How does a Crimp Bead Work?

That's right, I've jumped into the jewelry making craft.  I wanted to buy my sister some jewelry for Christmas, a matching set with a bracelet and necklace.  She is very into pink...bright pink...but pink is hard to find in the middle of the winter.  Instead of continuing to look (maybe going to a store that specializes in jewelry and accessories), I decided I should make her a set. 

How hard can it be?  I made plenty of jewelry as a kid...

I was off to my local Michael's with a basic idea of what I wanted...string/wire, closure, spacer beads, and of course pink beads.  Fortunately, our Michael's has a full bead section.  I left the store with all sorts of jewelry making items and $50 poorer....but it was going to be special (and easy, right?). 

After I put Lillian down for her nap, I got out the memory wire and decided I wanted a three strand bracelet.  I measured using my wrist, leaving extra room (my wrists are extremely small for a grown woman).  I decided on 3 patterns of beads, strung my beads, and was happy with the way they looked together.

Then came the tricky part...how was I going to get the fastener onto the end of the wire.  The closure set I bought had crimp beads with a lobster claw on the end, but it turns out that crimp beads are not very easy to work with.  So I went back to the store to buy bead glue (super glue?).  Turns out that it's very hard to use bead glue on such small pieces - like a crimp bead.  It made a mess of my other beads, so I was determined to find another way to close these beads.  I read up on using crimp beads online, but I couldn't get my wire through the beads (I think they were the wrong size).

Along comes my hero...my husband.  With just a few days left before we leave for our Christmas in Colorado, he says that we can try to sauter the pieces together.  With both of us working together, we were able to get both the bracelet and necklace ready for wrapping.  I hope my sister enjoys this jewelry!

Bracelet and necklace with magnetic closures.

Finally...the Birthday Gifts are Revealed!

You have been hearing about these birthday gifts for so long now...

They're not anything too spectacular, but Lillian and her friends have enjoyed them.  I added a button to a couple of Lillian's, but I don't want to have a choking hazard for her little friends. 

The little girls blocks had more "girly" prints and colors while the boys had bold primary colors, skateboarders, and other "boy" type fabric.  Lillian seemed to like all of the blocks I made for her friends and wanted to keep them for herself. 

Here's an example of a set that I gave to her friends.

I played around with the blocks making some sets with different size blocks, some were different shapes, and all had multiple fabrics that seemed exciting for the one-year-olds!

Christmas Decoration

I love to decorate our house for all of the seasons and holidays, but it's hard for me to spend money on these things.  I have gathered a few items for the big celebrations and our house looks festive, but I would love to make some decorations of my own.  I usually feel too busy with other tasks to take time to make decorations, but this year I was able to make one with some new friends.   

Our church has a MOMS group that holds workshops once a month.  This month (December) was wreath making which I have never done before.  So yesterday I spent my morning enjoying the company of other moms (without Lillian) crafting my first tabletop wreath.  They provided the fresh flowers, berries, and tree branches, and we provided anything else we wanted for our wreaths.  Since it was my first time with this craft, I had no idea what else to bring, so I just took myself. 

The wonderful ladies gave us some basic instructions and let us go to town!  Here are some pictures of my first "real" Christmas wreath. 

Hats Off to Lillian

I guess I'm going to try to make up for all of the missed blogs today.  We're celebrating Lillian's birthday today (she entered our lives one year ago today!) and since she loves to take her hats off, I will say "Hats Off to Lillian!" 



We were at the park the other day with a playgroup and one of the moms mentioned that she has had trouble finding warm hats to fit her son (11 months old).  Keep in mind that we live in San Diego...I'm sure this wouldn't be a problem in most areas of the country.  I told her that I would be happy to make Ezra a hat.  So here's the hat that I made for him and then I went ahead and made Lillian a couple as well (although the first one is a bit small for her head). 



Ezra's Hat made with Light and Dark Gray Yarn.



Lillian's Hat



Lillian wearing her hat (for a few seconds at least).

Quack Quack!

Although I have not been a very good poster lately, I have been very busy on many projects.  One of Lillian's friends is celebrating her birthday next weekend and her mom asked me for some decorating help.  Little Briana loves her rubber duckies, so they are doing a duck theme for the birthday party.  Laura found another blog that had instructions on how to make ducks as decorations and asked me if I would help make some for their party.  Of course I said yes since I love using my crafting skills to help others. 

