Since Valentine’s Day fell on Sunday, I thought it appropriate to make valentines for the little ones. Candy is dandy, but felt is, well, felt. One mom reported almost immediately how her daughter put her felt heart to her cheek. Aw! That’s exactly what I was going for. I put eyes on the hearts and stitched two pieces of felt together around the edges with embroidery thread. They reminded me of “heart power” on Super Paper Mario. You collect hearts in order to gain life power. So no matter what enemies attack and drain you of life power little-by-little, collecting hearts will restore your life and you can continue in the game.

So… moving on. I’m a big fan of cereal and milk. I like to eat crunchy cereal with a large spoon because the faster I can shovel it in, the least soggy it will get. Our cabinet is filled with bowls–mostly for eating cereal. We have the little plastic ones from Ikea, the ones with built-in straws, the ones with characters on them, and the deep ones made by Corelle. Those deep ones are my favorite. Zoe took out five of them at once when she was just a baby… I was holding her and got a little too close to the counter where they were stacked up, she exercised her new-found gripping reflex, I stepped away from the counter, and ka-blam-o! They fell on the hard ceramic tiles and scattered to the four corners of the house. She’s little, but the damage she can do is exponentially larger than her size. I have been slowly replacing the bowls since they’re not really a top priority in the spending budget. BUT I found some awesome deep bowls at Target the other day. Four plastic bowls (Zoe-proof!) for $2. That’s 50¢ per bowl. I got eight. They come in a bunch of colors, but I like red. There were matching cups and plate bowls, too, but these are not nearly as effective for enjoying cereal and milk.

I bought this cute red-with-small-dots fabric from a cute fabric store in Port Aransas, Texas. When the store had just opened up, Grandma Niki and Grandma Pudge went to investigate and saw a stained glass quilt that was one of their favorites. When we came down for a visit, I went to see it for myself. They have patterns to make the quilts they have on display, and this one seems so easy once you break it down. I did not attempt to imagine myself making it, however, knowing all too well that I would just put it at the top of my ever-growing project pile. I didn’t want to disappoint the owner who was showing me around, so I bought a half a yard of this red fabric and another half of a colorful fishy one. They’ve been waiting for me to create something with them. And I finally got around to it, so had to post it.

Now I’m off to work on the baby gifts. No, really, I am.

EDIT: Here’s Zoe the morning after I made this. She was happy to receive the new threads.

One of the things that Sarah has to pack is three secret sister gifts. The girls each get assigned a girl to give gifts to and I guess they have to give them to their secret sister without being found out. Sarah has been making friendship bracelets and we have planned that she will give them along with some kind of candy. I’ve also donated a little crocheted bag I made a while ago and must have saved just for this purpose. I’m donating another bag, too.

I have been wanting to try making a boxy pouch ever since I came across a tutorial for it, but I couldn’t do it because I never had any zippers on hand. I bought a few at a sale and then life happened and I forgot about it. Then I found it again on a different blog that I discovered through the Craftiness Room on FriendFeed very recently. I don’t know what it is about this bag that enchants me. Probably the really cute Japanese fabric. I have been making a mental list of things I would love from Japan if I ever go. I want a pattern book to make cute kid clothes, some fabric that you can’t get here, and cute origami paper. I want to try roasted chestnuts from a stand outside the train stops and get dressed up in a traditional kimono just for fun. Maybe my uncle will take me sometime. He speaks and teaches Japanese and his son works for Continental–great combination of assets, wouldn’t you say?

I digress. Back to my boxy pouch making story…

A while ago, I bought some Spoonflower fabric on Etsy. Spoonflower is a place online where you can get your own designs printed on fabric. Some people enter their designs in their weekly contest. The winner allows their design to be sold in Spoonflower’s Etsy shop for one week only. I had my eye on a pear design that I liked and when it won, I bought a yard. I thought it might make a good fabric for the boxy pouch. You be the judge and tell me how you think it worked out.

