The Girl is Crafty

Cheap (but labor intensive) maternity clothes.

2011-06-09T15:37:00.000-07:00

Well, not that labor intensive for DIY clothing. Just compared to buying off the rack. It was cheap though- I got 3 t-shirts for $10!

Another crafty mama to be directed me to two DIY tutorials, here and here.

For the pin tuck top, I narrowed down the sleeves and took in around the sides under the sleeves a bit. Looking at the original tutorial, it looks like the author did as well. I also did my back darts nearly down to my waist.

The second top, I messed up the sash somehow.... luckily, I had ordered a sash in eggplant from AsianApparel on Etsy. Due to a shipping error, she sent me another for free! I just used that with the top instead.

Two things I might have done differently if I was to do the red top again- I probably wouldn't cut the arm holes in so far, and I think I would try to make the back of the shirt shorter, so that my big belly doesn't make the top look hiked up quite as far.

So here are my pics of my modeling my creations! (Forgive the poor lighting... I planned it so that I'd still get some natural light when I took the pics, but then a storm moved in!)

Baby stuff

2011-05-23T16:06:00.000-07:00

When researching nursery bedding, despite the huge amounts of stuff out there, I had trouble finding anything I liked. Part of the reason was that I really wanted bright, primary and secondary colors rather than neutrals and pastels.

I started thinking about making my own bedding, but didn't think it would be a project I could "wing". I found this pattern from Simplicity, which seemed perfect. I decided to make the comforter and pillow, though I know they are more for decoration as you don't use either with a newborn, and the crib organizer. I may also make the crib skirt, once we decide on a crib.

I searched high and low for fabrics I liked, and I finally found this polka dot fabric on vogue fabrics and this striped fabric on fabric.com. I made a stop at my local Joann's for the solid green and other materials.

Instead of flowers on the organizer, I really wanted buttons. But I needed extra jumbo buttons to get the look I wanted, and couldn't find anything big enough. So I made my own using Fimo dough.

After baking the buttons, I liked everything about them, except they were a really matte finish. I would have been okay with that, but you could see some of the flaws and scratches on the surface. So I finished them with a layer of PVA glue to give it a bit of a shine.

I'm pretty pleased with how my set turned out. It definitely doesn't look store bought, but I guess that's part of the 'charm' of hand made stuff, right?

At work, we have lots of boxed sets of thank you notes, including sets that are designed for baby gifts. I love making stationary, and always wish I had a particular project to make it for. What time than this?

I designed my cards based on my bedding. I used Paper Source's new clover A2 cards as the base and the small round labels to make the polka dots. I really love the "Thanks" stamp, and embossed it so it stands out. It's hard to tell in this particular photo, but the "Thanks" part is adhered using foam squares, which gives the card more dimension. I finished it off with night envelopes lined with the polka dot wrapping paper. I love them! I think they turned out really cute.

Bob's birthday

2011-02-08T17:31:00.000-08:00

This year, Bob's birthday fell the day before his hometown Green Bay Packers were to play in the super bowl!

I'm not a big baker, but I decided to try my hand at a layered birthday cake from scratch. I used The Smitten Kitchen's best birthday cake recipe. My original plan had also been to make my own frosting, but considering this was my first try at a home made cake, I thought I'd take it easy and just use store frosting.

I don't think my decorating is going to win any awards, but Bob loved it!

I also took advantage of the new wrapping techniques I learned this year!

Happy birthday to my handsome husband!

Happy Birthday Maya!

2011-01-25T17:28:00.000-08:00

Maya turned FOUR this week! She loves to play dress up. At work, I created some sample from our paper doll kit and thought how much fun Maya would have with them. I felt, however, that the tracing and cutting would be too much for a four year old, so I started brainstorming.

I decided to create some dolls and make them a wardrobe out of felt. I ordered some wool felt from The Material Evidence shop on etsy- I was able to choose the colors I wanted and the felt was a great quality.

I backed the dolls with chip board to give them a little more weight. I then created boy outfits, girl outfits, hair and accessories.

I was thrilled with how they turned out!

I put them in a little suitcase I got at work:

and tied it with a bow!

