Voting has started for the craftster papercraft challenge, go HERE to vote!
there are some really amazing entries, i'm so impressed with the variety of things people made for the challenge!
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
sparkly 3-D sacred heart challenge entry!
i missed thursday again!
this past week has felt so damn busy, time's just flown by! i decided to make myself be crafty, regardless of how i was feeling, which kind of backfired. i got a bunch of stuff done, but damn, i'm feeling it today!
one of the things i did was create an entry for the papercrafts challenge on craftster.org. i had my project all planned out, but didn't think i'd have time, so i wasn't going to enter. then racky got on my case, and started nagging... i'm so glad i did it, and i finished in the nick of time!
the challenge was called "chinese menu", and the idea was, like a chinese food menu, you could choose between various supply options in each category. you had to pick one thing from column A, and two things from column B. these were my options!
Column A
take out menu
newspaper
junk mail
old postcard
Column B
magazine or catalog
phone book
childrens' book
sheet music
advertisement flyer
brown paper bag
as soon as i saw the criteria for the challenge, and read newsprint, i thought papermache! that's what you do with newsprint! (i also used sheet music, phone book pages, and fliers)
keep in mind that i can remember only 2 papermache projects i've ever done in my life - a big pig shaped piggy bank in grade 5, that never dried and eventually they all got moldy and we threw them all out, and a giant 2.5' tall (yes, 2.5 feet!) boot that i made in high school, over 10 years ago now (i'm old, i know! ;D).
but i remembered the basics. i started out cutting a heart shape out of heavy duty cardboard, and crumpling up balls of newspaper. i used an excessive amount of masking tape, and taped all of the balls to the cardboard.
then i hauled out the flour and water mixture and went to town!
i was really trying to avoid pages with a lot of images or ads on them, so i ended up using the classifieds. this step took FOREVER to dry, i didn't think i'd get this done because of it! i would have liked to have done another layer or two, to even it out a bit, but there just wasn't time. of course, my sister told me the "put it in the oven" trick AFTER it was finally dried!
once it was dry i sanded it to get rid of the sharper edges of dried papermache, and painted it with watered down acrylic paint. i wiped off paint, so that you can still see the newsprint below.
(i used Kroma cadmium dark red. kroma's a fabulous local paint manufacturer)
after the paint was dry, i sprayed the heart with a matte medium and sprinkled it with glitter. glitter makes EVERY project better! ;D
then i started prepping the non-heart pieces!
i took a piece of cardstock and sprayed it excessively with walnut ink (tsukinek antiquing solution) on both sides. i wanted the brown shade to be mottled, so i rubbed the ink around with a piece of scrap fabric. once that was dry, i printed sheet music out on it that i'd found from google images. i didn't use any of the sheet music i already had, because i needed the paper to be sturdy, and because i needed it to be printed landscape for the extra length to fit around the heart. as it was, i had to join two 11" pieces for each twist.
i cut the paper into 1/2" strips.
i ripped some pages out of our very old yellow pages for the flames, choosing to use the pages that listed churches and other places of worship. i thought that was fitting. i brushed the yellow pages with a watered down yellow paint (kroma arylide yellow).
then i went through the fliers in the recycling bin and ripped out pictures that were red, yellow or orange in tone. they all ended up being from supermarket fliers, tomatoes, oranges and a beef roast!
i brushed the flier images with a watered down combination of the red and yellow paints.
once the flier images and the yellow pages were dry, i ripped them into slightly triangular shapes for the flames. i gathered them together and crunched them up, and used even more masking tape to attach them to the back of the heart.
then i sprayed the entire piece with a few layers of satin gloss.
seriously, DON'T do this inside, even if it IS 2am!
once that was dry, i added the thorns/vines. i took the 1/2" strips of brown paper and started twisting each end in the opposite direction. because i didn't want to wait for glue to dry, i attached two stripe together with fiskars photo mounts! (it was 2am, okay?). i wrapped the sheet music vines around the heart, adhering them with yet more masking tape.
and then i sprayed the whole thing again, multiple times, with satin medium! i would have preferred gloss, actually, especially with the glitter (it really popped when the paint was wet!), but i can't find any in my disater of a studio!
and it was done!
hanging in my bathroom, where it was intended for!
(if you want to see more pics of my bathroom, there are some older ones here!)
so what do you think? i had a lot of fun making this, and i think i'd like to play around with papermache more.voting will start tomorrow! voting has started!
this past week has felt so damn busy, time's just flown by! i decided to make myself be crafty, regardless of how i was feeling, which kind of backfired. i got a bunch of stuff done, but damn, i'm feeling it today!
one of the things i did was create an entry for the papercrafts challenge on craftster.org. i had my project all planned out, but didn't think i'd have time, so i wasn't going to enter. then racky got on my case, and started nagging... i'm so glad i did it, and i finished in the nick of time!
the challenge was called "chinese menu", and the idea was, like a chinese food menu, you could choose between various supply options in each category. you had to pick one thing from column A, and two things from column B. these were my options!
