Kitsch Designs

Balloon Art Has Come Long Way Baby!

ehouston — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 07:09:00 -0700

These are hilarious, and amazing.

Check out a preview of the new book called Artist Eyes, by Larry Moss and Kelly Cheatle. It’s pretty unbelievable.

Kitsch Krafts

Snow Day–2012!

ehouston — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 08:35:00 -0700

We awoke to quiet serenity after the first snow fall for the season here in Richmond. Lucky for us, and a lot of other people, it is a holiday and no one really had to be any where at any certain time, which is something I find to either make or break a good snow day. Since it was the first time for our Little Guy to get out and actually enjoy the fluffy stuff we decided to make the most of it before the sun took it all away.

First, I tried making snowballs for him to throw. All he did was knock them to the ground and stomp on them. okay…

Then we tried to get him to do his best “Baby Gap”, but…

..he couldn’t keep the poker face.

So we made an impromptu sled and I gave him a pull around the yard.

One set of freezing fingers and…

…three pairs of freezing feet!

Hope you are enjoying a day off and a winter wonderland of your own!

Kitsch Krafts

Valentine’s Day Fun

ehouston — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 08:53:00 -0700

We have managed through another week and a half of head colds all around and today I was able to pull myself away from my own nap time to post about our card making day. Last week I wrote about how we planned to make the wild animal cards featured in FamilyFun.com magazine and online. It ended up being a lot of fun and I was surprised at how much of the process my almost 2.5 year old could handle.

Recently we moved one of the twin beds out of the spare room and into the play/media/exercise room – this was The Mister’s attempt at satisfying my strong urge to chuck the crummy futon and buy a small sectional sofa. So far I like the extra seating, but my sofa longing has not ceased. Anyway, that left me with one twin bed (we had them pushed together into a king) and a large open floor area in the middle of my craft space. I have been loving the openness, but will admit I almost immediately filled it up with sewing projects, scattering piles of fabric from one side of the room to another. I admit it, I’m a totally messy crafter. So, I went in and made a space among the piles, patterns, ironing board and fusible webbing for our Valentine’s Day Card Extravaganza! WOOT!

I found that one of my under bed storage boxes was the perfect height for me and the Little Guy to finish the assembly of his classmate cards.

While he slept I sliced the cardstock and animal print scrapbook paper to the size indicated in the magazine. To make it easy (at least for me) I printed two sheets of word balloons, like you see in the comics, from Microsoft Word. They are under Insert, Shapes, in case you are wondering what the heck I am talking about. They made for a quick write up as we came up with the greetings for each animal. I used the ones offered up in the magazine, along with a few extras for animals they did not feature.

My biggest surprise about all of this was how well he did in putting the cards together. I figured the most I would get out of him was some sloppy glue stick action, but he was an old pro!

Not only did he spread on just the right amount, but at one point when I wasn’t paying close attention he stacked the pieces and moved on to the next one. Of course, I had to straighten it out a bit, but it shocked me at how quickly he picked up the process and kept it going. He also glued and placed most of the word balloons, but about half way through that part he grew tired of smearing and said, “Mama Do”. So, I did.

He loved picking out which animal went with each card, but I think his favorite part was gathering them up the next day, and putting them in a little heart bag I found in my gift wrapping stash.

He thought he was a regular old cupid!

I hope all your Valentine’s Day crafts were made and filled with, LOVE! Now excuse me while I go eat my 4th iced heart cut-out sugar cookie of the day. I mean, they aren’t going to gobble themselves up are they?

Kitsch Krafts

Making And Crafts : Valentine’s Day Card 2012

ehouston — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 08:23:00 -0700

This year, as in years past, we decided to make our own Valentine’s Day cards. The difference this time around is that we are giving them to classmates rather than family. An exciting step for one Little Dictator! I strongly considered the cute character versions that you can pick up at the grocery store and even spied some with fun tattoos. I did make the conscious decision to avoid candy as a card favor since I knew the kids would be sugar logged after their preschool V-day party. I’m also the mom in charge of bringing the drinks and opted to present both milk and juice for the kiddos. My two and a half year old has already informed me he will be choosing juice. I guess I cannot expect any less when I don’t offer up the sugary treat on a more regular basis. Don’t get me wrong, we do drink juice in this house, but his gets watered down quite a bit. So, like most kids, whenever given the option he makes the less desirable choice (at least in mom’s eyes). I am figuring that most, if not all, of the milk will come back my way…but, hey, at least I’m giving the choice! (Yep, I’m that mom!)

Okay, back to the subject at hand. I wanted to share what our card plans are and a couple of downloadable cutie, patootie, versions I came across online. First up, wild animal cards!

I suddenly received a Disney’s Family Fun magazine in the mail a couple of weeks ago and this was one of the featured Valentine’s Day card ideas. It was too cool not to attempt, so we are going for it. To get the full instructions pick up the magazine, which has a ton of other great ideas, or go to: www.familyfun.com.

