Sugar Bee Crafts: sewing, recipes, crafts, photo tips, and more!

So I think I'm Crafty

2012-01-27T13:00:00.000-06:00

Big News - - have you seen this on the sidebar....

Yep, SoYouThinkYou'reCrafty is in Season 10 already, and to make it even better, it's an ALL-Star Round - wahoo!

You can see all my fabulous entries from when I competed in Season 5 HERE - - I made it pretty far, all the way to gain the title of the first loser - - aka, runner up - KoJo beat me with their unbelievably amazing comforter.

Here's the low-down on contestants in Season 10

It's going to be super tough, but one awesome ride. One thing different this season - - it's not anonymous!! That means I'm sure I'll be begging for your vote each week.

The fun starts bright and early Monday morning!! You'd better pop on over now though if you want to see the intro to the season....SoYouThinkYou'reCrafty

Pink Fluff - flashback friday

2012-01-27T06:00:00.000-06:00

I thought it might be fun to do a few flashback posts, because my projects in the past are rockin' awesome and maybe some of you weren't around then to see them. So I came up with (insert booming voice) "FLASHBACK FRIDAY"....

Remember the Pink Fluff Skirt - follow that link for the full tutorial!! We made these in mass production at a playgroup that year - it was crazy fun!

LiveOn Rewind

2012-01-26T14:00:00.000-06:00

You remember that I'm an Ambassador for that awesome new site, LiveOn, right?? I've talked about it several times before - - you can click that button up above to check it all out and get started.

Today I want to focus on an aspect of LiveOn called LiveOn Rewind. Here's their screen shot:

I love that tag line "Digitize your photo prints today and keep them vibrant for years to come" - perfect, right?? As an ambassador, I got to try out the Rewind Services. Super easy!! They send you a box, with a prepaid return label. You fill the box and send it on it's way. They do video too!

The big question will be - which pictures!! I decided that I would pick an event. So I sent in all the pictures from my husband's mission (he served for 2 years in the Philippines). At first I thought the box was small, but it holds a TON. So after putting all those pictures in, and still having lots of room, I went with all our wedding pictures.

It was a fun Sunday afternoon activity - looking through pictures, making fun of each other, noting how bad our wedding pictures were, how young we looked, etc. The box came with helpful tips (or maybe it was in an email they sent....) like try to keep your pictures in order because the order they are in the box will be the order they are put on your CD.

Um, I did not eat that box of Caramel Delights all on my own. Only because others beat me to it.....

I think mine shipped super fast - I got this email either the next day or the day after that - either way, super quick. I had to do a screen shot for you because I loved how they sent a scanned picture along with it - it was the picture at the top of my pile. The subject was "we've received your memories" and I opened the email to see that picture - love the outstanding service!!!

I can't wait to get my CD - I know it's going to be top-notch. And I can't image trying to scan in all these pictures - well worth shipping them off.

And guess what - a deal for you!

You can get 30% off at LiveOn Rewind with the code cgc68. Enjoy!!

Update - look what came! I haven't had a chance to check out the CD, but I'm sure I'll post about it and share some great pictures with you, now that they're digital and all...

Thank you to LiveOn for sponsoring this blog post. Please LiveOn to learn more about sharing and preserving your most important memories. I was selected for this sponsorship by Clever Girls Collective. Although story ideas were provided, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Bleach Number Shirt

2012-01-26T06:00:00.000-06:00

Quick and simple tutorial on a Bleach Number Shirt today. I actually did this project back in November when my toddler turned 3, but am just now getting around to blogging about it - oops! Anyways, this is something anyone can do!

Cut a number out of contact paper or vinyl. I used my Silhouette/Cameo (can't remember which I was using at that time) to cut it, but a simple number is easily something you can trace and cut by hand. Then diluted a little bleach in water - maybe half and half? Then stick the stencil you made onto the shirt and use a foam brush to paint the bleach on. At first I didn't see an immediate change (maybe I used to much water??) so I set the shirt in the sun for awhile - maybe 30 minutes?? (this is why I should write tutorials right when I do things - so I can remember the steps better!)

Then I peeled of the number and ran the shirt through the washing machine. So side note, when I started this project, I assumed that the dark colored shirt would beach to orange. I thought that'd be awesome. But apparently brown bleaches to purple - some of you FB fans knew that, so kudos to you. And one of you said purple is the "in" boy color right now, so I'm just going with it....