Happy fourth birthday to Maya!!!!

and still more....

2010-12-26T16:55:00.000-08:00

Some more holiday crafts and gifts.

I made these ornaments for our tree using some craft ornaments from Paper Source...

And then made one for Bob's parents with their dog, Cindy:

Bob also suggested I make a stationary set for his mom as one of her Christmas gifts:

Kate, the friend I made while in WI over the summer, had her beautiful baby girl, Claire, the week before Christmas. I was excited about getting to see Kate and meeting her little girl. I used my time on the plane in to WI to knit up a hat and mitts set for little Claire. The "squash" hat was a pattern I got out of the book, 101 Designer One-Skein Wonders, and I was pretty proud of the mitts since I did them without a pattern.

More holiday gifts!

2010-12-18T13:34:00.000-08:00

One of the Paper Source workshops is french message boards, They turn out super cute! I took it a step further, using batting under the fabric and backing with a second bookboard, to create gifts for both Maya and my nephew Ben.

Maya's bedroom theme is ladybugs. I was lucky to find some ladybug push pins to complete this project:

I then printed out pictures of Maya with her favorite people to decorate the board:
I went with a more "boyish" theme for Ben. Finding appropriate push pins were a challenge, so I had to improvise a bit with buttons.
I purchased some Favorite Findings buttons and adhered them to pushpins.

For Nolan, who is not yet one year, I decided to use my knitting to make him a cuddly bear. I looked around for a cute pattern and settled on Blue Sky Alpaca's Bobbi Bear.
Instead of the suggested yarn, I went with Lion's Brand Quick and Cozy yarn, which was both quick and cozy! It is very soft and knit up very quickly.

Bobbi is a pretty impressive looking bear! He is a big, cute, cuddly guy, but was a pretty easy pattern that took less than a week of evening knitting.
A coworker at PS came up with this idea of stationary sets for some of her gift recipients, and I decided to "steal" it as a gift for Korey.
I used PS 4bar folded cards and envelopes in violet, heat embossed each card with this flower stamp, and lined each envelope with yuzen floral paper.
I created a sash for each pile with the yuzen paper...
...and housed it all in an A7 , mailer box, on which I also embossed a flower.

Holiday gifts

2010-12-03T13:34:00.002-08:00

One of my favorite things about my "craftiness" is making gifts for others. This year, with more time to work on them and the inspiration (not to mention access and employee discount) I'm getting at Paper Source, I've been going to town!

At work we have a tantalizing assortment of specialty papers. Every time we get a shipment and I put them away, my mind is overrun with ideas of how to use some of these beautiful papers.

As a chanukah gift, I used one of the lokta papers to make my mom a wall hanging. She loves Asian themed art and decor. I looked up the character for "home" and cut it out of a chocolate lokta paper. I mounted that on orange lokta, and then backed it with this gorgeous lotus lokta. I found the perfect frame at Custom Frame Solutions and... voila!
My dad took a trip this year to seven different baseball stadiums in the midwest. He took over two hundred pictures. I printed out a handful from each game and used this accordian book kit to create a memory book for his chanukah gift.

Finally, I couldn't pass up all the fun things I've learned when sending out this year's holiday cards! I wanted our card to give a glimpse into our interfaith December at the Rice house. I searched high and low to find the perfect pieces for our card. I incorporated ribbon, paper, photo, paper punches, rubber stamping, and heat embossing. It was a lot of work, but the final product was exactly as I had envisioned! (Click on the photo to see a larger version with all the details.)

More to come!

Bookends

2010-12-03T13:26:00.000-08:00

I have a huge collection of books. I recently got a Kindle, so my accumulation has slowed, but I am still running out of space on my bookshelf.

So I decided to take out my Harry Potter and Twilight books. I put them on top of the bookshelf but needed bookends to keep them in place.

I looked around, trying to decide what style I wanted on my bookshelf. As usual, I was drawn to the doggies. :) Then I started thinking... if I was going to have dogs on my bookends, why not my own dogs?

So I bought a pair of unfinished bookends from etsy and had statuettes made at mpix. I stained the bookends and used my handy dandy hot glue gun to attach the statuettes. Not fancy, but it had the desired outcome!