I love the idea that the kids get a little something and it’s not going straight to ~~their thighs~~ rot their teeth. ;o) Next up, in the same type of idea category is from Simply Modern Mom. I LOVE this one!

So, sweet and simple, of course! Go to her blog for a free printable too.

Over at Our Humble A{bowe}d, Amanda has created some neat printables and ideas for giving both sweets and non-sweet treats.

With the Little Guy’s love of robots and stickers, I would have definitely jumped on this idea had I come across it first. But….maybe next year!?!

Hope you all are having a good time decorating and thinking up fun things to do for your loved ones this month!

Kitsch Krafts

Shop Updates : More Jewelry Fun!

ehouston — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 08:23:00 -0700

I have been at it again. This time I hit up a different craft shop to see if there were any more jewelry making supplies that I just HAD TO HAVE! there were…

Now I am having fun making puffy pieces, set into deeper bright silver toned bezels. Again, I am counting on some other vintage fabric loving folks out there to come on by the shop and fall in love with these new pieces that I just added. Postage is included with these, so order now for Valentine’s Day!

Hot Pink Vintage Chenille. Ooh, la, la!

Sweet Vintage Flocked Butterfly Flowers.

Just after adding these two new pieces to my Kitsch Designs Handmade shop, this caught my eye…

Via

I don’t know when I would ever have the time to make one, but I think they are just stunning in their simplicity.

Kitsch Krafts

Organizing Has Really Gotten Me Down

ehouston — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:43:00 -0700

Actually, my inability to do it effectively is what’s the matter here! I guess that’s the conundrum of the unorganized person, right? I type this while simultaneously holding up piles of junk on my desk with my elbows. Hey, I have to make room for my arms and hands to type somehow, ya’ know?

Via

I challenged myself a while back (will I ever learn?) over at Chic Tweaks Alterations to organize my craft and sewing supply closet. It’s a mini-walk-in with hanging bars and shelves on each side; the contents of which had begun to spill out into the floor area making it almost impossible to get to the large shelf of vintage fabrics I store along the back wall in between said hanging areas . After trying to get to some pieces and fearing an avalanche that would have me buried for days with my family wondering where I had disappeared to, I decided it was time. Time to pull it all out and start over. Of course, with it being the holidays when this epiphany hit me I knew that task would have to wait until now. Well, now is here and I have since added two more closets, my desk and the garage to that organizing list. I know I will get there…eventually. ;o)

Via

In the meantime I am curious about how other people organize their spaces and keep them that way. I have found myself gravitating toward pictures of these masterpieces on Pinterest and dewy-eyed dreaming of the day that I get to live in such uniformly stacked and labeled bliss.

Via

Cough it up now folks! How do you stay in the know with your piles of junk? Do you somehow avoid the mountains and keep a nice cleaning rhythm throughout the year? Not me! I’m a pile until I can’t find it any more kind of person.

I’m sure there is a therapist out there just dying to talk to me.

Kitsch Krafts

PS- To find out more about my sewing and craft life please click over to Chic Tweaks!

Making and Crafts : Valentine Heart Wreath Revamp

ehouston — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 07:45:00 -0700

Last year I wrote about adding a little holiday décor to our front door in the form of a heart shaped, yarn wrapped wreath.

And, although I liked how it turned out I was disappointed at how much it faded into the dark color of our front door. While our house does sit back from the road, with trees across the front, I did hope to be able to glimpse the wreath on the door when pulling in or even driving by. Unfortunately, it was very difficult to see until you got right up to the front porch. Dark red on dark black door = disappearing décor.

So, I got the idea to add a sort of lace doily effect to the back of the wreath giving it a white outline. The hope was to make it pop against the dark door. After considering many options (foam core board, stiffened fabric, actual paper doilies, etc.) I discovered stiffened felt at Joann’s craft store last week. I had completely forgotten about this stuff and was super excited to see that I might have an easy option to work with for my idea.

The only downside was that the largest piece I saw was only 12” X 18” , which meant I would need to put two pieces together in order to cover the back of the wreath with overhang. At that point I was not really sure this was going to come together the way I envisioned, but the low cost and ready-to-go materials made for a project just my speed these days.

Easy, I’m all about it.

Oh, that might not have come across the way it was meant….but trust me, this prude meant it in the lazy way!

The next step was to tape the stiffened felt together using clear packing tape so it would not show through to the front.

I knew this was not going to be a permanent solution to keeping the pieces together, but it did work to hold them in place while making the design and attaching it to the wreath.