You can see the defined number outline, the light purple, and you can also see the part where the bleach seeped under the contact paper - I kind of like that seep affect - it's the darker purple.

I whipped this up with things I had on hand the day before his birthday, because any little boy this cute needs a birthday shirt!!

You can do this!! Go give it a try!!

The Underdog and a goal in sight...

2012-01-25T17:00:00.000-06:00

So, are there football watchers in your house? Maybe you're one of them? I'm not much of one, but Trevor is, so games are on, especially lately with the playoffs. Anytime I sit down to watch I always want to know "who's supposed to win" and then I pull for the other team. I love backing the underdog....

Something about that come-from-behind mentality is so fun, right??

Well, guess who's the underdog - ME! Did you see this post on A Girl and A Glue Gun?? I've been trying to catch Kimbo for years in followers, and then she throws this out there - oh yeah, it's on.

Start:

AGAAGG, 4187

SBC (you know, Sugar Bee Crafts), 4142

that's a gap of 45.....

Yesterday:

AGAAGG, 4236

SBC, 4207

that's a gap of 29.....

Today:

AGAAGG, 4245

SBC, 4219

that's a gap of 26.....

Oh yeah, the underdog is gaining ground.....

So, want in on the fun?? Over on the right sidebar, kind of under my picture, it says "join this site" - just click it and you'll be an official follower of mine.
You can follow A Girl and A Glue Gun too, cause she's awesome, but just wait til Feb 2nd :)

Great sob story underdog post, right?? Want another heart-jerker?? Remember when I ran a triathlon?

Let's use the term "ran" loosely, because I mostly walked. (I wrote all about it here, in case you're bored and need something to read). During the "run", there was always this gal about a block ahead of me. Gal in an orange tshirt. I thought, "she's my goal" - I didn't want to win, or come in say, the top 85%, but I thought it'd be great if I could overtake someone besides the 60yr old injured man. Well every time I psyched myself up to run, so did she, of course. I never caught her.
What's the point?? You know. AGAAGG - she's the blog in the orange shirt. The one I've had my eye on.....this time, I can do it!!

How's that for a pep talk?! game on.

Showing Off - Reader Feature

2012-01-25T14:00:00.000-06:00

Hi, Sugar Bee Craft readers! My name is Carrie, and I blog over at My Favorite Finds. It's my little piece of the web where I share recipes, organizing ideas, crafts, and Disney travel ideas. I'm so excited to share my {favorite} finds with you from this week's Take a Look Tuesday link party.

Organizing the Craft Room from Saving 4 Six {my favorite in this post is using the coffee cans to store small craft items}

Source: saving4six.com via Carrie on Pinterest

Trash to Treasure Coffee Bar from Rustic Living {i love coffee!}

Source: itsrusticliving.blogspot.com via Carrie on Pinterest

Candy Heart Wreath from Keeping It Simple {really, how cute is this?!}

Source: craftskeepmesane.blogspot.com via Carrie on Pinterest

Mickey Pillowcase Dress from Life on the Bay Bush {the little princess in the photo above will be donning one of these on our trip this summer...now I need to find someone to make one for me!}

Source: lifeonthebaybush.blogspot.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Hanging Signs High in your home from Signs by Andrea {we have very high ceilings, and I can see us doing this in our house}

Source: signsbyandrea.com via Carrie on Pinterest

Fabric Covered Lampshade from How to Nest for Less {our master bedroom is slowly being redecorated and these are inspiring}

Source: howtonestforless.com via Carrie on Pinterest

Disney Dollars Jar from Sassy Sites {we sooo need one of these for our spending money}

Source: sassysites.blogspot.com via Carrie on Pinterest

Sugar Cookie Bar from Truly Lovely {what fun for an easy but elegant dessert table}

Source: trulylovelyblog.com via Carrie on Pinterest

Master Bath Wall Decor from Creatively Living {i never think of buying discounted frames to repurpose for later....she did!}

Source: blah2beautiful.blogspot.com via Carrie on Pinterest

There ya go! I hope to see some of you stop by my Wednesday Pinterest Favorites party each week. You can share your pinspired, pin worthy crafts, DIY, home decor...the sky's the limit!

Thanks for having me, Mandy! I LOVED picking out these great ideas!

XOXOXOXO, Carrie {My Favorite Finds}

Showing Off - my picks

2012-01-25T11:00:00.000-06:00

Wowza, that was an amazing link party yesterday - be sure to click back through it! (remember I "truncated" the link posts the day after they run - they're still there, but you have to "click to read more" on that post - it's so the blog will load faster)

Some fabulousness that caught my eye....

