Giveaway Results

Your odds were good on this giveaway! Based on the random number generator, here are the winners.

For the pink shoe the winner was number 2 or The Harris Family who said, "How cute! Those came out great :)" So, Mary just go ahead and email me (or Tristan) with your address and your shoes will be on the way.

For the purple shoe the winner was Deb (number 4) who said, "Those are absolutely darling! Seriously, you are way talented!!" Deb, I have your address. Be on the lookout. I am trying out new packaging.

Thank you for all who played. Keep on the lookout for more giveaways.

Baby Rattles

Christmas is here and the presents are unwrapped. My baby is 11 months old so for Christmas we made him rattles. They were so easy and even better, they were free! I saved all of the pill bottles from my prenatal vitamins (for this purpose) and we filled them up with random things from around the house (beans, rice, bells, poly balls that I took from a dying stuffed toy, beads, paper clips...). To decorate the bottles we used Mod-Podge, glitter, and tissue paper. Then to finish it all off my husband glued the tops on with Gorilla Glue. They turned out really great! And best of all, our son LOVES them. He wasn't really into opening the packages but he loved to shake them wrapped or not.

The giveaway is still going on so be sure to post a comment! Who can turn down free?

Giraffe Scarf

I am done with Christmas presents! We didn't get the kids much but I made almost everything myself so it was a long process. I was way ahead of things before Thanksgiving but then Thanksgiving happened and I was suddenly way behind... I don't know what happened there.

For my baby I made a giraffe scarf. This I am very proud of (bear with me, I may say that about all of the stuff I made - it was a good year) because I came up with it all by myself. The only giraffe scarf I was able to find a picture of was totally different than what I was thinking so I just went for it. I crocheted the whole body with cotton yarn. For the spots I cut out random shapes from felt and sewed them on with embroidery floss. I made both sides the same so it was easier to sew the shapes on. Isn't it adorable!?

Sleeping Bag

I have a lot of half finished Christmas presents but this is the first one that I have finished this year.













This sleeping bag is for my 7-year old step-daughter to replace her pink Princess sleeping bag that was transformed into wigs - by my son. How does a 4-year old even think of cutting open a sleeping bag, removing the stuffing, and squishing it together into wigs? Wigs!

I was able to use my seam ripper, the greatest tool ever, to save the zipper. To make the new one I bought a butterfly print fleece and a coordinating solid purple flannel (2 yards each). I didn't worry about stuffing it because it can't get that cold in Portland. I decided to dress it up a bit by adding a purple strip to the top. It didn't take very long once I gathered the courage to start (I was deathly afraid I would screw up because straight lines and I don't always mesh). I hope she likes it!

Cute Card Delivery!

I won my first giveaway and it made my day! I signed up on my friend Deb's blog Mumbo Jumbo to win a set of her delightful handmade birdie cards and I won! Deb is super amazing, especially with papercrafting. If you're jealous or just looking for some great cards, check out her shop. Get ready to be amazed.

Also, don't forget to check out my baby shoe giveaway! It ends at midnight (Pacific Time) on December 28th.

My First Giveaway

Welcome to the first ever MetroBoutique Giveaway! There are so many great giveaways (like this one from Design Mom) that I figured I could share the wealth. I am very excited to give two lucky winners each a pair of handmade (by me) newborn baby shoes. These are cute little girly shoes each with a soft cotton flannel lining. They are machine washable and dryable preshrunk cotton. They also have elastic around the ankles so they stay on. Here they are:

This pair is pink with white eyelet overlaid on te top and sides and solid pink on the soles.







This pair has little hearts on the top and sides with a coordinating purple sole.








To enter, just leave a comment. The Giveaway ends on Sunday, December 28th at midnight Pacific Time. I will use the random number generator to select two winners. The first number drawn will get the pink shoes, the second will get the hearts.

Check out my shop for other great handmade things!

Merry Christmas!

I just finished my Christmas cards - making them that is. I am not much of a paper crafter although I would love to be. I was looking for something simple so I planned to use this pattern but I couldn't find a nice Christmas paper with something on both sides. What's the deal with that? So, after searching (not too hard mind you) I gave up and used things I already had. I like how they turned out. I bought two packs of blank cards and envelopes last year with the intention of using them to make cards but the motivation was not there so it didn't happen. This year, however, after moving half way across the country I forced myself to make some nice Christmas cards. This is what I came up with. I cut white cardstock down to 3.5" x 5" pieces, stamped & embossed them (the red and green stamps are glittery and the gold is smooth and shiny), and stuck them on the folded cards. Voila! See, I told you they were simple. I cut the paper yesterday while watching House on the internet (8 days after airing...) and I did the rest today while reading blogs and emailing my husband. Cheap, simple, and cute. That should be my personal motto...they could write that on my tombstone.










I haven't been blogging a lot lately but soon you will see why. I am in the middle of like 3 projects that I can't wait to finish and post! Check back, and tell your friends!