My first attempt to freehand the scallop around the heart wreath was with a disappearing fabric marker (greatest invention around!), but the bumpy nature of the felt and the felt tip of the marker were not a match. So, I resorted to using blue tailor’s chalk instead. Because I did all of this freehand, things were not perfect and I made most of my cuts inside the lines to eliminated some wonkiness and the blue chalk. After cutting out the basic heart shape with the scalloped edge I used an oval hole punch to add the cut-outs within each bump of the scallop. Using fabric fusion, I glued the heart wreath directly to the white felt backing. Since the wreath is a little uneven due to the wrapped yarn, I also used some fabric piles to help weigh it down a little for a better hold. After a night of drying I used a couple of T-pins shoved through the felt and into the back of the heart for an added safety measure in keeping the felt “doily” in place.

Wholla! Revamped Valentine’s Day wreath that can be seen from farther away than the bottom step!

Kitschy, but fun for another year. What type of holiday décor are you guys using to spruce your pads this year?

Kitsch Krafts

I Will Just Be Blunt!

ehouston — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:31:00 -0700

In case you have been wondering about the inconsistent posting here and over at Chic Tweaks lately, I will just put it out there. This….

….equals an amazing energy sucking, exhaustion inducing, fall-on-my-face-after-chasing-a-two-year-old excuse to sleep rather than blog.

I promise I am doing my best to get back on track folks.

Please bear with me.

Kitsch Krafts

Pinterest Challenge : Must You Mock Me?

ehouston — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 06:56:00 -0700

Don’t laugh too hard. I am still working on this project. Really, I am! It’s all just in stages. Yep, that’s the story I’m going with.

(from Milly Bee)

(Heart Shaped Photo Collage, I believe from the blog, Click It Up a Notch.)

I finally pulled together enough frames to get the size and basic shape I was looking for. Since I did not go with all the same sized frames, as in the inspiration photo, this presented a whole new challenge I had not even considered. Big DUH, over here.

And then I changed it all…

…several times.

I’m still not settled on the middle frame, but the size of this one seems about right. What I am not settled on is whether I will go through the pain of painting this one or just shell out the cash for a new frame. I will definitely need to purchase a custom mat for the handprint picture, so I am leaning toward being cheap and just painting what I have. The time needed to paint everything for this project is what really slowed me down with this whole challenge. I started this project just as the weather began to get cold, so I felt I did not have a choice in painting by hand versus spray painting (I have to do all spray painting outside in the elements). If I had known then how many warmer days we would still have left in the year, I never would have pulled the can and brushes out in the first place. Lesson learned. Now back to whether I can stomach painting that middle frame, or just throwing in the towel to buy a new one??? I’m thinkin’, I’m thinkin’.

In the end I nixed the idea of all black and white shots and here is why. First, there are a LOT of frames to fill here! Second, I have a ton of cute shots and artwork to put some where! Since this arrangement is going in our master bedroom, and is all about family, I figured it’s the best place for all those sentimental things.

With an impending visit from the grandparents this coming weekend I had to make a decision on the layout which was on the guest room floor. Or, risk another several weeks of frames stacked in the closet. I think I am good with this and there is still a little space for adding smaller frames to round out the heart shape even more. Although, I do kind of like that it’s not going to be a perfect heart. So, they got post-its with numbers to aid in getting them back into this arrangement and I will pray I can get them on the wall in a somewhat smooth process.

Now, I will spend another whole bunch of time hemming and hawing over what to put where, just as I did about which frame looks best in which spot? Once more of those decisions are made I will bore you guys with one final post so you can ooh and aaahhh!

Oye, remind me to pick a much easier challenge next time, okay?

Kitsch Krafts

Making And Crafts : Covered Button Jewelry

ehouston — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:33:00 -0700

This isn’t anything new. In fact, there are tutorials plastered all over the internet and lots of people selling covered button jewelry on Etsy. But, this is what I have been playing around with lately and I wanted to share. Not only have I made some fun stuff for myself, but I think I may join the legions and post some pieces for sale in my handmade Etsy shop, Kitsch Designs. I know, I know, boring….well, I have my reasons. For a long time now I have been trying to figure out the best way to use up all those itty-bitty little scraps of vintage fabric that just seem to precious to throw away. So far they have just been collecting dust in a box. I figure with barkcloth being so scarce any more I can’t get rid of even the smallest piece, right?

(This last one is an old quilter’s fabric with a printed log cabin design.)

Plus, there have to be others out there that love the idea of textile jewelry, but don’t see patterns that speak to them. I’m hoping some more Mid-Century Modern lovers will be happy to see these simple jewelry pieces in fabrics that work right into their retro way of life!

Happy Shopping folks!

