Creative Thoughts

Has it really been over a year??!!

2012-02-22T13:22:00.000-06:00

Oh my! I knew it had been a while since I'd been here, but I didn't realize that I hadn't blogged in over a year. Wowsers. Well, I'm back. Or I'm going to try to be. Here's the scoop on my latest project.

For starters, let's get one thing straight. I am so NOT a seamstress. I am terrible at sewing. TERRIBLE. That does not stop me from trying my hand at the odd sewing project now and again, however. And when I spotted these babies on Pintrest, I thought they'd be a great (easy) project I could whip up for my kids. So on a whim when we were at good old Wal-Mart, I swung by the fabric section (yes, our Wal-Mart still has a fabric department) and let the kids each pick out a print from the clearance table. I figured 3 yards would be good for each of them. Then I came home and read the directions. Note to self: read the directions before buying the materials!

I had it in my head that I'd use the crease already in the fabric, sew one end and the open side closed, shove some poly-fil into the thing till it was about a fourth of the way stuffed, sew a straight (ahem) line, shove in some more poly-fil, sew another seam and so on until I had four fluffy sections like the picture. Yeah. Then I read how the original blogger did it. She had all these fancy measurements and cuts and seams and so forth. Suddenly this project did not seem so simple. Plus, hers is actually 4 pillowcases in a row, with pillows that you take in and out so you can wash the cover without cramming the whole thing in your washer. Upon further reflection, I realized that the whole pillow case concept was much better than just stuffing it and sewing it up. This thing is meant for the floor, after all, and though we don't have pets, it will still get dirty.

So now I have a dilemma. I've decided to make it a big pillow case thingy rather than using the poly-fil, and I'm not sure I have enough fabric. However, I do not want to go buy more fabric. (did I mention that in addition to being a terrible seamstress, I'm also cheap??) But I figure I can still make this work. So, I'm going to tell you step by step what I did.

If you want a cool, professional looking project, then you might want to use these instructions rather than mine. Just bear in mind that this blogger asks that you do not sell her pattern or make cases from her pattern to sell as it is her creation, and she is a professional seamstress who earns her living by this work. I do not blame her one bit, and shame on you if you use her pattern for personal profit. I, on the other hand, am not a professional seamstress and offer my blessing for you to use my instructions however you choose. Hopefully you can make sense of this, and it will provide an easier (and cheaper) way to make them for your own kids/family/friends. If my kids love these as much as I think they will, I will be making more for the junior cousins at Christmas.

Iron the entire piece of fabric flat. Mine was 40-something wide; 60" would have been a better choice. 3 yards is the bare minimum for 4 pillows. Next time I'll probably get 3 1/3 yards.
Iron down about 1/2 inch of each of the long sides (this will be your hemmed opening for putting in/taking out the pillows.
Sew down these edges.
Lay the whole piece out flat, wrong side down, and fold in each edge so that the hemmed edges overlap at least 1/2 inch (I would overlap them more if I had wider fabric).
Pin together the short ends (the top and bottom end of the mattress), making sure the hemmed edges stay overlapped at least 1/2 inch. Sew both ends closed.
Turn case right side out. Measure entire length. (You might want to iron it flat first.)
Divide length measurement by 4; mine came out to around 18".
Measure from one end to whatever your measurement was (so I measured down 18"), use a straight edge to draw a line from one edge to the other and pin along this line. This will be your first seam.
Measure another length, draw a line, and pin twice more. You should have made 3 lines, giving you 4 sections. You may not need to draw a line; I cannot sew a straight line to save my life, nor can I pin in a straight line, so this was essential for me!
Sew down each of these final 3 seams and then put in your pillows.

Since my fabric wasn't really wide enough for my pillows, the opening gaps on the back and you can see the pillow. You can see a lot of the pillow. My 3 and 5 year olds didn't give this one thought, but if I were making these to give to someone else, I would certainly want to either buy wider fabric or buy quite a bit more than I did and make separate front and back sections and sew them together like this gal did. Alternatively, you could buy smaller pillows, but then the whole thing isn't as wide and therefore not as comfortable to lay on.

I bought the cheapest pillows I could find ($2.50 at a local dollar store). Combine that with the fact that I got both lengths of fabric off the clearance table, and it cost me under $30 to make both projects. Granted, next time it will cost a little more b/c I will buy a little more fabric and probably fabric that is wider, but that's still not a lot of money for a fun gift!

Really Long Time....

2010-09-01T20:40:00.000-05:00

So, it's been a really long time since I was here. I have done some creative things in that time, but have hardly kept up with doing something each day. Every day is a new day, though, and as with all other things in life, I will take this one day at a time.