Column A
take out menu
newspaper
junk mail
old postcard
Column B
magazine or catalog
phone book
childrens' book
sheet music
advertisement flyer
brown paper bag
as soon as i saw the criteria for the challenge, and read newsprint, i thought papermache! that's what you do with newsprint! (i also used sheet music, phone book pages, and fliers)
keep in mind that i can remember only 2 papermache projects i've ever done in my life - a big pig shaped piggy bank in grade 5, that never dried and eventually they all got moldy and we threw them all out, and a giant 2.5' tall (yes, 2.5 feet!) boot that i made in high school, over 10 years ago now (i'm old, i know! ;D).
but i remembered the basics. i started out cutting a heart shape out of heavy duty cardboard, and crumpling up balls of newspaper. i used an excessive amount of masking tape, and taped all of the balls to the cardboard.
then i hauled out the flour and water mixture and went to town!
i was really trying to avoid pages with a lot of images or ads on them, so i ended up using the classifieds. this step took FOREVER to dry, i didn't think i'd get this done because of it! i would have liked to have done another layer or two, to even it out a bit, but there just wasn't time. of course, my sister told me the "put it in the oven" trick AFTER it was finally dried!
once it was dry i sanded it to get rid of the sharper edges of dried papermache, and painted it with watered down acrylic paint. i wiped off paint, so that you can still see the newsprint below.
(i used Kroma cadmium dark red. kroma's a fabulous local paint manufacturer)
after the paint was dry, i sprayed the heart with a matte medium and sprinkled it with glitter. glitter makes EVERY project better! ;D
then i started prepping the non-heart pieces!
i took a piece of cardstock and sprayed it excessively with walnut ink (tsukinek antiquing solution) on both sides. i wanted the brown shade to be mottled, so i rubbed the ink around with a piece of scrap fabric. once that was dry, i printed sheet music out on it that i'd found from google images. i didn't use any of the sheet music i already had, because i needed the paper to be sturdy, and because i needed it to be printed landscape for the extra length to fit around the heart. as it was, i had to join two 11" pieces for each twist.
i cut the paper into 1/2" strips.
i ripped some pages out of our very old yellow pages for the flames, choosing to use the pages that listed churches and other places of worship. i thought that was fitting. i brushed the yellow pages with a watered down yellow paint (kroma arylide yellow).
then i went through the fliers in the recycling bin and ripped out pictures that were red, yellow or orange in tone. they all ended up being from supermarket fliers, tomatoes, oranges and a beef roast!
i brushed the flier images with a watered down combination of the red and yellow paints.
once the flier images and the yellow pages were dry, i ripped them into slightly triangular shapes for the flames. i gathered them together and crunched them up, and used even more masking tape to attach them to the back of the heart.
then i sprayed the entire piece with a few layers of satin gloss.
seriously, DON'T do this inside, even if it IS 2am!
once that was dry, i added the thorns/vines. i took the 1/2" strips of brown paper and started twisting each end in the opposite direction. because i didn't want to wait for glue to dry, i attached two stripe together with fiskars photo mounts! (it was 2am, okay?). i wrapped the sheet music vines around the heart, adhering them with yet more masking tape.
and then i sprayed the whole thing again, multiple times, with satin medium! i would have preferred gloss, actually, especially with the glitter (it really popped when the paint was wet!), but i can't find any in my disater of a studio!
and it was done!
hanging in my bathroom, where it was intended for!
(if you want to see more pics of my bathroom, there are some older ones here!)
so what do you think? i had a lot of fun making this, and i think i'd like to play around with papermache more.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
valentines loveliness!!
just a quickie, because i should be in bed right now! (i've gotten myself onto a nocturnal schedule again, and i'm trying to break it!)
but i wanted to show what i've been working on. kinda.
i signed up for the valentine classroom card swap on craftster because i LOVE valentines! i hate all the consumerism of valentine's day, but i love handmade things. i love the kitschyness, and i love any opportunity to tell people that they're loved. every year i send out valentines, and i figured that with the swap, i'd just make more! (plus, i'm trying to force myself to craft, no matter how terrible i feel, remember?)
i had my valentines all figured out already, i had a brainstorm back in december, but then i found the more fabulous scrapbooking paper, so i changed them slightly to incorporate it.
following the swap thread, people were chatting about making boxes to hold their valentines, like we used to in grade school. i decided to make a little pouch for all mine, and this is what i ended up with.
it's pale pink upholstery weight vinyl stamped with a ton of stamps in royal purple, fuscia pink, black cherry, and vibrant violet stazOn ink. after i'd stamped it, i stitched all over with three different colours of thread, pink, fuscia and purple, and stitched it together. it has a vintage dead stock zipper, as per usual (i love vintage zippers!)
and here it is with a stack of valentines!
the stack on the right is all the US addresses, and the stack inside it are the canadian and international addresses. i made over 60 valentines! i definitely didn't intend to make that many, i started out with 50, and that seemed like a lot, and then i ran short!
