v.2

Ok, so I made it through Iron Crafts 1-4, what a great start! I’m really getting my craft on and was really excited for number 5. Oh, a Valentine challenge. Drat. Don’t get me wrong, I love hearts and candy and my husband proposed to me on Valentine’s Day 2001. I was just wondering how I was going to fulfill this challenge and not have my husband or daughter see what I made them since it’s a good week and a half away! Then I had an idea! I’ll make Valentine’s for Sienna’s class and then I wouldn’t have to scramble at the last minute! Yay! (I’m sure I’ll end up scrambling last minute for their Valentine’s anyway!) So, I got this idea from Martha Stewart and Sienna was a great model and helper! So here it is, goody bags for her classmates!

We did a photo shoot last week and boy, she is a ham. She couldn’t take after me, could she? Here are some outtakes!

She helped me put the lollipops in the baggies last night and was telling me who was getting which bag even though I hadn’t made the bags specific for anyone. I closed the bag with some heart deco tape and then used my tape runner to attach the bag top. I really like how they came out!

I was also toying with this idea but wasn’t sure it really looked like Sienna was throwing hearts at you. What do you think?

I am also counting this as my Thing a Day for day 2! (Keep track of my thing a days here!) Yeah baby! I love it when a plan comes together! 😉

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Last week’s Iron Craft (#4) was Get Cozy. I crocheted a mug cozy with some cotton yarn I’ve been hoarding. I love the bright color and thought it would be a nice perk in the morning to this dreary winter we’ve been having. Anyway, I kinda winged it and it ended up being too big for the mug I intended it for! I remembered I had a bigger mug down in the basement and brought that up, it was still too big! I forgot how easily cotton yarn stretches. I washed it and it shrunk just a tad so it hugs the mug just a little bit better. I might just move the button so it closes it tighter on the top!

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So here is a little back story about this shirt. I was flipping through the Threadless book and saw this shirt, which I immediately thought was perfect for my friend Joy. I believe it was listed in the book as coming out in 2004 or thereabouts so I assumed (wrongly obviously) that it was no longer in print. And I knew my silhouette machine could do this. So I made it for her. I do feel a tang of guilt that I did not buy this in support of small time designers but at least I’m not selling it or anything!
These were for the Cure My Sad Mailbox swap. We had 5 partners to send to!

This was for Send Your Handmade Specialty. I used this pencil pouch tutorial from noodlehead (added an inch in height) and made a butterfly applique using a stencil and my ColorArtz. I love how it came out! Must make some more!

This is for the Something Scavenger Hunt. My partner lists 5 things and I pick two. I chose something handmade and something with stars.

This coin purse was using yet another tutorial from noodlehead. I totally screwed up on the tab. I had a snap but it was my first time using the snap applicator and I totally botched it up! So I ended up cutting it with my pinking shears so it wouldn’t fray and glued on velcro instead. I now have a snap stuck in the snap applicator! Not sure if it is salvageable!

And this last one is a gift for Sienna’s friend, Alexis. Sienna told me to maker her a Dora necklace and she picked this image. Her card is here!

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Yes, I must be crazy but when I found this challenge, I knew I had to do it! I have so many craft books with projects that I want to make in them but just haven’t gotten around to it. This challenge is one project a month from your craft books. Totally doable! I am also going to be participating in thing a day 2011 in February! With that and Iron Craft, I’ll be busy!

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Here are my creations for Iron Craft 2, which was to make a draft dodger and Iron Craft 3, which was just bunt!

I was really excited that challenge 2 was to make a draft dodger, it’s been something I’ve been meaning to do for the last couple winters! It is really so super easy to make. I didn’t even labor over the fabric! I just looked in my stash and picked this one for some reason. The hardest part was filling it with beans. I didn’t have enough beans so I mixed it with some polyfill. It now sits at the balcony door in the living room.

Challenge 3 I was lukewarm about. I’m not big on bunting so was thinking of bowing out but then I clicked on one of the links on the Iron Craft blog directing me to a birthday card with bunting. Cute and completely doable! Since the closest birthday coming up was for today (Happy Birthday Alexis!), I decided to make this card for one of Sienna’s classmates. I used fabric paint to hold the glitter and paint the string and letters.

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Here is Iron Craft’s first challenge! Lighting the Winter Gloom. I came across this tutorial for Epsom Salt Luminaries a day or two before reading about the Iron Craft challenge so when I saw what the first challenge was, I knew I wanted to do these!

I could only find 2 glasses that seemed good to use but only made 1 because I couldn’t get all the goo from the label off one just yet. I am definitely going to make more! I really love lighting candles in the autumn and winter months but put them all away when Sienna was first born. Easy to stay out of trouble that way. Then I just never pulled them out again. I will now!

Got all my supplies together. The Epsom Salt is to the right and did not make the photo. I could not find the food coloring (where did I put them??) so I used alcohol ink instead.

I ended up putting a couple of drops in and next time I will put even more drops in as the color is really subtle when it’s on the glass. I also added in lavender glitter although it’s hard to tell.

All covered up. See how subtle the color is? There is a bit of sparkle that is easier to see in real life

All lit up! I actually still have to spray some sealer on it but wanted to get my photo into the Iron Craft flickr pool today!

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Our holiday card this year. I used my Silhouette machine. Have I mentioned how much I dig that machine?

This was another holiday card I made for the Brooklyn Bride Christmas card swap. Also using my Silhouette. I realized after the fact that I should have made this a vertical card (I already wrote the sentiment inside for a horizontal card) as it has a hard time standing up.
As a graphic designer, I always used Quark as my layout program. I have used it for many years so obviously knew a lot of shortcuts so I was reluctant to make the switch over to Indesign. Learning that they have scripts may help me make the switch! They have a calendar script and made setting up this calendar so easy! I usually just make a calendar on one of those photo sites and get extras to give as presents to Sienna’s grandparents but not anymore!!

