Recycled Rice Bags

I've made these bags before but each time I make them I improve the design a bit. This time I lined the handles in binding (one in red one in green) and I really love how it makes the bag seem more complete. It. also makes the bags more comfortable to hold on your shoulder. Next time I think I may use the binding on the entire top edge of the back.

Renaissance Restorations T-Shirts

Now taking orders for t-shirts for your workers. Low low price of 15$ each.
Can include "GO FASTER" logo on back and "Frankie" name tag on pocket.
Seriously...

This one was made for the boss though for his birthday. Apparently he needs more now though for his workers.

Fred and Wilma Flinstone

A bit late but here is our halloween costumes this year. I didn't really have time to make them so I found a XXXL dress at the thrift store for Wilma and sent my husband to the fabric store for his Fred outfit on Halloween. The thrift store dress was cut and sewed quickly on Halloween and tied at the top. I then made the Fred costume by essentially sewing a tube, cutting armholes, a head hole and using s sharpie to make the triangles. Cutting the tie was even easier and we were ready to head out in a awesome Halloween costumes. I think I spent about and hour and a half on both of these together, but surprising they came out pretty well.

I hate moving

But who does like moving? I am however looking forward to decorating a new place, but I will miss the view

Embroidered Wedding Certificate

I have officially been married a whole year already! We decided not to really exchange gifts and to go camping instead. Being me though I still had to make something.
Somewhere online I saw a picture of a queen-size wedding certificate quilt. It was beautiful and something I imagined would be passed down along generations. I don't really have the skills (or time) for a project like that so instead I decided to embroider a stylized wedding certificate. Some web searches of vintage wedding certificates gave me a few ideas and I sketched out my design. I found a square of fabric and my embroidery hoop, relearned a few stitches and was able to make this. I ended up finishing this at work the day of our anniversary, going to the store after work to find a frame (frame size is 16' x 20'!!!) and showing it to Nate framed, however still wrinkled and unwashed. Oh well, he still loved it anyways.

Overall Im really happy with this project and it inspires me to make something similar for friends and family for their wedding or anniversary.

Quilt-a-long

So I joined a quilt-along at Crazy Mom Quilts , however, I have yet to start it. Oops. I will tonight though I hope. It's just a simple nine-patch and can be scrappy so I figured it be a great way to use up some of my fabric scraps. I think I'm only 3 days behind so 3 blocks should be easy enough to do tonight.
This is Crazy Mom Quilts second quilt-a-long like this. Her first quilt came out great, so hopefully something I make will be half as nice.

Seagulls

So when my roommate moved out she left six or so blue metal panels in the basement. I kept them because I figured I could do something crafty with them, and if I never did then an easy trip to the Goodwill would dispose of them. Flipping through a catalog, most likely Pier 1 or Pottery Barn I found a cool art print of a bike stencil that spanned to large square panels. Inspiration hit and I knew I could stencil something large on two or three of these panels to create some sort of art. My current house has lots of empty wall space so I knew I could find a spot for them. I have a slight obsession with seagulls so I found a cool seagull stencil, taped an outline on the panels and started painting away. It only took an afternoon and I had a brand new piece of art. We decided to hang it about the bed as a mock headboard.

(please ignore dead husband in the picture I was planning on disposing of the body later today)

T-shirt Quilt

My friend Kylie's birthday was coming up and she's also the crafty type (but more on the artsy side of that realm) and I knew I wanted to make her a quilt. I went through my fabric stash and didn't really see anything that popped out at me. Then I went through a stash of old clothes to see if anything there might work. Voila! Nate's old t-shirts were perfect. They were soft, colorful and destined for a better life than the goodwill pile. I also found a multicolored heart knit fabric that I knew Kylie would love and stitched them all together to make this quilt. I used four t-shirts for the back and the heart fabric and two t-shirts for the front and then cut out a letters cool owl logo from some of the t-shirt remains and made the quilt distinctly Kylie's.

It's not humongous but perfect for one person to curl up in and its super warm (the inside layer is fleece) so perfect for chilly evenings.

Pop Tab Change Purse

A friend gave me a pop tab purse from Brazil. (thanks Laura!) Its quite amazing and looks like the tabs were crocheted together and then the entire purse was lined. I wanted to recreate this, but on a much smaller level as I lack the millions of tabs necessary as well as the patience to make something too big. So using orange embroidery tread and a small crochet needle I attached tabs together to create a small change purse. My lucky sister/saddlebag got to receive it for her birthday this year.

It's about time

Okay, so perhaps its been nearly two months since I've posted... ooops. That doesn't mean I haven't made anything though. Check out this quilt I made my boss(and friend) at work for her birthday. Most of the fabric is from sheets found at thrift stores. I believe the print is by Alexander Henry and was something my mom gave me.


Its a good size to bring to the beach or park, or to just use as an extra blanket.


