.tag.

So I was tagged by Murali and given this sweet gift ;)

The rules are simple:

Name ten things I like and tag 10 others!

Soooo, my likes:

Coffee

Handmade Soap

Clotheslines

Autumn

Fabric

Moonbootica

Fresh vegetables

Friends

Art

Photography

I'll come back later to tag others...BUSY DAY here :P

.ups.

 Dear UPS person: you made my day....bringing fabric was JUST what I needed :)


Carry on. ;)

.turtle love.

So, once again...a project brought to you by little Liv.  She has great ideas (and an insistent attitude.)

First off, the bag 'theme' was liv's idea...she had apparently seen two 'squirrels in love' on one of our hundreds of 'blog reading days' where we sit and look at all the awesomeness that is being created these days...

BUT she is super into the turtles and the oil spill now...and said she 'needed' the bag to have two turtles with a heart between them....her words.

HAHAHA

Overall I am happy with how it came out.  We followed these instructions for the bag, making only minor adjustments.

The colors/fabrics/etc. were all Olivia's picking...even though I warned about such a light fabric for the body, she disagreed, and while it looks cute in pictures...having carried it all weekend, it now has some noticeable spots on it...I advised her to go with a print next time :P

What did you make this weekend?? :D

.headband done and an 'eh' dress.

So, I finished the headband to go with the dress I was making liv. The headband was super easy...cover an old gold headband with black ribbon and throw on one of the posies from the other day...voila.

I LOVE how it turned out.

The dress is another story altogether.

I love the idea for the dress...the cinched neckline, big bow from the ribbon...love all that.  The fabric I ADORE...

But, Liv insisted on the length. Which I do not love.  It makes it look so 'meh'...to me.  I wanted it just below the knee...maybe right above...but she wanted it to her ankles...and this was a compromise.  :-/  I assured her I'd make a boho style broomstick skirt to her ankles but...she has her mother's assertive sense of self expression..sooooo we got this length. 

As long as she likes it, that's what counts, right? ;)   Oh, and the sun was stabbing her in the eyes when I took this...hence the icky face ;) she wasn't giving me stink eye or anything. :P

Now to finish her purse...*sigh* she keeps me busy and motivated and inspired I guess ;)

.so far so good.

Wow. These projects are going swimmingly ;)

First, a completed one.

This is the jewelry hanger I mentioned in my previous post.  It was simple, awesome and I am in love with how it looks!  My friend Murali posted the tutorial on her site so you can all go get picture directions on how to make it and trust me...you want to make it.

I did make a few changes, obviously I didn't use a square piece of wood, I could only find small square and rectangle plaques at our local craft store, so this one was the right size, and I do like the shape.

Also, I bought the cup hooks she mentioned in her tutorial, but when I went to Wal Mart to get sandpaper, I found these BEAUTIFUL decorative hooks and they were 1.37 for a pack of 3....and so I couldn't resist ;) for around 5.00 total for them, I felt like they were worth it :P

So, on a scale of 1-10 on ease and awesomeness...I've give this a 10...super easy and super awesome.

My only problem (if you call it that) is where to put it! Bathroom or bedroom? hmmmmm lol ;)

I have also started making the posy flowers I mentioned in that same post.

WOW. Talk about easy but rewarding. They look high end and labor intensive but they just aren't.
and frankly...it is super therapeutic to sit and make them...I found myself daydreaming and relaxing the whole time I made them.
The camera and the sunlight kind of messed up the green...but the blues are pretty spot on in my monitor...gorgeous colors. 

My plans are a few necklaces, a headband or two...a few hairclips and a shirt embellishment. Also, a large black one for Liv's dress :)

So, today (after a ton of chores that I now need to catch up on hahahaha)...my plans are to finish up with the posies, finish the dress and start a purse.
What's on your craft/sewing/photography/writing/creating table??

.in the works.

I have quite a few projects in the works, and I thought I'd share them today.

First up is a dress for Olivia that is nearly finished...just needs the big black flower pin for the sash in the middle, a zipper in the back and a hem on the bottom. This is repurposed from a SHOWER CURTAIN of all things ;). My mother in law had this fabric shower curtain several years ago, new, as she just wanted a swatch of the fabric...so I took the rest with the notion of making a dress for Liv, and it's only just NOW coming to fruition ;)

I'll post model shots when it is finished ;)

Next up is some polysatin fabric for making Posy flowers from this tutorial...SUPER excited about this. One giant black one with be for the dress, to pin off center on the red sash.  The others will be for pins and for a bib necklace that I will probably keep for myself...or maybe stick on a headband for Liv. ;)

Also, I picked up some scrapbooking paper at Hobby Lobby today, with the 50% off sale...for a project my friend shared with me a few days ago (not posted on her site, YET, I don't believe)...for a beautiful jewelry hanger...excited to start this one.

AND last but not least (and honestly..not last, just all I am posting right now :) LOL)...fabric for ANOTHER dress for Liv...had this knit fabric for YEARS and she wants a 'super long flowy dress with it'....I am going to make this style dress (knocking off the pattern since I think I can handle just winging it...looks pretty straight forward, imo)...using a black ribbon, since that is what she specifically requested ;).

So, that's what *I* have in the works...hoping I can get to it all this coming week.  I also have a swap to make ATC's for...very excited to get started on that...haven't had a good swap in ages!

Hope your weekend is great!

.bike.

Nothing 'new' to show today...some family things have kept things somber around the house.

So, I thought I would post something I finished a while ago...

completely and utterly and thoroughly and all inspired by my husband and his love of bikes...

Some works in progress :)

Okay, time to post some of the things I am currently working to finish.  All are needle felted projects that I finished up a bit ago and are just waiting for the companion pieces. :)

The bunny is completed, just needs the doll to go with it. :)

The tree branch is awaiting a needle felted bird to perch on it ;)

And these wool dresses with needle felted appliques just need bodies to put them on :D I am very pleased with how they look so far!

I am hoping to get all the sets (4 total) done this week/weekend...we shall see!!

voila'!

I am so happy with this painting...and I never am overly pleased with my own work ;) so that's huge :P

It's going to be hard to put it up for sale...but I have other ideas floating in my mind, so I will just keep moving forward and hopefully come up with something equally pleasing as well.

I do think I need to find something other than trees to inspire me...because I looked around me and realized that 3 of the last 5 paintings I have done have been trees...

Also, I have been feeling very pulled towards my creative self lately...and miss the days where I spent my time homeschooling the kids in the morning and crafting in the afternoon and having family time in the evening...so I am working hard towards that place again...it's so fulfilling for me on all levels.  The difference being now that the kids are in public school I *should* have more time for exploring my inner creative self now ;)

I have several new features in mind for this site.  One being recurring themes each week...thinking "Make It Monday" for tutorials on some of my projects..."Thrift Store Thursday"...any who read my old blog "Done By Tuesday" may remember those...and a few others. 

This summer sun has been good for me, awakened me from the funk of a cross country move that has taken TOO LONG to recover from.

Getting back to my sewing, crafting, painting, photographing roots feels good ;)