Easy Valentine art from It's Overflowing - love that heart punch, makes it easy peasy!

Grits and Giggles whipped up the cutest dress - I want one!!

Grow Creative linked up a quick and easy tutorial on how to crochet a flower - perfect for keeping busy while watching shows...

You can see this amazing desk over at Shabby Loco - it's name is Mr. Fancy Pants....

Creatively Living made this wall art for her bathroom, which I love:

This string word sign over at QueLinda is amazing! It reminds me of my yarn wall art, but hers is so much more intricate!

I'm not the hugest fan of paper bag skirts, but it's so cute on this little kiddo that I might change my mind - I bet my girls would love one. You can get this tutorial at Sew Love It:

You've got to love the monster gift card holder from RaeGunRamblings:

Sarah, from Welcome to the Good Life, has done it again - she's the queen of refashion - she took a thrift store skirt and turned it into this lovely:

Did you see this quick clock redo from NZ Echochick? So fun - I think my clocks need a facelift (pun intended, of course...)

I need a Valentine's Wreath - love this one from Suburbs Mama:

Making it feel Like Home used plain ole contact paper to fancy up her front windows, and add privacy - she hand cut them- great work!

I think this would be a great craft for a group - love the one bead that's a different color. You can read all about the cute necklace at Heavenly Handmade:

Ms. Redo made her first ever banner - watch out, now you'll want to make a million more!

Get the tutorial on how to make a felt circle necklace over at My Life in Namibia:

And........what you scrolled down to see most............Most Viewed Link:

the Easy Valentine Art from It's Overflowing that I featured above - we must all love easy!

Thanks for linking everyone!! If you were featured feel free to grab the button: (oh, and if you were featured on FB, or if you're featured later this afternoon, you're included - grab away!!)

WIWW

2012-01-25T06:00:00.000-06:00

I feel like I haven't really found my fashion groove for 2012. Not that I had one for 2011, but anyways.... I am trying to shape up so I'm doing that 30 Day Shred - so I try to do it when the kids are watching a show after lunch. But then how in the world am I supposed to dress up (aka, anything but pj pants and sweats) if I have to do that in the middle of the day?? It puts a glitch in stepping up my style! I probably need to just give up exercise for the sake of fashion.

A few days I've worn leggings so I can just exercise in them. When I saw this picture I knew that my leggings were to thin - they look like tights - I think it's the flash of the camera, but still!

I don't exercise on Saturday, so I put this on (tutorial on the cardigan was posted earlier this week) to run to the fabric store. I signed up for a quilt block club making the ugliest blocks I've ever seen - but it was only $10, so I was in. Have you noticed yet that I got TOMS for Christmas - well I did :)

Normally by now we've had a few snowfalls, but it was a very warm December for the midwest. This was the first snow, and it's barely one at all. Either way, I busted out this big and cozy sweater I got for Christmas. The collar is big so I didn't think any jewelry would work with it, so I ventured out with a feather headband - I think it was a go...

In other news, before I cropped that picture you could see the backside of the monstrous playhouse - it's pretty much done - maybe in the spring I'll go out and take a bunch of pictures to show it off to you. But not right now- it's cold out there!

How are you 2012 fashion goals going??

Take-A-Look Tuesday

2012-01-23T22:00:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone -- before you link up, or at least after, if you haven't already, can you take a quick second to click the ole "follow" button on that right side bar?? See, I've been aiming to catch AGAAGG in followers for years, and now I'm super close, so of course Miss Kimbo stepped up the game - (see here - it's a battle of the blogs!) - so I need you!! WE can do this!!

Can't wait to see what everyone's been up to - - and who will be the most viewed link - maybe you?

- - just a run down- -

Link to a Specific Post, not your whole blog - no more than a couple of posts please
Try to visit a few other people on the list - it's fun to support and encourage fellow craftiness - and everyone LOVES comments

If you're new to link-ups and have questions let me know and I'll do my best to help

No Sew Cardigan - refashion

2012-01-23T13:00:00.000-06:00

I think I might be the last blogger in blogland to get around to making a cardigan from a shirt - but hey, I finally did it. So you get to hear about it :)

First up, I have had a pink stripe cardigan on my mind since I saw this post from Elle Apparel (follow the link for her tutorial) almost a year ago - she sewed hers and it turned out great - here it is:

hmmm, it won't center....oh well.......