but i wanted to show what i've been working on. kinda.
i signed up for the valentine classroom card swap on craftster because i LOVE valentines! i hate all the consumerism of valentine's day, but i love handmade things. i love the kitschyness, and i love any opportunity to tell people that they're loved. every year i send out valentines, and i figured that with the swap, i'd just make more! (plus, i'm trying to force myself to craft, no matter how terrible i feel, remember?)
i had my valentines all figured out already, i had a brainstorm back in december, but then i found the more fabulous scrapbooking paper, so i changed them slightly to incorporate it.
following the swap thread, people were chatting about making boxes to hold their valentines, like we used to in grade school. i decided to make a little pouch for all mine, and this is what i ended up with.
it's pale pink upholstery weight vinyl stamped with a ton of stamps in royal purple, fuscia pink, black cherry, and vibrant violet stazOn ink. after i'd stamped it, i stitched all over with three different colours of thread, pink, fuscia and purple, and stitched it together. it has a vintage dead stock zipper, as per usual (i love vintage zippers!)
and here it is with a stack of valentines!
the stack on the right is all the US addresses, and the stack inside it are the canadian and international addresses. i made over 60 valentines! i definitely didn't intend to make that many, i started out with 50, and that seemed like a lot, and then i ran short!
Friday, January 23, 2009
daily crafting and embroidery.
i've been doing really good with the daily crafting thing. some days it's not physical crafting, it's setting up a swap, or reading a craft book or magazine (the new sumerset studios is FINALLY on the shelves - why is it always so late!?), or not so fun crafting, like hemming my little brother's pants, but at least i'm doing SOMETHING every day!
i did finish my bad bird mermaid pattern from andrea zuill's blog that i mentioned a while ago, i just haven't posted it. i guess i should do that, huh?
she actually reminds me of a friend of mine, i think it's lovely curve of her fce and the shades of colour in her hair.
speaking of her hair, i LOVE it! it's chain stitch, lots and lots of chain stitch, and at the time it felt like it was never ending (i made my stitches WAY too small, it took forever), i do love the results. (i kinda wish i'd done the flower in lighter colours though....)
i first tried doing the chain stitch sidebyside for the bangs of the sublime stitching lisa petrucci flower i embroidered on one of the bibs that i made nyxxie, and it's such a fun texture.
i was originally going to do a scallop type stitch on the tail, and fill it in entirely, but i tried it, and wasn't happy with it. so i stuck with the pattern lines!
i really love this mermaid! i'm not sure what i'll do with it, but it'll find a home eventually! i had a lot of problems with puckering on this piece, which has never happened before. these photos were taken after MUCH blocking and pressing, and you can still kind of see some puckering. blegh. she still turned out fabulous though!
(speaking of andrea zuill, did you see january's free pattern? gorgeous! i can't wait to stitch it!)
i'm really itching to do more embroidery right now! i joined the valentine's tea towel swap (oh, the drama of finding good towels in canada! god!), and i'm doing a private one as well. and i have a few ideas for other embroidery projects that i'm itching to get started on too, both of them are going to be huge, i need to get started before i get scared!
i did finish my bad bird mermaid pattern from andrea zuill's blog that i mentioned a while ago, i just haven't posted it. i guess i should do that, huh?
she actually reminds me of a friend of mine, i think it's lovely curve of her fce and the shades of colour in her hair.
speaking of her hair, i LOVE it! it's chain stitch, lots and lots of chain stitch, and at the time it felt like it was never ending (i made my stitches WAY too small, it took forever), i do love the results. (i kinda wish i'd done the flower in lighter colours though....)
i first tried doing the chain stitch sidebyside for the bangs of the sublime stitching lisa petrucci flower i embroidered on one of the bibs that i made nyxxie, and it's such a fun texture.
i was originally going to do a scallop type stitch on the tail, and fill it in entirely, but i tried it, and wasn't happy with it. so i stuck with the pattern lines!
i really love this mermaid! i'm not sure what i'll do with it, but it'll find a home eventually! i had a lot of problems with puckering on this piece, which has never happened before. these photos were taken after MUCH blocking and pressing, and you can still kind of see some puckering. blegh. she still turned out fabulous though!
(speaking of andrea zuill, did you see january's free pattern? gorgeous! i can't wait to stitch it!)
i'm really itching to do more embroidery right now! i joined the valentine's tea towel swap (oh, the drama of finding good towels in canada! god!), and i'm doing a private one as well. and i have a few ideas for other embroidery projects that i'm itching to get started on too, both of them are going to be huge, i need to get started before i get scared!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
things i love, craftster best of 2008, and a bit of an update!
i've been very neglectful of this blog lately, and of blogs that i follow! healthwise i haven't been doing too well, i seem to just get progressively worse, no matter what we try. i've decided that "horrid" is a particularly apt word!
but there are still plenty of things to love out there! i missed last week, so here's a love list for both -
* rows of small buttons. i love how it looks! i noticed a trend in all of the clothes i've bought lately - my new winter coat has a row of buttons on each cuff, the AMAZING black leather gloves i got on sale have tiny little leather covered ball buttons along the wrists, the fingerless gloves i bought have rows of buttons, and the new stripey knee highs i bought have rows of buttons too!
