Craftyminx

Christmas?

Look at that! Ok so really the only reason I already have Christmas stuff out is because I bought the wreath and didn't want to mess it up and I had to make the garland for the tree and decided to leave it out.

I've been working hard preparing for deluxe. And I decided to make some Christmas stuff this year.

Want to see a deluxe sneak peek? These are my ornaments...

I will have these three styles of snowflakes in an array of colors. I'm all about color for Christmas this year, and think everyone else should be too! ;)

What are your Christmas decor plans? Are you keeping with the old or trying something new?

A month of Halloween

I am soo glad Sheldon loves Halloween as much as I do. It is our favorite holiday!

We've been getting the house ready since the beginning of October.

      

Sheldon has also been making sure we only get horror movies from Netflix. Some of them (Trailer Park of Terror) were awful. Others (Drag me to Hell) were great. I've never been much of a horror movie fan so i think I've seen more this month than any other time in my life!

Last night was the Ghouls Gone Wild Parade downtown. We weren't in the parade but we still wore our costumes. I made all of my costume (except the wig) and Sheldon found the perfect suit at a thrift store.

We had a lot of people comment on our awesome costumes and we even had a little photo shoot with a camera club that was there. It was pretty cool. The parade was a blast!! Sadly, my camera battery died 3 floats in so I don't have pictures. My favorites were the Edward Scissorhands float and the Stepford wives float they were all so cute! We stayed for the after party to see the Collins Kids, but we ended up leaving early because they ran out of beer, we were tired, and the music was too loud. We sound like old people. haha!

Tonight, we had Sheldon's family over for a pumpkin carving party. It was tons of fun! Here are the fruits of our labor...

Yes, mine is the Hello Kitty Pumpkin, how'd you guess??

There are more pictures in my Halloween 2009 set on flickr. 

Everyone have a spooky-fun Halloween!

Also, Don't forget about the Embroidery class coming to Oklahoma City November 15th! Sign up today, the class is already filling up! http://www.craftyminx.com/embroidery_class.html

Embroidery class!!!

Hey guess what?! Enrollments are open for the intro to the hand embroidery class Amy and I will be teaching in November.

You can get all the details and sign-up here.

The class will have something for everyone. We'll teach the basics for those of you who have never touched a needle, and there will also be plenty of techniques the more seasoned stitchers.

We're limiting the class to 10 people so hurry and save your spot today!

Apples 2 Apples

I love fall! Sadly, Oklahoma has decided to skip over fall and go straight into 50 degree weather, cloudy and wet--it has not stopped raining for days! We had about 2 weeks of good 65 degree weather. Oh well, even though the weather is not cooperating, I am thoroughly enjoying fall for what it is.

This week has been the week of apples. Apples are available year round, of course, but the variety is more substantial in the fall. A coworker recently became excited that honey crisp apples were now available. I had never had them before, so I went to the store and bought a huge bag.

They are delicious! Crisp, sweet, and slightly tangy. The perfect taste of fall.

 With my new favorite apples in the fridge I decided to make this apple cake.

BEST IDEA EVER! Make it, you will not be disappointed.

Now take a gander at these beauties...

I'll give you a moment. I needed one when I saw them in the store.

 I want to eat everything out of these!!! But I'm also afraid to touch them because they are in perfect condition and don't want to hurt them.

*sorry the photos are soo dark that just shows you how horribly cloudy it has been here. Even after editing them I couldn't get them much better. I really need to get lightroom.

Just Breathe

I've been telling myself that a lot lately. I'm also catching myself with a clenched jaw at times. No idea why. I'm so happy right now, but way busy. My day job is really busy right now, which is wearing me out. My brain feels fried about 60% of the time. I had to drop one of my classes. It was silly for me to believe that I could take two classes in the fall... craft fair season and the busiest season for work don't mesh well with school.

I've managed to make a few things. I've finished the portrait of Sheldon's niece Anna. Now I'm working on one of his other niece. Take a look... I'm really proud of how it turned out. You can see a detail shot and the original photo on my flickr page if you're interested.

My embroidery  class at the Deluxe Craft Weekend turned out really well. I hope my students had a good time and learned a lot. I'll be teaching a 4 hour embroidery class in November that will cover the basics as well as portraiture and transfer methods. I'm hoping to finalize a date and time by next week. I'm still working on the class description for it. 

Yesterday was Sheldon's birthday. It was really important for me to give him something handmade. And with him living with me, it was hard to make him something myself so I asked my friend Stephanie to paint a Virgin Mary planter that my friend Jenny gave Sheldon. He has a pretty big collection of Virgin Mary art and had taken a liking to one of Stephanie's pieces at Deluxe in the spring, so I knew he would love it.

