Thursday, September 10, 2009

How'd you like to have your own designed fabric?

Here's an interesting website (link listed to the right) that I've checked out and am POSSIBLY looking into for my own designed fabric.  The site is called Spoonflower and basically you upload a design you've created which you can then manipulate however you want by selecting type of fabric, color, and layout.  You then proceed to checkout and your design will be printed to your specifications and sent to you.  Granted, the cost of your material can range from $18-$30, but if it's one of a kind (OOAK) it's worth it.

EJ has started a little shop on Etsy to sell her beaded ornaments and I've been thinking of putting some of my stuff there, as well.  This would be the perfect venue for someone's own original fabric.  I'm still trying to wrap my head around the cost of it, so if anyone knows of a less expensive fabric printer, let me know.  Oh, btw, Spoonflower is totally organic, which is nice considering the new CPSIA regulations in handmade items.  (Don't get me started on CPSIA!!)

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Vintage Children's Recipe Book + Corn Bread Recipe

I don't know where I picked up this little gem, but it is ever so adorable!  The picture on the front of the little girls rolling out biscuits is sweet, and the inside illustrations are as well.  The recipes have little pictures that go with the words, so if the word "hands" was printed, a picture of a pair of hands would be shown, as well.
Here's the front cover:
 
The book was printed in 1932 byt The Harter Publishing Company of Cleveland, OH.  It just reminds me so much of simpler times, though it is interesting to see how things have changed since then.  For instance, I'll post a picture of one of the recipes which is called Mammy's Corn Bread.  I mean...Mammy??  Well, it is a glimpse of how things were back then.   Here's the inside of the book, with a little list of rules for little cooks:

I can almost imagine my grandmother using some of these recipes.  I lived with my grandmother during my early childhood, so I have that deep sense of the past that I learned from her.  This book reminds me of her.  The last picture is for the recipe I mentioned above:
 

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

New link, check it out!!

I'm feeling yellow today, full of hope!!  I've added a link to PlanetJune's amigurumi website, which is listed over to the right.  You HAVE to check it out.  In it she has a tute for making the "magic ring".  I shall never go back to the ch6, sc in 2nd stitch from hook method again!  This makes so much more sense, and it looks better.  How many times have you had a slipper, that someone's crocheted for you, where one of your toes pops out of the little hole at the tip of it?  Well, with the magic ring, there's no hole!  She also shows you how to do the invisible decrease method.  I'm going to be making my first amigurumi from her site after I've found something that doesn't look too complicated.  Once I get my camera operational, I'll post the end product here.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

What to do when your sewing machine breaks down

Wow, been pretty busy getting my craft room organized. Since my sewing machine is missing a part *looks suspiciously at the toddler* and I can't do any fabric crafts, I've decided to clean up and organize my craft room.
I brought down a TON of things to work on from my mom's, so that stuff has to go someplace. I have totes all over my room needing to be unpacked.
First, I moved out a tiny shelving unit my daughter (EJ) had in my craft room. She's sharing this room for her art, but since her table is cluttered beyond hope, she just creates her beaded artwork in her room while she toodles around on the net.
Second, I moved one of our collection of bookcases from the pole barn to the room. These bookcases were bought from our local 2-year college's rummage sale. They were getting rid of some of their older items and we snatched up about 5 mongo-sized bookcases. I had to clean it up and decided to repaint it since it was part wood and part metal, all of which were painted and stained brown. I just have too much brown in my house so painted the wood portions baby blue (leftover from painting the baby's furniture) and left the metal shelves brown. It's not too fancy, but it works. Now I am currently gathering up all my cookbooks and crafting magazines to put in there. I think I may have undermined my storage capabilities by putting my mags in there because I have a TON of them and the bookcase is quickly filling up.
Third, I moved a small bookcase from our upstairs schoolroom and put it on top of another small bookcase in the craft room so that I have a taller set of shelves there now. I think I will have my DH (BJ) stabilize them to the wall to prevent mishaps. Now, into the space where the smaller bookcase was in the schoolroom goes a tall, narrower bookcase from BJ's office. This will hold the schoolbooks for this schoolyear. So, the only questions left are what will BJ do with that extra space and how quickly will I fill up my new bookcases?
It looks better in the craft room, but there's still a long way to go. I hate unpacking!!