Here's a link to the blog that we used for the pattern:
http://krystinaevans.blogspot.com/2009/06/new-and-improved-duck.html

The lady that made them is extremely talented!

So Laura, the girls, and I went to the fabric store and bought the supplies.  Then we worked on cutting out all of the pieces.  We used fabric glue for the eyes which I hadn't used before, but it seemed to do the job (in time).  All that we have left to do is to put ribbon around all of the necks which Laura is going to do.  So here's a picture of the ducks...we made 6 althogether...2 big ducks (the Mamas) and 4 little ducks (the Babies).  I'll try to get a picture at the party of them on the tables so that I can post a final picture!

Growing Worm

I finally completed the Halloween costume for Lillian last weekend.  I was so excited on Saturday to be so close to finishing...all that was left was the snaps to close the costume and eyes for the headpiece. 

This process took at least 3 weeks...probably more...to complete.  My husband and I worked very hard on a pattern that we thought would produce a costume (for an infant) that would resemble a worm. 

I tested the first pattern on some muslin (inexpensive fabric) and it seemed to turn out alright except for the placement of the tail and the way it would attach. 

I went back and made a couple of slight changes, cut out the pieces, and started sewing them together.  Then I asked my husband what I thought would be a simple question which turned into making a totally new pattern and starting over.  This is where the question of the tail or skirt came in for those of you that voted.

We borrowed a dragon costume from our sister-in-law and used that as a model for the new pattern.  Then I had to choose fabric that I thought would keep her warm and comfy but still look good.  I decided on lightweight fleece for the lining and shiny, glittery green fabric for the shell.  The green was the suggestion of our wonderful playgroup moms :)  I was very confident and pleased with our new design and went to work pinning, cutting, sewing, stuffing, adding ribbon to signify the segment, etc. 

Last Saturday night...approximately one week to Halloween...Being as excited as I was I figured I should try it on my little wiggle worm. 

Note: Lillian is small for her age (like me) and her Dr suggested we feed her a diet that is heavy on fats (oil, butter, avocado, etc.) until her 1 year appointment...we call it her "Fatten Me Up Diet."



See the big belly...that's preventing the costume from closing!



The back of the costume...it definitely had us laughing really hard!

 I'm happy to report that Lillian went through a growth spurt in the past few weeks that made the costume way too small...not great for the time and effort that we put into making it, but great for our little girl's development! 

She will be the dragon that we borrowed for Halloween tonight...it's really cute on her and I will always remember the first Halloween costume I ever made. 

Oh and one last thing about this process...be careful when you go to Joann Fabrics...it can take hours to get fabric cut on the weekends!!!



Our Dragon Princess at the Pumpkin Patch



V is for Violin

I realized recently that I have a lot of pages left to create in this First Year ABC scrapbook for Lillian.  I think my count before yesterday was 11 out of 26 (13 of 28 if you count the covers). 

Yesterday I made the page I plan to use for Halloween.  I also worked on the Playgroup Pumpkin Patch page...both of those will need more pictures to complete the layout. 

V was a difficult letter for ideas.  I was nursing my wonderful husband back to health on Valentine's Day, so we didn't really do anything fun or cute that day.  I still have my violin from my younger years, so I put Lillian in a pretty dress and snapped off some pictures while she explored the instrument.  Unfortunately I need to replace a string and tune it otherwise I could have played a little song for her.  Maybe someday...

Costume Update

After working feverishly all weekend with Brent to come up with a pattern fir this costume, I think I may be ready to start cutting...again. 

We thought we had it all figured out.  I even bought Muslin to try it out and pinned the pieces together to try on Lillian.  It turned out to be too small around her body, no problem, and the tail wasn't in the "right" place, I can fix those problems. 

So I adjusted the pattern and started cutting out pieces.  Then I was finally ready to start sewing!

I started with the hood which I think I can keep :)  Then I sewed the collar, arms and legs.  Then I put the pieces together and realized that the tail would not attach the way we originally planned...so it was back to the drawing board. 