Spread out

All hung up! I perforated the top of each page so it would be easy to rip off.

Remember the advent calendar I made for Sienna? Well, one of the little presents was to make a Belle doll. As of right now, Belle is her favorite princess and the disney site has a few princess crafts and the 3D doll is one of them. I used my Silhouette again! They have a new auto trace feature and it cut everything out perfectly (way better than if I did it by hand!) Have I mentioned how much I dig that machine? Too bad I couldn’t get the machine to fold it up and glue it as that was a tad more challenging than I anticipated! Here she is posing with it (lately, she has been into posing with funny faces. Wonder where she learned that from?)

And Belle gets played with a lot. This was about the 3rd time I glued her top back (and she is currently on my craft table right now waiting to be fixed again!)

These next few things are Christmas presents I made for Sienna’s teachers. Mrs. D is the main teacher, Mrs. V is the assistant and Mrs. C is the helper when one of them is out. I made all 3 gift bags, tags and boxes with the Silhouette. Did I mention how much I dig that machine? 🙂

For Mrs. D., Sienna picked this butterfly.

I used Japanese chiyogami paper for the back (I love that paper especially the ones with metallic in it. I’m not sure if that is called something different.)

For Mrs. V.

For Mrs. C.

I made this bag for the winner of the Bingo game I hosted in a group on swap-bot. Her profile mentioned she wanted to learn embroidery so this is a starter kit. I included the first instruction booklet I got since I don’t need it anymore and also made her a zine of Alice in Wonderland freebies to embroider. Included inside the bag are needles, transfer pen, hoop, box of thread, tracing paper and floss bobbins. The pattern for the bag is from Sew What! Bags. I just mailed this off today so I hope she doesn’t see this!

A fabric bookmark from Pretty Little Presents.

I saw this tutorial online to make these cd rosettes and thought they were so pretty. I’m not sure about mine but it was fun.
And rounding off the creativeness, some birthday present shirts for Sienna’s friends (using the Silhouette!). This first two was actually made a bit ago but for some reason I just didn’t give it to Leah until recently and poor Sylvie still hasn’t gotten hers.

Samantha’s shirt

Daniel’s shirt and the first time I put something on the back!

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Am I crazy or what? I’ve joined the Iron Craft challenge! 52 weeks of craft challenges. How many will I get done? 😉

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Here are some crafts I’ve done (mostly for swaps) in the last few months that I haven’t posted yet. Either I was waiting for my partner to receive the swap or it didn’t fit into a specific category. It’s a lot of photos and I don’t know if clumping them all in one is going to bore you or make you glaze over them a little too fast. Just trying to keep up to date!

For the send you handmade specialty (my partner likes Georgia O’Keefe)

Dia De Los Muertos embroidery swap


Paris photos and crochet dishclothes (2 different partners) as part of the Etsy Inspire swap (I posted the other projects under the Silhouette machine post)

Pocket Alien swap (from the Felties book)

Part of the Handmade Holly Jolly Christmas. The glitter is supposed to be orange and it doesn’t look as bright in the pendant as it does in the bottle. I think I know what to do next time to make it brighter. Also for the same swap, since my partner likes orange and flowers, I made these with my Sizzix:

And a magnetic bookmark for the same swap/partner (pattern from Pretty Little Presents):


Photo Scavenger Hunt. I’m bummed that the partner I sent this to has fallen off the swap-bot planet so I won’t be rated and she flaked on her partner.

Part of the Month of Sundays swap (you send 4 sealed envelopes of stuff so your partner gets to open an envelope per Sunday)

Domino Book swap. This was a lot of fun to do! I made a travel theme and used my Silhouette to make the negative. I thought it appropriate to use a photo of me and a camera on the back. This one from Chicago circa 2007 was the only one I could find!

The fabric flowers (tute from Lil Blue Boo), paper flowers (Silhouette) and these 2 carvings were part of the 12 Days of Christmas swap. I’m really digging that tree! Might have to carve one for myself!

Ornament swap. The photo doesn’t really show the metallic thread I used with the regular thread. Free pattern from Colonial Patterns.

These earrings were part of the Holiday Lucky Parcel swap.

This was for the Secret Santa swap in the Nuts for Sewing Group. My partner is a big pen pal writer so I made up this stationery folio for her. And her favorite color is green, if you haven’t guessed!

And last but not least! Not for a swap obviously but I’ve been wanting to do this to Sienna’s room since she outgrew these foam mats we had bought for her when she was a baby. I’m still not sure what to do with the other part of the mats!

next up for her room is a little vinyl jungle by her bed. Wonder how long it will be before I make that!!

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I decided at the last minute that I wanted to make an advent calendar for Sienna. There are so many cute ideas out there on the web and I could have easily drove myself crazy getting it together. Thankfully, I had my senses about me and decided to keep it really simple. (I’m sure if I had decided to do this a lot earlier, I would have totally done it up! There’s always next year!) I stamped the dates on envelopes in red and green and taped it on the wall by the dining room table. I didn’t put up all the envelopes as I haven’t filled them all yet. I don’t want to put too many candies in the envelopes so I mixed it up with some other stuff. I made things with her 2 current obsessions,(Super Why and Disney Princesses) like magnets and paper dolls. I need to remember to add some Spider-Man and Batman (she picked those books out at the library!) I also included a vinyl sticker for her computer. Yes, HER computer! We set her up with our old 14 inch powerbook. She plays games on the pbs website. I’ll have to take a photo to post. Anyhow, here are a couple of shots.

Getting the envelopes ready

Hung them on the wall. Looked a little lackluster so made this title.

She really enjoyed using the tape to put it up!

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