Craft Fair

Today was my craft fair and I have to admit I am a bit disappointed. I didn't sell anything. There was a lot of ooohing and aaahing but no buying. I think a big part of the problem was that I didn't have a big selection of shoes and hats. I had three hats - one neutral and two for girls (now listed on my Etsy site) - and three pair of baby shoes - two girl and one boy (soon to be listed). The craft fair was in a hospital so by the afternoon I had people coming down and saying, "These are the ones they were talking about..." and "Oh, how adorable!" In addition, I was able to crochet one and a half hats so it wasn't a total loss. I missed being home with the boys, near my computer but it was quite nice to get away for a time and be able to just sit and crochet.

Next to me was a man selling pottery that he threw and fired himself. It was really great. He had mugs, bowls, vases, pitchers, bird houses, and lots of other fun little things. One of the things I considered buying was one of his small mugs. I thought it would be the perfect size for my five year old's hot chocolate. I decided that I would not buy one unless I made some money. That didn't happen but as I was leaving I just wanted to see how much they cost so perhaps I could buy one later. I picked it up to look at it and he gave it to me. And the one that matched it. I couldn't believe it! They are so great. The man's name is Bradley and he sells through Bradley Ceramics in Newberg, OR. If you are in the area, he has sales at his house twice a year.

So, overall the craft fair was fun and well worth the time and effort. I was able to hand out my card to a decent number of people and I was motivated to get some stuff finished and posted on Etsy.

Baby Bibs

I can't believe how long it has been since I last posted.













Here is my latest creation: Flannel Baby Bibs. I love them! My son has one and I use it the most often because it is the perfect size. They are made with 100% cotton flannel on the front and back and I used Velcro for the closure. I have had them made with the exception of the Velcro closure for a week now. They are basic and simple, which is probably a big reason why I like them.











I went shopping the Friday after Thanksgiving, which I never do because the very thought terrifies me. Anyhoo, I bought some really cute owl and farm animal prints that I can't wait to use. I will probably just make more bibs.

In addition, I am very excited because this Friday I am going to have a booth at a craft fair through my husband's work. It will be my first booth (and potentially my very first sale). I can't wait but at the same time I am nervous because, well, what if nobody is interested? That would be a big bummer. But, what ever is left over will be heading to Etsy.

Cookies Anyone?

I am in "new toy mode" as my husband calls it. Last night I was surprised when a FedEx man knocked on my door with a KitchenAid in tow. I have wanted a KitchenAid ever since I killed my mixer last December making Christmas cookies (it was an accident, I swear). I have refused to buy a new hand mixer because I was holding out for a KitchenAid. That ment no cookies, no cakes, no cheesecake, no frosting...no fun. So, when the lovely new gift from my mom arrived last night I was more than happy. Surprisingly, I didn't stay up all night playing with it. I found it a good spot on the counter and went to bed.

This morning I woke up, got everyone ready and off to school and nap before I played. I broke out the cookbook and made some delicious 100% whole-wheat cookies (I am a whole wheat freak). I started out with Ginger cookies for my husband.
Then I made chocolate chip for my oldest.Don't they look scrumptious? I made a plate of each and surprised my husband and his co-workers and I made a plate for the new neighbors upstairs. I love to bake and even more than baking, I love to give away the things I make.

I have to admit I didn't do it all myself. I had a little helper.

Hooray!

Thank you, Mom!

Food can be Pretty

Lately we have been experimenting with fancy foods. No, not expensive foods. Pretty foods. This all started a while back when I decided to stuff cooked rice into a measuring cup (mainly to measure it out for portion control) and serve it molded to the shape of the measuring cup (like they do in swanky restaurants). That (about 6 months ago) was the extent of our pretty foods until recently. Motivated by the abundance of nice restaurants in Portland my husband has begun to randomly make pretty foods. Here are some of our beautiful (and quite tasty) foods:

This is our "breakfast rice" as my 5-year old calls it. It is just basmati rice with butter (hidden under the blackberry), sprinkled with granulated sugar and cinnamon, and topped with a fresh blackberry. This is pretty much what started it all.















This is another rice dish that my husband and I made together for some friends. It is sweet rice (basmati rice with butter and sugar) topped with raspberry coulis (raspberry juice strained from fresh raspberries) and a golden raspberry.













And Finally, this is my husband's pizza margherita (the picture colors are a bit off). It was delicious. It was a very simple pizza with a handmade (by me) 100% whole wheat crust, tomato slices instead of tomato sauce, chunks of fresh mozzarella cheese, and fresh basil leaves. That is it. The basil was very aromatic and lended a nice flavor that really brought out the tomatoes (but not too much). So good and so pretty.