So behind!

2010-11-24T15:44:00.001-08:00

I've been very remiss in posting for the last six months, but I've done many, many projects!!! So I have created posts for much of what I've been working on, and back dated them accordingly! :)

Sweater for Nolan

2010-11-14T13:53:00.000-08:00

As mentioned earlier, I get lots of satisfaction from knitting baby clothes- they're so quick and so cute!

I decided to attempt a slightly more challenging Debbie Bliss pattern. My goal was to also use her suggested yarn, but it has been discontinued, so instead I used Rowan Handknit Cotton Yarn in Pesto.

I loved the shaping and it turned out adorable!

Korey got some great pictures of Nolan in the sweater.You may also recognize Maya's jumper!Love it!

New Job

2010-10-24T13:56:00.000-07:00

I took a leave from my teaching job this year for a family situation, and found myself with lots of extra time! I got a part time job working at the local Paper Source- I use so many of their products already!

It has given me more ideas for projects than I have time to do! One quick and easy one is this sorter- we have several hanging in the store. It uses presentation envelopes and wrapping paper. Now if I can only remember to SORT. LOL

Shower Decorations

2010-09-20T13:40:00.000-07:00

Andre's shower arrived! Along with the shower invitations and my own scrapbook page (of which I forgot to take a picture! Boo.) I crated a few decorations for the festivities.

As both a gift from the maid of honor and me, as well as a centerpiece, I put together a towel cake using kitchen towels. There was definitely some trial and error involved, but I was really excited about the final product!!!
I also created a photo banner like I did for my parents' anniversary. (This time using sunshine, chocolate shimmer, and a few leftover luxe frost circles.)

Summer knitting

2010-08-24T13:47:00.000-07:00

We spent this summer in WI with family. I really enjoyed having some "down time", and spent quite a bit of it knitting. I finished a cute little backpack for myself using a free pattern from Lions Brand Yarn. It knit up quickly and came in handy during my summer travel.
I also started working on a yoga bag from one of the Stitch 'n' Bitch books, but I'm still working on that one....

My old roommate had her second baby- a little girl! Though she's a summer baby, I wanted to use my newly honed knitting skills to make her a gift. I used another free pattern for the booties and the hat was a mix of patterns- I wanted a ribbed hat band, a particular decrease, and a little icord.
One other past time for this summer was working out with a trainer. Along with being my exercise regimen, it turned out to be my social time. I really enjoyed my time with Kate, and so before I left I gave her a gift for the baby that she's expecting around Christmas!

I used a Debbie Bliss pattern but washable Lions Brand Cotton-Ease. The yarn is bulkier than that in the pattern, so the newborn size came out more around 3 month size. The hat was far bigger than I'd planned (and similar to the other hat- mix of patterns). But they turned out very cute- perfect for a Christmas baby, plus mom's a Nebraska alum!
Planning to play with some more baby clothes- they just knit up so fast! Instant gratification!

Shower invitations

2010-08-11T13:35:00.000-07:00

My beloved cousin, Andi, is getting married this November! As one of her bridesmaids, I am helping out with her shower. We are doing something a little more non-traditional and having a scrapbook shower- everyone is to make a scrapbook page for Andrea!

So I thought it fitting that I make the invitations. After some punch purchases, along with another trip to Paper Source I got to work.
I had to brush up on my adhesive knowledge, and juggle my tasks as we were traveling between MA and WI, but finally they were finished!

I also created a page for her shower scrapbook with one of the invitations:Congrats to Andi and Brad!

Anniversary banner

2010-08-01T13:45:00.000-07:00

My parents' 40th anniversary is coming up this January. We surprised them with a party during our family reunion this summer.

For the party, I created a photo banner using Paper Source circle cards in leaf, night and luxe frost, and some burgundy tulle from All the Makings.

It was quite long as 40 years yields a lot of pictures! But I was thrilled with how it turned out.

BBBB

2010-05-19T14:55:00.000-07:00

Korey's second baby, Nolan Robert, was born on April 28th.Isn't he cute????