But is it me, I can never find fun knit fabric - like stripes. So the project never ended up happening.

But one day when I was wearing this pink striped shirt I have, I was thinking about how I didn't love it - mainly because it was pretty snug. I thought - finally, I have something to "refashion"! So here we go - the before picture:

You won't believe how quick and easy this is - took me just a few minutes! Fold the shirt in half and cut up the middle (of the front layer only!) like so:

Then cut off the binding around the neck - I guess you could leave it if you want to, but the shirt came up pretty high so I took mine off:

Then I angled a little "v" to make it look a little more blended - it's kind of hard to see:

Now, up until this point I had planned on hemming the cut edges. But they rolled in just a little and I thought they looked great as-is - - so that was it, a no-sew project. Just cut and be done! I told Trevor "look what I made today" as I wore it and he was very impressed until he said "wait, did you just cut the front of one of your shirts" - can't sneak anything past him.

Anyways, I really really like it! I couldn't decide if it looked better with a necklace or a scarf, and thought I loved both - they're both just different looks - so I included both to give you an idea of how to wear it.

And I even took a picture like the inspiration one. I tried the "look meaningfully at the ground" pose - enjoy:

So seriously, you can SO do this! just grab a shirt and some scissors. If you don't have a shirt you want to cut up, start hunting the thrift stores.....

Pink Poodle Bows Pattern Giveaway

2012-01-23T06:00:00.000-06:00

PINK POODLE BOWS Giveaway

Alisha, designer and owner of Pink Poodle Bows, is offering a giveaway of her pdf sewing patterns! All of her designs are made with the beginner sewer in mind, with easy to follow instructions, that will leave you feeling like a professional seamstress when you are done!

Here are some examples of her designs...

'The Riley' Dress

'Fleece Aviator' Hats

'The Bailey' Romper

'The Grace Apron' Dress

Pink Poodle Bows collection HERE.

(link is www.etsy.com/shop/pinkpoodlebow

One winner will receive any 2 patterns of their choosing from her shop Pink Poodle Bows!

So how do we enter this fun and generous giveaway???

Head over to Pink Poodle Bows HERE and leave a comment telling me what you are following.

You can:

1. Follow Pink Poodle Bows blog HERE. You'll find some fun tutorials along the way!

2. 'Like' Pink Poodle Bows on Facebook HERE

***Please be sure to leave an e-mail address in your comment

so I can contact you if you are the winner!***

This giveaway will be open until Saturday, Jan 28th, around noon.

Photo Glimpse - In Stores!

2012-01-21T16:30:00.000-06:00

I know the "photo glimpse" is supposed to be a peek into non-crafty life, but oh well - I was too excited and had to show you this - - I put a few things into a local boutique. Let the millions roll in!!

Another flock of Owie Owls - - (I hope to soon make a pattern for these - stay tuned!)

And some of the Heart Flower Hairclips, ready for some cute little girls to love:

Mmmm....Crepes (and a pan review)

2012-01-21T06:00:00.000-06:00

I have mentioned this before, but I love breakfast food. But I hate mornings. So every morning we eat cereal - easy peasy. To solve the love of breakfast food, we have Breakfast Tuesday - - breakfast for dinner, every Tuesday. The kids love it, and I love it even more.

Last week I made crepes - I had never made them before, but it was so Easy!! They are going into the breakfast food rotation for sure!! They are kind of like pancakes, but with a lot more egg - so I thought they were healthy because they're low carb :)

You pour a little batter in a pan, then tilt the pan to spread the batter really thin. Let the batter sitting on top of the poured spot spill over and cover the pan, if that makes sense:

Now let me take a quick minute to tell you about the pans I got to review. Remember CSN? Well they've changed to Wayfair.com, and I picked these Kitchen Aid pans to review:

I used to have Caphalon pans, but the protective stuff was gnarled and scratched and I wasn't that impressed. These Kitchen Aid pans were amazing - but so were my old pans when I first got them, so be sure to ask me about these pans in 5 years. Anyways, NOTHING sticks - see the crepe just slides right out!

I even sizzled up a goey mess of apples and cinnamon and sugar, and it wiped right out:

Great pans. I've in love with them.

But back to the crepes - - mmmm. The kids loved being able to add various toppings. And they kept going back for more. They were a huge hit all around!

