Technology- Team Up Thursday

This week Cara and I chose Technology as our theme. I carried my camera around all week hoping that something cool would jump out at me, but that didn't happen. Instead I took a shot of my ipod. I have been running for a few months now and have actually grown to enjoy it. I did not think I would ever utter those words. I use Nike + to track my runs. There is a sensor that attaches to your shoe and then you can use the app on your ipod to see how far you have gone, your pace, etc. It is a very cool piece of technology. Eventhough I know it is not 100% accurate, it helps to be able to see my progress. I am a lot slower than I would like to be, but I am making progress.

I guess Cara and I were on the same wavelength this week because she took a photo of her ipod too. Those ipod shuffles are amazing pieces of technology. That is for sure.

Join in on the fun over at Mental Inventory.

Miller's Self Portrait

Miller has never been too interested in drawing or coloring. So I always get excited when Miller comes home from school with a piece of artwork that he obviously spent a little time on.

I love his self portait. He even colored blond hair. I am not sure what happened to his arms, but let's not get caught up in the details. He is also doing really well writing his name.

Notice all the people have belly buttons. How cute is that?

This is a person in the doorway of a house.

We are still not convinced that Miller is right handed. He was switching back and forth between his hands when he would draw for the longest time, but he has finally settled on his right hand. He likes to bat left handed and throws better with his left hand so who knows? I think he would probably write better left handed, but he prefers to use his right hand. Maybe he will be ambidextrous.

5 Little Owls

I am FINALLY getting really close to finishing my last wholesale order. I was able to put the finishing touches on the owls this weekend plus knock out some coffee cozies. I have 10 cozies left and I am officially done.

Look the owls now have faces.

Can you tell that one owl is a little different from the other owls? I tried something different with the wings. I am still not sure how I feel about it.

The first owl will more than likely go in the shop along with the 2 Hootie owls and possibly this owl too. I am waiting until I have a few more things though.

Happy Crafty Tuesday everyone.

Holding Onto Summer

Apparently my kids like to torture themselves by playing in the water when it is not quite warm enough outside.

More Dreams of Flying

First of all I must admit that my husband did all of the work for these shots. He came up with the idea and location. I merely took the photos. As we were getting ready to go out to eat at our favorite Mexican restaurant, we were brainstorming about ideas for the Dreams of Flying photo. Then my husband had a brilliant idea. Right beside the restaurant is a bridge that overlooks a street. The street is rarely used. It leads to an old movie theater. He suggested that I stand on the bridge and take the photo of the kids below on the street. Perfect! Next I had to decide what to do. I really wanted to take a photo with a bunch of balloons giving the illusion that the balloons were carrying the kids away. Well, that was going to be too labor intensive. So Mitch suggested the scooters and when ran with it. I did yell down some suggestions, but really he did all the hard work.

Here are some of the other shots.

The kids really got into it and so did Mitch. Thanks for all your help Mitch. You are the best.

Dreams of Flying

This week Megan and Melody challenged us take "flying" photos inspired Jan Von Holleben's Dreams of Flying series. Initially I was excited about the challenge, but after a couple of attempts to take photos I realized this was going to be tougher than I thought it would be.

Cara is out of town this week so she was not sure if she would be able to get her shot. I was secretly hoping that she wouldn't get hers done so that I would be off the hook. Being the good partner that she is, she sent me her photo this weekend before she left. As soon as I opened her shot, I got excited. I am so glad we decided to give this a go. I had so much fun.

Come back tomorrow for some of my outtakes and I will tell you the details about how I got my shot.

Join in on the fun over at Mental Inventory.

Teeny, Tiny Owl

We went camping this weekend and rented a pontoon boat on Saturday. So we spent the day doing this....

and cruising around the lake in this lovely boat

As a result my craft table still looks like this....

I did no crafting or sewing this week. Well, ok I did manage to hand sew this little owl while I watched Survivor last week. I guess that counts, right? Since we were going camping, I had this grande idea to make a camping playset with mini animals, a tent, sleeping bag, and campfire for the kids to play with while we camped. I also thought it would be a good way to use up some of my scraps. I still think it is a cute idea, but I am making no promises.

Happy Crafty Tuesday everyone.

Decision, Decisions, Decisions

Yes, this is really what my workspace looks like when I am working on an order.

After months and months of mulling it over I finally decided to stop taking wholesale and custom orders. It was a very hard decision to make, but one that just couldn't be avoided any longer. I notified my biggest customer last week about my decision, so it's official.

My plan is to use up my supply of materials for personal projects, gifts or my etsy shop, which I have not updated in a very long time. I want the freedom to make what I want to make when I want to make it. I am really excited about letting my creative juices flow (or not).

I still have one large order to finish (see photo above). Then I am free. Oh, the possibilities!!

