Friday, November 30, 2012

Little pink riding hood.

So I feeling kinda bummed because I didn't have a medium weight wintery coat. I looked at the thrift shops I could afford but couldn't find anything I liked. I even perused higher end stores looking for the perfect coat.

Needless to say I didn't find it so I had to make it.

I took a vintage wool suit jacket from my closet and my favorite wool striped sweater, which until recently did fit but due to the inevitable weight gain this year it had become a tad too snug, and melded them together.

I used the sweater to extend the sleeves, as a hood liner and for applique.

Using a hoodie as a template for my hood (and remembering a cool video from Threadbanger on hoodie making) I made the hood and liner. My hood was extra large so I could fold over the edge to create a pocket for a drawstring, or in my case a thin black 80's tie.

I then seperated the liner from the body where the hood was to be, machine sewed the hood to the jacket body and hand whip stitched the liner to the hood. I added a heart made from the sweater logo and stabilizer and hand stitched that onto the breast pocket.

Since making it I have worn it everyday and have gotten a few compliments on it. By no means does it look professional but its warm and snuggly as hell, fits me well and is exactly what I was looking for. And for those who know me, pink is a tad of a shock but I liked how it went with the lime green stripe on the sleeve and it reminds me of a strawberry. Washington Winters are dull, hazy and grey so this coat helps add a bit of color and still allows me to blend in with the grey rain clouds.

Sunday, October 7, 2012

MMMM, pear cider.


Dylan and I worked together and juiced a few BOXES of yummy Asian Pears that were given to me from a co-worker. After we had our fill of regular cider, I took the rest and have started turning it into hard cider. Without having a proper airlock, I am concerned that it will turn to vinegar but I think sealing off the air exchange with plastic wrap (just enough to let the gas out and no new air in...) that it wont turn as quickly into sour vinegar but we shall see.

Jewelry hanger.

I picked this frame up at our last family vacation....the shop was one I could spend all day in but cant for the life of me remeber the name. It was located in Grants Pass Oregon.
I just stapled metal mesh to the back and was done.


Halloween crafting begins.


The kids and I started our crafting blitzkreig early for Halloween this year and started making our party favor treat bags with craft paper, cardstock and yarn. I found an easy tutorial here then modified it a bit. I hated the large inner flaps so I cut them out. I also added fake paper blood splatters on the outside.

Crochet, felted zombie cat cave.


So I suck as per usual and haven't taken the time to update this in a LOOOOOOOONG time. Unfortunately I haven't had a ton of time to even craft much. Our time is eaten away by work and typically our days end with just enough time to make dinner (as much from scratch as we can), eat and chill together just before bed time.

Now that I have taken up a new albeit small/tiny motorcycle, even more of my time is taken up with practice. Believe me I need it.

Here is a project that took me a week and then a few more to deliver it to its intended. Its a green crochet and felted cat cave.

I had a few skeins of vintage green wool hanging around and even used my beloved pure wool that I had obtained on our last vacation.... even these four skeins were not enough and I found myself purchasing at least another three at the only place I can locate all the colors of the rainbow....that would be Canvas Works in downtown Olympia.

I crocheted a flat circle then made my way up leaving a giant opening at the front. Taking it up till the sides were long enough (too heavy to support itself, that is why I felted it) I decreased to make another flat circle on top. Since this is supposed to be a zombie I cut out a hole on the top to use red wool instead.

After felting it I added felt teeth and eyes etc. In the end the brain ended up looking like an organ of a different region but hey,I get points for trying right?

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Cool painting idea.

For those that appreciate print and would rather get er done faster.



Friday, July 6, 2012

White trashy lawn water bed fun!

So I saw this ingenious project on Pinterest and decided to do it for our house. It was in the eighties today so it turned out great. The water was freezing and the sun was blazing so it was perfect.

We added food coloring throughout the process so it added to the fun. The kids spent hours out there and had a blast. We will reuse the plastic for its intended purpose as a drop cloth.

To do this yourself all you have to do is pick up a plastic drop cloth (we got ours at Home Depot), fold it in half and ducktape the bejesus out of it to seal the edges. The sealing is the most time consuming but you will be thankful later. We didn't spend enough time on the first run and ended up retaping in spots. The food coloring lasted a few hours but then did fade by the sun. We had a lot of fun pretending there was a shark attack once we added the red. We did visit the sharks earlier today at the Point Defiance Zoo.

here are pics of the kids.




easy cheap homemade baskets.

So I have been cruising a lot of crafter blogs and ran into this awesome one called "On My Honor." Its this great blog that these three local sisters write that includes awesome crafts.

This post in particular got me interested. I decide to make my own.

After pricing the clothes line on Amazon, I decided to go to my local Ace Hardware. Unfortunately it was much cheaper online. Amazon sells the same line at 12 bucks for 100 feet and Ace hardware itself sell it for 5 bucks per 50 feet.  Needless to say I was already there and didnt want to go back home empty handed but this is just one more example of it being WAAAY cheaper (I get free shipping) to buy online than even smaller local stores. This is depressing because I want to support local business but when the price is half online, it gets harder and harder to justify.

