What I Did on Summer Vacation

-tried a new to us restaurant
-grilled some great food
-read five magazines, cover to cover
-built some great (well-contained) camp fires
-ate a lot of s’mores
-hiked
-beat the dudely in 9 out of 12 Yahtzee games
-read two and a half novels
-started a crochet project
-finished a quilting project
-listened to seven episodes of This American Life
-spent a rainy afternoon with hot chocolate and a movie

And now it's Monday and it all seems so long ago already.

Gone Hunting

I am so in love with this project. I HAVE to make one.

photo from Chronicle Books

Embossed fabric

A couple of weeks ago we had a Funky & Delightful outing to a Paper Source workshop. Tory and I attended the inaugural Girls' Night Out workshop last summer and loved, loved, loved it. I mean, really, who wouldn't enjoy a night of crafting plus cocktails? When we heard that at this year's event one of the crafts would be a fabric printing technique, we were sold and even managed to convince our friend Val to come along.

We were given an organic cotton tote bag, a selection of stamps, inks and embossing powders and let loose. The technique itself is pretty simple: stamp your design on the fabric and then immediately cover with embossing powder (the ink must be wet). Brush off the excess and use a heat tool to melt the powder. Trial and error (and watching other people) taught us that large stamps and more contrast between the fabric and ink colors is the most effective. I also found I had to put lots of ink on the stamp and press hard onto the fabric to transfer enough color. You can see my first stamp on the bottom left and how much lighter it is than my subsequent prints.

The only thing I wasn't crazy about was that the totes we were using were a little rough, giving the stamped designs a slightly smudged look. I think using a higher thread count fabric like a cotton sateen might alleviate this and also potentially provide more contrast. But the potential for personalized fabric designs is there, and using paper stamping supplies I already own. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Of Note

I found it odd the other morning to find myself staring into my nearly empty storage box for cards. While my paper addiction does not run as deep as my fabric addiction I do tend to buy more cards than I send. I soon found myself sitting at my laptop browsing the gorgeous selection of letterpress cards at etsy. However, indecision set in and I abandoned my hunt to go about my day.

It was later that I randomly remembered them. There were four packages of flat notes purchased last summer just because they were 10% off at Paper-Source. The stationery box was much too full last year and so these had to be stashed in another spot rendering them out of sight, out of mind.

In an effort to use what I have I got out my small collection of stamps and inks. In a matter of minutes I had created my own custom note cards. Perhaps I should expand my stamp collection with these. With nearly 80 more cards to stamp I think I'm going to need a bit more variety than my stamp collection currently offers. So much for use what I have!

Quick Craft

In need of a mouse pad for my room-to-room roving laptop I made a quick no-sew version from fabric and cork. I thought I'd share the process in a first ever Funky & Delightful tutorial.

Trace and cut the desired shape from a piece of cork. My mouse pad is an 8” circle.

Using the piece of cork as a template, trace the shape onto the paper backed side of double-sided fusible web. I used Heat ‘n’ Bond Ultra.

With fabric right side facing down and fusible web paper side up, fuse the web to the fabric following the instructions provided by the manufacturer.

Cut the shape from the fused fabric.

Remove the paper backing and position the fabric right side up on the cork.

Fuse the fabric to the cork according to the manufacturer's instructions. Place the finished piece under a stack of books for a few minutes as the glue cools to prevent curling and ensure a good bond.

Get to clicking. You now have a custom mouse pad.

The same idea could easily be applied to cork backed coasters. Or elevate the idea into functional art. Pop cork backed fabric into flea market frames spray painted to coordinate with your fabric. Hang en masse anywhere you need to pin up notes, pieces of inspiration, or add a shot of color.

Gathering....

....supplies, inspiration, courage.

I'm preparing to undertake my biggest project to date, my first quilt. It's not just any first quilt either. This quilt will provide color, comfort, and warmth to Little Miss Lou's new big girl bed. It's a big deal for both of us. That is why I find myself obsessing over its necessary perfection.

Gathering the right supplies for the job was the first order of business. Over the last week I've been studying Last-Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts and Denyse Schmidt Quilts with an intensity not seen since college. I ended up with quite a list. As luck would have it, though, the shopping stars had aligned. Joann's started a 50% off sale on all quilting supplies yesterday. (It runs until Saturday...go, you must need something!) I picked up bias tape makers, binding clips, curved safety pins, extra-fine glasshead pins, a pinking rotary cutter and replacement blade, a 12.5 x 12.5 inch ruler, batting and thread. I also picked up a huge 24 x 36 inch self-healing cutting mat. All I need to get now is a walking foot. I've toyed with the idea of skipping this and making do but something tells me I shouldn't. Any thoughts?

Gathering inspiration just may be the easiest part of this whole process. Making a decision about a pattern though is another story. It was after much deliberation and fretting that I finally decided to go with Denyse Schmidt's Hop, Skip, & A Jump quilt. It was seeing this beauty on flickr that provided the final push I needed. I love how young and fresh this quilt feels. It's just the feeling you get from being around her. I just wish I could bottle her energy.

I've already purchased the perfect backing and binding fabric. You can just catch a peak in my first photo. I intend to pull colors from her existing curtains to round out the 7 or so additional fabrics I need. I'm hoping some of them already live in my stash.

Now all I have to do is gather the courage I need to start and finish this project. (Deadline: May 23). I'm sure the perfectionist crafter in me will struggle at points along the way. When she's threatening to take over the project I'll just try remember the most important thing. I'm making this for a little girl whose only request was that it be made by Auntie J.

