Quilt & Guitar

Today was the first time in 7 weeks (since my baby girl was born) that I have been able to craft. It felt so good. This morning in an attempt to stop my 2-year old from playing with the Guitar Hero guitars I decided to make him his own guitar. It was really simple and used things I just had around the house. It took me about 20 minutes start to finish. The neck is made out of two pieces of cardboard taped together (front to back for support) with packing tape; the strings are made out of yarn; the body is made of heavy duty cardboard from an old scrapbooking notebook that I no longer needed. I used a popsicle stick to provide a little more support between the neck and body (that was done after this picture was taken so you can see the bend I fixed). Now it is totally sturdy and ready for a 2-year old to rock out on.

For my 2-year old I also made a quilt. It was meant for his Christmas present but that didn't happen and it got put off until a day when both kids were asleep at the same time for long enough for me to get my sewing machine out and set up. I can't wait for the day when I can have a place where I can leave my sewing machine set up all the time. the front is made out of woven cotton fabrics and the back is made of flannel that I found the day after Thanksgiving (that was the first time I shopped the sales and I just went to JoAnn). I used two layers of cotton batting on the inside so it should be nice and toasty. Overall, it was pretty easy with the only real challenge being the mitered corners. If you are making a quilt and want to miter the corners of the front or back, go here. The pictures are not the greatest but along with the instructions, it is the best I could find. Quite helpful. To quilt it together I stitched in the ditch so the pattern on the top wouldn't get too busy. I used a thread that went well with the flannel on back because that is where you would see it most.

Christmas Presents Unwrapped, Part 4

Part 4 is the final installment. For everyone else in our family (grandmas, grandpas, aunts, and uncle) I made calendars. I do this every year so it is no longer a surprise. It is a great way for family to see how the boys have grown over the years and what we like to do. I am not a big scrapbooker so this takes its place. I make the calendars in Microsoft Picture It! and edit the fonts to look how I am feeling at the time. This year the font was "Enviro." I add major holidays from this website so people can actually use it as a calendar. Then I make the picture page, also in Picture It!, with pictures of our family. This year each month is made up of pictures of what we did during that month in 2008. I print them out on white cardstock, punch a nail hole at the top, and take them to Office Depot for a spiral binding. It is really pretty easy and much cheaper than having someone else print them out.

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.

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!