Fabulous Steampunkery!!

Song of the day: Storybook Love from the Princess Bride movie.

So on my favorite craft site, Craftster, I’ve done some swaps with other people. Swapping is where you join in a group and a leader matches you up to your likes and dislikes and skill level. There are tons of different types of swaps: Disney, Dr. Who, Harry Potter, household stuff, hoopla, etc. I just finished a Small Steampunk Swap. I absolutely love what I received, but that’s not what this post is about.

I stepped out and tried making something new. I sew a bit here and there for me and my kids. But steampunk is new waters for me. I made her a tie on bustle

which was what she specifically wanted in her questionnaire along with an embellished tea tin

 and some wrist cuffs. While I love the bustle and tea tin, the cuffs are my favorite! I got the pattern from a book called Seams to Me and they came out fabulously with some cute little brass buttons! What do you guys think?

I’m doing a craft fair in Sacramento at the end of next month and I’m thinking of making a bunch like these and selling them. If that goes well, I might just set up an etsy shop. J We will see how it goes. Comments and constructive criticisms are welcome!

Have a great week everyone and have a great Memorial Day! Remember to thank a veteran and thank current military too!

Freezer Paper T-Shirts for kids

Song of the Day: Season of Love by Shiny Toy Guns

Hey everyone! I know it’s been quite some time since I posted but, what can I say? I got a job! So yay for me!

 As a result, I will probably be posting something every day for the next few days to play catch up. :)

 The neat thing about having a job is that I now work in a craft store so I can get crafty new things just about every day. That works perfect since it means El and I can do more things for a cheaper price. The other day she and I made t-shirts for her and her best friend. I created a stencil and copied it onto freezer paper, cut out the parts that needed cutting out and ironed the shiny side down onto the shirt. Then we painted in the stenciled parts  (making sure to put some freezer paper or plastic under the shirt and on top of what you're painting on!!) and let them dry (since we both have little patience regarding just waiting we used a hair dryer). They came out super cute!

And I think we are going to make a few more now, too. My family sponsors two kids through World Vision and these are perfect for sending through the mail. El and I have been talking and we really want to make some way cool shirts for the boy and girl we sponsor and I think it will help to show El how we can show love and create beautiful and useful things for others even if we have never met them face to face.  If you’ve never heard of World Vision, you should look into it. And if you have, but haven’t sponsored a child yet, go HERE and get started! It’s a wonderful thing to do. 99% of what is donated goes straight to the kids. It makes it so that they can have clean water and food and clothing. It also makes it so that they go to school and are able to learn what they couldn’t if they didn’t have this money. We may be in a depression or coasting in the United States, but there are places all over where children don't have enough to survive on. Even in the USA.

Ok, that’s my soap box message.  Make cool shirts, sponsor a child through World Vision.  Have a fantastic  week!

Sewing Blogging Anniversary: Japanese Edition link!

Hey you guys! If you haven't heard of or read The Sew Convert you totally should! She is such an inspiration: constantly making stylish and easy clothing for herself and her family. And to celebrate her blogging anniversary she is hosting a fantastic giveaway! Check it out and have a great day!

Awesome Memory Boards!

Song of the Day:

Roll Away Your Stone by Mumford and Sons

Hey everyone! This week has been pretty fun craft and non-craft wise alike. It was my sister’s birthday this week so I made her something special that I knew she wanted. She has two kiddos of her own. Her son is in kindergarten and her daughter is getting ready for preschool and my sister had told me several times how she wished she had something to put their achievements on other than the fridge. I was only more than happy to obligeJ.

I created some cork memory boards! All I did was remove the glass from some large picture frames, put down two layers of rolled out cork onto the backs of the frames and covered it with some beautiful fabric. You could use a staple gun, but I used a hot glue gun instead, to apply the cork to the back of the frame and making sure it stays flat in the middle (no saggy middles, please!). After that, I cut some fabric to reach just an inch or so around each edge of the back of the frame and the cork, gluing (stapling) all the way around to keep it tight. To finish, I just slipped the border back into the glassless frame and the fabric and cork board back into it’s space, making sure to firmly pinch the tabs down. Voile! You now have a fantastic memory board! Now go and get some cute push pins and you have a super personalized memory board. J

The fabric I used for her sons board is called Golden Afternoon and I couldn’t help getting the skull push pins. They are too cute and very boyish!

The fabric for her daughter’s is called Mama’s Cottons and went perfectly with the cupcake push pins. J Thank you all so much for your comments and thoughts!