Luckily at this point we went to Brent's brother's house for dinner.  I was able to borrow a couple of infant/toddler costumes including a dragon with a tail attached.  So I'm using that as my example of how to create this worm outfit.  I redrew my pattern and outlined what steps I'm going to take when sewing.  I need to go back to Joann's to get more fabric and other supplies, but I think it may finally work (I actually feel confident about this pattern). 

Unfortunately, I need to take a break from the costume in order to get some birthday gifts ready...hopefully just a couple of days with those, and then I will be back full force working on the costume with pictures of everything - pattern, practice, failed attempts, and hopefully the completed worm costume.

U is for Umbrella

My friend Laura is interested in digital scrapbooking and wants to take a look at what I have done on Lillian's ABC scrapbook.  I pulled it up today and realized I still have a LOT of work to do on it...better fire up the old computer to see if I can recover some old pictures from Lillian's early days. 

Here's one of my favorite pages:

As for all of my other projects...I think I may have overwhelmed myself with crafts and so I'm not really getting anything done :(  I'm trying to make gifts for all of Lillian's friends that are turning one...they aren't too hard, but most of the work has to be done while she's sleeping.  I need to make four of these in the next two weeks.

Of course Halloween is right around the corner as well...so I'm feverishly trying to create a "wiggle worm" costume out of my imagination.  I'm going to sew an outfit with segments, but now I need to decide if I make a green tutu to represent grass (that the worm would be popping out of) or do I extend the outfit to make the tail of the worm?  Not sure which will be more obvious in the end but I think the tutu would be easier to construct than the tail of the worm...if you're reading this, let me know what you would do? 

And some day I will return to the skirt that I bought a pattern for a couple of weeks ago...some day :)

That's a Wrap (Skirt)

I finally completed the wrap skirt a couple of days ago.  It's amazing how life gets in the way of updating this blog :( 

Here's a picture of the completed product. 

Not the best picture, but not bad for taking it myself on a rainy afternoon.

I've also been working on some birthday presents for some of Lillian's friends (can't believe they're all turning one!).  I won't post that project here since both of my loyal followers will probably receive this project in the coming months, but know that I am still perfecting my sewing skills.

One final note...I bought my first sewing pattern envelope the other day.  More skirts (different style)...I really don't have many nice things to wear post-baby, so why not make a new wardrobe? 

Knot a Problem

Finished the beautiful - yet small - handbag last week.  I was so anxious to post the completed picture, but our computer has been on the fritz and we finally got it fixed yesterday. 

Here's a shot of it hanging with stuff inside...



I love the corduroy that I found for the inside and I think that the material I chose for the outside will be wonderful with most of my clothes. 

The final problem that I had in making this bag was with the snap that keeps the purse closed.  It is so strong that when I try to open the snap, the thread I used to tie it on is being pulled out.  Not sure how I will fix this yet, but I'm sure I will come up with a solution :)

Orange Thread Project

In response to my previous inquiry about the orange thread...I made a ski flag for my husband (and our friends with a ski boat).  I thought it would be really easy to make, but Brent wanted to make it a little more complicated so that the flag would be bigger.

Plus side:  I feel like I'm "becoming one" with my sewing machine. 

Down side:  I'm also "becoming one" with my seam rippers ;) 

I think I'm ready to take on the skirt...but I may work on a couple of crochet items for the church first. 

Almost There But Not Quite...

I was hoping to have the skirt ready for our trip to Arizona last weekend, but as the time grew short, I realized that was not going to happen. 

Instead, I decided to take my wonderful sewing book with me on the road trip to read through.  Along the way I thought "I want to actually wear that skirt...maybe I should practice on some scraps first."  That's what I did when we got home.

Practice
I cut a couple of squares from my extra fabric, chose a color that I never thought I'd use (found a use for it...check back later to see what I've done), and turned on the machine to make my first seams.


The Neon Orange Thread

The square turned out better than I was expecting.  The most important thing to remember is to put the presser foot down before stitching...apparently that's easy to forget.

Pin Cushion

Then it was on to the first project...a pin cushion!  I found that this was pretty essential to the process and would need one sooner rather than later...so why not get more practice in while making one.  I definitely need to work on managing my seam allowances since it turned out smaller than it was supposed to, but that's why they call this practice, right?

Tokyo Tie Bag

I'm currently working on a handbag that I plan to finish today, before I start the neon orange thread project (any guesses what that might be?).  This is where I had my "Oh crap" moment yesterday. 

