You've Got to Pick Up Every Stitch

by Kimberlee

This is sort of embarrassing to blog about, but I've decided to put a temporary moratorium on making clothes for myself.  I have been LOVING learning how to make clothes, but some of my cancer meds (steroids) has caused my weight to go up a couple of dress sizes.  Also, for whatever reason and unlike my last round of treatment, I developed a yen for sugar.  So many of these things are mysterious and vary from patient to patient - last time I lost both my hair and weight, this time I gained weight and kept the hair.  But in any case, I don't want to invest the time, energy and money in creating clothes for this current body when I have a good plan for getting back to my ideal weight.  OK, enough of that!  On to fun stuff.

I found some photos I had taken of my Valentine's decorations, and even though we are far past that, I though you might enjoy seeing what I did:

Lips n Love

I was smitten, and remain smitten with tissue paper carnations!  I don't think that, until recently, I had made them since grade school, but they were as cool as ever.  The original idea for this chandelier came from Kevin and Jessica, and I tweaked it with birds from Martha Stewart. I was super-happy with how it came out.

I usually make fairly fragile V-day crafts, and can't pack them easily, and usually can't bear to part with them, so I have started putting them in the overhead of our entryway closet:

A much better shot of Martha's Birds

Sweetness and Coats

You can see several of my paintings in this (the Unicorn is paint-by-number)

I can't lie, I get a kick out of this every time I open the closet!  It just makes me happy.  I seriously suggest that you try it - I have tiki lanterns and leis in there, as well.  Use any funky or pretty hanging things, garlands, whatever.  Only you will see it, and it will make you happy, too.

I also finished up another pillow.  I picked up this Southwest pattern in Jo-Anns scrap bin and it was crying out for an animal touch, so I made a crow silhouette applique in fake leather and  stitched it on:

 

This was also my first time making my own piping.  It turned out pretty well, the only place I had problems was on the closing after I had stuffed the pillow.  It looks right at home in the Artifact Room (ie the second bedroom - need to do a post on that).

And rounding up the odds and ends...I've been admiring the idea of framing fabric.  I had an old gold frame & matting lying around, but unfortunately it had no glass.  So I decided to use some batting and cardboard, wrap it with fabric and with a few good hits with the reliable staple gun - voila!

I'm super-happy with how it turned out.  The fabric has a burlap-quality to it, and though you can't tell from the photos, it is very textural.  I want to do something more with it, but I can't decide what.  I could hang earrings from it, but I was also thinking of using it like a scrapbook, since it can take thumbtacks.  Well, we'll see.

I have some fun stuff coming up in the next few posts!  I've been making some improvements to the bedroom using some French touches and finished my first knitting project.  And, awesomely, my friend Jill sent me a HUGE BOX of vintage patterns from the 80s, which are clearly cool enough to deserve an entire post of their own, as I am certain you will absolutely want to see a lot of them.  I love them, and it will be fun to start making some clothes from them as my weight loss progresses.  Until then, at least, I can touch and pet them. 

And speaking of pet, I'll leave you with Scrabble!  Talk to you all soon!

I swear, I'm innocent!  I've been framed!!!

Wonderful Gifts

by Kimberlee

(And I'm annoyed that I still haven't found the cord that allows me to upload photos into the computer.)

To be honest, I was sort of not looking forward to Valentine's Day, just a little. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE V-day, despite my tendency to be a cynic, but I had chemo scheduled for that day, so I was feeling pretty sorry for myself.  It generally stresses me out to go out to dinner on V-day evening (too busy), and I had felt too punked to go out the night before.  So yeah, I was feeling pretty sorry for myself.  But the atmosphere in the clinic was very festive; there were Valentine's presents being given out, and one of the patients made cookies!

Since it usually takes a couple of hours for the chemo to really set in, we stopped at the Goodwill on the way home.  I love second-hand stores, as I am sure most of you do!  I wish I could show you the lamp base and glasses I scored! (Soon!)  My husband found and pointed out the small pattern section to me, and wow did I hit the jackpot.

In addition to being a second-hand store junkie, I am also a Ren Faire junkie, and just this last year I finally made my own costume, so I have been on the lookout for this year's, and I found it in the discontinued Simplicity 8735, which was inspired by the movie Ever After, the costumes in which were in turn inspired by the drawings of Albrect Durer.