I probably should have taken before and after pictures, but didn't she do a wonderful job!? If you are ever in the market for some wonderful art, check her out at http://www.myspace.com/crypt_o_licious. 

Our weekend plans include birthday dinner tonight at Iron Starr, Football watching for Sheldon and crafting time for me. Sunday is the Native American Festival at the Downtown Library. Sheldon has been coordinating it and it's going to be great. For more info check out the library webpage.

Deluxe Craft Weekend

I've mentioned this before, but the weekend is approaching and there is now the option to sign up for one day only, so I thought I would send this out to any of you who were like me and didn't have time to sign up for the full weekend. I am going to go on Sunday and I look forward to spending a day with crafty friends.

You can sign up for the weekend at http://services.okccoco.com/event/detail/Deluxe_Craft_Weekend

Also, don't forget about all the classes that are being offered as well! I'm teaching my embroidery pattern design class on Friday night from 5-7 and would love for there to be a full house. At the class, you will learn how to create your own embroidery patterns from pre-existing artwork and photos. You will get a handy dandy notebook with design ideas and inspiration as well as a list of online resources, transfer materials, and fabric to work with.

Here is one of the portraits I'm working on to show at the class. It is of Sheldon's niece, Anna. Yes, the hair is taking forever, glad you asked.

These are some other examples of what you can do from creating your own patterns...

There are a whole list of wonderful classes to choose from. I want to take three of the classes on Saturday but I have a super long tattoo appointment scheduled for that day :(

You can choose workshops here http://services.okccoco.com/event/detail/Deluxe_Craft_Weekend#Workshops

This just in... There is going to be an Okie portrait virtual stitch along! The goal is to create a collection of portraits of famous Oklahomans for an Oklahoma City exhibition in Spring 2010. I've signed up for it and think my class is the perfect thing to get you started if you have no idea how to embroider a portrait. You can get more information about the sitch along at  http://www.deluxeok.net/stitchalong.

The future Mrs. Beach

Sheldon proposed on Monday!!!

Most of you probably already know this... but just for documentation reasons, I will blog about it as well.

Let me start with some history...

I thought Sheldon was hot the first time I saw him a few years ago at our staff development day at work. I figured I didn't have a chance with him so I avoided talking to him. I'm dreadfully shy when it comes to guys. Then I accepted a new position in the Downtown library where he is a librarian. He noticed me -- "the cute girl in the planning office" and told my friend Mary his friend Chuckie that he thought I was cute. I had told Mary that I thought he was cute and that I liked that he had tattoos. We didn't really talk much because we were both really nervous and shy around each other.  Then, one magical night in December, a group of work friends planned a canal ride downtown and dinner at Earls. I was invited without Sheldon knowing it (he wouldn't have been there if he knew). We ended up sitting together on the canal ride and at dinner (I'm sure our friends made sure this happened) and we talked all night. Afterwards, he invited me to McNellies for a beer where we continued to talk for another hour or so. He got my number and said he would call me the next day. 

I went to my parents' for the Christmas get together the next day. He texted me and asked me out for that Sunday afternoon. I did a giddy girl dance in the living room, but I wasn't sure when I'd be back so I said I would still be at my parents' which he thought was me blowing him off. I'm so glad I texted him back and said I could do something that night. We went to Tokyo for sushi (my first sushi experience!) for our first official date on December 21st. The date was great and we went on more dates and on New Year's Eve decided to officially be a couple. The DTR (OBU talk for determine the relationship) conversation is so random and awkward but we made it through.

We've been talking about getting married since before Sheldon moved in in May. I started planning in my head, but any time I would try to talk to him about it he would say something about me getting him a ring before we could start planning. He was all about a mangagement ring, because he thought it was funny. I found it annoying. 

He asked my dad for his blessing on September 13th. Funny enough, my dad was cleaning his guns all day so Sheldon had to go out and ask him while he was with firearms. What a brave man I have! I really didn't think he would propose right away since he just asked my dad, but sure enough on Monday afternoon, I found this in our dining room...

Which made me do this...

Then this...

I must admit I picked out the ring a few weeks ago... I have tiny hands so trying them on was a must to get an appropriate size. I am totally in love with it's vintage flair!

So there you have it. I'm engaged. And no we haven't set a definite date yet, but know that it will be a DIY extravaganza. We have decided that we are getting married at my parents' farm in front of a pond three-quarters encircled with cedar trees. It is a beautiful setting and I can't wait to start with planning!