Kitsch Krafts

Roxy - The Wonder Dog

ehouston — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 08:32:00 -0700

This past weekend we had to say goodbye one of our dearest friends. Our old girl Roxy would have turned 16 this August, but her body was really showing her age in dog years if you know what I mean. Luckily she had the energy for one last romp in the yard on MLK day, chasing golf balls as my husband chipped them around for her. She seemed her usual self, albeit pretty old and semi-crippled, but still able to let her inner puppy out when that felt natural. Unfortunately, things quickly took a turn for the worse as her arthritis plagued body just gave up. Saying goodbye is quite possibly one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, seeing as how she was my constant companion for all those years. Seeing her suffer was worse.

The mister and Roxy enjoying one of the biggest snowfalls we ever had in Nashville, TN.

She always posed with our Christmas tree, circa 2007.

For these two it was true love from first sight!

We will miss you Roxy! You can never be replaced. Here’s to chasing balls in heaven!

Kitsch Krafts

Let There Be Blinds!

ehouston — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 09:25:00 -0700

Yep, we finally have cover for our formal living room windows. Although, we will most likely keep them open all the time since that room only gets a small amount of light during the day due to its more northern exposure. Here are a couple of shots of the nekkid’ windows:

Now here they are sporting their new 2 inch faux wooden blinds from Home Depot:

Pretty subtle and nothing major at this point, but I’m sure my mom and the hubs will be happy to see we are no longer total exhibitionists around here! Now I just need to find a fabric I like to make some stationary panels a la’ the dining room. I think that will finally bring this room to a more finished look and then down the line I can work on some new side tables with less leg.

Any home projects going on around your places lately?

Kitsch Krafts

Yep, It’s Another SHOP UPDATE : Kitsch Designs On Etsy

ehouston — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 08:33:00 -0700

Sorry for such a similar post to the one from Monday, but hey at least this one is about my other shop of handmade items, Kitsch Designs! Like I was saying a couple of days ago, I have been creating some small, more affordable vintage fabric items and I was able to get a couple of photo album brag books finished and added to the shop. These are a perfect Valentine’s Day gift for that hopeless romantic on your list, or really any friend that loves to have actual photos with them at all times. I don’t think I will ever get used to looking at, or showing, pictures of babies on a cell phone.

Yellow and Turquoise Floral

Preppy Red, Black, Yellow and Grey

Romantic Pale Purple, Blue and Green

Made from vintage fabrics and vintage handkerchiefs with vintage buttons and trim, each is completely one of a kind. They hold 36, 4 X 6 photos and there is no shipping charge if mailed to an address in the USA. Whoo-hoo!

Kitsch Krafts

Shop Updates : Kitsch Designs and KD Vintage

ehouston — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 07:29:00 -0700

As I mentioned earlier in the month, I wanted to move my vintage items out of my main shop to free up space for more handmade vintage textile items. Shortly after posting about making this change, I did it.

Ta-da! Welcome to my vintage only shop on Etsy, KD Vintage.

So far I have just moved the vintage items from the Kitsch Designs shop over to this one, along with a few items from my Artfire store. I have also picked up a few new items to add. Just as soon as I can get some photos edited. Wah-wuh! Soon, I promise!

In the meantime I wanted to address some questions about projects I posted here a long time ago and stated I would soon include those types of items in my store. Here is one to jog your memory.

I have some of these in the hopper and hope to get more of my textile art pieces (mentioned here) posted soon too.

I have several that just need to be mounted and bound. Keep coming back for more updates. You might just find the perfect Valentine’s Day gift and don’t forget Mother’s Day is just around the corner too!

Kitsch Krafts

Thank You, Thank You, THANK YOU!!!

ehouston — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 03:11:19 -0700

It finally happened. I put the “thank you” notes in the mail this week. Pretty pathetic second week of the new year event for a woman who buys her thank you cards at the end of the previous Christmas season, or at least before Thanksgiving, wouldn’t you say? Typically the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve is spent cleaning up the Christmas decorations, because we are a family that believes in bad luck for the new year if they are still up after the first, and writing thank you notes. This year was no exception. Decorations were down well before heralding the new year. We even had these neat cards made through the preschool fundraiser, featuring my son’s artwork and they arrived the second week of November (if I remember correctly).

See!

Cute, right?

So, what was my problem this year? I’m not really sure. Sometimes I think that the over planning or trying to get ahead of the game just kills the fun of the pannicky feeling you get with a ticking deadline.

For those of you out there that gave us something lovely, you done good, you done good! There were no rejects of any kind this time around. ;o) No matching sweaters, while perfectly nice, eliciting a snicker at the idea of wearing them together. Better yet, the plans for the Sear’s Portrait Studio appointment flashing in my mind and bringing a huge grin to my face. No, jumpers to put on my kid for a picture only and then to be hidden away in the back of the closet until he can no longer wear that size. (oh, I have never done that, have I?) And, we avoided gift cards to places we never shop- yeah! All in all it was a wonderful gifty time of year and we are grateful for all the generosity that was bestowed upon us.

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!

Kitsch Krafts