Nothing for now...

If you periodically come around, I'm sorry there haven't been any updates.  Soon after my last post we had a road trip, we were getting sick, helping my mom babysit my nephew, and there was also a new expansion for a game I play :X.  That's in combination with all the usual stuff going on in our daily lives.

I've still been creating, making, and cooking, but haven't had as much time to document what I've been doing with pictures or anything else.  So for now I'll leave the blog up, probably no new posts for a while... but who knows?  Maybe I'll get the blogging bug again soon :).

Stamped Christmas/Holiday Card and Tags

I've had quite a few stamps for a while, but I haven't made a great use of them yet.  I guess I really like the idea of stamping, I just never really made an effort to try too much with it.  I would like that to change, so this past week I've been experimenting more with different techniques I see around, and with stamps I may not have thought to use before.

For the most part I'm actually pretty cheap when it comes to stamps.  I shop in the $1/$1.50 section at Michaels, or I get them second hand from thrift shops in my area (I've had good luck at one particular Goodwill 15-20 minutes from where I live).  If I buy more expensive stamps, you can bet I wait until there's a sale and/or I have a coupon!  Let me give couple of examples of things I threw together using cheaper stamps.

This particular card used a total of 5 stamps.  The stamps I used in the background, a variety of 3 snowflakes for some added detail came as a set that I got on sale (probably no more than $1-$1.50 a piece).  The "Seasons Greetings" stamp was only $1 last holiday season at Michaels.  And the snowy homes stamp was a part of a bag of stamps I picked up at Goodwill.  I've been practicing with my distress inks to try and give a cohesive color.  I may add more to this card, but for now I'm keeping it the way it is.

The next 2 projects are more holiday pieces.  The first being a set of stickers, and the next being a set of tags.  Both use the same stamps, I just was experimenting with how I would like everything to look.

The dove with an olive branch, was another $1 Michaels buy from last holiday season.  I also picked up some $1 acrylic stamp letters from Michaels (again).  The to and from are from regular set of acrylic stamps I have lying around.

In the end I kind of prefer the tags to the stickers, maybe because I like the border.  Hopefully when our friend returns our other camera I'll take proper photos and I'll list these in my Etsy shop.

I did have a few more things made, but the photos I took were sub par.  I've been having a lot of fun with stamping this week, and hope to continue experimenting with the materials I have.

Don't forget to check those dollar sections or second hand stores, sometimes you'll score a great buy!

My New Work Space

I mentioned in my previous post that we were rearranging things.  My main crafting station (once my computer desk) and sewing spot (once a foldout table) are now combined in the corner of our bedroom.

I'm still trying to clean it up, but this is kinda close to what it will look like in the end.  I need to reorganize some of the stuff, but for the most part this is it.

We got the shelf, desk, and drawer at Ikea, although the I had the drawer for a while now.  The peg board was from Home Depot.  A lot of the little drawers and containers around were from Staples or Target.

I really like that my sewing machine almost fits perfectly in the shelf, it sticks out a little onto my desk, but I can definitely live with that.  Most of my cloth is stored in a closet, but anything I couldn't fit ended up in the shelf for temporary storage.

Everything that's on the shelf is not necessarily completely organized.  I'm really trying to figure out what works best for me.  I'm also trying to keep the lower shelves somewhat free of anything dangerous to my daughter.  She likes to actually play underneath the desk, so the four shelves there are her toys, books, and random other things she enjoys playing with.

Sorry for my lack of posts recently.  I've been trying to sleep early (with success most of the nights), but that's also my prime time for posting.  Hopefully I'll get a post up soon of some of my recent creations.

Rearranging

So, I'm rearranging my crafting area.  I'll be combining my sewing and crafting stuff into one corner of our bedroom.  So my computer desk will be fro my actual computer stuff.  We've been trying to set up the area for about a week, working on it little by little.  Figuring out what I need and how to best suit my needs.  Once I finish I'll hopefully be back to creating and posting again!

I just wanted to post a quick update on what's happening :).  See everyone when I'm all done!

Baby Shower - Decorations Around the House

Yup, more baby shower stuff.  This post will focus on the general decorations put around the house.  Not everything was photographed, and the photos I did take weren't all that great (sorry).  Honestly, I'm not a great decorator, but I volunteered for the job... I just did the best I could, with the materials I had, in the time I was given.

This was the main sign/banner type thing I made.  The top row of pinwheels are actually layered with two pinwheels, the larger one with double-sided paper, the other a plain colored paper.  I went with a semi-rainbow look with them.  The little poster I made simply with markers and some colored tape.  And more pinwheels with circles around them, because my mom wanted them there :).  

Baby Shower: Diaper Cake

Continuing on with the baby shower stuff!

This was my first attempt at a diaper cake.  I didn't look up any real instructions or tutorials, since it looked pretty easy.  Luckily my assumption was right, the most annoying thing was rolling the diapers and trying to put them together.  I don't exactly do things the correct way necessarily, but it worked out.

I'm not sure how most people make diaper cakes, so I basically winged it with what I had on hand.  In order to keep the rolled up diapers rolled up, I used my daughter's little hair ties (those flimsy ones that come with a few hundred or them in a pack)... I can never get them in her hair properly anyway.

When it came to trying to get them into a nice circle I simply built out.  I used a cord/rope to help keep things nice and tight.  I circled the cord around the diapers, tied it, then slowly built out, loosening it as needed to fit more diapers.  There's probably an easier way, but that's what I did ha ha.  At the end I tied everything with a ribbon or three and took off the original cord.

Baby Shower - Diaper Babies

When I was shopping for baby shower stuff, I came across some baby socks and washcloths that were on sale.  This reminded me of a diaper baby that was made with these very two items and a diaper.  I think I was pretty lucky since the baby socks and washcloths actually matched, not only that, but they also matched the general color scheme of blue, green, orange that had randomly came up with all the paper I had been choosing.

If I can find the tutorial that I vaguely remember to make these, I'll be sure to post it.  They are very easy to make, and oh so cute!

The materials.  6 diapers and washcloths, and 3 pairs of socks (yup, 6 socks too!  go figure).

Basically, you roll up a diaper, swaddle the diaper with the washcloth, then roll the sock up a bit on itself and it becomes a little hat (kind of like a beanie).

I did add a little paper to draw silly faces on them, and slipped them underneath the sock and washcloth.  I didn't want to draw directly onto the diaper. Googly eyes would have worked too probably.

Since I didn't have any real ideas for these cuties, they ended up on top of the giveaways.  Basically so the little kids wouldn't start digging into the cookies right away ha ha.  It worked too.

While they didn't workout with the whole theme of everything, at least they found a place :).  Originally I thought it would be cute for the mama to be to take them home, but some people ended up taking them with their giveaways, oops!