Category : Crafts

147 posts

201601/02

A second look: My favorite quilt

To start out the year we are looking back…wait…didn’t I say I was looking ahead in the previous post?

We are looking back because it’s Second on the 2nd hosted my my dear friend Elizabeth. Each month on the second she asks that we dig into our blog and reshare a post that deserves a second look.

Sewing is a passion of mine as well as recycling. In this post from August 2008 I share my favorite quilt and a little about it’s creation.

We still use the quilt today. It’s now 15 years old and is very well loved.

Take a look…

This denim quilt was my very first large scale recycling project.

I carry it in my van for picnics, beach days, a stop at the park or one of those dreaded winter emergencies. After the latest trip to the beach I hung it on the deck rail to dry. I was taken aback by how many memories this quilt holds for me. I love how it has frayed over time. Maybe others would think of this as a flaw but to me, it shows it has been throughly loved.

I made it when my first born was an infant. Oh, to have that much time on my hands again! I wanted to make something that he could lay and play on, that would be durable, washable, textural and colorful.

I had a ton of jeans that were never going to fit again plus my hubby’s worn out ones to cut into circles. I used a plate to trace each and every circle by hand then carefully trim with scissors.

The colorful squares (trust me there are squares under there) were from a stash of fabric I had gotten as a teen when my “grandma” across the street moved from her home to her daughters in CA. She knew I loved sewing and crafting more than her own granddaughter.

My mom had somehow collected tons of small spools of thread in various colors, not sure why since she didn’t sew but did own a machine. Maybe just wishful thinking on her part. Anyway, I figured that I could make the quilt even more colorful by using different spools of thread throughout the quilt. Generally the bobbin thread and the spool didn’t match as I sewed.

If you’re curious how I made it check out this tutorial. I think I got my instructions from a magazine but the tutorial has excellent instructions.

Around home | Blog | Crafts

quilt, Second on the 2nd, sewing

8 Comments

halleday

201512/29

T Tuesday: Christmas wrap(up) edition

Welcome to the very last T stands for Tuesday of 2015.

We had a lovely Christmas with family. We had my mom over for a big meal at noon. Then I started cooking again for brunch the next day. Getting everything prepped so I’d have an easy morning. We played a board game then watched Home Alone. By that time, I was so exhausted that I told everyone that they had to go to bed otherwise Santa was skipping our house. ;)

Christmas morning brunch with Mr. G’s side of the family was great…all the hard work the previous day payed off.

I have to show you the gift Mini-me put together for her brother…

She bought him a gift card but wanted a clever way to give it. She used a photo from Pinterest as inspiration. She thought a Mountain Dew reindeer was needed as well.

So darn cute. There is a kit-kat bar under the gift card. Good thing Santa put new toothbrushes in their stockings!!

Big J bought his sister this cute mug and a Minnesota Vikings T shirt. Skol Vikings!

I did make one additional Christmas card this past week.

I tried out my new water color brush marker to give some dimension.

Today we’ll be shoveling snow and baking a cake for Mini-me’s birthday tomorrow. 13…I can hardly believe it! Now I’ll have two teenagers in the house.

I am also giving some thought to my 2016 word of the year as well as reflecting on 2015.

What are you doing today?

Around home | Blog | Crafts

Christmas, greeting card, Holidays, T Tuesday

14 Comments

halleday

201512/07

T Tuesday: gift edition

Last Friday I received a nice surprise in my mailbox! A birthday gift from our lovely hostess for T stands for Tuesday.

Her post office never postmarks the postage…so weird.

Elizabeth sent me some collage fodder and a stack of her wonderful handmade paper!! Love this stuff!!! I use it in cards, mixed media, altered books/journals..pretty much everything! I haven’t tried running it through my Cuttlebug or Silhouette yet. I haven’t wanted to waste it in case it is a major failure.

In addition hidden among the sheets of handmade paper was Elizabeth’s annual Christmas tip-in.

