Just Catching Up

I've been a very bad blogger. Sorry about that =/ Things have really taken off with my Sewing Blog and my Etsy Shop. I've been a little distracted. It has been great though! I'm definitely not complaining.I've got an extra $70 hanging out in my PayPal account, so it's totally worth it. Haha.

Baby Stuff: Things are still going great. We have a doctor's appointment in just a few hours. Hoping to hear more good news, as always. One of the few complaints that I have: Sleep, or lack thereof. I'm still losing my battle with my RLS (Restless Leg Syndrome). I'm hoping the doctor can give me some advice today. *Cross your fingers* Other than that, it's been pretty easy! My feet and lower back are pretty sore, and my ankles are just starting to get a little poofy. It's definitely hard to bend over and tie my shoes haha. But nothing major at all, we've been lucky. =D Jordyn's room is almost done too! We have just about everything that we need. Just a couple more things to get out of the room, and some last minute organizing. I still have to wash all the blankets and clothes, but that can wait another week or so. Right now I'm just getting to the impatient/nervous stage. I don't anticipate any real problems with the delivery, but it's still scary as heck!

Chris: He has been doing great. Just working mainly. He has also been spending a lot of time with his RC car hobby. He is still selling those sleeping bags that I've told you guys about, and he gets to use those profits to buy parts for his project cars. For a while he was participating in races, but it didn't take long for that to get old. Chris has always been very good at following the rules, and people at the races simply don't, and it takes the fun out of everything for him. Now that summer is getting closer, he is also switching his focus towards other hobbies. He is thinking about doing some major work on his 4Runner, finally. He has wanted to get it taken care of for so long, but never had the time or means to do it.

Me: Other than the pregnancy, the biggest thing I've been busy with is definitely my sewing blog. I've been featured a few times on other blogs, and I'm back to selling things on Etsy again. It's been a little hectic, but really fun. Since it's a hobby that I can do sitting down, it's been great for all these evenings when I'm not feeling up to doing much of anything else. I'm hoping (haha) that I'll be able to get some more done during maternity leave. We'll see how that actually goes. (Leave the "Yeah right!" comments to yourselves please). I also started a new book this week. So far, I'm really liking it! It's very thick and intimidating when you first pick it up. But it's been an easy read so far. It's called "The Year I Turned Sixteen: Rose, Daisy, Laurel, Lily" and it's by Diane Schwemm.

Graduation Card

I have rediscovered my love for stamps..

Inside:

Flower Pincushion

I have always had a frustration finding large pin cushions. Everything I find at the store is too small. I don't like running out of pins when I'm making something! So I searched and searched for a good pattern. I found an adorable pattern for a flower pincushion. I absolutely hated the way it went together though. So incredibly difficult. Instead, I made my own design, using their petal pieces. When I was done, I thought, "How cute would this look in a flower pot?" And VOILA! My flower pincushion was born.


I think I might make more of these, big and small, and sell them on etsy.com
What do you think? I was also thinking about adding a second layer of petals on top of the first.

Projects

I haven't posted about any of the things that I have been making lately..
I am still sewing like crazy. I made some curtains for my neighbor, and attempted dress for my sister. (That didn't work out) I don't have photos of those unfortunately..
I've also been searching for the right purse pattern. My first attempt didn't work, I gave up halfway through. My second attempt, I finished, but I didn't like the final result. I tried two more purses, and wasn't happy with the sizing. Finally, I went back to this design. I made one of these last year, and I loved it. So simple. No extra buttons, snaps, or zippers.. No fiddling with strap length or stabilizers. Just a simple "Sling" bag. It's basically two triangles sewed inside each other. When I was sewing them together, I left a small gap in the front, so I have one pocket for my keys and cell phone. (I hate having to dig through my purse for those) Everything else just goes in the middle. It opens wide when you need to, and it closes up when it's over your shoulder.

Oh, and it's reversible =]

I have also been wanting a new ironing board cover. My ironing board hangs over the door, and it's almost impossible to find covers for that style. So I made one =] When I bought the fabric for the bag, there was a "Buy 2 yards, get 1 Free" sale. So I got this adorable cover for free!!

