Craftyminx

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."

It's finished! Plus some extras...

The Bella embroidery is finished! I'm pretty happy with the results, but not happy enough.

She just looks kind of bored...

If you've ever met Bella in person, you probably realized that she's really not a dog at all, she's her own weird breed of cat/pig/alien baby. And since I can't embroider her infamous Bella yell, I had a hard time making this embroidery 100% Bella. So I went back to the drawing board... literally. I came up with this.

For some reason, this one captures her essence just a little more. It's weird, because the first one looks like her. I'm pretty sure I would be happy with it if it weren't going to be tattooed on me. I want my tattoo to look exactly like my baby girl. And really, it only took about 6 hours to make a new one.

What do you all think? Which do you like better? Sheldon insists that they are both perfect. I think he just wants me to stop embroidering her so he doesn't end up with a couch full of Bella pillows with ball trim edges (because you know that is what these are turning into).

Side note - don't you love my new $1.50 afghan from the thrift store?!

Ok, so now for a shameless plug...

I'm teaching a class on creating and transferring your own embroidery patterns at the Deluxe Craft Weekend. So if you want to make a dog portrait for yourself this is the place to be!  (like my segway?)

If you sign up for the craft weekend, you get Friday to Sunday from 9am-9pm full of crafting, socializing and fun. All your meals are provided and you get to leave your stuff out for 3 days without having to clean up. I know those of you without a studio would probably love that idea (and so would your household). 

But wait, there's more... If you can't do the whole weekend, for any number of reasons, you can sign up to take a la carte workshops, like the one I'm teaching. If you don't embroider, take my class to make your own design, then take the embroidery 101 class to learn the basics. There are tons of workshops on everything from whittling to serger basics. Take a look.

The weekend is September 25th - 27th at okcCoCo. This is also the place that has a crafting get together once a month. I'm super excited to finally make it out there and have some fun with crafters!