Category Archives: Make Stuff

and yes, the top is done!

Posted in Craft, Creative Practice, Handmade, Make Stuff, Sew this by

I realized while reading Amanda Soule’s blog (if you don’t read it, you need to pop over here, right after your done with mine) that I never shared my completed sewing project that I started in … June.  OK in all fairness, it did not take me until November to finish a shirt…it just took this long for me to post the results.

IMG_0509I started with the buttons and buttonholes on the placket…they are my least favorite thing to do so I figured I’d get them out of the way.

IMG_1427This top was a fun one to make, setting in the bib was a bit tricky but going slowly and paying attention (!) it was fine.IMG_2697So please don’t laugh too hard at my photo in the dressing room mirror (at the Gap trying on jeans while the girls were at a birthday party) Charlie is always teasing me about the look on my face in these types of shots.  Anyway, love the top, it’s fun to wear, very easy, love the fabric.  Will definitely make another one but maybe a touch longer (Top is the Tova Top by Wiksten patterns)

I’ve been sewing quite a bit lately, home stuff mostly, hoping to get more posts up soon.  Very happy to be returning to my sewing machine after too much time away!  Thanks for stopping by…what projects have you been working on?

 

 

permission slips for the field trip

Posted in Craft, Creative Practice, Make Stuff, Soul Work by

I am a seeker…what exactly I’m seeking…well, that’s kind of the point of the whole thing now isn’t it…maybe the seeking and the journey are really what is important, not just the destination.  Or maybe, unlike what we’ve been led to believe, there really is no destination just a never ending amazing journey.

As part of the journey, I seek out like minded kindred spirits and sit at their (most times virtual) feet.  Yesterday I started another piece of the journey with Brene Brown .  If you don’t know Brene from her Ted Talk (which you must must must listen to… right after you finish reading this) or her books (which are a must read particularly the Gifts of Imperfection and Daring Greatly, both of which I have read-and re-read) Well get the on the computer and to a bookstore!

Brene is teaching a 6 week eCourse in partnership with Oprah based on her book the Gifts of Imperfection.  I jumped in at the last minute and I’m embarking on this journey with a few good friends in my back pocket and art supplies in my hand.

So exciting…and I wanted to share our first assignment…Permission slips.

Remember when we were kids and you brought home that 1/2 sheet of paper that was your permission slip for the field trip?  Yeah, you know, the one that still smelled like the mimeograph machine and had vaguely purpl-ey black type?  Mom would fill it out and you’d bring it back to school so you could go to the zoo or the museum or wherever.   As adults, we need to write our own permission slips to ourselves.  Because sometimes, darn it, life is big and scary …. BUT it’s OK if you’ve got your permission slip…

Here are mine..

permission slips

I give myself permission to…Be afraid and do it anyway…Be a complete dork and totally uncool…Seek joy wherever I go and whatever I’m doing…Take time for myself…Not be all things to all people…To just try, and not necessarily succeed…To mess up, to fail, to try again…To say YES more…Practice BRAVE…To have ideas and act on them… To make a creative home.

No go…write your own…be BRAVE…have fun!  Join me on the journey

Week in the Life 2013 – the put-together-Monday 9/9 –

Posted in Craft, Digital Scrapbooking, Make Stuff, Memory Keeping, Week in the Life, Week in the Life 2013 by

This morning, I sat down between cooking, cleaning and laundry and started to put together my Week in the Life pages.  This year, I am doing them completely digitally, no cut and paste, no cutting up the small photos and putting them in page protectors.  I used the hybrid digi-paper approach the last two years and while I’m really happy with how everything turned out…it takes a lot of time to cut up everything, add a few embelli’s etc…  I figure that the four pages below took me less than two hours, I am anticipating that the process will be quicker the further into the week I go.

So, I put the pages together digi-style and will have them printed at PersnicketyPrints (where I have all my digital layouts printed, they do an awesome job!), I’ll slip them in the full 8 1/2 x 11 page protectors along with the daily detail sheets and call it a day.  Am hoping they will fit in the binder that already contains 2011 and 2012.

Monday cover pageMonday Collage PageWITL-13-Monday-12Photo-1WITL-13-Monday-9Photo-2

Unlike past years, I decided to try themes with my pages today… 1-shots I took around the house after everyone left for school and work 2-Meals  and 3-the AM routine.  Kind of fun and it gives the pages more of a “story” behind seemingly random images.

Photos:  I started with 120 images, I deleted down to 72, of that I used 29.  I did minimal photo editing in PSE.

Templates:  I used Ali Edwards  Week in the Life Layered Template Set 8.5 x 11 Vol. 05. I love Ali’s templates, they are simple and well designed.  Her designs are available at Designer Digitals.  I designed my own templates for the 12 photo and 9 photo layouts.

Paper and Embellishments:

Paper:  I subscribe monthly to the Digi Game from Designer Digitals, if you are a digital scrapbooker, it is the BEST value going!  I am using the “Summer Blossoms” kit by WhimpyChompers Creative.  This was included in my August selection but can be purchased through the Scrap Matters Shop.    (as an aside…my entire collection of goodies from the August Digi-Game, which included 5 full kits, one set of 5 templates, and a lesson from the Scrapbook Coach,  cost $7.99,  to purchase the kit solo is $6.49.  Hellooooo  can you say “Deal”!!!! )

Embellishments:  The background “paper flowers” were from the Summer Blossoms Kit.   I also used Ali’s “Week in the Life Circles”  (backed by my own paper circle) and “Week in the Life Labels” 

Holy Moly so happy it’s done, one down, six to go (!)   Thanks for looking.  If you’re working on “Week in the Life” this year, how is it going?  I’d love to hear.

ready, set, sew

Posted in Craft, Handmade, Make Stuff, Project Gal- Memorykeeping, Sew this by

Some days (weeks, months) it seems like progress is slow to nonexistent.  Such is the case with my latest sewing project for (wait for it…) myself (!)  *gasp*  I know, really, I can’t think of the last time I made something for myself…it’s been at least since we’ve moved (which is coming up on 2 years)  lots of stuff for the girls, things for the house and for hubby but me?  not so much.

all ready and waiting

Well…I saw this super cute “Tova” top in a post over at Hawthorne Threads blog and thought…this is it!  I ordered up some beautiful cotton lawn from them  (super super nice people with a lovely shop if you are in the market for on-line fabric purchases, hope to visit their actual shop one day!)  I ordered the “Mariella” in grey/pink

Three fitting muslins later, I have cut out the (altered) pattern, picked buttons and found thread to match…then the girls came home from school.  *sigh*  maybe this afternoon?  Fingers crossed friends, fingers crossed.