Gift for Micah

My cousin Micah just turned 8 years old.
I whipped this little purse up last minute and stuffed it with hair accessories. Every little girl loves hair accessories, right?

Handmade Cards

Now that these have been received.. I can finally post the pictures!

Pincushion Box

My totally awesome neighbor brought me a thank you gift today =]

Check it out! Isn't it adorable!?
She is such a crafty little thing.
She made this adorable little box..


The best part.. This box is also a pincushion!!!
How cute is that!?


And the paper that she gave me is totally adorable too!
It's a sewing theme.. so very fitting for me =]
It's "Material Girl" by Cosmo Cricket.

I love it!! Thank you Jess!!!

The Massive Scrapbook Project.. Part 1

So far I have been successful with my scrapbooking project.

I have collected all the necessary supplies for Chris's school book and both of my books.
I have finished over 20 pages of Chris's school book, and I am having a blast.

It's moving very quickly, and I love it, because I get bored easily.
I may or may not have ADD, we will never know ;-)

Anywho.. back to the book.
The things that I'm attaching to the pages are fairly large, most of them at least half of a 8.5x11 page. So far, I have completed kindergarten and first grade, and I am halfway through second grade.

I never realized how much I would learn about my husband by doing this project.

I'm bored, so I made a list of stuff that I have learned about Chris these last few days.
- He wanted to be a Police Officer when he was little.
- He was a Shania Twain and Garth Brooks fan.
- He was excellent at drawing cartoons.
- Not so good at drawing trucks.
- His teachers loved him, and always wrote good things about him.
- He regularly gave his teachers ornaments for Christmas, and always got Thank You cards in return.
- He behaved very well on the school bus, and got rewards for it.
- He was a total ladies man, and always had cute girls in his photos.
- He thought very deeply for a young child, and wrote very convincing papers.
- Some girl named Kahra apparently liked him, because she wrote "Chris Loves Kahra" all over one of his papers.
- And most of all.. HE WAS SO FREAKING ADORABLE!!!!

I have come to one main conclusion:
I AM GOING TO HAVE TOTALLY CUTE BABIES!!!

P.S. If you're bored, and want to laugh, check out this blog http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/ She is hilarious. WARNING: It is slightly twisted/weird humor. So if you're more conservative with your humor.. don't click on the link =]

The Massive Scrapbook Project..

While organizing my sewing/craft room closet.. I came to a realization. I have too many keepsakes. I have boxes and boxes of photos, ticket stubs, greeting cards, school papers, childhood drawings.. the list goes on.

I have decided to scrapbook ALL of these.

Now, most of these are not going to be fancy crafty scrapbooks. The greeting cards will be organized into books by type. (Christmas, Graduation, Birthday, etc.) And there will be no adornments to the pages, just cards. There will be one book for each of us, full of school things. (Papers, drawings, random photos, etc.) These books will have some small adornments here and there, but still very simple. There will also be one very simple one with all my random photos from my childhood and teenage years. This one will have notes written, describing who is in the photos, and where I am, etc. because I don't want to forget those details =]

And then there is the big one, the wedding scrapbook. That one I am going all-out on. I have been collecting papers and embellishments for a while now and I'm ready to dive into that one too =]

I'm posting this on here as a sort of motivation to finish the project.
If I make it public, I have to finish it =]

Skirts

This year, Chris and I made a resolution to go back to Church every week. While prepping for Church one Saturday, I realized that I didn't have any skirts that fit me. Problem. Especially since I didn't exactly have the money to go out shopping last minute. After all, it was the first week of the month, rent was due =/ So I started digging around in my closet, looking for something I could alter. I found an old pair of jeans and it made me think of a skirt I bought back in High School. It was made with denim on the top half, and a light cotton on the bottom. So I grabbed the jeans, and an old skirt that was too small around the waist. An hour later and Voila!