* stazOn ink. when you see my valentines, you'll understand!
* no more snow! i love the snow, but damn, being stuck at home was starting to get old!
* codeine. opiates are my new best friend! see above for my new love of the word "horrid", these two loves are related!
* polka dots. just in general. i love polka dots. i bought fabric for pencil skirt with big chunky polka dots.
* coloured animal prints. same as polka dots (but the fabric was animal print!)
* the cheesiness of valentine's day!
* acrylic and plexiglass. i've been obsessed with this for SO LONG! i took an acrylics class in jr high, and then moved after the first year. i'm glad we moved here, but i've always regretted that i didn't get to take more acrylics classes! truthfully, i'm not sure i would have, as the teacher was a complete jerk (typical old school shop teacher who didn't think girls should take shop). today i bought a book that i've been eying for ages, Plexi Class. it's super inspiring!
* the jewelery that this etsy artisan makes, it's incredible. i bought a few pieces from her and i adore them. she's local too, which is always exciting!
* january sales. both my joy and my curse!
i've been trying to force myself to keep up with things, but i can only manage so many at a time! i'm trying to get caught up on stuff on craftster (check out the new changes! i love it! amnd batgirl/lori's writing awesome blog posts now!), so most of my online time has been spent there. i've been trying to get myself back into swapping and papercrafts, so i'm running a few swaps right now, the alphabet atc STU swap (i keep trying to write STFU!), and the love/hate atc swap in time for valentines day. the love/hate swap is still open, signups end at midnight PST tomorrow (friday)!
craftster also did a best of 2008 list that's really awesome, and you should definitely check it out! one of my projects was in it, the machine embroidered buttons i made for the brother campaign! they're not quite as exciting as my project that was in the best of 2007, so i guess i'm lucky that the machine embroidery board is small!
here are a few other MUCH MORE AMAZING favourites of mine from the list!
embroidered jelly fish bubble skirt - oh my freakin god!
bleached skeleton onesie - why didn't i ever think of this! it's awesome! it would have been perfect for torrin when he was littler!
ballet flats - one day i'll get around to trying these!
Re-imagining Alice in Wonderland - these costumes are AMAZING! absolutely incredible.
felted stone rug - i want one of these so bad!
anatomical heart batik - i'm so fascinated by batik, and i LOOVE anatomical hearts!
veins, hearts and ovaries silk screened fabric - ohmygod incredible! i love this, i want a skirt made out of it so bad.
cast iron squid sculpture - i hadn't seen this before the list, but it's incredible!
woodburned skull, raven and tulip - this is incredible. just when you think that woodburning is totally kitschy, you see this.
lady adventurer steampunk atcs - one day i WILL try beeswax! these are super inspirational!
a book of hope - this is a fabulous fundraiser that alteredmommy put together, with pages from so many amazing craftsters.
freemotion embroidery of a spanking - this is gorgeous! i love freemotion embroidery like this.
see? super inspirational!
but there are still plenty of things to love out there! i missed last week, so here's a love list for both -
* rows of small buttons. i love how it looks! i noticed a trend in all of the clothes i've bought lately - my new winter coat has a row of buttons on each cuff, the AMAZING black leather gloves i got on sale have tiny little leather covered ball buttons along the wrists, the fingerless gloves i bought have rows of buttons, and the new stripey knee highs i bought have rows of buttons too!
* stazOn ink. when you see my valentines, you'll understand!
* no more snow! i love the snow, but damn, being stuck at home was starting to get old!
* codeine. opiates are my new best friend! see above for my new love of the word "horrid", these two loves are related!
* polka dots. just in general. i love polka dots. i bought fabric for pencil skirt with big chunky polka dots.
* coloured animal prints. same as polka dots (but the fabric was animal print!)
* the cheesiness of valentine's day!
* acrylic and plexiglass. i've been obsessed with this for SO LONG! i took an acrylics class in jr high, and then moved after the first year. i'm glad we moved here, but i've always regretted that i didn't get to take more acrylics classes! truthfully, i'm not sure i would have, as the teacher was a complete jerk (typical old school shop teacher who didn't think girls should take shop). today i bought a book that i've been eying for ages, Plexi Class. it's super inspiring!
* the jewelery that this etsy artisan makes, it's incredible. i bought a few pieces from her and i adore them. she's local too, which is always exciting!
