ColorArtz Rd2

I just wanted to show how my second go around went using the ColorArtz. My first go around can be found here. Before I start, I want to follow up on the ones I made. I haven’t worn them yet but decided to throw 2 of the 3 shirts into the wash. Please note that I purposely washed them right side out. If you know anything about doing laundry, you know that if you want to keep the coloring or a decal on a front of the shirt intact, it’s to turn it inside out. Anyway, they did quite a bit of fading! I don’t think I have to tell you which one was the pre-washed shirt!
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So for this turn, I found this blog post of a woman that made her daughter a Peep’s appliqued shirt/dress for Easter. She included the template for it and I promptly downloaded it. For the life of me, I can’t find that blog post!! Big apology for the woman that made this available! If you happen to be reading this, please let me know who you are!

So I decided to do the airbrushing instead of applique. I set up the template and printed it out on freezer paper and cut them out. In my supplies, I found this giant clipboard that I’m not sure where I got it and for what reason but I thought it was perfect for this project. This way I can be looking straight at the shirt instead of down on the shirt.
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I was really good this time at masking the surrounding area!
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As you can see, I had some trouble printing on the freezer paper because it was too curly but then used the scrap anyway. After taking this shot, I decided to tape a little bit more in between the peeps on the top. You can see exactly where in the final shot!
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I did several coats because I wasn’t sure how well the yellow would show up on the pink. I also attempted to do some shading on the bottom. I think it came out cute! I used dimensional fabric paint for the eyes. I was debating writing “My Peeps” on the front but ended up not doing it. You can really see the areas that were open from not being taped down or from the tape not being secure. You really have to tape around the whole area to get it perfect!
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So when I washed this shirt, I did turn it inside out and I did not notice any fading. This could also be because I sprayed several coats. That’s good to know! Sienna wore this on Good Friday for the Easter Egg Hunt. Here is another outtake, she has started to give me the sad face whenever I take a photo of her (she’d be all smiley seconds before!)
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A Craft Challenge

Thanks to Rachel, I received the April edition of Christy Nelson’s monthly craft challenge. Every month, Christy assembles a packet of crafting goodies and your challenge, if you choose to accept it (ha! sorry, couldn’t help that!), is to make something out of the supplies. You have to use everything included in the packet, how much to use of it is your choosing. She sells the packets in her Etsy shop and posts photos on her site at the end of the month for voting. The recipients have no clue what will be sent in the packets. Just send her a photo of your finished piece, blog about it and wait for the votes to come in! There are different prizes each month. I’ve heard about Christy’s challenge before and honestly, was too chicken to participate. Today is the last day to send in your submission and of course, that is when I sent mine in. I can be a bit of a procrastinator, as I mentioned several times before!

Anyway, this month’s challenge was indeed a challenge! Here’s what we got:
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Some black felt, burlap, ribbon roses, large sequins and safety pins. Yikes! What was I going to do with this?? When I first got it (several weeks ago!), I had in mind to make some sort of jewelry display to hang my earrings on. I had an old frame that I thought I could wrap the burlap around and thought I’d decorate it with the sequins and ribbon roses and back it with the felt. I wanted to mull that over for a bit before diving into that as I also wasn’t sure what to do with the safety pins. Periodically, I’d pull out the supplies out of the envelope and look at them. Then put it back in. I realized that my initial idea would not work. Well, maybe it would work technically but I noticed the burlap kind of unraveling and leaving a lot of residue on the black felt. I didn’t think earrings would hold up on it and then they might get caught on the burlap (these sort of jewelry displays are usually made using metal screens.) Hmmm, well that goes that idea!

The deadline was closing in! Last week was sort of a crazy week, as I wrote about in my previous post.  And I even thought about forgoing the challenge altogether. Well, I would have felt too guilty to do that plus that would have been the easy way out. Finally an idea started to form in my head yesterday. I was looking at the burlap unraveling and thought I could use the strings to roll it to sort of make little roses to compliment the ribbon rose. First, I wanted to color it and used my Tulip Fabric spray (which quite honestly, have not had much luck with using on actual fabric!). I chose pink and purple and added in some sequins to see if the spray would stick (it did not, you could easily scrape it off with a finger nail).
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The burlap you see is the pieces I ended up not using. I only remembered to take a photo after I started rolling. I used the sequins as the base of the ‘rose’ and used Diamond Glaze to hold it down while adding a bit of gloss and bling with rhinestones.
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The diamond glaze is still drying in this photo. Now that I think about it, I wish I tried using the painted sequins. I wonder if the glaze would have sealed in the paint. Oh well! File that away for future reference.