• Get Materials (fun cotton fabric for outside, lightweight corduroy for inside, pattern paper, thread, and a sew-on snap), check
• Instruction book, check
• Create pattern for bag, check
• Cut out pieces, check
• Sew sides, check
• Sew top and handles, check
• Sew bottom, check
• Tie knot for handles, not working...where did I go wrong

Oh crap!  I re-read the directions and realize the bottom was supposed to be sewn with the side seams in the center rather than on the sides of the bag!  What I love about sewing is that it's fairly easy to fix mistakes (as long as the fabric holds up).  Last night I was able to use my seam ripper for the first time to remove the bottom seam, and will hopefully redo it (correctly) today. 

Is there a sewing gene?

"I have officially started teaching myself to sew." 

This is what I told my mom yesterday on the phone.  She proceeded to be VERY excited about my endeavor and told me that it should come naturally since I have a lot of family history with sewing.  Apparently Lillian's namesake (my great-grandmother) was a talented seamstress and a great-aunt was an excellent sewer as well.  My mom has also spent plenty of time rifling through pattern books and fabric
aisles.  I'm hoping I got the all powerful sewing gene!

So far I have read "most" of the general information in my SEW Everything Book, picked out a pattern (Easy Breezy Wrap Skirt) - check out another sewer's completed project here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/uppitygirl/2643788812/, bought my fabric, and last night I was able to cut out all but one piece.  I was too tired to finish the last piece so it will wait until we return from Phoenix.

A swatch of my fabric...isn't it pretty :)

Things that I have learned already:

- Our sewing kit came with very random thread colors including puke and neon green, but not a classic brown? 

- Sewing seems to involve a good amount of math which is just up my alley being a mathematician and all. 

- Ironing can be quite soothing if you envision it that way.

- And of course I've learned tons about fabrics, weaves, ribbons, buttons, and sewing supplies :)

Diaper Mania

I've love the look of diaper cakes and what better way to shower new parents than with a useful cake!  With the baby shower coming up this weekend, I thought it would be FUN to make my first diaper cake for the family.

Well, it's much harder than it looks (or it was for me).  I wasn't sure how many diapers to get, so we got ~170 and I used all but 3 on the cake.  I also used bottles for the center of the cake, receiving blankets, a bath toy on top, baby spoons, socks, onesies, sleepers, butt cream, travel size soap and hand sanitizer, and pacifiers. 

The diapers were not too difficult to roll up, but they took a while and the rubber bands cut into my fingers :(  Then it was on to the assembly which was fun to experiment with.  In the end I decided I needed a base for this four layer cake which my dear husband cut out for me.  I covered the base with the blankets, added some pretty ribbon to hide the rubber bands, and decorated the cake with all of the other baby items.

Now I just have to hope that it doesn't all fall apart on the way to Phoenix!

   

Loop Toy for Baby Neb

My inspiration for my current projects is the baby niece we're expecting on Oct 2nd. 

The baby shower is this weekend, so I'm rushing to pull some fun things together! 

I stumbled upon this "Loop Toy" a while back and thought it would be a great homemade gift for the little one...

http://herbsthandmade.blogspot.com/2009/01/crochet-tutorial-loop.html

I was able to create this toy today, although I probably spent way more time on it than I should have :)

I chose the colors since they are bright and contrasting...perfect for a newborn!

Thank you to blogger Amy for an amazing pattern...if only I had some jingle bells to include in the tubing. 

More of my baby shower crafting gifts to come...

All Together...For Now

The Grab Ball finally came together this morning!

Lillian had her hands (and mouth) on it as soon as she awoke from her "nap". 

I have a feeling that some of my construction could have been better, being that it was my first time with this pattern and I was learning how to sew crochet pieces together.  I'm not sure how long it will stay together, or how many times I will need to repair it, but I'm very happy with this accomplishment!

Coming up:

I'm reading through my two new crafting books along with my "fun" reading material. I have something up my sleeve for my next craft project which I'm hoping to start work tonight and will share what I come up with tomorrow :)

The Other White Meat

I taught myself to cook over the past five years.  I certainly had help from my wonderful husband, but generally, I need to do it on my own to get the hang of it. 