* january sales. both my joy and my curse!
i've been trying to force myself to keep up with things, but i can only manage so many at a time! i'm trying to get caught up on stuff on craftster (check out the new changes! i love it! amnd batgirl/lori's writing awesome blog posts now!), so most of my online time has been spent there. i've been trying to get myself back into swapping and papercrafts, so i'm running a few swaps right now, the alphabet atc STU swap (i keep trying to write STFU!), and the love/hate atc swap in time for valentines day. the love/hate swap is still open, signups end at midnight PST tomorrow (friday)!
craftster also did a best of 2008 list that's really awesome, and you should definitely check it out! one of my projects was in it, the machine embroidered buttons i made for the brother campaign! they're not quite as exciting as my project that was in the best of 2007, so i guess i'm lucky that the machine embroidery board is small!
here are a few other MUCH MORE AMAZING favourites of mine from the list!
embroidered jelly fish bubble skirt - oh my freakin god!
bleached skeleton onesie - why didn't i ever think of this! it's awesome! it would have been perfect for torrin when he was littler!
ballet flats - one day i'll get around to trying these!
Re-imagining Alice in Wonderland - these costumes are AMAZING! absolutely incredible.
felted stone rug - i want one of these so bad!
anatomical heart batik - i'm so fascinated by batik, and i LOOVE anatomical hearts!
veins, hearts and ovaries silk screened fabric - ohmygod incredible! i love this, i want a skirt made out of it so bad.
cast iron squid sculpture - i hadn't seen this before the list, but it's incredible!
woodburned skull, raven and tulip - this is incredible. just when you think that woodburning is totally kitschy, you see this.
lady adventurer steampunk atcs - one day i WILL try beeswax! these are super inspirational!
a book of hope - this is a fabulous fundraiser that alteredmommy put together, with pages from so many amazing craftsters.
freemotion embroidery of a spanking - this is gorgeous! i love freemotion embroidery like this.
see? super inspirational!
Friday, January 9, 2009
i need to stop shopping..... but then i'd miss amazing things!
i found the COOLEST fabric today! it was super expensive, but i couldn't resist it.
it's kind of like oilcloth, but a bit sturdier and fancier i think. it's european, (hence the priciness!) and it's cotton fabric that's coated, practically saturated, with plastic/vinyl coating.
and it's GREY LEOPARD PRINT!!
i LOOOOOVE leopard print, but i'm really not into browns, and coloured leopard print is hard to find!
i have to find the perfect project for it, for now i'm just going to stroke it lovingly....
i only went in there to buy solid coloured kona for embroidery. i'm bored of embroidering on white, and nowhere around me has decent quality solids, so i wanted to stock up while i was in richmond going to ikea. the only other thing i bought was a metre of an alexander henry skull/lighting bolt print (fun purse lining!), so i didn't go TOOO overboard, it just seemed that way once they'd rung it up!
i know lots of people spend $20 a metre on fabric, but i'm cheap, and love bargains, so it seemed like a lot! i can only remember one other time in my life that i bought fabric that expensive, it was neon pink and black zebra print spandex. i saw it, fell in love with it, went home, obsessed over it it for weeks, then finally went back and bought a metre and made myself tights. i friggin love those tights. and i'm going to love whatever i make out of this fabric too!
it's kind of like oilcloth, but a bit sturdier and fancier i think. it's european, (hence the priciness!) and it's cotton fabric that's coated, practically saturated, with plastic/vinyl coating.
and it's GREY LEOPARD PRINT!!
i LOOOOOVE leopard print, but i'm really not into browns, and coloured leopard print is hard to find!
i have to find the perfect project for it, for now i'm just going to stroke it lovingly....
i only went in there to buy solid coloured kona for embroidery. i'm bored of embroidering on white, and nowhere around me has decent quality solids, so i wanted to stock up while i was in richmond going to ikea. the only other thing i bought was a metre of an alexander henry skull/lighting bolt print (fun purse lining!), so i didn't go TOOO overboard, it just seemed that way once they'd rung it up!
i know lots of people spend $20 a metre on fabric, but i'm cheap, and love bargains, so it seemed like a lot! i can only remember one other time in my life that i bought fabric that expensive, it was neon pink and black zebra print spandex. i saw it, fell in love with it, went home, obsessed over it it for weeks, then finally went back and bought a metre and made myself tights. i friggin love those tights. and i'm going to love whatever i make out of this fabric too!
Thursday, January 8, 2009
things i love thursday!
11:56pm, i barely made it!
i haven't been blogging as much the last few days because i felt pretty yucky, and i've been trying to get caught up on stuff at craftster.org. however,i HAVE been crafting! i've been working on my current embroidery project, creating the pattern for another, planning valentines, and searching for tea towels for the embroidered tea towel swap.
i've managed to do something crafty every day, and that makes happy!
so! things i love thursday!
- daily crafting, obviously!
- boxing day sales at the scrapbooking stores! i don't think y'all in the US have these massive boxing day sales, you guys have yours after your thanksgiving, but in canada, they're huge. i never go anywhere on boxing day, because the crowds just aren't worth it to me, but most stores have extended their sales this year (because of the snow, most likely!) and today i finally got to go check them out. i managed to score some awesome technique tuesday stamps, which normally i can NEVER afford ($60 for one of the sets i like!), as well as a neat tag shaped punch, TWO melting pots for less than $10 each (one's for angie!), a whole bunch of rub ons, some non-cheesy xmas stamps, and so many more goodies!