Simplicity 8735

The "Breathe" Dress, pattern A 

The dress I really want to do is Dress C, the one in the upper right-hand corner.  I fell in love with it immediately, although I guess it was the least popular, as I was not able to find any finished costumes representing it online. I've had a lot of fun looking online at Jacquards and Tapestries - I usually don't have a reason to!  By the way, if anyone knows a great and inexpensive place to buy those fabrics from, I'm open to suggestions...

We also found this Edith Head Vogue pattern from 1972, and I had to snatch it up, too:

Very Easy?  I'll be the judge of that!

I adore this pattern.  The dress is an absolute classic, and the kimono jacket is perfect, and it was a dollar.  How much better can you get?  I like the longer version, personally.

OK, I have been pining for this piece of furniture at Target for over 2 years now, and I was going to wait to show you all how it goes into my decor, and I still will, but I can't wait to show you!  This was my big Valentine's Day gift:

Art Deco!

Isn't it adorable?  The bedroom is decorated loosely in an Art Deco/French style, and this fits very nicely into that.  To be honest, I tried to find a place in the living room that it would fit so I could look at it all the time, but had to give in to where it wanted to live.  I can't wait to show you how it looks all accessorized and in its home!

It's just awesome to wait so long for something that you love, and to be totally satisfied!  After 2 years, we kind of got the clue that it was never going to go on sale, much like the Converse tank tops (I know Target, LOL).

The last thing I can tell you about without needing photos are my plans to open an Etsy shop!  I'm at the pricing/gathering supplies stage right now, so we are a ways off, but I'm totally excited about the products I have decided to make and sell.  I don't want to get into too many details, but it will be a mix of affordable beauty products and handmade goods, as well as a few gift baskets because I think gift baskets are the finest things, ever.  I'll have to do a post sometime about how much of a sucker I am for gift baskets - I even like the ones the grocery stores have (fruit and nuts).

Well, since Scrabble was such a hit last time, I thought I'd start winding up posts with a photo of her.  Take care, everyone, and talk to you soon!

Scrabble on the Patio

Valentine's Day Rose Pot

I'm loving Valentine's Day crafts this year.  I love the bright pinks and reds against the background of a long winter - it's very fresh and appealing.  And I love Valentine's Day crafts.  There is a lovely appeal of a sweet and simple crafted heart, the deliciousness of a cookie.....

I had received this beautiful music paper in a craft supply trade with Meridian Road , and I really wanted to use it in a V-Day craft, so here's what I came up with:

A lovely flowerpot

I was really thrilled with how it came out!  I had a terrible craft&sewing day a few days ago- nothing I made worked out, and I had to ditch several projects.  We don't always list our big FAILS, so scrolling through craft blogs becomes hard when all you see are lovely and graceful successes! Most especially if you've had a hard day of not even being able to sew a stuffed heart, or cut a quilt square right side up.  So imagine how happy I am to bring you the tutorial for this cute little pot!



You'll need:

Clay pot
Mod Podge
White craft paint (optional)
Decorative paper to decoupage
Felt - pink, red, white or a combination (about 4 sheets)
Foam ball (that sits comfortably in the lip of pot) or floral foam
Glue (tacky or hot)
brush

I started out by painting my pot white, just so any gaps in my 'podging wouldn't really show.  After that dried, I tore my paper into strips and began covering the pot.

After I covered the pot, I let that dry and began making my felt roses.  I decided to use the Felt Rosette tutorial to crate the flowers.  I used two different colors, but I think this would look equally nice with any combo you wanted.

I happened to have some floral foam lying around, so I used a knife to shape that into a round shape.  You could also use a foam ball or half ball, depending on what you like and have.  A ball resting on the lip would give a more topiary shape and would require more rosettes.

I ended up only using part ofthe whit e and red, the extras have gone into my notions storage.

All you have to do then is glue your rosettes on your foam!  I used Tacky Glue, because I had it, but hot glue would probably work better. I DO like that if I get tired of this arrangement, I can just pop the foam out and the pot will be unharmed.

Remember, Valentine's Day doesn't need to be stressful or difficult, your loved ones would rather have your time and attention than anything, and there is no need to spend a lot on decorations!  Here are some of my favorite ideas so far:

Felt Cookies at Pamela Susan
Window Garland from Noodlehead
Paper Heart Garland by How About Orange
Pretty Window Hearts by Quiltish
Banner from Fast Daze