The idea of this bag is to use fabric scraps because it is really small. I decided that I would just fold the fabric over itself a couple of times and chop off the top. It was three inches bigger on each side than specified in the tutorial. So that’s the bigger bag in the picture, and it’s definitely not as cute. I had some issues with make the sides straight… a lot of times my skills do not match my ambitions. Sarah wanted the bag to fit in her hand like how I described it to her when proposing it as a secret sister gift. So I made it again with specified dimensions, but added loops on either side (one big enough to slip a finger through) to make it easier to pull the zipper. I think it came out so cute with the loops and wanted to embroider eyes on one side of it so that the loops were like ears. Sarah nixed that idea. Oh, well. I thought it might make it more Japanese since they seem to like cute faces on the most unlikely of things.

Here’s another link to How About Orange which has another link to a tutorial on making a boxy pouch that is lined. I like this blog because she finds links for the coolest things to make and then puts them all in one blog post. When I have the time, I go through them. Sometimes, I actually find the time to do them. Like I did this week.

I did the flowers that Angry Asian suggested a while ago. I just didn’t know what I wanted to do with them. I followed the pattern (click through to AA’s blog and click “flower”) and it was fine, but when I wanted to make another one, I decided to see what would happen if I made one without following the pattern. It came out all jacked up, but I decided that it had more character. So I’ve had these two flowers, one nice and one jacked up for months… The nice flower got put on a bow with a button, but the picture didn’t turn out and I’m too lazy to take another one. I’m actually still not sure I want to keep it on the bow with the button. In the meantime, Lan is getting wrinkled waiting for me to post. So no picture. Deal.

Then I made a lil’ bag and it was like the jacked up flower wanted to be put on the bag. I started and stopped many times, so the tension is varied in the stitches and it’s obvious the bag has issues. The flower and bag were made for each other.

When we were in Port A, I was checking out the projects Granny Polly was working on. I always like to see what she and her friends are getting on with, and wouldn’t you know it… crocheting with plastic bags is in. There was a really nice hat made from plastic bags and I said, “Wow! Look at you!” And she laughed and said that it wasn’t her that made it, but her friend was letting her have a look at it. She was deciding if she could make it. I was thinking, “Granny Polly, you can make anything.” She crochets with her eyes closed. I also saw a coin purse made from plastic bags and it got my wheels turning, but I’m not quite ready to cut up plastic bags into strips like you would do with rags. Granny Polly is greener than me and saving the Earth… I used regular old 100% cotton yarn.

The first one I made looked more like a checkbook and it was not pretty. I didn’t bother taking a picture of it. The second one I made was more like the one below, but I finished the edge with double crochets every two stitches so there was room to thread a ribbon through. It was dang cute, but I gave it to Susie for her birthday and didn’t take a picture of it. This one I finished with a button loop and button.

These aren’t really that practical, but they’re fun and cute. I’ve thought about how I could put a zippered lining in the coin purse, but then again… form without function is art.

Anyway, here are some of the  bows I made during commercials.

I made the roses a while ago from instructions at JoAnn’s Fabrics. I didn’t know exactly what to do with them. I stuck them on a clip and tried to cover the seams with bows. They’re kind of cute, but might be on the heavy side, giving Zoe a sore head. We’ll see. As soon as she’s big enough for pony tails, I’m decking her with these.

These remind me of Mary Engelbreight’s fried egg flowers. I made the yo-yos then decided to make hair clips to match one of Zoe’s dresses. Nana ‘Nita gave it to her in May and she’s almost big enough to wear it. It has different colored hearts all over it. You’ll see. Note the “z’s” I made in the buttons. Hee hee.

I like this ribbon a lot. It’s blue on one side and green on the other. I should have redone the one on the left. When you get that nagging feeling that something isn’t right, listen! It will bug you forever if you don’t. Can’t fix it now.