- getting my car out of the snow! we've had incredible amounts of snow here, and it's been stuck for DAYS. it was completely buried for the first few weeks, then we unburied it, then it snowed AGAIN, then we unburied it, then i got it stuck in our driveway, then the snow started to melt so i'd be able to get it out, then the city plowed our street for the first time in weeks and blocked it in again! i've been basically housebound for weeks, only going out when i was able to borrow my mom's jeep in the evening, and i was starting to get a little cabin fever.
- my kitties! i know i say this every week, but it's TRUE every week! i had one day last week where i was miserable, absolutely miserable, a combination of med side affects and my regular health stuff. i felt so weak i couldn't even lift my hand to pet sofie sitting beside me. my babies were awesome, sofie curled up on my pillow for a bit, then right beside me, and louie curled up against my legs. such sweethearts.
- books! i'm so addicted to books and magazines, i just can't resist buying more and more, even as my shelves overflow higher and higher. any recommendations for good craft books? they're my biggest weakness!
i haven't been blogging as much the last few days because i felt pretty yucky, and i've been trying to get caught up on stuff at craftster.org. however,i HAVE been crafting! i've been working on my current embroidery project, creating the pattern for another, planning valentines, and searching for tea towels for the embroidered tea towel swap.
i've managed to do something crafty every day, and that makes happy!
so! things i love thursday!
- daily crafting, obviously!
- boxing day sales at the scrapbooking stores! i don't think y'all in the US have these massive boxing day sales, you guys have yours after your thanksgiving, but in canada, they're huge. i never go anywhere on boxing day, because the crowds just aren't worth it to me, but most stores have extended their sales this year (because of the snow, most likely!) and today i finally got to go check them out. i managed to score some awesome technique tuesday stamps, which normally i can NEVER afford ($60 for one of the sets i like!), as well as a neat tag shaped punch, TWO melting pots for less than $10 each (one's for angie!), a whole bunch of rub ons, some non-cheesy xmas stamps, and so many more goodies!
- getting my car out of the snow! we've had incredible amounts of snow here, and it's been stuck for DAYS. it was completely buried for the first few weeks, then we unburied it, then it snowed AGAIN, then we unburied it, then i got it stuck in our driveway, then the snow started to melt so i'd be able to get it out, then the city plowed our street for the first time in weeks and blocked it in again! i've been basically housebound for weeks, only going out when i was able to borrow my mom's jeep in the evening, and i was starting to get a little cabin fever.
- my kitties! i know i say this every week, but it's TRUE every week! i had one day last week where i was miserable, absolutely miserable, a combination of med side affects and my regular health stuff. i felt so weak i couldn't even lift my hand to pet sofie sitting beside me. my babies were awesome, sofie curled up on my pillow for a bit, then right beside me, and louie curled up against my legs. such sweethearts.
- books! i'm so addicted to books and magazines, i just can't resist buying more and more, even as my shelves overflow higher and higher. any recommendations for good craft books? they're my biggest weakness!
Friday, January 2, 2009
did you craft today?
what about yesterday?
last night we went to a family friend's for a new year's day dinner, and it was good time. pretty mellow, but great food, and it was good to see them.
before i left, i transferred the bad bird mermaid pattern from andrea zuill's blog to cotton, and took it with me. i did a bit of embroidery last night while everyone was visiting, and then this morning my mom and i had back to back massage therapy appointments, so i embroidered while she drove and during her appointment.
it's slow going, since i decided to make it complicated for myself, but it's cute, and i've managed to keep up with my new year's resolution for two whole days! (that sounds ridiculous, but the last time i resolved to cut back on my craft supply shopping, i forgot about it 2 days later!)
last night we went to a family friend's for a new year's day dinner, and it was good time. pretty mellow, but great food, and it was good to see them.
before i left, i transferred the bad bird mermaid pattern from andrea zuill's blog to cotton, and took it with me. i did a bit of embroidery last night while everyone was visiting, and then this morning my mom and i had back to back massage therapy appointments, so i embroidered while she drove and during her appointment.
it's slow going, since i decided to make it complicated for myself, but it's cute, and i've managed to keep up with my new year's resolution for two whole days! (that sounds ridiculous, but the last time i resolved to cut back on my craft supply shopping, i forgot about it 2 days later!)
