just stuff

So our m.o. these days seems to be that we move back to Texas and then Sean promptly goes on a long trip somewhere for work.  I'm hoping this doesn't continue.  This time he went to Australia and India - both places I've never been but would go.  He does bring back presents but I'd rather have the time with him than presents!

Since India has such great textiles he decided I needed some fabric.  With the time difference, I was asleep while he was out shopping for it.  As a guy, he has no idea how much fabric is needed for anything so he proceeded to buy gobs and gobs of raw silk - because he couldn't decide on which colors he liked more.  So I ended up with almost 50 yards of fabric that I need to find something to do with.

What would you make with all this fabric?

It's a good thing I spent my alone time while he was gone cleaning and organizing my craft room.  Look at the mess I had on my hands...

it even spilled into the hallway...

Now it's all nice and neat and I can actually find things!

All the stuff on the floor in this picture are all projects I have all the stuff to complete but just never did because I didn't have a space to do it and/or I couldn't find the stuff.

You can bet that as I finish up projects I'll be sharing (except the one I have finished which was sewing the remaining 4 placemats for the dining room - too boring to share).

happy valentine's

did you feel the love?
i sure did - even at over 1,000 miles away from my honey
(see this post for the explanation)
in the spirit of our "make something" agreement for valentine's
and my new friend, pinterest
i made this for sean (including his fav candy which i bought)
and i even used my new serger for the ribbon

he surprised me with champagne, strawberries, cake and chocolate dipping sauce in my hotel room
which i packed the champagne so i could enjoy it with him
and then surprised me with flowers when i returned home last night
i'm still waiting for the "make something" part
he still has this weekend

i'm continuing the love celebration by making him his fav dinner this weekend

happy halloween

in honor of thanksgiving, i wanted to wish you all a happy halloween

that's just how behind i really am
halloween is always about the time we make the switch between maine and texas
this year we had some guests visiting

so we decided to carve a pumpkin
and bake pumpkin seeds
and listen to spooky, scary stories
so as i recover from all the turkey dinner and black friday shopping.....
BOO!

and the winner is.....

remember cupcake wars...

and how awesome my dock scene turned out

well, there was some stiff competition, but...

i won!

2 out of 3 categories

the whole family won some fabulously amazing prizes

to enjoy on the real dock

next summer

when it warms up again

props to my coworker for taking the picture for me with his cell phone!

cupcake wars

we're having a contest at work
tell your Summer Sprint story through a cupcake
since I just HAD to make a video as my submission
and our email doesn't allow sending such large files
I decided I would submit it through the blog
and therefore share my creation with all of my lovely blog readers, too!

Enjoy (be sure to crank the volume)!

oh and wish me luck...

Since the video is so small I thought I'd provide you with a bigger view of the final product.

duke's hideaway

Take a simple little cubby on a boat...

add a sad looking Duke...

some thrift store fabric/shower curtain (complete with canoes, moose and fish), Target sale finds, tiny Singer that fits perfect in the Camp and crafty goodness from a great friend...and VOILA!!!

Duke loves his new hideaway - it was a perfect place to hide from the fireworks!

shopping bags

So I bought some oil cloth almost a year ago in hopes of making my own reusable shopping bags - you know so I don't have to continue to accumulate all those plastic shopping bags.  Amy had bought one in Canton that I really liked the size of.  She so graciously agreed to measure it for me.  I made four and learned some tricks with each.  These instructions include all the "best practices" I learned.  Based on the measurements Amy gave me I came up with this pattern (I had a 1 yard piece of fabric).

A - These are the two bigger sides and the pieces you sew the handles to

B - These are the two smaller sides

C - This is the bottom

D - These are the handles

This is very beginner sewing so if you've never sewn anything before you could totally do this - here's how.  Cut out the pieces according to the diagram above.  It should look something like this...

Sew the handle pieces (D) in thirds and fold under the raw edge.  Run a zigzag stitch down it.  Fold over each A and B piece 1.5 inches and then turn that under .5 inch.  Make sure to pin the handles in place before sewing.  I pinned them 1.5 inches from the edge of the A pieces.

Sew the smaller sides (B) to the bottom piece (C) making sure to put right sides together.

Sew the larger pieces (A) to the smaller pieces (B) and then sew the remaining pieces to the bottom.  Turn your new bag right side out and voila - you have a handy shopping bag ready for your next trip to the grocery store or Target or wherever you want to take them.

Since there's only two people to shop for in this household, I don't think I'll need all four in Texas so I've already placed two of them with the pile of stuff to go to Maine.

riding in....discomfort

My friend Amy visited last weekend.  We had a GREAT time.  I wish she could visit more often - or MOVE down here.  I'm working on it.  Have been for years with no progress though.  Maybe eventually...

But I digress...

One of our favorite things to do it go to the First Monday Trade Days in Canton, TX.  Being the December one I was on the hunt for some Christmas presents.  I found some fun things Sean would like - but isn't getting.

Found some cute fabric, but it didn't fit with the projects I have going right now.

I want to figure out how to make one of these.  It would be perfect to carry sunscreen and snacks down to the dock in the summer.  Maybe the fabric above would be cute for it.  hmmmm

I wanted one of these but Sean said "nothing that rusts".  He's very anti-things that are metal and cute.  He's convinced they'll....oh who knows why he's against them.  I thought the moose would be totally cute at the camp.

Amy and I tend to have this one problem when we go to Canton.  We end up buying more, or bigger, things then we can fit in the car.  I remember a time driving back with plants all up in my business.  This time was no exception.  In the last hour, Amy found the biggest piece of furniture in Canton and purchased it.  After some help by some men and moving all the seats out of the way (except the drivers seat) we were ready to head home.

