Hey there!

Here are a couple of recently completed pots crocheted with cotton string and starched hard with a cornstarch and water mixture to hold the shape. They make a lovely sound if you rap on them with your knuckles. They were worked freestyle with two strands of cotton string throughout. Pretty much entirely done in single crochet except for a few random rows in the smaller pot.

They could hold dried or paper flowers but I kinda like them empty and just chillin’ on the mantel.

M

The post Pretty Crochet Pots appeared first on Michele Made Me.

Hello?… Hello? Is this thing on?

Oooh, I think it iiis… I think it’s working… Yes, it still works! AMAZING.

Hey there. How are you? Well, I hope.

I? I am feeling quite shy actually. I haven’t posted in such a while, I feel like an utter newb. Plus, it took me 15 minutes to remember how to upload a photo. Can you imagine?

Sooo, I made a painting out of a photograph. It’s pink trees… In winter… I think that’s what I’ll call it in fact. Pink Trees In Winter by Michele. Good name, right? A propos? If you have a better name, let me know.

Nothing is set in stone.

M

The post Hello Blog. appeared first on Michele Made Me.

I gave you a small glimpse of this quilt back here. It was in pieces then, but it’s altogether now!

When I took these pictures last winter,  I was trying to beautify this messy messy construction site by hanging the flimsy nearby. I find that if you focus on the pretty quilt flimsy, then you don’t notice the mess so much. It’s all a matter of perspective.

I had originally tried to take a photo on a different fence but the wind was angry that day, my friend, and the flimsy was not cooperating. I had to find an alternate location.

The messy messy construction site turned out to be a not-bad backdrop, eh?

M

The post Quilt Flimsy on a Construction Site appeared first on Michele Made Me.

I remember some things about being Catholic. Like going to church every Sunday. Like being an altar-girl. Like the prayers. I can still recite the Hail Mary and the Lord’s Prayer in both french and english no problemo. My mother quotes the Bible to this day, and I remember her quoting it back then too. Amazingly, I even remember some of the sayings: “Let the little children come to me for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, ” or “Ask and you shall receive”… Yeah, those words are a part of who I am even now.

The catholic saints are probably the thing that fascinated me the most about that religious upbringing. I remember my mother telling us the saintly stories. She told us of Kateri Tekakwitha, the young native woman who was sainted. I remember the story of Padre Pio a priest who bled in the same places that Christ did after crucifixion. And we heard about the three children of Lourdes to whom the Virgin Mary appeared.

One of the most powerful and busy saints, to my knowledge and experience, is Saint-Anthony of Padua. Say I were studying to be a saint – anything’s possible – I would ask Saint Anthony for pointers. That guy has got his act together, let me tell you. Saint-Anthony of Padua is the patron saint of Lost Things, and I, lapsed though I may be, always pray to him for help with finding stuff. Here is a guy who is working from beyond the grave to keep track of the stuff you’ve lost and I swear his stats are pert’ near perfect. I could go on for days about the hundreds of things I’ve lost that Saint Anthony has found again. And I know you skeptics don’t believe me, which is fine, but I myself have some darn compelling reasons to give Anthony there the benefit of the doubt.

At this point in my story, there are 7 of us kids in the family. Four of us have yet to be born. We range in age from 18 months to 13 years old. We like to play outdoors in our expansive rural yard. We live out in what we lovingly refer to as “the sticks”; the closest neighbours are a long way off. I personally am about 8 years old. Our mom comes out of the house and tells us she has to go into town. She tells us we have to watch the baby, Simone, who is with us outside playing and who is widely known as a “busy-buddy”. She’s an 18 month old, 20 lb trouble-maker. You know the kind. My mom gets in the car and takes off for town. About half way there, she changes her mind. “Something’s not right”, she tells herself, “I have to go back”. On the gravel dirt road, she turns the car around and drives back home again. As she gets out of the car, she asks us where Simone is. “She was right here 2 seconds ago,” someone says. We all look at each other. We begin to quietly look about. After a minute we realize she’s nowhere. Where is she? We start looking. We spread out. We run and call in all directions. Looking everywhere in the immediate vicinity. In the house. In our large yard. In the gardens. Throughout the many sheds. We spread out in search of her. My mother invokes Saint-Anthony, the patron saint of Lost Things.

