Category : Crafts

147 posts

Cards and more cards

It seems I’ve fallen into my card making phase again. Every fall I tend to start making cards. I’m not sure what exactly triggers this but I do have fun with it. I don’t do a dozen of the same design…heck I hardly even do two of the same. I know it would make it much easier on myself to make them in volume but wheres the challenge in that.

group of cards

I like using scrappy bits from other projects and my sewing machine. Stitching just gives such great texture to the cards.  I’ve got a half dozen more waiting for words. Those are actually more of a series. I’ll share as soon as I finish them. Hopefully I won’t get too distracted between now and then.

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T Tuesday: quilt top complete edition

I’m happy to say my quilt top is complete! I’ve set my sewing aside for a little bit…I’m sure it won’t last too long but it is nice to have my sewing table free of clutter again.

scrap quilt top complete

It’s a throw quilt not a bed size. We are a family who likes to curl up on the couch or chairs. There are always the couple favorite blankets such as this flannel one I made a gazillion years ago and the least favorite one, a small crochet throw made with acrylic yarn. It was made by my great aunt and I haven’t had the heart to get rid of it even though it matches nothing, isn’t that warm and no one really likes it.  I’m staking claim to this new one as soon I finish it…at least for the first few snuggles.

quilt label perhaps

I ended up with 2 extra blocks that I cut and resewed to make this small block that I’m thinking I want to use as a quilt label. I’ve never labeled any of my quilts in the past and now kind of wish I had. I have a hard time remembering exactly when I created most of them. I’m not sure what sort of pen I should use to write along the white fabric. Obviously I know it needs to be a fabric marker but I also need to make sure it doesn’t bleed or fade. Any suggestions?

dark coffee or coffee in the dark

I was contemplating the backing for the quilt this morning while having my coffee and making lunches. I have a bedsheet that I dyed long ago as a tablecloth in our first house. My folks had given us a large table to use but it was not very pretty and was extra wide. A bedsheet seemed the most affordable option of a tablecloth at the time. I also am thinking about the binding…I’m thinking scrappy might be fun for that as well but only if I sew a plain border all the way around the outside to give some rest to the eyes. Oh well…it’s not like I have to decide yet but Winter is coming.  :)

I’ve got a few pesky household chores on the list for today but first I’m going to go for a walk…got to enjoy these warm Fall days while I can!

What are you doing today?

T stands for Tuesday

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T Tuesday: scrap quilt edition

Thanks for joining me today for T stands for Tuesday with Elizabeth and the gang. I missed last week completely and for the life of me, I can’t even remember what kept me from my weekly post!!! Oh well…on with the show!

scrap quilt in progress

I’ve been sorting through my bins of fabric and separating out all the long strips and random shapes to be cut down for my new string quilt project. This pile is 70% blues as I was collecting them for a little boy quilt over a decade ago.  After ironing, I cut each piece down to between 1.5 and 2.5 inches wide.

scrap quilt progress

I am piecing the quilt using paper squares with a white strip down the center to serve as a design element in the completed quilt. I’ve used a gluestick to adhere it to each sheet so they are ready to go as I sew. I just eyeballed it so they won’t be perfect but I’m ok with that. It is a scrappy quilt after all.

scrap quilt in progress

I shortened my stitch length so that the paper gets perforated and is easy to remove from the fabric once trimmed.

scrap quilt in progress

I have a nice little stack of them already.

scrap quilt in progress

And look how fun they are going to look when sewn together.

scrap quilt in progress

Colorful and scrappy. The other really fun thing for me is that it will be sort of a memory quilt or perhaps fabric journal of previous projects, clothing I’ve salvaged and reminders of people who have passed on but a little part of them lives on for me in the fabric as a memory.  Now just look at that, I’m getting all nostalgic.

Since this is a post about quilts on T stands for Tuesday, I thought it was a good time to share a bottle of wine my in-laws brought over. I remembered to nab a photo at the very last glass.

barn quilt wine

It’s called Barn Quilt Red. This winery is one of three in a small town west of here. The soil must be good for grapes out there. This wine gives a nod to the barn quilts of Carver County.

barn quilt wine

The barn quilts are really cool. I haven’t seen all 24 but the ones I have seen are really cool. In fact I think I have a photo of one here on the blog somewhere…hmmm….must look now….here it is!

rural landscape 1

This one can be seen from the MN Landscape Arboretum.

Anyway…more sewing, ironing and cutting,,,not necessarily in that order are in store for me as well as the standard household duties.

What are you doing today?