*Side Note: The grab ball is just about done!

Pork chops have never been one of my favorite foods, but sometimes they wind up in our grocery cart since Brent enjoys them.  Usually Brent would grill them and I would end up enjoying them, but tonight I wanted to try something new. 

*Side Note: My Crafty Mama book arrived yesterday!

I chose a stuffed pork chop recipe from my Good Housekeeping Cookbook that included herb coated apples and diced bread.  I braised and baked the chops after stuffing them with a yummy smelling mixture.  It turned out alright, but I think it could have used more flavor...maybe I'll try something else next time. 

*Side Note: My Sew Everything book arrived today!

Here's a picture of my dinner plate before it was devoured.

 Anyone have a good pork chop recipe they'd like to share?

D is for Digital Scrapbooking

Digital Scrapbooking how I love you!  You make it so easy to be a perfectionist in an art genre that strives for the imperfect.  I love manipulating items on a page of "paper" for hours on end.  I'm constantly finding new features of my scrapbooking software (Digital Scrapbook Artist 2 by Serif) that enhance my layout designs and push me more into this new world of DS :)

My current project is an ABC scrapbook for Lillian's first year.  It is exciting to build a scrapbook that accentuates the photos that we've captured this year.  Here is one of my favorite pages from the album, enjoy!

Photography by Emily Piraino
http://emilypiraino.wordpress.com/

Grab Ball Update:  All of the pieces are made, working on the assembly...hoping to finish the ball tomorrow!

Good Start

I'm off to a good start with this ball. 

Here are the materials I'm using:

• Bernat Softee Baby Summer Ombre yarn (color A)
• Bernat Softee Baby White yarn (color B)
• Poly-Fil
• Size D Crochet Needle

The pieces are very easy to stitch, but I need to make a ton of them - 36 total pieces.  The trick is to distract Lillian long enough to get a couple done...here's one way to do that :)

Don't worry, I kept a close eye on her and the string at all times!

Here is the first section of the ball...I need 4 of these to complete the project...might take a couple more days since Lillian's Superdad had to return to his day job today.   

Nasty Bug

Our house was struck by a nasty stomach bug.  The only reason to stand up yesterday was to take care of Lillian.  Thankfully we are all feeling better today and I can get back to my current project. 

As I wait for my new crafting books...including Sew Everything Workshop and Crafty Mama...I started a crochet "grab" ball for Lillian. 

Here's a link to the pattern:
http://priscillascrochet.net/free%20patterns/Baby.pdf

This will be my first time using fiberfill and sewing pieces together...a new challenge!

Check back later for the completed ball (hopefully)!

Crochet for a Cause

Earlier this year I stumbled upon an amazing group for my love of crafting.  It's a knitting and crocheting group at our church.  We have been making beanies for children in Honduras and most recently we've been working on hats and scarves for San Diego's Homeless.  I feel like I'm finally using my "skills" to support great causes.  We met last night and this is the hat that I finished this morning. 

This will probably make it's way to a child's cold head in the coming months.  I'm thrilled to say that I put my mom's night out to good use!

In the beginning...

Mom, Dawn, Lilla, Grandma...my models for crafty women.

Sandy...my first inspiration to learn a craft as an adult. 

It all started one morning at work.  My friend walked in with a shell-shocked expression on her face.  We're both twenty-two, engaged, and living far away from our families. 

Turns out, she's pregnant! 

I start thinking about what it would be like to be in her shoes and decide that I should do something special for her and the baby.  I instantly think of my mom who crochets blankets, call her up, and employ her to make the blanket. 

Fast-forward a few months...baby is here and the blanket is not.  As the months pass by, I realize that my mom is too busy to make the blanket.  Instead of going to the store and buying a blanket like a normal person, I decide to make my own.  Without experience in knitting, crochet, or sewing, I head over to our local Michael's.

Browsing through my choices, I decide to get a kit called "I Taught Myself to Crochet" by Boyle and some soft baby yarn. 

At home, I spend much of my free time learning my new craft and about 6 months later as Sandy and the baby girl are getting ready to move across the country, I present my first hand-made blanket.  The blanket is not even close to perfect, but I'm proud of what I made. 

My only regret...I didn't take a picture (or I've lost the picture) of that blanket.