Half an hour later, we’ve yet to find her. My mother calls us all back to the yard and orders us all to be quiet. We hush up. “I’m going to call her. And you with all your ears, will listen as hard as you can.” She begins. “SIMONE!” she shouts. All is quiet. “SIMONE!” She shouts again. And in the distance, a sharp ear hears a small something. Someone whispers: “Did you hear that? I heard a noise.” My mother shouts: “SIMONE!” And again someone hears something. It’s difficult to position the sound, but my mother continues her shouts. Our hearts beat as we begin to get a lock on the sound, stretching our ears to listen, following the faint sound through the yard, to the south side of the house, towards the wooded area of our rural property, down into, and up out of, a generous ditch. Across a road. Down into, and up out of, a large ravine. And into the scrubby woods. My mother continues her calls. In an organized line we follow the tiny replies. It sounds like a faint: “Quoi?” which means “What?” in french. Deep into the woods, we beat a path. We continue together until we come upon her. My sweet sister Simone, who at a year and a half, is making her way through the forest, following our big cat Joe. And even as we try to collect her in our arms, she runs away from us laughing. But through the laughter and the ensuing tears, we thank our beloved St Anthony for helping us find her, our beautiful baby sister, Simone, the “busy-buddy” trouble-maker.

So to the skeptics far and wide, I have only one thing to say to you: “Be that way”. As far as I’m concerned the fewer people who know about and believe in St. Anthony, the better. More for me if you know what I mean. Cause I have needs, man. I have sisters to find and such.

M

The post Thank you St. Anthony. appeared first on Michele Made Me.

The weather has been lovely here and the garden needed my love and attention somethin’ fierce. Over the last few weeks, I’ve divided plants, moved some around, plucked out the scragglies, pruned the dead wood, and generally made things look alive and presentable. It’s much better. And mama feels better. I’m so pleased when my work pays off like this.

The only drawback: my hands look hideous. But I guess they bear the proof of my labors. Maybe I should flaunt them proudly instead of hiding their ghastliness in my pockets, eh?

Anyhow, I wanted to show off the bird house gazebo I made. I put this little project together I want to say five years ago now. I made it from twigs and a few remnants of wood, and sat it atop a post leftover from the old fence we replaced. In the interim, the little gazebo accumulated a beautiful layer of moss on its roof. This year, I decided it needed something more. A little boost perhaps? So with various things gleaned from the garden cleanup, namely old virginia creeper vines, dead twigs and dried flower heads, I commenced decorating the ugly post.

Once I had finished, I was totally tickled to see a robin redbreast land on the little bird house gazebo. That made my day!

As the seasons go by, the plan is to consistently add to the post decoration with bits of nature: flowers, freshly cut vines, and maybe even stems of berries. This way the project will always be in flux, almost as though it were a living thing.

A very fitting addition to our little garden, wouldn’t you say? I will be placing it on my Garden Ideas Pinterest Board in case you want to check it out.

M

The post A Bird House Gazebo appeared first on Michele Made Me.

There is a city in my country that is being devastated by wildfire. Thousands of people have lost their homes. An estimated 100 000 people have been evacuated from the area. And the fire rages on.

I hope you will join me in sending them prayers of strength and courage. Perhaps even a small donation. I know they would appreciate it. I certainly would.

In other news, I finished a thing.

“Drop Me Off Right Here” is the name of this new scrappy, improv, quilt-as-you-go (QAYG) quilt. It was inspired by this comely quilt by Leslie Keating. I used this QAYG method.

This is the back of the quilt, by the way.

I’ll go into more detail about it in time.

Do take care, won’t you?

M

The post Quilt Finish: Improv QAYG appeared first on Michele Made Me.

Are you there?

Did you make it? Good.

Okay, so I thought I’d just take a moment to explain some of the changes we’ve made – me and Abby – on the new and improved Michele Made Me blog.

So, here we go.

