craft room

I've been sewing a lot recently getting ready for Summer of No Pants. Since we are in a 1-bedroom apartment, I've had search out somewhere to do my crafting. My sewing machine sits on top of DieselBaby's bookshelf. My ironing "board" and cutting area is the kitchen counter.

just a peek at my "craft room":

Given the close quarters and the late nights that I've been sewing (gotta wait until the kiddo is sound asleep or else he'll wake up), my pics are less than stellar. Half the time I've gone to take a picture only to find out that DieselBaby has been taking pictures with my camera and the battery is drained (hence the iPhone pics). On days that I can sneak out of work early, it's been rainy so the natural light shots are non-existent.

Someday I'll have a proper craft room...someday.

easter

It's the night before Easter, perfect time to do one last "craft".

DieselBaby loves lollipops (or "lick its" as he calls them - he likes to crunch them and we keep saying "Lick It!". Hence the name.) I thought I'd "Easter-up" his lollies.

The egg carton houses a friend.

** On January 10, 2011, CBC news reported that a Kinder egg was seized from a woman's car during a random inspection when entering the United States from Canada. She was informed that bringing the egg into the United States could result in a $300 fine and sent a 7 page letter regarding the egg's disposal. I mean seriously...it's a candy. And a toy.

Hoppy Easter!

rocketman

During my pregnant/"bed resting" days, I came across this rocketship. I bookmarked it in case we had a boy. Well, the day has come to make my boy a....

DieselBaby has been diggin' the rockets recently. He has PJs with rockets and planets. We see the moon every night when we walk home from 'school'. He knows you have to take a rocketship to get to the moon and that we live on planet "Earst".

I used double layers of fabric to make it sturdier. Not because of grand design, bc of a "oops!". I forgot to separate my layers before i started sewing the circle/astronaut hole. I used this tutorial to make the circle. Super easy!

I decided to add the monogram to his rocket. Although now I'm not so sure that was the best idea. He is totally in the "C is for crocodile", "M is for Mommy", etc stage. "A is for rocket"?

As luck would have it, we had a huge pile of laundry to do (see this post about the great laundry debates). I used the dryer lint as stuffing in the rocket. It didn't fill it up - we didn't have that much laundry!

Lucky it's Easter time. I actually found these eggs at the craft store.

Astronaut DieselBaby...ready for take-off

Linked in at:
tater tots and jello
skip to my lou
sugar bee crafts
sew much ado
fireflies and jellybeans
Thirty Hand Made Days

everyday is a rainbow...

DieselDaddy and I were trying to help DieselBaby understand when things were going to happen - like church, swimming, treats. Unfortunately, toddlers can't really understand "you will go swimming on Sunday/4 days". So we came up with a chart so he could visually see when he would be able to do something.

I originally had the numbers 1-5 (the days he goes to school), but I found it easier to say "you have 3 more school days until...."

Now, we say "Today is Tuesday, Orange day. That means you will go swimming on Sunday. Pink day. How many days until swimming?" The visual has also helped cut down on the whining. "I want a treat" We tell him to go look at his calendar and tell us how many more days until he can have a treat.

After doing it for a few weeks, I actually found myself dressing him in the colors of the day. It doesn't always work that way, but....

Best of all...I used things I had on hand :)

Little Bunny Foo-Foo

Originally when I made my Peeps garland, I planned on sewing right sides together, turning and top stitching. Halfway thru bunny #1 I realized that would take me for freakin' ever. Nevermind that I was so engrossed in thought that I forgot to leave space to actually turn the bunny right-side out.

On to bunny #2. This time I left enough room to turn, but didn't have the energy to go press the bunny then top-stitch x 9 (well 8 at this point). So I abandoned the turned and top-stitch idea. I decided just to sew the two layers together and leave the fraying edges.

Bunny #2 has now become a hand puppet for DieselBaby. He loves playing with it. Hopping all over. He wanted to take it for "show and tell" but I'm not sure Bunny #2 would stand up to all those kiddos....

searching for wabbits...or eggs....

Busy day planned for my "day off". After I dropped DieselBaby off at school, I headed to Lincraft. I perused the aisles for what seemed like eons. I ended up buying tons of fabric. Lots of projects rolling around my brain...

I want to make an Easter bunting (time to actually decorate our little abode). I was thinking this bunting from Made, but of course adding my spin. Maybe doing Easter eggs instead and embellishing with buttons, ribbons and scraps. Plus, Lincraft had an atrocious felt selection (like same primary colors and and super thin). So I thought I try to dye muslin.

Holy moly turmeric really makes fabric YELLOW!!! So...

DieselBaby walked in and immediately saw them. "Somebody brought bunnies!" (don't ya love the view)

I still have the aqua and the pink. They are all cut out, just need some more ribbon to string them on.

it's a crafting holiday...

I had huge aspirations for this Christmas.  Lots of cool toys/crafts to make for DieselBaby.  It seems like every day off I had was spent doing other things (laundry, groceries, sleeping, etc). Finally got a chance to do some crafting this week.  

