What good is my wallet if I can’t see it?

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Well, I figured out what the problem is.  I’ve been making these wallets for my friends and everybody just loves them.

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I decided to actually try one.  So surfing ninja got the honor.  The idea of these fabulous wallets is that you can put your cell phone in there and carry it in lieu of an actual purse.  I even made a detachable shoulder strap for this one.

I was feeling all carefree and proud of myself.  Until I realized that I didn’t have my glasses with me.  My disappointment was palpable.

Let’s throw a life tip in here, since I seem to be slacking in the life tips category.  Necessity is the mother of invention.  You can quote me on that.  I need to see things, so my “in lieu of an actual purse” needs to hold my glasses.  Being a mother, I knew it was time for invention.

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Apparently nobody told my sunglasses they would be in a photo shoot.  Probably should have cleaned them.

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I can put my spectacles in the little compartment and switch ’em out for my sunnies when I go inside.  So now, in lieu of an actual purse, I can carry this vision of happiness!  I’ll just sit over here and feel proud of myself for a while.

Props to Emmaline Bags, creator of the pattern called the Necessary Clutch Wallet.

Stay crafty my friends!

Hey There Little Red Riding Hood. Or Distractions.

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Is there anyone, anyone who’s into crafty stuff, who is not easily distracted?  I don’t think so.  I think that crafty minds are, by definition, easily sidetracked by pretty shiny things.  We wouldn’t have any inspiration if we kept our minds only on the task at hand.  We would all work on only one project at a time, diligent until completion.  Fabric stores would go out of business.  Craft stores would shutter their doors.  The world would be a grim place.

Thank the heavens it doesn’t work that way!  I had to take a moment there, I got depressed just thinking about it.  Let’s roll with this as today’s life tip.  Distraction is good.  Multi-tasking is good.  Pretty shiny things lead to the birth of extreme crafting.  That’s my theory, and I’m sticking to it.

I tend to gravitate towards large projects.  Like, really big ones.  After I taught myself to knit, I didn’t start whipping out multiple hats and scarves.  Oh no, not me.  I went right for the sweaters.  When I started quilting last year, I didn’t do table runners and mug rugs.  Nope.  Quilts.  Like this one.  For my king-size bed.DSCN2528

And now this one, the Aviatrix Medallion by Elizabeth Hartman.DSCN3633

More on that one later.  But you get the idea, right?  Sometimes even I question my rationale, as I add more projects to my pile of works-in-progress.  But I have had an epiphany.  For me it’s an epiphany, anyway.  I’ve crossed over to the dark side and started some small projects!  Yeah, I’m a little late to this party.  And I love it.  So those of you who have figured this out, long ago I am guessing, welcome me into your lair.

My entire circle of influence is just about covered with wallets now.  So look what I found, lurking around one of my favorite fabric websites, Fat Quarter Shop.  It’s called the Rose Red Woodland Doll pattern by Lella Boutique.  She turned out so cute I can barely stand it.

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In this picture she kinda looks like she’s got the mumps.  But that does not detract from her adorableness.  I love that her hair is made out of fabric.  And she’s wearing vintage boots, by the way.  She just amuses the hell out of me, so we did a photo shoot in the back yard.

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Here she is playing hide and seek in the ferns.  That’s her playful look.

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Now she’s sitting on the rocks of the waterfall.  Notice the thoughtful look on her face.

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Here she is crouching next to a ti plant.  Or maybe she’s peeing.  Let’s just skip this one. Now she’s just flat out embarrassed.  No more pictures.

Anyway, the point is that I had fun doing this.  No, I don’t have a little girl, nor a grandchild.  Only a grown-up sized girl, and she doesn’t want a new dolly.  I wanted a new dolly.  Don’t judge me.

Stay crafty my friends.

Selfish Crafting

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I just love to make stuff.  There’s something hugely satisfying about making pretty things.  Made with fabric.  Made with paper.  Made with scissors, zippers, batting, glue and grommets.

Most of the things I make I just can’t bear to give away.  How pitiful is that?  But I love them so much after I make them.  I feel like all my crafties are my children.  I know their story, from conception to completion.  How could I give away my children?  I mean, there have been a few times when I contemplated giving away my actual children, and no court in the land would convict me.  But I digress.

I now find myself making things that I actually WANT to give to someone.  What has come over me?  It’s like I went to sleep one night and had three ghostly visitors or something.  Maybe Clarence the angel came for a visit and did a George Bailey on me.  But I doubt it.  I wish I could believe that it was totally selfless.

Instead I think it’s a new evolution in my craftiness.  I’ve begun to look around outside my usual interests, especially in the sewing world.  There are some amazingly talented and creative people out there opening my eyes.  I mean, the last time I considered sewing any kind of a purse was in junior high. Lop off the legs of an old pair of jeans, cut some straps out of the legs, add some lining, and voila! A (now heinous) groovy ’70s purse.  The memory alone makes me shudder.  Too bad I didn’t keep my patchwork maxi skirt.