Crafting along.... and a fantastic Ain't-Your-Momma's-Chicken Dinner!

Hey there everyone! Sorry it's been so long since I've set up a post! I have been busy crafting for a swap and have some awesome results. However, I can't post it just yet since I know she has access to my blog and I don't want her to see the stuff before it gets to her house! It is a lot of fun, though, and if you're a fan of the movie the Princess Bride, then I'm sure you'll like it too.

If you haven't read the book by the same name, I totally recommend it! It is awesome! There are all the funny parts and lines from the movie plus a ton more! So get to it!

On a foodie note, we had the best dinner last night! I wanted to do chicken, but not the same old, same old. So, I pulled something up out of my brain that I thought would be delicious and it was! I marinated some chicken in a salad dressing that I made for the night before and it was soooooooo good!  I just got out my microplane (like a finer version of a cheese grater) and grated up about 2 inches of ginger, 5 cloves of garlic, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, a spoonful of orange juice concentrate and a half and half mix if olive oil and sesame oil. Whisk it all together and let your chicken marinate for about 6 hours. Cut into strips and add to an oiled skillet set on medium to medium high. Cook until no pink is left in the middle.

Part two? The roasted vegetables. Cut up two large red potatoes, two large sweet potatoes, 6 medium to small parsnips, and one onion into uniform pieces. I had to spread it onto two baking sheets with olive oil, a bit of salt, and some pepper. Let it roast on 400 degrees F. for 20 minutes. While it's baking, mince 5 cloves of garlic and two tablespoons of fresh rosemary. After the 20 minutes, mix up the veggies on the sheets so they will cook evenly and not dry out, sprinkle garlic and rosemary evenly, and more olive oil to your taste and stick back in the oven for another 20 minutes.

This dinner was so easy and delicious! The longest part was chopping up the vegetables. ;)
Hope you like this and enjoy!

Masquerade

Song of the day: Masquerade from Phantom of the Opera

Hey there all! It’s been a few days since I’ve posted, but I’ve got something fun. J My husband’s school held a Masquerade Ball this last weekend and we were each charged with making our own mask. I, being the good little girl, bought my stuff weeks ahead of time. I wanted to make a leather mask that was molded to my face. So, I went to my closest craft store and found some leather. I asked everyone if this would mold to my face when wet and they said a very resounding, “yes!”. The answer, people, was actually, “NO”!!!!

It did not mold to my face.

And while I was a “good little girl” to get all of this stuff weeks ahead of time, I was a bad little girl who did not make it/try to make it very far ahead of time. I did it two days before the ball. Gasp!

I had this awesome tutorial that I was able to mostly follow. Here’s the link: awesome leather mask!!

But, since I didn’t have the right kind of leather, and no time to speak of to go out and get said leather, I had to totally Gerry rig the back. It wasn’t too bad, though. I had black fabric and pipe cleaner on hand, plus some awesome heavy duty Loctight super glue. It looks pretty janky from the back, but nobody got to see that part (yay me!)

I fixed the rest of my mask up with little jewels and some feathers which I crimped onto embroidery floss. I think the end effect is pretty nice.

I know you are all looking at my husband’s mask right about now and asking, “Holy cow! Did she make that?” The answer to that is also a “No”. J My husband bought that mask years ago at the Northern California Renaissance Pleasure Faire when it was at the Nut Tree. This was also before we got married and worked at the same Sticky Buns Booth. Actually, that was the year we got engaged.  ;)

Free Lucky Cat Pincushion and make it yourself No Sew Hat Pincushion!

Hey guys! Just a quick blog today!

Would you like to make your own No Sew Hat Pincushion? It's so simple and cute! Simply go here:
http://www.sewweekly.com/2011/04/no-sew-hat-pincushion-tutorial.html and follow the tutorial!

If you’re not a fan of the Sew Weekly, you should totally check them out. Right now they are doing 30 days of free pincushions. Today’s free pincushion? The Lucky Cat Pincushion by Anne Robishaw. You can find her other pincushions on etsy under her shop, Blushful. Not only that, but she is also giving everyone 25% off their order during the spring if you put in the discount code TSW25!! How amazing is that?

All you have to do to win any of these pincushions is check out the new one each day, do what you’re told to do, post it, and voila! Then you just sit back and wait to see if you’ve won. So easy. J

So, go to http://www.sewweekly.com/2011/04/lucky-cat-pincushion.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheSewWeekly+%28The+Sew+Weekly%29 to get in on this cute Lucky Cat Pincushion and these 30 days of pincushions! Stick around and see the other great deals that the sellers are offering!