Crochet Edge!

 

I have been making baby blankets with flannel or fleece with this bad boy:

THE SKIP STITCH

 

Fits into any normal rotary cutter and then you run it along the edge of the fabric of your choice. GO back with a crochet hook and go to town! So easy and faster than making a whole blanket from scratch!

Embroidered Shoes

I realized after "pinning" one or two of my pictures on Pinterest that my blog has been getting more action lately!

I have been crafting-just not updating. Oops.

I really should update-I am more stressed these days. Not sure why, maybe it's the wedding I am planning! Yes, you heard that right I am engaged. Exciting!

I have also recently taken up crocheting. After many attempts, over many years I finally figured it out. (will post pictures later)

For now:

I also got into embroidering shoes! I have my own pair, but a dear friend of mine asked me to make some for her son. Ocean theme!

1.  Buy a pair of black canvas shoes (Tom's, Soda brand at Tilly's, Target has Mossimo type), make sure they are relatively thin.
2. Buy a big strong needle and some white chalk.
3. Start drawing your design on the shoes using chalk.
4. Grab some embroidery thread and get creative! Be careful-sewing down near the toe can be dangerous to your fingers!

Easy Summer Shoes

I have been working on these for the afternoon. I bought a pair of super cheap shoes at Target (these have a flowery sole and owl imprinted on the inside). 

I purchased some very thick, very sharp needles at Ace Hardware. 

Using regular white chalk, I hand drew my own designs onto the shoes and got stitching! 

I am not done yet-I still have to work on the sides! 

Super fun, but man my fingers hurt!

Let's hope I can keep this up!

Hello blog world!
I have been crafting, I promise! Ask my girlfriends we even had a Christmas craft day! I just haven't made posting a priority in my life, especially with Facebook to keep most people updated.

In 2011 I made: baby blankets, onesies (lots of them!), my first quilt top (soon to be finished I hope), I started water color journaling, crafty projects for my students, and a huge piece of wall art for our bedroom using canvas and acrylic paint!

However, I have been very bad at posting. Since I am not at home right now I will post what I have been working on since I have been on Winter Break!

My mom and I went to Cottage Crafts in San Jose during Thanksgiving and fell in love with a puffy white scarf. We didn't buy it and figured there had to be a way to make one. Right? So after some researching we found: Bunny Tail Yarn which can be found at Michael's.

(Picture shown is not white, it's ecru)

I found some white and was determined to make a scarf! I used size 6 knitting needles, 12 stitches across and two skeins of yarn. In hindsight I should have done 8-10 stitches, 12 is too wide! And if I had only used 8 stitched...I could have used 1 skein instead of two. Regardless it only took me a few hours to complete and I LOVE IT!

 Now I need to plan a trip in the new year to somewhere cold with snow, so I can show it off! Hope you all had a lovely holiday and a very happy New Year!

Well it's been a while!

It's summer vacation (for exactly 8 weeks). I have to fit some crafting in while I can! My mom is an avid watercolor artist. She gave me a set of paint and I have been trying it out.

I had to learn the hard way, you have to wash your brush in between each color. Now that I know why, colors mix together. It makes sense!

 The school that I work at has a college theme. My college is California State University Monterey Bay. Yes, even in my crafts I think about work. I decided to make an ocean themed mobile to hang in my office. I started with white cardstock. I find it's the closest thing to watercolor paper without being really expensive. I painted and splattered all over it to make a wave. This becomes the top of my mobile.

 For my sea creatures I used die-cut sea creatures using manila folders. I used an embroider hoop for the top of my mobile as I wanted the round shape. I also played around with an oval, but I didn't like it as much. I used plain sewing threat to hang. Probably should have used fishing line....

 Hard to take a picture of the mobile once it's done. I threaded all the animals onto the strings with a small needle. The hard part was getting the wave to adhere to the embroidery hoop. Once all the creatures where tied on, I had to glue the mobile while hanging, using hot glue. Then I realized you could see the wood....so I had to paint over that too...

 Ta da! For the summer this will be hanging in my room.

To infinity and beyond!

My boyfriend's cousin had a baby boy last week. Naturally I had to make a blanket. Again, this is Amiee Ray inspired. I just love her book!! I put my own spin on her designs by changing colors, sewing and using felt. Enjoy!

Notice the strange green? It's glow in the dark accents using puff paint!

I just can't get enough of making baby stuff. This blanket was rather tough to sew, multiple layers of fleece and felt. Let's not forget the glue used to hold the figures in place. I broke about 5 needles making this puppy! Well worth it for the cuteness.

Watercolored blown eggs

Are these not colorful and full of spring!?

 I used a micron permanent pen, watercolored and then used master shine to seal the paint in and make them shiny!

This one is my favorite, this is inspired by Aimee Ray!

 Another Aimee Ray inspired design

 This basket was designed by me!

 Snail, and bugs by me! Flowers and strawberries by Aimee Ray designs!

 Vino and Flowers by LittleTurkishGirl Ashley J!!! Pug Angel! We had a great craft day today! Ocean and Russian doll are Aimee Ray.

How do you blow out the eggs? Poke a hole in the top and the bottom of the egg with a nail. Use a paperclip undone, stick it in the hole and stir up the egg to break the yolk. Use a small red drink straw to blow out the egg.

How to dry? Put the blown, empty eggs on a papertowel on a plate, and microwave for about 45 seconds or until the eggs are hot. Scrub off any excess leaked egg with a sponge. OR if you have time, leave eggs in a sunny location for a few days.

Other variations: Glitter your eggs! Use colored pencil or sharpie markers! Use tissue paper, scrapbook paper or stencils. Be inspired!