Craftyminx

Preparedness

blizzard 2009

Oklahoma is going to have a blizzard tonight. At least that is what is expected. I'm getting prepared by doing the following:

•  Went to hobby lobby to buy stuff for a Valentine's Day project I've had in mind and stocked up on my Granny square yarns.
• Bought groceries to make Broccoli Cheese Soup and Poutine (Sheldon's been craving it since we got back from Montreal)
• Dug the ice melt and snow shovel out of the garage.
• Turned the light on the exposed pipes in the garage. Since our washer is in the garage we clip a 100 watt bulb by the pipes to keep them from freezing.

We're ready to tuck in, watch lots of episodes of Big Bang Theory and maybe play in some snow with Dewey. Dewey LOVES the snow.

Anyone else expecting snow tonight? What do you do when you're snowed in?

A Granny A Day: Week 1

I am loving this project! These colors make me so happy, and yes I must confess I worked a little ahead this week so I could make a blog banner. But from here on out I'm making one a day which is perfect for our evening tv time.

You can follow along and see which patterns I used here.

Thrifted Thursday

My friend Levi and I had a thrifting extravaganza this past weekend. There were many fun things to share but I decided that this one needed to be first. I spotted it first and picked it up and commented on how awesome it was but it was quite huge for a stuffed doll and where would I put it? Levi bought it because he agreed on the awesomeness. We've agreed that I get it back if I have a child. Ok well I agreed, but I have a key to his house ;) Has anyone ever seen a handmade seal before? I've seen dogs and cats made out of this fabric tons of times, which is what I secretly hoped this one was when I saw it.

Happiness is...

A fun manicure.

Mac and cheese in my favorite Frankoma mug.

A sweet message written in the frost on my car window.

A dozen of my favorite cupcakes, Rooftop Killer from Cuppies and Joe.

Our Bella plant blooming!

One of our nieces showing an interest in crocheting. She'll get it one day :)

Guest Post on Thompson Family Life

I am pleased to announce that I'm a part of a wonderful group of guests posting on Danielle's blog for the next few days.

 
I shared a fun Valentine's Day Embroidery Pattern

 
Check it out and download the pattern!

If you make something with it for your loved one for V-Day share a link here so I can see it :)

Also, Don't forget last year's vintage valentine embroidery patterns I shared.

You can download those here.

Updated 06/21/2011 to add the full tutorial.

We have a new niece who is named Olive and her mom has been asking me to design some cute clothing with the theme of olives for her for a while now. Since Valentine's day is less than a month away, I decided she needed an "Olive Ewe" onesie for the holiday and designed this pattern for her.

DOWNLOAD THE PATTERN HERE

 
Obviously, this doesn't only have to be used on onesies. You can embroider it on anything to give to a loved one.

Keep it in the hoop or frame it to give as an art piece.

 
Or get crazy and embroider a card for your special someone.

 
Here are some tips for embroidering on card stock:

Pre-poke your holes with a sharp needle making sure not to poke them any closer than an 1/8th of an inch. I use a t-pin for this because it doesn't hurt my fingers in the process and it makes the right sized hole for the needle I use.

 
Very carefully use the holes like you would a sewing card. Skip the satin stitch because those stitches have to be made too close together. The trick here is to keep from creasing or tearing your paper. If you've used a thick enough card stock and didn't punch your holes too close together this shouldn't be a problem.  

 
 I use tape on the back to hold down my ends so there are no bumpy knots.

 
I don't recommend using painter's tape, I just wanted you to be able to see the tape. You can cover the inside with a complementary paper after you've finished to clean it up a bit too!

If this design doesn't tickle your fancy, I have some vintage valentine embroidery patterns I created last year that you can use the same technique on to make some really cute cards. 

It's my birthday

I'm 28 today! Since the beginning of the year was not a time that I wanted to make big plans, I decided to make my birthday my big goal making day. So here you go, The 29 things I plan on doing before I turn 29.

Click photo to see larger

These are really detailed goals, but I think I can manage them.

The most exciting thing to me is a 365 project! My idea for this project has changed a lot over the last month. My original idea would have been really cool but also really time consuming which I can't do right now. I'd just get stressed out. So I decided to go with something fun and easy : A Granny A Day. I'll be crocheting a granny square a day and making as many blankets out of them as I can. I've created a separate blog just for this project. You can find it here: http://craftyminx.typepad.com/a_granny_a_day/ Don't worry if you don't want to follow another blog, I'll be posting a weekly round up over here on Fridays.

Thrifted Thursday

Roadtrip thrifting is one of my most favorite things. This coat was out of it's place with the dresses and I knew that I had to have it even though it didn't fit (usually the case when I'm thrifting). Thankfully my lovely model, Alicia was willing to give it a new home. The coat had no identifying marks except that it was made it Spain. It is a very lovely piece and I know Alicia will rock it.

Happiness in iPhone photos

This may be a semi-regular feature on the blog because I have so many phone photos I take that never get shared with anyone. I used to be soo opposed to people using their crappy phone cameras so much, but when I got the iPhone 4 that changed. The camera really isn't that bad and with so many great photo apps, Hipstamatic and Instagram being my favorites, there are really so many artistic ways to document the little mundane things in life. So here's to my crappy phone camera bringing me happiness -

Early birthday flowers from my husband.

Coming home to my sweet boy who missed me a whole bunch this weekend.

Strawberry cake with sprinkles.

Getting my wedding ring replaced and the wedding band added :)

New snow boots for non-exsistent snow.

Olive being able to make us laugh with a present from Sheldon.