1. There’s a new header with a birdie on it. The birdie represents me… I’m one of those flightless types.
2. I’ve updated the About page. First time in years.
3. Super-important. There’s a brand new shop that makes for a much better shopping experience. I’ll talk about it more in a sec.
4. If you hover over the Tutorials heading, you’ll get a lovely categorized drop-down list which will, I hope sincerely, help you find things.
5. Ditto for the Series heading. Note, I may have to tweak the Series drop-down list ’cause it’s out of control. It’s huge.
6. There’s a newfangled Contact page with which you can theoretically contact me. I don’t know if it works because I have not tried to contact myself because I don’t have to because I’m right here.

Back to #3. The Shop. As per the following visual aid, if you click the shop icons (the little pictures) then you will be sent to a page that is chocked full of information regarding your potential purchase…

Like so… It’s a thing of beauty and my favourite aspect about this whole change so far.

I think those are the major changes so far. There are a couple of other things I’m considering adding. But I will let you know about them as they come up. In the meantime, have a look around and if something doesn’t work, please let me know. I’m tweaking forever.

M

The post It’s The Brand New Michele Made Me! appeared first on Michele Made Me.

Originally introduced waaaaay back in 2011, today I’m releasing this pretty Fern ‘n Bird Stenciled Denim Chair project as a free tutorial on the blog, yay! In this tutorial, denim from an old pair of jeans is used to re-cover a chair cushion. The denim is simply embellished with freezer-paper stenciling and the outcome is elegantly casual, methinks. Shall we begin?

Fern ‘n Bird Stenciled Denim Chair Tutorial

You will need:

• an old pair of jeans
• a pair of scissors
• freezer paper
• an Exacto knife
• a cutting surface
• fabric paint in white and black
• a blunt paint brush
• pencil and eraser
• screw driver
• industrial stapler
• sandpaper
• newspaper
• iron and ironing board
• a chair in need of re-upholstering
• Fern ‘n Bird Template ︎ click on the link to access the template!

Prepare The Chair

Step 1: Remove the cushion by unscrewing the screws from underneath the seat.

Step 2: Clean the chair with a damp cloth to remove any dirt and grime. If your chair needs painting, proceed as follows, and if not, skip on to Step 4.
Step 3: Working in a ventilated area or outside, sand down the entire chair with fine grit sandpaper to create a rough surface suitable for painting. Again, wipe down the chair with a clean, damp cloth to remove any dust created during sanding. Apply a coat of furniture primer. After the primer dries according to manufacturer’s instructions, apply a few coats of latex paint, allowing the paint to dry between coats.

Refer to Young House Love: How to Paint Furniture for more detailed furniture painting instructions.

Prepare The Stencil

Step 4: Adjust the Fern ‘n Bird template, sizing it to your needs using a photocopier, or leaving it as is. Trace the design onto freezer-paper. Working on a cutting surface, cut out all the grey areas using an Exacto knife. Keep all the little white bits. These are part of your stencil.

Step 5: Before you cut into your jeans, be sure that the chosen pant leg will fit the width of your chair cushion. Cut the pant leg off leaving plenty of room to reach around all sides of the cushion and a few inches round the back.

Step 6: Place your freezer-paper stencil where you wish it to be on your denim. Be sure that you give it plenty of room on all sides. You want it to be fully visible and not hanging off the edge of your seat, poor bird. Now with your iron set to “no steam”, iron the stencil to the denim, plastic side down. Don’t forget all the little pieces like the wing, feet, beak, head and eye. Iron everything in place. Try to avoid wrinkles in the freezer-paper like I have. Eesh.

Paint The Design

Step 7: Place a sheet of newspaper under your denim to protect your work surface. Have an extra sheet of newspaper handy for removing excess paint from your brush. Mix a tiny bit of black into some white fabric paint to give a light grey paint. Or start with grey paint if you prefer. If you’re mixing paint, make enough to cover your template. You only want to mix it once. Moisten your paintbrush with water. Remove as much of the water as possible. Now load a little bit of paint onto your brush. Brush most of the paint off onto the newspaper. You want your brush almost dry but not quite. Begin applying paint into your stencil, pressing down firmly and moving your brush in small circles as you go. This technique is call “dry brushing”. Repeat the process of loading paint onto your brush, unloading most of it onto the newspaper and then painting the stencil, until your stencil is covered and the paint is applied very thinly and evenly over the entire design.

