foam. I also used a cracker box and stir straws. I wish I had taken photos along the way but I get into a groove and don’t think about anything else.

The backing plate is a plastic card that some game pieces came in from a collectable pirate ship trading card game I believe. It pays to never throw random stuff like this away. I figured that if I fill the various depressions with unique bits that it would appear like a control panel of sorts.

The spray paint really starts to make it take shape. Provides the cohesive color to tie the whole thing together.

Next I started on the paint. Adding layer upon layer to give depth and interest. Highlighting some areas, edges and so forth.

I made a few barrels from paper cylinders that protected spark plugs. I punched circles from cracker box that were almost big enough. I filled the inside with hot glue to take up space then gently settled the cardboard circles in each end.

This slightly open appearance screamed to have something leaking out of it. I used yellow and chartreuse paint to create some sort of ooze. After the paint was dry I added Diamond Glaze to give it a shiny, wet look.

I gave some highlights to the goggly eyes and other panel pieces to emphasize the dome shaped buttons or screens.

I used a plastic plug and the metal button off my jeans pocket to create an oversized control button. I figured the crazy looking minion would be just right to be manning the control while his partner with the hard hat looked on with a dopey smile.

I love how the stir sticks work so well as piping or conduit.

When I gave her the little diorama, she almost cried. She was so happy which in turn made my day!

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T Tuesday: March in review edition

Well, that month went by really quickly. I had planned to blog several times, even wrote down an outline during my lunch one day. Never happened. Such is life some times.

There is no way I’ll be able to keep this in chronological order so I’m going to be random like my brain works.

I have been creating a bit…not as much as I have been thinking about creating. Dumb, right!?!?

There are days when all I can get myself to do is look at art and think about what I’d like to do instead of going downstairs and actually doing it.

Like this piece I saved from the trash. I keep thinking about what I want to do with it. Journal covers most likely but I can’t get myself to commit.

One day that I did make it to the craft room, I made these little fairy chairs. They are both fun and frustrating to create. The champagne cage wire is stiff and uncooperative.

This week is my spring break. I’m using my time to tackle some projects such as sorting through all of my fabric and sewing supplies. I want to get them organized in a way that makes sense and makes it easy to find and use.

I’m cutting small pieces into usable scraps that are ready to go. Yes, this is an ongoing project. I think I started it in February. Truth be told…I haven’t touched it in a few weeks.

I did get some of my seeds started which makes me so happy. I still have more seeds to start this week. I feel like I need to put a shelf in my cart and add another light. Hmmm…another potential project.

I’m fully vaccinated! Technically they say you aren’t totally covered until two weeks after the second shot but I’m so excited. The side effects I got from each shot were very manageable. Nothing major and nothing to take me completely out of commission like some people. Mr G gets his second shot next week and Mini-me gets her first this week. J hasn’t lucked out yet on getting his shot. He’ll likely have to wait until he comes back home for summer.

Mini-me had yet another of her “lasts” a couple weeks ago. She had her last archery tournament. And technically her only one this season. It was a virtual tournament meaning they shot at “home” and turned their scores in. They were lucky enough to be able to continue with the tournament because they are Varsity. All non-varsity sports were paused due to an outbreak of a new COVID variant linked to some of the sports teams (not archery).

I usually only brag about my kids but this really made my day. A slideshow was created at school with each of our names on a slide. The directions were to take 10 mins and let some of the people you work with know why they matter. Its cool that its anonymous but not going to lie…I wish I knew who wrote these wonderful things.

I’ll leave you with two of my four new mugs. They were part of a silent auction at school to benefit LLS. There were actually 8 mugs in the set. The gal who won them thought for sure I was going to outbid her. She lamented that she really didn’t need 8 mugs. I suggested that we split them. Perfect! We each get a set of these beautiful mugs.

The potters name is Peter Potter…which just makes me smile.

Before sitting down to write this post, I was pulling out papers to make a new journal. I have been squirreling away all kids of bits of paper and treasures that I want to add to a more personal journal. The last one I created like this filled up super quickly. I’m going to try my best not to put too many pages in each signature so that there is still room to add bulky things to the pages. More to come on that.

T stands for Tuesday

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