Mmmmmm.... I got the recipe by looking up one on AllRecipes, but I don't even remember which one. I'm sure they're all about the same - it was pretty basic.

I can see clearly now....Fish Foam Review

2012-01-20T14:00:00.000-06:00

Ever heard of Fish Foam?? Let me tell you, it's super awesome!

Straight from the source: Fish Foam is an all-weather, ammonia-free glass cleaner and when sprayed, the professional grade cleaner immediately goes to work to make your glass sparkling clean. It does not leave streaks or a haze. Thousands of home and business owners across the country have tried and seen the improvement Fish Foam makes...even on the sunroofs of their cars. Your windows, mirrors, windshields, and glass surfaces will shine and cleaning them has never been easier.

So of course the first thing I wanted to test out was our fish tank - you know, cause it's "fish" foam and all :)

Before - -

During - - note, my favorite part about this stuff is the "No Drip" - regular glass cleaner is always running down - this foam stayed put!

After - - it's hard to take pictures of glass!! But trust me, no streaks and looks SO much better than the smudged, touched by a million kids with dirty hands, before picture.

So then I had to do my even dirtier sliding glass door - - here's the after - super duper awesomeness:

And you know Trevor buys and sells cars on the side - I think I've mentioned that before. Anyways, he always cleans them up really well when it's time to sell them. And he has been putting the Fish Foam to good use on all the car glass. Want to see his latest car - it's pretty sweet (see more info on it here):

So, want great, streak-free windows?? Get yourself some Fish Foam!

Now, back to the never-ending project of painting kitchen cabinets......

Watermark How-To, with Photoshop Elements

2012-01-20T06:00:00.000-06:00

There are lots of ways to create watermarks for your pictures, but my favorite is how my friend Sara told me to make one. It makes a "brush" out of your watermark, then every time you use it, you just select that brush and click it onto your picture. Let me walk you through it.

From Sara:

Super easy!

1. Open new, size by pixels make 2500 wide and as tall as you want, but no taller than 2500. I think mine was 1800 by 2500

2. Design what you want it to look like.

3. Go to Edit, Define Brush Preset. This will save the brush for you.

4. Save the picture as a photoshop file just in case you have to remake the brush at anytime.

You can't make it any bigger than 2500 pixels. This will make is large, but you can resize it down to what you need.

So let's walk through it with screen shots. First off, I'm using Photoshop elements - I think it's great. I bought a version one older than the newest version out, off of ebay for $30 - it's been great for me. If you need photo editing software, it's what I would recommend.

First, you probably have a picture open, that's irrelevant. Either way, you'll want to open a new picture. So click "File" and pick "new" then you'll get to pick what size the new image should be (Sara said: Open new, size by pixels make 2500 wide and as tall as you want, but no taller than 2500. I think mine was 1800 by 2500):

That'll open up a blank place to create your actual watermark. A Simple one is just typing out words. I typed the words "super awesome watermark", made it big enough to fill most of the page, then cropped out the extra space. You could also add an image (like my little bee):

Now at the top click "edit" and pick "define brush set". You can name it whatever you want. That's it - easy, right?!?

Now, a quick how to use a brush since when I first made mine I had no idea how to use it. Open up the picture you want to put it on (here the picture is the words "how to make a watermark" but normally it's an actual photo). Then on the left under the eraser picture is a picture of a brush. Click that. Then see the place I drew the box around - it's where you select which brush you want - it's a dropdown and your brush should be the last choice listed. Then you'll need to adjust the size - down to around 200ish. Other things to adjust are opacity (how see-through it is) and color (bottom left corner) - - once adjusted, you just hover your mouse where you want your watermark and click. (trick - click twice to make it double-dark)

In the above photo I placed several watermarks across the top in different color and opacity.

Hope this helps!!

Heart Garland

2012-01-19T14:00:00.000-06:00

Just a quick little show-off - - remember the Lifestyle Crafts die cuts - it makes it so easy to make things like this!! Just crank and done - think how long it would take to cut hearts by hand, not to mention the cute lace edge - I used this nesting die in a couple of different sizes:

Anyways, remember, with the code "SUGARBEE" you can get 20% off at Lifestyle Crafts.

Wizard Wands

2012-01-19T06:00:00.000-06:00

Aren't those wands super amazing?!?! Would you believe me if I told you they were just made from paper and hot glue? It's true - paper and hot glue - you should have that lying around, so go grab it and get to work turning your children into wizards!