Team-Up Thursday-Faceless Portrait

This week Cara and I chose Faceless Portrait as our theme for Team-Up Thursday. Cara always comes up with the best ideas for themes. I knew this theme would be a little more challenging, but fun. I waited to the absolute last minute to take my picture. I thought about a dozen different ideas, but since I waited until the last minute I had to be subject. I propped the camera on the deck railing, set up the self timer and ran to my spot. I only took a few shots and this was the best one. Not exactly what I had in mind, but it works.

I love the perspective in Cara's shot. She looks like she is on the go. The shot leaves me wondering where she is going, especially since she is wearing running shoes. I think it is pretty cool that we both ended up with shots of ourseleves.

Check out more Team-Up Thursday over at Megan's blog.

Before/After Kitchen Chairs

This project has been on my to-do list for a long time now. The cushions on the chairs in my kitchen looked horrible. They were in desperate need of a makeover. I finally found some fabric that I liked so all I had to do was recover the chairs. Seems easy enough right?

Here's my first attempt at a before photo.

Um, excuse me. This feels a bit like deja vu. Remember this photo.

He is starved for attention I guess.

Moving on. Here is a clearer view of the chair. Believe me this photo does not do the chair justice. They were really nasty.

After a couple of hours of wrestling with fabric and a staple gun all 6 chairs had a new look.

Awww. Nice and fresh now.

Upcycled Denim Art Purses

My obsession with art purses continues. This time I decided to use some denim that I had leftover from making these Garden Toolbelts. I made one for Harper as a trial run to try and work out any kinks. I originally decided to use the denim to eliminate the need for interfacing or an extra layer of flannel. However this denim is not really thick so the result was a little floppy. Harper does not seem to mind, but I knew that I would need to add an additional layer next time.

I made two more with a couple of modifications. These two are for my best friend's little girls. I am not even going to tell you when their birthdays were. It is rather embarrasing.

I made them art purses instead of notebook covers. I think they are easier to tote around with the handles. I added the extra layer of interfacing and also added a magnetic closure.

I am hoping this will cure my art purse and notebook obsession, but we will see.

Gettin' Into A Groove

We are a month into first grade and so far so good. We have settled into our school routine. This year has been much easier on all of us. Harper has finally decided to like reading. She has a wonderful teacher that really has motivated her. We have to keep track of the number of minutes she reads each day. There is a friendly competition between all the first grade classes to see which class reads the most minutes at the end of the year. Harper is very competitive so this has really made her want to read.

Most of the time when I look at her, I can't believe how grown up she has become.

Then I see photos like the one above and realize she is still so little. I mean just look at those

chubby cheeks.

She still has her very own unique sense of style. I have learned to embrace it. She is starting to become more aware of what people think of her though, which does impact some of her decisions. It does make me sad to see her self confidence waiver, but I know it is part of growing up. For now we are just taking it one day at a time.

I sure do love you Harper!!

Team Up Thursday- Play

This week Cara and I chose the theme play. On Monday we had to drop off some books at the library, which is right next to an old school. So there is a little playground and a ball field. Mitch brought the tee and some balls so Miller could hit the balls in a wide open space.
Miller has been asking to play baseball. He doesn't have any interest any soccer, which he is old enough to play. He should be able to play baseball next year though.

Can't you feel the love in Cara's shot. I love the carefree feel of the photo. She captured the moment perfectly.

If you want to play along with Team-Up Thursday head on over to Mental Inventory.

Silly Snakes and a Slouch Bag

I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday weekend. I had a 4 day weekend and it was marvelous!!

We went to the zoo on Saturday and the kids fell in love with these huge stuffed snakes. Of course, my first response was "We are not buying those. I can make you a snake." They did not forget my promise. So on Saturday afternoon they helped me make these snakes. They were kind of thrown together, kid stuffed, and designed, which adds to the charm in my opinion. Here are my silly snakes posing with their snakes.

Matching red tongues. Miller was very specific about how he wanted his snake eyes. He said they had to be touching. Who knows why?

I also made this bag for Mom. I used the same pattern that I used here. My mom gave me this fabric over a month ago and the pieces have been cut out for about as long. So I decided it was time to finish it up. The fabric was so nice to work with. It is a heavier almost canvas like material so I did not use interfacing. I used an owl from the lining fabric and appliqued it on the outside of the bag.





If you missed it, I posted my Hootie the Owl tutorial on Friday.

Happy Crafty Tuesday everyone.

Hootie the Upcycled Owl Tutorial

Here's what you will need:

fabric scraps or 1/2 yard of contrasting fabrics

felt

embroidery floss

sewing machine

pattern pieces (download below)

Download the pattern pieces here.

Hootie Pattern

edited to add (12/30/2011) -I have received several comments from people unable to access the link above.  Here is another link using google docs, so hopefully this will resolve the issue.

Google Docs Hootie Pattern

I hope you enjoyed the tutorial. If there is anything that is unclear, please let me know. If you decide to make a Hootie, please add photos to my flickr group. I would love to see them.