Day 7 Giveaway at Alpha Stamps!
this is the best one yet! (well, in my opinion!)
it's kings and crowns, and since i looove crowns, i think it's awesome!
it includes this awesome crown stamp set, which are also available individually a little bit bigger, or as another stamp set a little bit smaller. the collage sheet in this package is Queen of Hearts #3, which has kings and queens of hearts from various vintage playing card decks, and a really cool new product, resin 3D crowns. but my FAVOURITE thing in today's giveaway package, which i so need to order some of (supposing i don't win it, of course!), is the clear printed tape with crowns on it! seriously, LOVE! that is so cool! they have two other designs as well, a brown curly one and a black one that reminds me of old iron gates (and i love old iron gates!). they don't say if they're glossy or matte, but the designs are so kick ass that i'd be willing to settle for glossy!
so go check it out!
you have until 11:59PST to leave a comment on the entry!
it's kings and crowns, and since i looove crowns, i think it's awesome!
it includes this awesome crown stamp set, which are also available individually a little bit bigger, or as another stamp set a little bit smaller. the collage sheet in this package is Queen of Hearts #3, which has kings and queens of hearts from various vintage playing card decks, and a really cool new product, resin 3D crowns. but my FAVOURITE thing in today's giveaway package, which i so need to order some of (supposing i don't win it, of course!), is the clear printed tape with crowns on it! seriously, LOVE! that is so cool! they have two other designs as well, a brown curly one and a black one that reminds me of old iron gates (and i love old iron gates!). they don't say if they're glossy or matte, but the designs are so kick ass that i'd be willing to settle for glossy!
so go check it out!
you have until 11:59PST to leave a comment on the entry!
Thursday, January 1, 2009
2008 round up!
what were your favourite projects of 2008?
i spent some time this morning going through the last years worth of blog posts (because i've been blogging for more than a year now, believe it or not!) picking out my favourite things that i've made.
i was aiming for my top 10, but i couldn't do it. i just have too many different TYPES of things i do!
so here's my list, complete with pictures and links. (sorted by style/type, not by favourites!)
the virgin mary chunky page, with the small statue and the niche cut out
the red velvet sacred heart chunky page, complete with flames
the atcs that i made for the no paper atc swap, particularly the acetate ones. i love how they turned out.
the altoid tin i made for a-roze in the trick or treat altoid tin swap, including the little altered book that was tucked inside
funfur and vinyl flying love monsters. gah, i love these guys so much!
the ginkgo vinyl carry on bag that i made for miranda when she came to visit last spring
the fat is gorgeous vinyl bag i made for pam's fundraiser at work
the blue bird vinyl bag that i made for gingerquilts, using the image from jean's wedding totes
pretty much everything i made for the bird swap!
the hand embroidered baby bibs that i made for angie and warren
the hand embroidered pillow that i made for jean and camden
pretty much everything that i made for the master craftsters campaign
the machine embroidered vinyl baby bibs i made in december for torrin
myhalloween costume! and as part of that, probably the most used and loved thing i made this year - the sample hoodie i made to test the sleeves. i didn't take pictures of it, because black clothing never photographs well, but i wear it almost constantly, i love it so much. the sleeves are a lot less poofy than in the pink hoodie, but they're cut the same way.
my anti-olympics and my queer cross stitch pieces
my femme skirt, made using waste canvas and satin floss
i spent some time this morning going through the last years worth of blog posts (because i've been blogging for more than a year now, believe it or not!) picking out my favourite things that i've made.
i was aiming for my top 10, but i couldn't do it. i just have too many different TYPES of things i do!
so here's my list, complete with pictures and links. (sorted by style/type, not by favourites!)
the virgin mary chunky page, with the small statue and the niche cut out
the red velvet sacred heart chunky page, complete with flames
the atcs that i made for the no paper atc swap, particularly the acetate ones. i love how they turned out.
the altoid tin i made for a-roze in the trick or treat altoid tin swap, including the little altered book that was tucked inside
funfur and vinyl flying love monsters. gah, i love these guys so much!
the ginkgo vinyl carry on bag that i made for miranda when she came to visit last spring
the fat is gorgeous vinyl bag i made for pam's fundraiser at work
the blue bird vinyl bag that i made for gingerquilts, using the image from jean's wedding totes
pretty much everything i made for the bird swap!
the hand embroidered baby bibs that i made for angie and warren
the hand embroidered pillow that i made for jean and camden
pretty much everything that i made for the master craftsters campaign
the machine embroidered vinyl baby bibs i made in december for torrin
myhalloween costume! and as part of that, probably the most used and loved thing i made this year - the sample hoodie i made to test the sleeves. i didn't take pictures of it, because black clothing never photographs well, but i wear it almost constantly, i love it so much. the sleeves are a lot less poofy than in the pink hoodie, but they're cut the same way.
my anti-olympics and my queer cross stitch pieces
my femme skirt, made using waste canvas and satin floss
happy new year!
it's 2009!
it's so wierd to think that, really. i know i was born closer to the end of the last century, but maybe because of my love for old movies, 2000 always seemed so far off. it's 2009, and all the things that previous generations envisioned happening in 2000 are still sci-fi fantasies, like the jetsons flying around in their cars. (i also loved barbarella and muppets in space!) instead we don't seem to have learned anything!
significant things definitely did happen in 2008, like (of course!) Barack Obama being elected, and less obvious things like growing awareness of environmental concerns, so we ARE improving. let's hope for even more improvement in 2009!