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T Tuesday: domestically inclined edition

Hello there…you came back for yet another edition of T stands for Tuesday! Thank you! For those of you who are new to my blog, WELCOME and let me tell you a little about T stands for Tuesday. Elizabeth aka alteredbooklover hosts a weekly link up or virtual tea party, if you will, where we share what ever the heck we want for the week as long as we can somehow tie a beverage or beverage related item into the mix. Pretty simple huh? So lets get on with it, shall we…

This week I’ve been a mix of artsy and domestic. I’ve previously posted a couple of artsy things so now you get to see some of my domesticity. Last week…no, two weeks ago (geez where does the time go) I shared our “new” hutch for T stands for Tuesday. I mentioned that I need to make a curtain to cover the wine rack shelf. I went searching through a box of vintage linens and found the perfect solution.

vintage linen

Simple beauty. These were my Grandma’s as well. Or perhaps her sisters…a cousin of mine just told me a story that my grandma talked her sister out of a bunch of linens saying that she needed them more in the parsonage than her sister did on the farm.  Hmmm…

vintage linen

I’m guessing these were purchased by my grandparents in Minneapolis if the stickers are to be believed. Dayton’s became a upscale department store here in the midwest and started the discount chain Target.

After ironically running to Target to pick up a tension rod, I realized that I wouldn’t even have to cut these linens. I folded them in half and ran a straight line of stitching an inch from the fold.

vintage linen curtain

This gave me a double layer of fabric providing more light blocking which was exactly what I was going for with this project.

vintage linen curtain The linen curtain makes this piece feel more Scandinavian. Marvin still loves his spot by the door and really could care less about the curtain.

canning

I did a bit of canning and baking as well when the weather cooled down.

spicy beans

I made spicy beans, zucchini bread and pumpkin bread. I like having a little bit of baked goods in the freezer just in case we are suddenly having company and I was completely out.

I also have to share a day that Mini-me  and I had about a month ago. I keep meaning to share but it just hasn’t worked out. She’s been wanting to dye her hair…not all of it but some. A streak or some underneath. She just couldn’t decided so we waited. She finally decided, so we did it.


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It’s faded now quite a bit so we are going to redo it likely in the next couple weeks before school starts.

We went out to eat at Old Chicago to celebrate her fun new hair. It’s one of her favorite restaurants.

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Well that’s it for today. I’ve got another busy Tuesday ahead of me but I’ll be around eventually to visit.

What are you doing today?

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Holy scrap!

I made this barn wood and fabric cross piece entirely from scraps. Yep, leftovers from other projects…not a dime spent.

Holy scrap barnwood and fabric cross

The printed fabric was from the curtains I recently shortened and lined, the barn wood came from the same gal as they had leftovers from remodel project and the brown suede was from a jacket I cut up long ago.

My inspiration was from Pinterest. There were no directions but the idea seemed simple enough. I used a staple gun to attach the fabric and a hot glue gun to adhere the suede center piece. Five minute project…seriously. I gave it to the family that just remodeled as sort of a “new space” warming gift since it perfectly matched the room. :)

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Frugal frame fix

Frugal frame fix. Say that five times fast!

Last summer I picked up a cool frame at an occasional shop not too far from here. I had the thought of stringing wire or perhaps even chicken wire (dang, just thought of that now) to create a changeable photo gallery piece.

Frugal frame fix

I’ve reserved one section of wall for family photos, caricatures and memorabilia in the game area of our family room.  This is an always changing wall, which I love.

Frugal frame fix

Since the wall is so busy and colorful on it’s own I felt that black frames were the way to go.

Frugal frame fix

Of course I never remember to wear gloves….

Frugal frame fix

I’m pretty sure at any given time I have paint on me somewhere…whether its on my hands, nails, hair or clothes one just never knows.

This morning I got my supplies ready so I could finally get this project off the game table.

Frugal frame fix

I stapled the bent wire across the frame on the back then curled each end to lock it into place.

Frugal frame fix

Easy peasy right… One would think so. This was only after making my first mistake did I realize that I had to staple to the side wall of the frame…not straight down.

Frugal frame fix

Crud…the staple went right through the front of the frame. Oh well, nothing a little bit of black paint won’t fix.

Frugal frame fix

Perfect.

I’m thinking I may keep a box of favorite photos right here so it will be easy to switch them out.

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Grad card with a tip

We have another graduation party to attend so another handmade card was in order.

grad card with a tip

The speckled background wasn’t my original intention so this is where my tip comes in.

I had extra embossing powder surrounding the Congratulations stamp and for the life of me I couldn’t get it all off.  I decided to embrace the imperfection and expand on it, making it part of the design. I heated up the card stock then lightly sprinkled more embossing powder over the card. I heated it from underneath as not to blow it away. Easy peasy.

grad card with a tip

I added some iridescent embossing powder as well for a celebratory shimmer. I really love how it turned out.

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