I finally settled in and enjoyed the ride in my "seat".  Duke even joined me after he was tired of being squished in the passenger seat.

Oh the things we do for a good bargain.  What's the most fun thing you've done for a bargain?

hawaiian scarf

I recently participated in a blog Halloween exchange.  We were paired up with someone and you could pick/make anything you wanted related to Halloween or fall for under $20.  I started this endeavor while in Maine.  Sean and I headed to the Grasshopper Shop to see if they had anything seasonal - nothing.   Don't get me wrong, they had tons of cute stuff I wanted but nothing that fit for someone living in Hawaii.

Yea, I'm with you.  I just don't think of fall or Halloween when I think of Hawaii.  This made it even more difficult.  While in the store I came across a REALLY cute scarf.  It was beyond the dollar limit for this exchange.  So, of course, I gave it a good look over and decided I could make it myself.

I headed to the store to gather up all the supplies I needed. I tried to pick rustic colors that were still bright and beach feeling.

Sew on the stem…

Then add some flowers…

Hem up the edges and voila, you have a scarf!

It was so fun to get my own package in the mail.  Look at all the great stuff that was in it.

Check out all the other great packages the other Halloween exchange peeps got on Susan's blog "Five Great Kiddos".

For the Love of SHOES!

I LOVE SHOES!!!  All kinds - especially cute ones - so when I married a man that could care less about shoes (and quite frankly has some pretty ugly ones - he knows - we joke about it) it nearly broke my heart.  Also, because he's a little shorter then I am it makes me uncomfortable to wear heels any more (but I LOVE heels).  I'm sure I'll get over it at some point like when I finally decided to embrace being tall when I was in college.  These things have not stopped me from owning a lot of shoes though.  In Texas we have a large walk-in closet.  It's probably the size of the entire "master" bedroom in Maine.  Because of this I have room to do this...

Yes, those are photos on the front.  How else are you going to know what's in the box?  Since I don't have the room to do this in Maine I decided to make shoe bags instead.  I'm frantically sewing them since we're heading to Maine at the end of this week.  Here's how you can make your own shoe bags.

Supplies:
Fabric
Eyelets
Sewing Machine
Cord Stops
Clear plastic (like see-through shower curtain liner)
String or rope (I used the left over cord from the kitchen curtains)

Fold the fabric in half and cut a 15" x 10.25" rectangle.  Fold it so you don't have to sew one of the sides.  Cut a piece of the clear plastic into a 4.25" x 6.25" rectangle.  Sew the clear plastic to the right side of the fabric, sewing only three of the sides and about 1" in on each side of the fourth side (preferably the top side).  Trick:  Use the paper backing from the clear plastic to sew it on otherwise your presser foot gets stuck.

With right sides together fold in half and sew two of the sides.

Using the tool in the package apply the eyelets on each side of one of the seams.

Finish the final edge by making a one inch casing.  Trick:  I put the string in before I sewed the top casing.  I liked the contrast of the white against the black.  If you're not into that then use coordinating thread.

Turn right side out and finish off by attaching the cord stops and tie a knot in the end of the rope (tying both ends of the rope together).  Take a photo of your shoes and print it off in a 4" x 6" size and slip it into the clear plastic.  Insert your favorite shoes and you're ready to go.

After trying the first one I decided it didn't make sense to put the photo at the top so I made a slight adjustment to the others I made.  I've finished 8 bags so far.  I just wish I could remember how many pairs of shoes I had up in Maine so I knew if I needed to make more.

These are also great if you travel because you can just toss the bag into your suitcase.  It protects your shoes and keeps your clothes clean.  I also use shoe bags when I'm out of town for work.  When you have to walk to the office it saves your shoes (the heels) if you wear flip flops instead during the commute.  So I throw my "real" shoes into my computer bag and change them out once I get to the office. 

If you make some for yourself I'd love to hear about it and see what adjustments you make.

Valentine's Day

This is our first Valentine's Day as a married couple and started a new tradition - you must make the gift.  This is probably an easier task for me then Sean so I can't wait to see what he comes up with.  After giving it some thought and coming across some awesome fabric online I came up with a great idea.  I'm going to make Sean some pajama bottoms.  I've never made any before and didn't exactly have a pattern but I went for it anyway.

First step is to get all your supplies out.  The supplies needed are as follows:

• Fabric
• Parchment paper
• Pencil
• Thread/Sewing Machine
• A pair of pajama pants you know fit your man

Lay out the parchment paper and trace the pajama pants you want to make a patern after.

Make sure you ultimately draw your pattern larger then you drew in the step above to allow for a seam.  A helper is a must, too.

Sew all the seams together, put in a hem and elastic waste band and voila, you have pajama bottoms.

Wrap them up and give them to your honey.  Look how cute he looks in them!

Sean has been bugging me to make what he calls his favorite meal - Hawaiian Chicken.  I never have made it for him but I decided to make it for Valentines.  I got the recipe from his mother so it would be just like he remembered it.  He LOVED it!  He was like a kid in a candy store.

Sean's favorite dessert is Rice Krispy Treats.  I made him a batch of those but cut them out in heart shapes.

I couldn't do all this without taking it one step further and making the card, too.  I leveraged an idea I got from Martha.  Start with your supplies.

Fold the part that will be the card in half and afix a fancy strip of paper onto it.

Cut out three matching hearts and sew them on with waxed thread.

VOILA!!!  You have a really cute card.  But you're not allowed to see what is written inside - that's just between my honey and me.