Michigan or Bust

It was a big day for Olive and Archie…their first flight! Looking dapper in their scarves they arrived bright and early at Logan Airport. (Though truth be told it was just early as no light is to be found at 5 am!)

After making it through the world’s shortest security line a stop at the Starbucks counter was needed to counteract the effects of rising at 3 am. (Don’t worry, only the adults had caffeine.)

As often happens the flight was delayed. To help pass the time Olive and Archie watched other planes, had a ride on the luggage cart, and caught up on their magazine reading.

Finally, it was flight time! Archie loved the speed of take-off while Olive preferred the roar of the landing.

After deplaning, it was over to the luggage carousel to pick up the suitcases.

For the final leg of their journey a rental car was needed. The driving age in Michigan is sixteen so they pretended to drive while the trunk was loaded.

After such a long and full day a good night’s sleep was in order. (It’s always good to get lots of sleep before seeing the 2 ½ year old Olive and Archie are going to live with!)

Happily, the Lou absolutely loves Olive and Archie. (Or as they are now called…Baby and Boy. Here they are pre-construction.) As she pulled them out of the box she was giggling joyously. Quickly their heads were on pillows and blankets were pulled to chins. Looking seriously around the room we were warned, “Shhh, babies are sleeping.” After their naps Olive and Archie were loaded into a new stroller from Nana and rambunctiously careened throughout the house. There were frequent potty stops for Olive and Archie. I had no idea I had constructed dolls with tiny bladders!

For more photos stop by the Flickr pool.

A Declaration

Crafting has been a crazy whirlwind since September. It started with craft fair preparations that slid straight into handmade for the holidays. Once the winds subsided though the craft fair wares had found great homes and I had a fabulous pile of handmade gifts* for Christmas. A great success!

However, the time has come to focus on my craft wish list. And, oh, is it long! I must finish my big dot pillows, dress up a boring lampshade, and make my own pair of lounge pants. Then I can move along to the new patterns found under my Christmas tree: Amy Butler's Sophia and Weekender bags. (I'll need those to focus on my goal of more weekend travel, right?) And if I have great new travel bags I'm going to need a new toiletry bag. Then there are the projects just beginning to nibble at the back of my brain: a quilted throw for the living room, applique initial pillows for the boring couch in the den/guest room/studio, and some sort of fabulous wall treatment for a wall in the living room. And that, I'm sure, is just the tip of the iceberg.

Therefore, I herby declare January to be Selfish Crafting Month. Care to join me?

*To be revealed in upcoming posts.

Handmade for me

Handsome, isn't he? I picked him up from The Sweetest Pea folks Saturday at the SOWA Holiday Market, aka the best craft fair Tory and I have ever been to. Seriously, we were barely in the door when we started finding things to come home with us. Jewelry, handmade soft creatures, kid's t-shirts, hand-blown glass beads, hand-painted ceramic decorations: I could go on and on. Some of them will actually make it under other people's trees so I can't show too many photos at the moment. It was good, very, very good. After our last craft fair experience, it was refreshing to attend one where everything was actually handmade. They have a Sunday market in the summer months, so be sure to attend if you are planning a visit to Boston next year.

I can't decide exactly who this little guy is, but he seems to have found his raison d'etre as guardian of our acorn bowl:

Don't you love his curly tail?

Many purchases were made this weekend in addition to those at SOWA. I had to hit two Joann's stores to get supplies for some pillows I'm making for my mom. Not a fun thing to do three weeks before Christmas, but she picked out some great fabrics so it was worth it. I also paid a visit to Macy's to get a feather tree. The holiday section looked like it had been ransacked and they had not one tree of any shape or size left. I forced persuaded them to sell me the display model (although they now call them "visual" trees, anyone know why?), even though it required waiting 20 minutes for the tallest sales associate to climb a display to retrieve it from the top. Yeah, it was 9 am on a Sunday morning and he was not too happy about it. But the tree is now mine (evil laughter).

I have been wanting one of these for a long time so there was no way I was leaving without it. And with my coupon it was less than half the original price. Let the decorating begin.

Greetings from Yesteryear

It's hard to share any of my crafty endeavors at this time of year. I try to keeps things under wraps until the gifts are unwrapped. Projects are planned and fabrics are chosen to be one-of-a-kind, as unique as the people for who they are intended. It may be selfish but I want to be there to see their reactions as they unwrap their handcrafted gift. I want to tell them how this project came to be just for them. For now I will share from my Christmas past, two cards designed for 2006.

They have wood in China too

After reading Soulemama's post about her local source for wooden acorns, I browsed right on over to buy myself one or twenty-five. I seem to have a thing for acorns this year, and little wooden things in general. You know I found more than just acorns. I ended up with a veritable menagerie that included moose, deer, bears and these reindeer cut-outs. I thought they would make lovely ornaments with the addition of a little paint and some ribbon so I happily added a few of each to my cart. Two days later I had a little brown box waiting for me on the doorstep when I arrived home from work.


As I was unpacking all my treasures, I was surprised to find this sticker on one of the reindeer. I looked through the catalog that the company had thoughtfully included and found no indication that their products were from sources other than "local wood mills." I emailed the company to inquire about the origins of the other items I purchased . They got right back to me and were happy to tell me what was local and what was imported (most of what I bought was local). The moose cut-out, of course, is made in Maine.

I suppose I've learned a lesson about assuming things without doing the research myself. I was a little too pleased with myself for buying locally. One might go so far as to say smug. And really, had I known the reindeer were made in China, I totally would have bought them anyway. But next time I'm going to ask a few questions before I hit that PayPal check out button so that I'm sure I know what I'm talking about.