I usually take my own advice, but I didn’t listen this time for some reason. Might have been checking out Michael Phelps’s yummies. Holy cow did you see how many of his muscle groups are defined? Josh wanted to see the USA win the 400m relay and when they did, MP did some pretty intense yelling which flexed muscles that I didn’t know existed. I have never been into big muscles like Awnowld as Mr. Universe, but I’ve decided that I’m totally into swimmer muscles… as long as their calves are also developed. Gosh, what a tangent I’m on… I only wanted to post to wake up from the computer work I’m doing.

I actually had ribbon to match this cute dress. The ribbon might be a little lighter or more yellow, but when worn together you can’t even tell.

See?

Before I get back to work, I just have to say that Japan had no chance—NONE—against USA’s Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh. They are the Queens of the Beach and have been kicking sand vball butt for a long time. I love how opposing teams always serve Misty, as if she were the weaker player, but she rocks with her smart placement of the ball and she can hit. Kerri is a wall at the net with her blocking and the frustration the other team must feel going up against her is clear. May and Walsh are the dream team. I like that they use each other’s strengths and know that they can afford to be humble. It’s easy to cheer for our country when represented by these two great ball players.

I also realized that my aunt-of-the-year trophy is in need of a good polish since my niece Kaia had her third birthday eleven days ago. There is little about Kaia that needs improvement, but I decided that a couple of pairs of handmade bows wouldn’t hurt. (Notice she isn’t wearing one in the photo.)

Here are the fruits of my labors from burning the midnight oil last night. These two sets are for Kaia.

I was shocked that I managed this organza one and very pleased with how it turned out.

And these two are for Zoe to wear whether or not they match her clothes. I’m not ready to take the cuteness that far. Some people would never recover.

Thanks to Susie for teaching me this craft. I’m pretty surprised by my skills… it still takes all my concentrating powers (if I do this in front of the TV, I miss the show) and lots of starting over just to get one step done, but I think I’m ready for more instruction. When is the next tie bow class using corkscrew ribbon?

BTW, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again… she should sell these online. Susie’s Etsy Shop would blow doors. Truly.

See what I mean? “Circles and triangles and now we’re hanging out with your new girlfriend.” And I’m not giving a complete list of where all I went, so who knows where I got that first line.

The real reason for my post is to say that I signed up to be on the waiting list to be invited to join Spoonflower. Since it’s still in BETA– I don’t really know what that actually means, but from what I gather is what a website is before it gets really and truly launched… like an egg before it hatches… it’s in egg mode right now. Apparently after it hatches you’ll be able to just sign up. So I’m getting in before the yolk becomes a chick, if you will. Spoonflower will then send me an invitation to join. Sounds pretty elite… you must be invited to the party. Some of the 2000 or so people who are already signed up have been leaving their designs and projects they made on flickr for the world to see. Kinda cool.

I’m always on the look out for cute strawberry stuff… what if I designed my own strawberry fabric? Intriguing, yes?

My reasoning to join is that even if I never design one thing to be put to fabric at least I’ll have the option through this new company. And if you ever hear me complain about not finding any cute strawberry fabric you can all tell me to shut my pie hole and make it myself!

• 1 straight piece at 7.25 inches, pvc pipe 1/2 inch
• 6 straight pieces at 3.25 inches, pvc pipe 1/2 inch (or you can make one longer for your forward grip like I did… mine was the last one to be cut, so I just left the extra inch or so that was leftover)
• 2 caps, 1/2 inch slip
• 2 elbows, 1/2 inch slip
• 2 tees, 1/2 inch slip

If you live in my area, Kroger is having a sale on mini marshmallows which are needed for ammo. Marshmallows as ammo… talk about an oxymoron, but those soft and seemingly harmless pellets hurt when they’re blown hard by these weapons. Oh, I forgot to say how to load ammo… put a mini marshmallow in the mouth piece and then blow. Simple, yeah? You would think that you need to plug the hole going back to the back grip, but you don’t need to worry. The capped end provides the pressure needed to blow the ammo out the tube that doesn’t have a cap.