I first saw these on Pinterest from this link - it's a great tutorial! Follow the link for all the details on how to make a Harry Potter wizard wand. Here's their wands:

I showed my 9 year old, who just completed the Harry Potter series, and he was all about making them. And unlike crafts where you prep and get things ready and plan ahead before doing them, I just said yeah, let's make them and started right then - it was so fun being impromtu!

Even Trevor had to get involved. He was much better at drawing designs with hot glue than I was:

After you roll the paper and hot glue your designs, you get to paint the wands - the fun never stops! We spray painted some and painted some with a brush - even watered down paint and rubbed it on like stain. It was fun to try lots of different techniques.

It was easy and fun! In fact, the next day my son brought a handful of neighborhood friends over so they could all make wands of their own. Gotta love it when crafting is cool :)

So if you ever have a snow day come up and there a bunch of kids stuck wanting something to do, here ya go - they'll all love it!

Showing Off - reader feature

2012-01-18T14:00:00.000-06:00

Hi! I am Laura and I blog over at Laura's Crafty Life!

I do a lot of DIY and craft projects, and I share some of my life as a mom of a busy 5 and (almost) 2 year old! I had so much fun looking through the links. And I looked through all of them (well, at least the 502 that were linked up when I wrote this) and it was so hard to choose! It is amazing how many talented people can all gather in one place each week!

First up, I loved this Ranch Home Tour over at It's Overflowing. I am so inspired by all of the progress she has made on updating her house.

I love seeing other people's crafty spaces, and Desiree's craft room at The 36th Avenue does not disappoint. I would definitely be inspired to create in that space!

Anyone that knows me, knows I love Harry Potter. This Harry Potter party from Calm Crazy World looks like so much fun!

Here Comes the Sun cleverly made a light table out of a rubbermaid bin and some christmas lights. This is a great kid's activity and would be wonderful to use as a craft light table.

My husband and I have been talking about building a kid's table for our two small children. I would prefer to not have one that is plastered with cartoon characters if it is going to be sitting in our living room. This one from Shabby Love looks great and not to "kid-ish"!

I do a lot of jewelry making myself, but have never really tried wire wrapping. This wire wrap jewelry tutorial from My Girlish Whims is very well written and could be attempted by even a novice jewelry maker. Aren't those earrings pretty?

I love this Valentine's Day Wreath made by My Serendipity Home. You have to go check out her post to see what she used for a wreath form. Super clever and frugal!

Are you ever in the middle of cooking and you need to figure out how many tablespoons are in a 1/4 cup or what the metric equivalent is? Head on over to Remodelaholic to print out a super cute free conversion chart you can put up on your fridge or on the inside of a cabinet.

I love a good thrift store makeover. This table from Sunny Tuesday turned out so great. I love the polka dots. So fun!

Last, but not least, I had to feature at least one delicious looking treat. I can't wait to whip up a batch of these brownie batter filled chocolate chip cookie sandwiches made by Something Swanky. Chocolate chip cookies and brownie together? It doesn't get much better than that!

Thanks again to Mandy for hosting this great party each week and letting me share my favorites (I don't know how she does this each week)!

Showing Off - my picks

2012-01-18T11:00:00.000-06:00

I {heart} the link party. Just sayin' - - let's get on to see some of the fab things you've done:

You know I don't like peanut butter, but Trevor does - - he would LOVE if I made him some homemade peanut butter cups - and these ones from Peas and Crayons are so cute:

And speaking of yummy, I can't stop starring at this Cinnamon French Toast Bake - wowza, that looks good. Get the details at What's Cooking Love? - - we eat breakfast for dinner every Tuesday, so this is for sure going on the to-make list!

I mentioned how I'm diving into redoing my kitchen - so is Girl In Air - - she shows how to add crown molding to cabinets:

About Bloggin' Time made a cute pillowcase dress out of a couple of bandanas - see:

This artwork over at Young and Crafty is amazing - wow!! Check out the tutorial over there.

I must be on a shirt refashion kick, so I was drawn in to this one by Melly Sews:

And here's another one, this time from Love Notes by Lauren - again, love the green:

Here's a cute, quick hairdo from The Letter 4 - I'll be trying it!

Kayboo Creations shows off a turquoise piano. I've mentioned this before - one day, I will get enough guts to paint my piano...one day....