As a gift, I followed the Stitch 'n' Bitch knitting pattern for the Big Bad Baby Blanket. It calls for a beautiful wool yarn, but I really wanted to make sure I used something machine washable. After much research, I chose Knit Picks Comfy yarn. The BBBB calls for a double strand, so I used both Planetarium and Cypress, which made a very nice pattern.
It turned out pretty well if I do say so myself! It has a couple of issues, that I see immediately when I look at it... but I think, unless you're looking for them, it probably isn't that noticeable.

Congrats to Korey, Ed and Maya!

Agility

2010-04-19T14:44:00.000-07:00

With all of her energy, we're constantly looking for ways to exercise (read: wear out) Ally. After seeing Victoria Stillwell suggest agility training for a family on her show, I did a little research. Unfortunately, the equipment is pretty expensive. So I started looking into ways to improvise...

Luckily, I found this website. Thank you to Roger for sharing his experience! With the exception of cutting the pipe (something I'd never done, but eventually got the hang of) it really was easy and quick to put the jump together. I only glued together the base so that it would be easier to take apart to store if I wanted to. My local Home Depot didn't have the snap saddles, so I also had to improvise on the adjustable part. But it seems to have worked.

I worked with Ally for a little while. She was not super excited about it, but has figured out what I want her to do. I'm hoping, as it starts to become more familiar to her, she'll warm up to it. :)

Laptop bag

2010-03-07T08:27:00.000-08:00

I bought a new laptop this summer, but did not buy any accessories to go with it. So, while I don't take it anywhere very often, it would be nice to have a laptop bag.

So I decided to make one. I didn't have a pattern- I kind of made it up as I went along. I wanted a space for my laptop, but also have some pockets for some of my other electronics- my kindle and my droid.

The outside was easy... but when I tried to make the inner part with the pockets, it was tougher. I probably should have started with that part and built the outside around it!

It turned out okay. Not perfect- I put in some plastic mesh to give it some form, but it wasn't enough to keep the form when the heavy laptop is in there. But I guess it's not too bad for my first try, and the bag can definitely be used for other things too.

Maya's birthday present

2010-01-30T17:33:00.000-08:00

Last year, a friend introduced me to Ikat Bag. Lier makes awesome toys, costumes, and clothes for her three lucky daughters, and then she shares her patterns and plans with us lucky bloggers!

This jumper seemed perfect for a birthday present for Maya. It was easy enough for me to pull off (my first time making button holes on my sewing machine!), and the shape makes it easy to fit.

I was able to finish it in an evening, and I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. I hope it fits!

Happy 3rd birthday, Maya!

I <3 my dogs!

2010-01-16T12:43:00.000-08:00

I saw this at Pet.co and then a (more expensive) one at a pet boutique. It was one of those times that I thought, "I can make that!"

I bought some remnants for a total of $7.50 at the fabric store, and with a little help was able to make two of these fleece tug toys and have enough fleece left over for probably four or five more! (which is good considering how quickly Ally goes through toys!)

Some Christmas gifts...

2010-01-10T07:26:00.000-08:00

Bob's cousin- wedding invitation and photo:

Bob's parents- past vs. present. :)

To have joy one must share it.

2009-12-05T17:55:00.000-08:00

I love giving people gifts. I especially love giving them gifts I know they are going to love.

I've been using my new hobby to make some homemade gifts for friends and family. I hope they really enjoy them (as opposed to the "Oh wow. You made that? Isn't that... nice...")

My friend, Sam, gave birth to little Ella (ten weeks early!) in July. Sam is a fellow crafter, so I thought she would appreciate a home made gift.

This was my first blanket. I didn't use a pattern, though for a blanket with squares I guess one doesn't really need one. It is a tiny blanket, but it turned out pretty well for what I had planned in my head.

Sam had lent me some knitting books, mostly books on knitting baby stuff. One of the books had an easy pattern for knitting teddy bears. I gave it a try with some brown yarn I had from another project. It turned out well enough, that I decided to gift it to my nephew, Ben. I added some overalls (for which I didn't use a pattern... sort of "winged it") with B buttons.
My first scarf I decided to gift to my best friend. I added some fringes and made a matching hat. I then decided I wanted to make her almost-three-year-old daughter a matching set.
As Chanukah is approaching soon, I decided to give them their gifts early:

I have a number of other gifts in progress... to be posted soon (after received by the recipients. :))

"To have joy one must share it." ~Lord Byron.

