Sparkley!

Halloween has to be one of my most favorite holidays! I look forward to decorating, carving pumpkins, and making the house all spooky! Over the last season or 2 I've noticed "glitter" decorations. Now not being a "glittery" kinda girl, I didn't take a second glance. But recently I have seen a couple of things that aren't so bad. So I decided to try it out. So here it goes.....

one dollar store plastic skull

Some Mod Podge and silver glitter I had on hand and........

He will be added to the arsenal of spooky decoration though I may be kicking myself later for all the left over glitter I'll find around the house. We'll see if he makes it to next year!

Work In Progress...

So I am about the embark on by far my largest quilting project to date and I am psyched! Not intimidated at all. Really! It's a twin sized quilt for my daughter's bed. Now for those of you who know me, know that my little one is no where near sleeping in a bed yet. I'm starting early! That way I won't be under the gun to finish. At least that's my plan!

I have been drawn to quilts made with reproduction fabrics from the 1930's. They just look fun and crisp. These fabrics below are what I picked out to make the quilt with.

Along with plain white and a red (for the border) I am supplied and ready to go! I have started to cut the strips. I will keep you updated on my progress!

A Little Crabby

Every year my sister and brother-in-law throw a Crab Fest. I say that loosely as this was just the second (I hope of many) attempt at this shindig. Anyway, my BIL is a HUGE crab guy. Loves them. Like totally focused, don't talk to him while he's picking crab, guy. Needless to say, they are totally into it. It's a lot of fun! All the crab paraphernalia comes out! From the flags to the table covers to the salt & pepper shakers! So I thought this year it would be fun to make a little shirt for the little one to wear to her Auntie's party. So here we go:

1 dollar store youth shirt $1.00

1 iron on crab (clearance rack!) .50c

Total investment = $1.50

Since the shirt was a youth medium, it was a little big for my 2 year old. So I rolled the sleeves up a couple times and tacked them. Then I shirred about 5 rows to kinda make it fitted a little. I ironed on the crab and washed it!

As you can see by the photo, the shirt was quite fitting for the "tude" that was going on at that particular moment. I was happy with it even if she wasn't! :)

The Forever Search

So I guess that everybody has an item that they are on a constant search for the "perfect" one. Or at least I'd like to think so. That way I'm not completely nuts!

Weather it's just the right wallet, or pair of jeans, or the perfect pillow! There is something! For me it's the perfect purse. Something that fulfills all my needs. For me it's been a backpack. It keeps my hands free (to chase after the little one) and they usually are a nice size (big enough to throw the occasional diaper or sippy cup in). Over the past few years I haven't seen what I'm looking for. I guess they just aren't in "fashion" anymore. I'm not a fashionista! I'm practical!

So I had enough! I decided to make my own! Here it is!

I patterned it after a dollar store back pack I found. I added a zippered pouch on the front. There are a couple different pockets and such on the inside but can't show you those. The minute I finished it I put all my necessities (AKA crap!) in it and you DO NOT need to see that! I love it! I used a quilted reversible fabric that I had in my stash. I just had to pick up a couple zippers. The inside is white with black polka dots.

I think a matching pouch/coin purse might be in my future! We'll see how motivated I get!

Bathing Beauty!

So the next thing I realize is that summer has just passed me by! We have been so busy this summer having fun! Not that I took time off from making stuff, I just haven't sat down to blog about it.

So there will be projects posted that I have made over the last few months. :)

Here is the first one. I found a great tutorial over at The Train To Crazy for a beach towel that folds into a backpack. What an awesome idea! I found a couple of cute beach towels and couldn't wait to get started! It really didn't take that long at all to make. So here it is:

Of course when I want to take a picture of my little one wearing it, she doesn't want anything to do with putting it on! Just my luck. But still uses it every time we are by the water!

So I was just tickled pink on how it turned out! I had a pretty big piece of towel left over too. So I put my creative brain to work and came up with a matching beach cover up! What a perfect companion to the back pack. I think so anyway :)

We have used both of these all summer long and have gotten so many compliments on them!

Tutu Drive 2010

So when I do have time, I search blogs on CraftGossip.com to see what other creativity is going. I fell upon this post at Samster Mommy about a tutu drive. There is a foundation called The Princess Alexa Foundation that donates handmade dress up clothes to seriously ill children. It's so important that these kids get to be kids while dealing with these serious issues. It really hit home now that I'm a mom. Immediately I decided to make something for this foundation! It's the LEAST I can do.

So the little one and me went off to the fabric store and picked up some pink tulle and some packets of yellow roses. It took little time to make. It actually took longer to sew the roses on than it did to make the skirt itself!

I enjoyed it so much that we went back and I got some yellow tulle to make another one!

I know that there will be a couple of little girls who will love these skirts! It felt awesome to send these off to Samster Mommy!

Updated Kitchen Chairs

Gosh! It has been way too long since I last posted something. Life seems to be getting in the way! We are back from a very long trip to visit family and friends and slowly getting back into our routine.

I've been working on this particular project for a while and finally finished them today! For those who don't know me, I love to refinish furniture! I guess that's the Norwegian in me! Our kitchen table and chairs have been used for close to 10 years! My hubby bought the set from Ikea on our 2nd date! For a cheapy set, it has really has served us well over the years. Recently, though, one of the chairs broke and I couldn't fix it. Bummer. :( So what is a girl to do! I decided to start looking for chairs to refinish. I didn't want anything new. I figured a garage sale or a thrift store might do the job. I looked here and there and didn't come up with anything. Then a friend called to say she knew of somebody getting rid of some chairs and they are exactly what I was describing to her (Thanks Mary!). Best part.........they were free! So here is the before picture:

A nice dusty blue color! I couldn't wait to strip these down! I wanted black chairs that were worn a little.

So off I go:

It took me longer to finish than I anticipated just because I could only work on them at nap time or weekends when the hubby could keep an eye on the little one. Slowly they were transformed and revitalized into this:

Here is a close up of the "Shabby Chicing" that was done to each chair:

I'm really happy about how they turned out! Next I'll be looking for a table to refinish to go with these chairs!