what are your hopes for improvement in 2009? do you make resolutions? i've never been a big fan of resolutions, because i think they get abandoned all too quickly anyway! and honestly, other people's resolutions tend to irritate me. if people put even a quarter of the energy they spend feeling bad about their weight and trying diets that will never work into focusing on how amazing they are at any size, the world would be a much better place! plus, i hate the advertising campaigns that start up around new years, usually for diet products. i saw one yesterday where a really slender woman needed to eat Special K cereal after "overindulging" at christmas. first, she was pretty tiny, with no need for dieting anyway, so what kind of message does that send, but second, i don't like the idea that we overindulge at christmas. to me, that's what christmas is for, good friends, good family, good food, good time. just enjoying life and appreciating it, not worrying about gaining 5 lbs from eating chocolates! i really dislike the concept of guilt tripping people for enjoying themselves.
but i guess i'm getting off track! i started this post wanting to talk about CREATIVE resolutions! what i started to say was that despite my usual distaste for resolutions, i do have several things i'd like to work on.
* i want to be actively creating every day. not necessarily make something everyday, because some projects are too big, and some days i feel terrible, but do something creative every day. whether that's actual sewing or crafting or art, prep work (like base coats, cutting fabric, etc), working on an image in photoshop, blogging about creativity, whatever. i want to be working towards creativity every day.
(as part of that, i'm going to prep some embroidery projects. when i'm feeling really crappy, i really want to work on something, both to distract myself from pain as well as to keep myself from being bored. but the thought of digging out some cotton and the ironing board is too much for me some days. if i've already got patterns transferred and ready to go, it'll make life easier and give me something to do while sitting on the couch instead of feeling sorry for myself!)
* i also want to make at least ONE thing for myself monthly. not for a swap, not for a mod, not for one of the million babies floating around, but for me. art, clothing, a new duvet cover, whatever.
* and i want to put some politics back in my art. i used to do pieces all the time that were political in nature, but with swapping and costumes and stuff i kind of lost that. i've started recently, but i want to do more. i have ideas for projects that i really want to do, around gender and queerness and chronic pain and more. i'm excited to do them.
what about you? do you have any resolutions or hopes or goals for 2009?
it's so wierd to think that, really. i know i was born closer to the end of the last century, but maybe because of my love for old movies, 2000 always seemed so far off. it's 2009, and all the things that previous generations envisioned happening in 2000 are still sci-fi fantasies, like the jetsons flying around in their cars. (i also loved barbarella and muppets in space!) instead we don't seem to have learned anything!
significant things definitely did happen in 2008, like (of course!) Barack Obama being elected, and less obvious things like growing awareness of environmental concerns, so we ARE improving. let's hope for even more improvement in 2009!
what are your hopes for improvement in 2009? do you make resolutions? i've never been a big fan of resolutions, because i think they get abandoned all too quickly anyway! and honestly, other people's resolutions tend to irritate me. if people put even a quarter of the energy they spend feeling bad about their weight and trying diets that will never work into focusing on how amazing they are at any size, the world would be a much better place! plus, i hate the advertising campaigns that start up around new years, usually for diet products. i saw one yesterday where a really slender woman needed to eat Special K cereal after "overindulging" at christmas. first, she was pretty tiny, with no need for dieting anyway, so what kind of message does that send, but second, i don't like the idea that we overindulge at christmas. to me, that's what christmas is for, good friends, good family, good food, good time. just enjoying life and appreciating it, not worrying about gaining 5 lbs from eating chocolates! i really dislike the concept of guilt tripping people for enjoying themselves.
but i guess i'm getting off track! i started this post wanting to talk about CREATIVE resolutions! what i started to say was that despite my usual distaste for resolutions, i do have several things i'd like to work on.
* i want to be actively creating every day. not necessarily make something everyday, because some projects are too big, and some days i feel terrible, but do something creative every day. whether that's actual sewing or crafting or art, prep work (like base coats, cutting fabric, etc), working on an image in photoshop, blogging about creativity, whatever. i want to be working towards creativity every day.
(as part of that, i'm going to prep some embroidery projects. when i'm feeling really crappy, i really want to work on something, both to distract myself from pain as well as to keep myself from being bored. but the thought of digging out some cotton and the ironing board is too much for me some days. if i've already got patterns transferred and ready to go, it'll make life easier and give me something to do while sitting on the couch instead of feeling sorry for myself!)
* i also want to make at least ONE thing for myself monthly. not for a swap, not for a mod, not for one of the million babies floating around, but for me. art, clothing, a new duvet cover, whatever.
* and i want to put some politics back in my art. i used to do pieces all the time that were political in nature, but with swapping and costumes and stuff i kind of lost that. i've started recently, but i want to do more. i have ideas for projects that i really want to do, around gender and queerness and chronic pain and more. i'm excited to do them.
what about you? do you have any resolutions or hopes or goals for 2009?
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