I did engage in creativity today. I made "poofs." Last spring I made these poofy headbands with the waffle headbands. Recently, a lady requested that I fix the same poof only on a clip rather than the headband. I had fun figuring out exactly how to do it. It actually was pretty easy, and since this lady has bought tons of stuff from me, I gave her one of them for free. Now to make some more that maybe other people will buy! (I would post a picture, but I've already delivered them.)

I suppose I am off to do a little more crafting. Have you done something you enjoy today?

I just thought...

2010-05-28T21:19:00.000-05:00

Apparently I just thought I was back with a vengeance because clearly I have not been doing much crafting the past few days. I have done *some*. Mainly working on the korker bows, but not nearly enough. (Picture still to come.) How about you? Have you been crafty while I've been slacking?

Back with a Vengeance!

2010-05-21T21:03:00.001-05:00

OK, I know I'm really far behind. I won't bore you with my list of excuses, er reasons, that I haven't been here. I have been crafting, though not everyday. At the moment, it's more of the same: making more bottle cap necklaces. I have also been busily updating my newly redesigned web site, www.colliercreations.com, so go check that out. You can admire my beautiful DD while you're there. I have also started making a new bow - korker bows or corkscrew bows. Look for a picture of those on here soon and for them to be added to the web site catalog. Have you been crafty while I've been gone? I'd love to hear about it!

Day 14 - I think

2010-05-02T18:59:00.000-05:00

Ok, you shouldn't have let me off so easily for missing a day. Look here, I've missed 3 days now! And today's craftiness isn't particularly impressive. My order of 100 bottle caps came in the mail Saturday (yesterday), so this evening I spent a few (30) minutes putting letter stickers on a dozen or so of the circles I punched Wednesday and fixing the bottle caps. When they dry I will have to do the necklace part. Hoping for a more creative week!

Day 10

2010-04-28T21:14:00.000-05:00

I guess today was another cheater day. I finished 4 bottle cap necklaces (as in putting the necklace together and putting the bottle cap on it). I also acquired a 1 inch punch, so after ordering 100 bottle caps online, I sat and punched probably 100 1 inch circles. My wrist is killing me! I'm proving how many I punched by posting a picture of the pile as well as one of the completed necklaces. I also put together the signs that I laid out last night. The picture makes them look harder to read than they really are, but you can get the idea. So, signs completed and 4 necklaces completed, but both were started earlier. I suppose I don't have to actually complete a new project start to finish each day. Besides, if you add together the individual items I have completed since starting this challenge, it is over 10, so I think I'm good. Happy Crafting!

Day 9 & a Make-Up

2010-04-27T20:21:00.001-05:00

I was a total slacker yesterday and missed a day of my challenge for the first time. Ugh. So soon! How aggravating. To make up for it I have worked on 2 totally different projects today. There are no pictures b/c I did not actually complete either....still not exactly batting 1000. First I stitched up 4 smocked dresses. They are the "instant dress" stuff that you can buy at fabric stores. The dresses are stitched together, but need to be hemmed and have little straps put over the shoulders.

The second project I worked on was laying out in CDS lettering for 2 Sunday School classes. I made new signs for our remodeled preschool class and for the younger elementary class, but had not yet done the upper elementary or nursery. Those are now laid out and just need to be cut and glued together. I used the Mickey font. When I finish these projects, I will post pictures, but I do not see myself doing any further crafting tonight....Happy Crafting!

Day 7

2010-04-25T17:10:00.001-05:00

Sundays are a hard day for us. With my hubby being a pastor, Sunday is actually one of the busiest and most stressful days of our week. However, I make no excuses. I did indeed take some time this afternoon to use up many of the scraps from my Paper Works kit to make 2 more cards to add to the 6 I made on Friday. I still have paper and embellishments left, but no cardstock. I didn't even look at the included sheet of instructions/illustrations, but am certain today's designs are very similar to some of theirs. There is nothing like "scraplifting"! Have you been crafty today?

Crafty Challenge - Day 5

2010-04-24T17:31:00.000-05:00

Today's actual project may be a cheat - you decide. I've started working on these before, trying to find the perfect medium for me. I finally mastered it, so today I got 8 of them done with initials on them. I need to punch holes in them and put them on necklaces, but when I bought the necklace cord, I failed to buy jump rings. There's no way to put the bottle cap on the necklace without a jump ring. This bottle cap jewelry hasn't hit my little town yet, but it's the biggest thing with the tweenagers in the next biggest town over. Perhaps I can be the one to introduce them and really rake in the dough? Hey, a girl can dream....Happy Crafting!!