But I digress....

I followed the instructions as posted at "on my honor" but added some red wool yarn in between the cords as well as some handles.







Overall I was very pleased and the project was super easy. This basket now resides in my car for the kids lil odds and ends that usually end up all over the place.


Friday, June 29, 2012

Tiny Yellow House!

I love these videos. Derek uses simple materials to make wonderful things.

Check it....




Sunday, June 3, 2012

Quick and dirrrrty.

Coffee cozies can run you a few bucks for a reusable.one. I have seen some as high as thirteen buckaroonies. Make your own using the sleeve of a really cool dress shirt. This can be a new use for your grandpas old polyester numbers or your dad's early 80's dress shirts.


Sunday, May 27, 2012

Kirsop Farm!

So another year of crunchy fresh organic local and super tasty vegetables await us soon. The shares for Kirsop start the first week of June and I can hardly wait. Besides the fact that they have the worlds best sweet carrots they offer a lot of variety and a cool newsletter with recipes. In addition to the great produce they offer they now also offer grain and flower shares as well as poultry. The chickens and Turkeys are raised locally, happily and without hormones. I cant wait till we get a turkey from them for thanksgiving this year. They also now offer online payments which makes it much easier to get them paid. I do most of my billpaying online and this has been super easy and helpful. Genine, Collin and the crew are super friendly and live less than 2.5 miles from our house. I couldnt ask for a better set up. I love this farm!

http://www.kirsopfarm.com/

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Mountain Rose Herbs, Oregon

This place is excellent for knowledge and quality, plus they are local to the Northwest and Organic! Please check them out for your herbal needs.






Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Cargo pant recycle.

Inspired by Mark Montano's Big Ass Book of Crafts 2 I made this messenger bag using wool gap cargo pants. I found them at the Goodwill outlet where clothes are a bit over a buck a pound. I washed them and w an old scarf I made a cool messenger bag.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Fondue!!! and the next day....

So I have been craving fondue forever. Ok just since Steph's last Bday when we went to Swing in Olympia.....
I finally pieced together a fondue apparatus (from pieces found at the goodwill and Ebay cause I like vintage/used stuff and I am cheap). While shopping at Fred Meyer my wandering eyes spied pre-made fondue cheese!!!! It was 13 bucks but fed my family of four and then some.

I chopped crusty breads, sweet local apples, slightly steamed broccoli and celery into tiny bite sized pieces. We even managed to prevent the children from stabbing each others eyes out with the long skinny forks. Dinner was delicious and took only a few minutes.

Leftovers included apples, bread and broccoli. I turned leftovers into breakfast the next day by making french bread chunks with apple caramel sauce and a fritatta (ms) made with the broccoli and fontina cheeses. It too was awesome. There was even enough left over for second breakfast al la Hobbit style.

Crystal Head Vodka....and bath time.

So I splurged a few weeks or so ago and purchased Dan Akroyds Crystal Head Vodka. The vodka was rather tasty, the best I have had in years but...it is still vodka.

The bottle alone is worth the price. I decided to use mine for bath time.
I filled it with lavender infused oil, foaming soap and some red food coloring. Admittedly its kind of gruesome but pretty cool. yes, I need to clean my bath grout better......

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Crafts that I gifted. . . and things I have been up to.








So its been a long time since I posted. I've been pretty busy with work, kids and life in general. I realized I never posted pictures so here are a bunch with brief descriptions.



Above are pictures of the coasters and cards that I made for the Winter Holiday.
Below are examples of wrapping paper.



In my free time I am either reading or putting stuff together hoping it looks ok or sticks. Here are examples of other crafty things I have done recently. 


This mirror was made a long while back and is covered with pictures I took of local Low Impact Developments. They ranged from yupster condos in Portland to tree houses on Bainbridge Island. I thought it was a great way to remember the trips I took to visit these sites and so it hangs by my front door to remind me that we don't have to pillage everything to make something beautiful and livable. 

This one here is a Star Wars case I made. The artwork is from John Karpinsky. You can get his prints and learn more of him at his Etsy shop. I really liked some of the set prints that he has and am thinking about purchasing one of the bigger ones. I think they'd look great matted and hung. I plan on keeping this for myself.  It was an old Sony Micro TV case. 



Last but not least, this is a wool crochet heart I am making for a friend who just had a valve in his replaced.  It isn't quite anatomically correct as I am missing a valve but given the circumstances I guess its ok. I haven't finished the veins yet but will shortly. They are made of a fine red mohair, the rest is bulky wool. 





So that is about it in a nutshell. I anticipate someday finishing the Haliburton Suitcase shelving unit and will post pics thusly. In the meantime, don't forget to take time out to try something new, even if its a small thing.