Sewing madness...

The sewing frenzy I have been in lately continued last night. I finished the posie quilt like I said I would (I know that is a rare occurrence around these parts.) I found the tutorial to be very helpful. There are a few things that I did differently, because of some hints my mom has shared with me. And I think I might redo the binding with her help. I guess it's pretty damn good for a first try. Eh I don't know. I'm kind of a perfectionist so I'll probably redo it. 

I also went ahead and made the towel into burp cloth.

These are so cute, I want to make a hundred of them now, or at least finish off the pack of diapers I bought.

Laborious Labor Day

Sheldon and I took off Tuesday and had a wonderful four day weekend. Saturday and Sunday were filled with football, family and friends. Monday and Tuesday were our chill days. For Sheldon, that meant laying on the couch and watching all of Heroes Season 1. For me, it meant spending some much needed time in the studio.

While watching football, I embroidered this Kurt Hasley Sublime Stitching pattern. I stitched it on a diaper, intending to use it as a hand towel, but I may sew it to some fabric and make a burp cloth out of it and put it with my stash of baby gifts. 

Click image to see a larger image

Monday was devoted to finishing the dog pillows that my mom helped me start over a month ago. Once I finished the tops, I realized I didn't have the right fabric for the back so I had to set those aside until I could hit up some thrift stores on Tuesday to find a sheet in the right color for the back.  Since I was already in working mode I decided to dissect some clothes that I had in a pile in the craft room. I made this baby blanket top out of some maternity pants I bought at goodwill (no one should have ever worn these, but the fabric pattern was too cute to pass up) and a dress that didn't fit anymore. (pink and green in the photo)

It turned out really well. Now I just need to go buy some cotton batting and I can finish it. I have the cutest coordinating sheet that will work perfect for the back.

We actually left the house on Tuesday. We went to the mall for some window shopping and stopped at a couple of thrift stores. I found a ton of cute sheets at a goodwill and they were all conveniently marked with the 50% off color of the day. Score! Sheldon found a Bisonettes (the girl's glee club that I was in at OBU) record from the 50's and I was soo excited to see it. I have another record from the 70's and the CD they made from the year before I was in it. I also got a $5 Cuisinart ice cream maker, which I was so excited about because I was going to buy a new one soon. So glad I didn't, because the used one works perfectly. I see lots of homemade frozen treats in our future!

I found a thick pink canvas sheet at another thrift store, which was perfect for my pillows, so when  I got home, I finished the dog beds. They are sooo cute!

Dewey immediately laid down on his, but Bella was a little upset that I took her old bed away. She resorted to sleeping in the living room that night.

Since I was on a roll, I decided to make the top on the posie quilt kit that I bought from RVA a while back. (on the left in the picture above) I've been so scared to start quilting. Not sure why, but I guess my mom showing me the ropes on the pillows got me going. I'm used to the whole patchwork thing now. It's just the process of putting together the quilt that scares me. But Rachel's tutorial is making me feel like I can do it. So tonight... I quilt. The one thing I said I wouldn't learn because it looked too tedious. Well mom, you can take pride in knowing you have influenced me into your favorite medium. But really, I do need to start sewing more if I want to use up some of my fabric stash. I can't just keep around all these fabrics because they are pretty. They need to be turned into other pretty things.

Recent Finds

I have been doing a lot of thrifting lately. I find it so exciting searching for cool things at super cheap prices. Here are some recent finds...

1. Afghan, 2. brown polka dot glasses, 3. Minnie Pearl mug, 4. mug and pitcher, 5. vintage sheets, 6. nesting canisters, 7. Cute flower shop mugs, 8. flower mug, 9. melmac mugs, 10. brown and pink mug, 11. beautiful fire king mug, 12. flower mug, 13. Green melmac mug set, 14. scalloped shelf, 15. cute green purse, 16. expanding peg rack, 17. polaroid impulse, 18. Polaroid land camera, 19. small shelf, 20. Mustard Yellow mug rack, 21. expanding peg rack, 22. Kodak Colorburst Camera, 23. mug rack, 24. Buttons!, 25. suitcases

I really love finding colorful mugs that will grace my kitchen once it is remodeled. I have also been collecting a lot of vintage sheets. When I find a really colorful vintage sheet that hasn't been used so much it is faded in the middle, I do a happy dance. Sheldon is worried about my sheet hoarding. He laughs it off though and says if we have another depression, we'll at least have fabric to make new clothes. "Hey Sheldon I love your new flowered sheet suit."