WEBS

2009-10-31T14:57:00.001-07:00

I have visited a number of yarn stores in the area. While they have lots of good stuff, I find them overwhelming. In fact, the more 'helpful' the staff, the more intimidated I am...

So I've taken to ordering yarn on the web. The nice thing is that you can get lots of skeins for larger projects, and often at a slightly discounted price. The downside is that you don't get to put your hands on the yarn before you choose it, though many do have customer reviews.

I recently ordered quite a bit of yarn for two projects from WEBS. After I placed my order, I received an email saying that they didn't have enough of one of the types of yarn and would need to do a special order which would delay my shipment.

I emailed them and asked if they had some of the skeins, and got an email immediately in return that they had most of them, but they were from different dye lots so they were ordering the whole amount from the same dye lot. I responded that, if possible, I would like the other half of my order shipped ahead of time. Which they did, almost immediately!

Not long after that, I received the second part of my order.

I will definitely be ordering from them again!!!

Sweatin' the sweaters

2009-08-29T09:57:00.001-07:00

After knitting rectangular projects and then moving on to my first stocking cap, necessitating learning to decrease, I was itching to make something more.

I really wanted to try my hand at a sweater, but was a little intimidated with the time it would take to make one. So I decided to make a "little person" sweater- a baby sweater. I figured I didn't have a particular recipient in mind, so if it didn't work out it wasn't big deal, and I wouldn't have wasted as much time or yarn. :)

I found this pattern which looked like a good one for a beginner. I added some skills to my repertoire: increases, pick ups, and yarn overs (for button holes). Though the pattern calls for two colors, I only used one, to keep it even more basic.

I haven't gotten the buttons on yet, and my bind off is a little too tight, but, as you will see below, the overall finished product seems to be ok.

The little sweater was so cute, that I was tempted to try these beginner booties, the pattern which I got from a friend's knitting book. This project used increase, decrease, yarn overs for eyelets, and I learned to make an i-cord.

Not sure if they would actually fit the same sized baby, but each as individual projects went pretty well:Having conquered that (and despite having some other projects in-progress) I decided to attempt the grown-up sweater. After reading about it in several places, I bought the Stitch 'n Bitch Knitter's Handbook. I loved the look of the Pinup Queen sweater, but the suggested yarn was $10 per skein and you needed eight to nine of them... I didn't want to spend that kind of money on a sweater that might not work out or would end up in the bottom of a drawer.

So I substituted a cheapo acrylic yarn that was less than $4 a skein and for which I only needed 3 or 4. It was still soft, though possibly heavier and more elastic than the angora wool called for by S'n'B.

It took me over two weeks (during summer break, which meant lots of time for knitting)... it is mostly ribbed, which is part of what took so long. Parts of the pattern were complicated, but I found lots of help at the author's website http://www.knithappens.com, especially in the forums.

I was almost done, when I realized I had the back collar backwards. It looks like this:
when it is supposed to look like this:I decided it wasn't enough of a big deal to unstitch 2/3 of the sweater's pieces, so I left it.

The final product has a little less of a shape than I think it would if I had used the suggested wool. It is also a little big on me- I used the L pattern, when it seems I should have used the M. (I wonder if that would be different if I had used the less elastic wool.) But for my first sweater, and especially one with the various intricacies (short rows and using two skeins at once were new skills I got to practice with this pattern), I am fairly pleased with the outcome.
Now on to the next project!

In the beginning....

2009-08-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

Though I have a number of posts previously published, this is technically my first post on this blog. I imported the others from my personal blog, where I share all the boring details of my life with friends and family.

This spring, I decided to teach myself to knit. My mother taught me to sew and crochet when I was very young. My sewing has definitely progressed throughout the years, but I never got the hang of crocheting. Whenever I'd go to craft or fabric stores, though, the yarn would be calling my name.