Now these brilliant designers are writing patterns so we can make things that are covetable.  Like the Necessary Clutch Wallet from Emmaline Bags.

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Aside from the fact that I am madly in love with my pineapple fabric, this wallet is amazing!

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I mean, it’s got tons of card pockets, a zipper compartment, phone and lipstick will fit in it too!  And heaven knows my momma taught me well, I never leave the house without my lipstick.  Shout out to Janelle MacKay, she IS Emmaline Bags.

Where was I before I felt compelled to show off?  Oh yeah, selfish crafting.  This was such a fun, one afternoon project.  I showed it to my visiting sisinlaw.  She loved it.  So I made her one.

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And I made a simpler wallet for my Girly.  (This one is called the Have It All Wallet, by Straight Stitch Society.)  She loved it.  So I made more.  For one niece, another sisinlaw, another niece.

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And you know what?  I’m actually digging giving these away.  One factor has got to be that they are fast and easy to make.  Maybe I don’t have time to fall in love with them.  I’ve decided they are not my children, not at all.  They are like somebody else’s children.  The ones that are cute and I want to play with them.  And at the end of the day, I want them to go home to their own mommies.  After I have basked in their adorableness, spoiled them with cookies and caffeinated and carbonated beverages.  Now go home, you little bastards, and keep your own mommies up all night.

There’s something about these small, colorful projects that makes me want to spread them around.  Could this be the type of project that brings me around, around from being a selfish crafter, to being a generous one?

Naw.

Stay crafty, my friends.

Extreme Crafting, Golf Edition

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It’s not always easy to find a way to insert my passion for craftiness into my That Man’s world.   After all these years of persuasion, he has yet to complete a popsicle diorama.  And he refuses to sit at my sewing machine and stitch a quilt.  At least he has gained a hefty appreciation of my skills and talents.  And I don’t always have to kick him to get a compliment anymore.

We spent 2+ grueling years remodeling our little chunk of paradise.  Our last little stroke of genius was to add a 6 hole putting course in the back yard.  You can guess that most of the planning for this was squarely on That Man’s shoulders.  After all, he is the one with the passion for golf.  I only learned how to golf out of self-defense.  I knew that if I didn’t learn to golf, my chances of seeing him in our golden years were slim and none.  And I figured that I might want to see him sometimes.  But I digress.

So That Man planned out the course and dug the holes for the pins.  He mows the fairways and the roughs, he fertilizes and waters.  All the while I think to myself, “This would be perfect if only I could figure out a way to get some crafts into the game.”  Think about it, there’s not exactly a logical solution here.  No matter how tolerant of my creations, That Man probably would not go for handmade putters, no matter how carefully I craft them from paper mache and dowel rods.  And golf balls don’t exactly scream out “you can make this at home!”  I pondered, because pondering is often as fulfilling as actually doing something.

Off to the Big W, in search of supplies.  Here’s what I brought home:

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You see, I figured once all the crazed golf fanatics descended upon our course, there would be challenges and debates about who was better and who did what and all that stuff that golfers like to brag about.  So I set about making a leaderboard, a brag board for all the backyard accomplishments.

I wanted the course info and categories to appear permanently on the board, the scores and info that changes can be written on the board with the markers.  A little light bulb, Ding!, and I decided to cut out vinyl letters to label the board.  I have an electronic cutting machine that I love, it is called the eClips and it is made by Sizzix.  I use a software program called Sure Cuts A Lot to tell the machine what to cut.  If Sure Cuts A Lot was invented by Sir Mix A Lot, all would be righteous in our world, but I’m pretty sure Sir Mix A Lot was too busy singing Baby Got Back to invent software programs.

Anyway, I cut out my vinyl and ended up with a good looking leaderboard:

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And here it is out on the course, proudly displayed on the tiki hut near the first tee:

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That sassy little butt you see belongs to Ricky Ricardo Montalban Rich Corinthian Leather.  He’ll be back, I can promise you that.

Stay crafty, my friends.

Only you can prevent crafting injuries

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I haven’t injured myself today.  Yet.  A razor-sharp rotary cutter.  An iron set to linen, freshly filled with water.  That’s the one that got me yesterday.

I hate steam burns.  It’s so hard to muster up sympathy, they look red, but sometimes only if you look closely.  Stunningly no one looks at the pad of my left pinky closely.  I had to suffer silently.  I don’t like suffering silently.  Not without at least a little “poor baby” from someone.

So I guess we’re gonna start this off with a whizz-bang life tip!  Don’t put your fingers within an inch of a steaming iron.  I’m gonna go out on a limb and suggest not putting your fingers within 3 inches of a steaming iron.  If you must get your delicate digits in the vicinity of the iron, use an oven mitt.  Then send me a picture of you ironing while wearing said oven mitt.  I’ll laugh my ass off.

Craft safely, my friends.