First, I made some fabric blocks.  DieselBaby got some for Christmas last year and he loved playing with them.  They are a present for some little ones. One has different textures (corduroy, felt, fleece, etc) and the other has rainbow colored fabric. 

Then I made a stocking. I had wanted to cross stitch one last year, but couldn't find a pattern.  Seriously, where do you hide those things Micheals, Hobby Lobby, Prairie Gardens?? where??  So as this year started to run away from me again, I thought I'd just whip one up. Maybe DieselBaby will get a new stocking every year. That will be his tradition. (just kidding since that would be sooo un-EcoFriendly).  The stocking is felt with a minky cuff.  I love minky, but its a *** to work with. 

Lastly, made him a stuffed monkey with velcro facial features. He is learning where his eyes, ears, nose, mouth are.  I thought this would be a great way for him to practice. "where is the monkey's eyes? nose?".  There is little pocket in back to hold all the little pieces so we don't lose them. In hindsight, I'd probably stay away from felt as it snags on the velcro.  The pieces are also a little small and will probably get put in  his mouth at some point. I used old pieces of fabric and the scraps from this project to stuff the monkey. Trying to be EF.... 

(tried hard to flip these pics, but wouldn't happen)

ETA: The monkey pattern was just freehanded.  I'm not one who follows patterns.  If you are interested in my "pattern" or want one for your little one, just let me know. 

Turkey time!

Loving my newest craft project.  I made a turkey shirt for DieselBaby to wear on Thanksgiving.  The feathers are bits of scrap fabric (ok, they would have been scrap fabric if I sewed a lot. The fabric was actually purchased to make this.)  The body is an old pair of corduroy pants.  The eyes and beak actually are scrap bits of fabric from this summer's banner projects. I sewed down the center of each feather so it can move.

Did you know that it is freakin' hard to find plain t-shirts/onesies for kids?  i searched for several weeks to find a plain shirt for this project.  Thinking maybe I'd find a clearance t-shirt i could just layer.  Nope.  Nothing.  I ended up getting a (way too expensive) t-shirt that had a pocket and tearing the pocket off.  Next time I find plain shirts, I'm definitely stocking up.  I have plans for a Christmas shirt and Easter shirt....

finger puppet fun...

I made some pages for a "quiet book" for DieselBaby for our recent trip to Boston.  The pages were not as much of a hit as I had hoped, but the finger puppets were well received. I used them to entertain him on the airplane. He loved putting them on my fingers.

the "quiet book"... but will it work?

When planning our upcoming trip to Boston (yeah!), I was trying to figure out ways to get DieselBaby quiet during the plane ride.  I during my endless surfing, I happened upon this awesome craft blog.  She has a tutorial for a "quiet book" she made for her son.  I used her patterns along with some pages from my book as a child to make one for DieselBaby. I was a bit rushed as my projects always seem to be more time consuming that I had planned. 

This page has a person (well, it's supposed to look like a person).  He has several shirts and pants that can be changed. I had a wonderful cotton print that had lots of Hawaiian print shirts on it.  I cut out a few shirts.  The pants are a bit of corduroy from pants that got a whole in them.

I had a page like this in my quiet book, but the clothes were just pieces of felt. 

Unfortunate placement of a velcro dot makes the un-

clothed person a bit risque...

A rocket that shoots the moon....

I'm mighty impressed with my tulle

 smoke and orange felt fire 

shooting out of the rocket.

Mailbox that has a door that closes. The letter is attached with elastic so he can take it out.  The flag also goes up and down. 

The barn is cool.  The doors open to reveal animal finger puppets inside.  I hope we don't lose them.  The cow has brown spots, so I think that makes him a Holstein cow. The pig has a pink curly tail on the bag (pink rick rack).  The chicken is white minky.  So soft!

sorry the pics suck!

Still channeling Martha....

So I also made a t-shirt for the big day.  It was also surprisingly easy.  

If I had any talent or time, I might think about opening my own Etsy shop....

Channeling Martha Stewart

So with a big birthday coming up, I felt the urge to channel Martha Stewart.  I want a banner that says "Happy Birthday".  In the spirit of being EF, I have decided to make one.  One of the most daunting things about this banner was the letters. Do I do felt? How do I cut them out so they look half-way decent?  How do I attach them- stitch or iron? Searching my favorite place to shop (Etsy), I came across some awesome letters that you just iron on.  SCORE!  

First hurdle crossed, now what colors do I use?  I had a devil of a time deciding between a Stars and Stripes theme or fun colors/patterns.  I opted for bright colors so we could use it for other birthdays.  

There are lots of patterns on the web. I just wanted some triangles, so I made a template and got cutting.  Cutting a gazillion triangles with scissors is a pain in the tushie.  Luckily Joann's was having a sale on Fiskars, so I got a rotary cutter and mat. That thing was a huge timesaver!!

Making sure I spelled "Happy Birthday" correctly...

Done! 

 I'm so proud of myself.  It wasn't really that hard/time consuming either. We'll have to see what I can whip up on my next day off....