It didn't take too long, but I unfortunately procrastinated and finished hand sewing the binding at work an hour before I started on the day of her birthday.

Forks + Vise-Grips + unmarked plants + inspiration =

A great new way to label your plants

I've been slowly turning my front living room into an herb garden. Some plants I bought as small seedlings, but a few I am trying to grow from seed. I can remember the names of the larger plants but I can't tell the difference between a catnip sprout or a thyme sprout. I needed markers for my plants , but didn't want the garden variety plastic markers or even marked tongue depressors. Browsing the web I came upon these lovely spoon and fork markers. This was all the inspiration I needed to create my very own plant markers. Using some old silver plated forks I had, a pair of vise grips (I bet pliers would have worked better if I could have found them), some nice paper and a free front I found here (I used Olde English found under medieval) I created my masterpiece.
I still need a few more forks to label everything, but my husband still has some in his car (don't ask why we keep our silver plate forks there, its a long story), so when he gets home I can finish these.
It really is fairly easy to bend the prongs, although my palms are a bit sore. I'm not sure if one needs silver or silver plate for this to work, as those are usually a softer metal ( i think), or if any old fork will suffice.

Plastic Beach Bag in Progess

Yes, plastic bags can be recycled, and yes, I could be better at remember my millions of reusable bags at the grocery store, but when I get too many plastic bags; i.e. the cabinet under the sink is overflowing with them, this is what I do:



I crochet them into reusable bags. Currently I'm working on a "beach" bag. I'm not the best crocheter ever, but the plastic yarn (plarn) seems to be fairly forgiving. The most complicated part is making the "plarn". Its not even that complicated, mostly just labor intensive.
It's ultimate recycling I think, which is my favorite way to craft.

Bottlecap art

I save pretty much everything, i.e.plastic bags, bottle caps, glass bottles, coffee tins, bread tags, etc., pretty much anything that could be used for some sort of crafty purpose. After awhile I amassed quite a collection of beer caps. Last winter I created a mirror re purposing an old IKEA mirror into a bottlecapped mirror hot gluing the bottle caps and then later grouting it. I gave it to my beer loving roommate for Christmas and he loved it. Lucky for my its hanging in a shared living space so I get to look at it for a while longer.

This essentially wiped out my bottle cap collection for awhile, but I finally decided I had too many again and moved on to the next project.

I needed art for my bare living room so I used my many red-hued caps to create a heart shape on particle board and then filled the edges with mostly green, siliver and black caps. I still need to figure out a way to hang it but for now it leans against the fireplace.














I really love how it's a mosiac that from a distance doesn't scream bottlecaps or that perhaps we drink too much beer. Between these two projects only one of the caps was a soda cap...

My bookmarks

Google and gmail - How did the internet world survive before google?

Craftster.org - The BEST craft forum ever, I've been a member since '05 and checked it out before then even, I can check out what everyone else is crafting and get most of my inspiration from here, although I rarely post, but should I suppose

Pandora.com - not sure what to listen to or too lazy to make a playlist of your own music on your media player... I listen to Pandora a little too much sometimes

Notmartha.org - A blog I check daily... I'm not always sure why but I love her blog and its the only one actually bookmarked, she does the occasional crafty thing and also lives in Seattle so I suppose that what keeps me interested

vintagericrac.blogspot.com - another blog I frequent often, this woman does some really cool work with selvedges from fabric, among other things

craigslist.org - check for free stuff, get a job, an apartment or shop for furniture, there is always something great to find

Works in Progress

WIPS and thing Ideas in progress too...

• Baby quilt for Sydney - using butterfly patterned fabric and yellow, perhaps cut into rectangles, then sewn into squares, criss-crossing and sewing into strips.. I suppose I need a nice fabric for the back and something for the center... definatley something washable... this will hopefully be for Sydneys 1st birthday which isnt until the end of summer thank goodness
• Red and Denim quilt for our bed - this was my first quilt top ever and I never finished it. ove the colors though and it'd make a great winter blanket. I still need a backing for it
  
• Tea Tin - has "ugly" sheep picture on it.. I plan on braiding plarn and then glueing it to the tin in a circle pattern, like this I found on etsy
• There are so many more but as of now I deem this the ones I'm actually thinking out
  

Saddlebags

Saddlebag: -noun
Often, saddlebags. excess fat around the hips and buttocks.

Not sure if you know this but the term saddlebag can be endearing. At least in my family it can be. Although it can be quite insulting at the same time. This is the name my sisters, brother and I call each other. "Hey Saddlebags! How's it going?" Or simply: "See ya, Bags." It stems from the movie Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. Ace (Jim Carrey) says at one point "Well, why don't you cry about it. Saddlebags."

Fast forward a few years, I live in Seattle, one sister in Boston, the other sister and brother in our hometown. Someone (I think Maddy) deemed me a Seattle or Seaddle Bag. So now I am (lovingly?) referred to as a Seaddle Bag.