Another tip… push the marshmallow in a little bit so that it doesn’t touch your tongue before you blow. It keeps the marshmallows from getting sticky so you can use them again and it keeps you from inhaling them accidentally so you don’t choke and die.

One more tip…play outside. I’m paranoid that we have forgotten mini marshmallows in our living room. When they’re wet and somebody steps on them, they are hard to get out of the carpet.

On second thought… marshmallows are nasty little buggers.

Second, Sarah and I are totally addicted to the Ting Tings lately (their song “Shut Up and Let Me Go” is in an ipod commercial). We did Gwen for a while, and we still go back to her in the car, but now when I walk by Sarah’s room I can hear “Imagine all the girls… ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah” blaring. Josh knows what we like and turned us on to them. But it’s a good thing Sarah has him to also expose her to a variety of really great music. She eats everything up that he teaches her. She has a drum pad that she practices on, she learned a song on the ukulele, and yesterday I heard her playing the electric bass. I gotta figure out how to do the hyper text (and be cool like Juli and Angry Asian and Homemade by Jill and Josh) to link to the video he posted. **I know how to use the link button now!! Check out my girl playing her grandpa’s Kamaka. (Thanks papa’!)

Now for the crafty pics…

First set has really soft yellow felt with bunnies that a friend (M) gave me in a big bag of fabric scraps she didn’t want anymore. I only had a little left and I really wanted to make something the baby could touch, so I made a soft toy. B is for baby, burp, bunny or Bailey (name of the baby that is coming in October… yeah, they already got her name). Then when you flip the burp cloth or the soft toy it’s a D for Daddy. (Or a q or a p… you get the idea.) The socks will probably fall apart… I didn’t stitch around the hearts because the fabric is stretchy and I’m just not savvy enough on the sewing machine to do stretchy. So it’s just for looks.



The next set is more of the same with some extra touches. I sewed ribbon on one edge of the fabric on the burp cloth. I made a hair bow clip with the same ribbon. And then I got an original thought for the socks. I crocheted pieces of fabric to the edge. It’s really easy to crochet the edge of socks and I’ve seen people do it with chain stitches and beads for little girls, but beads and babies don’t mix (as if pieces of fabric can’t get caught in a baby’s airway). I have no idea if these fabric pieces are secure enough. Who knows what will happen when they get washed. So it seems that these socks are for looks, too. I predict that the baby I made this for will have an outfit for each day of every month and year and so will only need to wear the socks once anyway… heh heh. This set has one other piece coming so I’ll post it when I’m done.




And that’s all the pics I have for you today.

I want to thank Josh’s Grandma for buying me this sewing machine years ago… without it I would not be able to escape into a craft world. And thanks to Josh’s mom for taking the time to teach me how to sew… one thing I remember is that “spit” is one of the tools of the trade. And then the German lady I took a class from when I was pregnant with my first baby… she deserves my thanks, too. She helped me learn how to make stuff from a pattern… kind of.

Now that the kids are older, I am able to help them make little sewing projects, too. Sarah made a soft bookmark out of the fabric scraps after cutting out a pattern for a shirt we’re making for her. (She said, “Now I just need a book to put it in.”) Who knows if we’ll be able to make it through this pattern and still be related to each other. We’ve already had little spats just cutting out the pieces. Uh, Mom… What? I don’t know if this is the right line. Did you cut it already? Just a little. Why didn’t you ask me before you cut it if you weren’t sure?

Before Zoe monopolized my day and night by being sick, I managed to make these less-than-perfect-but-still-cute baby gifts.

I used Wonder Under to get the fabric squares ironed to the front and back of the onesie. Then I zigzag stitched around the edges.

I like the banana-butt… inspired by the onesie I bought in a store for my nephew. (Front said “I heart Mommy” and back bottom said “Mommy hearts Me”.) I got the onesies from Target, they are Circo brand… much nicer than the Gerber ones. I got the cloth diapers at Target, too, and these pics were taken before I ironed/stitched some squares to the opposite end of the fabric encased end. So… they got cuter, but you’ll have to use your imagination.