Ok, so at this point is when I stopped. Yves might have come home, Sienna might have called for me, dinner needed to be started (or thought about), I don’t remember. Normally, I would have continued this the next day but last night, after everyone was asleep, I wanted to finish this baby up! And here is what she looks like!
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front
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I cut out 2 circles from the black felt and blanket stitched around it with pink embroidery floss. I used my own green felt for the leaves and embroidered some accents. I dabbed some pink acrylic paint and glitter glue on the ribbon rose (looks so much better in real life). I punched tiny holes in the sequin roses and added some jump rings. I added the safety pin on the back and for fun, embroidered my initials. I think it came out cute! The sequin roses didn’t actually come out how I pictured they should have in my mind but I am actually quite happy with it. I’m really excited to see what others came up with using the same materials.  I’ll just wait to see if I win, ahem, before I purchase next month’s (I believe the winner also gets the next month’s challenge for free?!) This was a lot of fun and glad I took the challenge!

Whee! What a week!

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What an exhausting week it has been! Aside from discovering I have Hashimoto’s and deciding to go gluten free, we also started some serious potty training for Sienna. Mind you, we got her a portable potty last year or maybe even earlier than that and some underwear soon after. She showed some interest last year for a bit but nothing ever really became of it. Potty training has been something I’ve been dreading since she was born so I didn’t really push it. Truth is, I was just being lazy about it. But I gave myself a deadline that she was definitely going to be trained by the end of the summer. That would make her almost 3.5 years old and there was no way I wanted her still in diapers at that age.

Anyway, last Sunday evening she said she wanted to wear underwear. Ok! I figured it was time to go for it and to go for it full strength. Enough of this already! She had an accident soon after I put them on her. That’s ok, it was the beginning. Monday, we decided to stay home and played in the back area. She had several accidents that morning. By the 3rd underwear change, I decided not to change her out of it so quickly and let her be a little uncomfortable in the wetness. I wasn’t sure how well that was working because after a few minutes, she just went about her business playing. That afternoon, I had my doctor’s appt and Yves said she didn’t have any accidents at all! Woohoo! Ok, maybe this wasn’t going to be so bad after all! Tuesday morning, accident. Right after she said uh-oh, a big stream came down her leg. Oh, bummer. But Tuesday was more successful than Monday. By Wednesday I was pulling my hair out. I wanted to get out (mind you, it was beautiful sunny weather we were having!) and also go shopping to fill up the kitchen with some gluten free options. I decided to go for the gold and venture out with Sienna. I put on her underwear and then also a pull up. I wanted her to wear the underwear so that if it gets wet, she will feel it better than if it was just the pull-up. I also bought a bunch of extra underwear, pants and pull-ups with me. We headed out to Trader Joe’s. Once we got there, we went into Michael’s first to use the rest room. She went on the potty! Went shopping at TJ’s, drove home and no accidents! Woot!

I also have to add that I ended up going the M&M route and only started it on Wednesday. It worked for 2 other moms I know and somehow I ended up doing it. Yves was really resisting doing it and I agreed. We both felt that you shouldn’t have to get a reward for doing something that you’re supposed to be doing but I’m just going to look at it as an incentive. Everyone needs incentives, right? Well, it was working!! So far it has only been pee in the potty although quite a few times she claimed number 2 was coming but nothing ever came. Never came into the potty that is! She had a poop accident at the playground on Thursday. I wasn’t surprised. She was threatening poop all morning. But after that, everything has been really uphill! She did not have any accidents from Friday thru today (except for one minor one and we’re talking really minor!) Her diaper was even dry this morning! We are so proud of her! She didn’t even want to put on a night diaper either. By no means do we know this training is over. And I have to be prepared for some regression. We’ll see!

And to add to the exhaustion of the week, Sienna has been getting up at 5 in the morning! She has done that occasionally every now and again but now it’s been close to 2 weeks! So we thought taking away her afternoon naps would help her sleep in longer. We started that on Wednesday and she is still getting up at 5!! ARGH! I have no choice but to ride it out and hope this phase will end. And to top all that off, I received a consuming freelance job. This week has flown by. I wish I could just sleep…

Going gluten free!

An audible gasp can be heard from chefs, bakers and restaurant workers around the world!

Ok, I’m being overly dramatic but yes, I am going to try going gluten free. That means omitting wheat (durum, semolina, farina, bulgur, cake flour, matzo, couscous, etc.), rye and barley from my diet. A big no to bread, cake, cookies, pizza, spaghetti, beer, etc. But I can still have rice, potatoes, corn for all my carb cravings.