The Cards We Drew used the same stencil that I used in my bedroom (here) so of course I had to show it off:

Shirts aren't the only thing you can refashion - Miss Lovie shows how to refashion a necklace:

Love this pom pom wreath over at Amy Tried It - I need a Valentine Wreath!!

Oh my, cuteness! Look at this owl from One Dog Woof - and it's so big - - love it!

And to round it out, my mom linked up to my party, KimberlyParkFarm - - she showed off her eggs she kept in food storage and then ate last week (yep, grosses me out!)

So, MOST VIEWED LINK??

The crayon art over at Helping Little Hands - doesn't that look amazing?!?

Thanks for linking everyone!! If you were featured feel free to grab the button: (oh, and if you were featured on FB, or if you're featured later this afternoon, you're included - grab away!!)

WIWW - the beginning

2012-01-18T06:00:00.000-06:00

So if you've been with me for awhile, you know I've been doing What I Wore Wednesday posts for a little over a whole year - and I started it out with this outfit, which was quite controversial:

I love that everyone jumped right in and shared their opinions right away. You can see it all on THIS POST, but one of the most memorable was: "as for the outfit I say burn it ASAP" --See, my readers are awesome, just telling it like it is...

Anyways, for some reason I just couldn't bring myself to get rid of it. So I thought it was appropriate to bring it back, one year later - I think I did a better job this time around, which shows you I might have actually learned a little about fashion in the past year, maybe:

(um, ignore the Christmas wreath - I swear I took it down after seeing this picture! it's the kids as a photographer, they don't know to point these things out) - So this time around I wore a shirt OVER it instead of under it, and my boots are taller. I tied the bow in the front a little more, and I went with big honkin' gold earrings. The denim is in the shirt instead of the pants.

Need a side-by-side??

So let's hear it - - thoughts this time around??

And random, but I wore this to one of my Lasik checkups, and the eye doctor commented on how she liked it. When random people comment on an outfit, it must be making an impression. Good or bad, who's to know. The appointments are super short so I take my kids along - to keep them entertained while I read off the chart, they take turns playing for a couple of minutes on my Tab. And they consider the camera feature a game, so I have this gem to share with you - enjoy:

Take-A-Look Tuesday

2012-01-16T22:00:00.000-06:00

Can't wait to see what everyone's been up to - - and who will be the most viewed link - maybe you?

- - just a run down- -

Link to a Specific Post, not your whole blog - no more than a couple of posts please
Try to visit a few other people on the list - it's fun to support and encourage fellow craftiness - and everyone LOVES comments

If you're new to link-ups and have questions let me know and I'll do my best to help

Kitchen Beginnings - Countertop Question!

2012-01-16T13:00:00.003-06:00

Did I mention it yet, that I'm embarking on a kitchen mini-remodel?? Well I am! And I need help picking a counter. But first, here's the "before":

And I don't normally blog in "real time" (like I usually write my posts several days ahead of time) but I had to share what I spent the morning doing - - doors are all off!

So I can delve into this - yep, I'm painting the cabinets - gray. Ever heard of Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations? Well, it looks great and so much cheaper than replacing cabinet, so I'm going to give it a go....I'm sure I'll do a whole review post for you..

But for now, I need your opinions - on Countertops. Obviously the teal has overstayed its welcome. I was leaning towards solid surface (like Corian) because there would be no seams - that's huge - it would make cleaning easy, etc. But we want a dark counter and I just learned that dark Solid Surface scratches white - wha?? I'm sure we'll have scratches, so now I don't know....Here's the options:

Solid Surface - smooth, no seams, but scratches white...

Granite - cold, hard, seams (we'll need 2) and you have to seal it and do maintenance...

Quartz - a little pricey-er, seams, but maybe better than granite.

Does anyone have any tips for picking??

Side Gathered Shirt - Tutorial - men's shirt refashion

2012-01-16T06:00:00.001-06:00

Do you remember this shirt?? It's from a What-I-Wore-Wednesday,HERE, but it went CRAZY on Pinterest because people thought it was a tutorial.

Well, for all you that have been waiting and waiting on this, NOW it's a tutorial - wahoo!! (awesome pose I have going, I know - but in the other picture my eyes were close, so you get this one)

So, let's delve on in....

First you need a big tshirt. The original shirt was a pretty thin tshirt - you know, how some tshirts are regular feeling, and some are thin. So I knew I wanted a thin one so it would drape nicely. I scoured the mens section of the thrift store and hit the jackpot - one that was plain (no decals) and thin (see how the light comes through it) - perfect. I'm sure people were thinking "why is that crazy lady and all her kids feeling each shirt in the men's section??"