A couple weeks later I grabbed my sister and went skirt shopping, and I was very unsuccessful. Everything I found was either wayyyy too short, or it was way too expensive. $100 for a skirt!? I don't think so!!! So we went to the fabric store and grabbed some supplies. Jessa (my sister) had a denim miniskirt that she bought for $1 at a garage sale. She had been holding on to it for something later on. When she saw my first skirt, she knew what she wanted =] So we made her this skirt:

I just finished this one last night. I'm definitely not a fan of how it went together, but I love how it hangs on me. There is some adorable linen at Fabric Depot. I plan on grabbing some and tweaking the pattern a little bit =]

Wallets

I bought a pattern for the "Everything Wallet" several weeks ago.
After I made one and posted it on Facebook..
I started getting requests left and right.
So I tweaked the pattern sizing..
Added a pen loop, extra pocket, and a clear vinyl ID pocket.
I started taking orders.
I'm up to 15 now =]
At $20 each.. this is going to be awesome!

My Projects

I decided to do a collection of all the things I have made up to date. Well, those that I have pictures of at least..

1. Beach Tote 2. Checkbook Cover 3. Everything Wallet 4. Fabric Basket 5. Goose 6. Liz's Wallet 7. Makeup Bag 8. Margaret Bag 9. Micha's Monkey 10. Abraham Owl 11. Pincushion Organizer 12. Potholders 13. Sewing Machine Cover 14. Small Pincushion 15. Small Wallet 16. Tablerunner 17. Twin Monkeys 18. Wallet 19. Table Topper 20. Cherries Embroidery

Overcoming..

I finally overcame my fear of zippers.
Ok, it wasn't really a fear.
I was just intimidated a bit.
I made this little zippered bag this morning.

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Sorry for all the posts guys..
Just trying to catch up before we leave.
Tomorrow evening we are heading out to Fort Stevens.
We are camping with Amanda's family for several days.
And then we head out to stay in a vacation house
for a few more days with Jodi and Ro.
I can't wait!
Campfires, Sand, Bike Rides, Shopping..

I guess I should stop sewing and blogging.
There's lots of packing to do.
Oh and I can't forget to clean the house =/
We have someone staying at our house while we're away.
Gotta make sure the Kitty gets his food =]

My newest project..

I've been eyeing this project at Joann's for a couple months.
They have a display with the pattern, charm pack,
and prepacked yard of fabric.
They actually have about a dozen projects and a couple different color schemes.
It finally went on sale this week.
And, conveniently enough,
I've been needing (aka wanting) a big tote for next week's beach trip =]

I'm super excited.
It's turned out just like I had hoped.
The pattern was super easy.
I think I'll be making many more of these.
I might even make one my everyday purse too.

Embroidery

I picked up another new hobby.
I wanted something that I could take with me.
Vacations, Girls get-togethers, Family dinners, etc.

Two Quilts

This one is for my cousin's little boy.
His name will be Ian Robert.
The green fabric is a stretchy super soft fabric.
Great for babies.. not so fun for the person sewing it =]

This second one was for my sister's birthday.
My first real quilt.
I didn't get any good close-up shots.
But you get the general idea.
I learned a lot.. good practice.. but I'm proud of it =]

Molly Monkey

I would like to you meet Molly Monkey =]

My cousin (of sorts) just turned 7 last week.
So I decided to make her a stuffed animal of some sort.

I found this awesome website called Softie Making.
They have all kinds of free tutorials and patterns.

Larissa at MMM Crafts made this adorable monkey.
And here is link to the free pattern.

I skipped out on the beret and shoes.
Mainly because I ran out of time.

I just love the smirk..
Isn't she adorable???

My New Friend

I made a new friend today.
Literally =]
He reminds me of my childhood..
My grandmother, Granna, as I called her..
She had a large stuffed goose that I always loved to play with.


I found the instructions and free pattern here at The Long Thread.

It's Finished!!!

Tiny Sleeping Bags

Chris has been working on a new project lately.
He is building a 1/10 scale RC rock crawler.

Recently, he showed me some pictures of some 1/10 scale sleeping bags.
Another RC enthusiast made some to put in the bed of his 1/10 scale truck.
I looked at the pictures and said I can do better =]

Of course, he took me up on that offer.
Last night we went out to Craft Warehouse for supplies.
Chris picked out the fabric.

Here is my first and second attempts.
I'm very pleased with the results.
Although, next time I will use a matching thread color.
The finished size is about 4" by 8"

Our next project is going to be 1/10 scale tow straps.
Chris is already making good progress on the hooks.
It's my job to make the straps =]