You rock! I am not a pre-planner and hold those who do in awe.

Thirteen years!! Wowsers! I have Christmas tip-ins dating back to 2006 from Elizabeth.

I have to say that I so value the longevity and depth of friendship between the two of us. We have shared so very much over the years even though we’ve never met face to face…darn it anyway. A tumble on the stairs kept me from seeing Dr. E at the airport several years ago during a layover.

Happy T day!

Art | Blog | Crafts

Steal of a deal

After going through the drop off lane at our local Goodwill store I always step inside to see what treasures I can find. At the bottom of the donation tax receipt is a coupon. It’s a pretty sweet deal.

But the deal of the day was sweet even without using the coupon.

I’m looking for a couple specific books, so I always take a close look. Even though I didn’t find exactly what I was looking for, I couldn’t pass up these treasures. The novel is for the boys, the knitting directory looked like a really awesome resource and the pink Readers Digest condensed book will become a journal after I remove the text block and replace with my own papers. I simply loved the cover design. I always peek under the dust jackets of those condensed books…sometimes the covers are lovely!

And for the price…

even without using my coupon…it was a steal!

Do you visit thrift stores, second hand shops and rummage sales for bargains? What was your best or most recent deal that had you smiling?

Blog | Crafts

frugal living, journal, knitting

3 Comments

halleday

201512/05

Book page wire wreath

A good friend of mine commissioned me to make a wreath as a Christmas gift.

I think it turned out quite nice.

Art | Blog | Crafts

Christmas, crafts, gift, Holidays, upcycling, wreath

2 Comments

halleday

201511/28

Tree collection additions

Over the past few years I’ve started collecting Christmas trees. Mostly because I keep making a new kind each year but I’m not opposed to buying one at a thrift store or garage sale if it really speaks to me.

This year I was inspired by Mini-me. She had to film a tutorial for her technology class. Her group of three girls each picked a different Christmas craft and bought enough material for the three of them to each create their own. She was inspired by this tree.

Her version used smaller pieces of cardstock. It got very tedious for her towards the end of both punching all the scallops and hot gluing them to the paper cone. It was her punching all those pieces that had Mr. G prompting me to try my Silhouette machine again.

Speaking of paper cones…I made the cones from poster board after first seeing the price of a craft store foam version and then realizing that the foam would melt with hot glue. Glad I thought that one through before starting!!

This tree came together really quickly.

This vintage trim was in the bottom of my sewing box likely bought for some project my mom had intended to make in the 1970’s. At least it’s getting used now!

Isn’t it sweet. I had the tiny glass ornaments in my stash as well. All it needed was a topper. I auditioned several ideas but finally decided a star was in order.

I drew a star on a piece of paper so I’d have a guide to do my bending. I used a twisted piece of 22 gauge wire. I had to “tie” the star at the crossover points “barbwire style” for stability.

The second tree (well technically it was the first one) was yarn wrapped.

I used a leftover partial skein of acrylic yarn for this one. Again I had some tiny trims in my stash to give the tree a finished look.

Nothing I love more than to use stash items! No cost…no trip to the store…AWESOME!

My humble little collection in our game area of the family room. You may be able to see both my Suess tree and cork tree. Additionally you also may be able to see the recycled Christmas card balls I made last year and the 12 days of Christmas swap book from several years ago adorning the table.

Art | Blog | Crafts

Christmas, crafts, Holidays, lace, scraps, stash busting, yarn

4 Comments

halleday

201511/24

T Tuesday: upcycled can project edition

For several years I’ve had a boring tin can on the counter for a pencil holder. You’d think that I’d have made it a bit more visually appealing before now…but no….I’ve mostly just hid it behind other things.

As I was working on a completely different project I noticed a scrap of burlap from my wreath project appeared long enough to wraparound the can. I had to trim it a bit but was very pleased with the look. I added a torn fabric strip around the middle then used hot glue to attach some paper flowers. It looks nice enough to have out in front now.