So I got on Goo.gle and You.Tube and learned to knit.

It is my current obsession, but I have other projects in my head that I want to work on. I'd especially like to make some more dolls- different hair colors, clothing, and maybe even a boy doll. :) I also love photography, though I am definitely an amateur, and would like to do some more work with digital photography.

I have an idea deep down inside that I'd like to start an Et.sy shop at some point, but right now there are too many questions and concerns... Maybe eventually... :)

The beginning of knitting

2009-06-14T18:07:00.000-07:00

My dress did not turn out as I had hoped, but I cut off the bodice and plan to use the bottom to make a skirt. I'll probably wait for a few weeks until I have more time.

I decided this past month to teach myself to knit. I got lots of help from youtube. I used the great leftover red yarn I had left from Maya's doll to practice some knitting- I ended up with a red rectangle, but decided not to waste it. I turned it into this little pocket.
Next was a scarf I knit after adding "purl" to my knitting repertoire. I used a really soft (but a little expensive) alpaca wool. This picture isn't great, but it turned out really nicely.
Next, I found a very basic pattern online and made a hat:
I think that next I'm going to try to make a scarf/hat combo in purple for my own winter wear to match my regular winter jacket. :)

In progress...

2009-05-12T13:43:00.000-07:00

I actually still have a long way to go... I made a number of alterations to the pattern, not the least being in the bust where I needed darts.
I will have some fixing to do in the bust once I get the closure done. That is one of my big pattern changes, and I'm waiting anxiously to see if I can make it work.

So it's just pinned in the back in these pictures, which is why it looks slightly lumpy around the waist.
Clearly it still needs to be hemmed as well.

More pictures to come when completed...

Chanukah dolly

2008-12-07T13:48:00.000-08:00

I figured it would be hard to top last year, in deciding what to get my best friend's daughter for Chanukah and also next month for her birthday.

She's going to be 2, so I thought a baby doll would be a good gift... I decided to attempt to make a baby doll. My priority was that it be cuddly.

I did some online research and created a doll that was a combination of a Waldorf Doll and a sock doll. She came out a little unproportional (her body is ridiculously long...) but definitely cuddly.

I had some trouble trying to decide on clothing for her, so I ended up with a few options- A dress I made and some baby PJs from Carter's that I altered.

Happy Chanukah!

Summer decor projects...

2008-08-14T12:30:00.000-07:00

This past winter, my husband's mom sent us a bunch of the keepsakes she had from when he was growing up. I have a box of similar mementos in the basement. I started thinking- wouldn't it be nice to display some of these instead of keeping them closed up in a box?

So I bought two shadow boxes and put together this one with some of DH's stuff:

Some neat stuff in there include a note from his Granna when he made honor roll, a note Bob wrote to his dad when he competed in the club golf tournament, and his school's basketball schedule which had his picture on the front.

As for my own, when I opened the big blue rubbermaid container in the basement, I found lots of stuff from my teenage years, but not much from when I was smaller. I asked my mom, and she gathered some things she had around and gave them to me when I was visiting in July. This allowed me to finish my own shadow box.

I got my bat mitzvah invitation in there, along with one of my old favorite cow earrings I wore all the time... but my favorite is an article my mom dug up from our old synagogue bulletin. At the end, was the following:

"Something else was the special little side show put on for us by Elysha, daughter of Renee and Marc. This darling rosy-cheeked little kupie doll danced and cavorted all over the hall without any inhibitions- and golly, she must be just a bit over one year old. I'd say, she almost stole the show- what a cutie!"

I told my husband- "Some things never change! Apparently, I've been 'dancing and cavorting' since I could walk!!!!!"

Anyway, I hung these in our bedroom. My other project was a gift for my newly married cousin. She worked so hard on her invitations and the other details for her wedding. One of my own favorite gifts was my wedding invitation framed from my mother-in-law. So I took her invitation and a photo I took at the wedding and created this:
There was one small detail that I wanted to do and just couldn't pull off... it will probably drive me crazy for a long time. :) Regardless, I was happy with how the gift turned out and received an email from my cousin letting me know that she was too! :)

Newborn quilt

2008-03-17T02:55:00.000-07:00

My sister and her husband welcomed their son Benjamin yesterday. He was 7 pounds and 7 ounces and 21 inches. Congratulations!