I decided to go this route after being diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis., an autoimmune disease that mistakingly attacks my thyroid gland. While it is not life threatening, it does affect by general being. I got diagnosed by the rheumatologist who basically told me I just have this and that there is nothing I can do about it (since I already take medication for my hypothyroidism-connected to Hashimoto’s but not interchangeable, I’m still a little confused about it but a good article is here). That pissed me off. I waited 2 hours in his waiting room (better than the 3 hours at my first visit) and then another 15 in the exam room for him to tell me this and not have a treatment or any advice for it? Something he could have told me over the phone (which is what he said he was going to do after my first visit and told me he wasn’t going to put me through the wait again. HA! I can’t help but hear ka-ching as insurance money dives into his deep pockets). Anyway, I did some online research and many people who have this disease has said that when they went gluten free (with Vitamin D and fish oil supplements) they felt so much better and ‘reversed’ the disease. I put reverse in quotes because doctors say this disease has no cure.

And can I give a shoutout to the positives of Facebook? I put in my status that I was going gluten free and asked if anyone else is and loving it. I got such wonderful and helpful positive responses. Sure I know I can easily find a lot of info online about going gluten free,  a little too much so it’s wonderful to be able to just go to some of the resources people I know use. And to find out that someone else I know also has Hashimoto’s! I would not have found this out without FB.

Anyway, I don’t know how strict I have to be gluten free but figured I at least try to be in the beginning and see how I’m feeling and then eventually add some gluten back in. Just to see. It’s going to take some extra work going GF, especially going out to eat. I’ll just take it one day at a time!

Staten Island failure

So the last weekend in March was a bit chilly so we opted to go to the Staten Island Children’s Museum. Both Yves and Sienna really enjoy that one. We got there around 10:30 only to discover it was closed! They were having a special Easter event out on the front lawn so the museum was closed for that. The event starts at noon and we were told we should come back for that. Well, what a bummer! Sienna was really upset and even started crying. Poor thing! Since we’re not from the area we had no idea how to occupy our time in order to come back for the special event. We were a little upset about this closure, especially since we checked the website right before we left! So since the museum is on a cultural center (Snug Harbor), we walked around that area. Unfortunately Yves wasn’t really dressed for being outside but he toughed it out and we managed to pass an hour by. By the time we walked by the museum, it seems like they started the festivities even tho it was before noon so technically, we could have checked it out. But because we were kind of mad at the museum, we decided not to and just go to lento’s for lunch. Good news for me! Yves realized that their pizza is subpar to the Bay Ridge Lentos (and our own) that he declared we are not to go back there again! Yay! (I always thought it was subpar and I think Yves was still holding onto the memories of the BR Lentos.) Now we need to find another lunchtime place for our future visits to the Children’s museum. Anyone know of any??

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Walking into the ‘scary jungle’
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Sienna kept saying “Come here duck, I want to pet you.”
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Yves kept saying “Come here duck, I want to pet you.”
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This tree tunnel will look really pretty when the leaves come in.
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A castle!
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Hello? Anybody home?
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Found a magic stick!

Found a stage!

Snug Harbor from Lisa on Vimeo.

I do want to say that I e-mailed the museum to suggest putting special events and notices on their visit us page. I had checked their calendar when we came back later that day to make sure it wasn’t something we missed. It did say there was a special event but it did not say the museum was closed! They were nice about it and even sent us 5 free passes for another visit.

BB park

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Easter Sunday I had in mind to go down to the newly opened Pier 1 of the {still renovating} Brooklyn Bridge Park for a picnic with Yves and Sienna. Sienna had a slight fever of 100.3 so we opted not to go. Her fever was gone on Monday so I felt it was ok to go to the Etsy Labs and had some time to check out the area before going to the labs. Not what I had imagined but very pretty anyway. There is still a lot to be done with the park and I’m really surprised about all the things they are planning! A beach! A tidal pool! Here’s the plan!
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Stuff It!

I’ve joined some stuffie swaps back in March!
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2 Easter Egg Ornaments I crochet. The pattern on the left is here and the pattern on the right is here.

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I made 2 Lucky Ducks for 2 different swaps! A Spring Critter swap and Plushie Love. These were so cute and I think I will enlarge the pattern if I make this again. Which I might because Sienna thought they were really cute too. Here is how long the legs are (I might have went a bit crazy on that!)
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This is for itty bitty critter and it’s hiding place. I crocheted a white rabbit and made a hole for him to go down a la Alice in Wonderland. My partner is also a fan of photobooth shots so this little rabbit went to the photobooth first (forgot to take a shot of that!)