Cloth Wipes

I made cloth wipes. I have yet to use them but they are finished. I stayed up until midnight (much to my husband's consternation) to get these bad boys done. I tried them with a binding but I didn't like how it turned out. I think the flannel was too thick and my husband brought up the fact that poop would probably get stuck under the binding. So, I decided to use a zig zag stitch. This was a very easy and quick project. First get a soft flannel fabric and cut an even number of 8-inch squares (you could also cut a piece that is 8" by 16" and fold it in half). Place the pieces right side together and baste around leaving a gap that will allow you to turn it right side out. Clip the corners and turn it right side out being sure to push out the corners. Make sure the raw edges where you turned it through are folded in and sew all around to finish. Like I said, I used a zig zag stitch but you could just top stitch if you like that look better. I had matching threads so I used different colors for variety. They look really good. Today I made a solution so, tomorrow I will get a squirt bottle and give this whole thing a go. I am really excited. I think I only used about 1.5 yards of fabric to make 15 wipes and I got my fabric on sale so it only cost about $3 for the batch. And to make this all a little bit better, if I fold them in half all of my finished wipes fit nicely in a plastic wipe box.

Beep-Beep

So, I am officially done with costumes this year. Yay! I finished the robot costume last night. I could have finished sooner but after the mad rush on Monday I needed a costume break. I decided to use all fabric instead of cardboard, which was probably not the best idea. I should have just spray painted cardboard boxes and been done with it. I used 6 layers of fabric - silver for the outside, black for the inside, 2 layers of stiff interfacing, and 2 layers of fleece batting - but it didn't hold up well. It doesn't help that my son is really skinny. I ended up adding cardboard across his shoulders to keep it from sliding down. The hat kept collapsing so I added cardboard on the back and sides to prop it up. By the end of the night it looked pretty darn good. We decorated it with circuit boards on the chest. I also had a small computer fan but it disappeared sometime yesterday afternoon. For his arms and legs I bought drier duct and cut it to fit. The legs really made the outfit.

I have to take a moment to give a shout out to Free Geek for the circuit boards. They are totally awesome. All the computer pieces ended up costing only $3. That was 4 circuit boards, an antenna, and a small fan. Due to some miscommunication the antenna didn't make it on the final costume.

Happy Halloween!

Well, not quite yet but it was our church Halloween "Monster Mash" aka costume D-Day. I finished the turtle costume and it looks great. The snaps keep coming unsnapped so he crawls around quite immodestly. I made the body suit from a pattern and I used sew on snaps. Next time I think I will opt for snaps that are more heavy duty. The shell is a bit small but I really like how it turned out. I just zig-zagged around the edges of each piece (after finding out the hard way that you cannot quilt hexagons). To keep it on him, I sewed on elastic straps with plastic clasps.

The robot got done enough. I would still like to sew on a few more accessories. I sewed the whole thing out of many layers of fabric but I think it would have been much easier to just spray paint a few cardboard boxes. No pictures until it is complete.

In addition to all of the sewing I had to do, I also volunteered to bring two desserts and chili. I decided to make brownies because they don't require a mixer (I burnt out the motor on my mixer last Christmas in the middle of making cookies and I refuse to buy another one because I am holding out for a Kitchen-Aid). I thought a graveyard scene would be my best bet. I made shortbread cookies (again due to lack of mixer) for tombstones. I was too busy sewing to get it all put together so when my husband got home I put him on the graveyard shift. I think he did a great job, better than I would have done. He free-handed that skeleton with icing and made the heads from marshmallows and sprinkles (thank you Martha). They turned out great!

Alive and Crafting

I am not AWOL I am just deep in Halloween Costumes. I can't wait to get them finished so I can see the boys. My oldest is going to be a robot. My baby is crawling everywhere so he gets to be a turtle. Our church Halloween party is on Monday (Oct. 27) so time is almost up.

In the meantime, feast upon my to do list:

Cloth Headbands
Scripture Case for my oldest to take to church
Quiet Book for the baby
Hand Towels
Cloth Napkins
Warm rain coat for my hubby
New baby shoes
Scarf for my baby (I think this may be next)
Cloth Wipes
Wool Diaper Doublers (as per a request from Mary)
Christmas Cards
Aprons for me (I am usually the last on my list)
A Dressy Dress (also for me)
Christmas Presents (I am sorry I can't be more specific but you shall see soon enough)

Hats!

I have finally mastered the beast that is crochet hats. I am so excited to report that my hats transition cleanly from one color to the next and the tops are smooth and gradual. I was increasing too quickly and getting puckers in the tops. The hats looked fine on the head but when they were taken off the puckers were obvious. But no more! Here are some favorites:

Here is my attempt at taking pictures of a hat without a head. Not too shabby, I must say. I like the balloon idea to show the shape.

Here are earflap hats for girls and boys. I am particularly happy with the center of the flower.









I have also been able to make little crochet hats with brims. This one I made for my youngest son. I will have to admit I borrowed the color scheme from another website. Super cute. If only I could find a way to convince him to keep it on!

This one is just a simple beanie hat but with teddy bear ears.

Let the Crafting Begin!

Welcome to my new blog all about crafting. This is where I can display all of the things I do from sewing to crocheting even to baking (it is an art). More to come. Enjoy!