Special Project

I've got a very special project in the works.  I can't talk about it right now but I can give you a little preview of it.  It's super cool and I can't wait to tell you all about it. Stay tuned.

Book Makin'

I used to make artist books.  In fact, I almost decided to pursue an MFA in Book Arts instead of Historic Preservation.  But, I opted for a field that had more practical applications and figured that I didn't need a degree to be an artist.  I certainly haven't made a lot books since I made this book over ten years ago when I studied in Italy for a summer.   But, I have a mind full of ideas and a craft room to clean out.  

The Holidays are Coming

Wow! Christmastime seems to have arrived quite early this year, don't you think? With commercials, store displays and magazines reminding me of the the impending season of cheer, I have to start thinking of all the tasks I must complete. The first thing I need to do is decide what ornaments to make. For the past two years, I have participated in the Holiday Ornament Swap and plan to do it again (if I'm not too late!). Then, last year, I started a new tradition and made my holiday cards ornaments as well. I recently bought these cut-out mittens from Papersource to create my ornaments. Now, what should I do with them??

Upcycled Bookmark

Matt gave me the most beautiful letterpress calendar for Christmas last year. Each month is a work of art on it's own. I hated the idea of throwing away artwork every month, so I decided to take my favorite ones and upcycle them in some way. I made these two beautiful bookmarks. All it took was a pair of scissors, a paper punch and some pretty ribbon I had on hand.

I can't wait to see what December will bring!

Collaborative Crafting

Recently, my friend Wendy of I Love Baby Quilts! and I joined crafting forces to create a perfect little baby gift for a friend. Wendy created these cute little blocks to match the quilt that she made, and I embellished them with embroidery and sewed them on two onesies.

Cute, huh?

Weekend Craftiness

This weekend's arts and crafts extravaganza that is Shop Austin should be loads of fun! Seriously, there will be cupcakes. Hopefully, I can find some affordable art, and maybe I'll pick up a little inspiration too!

PW Report: Fit for a Princess

This is Frances, our beloved orange tabby. When she's not outside, she spends most of her time sleeping in my studio on an old, fuzz-covered kitty condo. Honestly, this navy monstrosity was cramping my style, so I decided to cover it with some beautiful Amy Butler fabric for this week's Project Wednesday. After all, our little Frances is worth it!!

This kitty condo isn't your typical condo. It comes apart in four pieces. Three round pieces that make up the "floors" and one long band piece that makes up the "walls." I deconstructed the condo and covered the long band piece first just like I did when I made our canvas headboard. After securing the fabric with a staple gun, I cut out the holes and stapled. For the top piece, I added some batting to make a nice little pillow and covered it with the same fabric. The result:


I'm not sure if Frances likes it, but I think that it matches her very nicely!!

Project Wednesday Report

Here it is! The inaugural project for Project Wednesday. I decided Heather Bailey's pin cushion because I really needed one and it's so cute. It was pretty easy but there are some things that I will do differently next time. First off, it's way too small. I'm not sure if I missed something or if the pattern did not print out at the appropriate size. It was supposed to be 3 1/2 inches wide but ended up being nearly 2 inches. I hand-stitched the pin cushion using a quilting technique my friend Wendy taught me. It really didn't work well. I couldn't get the stitches close enough, so next time I will use my machine.

What's up for next week? I'm not sure. I really need to build some inventory for my etsy store, so I'll probably work on a case-bound book. Or, maybe I will make a little pouch for my new iPhone. What about you? What will you be working on?

Thank you so much to Elise from Funky and Delightful for the props and encouragement! As for Project Runway, it was a typical first episode -- so many designers and looks it was hard to keep things straight. And, I was slightly disappointed that the designers didn't take more risks. Nonetheless, it was awesome and I can't wait for next week!

Project Wednesday

Inspired by a Funky and Delightful post a while back, I am starting a new feature on PBP -- Project Wednesday! Like many of you, I'm super excited about the fifth season of Project Runway -- probably my favorite "non-scripted" show on TV. Every Wednesday evening, I will complete a crafty project whilst watching PR. Hopefully, this will get me in the crafting habit so that I can build up some inventory for my etsy store.

Tonight's project will be....drum roll....Heather Bailey's pin cushion that was featured in Quilts and More magazine a while go. Wanna join me? You can download the pattern here. Check back tomorrow for a full report!

Inspiration Everywhere!

I don't know about you but I find inspiration everywhere, especially in magazines! My favorites are Blueprint, MS Living, Domino, and Real Simple. These mags always have great ideas for crafts, decorating, and organization. However, I do not like the idea of keeping a stack of magazines in the corner of my bedroom gathering dust. So, I decided to create an inspiration notebook where I can cut and paste my favorite ideas found in magazines and easily access them when I'm ready to do a project. This is really the reincarnation of a two similar notebooks that I've created before -- one for my wedding where I gathered pictures of dresses, flowers, favors, etc and another for all the recipes that I find on the Internet.

All you need for this project is a simple sketch book, self-adhesive tabs, and a little imagination. First, I created headings to organize the ideas and projects. For my inspiration notebook, I've included headings for crafting, decorating, miscellaneous, organization, sewing, and wishes. Then, I created self-adhesive tabs for each heading and adhered them throughout the edges notebook. To make the notebook special, I covered the front with one of my favorite paper patterns (it's wrapping paper from my favorite local store Letterhead) and cut out a rectangle for my title, which I decorated with stamps and paper punches. It's a great way to keep all those inspiring projects organized and in one central location.

Cathartic Crafting?

One of my favorite magazines, Blueprint, has its very own blog that I frequent. Recently, one of their contributers posted about the website Subversive Cross Stitch. There, you can purchase a number of, well, unique cross stitch patterns. I've never done any cross stitching myself, but the pattern above caught my eye. Perhaps I'll give it a try.