Inspirational Art Giveaway!

Here's a link to another blog with instructions on getting in on this giveaway. I really need to get a few of these paintings just to help me remember Whose strength I need to rely on.

Anyway, check it out!

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Where am I going with this??

I think every new endeavor needs to have a statement of purpose. Otherwise, things quickly bog down and become directionless. Well, here's my statement. What I want this blog to say about me is that I'm a very creative individual.

I don't like to be one of the sheeple. I do things differently, and there's usually one or two people out there who doesn't like what I do, or what I like, or whatever. This blog is mine, if I want to have my posts be a different color every time I post, then that's what will happen. But, if you don't like it, no one wants to know about it. I was raised with this phrase all my life, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." I think having your own opinions is great, you have the right to them. But I also have the right to not listen to them or even to not allow them on my blog. With that said, I'm going to do what I've always wanted to do with my own online residence and that is to have LOTS of color. Currently, I'm really into pinks, but I would like to have some of my post texts be different colors. One day I may be feeling green, so then my posts will be green. You get the picture.

So now you know that one of my purposes of this blog is to express myself freely. More of what I'd like on here is my artistic endeavors and the elusive goal of helping to support my family with my crafts. I'd like to share my successes and my failures. I also would like to have posts that would help people manage with very little. I've become an expert of stretching food and household items. Frankly, we're not running around like "chickens with their heads cut off" (one of my mom's favorite expressions) during this recession because my whole life has been having to deal with little or no money. So, any way I can help people, I'll do so.

Currently, I've signed up over at Craftster (link is around here somewhere, or will be soon), which is a wonderful community of artists and crafters. I think those two terms should be interchangeable, btw. We all show what we've made and there is constructive dialogue about it. The forums also provide a way to learn how to do new things with just Q/A sections, videos, and tutorials (tutes). What I like best, however, is the craft swaps. I love seeing how someone just picks something they'd like to organize, like...shoes (and believe me, people can get really specific on there!) and then seeing how the participants create things that show how they view shoes.

So, it's really gotten me motivated to clean up my craft room and get busy. I'm starting to make cupcake items from fabric, yarn and felt. Also, I'm starting to figure out how to silk screen, but that's kind of on the back-burner while I get my fill of cupcakes! More things I'm doing now are crocheting amigurumi animals, embroidering everything, making gloves and baby shoes, making hats, constructing clothes and purses, and quilting. Whew!! What is really getting me excited is that I'm starting to learn how to draft my own patterns!

I don't really have a style all my own yet, but I'm sure it just takes time. I think I've got a style just beginning to sprout, but I'm not going to rush it or overdo it (then get bored of it, rolls eyes!) and I'll keep it under wraps until I know for sure it'll work :p

Ok, wow, once I get started talking, it's hard to shut me up, eh? K, later taters!

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Ok, my first serious blog entry.

Well, I like to write, but curiously, I have no words to put down for this entry. So, I'll just get right down to the nitty gritty. Kate Williams Designs is sponsoring (I guess that's the term I should use for it, but oh well because it's MY blog, muahaha!) a giveaway that I'd like to tell you about. Here's the link to the giveaway:

http://katewilliamsdesigns.blogspot.com/2009/08/buttermilk-bake-shop-giveaway.html

As you've guessed from the name in the link, it's someone's Etsy shop that specializes in baked goods. And the giveaway is to win some OATMEAL CREAM PIES!!!

Sorry, had to wipe the drool off my keyboard there. So, follow the link and pick your favorite dessert and get ready to bust your diet!

Taking a test drive!

Wow, ok, so am I blogging yet? Well, I guess we'll find out. Everyone else has a blog, so I guess I'll just have to join the 21st century. Taa for now!