Step 8: Once you’re done painting, you can immediately but carefully remove the freezer-paper from the denim. It peels off easily without leaving any residue on the fabric. Finally, heat-set your painted design with the iron. Also if you are so inclined, you can re-use the stencil to make a second matching chair. Just remember to place a thin sheet of paper between the used stencil and your iron (to keep your iron clean) before using the stencil a second time.

Re-cover Your Cushion

Step 9: When I removed the green covering from my chair, the original blue covering was still in ship-shape. I decided to leave it in place and install the denim directly on top. You may not have that option, in which case you’d have to purchase a new foam cushion available in standard sizes at your local fabric shop.

Step 10: To install the denim cover, place the fabric good side down. Place the cushion, cushy side down, in the center of your fabric ensuring that your design is where you want it on the seat. Now, while firmly pulling the denim up, around the edge and to the back of the cushion, install a staple at the middle top edge of the cushion back. Continue in this way with the middle bottom, middle left and middle right of the back of your cushion, firmly pulling on the edge of the denim with each new staple. Keeping the denim taught at all times, place a staple in one corner, then the opposite corner, and then the remaining corners. Now fill in the gaps with staples.

Step 11: To get a smooth finish on the corners, many staples will need to be installed. Trim the excess denim to give the seat a clean look.

Step 12: Finally, place the cushion on the chair and re-install the screws.

Your work here is done, baby!

Now, grab a tall, cool one and take a load off on your pretty new Fern ‘n Bird embellished chair!

︎M


P. S. Guess what? I finally joined Pinterest (just a few tiny weeks ago) so I’m pinning this project to my “Denim Forever!” Pinterest board. Check it!

The post Tutorial: Fern ‘n Bird Stenciled Denim Chair appeared first on Michele Made Me.

Found out yesterday that Arizona’s state bird is the cactus wren. Huh. News to me since I didn’t even know states had birds. I mean, I knew they had birds, but I didn’t know that they had bona fide, official, you-are-our-mascot types of birds. In Arizona, that office is held by the cactus wren.

What did I find out about this little creature? Well, in terms of diet, I share much in common with the cactus wren. I am an omnivore and so is she. I like to eat seeds, fruits – and yes – small animals, and so does the cactus wren. O’ course she chooses wasps and frogs; I myself prefer quails and chickens.

Furthermore, according to the people who make Wikipedia, the cactus wren “forms permanent pair bonds AND the pair defends a territory where they live all through the year.” Well, guess what? I do that exact same thing!!! I am amazing at territory defense and permanent pair bonding! You should see me. I’m like professional. I feel like Wikipedia took my life and put it under the cactus wren heading. The resemblance is uncanny.

So when I found out how similar the cactus wren and I were and are, I decided I needed to colour in a cactus wren colouring page like now. So I googled it and it literally took me 2 seconds to find it. Right HERE at Super Coloring! It was meant to be, I tell you.

And then I decided that colouring pencils just weren’t good enough for my birdish soul mate. So I broke out the paints. Ya, baby.

A little while later, with the help of my paints and brushes, I had my very own pretty little cactus wren to hang in the kitchen to remind me that I and nature have much in common and are maybe even one and the same.

I hope you have a lovely Easter. I know the cactus wren and I will.

︎M

The post Colouring Page Painting: Cactus Wren on a Saguaro Cactus appeared first on Michele Made Me.

Smiles and salutations!

As you know from the last post and many many before that too, I have always had an insatiable appetite for egg carton crafts. The year 2015 was no different because around this time last spring, I had the pleasure of working with Burnbrae Farms – the egg company – on a couple of egg carton crafts for their spring newsletter. Remember the strangely eclectic Rabbit Wall Bust? Yeah, me too. Well, I thought it was high time I share the other, more kid-friendly, craft I made for them too.

Visit the whole step-by-step tutorial over at Burnbrae Farms Blog ☛ The Egg Carton Window Garden!

︎M

The post Kid Craft: Egg Carton Window Garden Tutorial appeared first on Michele Made Me.