Day 4 a Day Late

2010-04-24T13:39:00.000-05:00

Yesterday (Friday) I was super productive, craftiness-wise. I just didn't get around to taking a picture and blogging it. I made six, count them 6, cards yesterday. Sure I used a kit and 3 of the cards were pretty much identical to their examples, but, hey, the other 3 were my own. The kit was from Paper Works Kit of the Month (which I am not a member of, it was a one-time deal). Anyway - two of the cards are mini cards and are essentially square; one is "full size" and square; one is more of a tag; another is "full size" rectangle; and the last one is mini rectangle. Enjoy! (Today's craftiness to come later. It has to dry before I can take a picture.)

Day 3 & a photo!

2010-04-22T20:54:00.002-05:00

I'm honestly quite embarrassed to show you this photo. I've been wanting to make an "altered book" or other type of book to collect sketches in. I mean, you get all these great sketch ideas in magazines and such, and how do you keep them all together? I started with 12x12 chipboard which I cut down so it was 9x5 3/4. I covered the inside of each piece with a light purple paper and the outside with the polka-dot paper. The polka dot paper and the letters are from the pad "Nana's Kids" by.....DCWV maybe? or Memory Makers. I'll have to go check. I cut letters to spell "sketches" from a page in the pad that is nothing but squares with letters. I popped every other letter with dimensional dots and adhered the others with glue dots. I wanted to add some pizzaz, and this is where I made my big mistake. I chose to use glitter glue - not such a good choice. You can tell how it ruined several of the letters and it did not make the dots pop like I wanted them to. A handful of white copy paper cut in half, a few carefully placed punches with my crop-a-dile, and voila! Not what I had envisioned, but it will do the job. Maybe a more successful project tomorrow.....

Crafty Challenge - Day 2

2010-04-21T22:18:00.001-05:00

I procrastinated today in the name of taking advantage of the quiet time after my kids went to bed to craft. Don't do that. I was indeed crafty, and got half of a project done...that's better than nothing! And while, yes, I would love to end the year with 365 projects completed, the main goal was to build some discipline into my life to do something everyday. My hubby wants a scrapbook that has a map and the states that we can add to each time we take an out-of-state trip as a family. Tonight's goal: complete the cover. I laid out the title in Cricut Design Studio using the Mickey font. I managed to get the shadow layer cut and that was all. For any readers who are religious people, please say a prayer for our family. While I was working, my hubby's mom called. Her father has been struggling with cancer for over a year now, and we got more bad news about his condition. I'm not making excuses for not completing tonight's goal, but sometimes other things have to come first. Besides, like I said, I did spend some time being crafty, and that was my biggest intent. Good night, whoever is out there!

Challenged by a Movie

2010-04-20T21:13:00.002-05:00

So I watched a large portion of the movie Julie and Julia today. I say large part b/c with a toddler running around, actually watching a movie is quite difficult, and I didn't quite get through the whole thing. I do intend to finish it tonight or tomorrow.

This is a crafty blog, so why am I talking about a movie? Because it inspired me. I have so little self discipline when it comes to anything. Julie's goal of completing every recipe in Julia's cookbook in one year made me think of a goal for myself. What if I could create one project a day, for a whole year? 365 projects done. Maybe a card or even "just" a scrapbook layout. Perhaps a sewing project or a section of a larger project. Can I do it? Yes. Will I do it? That is yet to be seen! Perhaps I will quickly abandon this undertaking, or maybe I will last a while and then fizzle out, but maybe, just maybe, I will stick with it and see it through. This is something I rarely do in my life. I would like to actually finish something I have started.

I have already started. Today my 3 year old and I made a thank you card. It was quite simple, and probably shouldn't count, but hey, I've got to start somewhere, right? Unfortunately, I failed to photograph it before putting it into the envelope to mail. I shall describe it the best I can - I used Cricut's Cutting Up cartridge to simply cut "THANKS" from a blue striped paper. My son applied 2-way glue to each letter, and I placed them on a pre-made blank card. I outlined the letters with a silver metallic marker. Ta da! That was it. I know I could (and probably should) have added some other little embellishments to make it really "WOW!" and not just, "oh, nice" but when you are working with a 3 year old, sometimes the details go out the window.

So here is the beginning of my endeavor. Marching forward one day at a time...

Let's get this party started!

2010-02-06T22:11:00.000-06:00

In an effort to move my creative business upward and onward, I'm entering the blogging world from a commercial standpoint. Look for my thoughts on various "crafty" things as well as the new products I have available and where you can get them. For now, those of you in Central Arkansas, check out the bows and other hair accessories I have in the newly re-opened Traditions store in Beebe!