These following ones were for the Softies Galore swap. You have five partners to make little stuffies for! I got a little overwhelmed with them since I wanted them to be profile based plus I procrastinated just a bit!
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Birdie from the Puchi Collective
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Lucky cat from nuno-runo
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Hippo from The Cute book I got from the library!
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2 partners liked witches/Halloween so I made 2 different versions. From one of my Japanese felt books.

This one is for a Kawaii monster swap. You had to create your own monster. I got inspiration from the Invasion of the Plush Monster book (also from the library!)
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In other crafty news, I’m doing pretty well with the April Stash Bust challenge as far as not buying new craft supplies. I’ll be writing a separate post about that as well as the craft it forward I’m involved in.

Chelsea Market and Stitchfest

Last Thursday I attended Martha Stewart’s Stitchfest, an event to celebrate her latest craft book, Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts. I also have her first craft book, which honestly, I don’t look at much but I feel my craft library wouldn’t be complete without it. I met my friend, Rachel for a bite to eat at Chelsea Market. We went to the Green Table, a local, organic and sustainable food restaurant, but not before stopping in some cute dessert places! A lot has been added to the market since I’ve been there last (which was quite awhile ago.) We were quite drawn to the cute displays at Eleni’s (but not their prices!) and I got a (chocolate mint) brownie at Fat Witch, how could I resist? I foolishly only got something small to eat at dinner (meze platter and roasted butternut squash) thinking I would leave room for the hors d’oeurves at the event. Rachel got chicken pot pie, a smarter choice!

And on to the event. I’m not sure what I was expecting but I was a tad disappointed in it. Of course it was laid out beautifully, all the stations were organized well and it was very helpful to see some of the projects in the book up close (especially after having looked through the book last night). There were people showing some crafts at the stations, a make and take for the tomato pin cushion project from the book and lots of demonstrations of sewing machines. We got there shortly after 6 and the make and take line was already super long! We ended up not getting on it in time but did wait to get a free monogrammed tea towel (I got S for Sienna). The people coming out with the hors d’oeurves were hard to find and they came out with such tiny platters that the food was gone pretty quickly (I resisted the urge to lunge at them when I saw them! LOL) We did get this tasty green milkshake that I think was black pepper and I want to say….avocado? I forgot. Anyway, I think I was expecting to at least learn some little crafty tidbits. I don’t know why! As true about everything with Martha is that it all looks perfect, too perfect! We did enter a bunch of free drawings to win different types of sewing machines. I don’t think I won because I haven’t heard anything. The price of admission did get us a cool goody bag. It includes the book, a bunch of MSLO magazines (anyone want my extra Everyday Food issue?), a bunch of thread and needles, coupons and Martha’s brand of precision cut scissors. In the end I am still glad I went. You can see a goofy photo of me and Rachel ‘posing’ with Martha over at Rachel’s blog.
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Hibiscus Lemonade
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Stamping on fabric demo
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I love this applique on the bedspread but I know me, this project is too daunting for me! But maybe the pillowcases!
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Getting the S tea towel made
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Using shells is a cute idea!
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Goodie bag swag

Easter 2010

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Yesterday was Easter Sunday and a beautiful 70 degrees. It’s too bad Sienna had a fever in the morning and threw up twice in the afternoon! My poor baby! ;-( She is better today, thankfully! Friday was the 2nd annual Easter Egg hunt that Starr so graciously organized again. It was a big difference weather wise than last year! And Sienna was pretty good with getting a decent amount of eggs unlike last year!
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She’s ready to fill her basket!
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On the hunt! She shared her find with Sylvie.
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Look at all that she got!
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Nico’s loot
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Phoenix shows off some bling she got in one of her eggs!
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Nico raiding his eggs!
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Sienna was asking Nico if she could sit next to him. His only concern was his candy! LOL
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Izky shows off a cool dinosaur head egg!
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Chocolate face!
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Carter stops by and is wearing the shirt I made him!
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Sienna’s getting pretty good riding the scooter (Izky’s)
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Pizza afterwards. She didn’t get any on her shirt!! Which, btw, is a Peeps shirt I made for her that I will blog about soon!

Stash Bust!

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I’ve been going a tad crazy buying a bunch of craft supplies so when I discovered this Stash Bust on Dollar Store Crafts, I figured I’d give it a go and Yves will surely be happy about that! Plus there are prizes to be won! I hope I can do it!