Anyways, once you have your shirt of choice, you'll also need elastic thread. Don't be scared of it - it may be your new best friend! I love sewing with elastic thread - it just makes things more fun. For posts about using elastic thread in your bobbin:
--what the elastic thread package looks like
--Shirring (sewing with elastic bobbin thread) hints HERE and HERE
So, handwind your elastic thread on your bobbin. Also, you can change your needle to one for knits if you want.

Now, I made the side gathering first, and then altered the shirt to fit me. In hindsight, I wonder if I should have altered the shirt first and then gathered the side.

To gather the side, you are going to sew rainbows of loops. I drew a picture so you could see what I mean - there's a couple loops in the center, then 4 archs of loops surrounding it. I made it one continuous line of sewing:

It's several half-circles, all looped. I used a fabric marker to draw on my shirt the first row, but just eyeballed it after that. I'm not going to say this was easy - it's a bit tricky. It does get better as you work your way out from the middle, so stick with it. Try to hold your shirt flat as best you can and that will help.

Phew, done! Here is what my front looks like - not exactly like the original shirt, but pretty close. If my loops were uniform, it would have come out better, but loops are so hard to sew! Making tight turns is tough - a hint, you can't tell they're precise loops in the end, so I made a lot of mine triangles - sewed a little, put the needle down, pivoted, sewed a little, put the needle down, pivoted again.

Here is what the underneath side looks like - you can kind of see the loops if you look close:

Now, as mentioned in the this post with the shrinking shirring video, - you need to steam the elastic thread so it'll shrink and pull in on itself - - use your iron to squirt steam on it:

Now, time to alter the shirt to fit - - here's the size difference:

I started by turning it inside out and sewing on that dotted line, taking in several inches. After that I kept trying it on and taking in different spots - shoulders, more on the sides, etc. It was tricky and it's still not quite right. Kudos to all you who refashion giant tshirts - it's tricky!

Here's a side view of the shirring and refashion. The shirring looks pretty good - you can kind of see where I tweaked it to fit better by pulling it tighter across the chest and tacking it down - that's why there's a weird spot near the armpit:

For the neck and arms I ended up just cutting off the ribbing and leaving it as-it. I tried to hem it in a spot but it was really puckery, so I unpicked it and thought leaving it looked okay and just went with it.

It was also really big across the shoulder area in the back and it's pretty obvious where I took it in. I think next time I'll grab a shirt that's only a size or two bigger, instead of extremely big like this one (I wear a small and it was an XL):

But overall, I'm pretty happy with my first attempt - you'll have to let me know if you give this a try!!

Stamps - do you have one??

2012-01-15T20:25:00.001-06:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Discount Rubber Stamps for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
I used a stamp on all my Christmas Cards this year - let me tell you, it was the way to go! In the past I have always hand-written my return address, which takes quite a while when you are doing a whole stack, and they get messier and messier. This year, I just stamped each one - so so easy!! And cute.
So obviously I recommend address stamps, (unless you plan on moving soon, then you won't want to commit to a stamp with your current address). Mine is a self-inking return address stamp in a circle, similar to this one:

But there are lots of other things you can use stamps for. Like notary stamps - odd piece of trivia, my mom is a certified as a notary. Or you can get custom rubber stamps - like holiday stamps or teacher stamps (you know "Great Job!).

I'll tell you what intrigues me - the QR stamp! Think of plastering my blog QR all over everything - now THAT sounds fun:

So anyways, if you don't have a stamp yet, start browsing and see which one calls to you - - you'll love having it (and so will your kids - mine are always wanting to stamp something!)

Photo Glimpse - Gingergread Demolition

2012-01-14T17:00:00.000-06:00

After last year's bad gingerbread houses I told the kids if they wanted to make them this year they'd have to beg Grandma. It must have worked because while my mom was watching the kids when Trevor and I were in Portland, she made gingerbread houses with them.

I don't know if I mentioned this before, but great trick- put a hole in the bottom of the board to stick a nightlight through, then the candy sucker glass windows will light up.

Here's their creations:

But anyways, this supposed to be a "photo glimpse" post - - so here it is, the fun of destroying the houses!

Oh, my oldest decided to save his and shoot it to it's doom (he was VERY supervised, don't worry)....

Flashback - - from last year's demolition:

and several years before that (that toddler is now 9...)