Here is a picture of Ben as well as one of the gift I sent out last week (my most recent project)- I thought it would barely get there in time, but Ben was on his own time schedule and was 5 days late.

Thanks once again to Crafty Frances for the embroidered quilt blocks!

Photos and ducks.

2008-02-15T10:34:00.000-08:00

I've been working on various projects for different amounts of times that are finally done!
It's been a year and a half but I finally finished my wedding album!

I really wanted a matted album, but was not really happy with my photographer so I decided to do my own. It was hard to find DIY albums in this format... I ended up compromising what I had in mind a little bit, but luckily (after probably 30 hours of work) it turned out well.

I used Shutterfly to make my parents and my parents-in-law albums. I liked them so much that I made one for myself too!

Finally, I participated in a "club" at school where a bunch of teachers got together after school on Mondays to do a woodworking project. I made this little ducky for my best friend's daughter's birthday.He's a little crooked, but hopefully that will just be part of the charm.Onto the next project!

A gift of a quilt.

2008-02-03T11:59:00.000-08:00

For my best friend's daughter's chanukah present, I made her this quilt:

I bought the Sunbonnet Sue squares from Crafty Frances on Etsy. I made the letters myself, which was quite a feat, as I've never done something like that before. In hindsight, I wish I had backed the squares, as you can kind of see the seams through them, but my friend loved the quilt and hung it in her daughter's room. :)

My newest toy...

2007-10-27T07:48:00.000-07:00

So after years of wanting it, and the purchase of my new camera, I finally caved and bought photoshop. Luckily, I can get an educator's discount, so I paid half of what I would otherwise pay.

It's pretty complicated.... we used it in my master's program 6 years ago but I remember little of what I learned there. So far here are a few things I have done...

I figured out how to have a colored layer over a B&W layer:

Original:
Edited:
(all B&W except eyes)

(background B&W)
Original:
Edited:
I also figured out how to merge two photos:

Originals:
Edited:
I'd like to be able to blend the edges a little on the picture of us so it looks more natural, but that part I haven't figured out yet....

Any tips are appreciated!

October weekend project

2007-10-06T13:15:00.000-07:00

I was invited to a pumpkin carving party at the end of the month in my "new" neighborhood. In thinking about what I'd carve, and inspired by Bob's attempt at some Halloween decorating, I decided to do a little side project of my own this weekend.

I realize they both look quite wide eyed, and Brandy's eyes are a little crooked... but not bad for my first pumpkin painting, as well as my first doggie portrait, attempt!!!

My new camera

2007-07-16T14:05:00.000-07:00

After several weeks of research and indecision, I finally bought a new camera. I wanted something a step up from the tiny point and shoot I've had for the last four years. I bought a Canon Power Shot s3. I wasn't sure I'd really be able to tell the difference, but after taking it on our WI weekend, I found I really liked it. The lag time between pictures is much less, there are lots of different automatic settings to choose from (as well as manual settings that I have yet to figure out), and it takes some nice pictures. It also has a 12x zoom, which coupled with the image stabilization gives me lots of flexibility when taking pictures.

For comparison's sake, here is an evening picture I took of the lake shore from the the dock at the lake house:

...and here is a picture of the house all the way across the lake from the Rice's lake house, taken using the 12x zoom on my new camera:

I also got some GREAT baby pictures of friend's kids and can't wait to get more practice on my friends' babies.

Obviously, my most convenient subjects are my two boxers. Unfortunately, Brandy has developed an unexplained fear of my camera. As soon as she hears it turn on, she jumps up and quickly walks out of the room... definitely out of character for my "shadow dog" who needs to be with me all the time. I've tried trickery, I've tried desensitization, I've tried commanding... but none of it works. If I even pick up the camera, all I see is her tail retreating...

Bob says she's just afraid it will "steal her soul".... so she hides.....

Unsurprisingly, Max is unfazed by my new purchase.

Mmmm... more doggie pics to come...