so here's the bad news.

I lied. I seem to always be lying these days. on the couch. {tee hee}
but I'm not going to be participating in Christmas in July.
It would seem that this baby is trying to suck the very will to live right out of me. Last week I actually had to have an i.v. of fluids stuck in me to battle dehydration. it was so cold!

Anyhow, my shop is temporarily closed. *pause for moment of silence*
but, I definitely recommend you still hop over to Larissa's blog:

http://www.zitzmanfam.blogspot.com/

and snag yourself one of the awesome giveaways this month. Also, I hear there will be many fun project ideas too. Merry Christmas to all!

greetings from beyond the grave

or maybe it just feels like I'm dead. I had so much planned for the spring and summer. So many fun projects for you to whip up at home. but alas. my life got to me. What with graduation season, vacation season, and dun dun dun dun... wedding season! and when you come from a family as large as mine, you participate in any and all seasonal activities.

And then a couple weeks ago, I woke up one morning to find two little pink lines on a white plastic stick staring me in the face. That's right my friends, I'm pregnant. And you'd be right in thinking that this blog will be pretty empty for a little while longer.

BUT- I am participating in a 'christmas in july' give-away in {you guessed it} july.
I'll try to have more details for you soon. But right now I have to go throw up everything I've ever eaten in my entire life. and feed my kids a nutritious meal of donuts and cereal.

I've been having fun with my lace....

shhh. don't tell anyone that this is really a boy. a very pretty boy.

headbands now for sale in the shop.

More fun than baskin robins

So there I was, perusing one of my fave haunts, lace heaven, when I came across this lace...
in 41 flavors! {I know the page says '47' but there are really only 41.} I am utterly giddy. I bought two yards of each. the best part was saying, "pale lavender? add to cart. lavender kiss? add to cart. light blue? add to cart...." just so I didn't miss one. Get comfy, maybe use the bathroom first, because it's gonna take you a while to put 41 different laces in your cart. but it will be well worth it, I'm sure. I don't know what I'm going to make - but it WILL be awesome!

Check out all the colors here. and if you buy tonight, you can take 15% off with the code MARDI GRAS. but it's only for orders over $25. and good luck spending that much! the more you buy, the cheaper everything gets. my lace? 12 cents a yard!!

Heart Felt Valentine Banner

There is still plenty of time to make your house into the tunnel of love this valentines day. This banner whips up super easy - you could even make 2 or 3!
{Did somebody say v-day party?!!}

Here's what you'll need for one banner:
-1/8 yard {72" wide} deep red felt
{I think you know you can make it any color you want.
I do NOT recommend felt sold by the square here, it's too thin.}

-Scrap of 1/4" ribbon

-Basic sewing supplies + sewing machine

-Heart template. I used this one.

Trace and cut out as many hearts as you can from your felt.
I used the three largest sizes from the template.

Stack your hearts, varying the sizes at random. Make sure your banner will start and end with the largest heart. Stitch across the width of each heart (don't forget to back stitch your first and last heart). To make a chain, sew 3-4 stitches between hearts. Be sure you are gently pulling the last sewn heart forward as you stitch on nothing. This will prevent the stitches from building on top of each other and making a gnarly mess.

To connect the hearts, turn your hand wheel towards you to put your needle in the down position. Raise your presser foot and butt the next heart right up to your needle. Lower your presser foot and continue sewing.



Cut your ribbon scrap into two 4" pieces. Fold each one in half and pin to the beginning and end heart of your banner to form the hangers.
You banner may be all jumbled by now. Just be sure that you pin your ribbon to the front of one heart and the back of the other. {So that the hearts are mirror images. make sense?} Stitch across the ribbon

And your done! This banner is festive for any room, including the office, school, etc., but it also makes a dang cute photo prop.

I think the grandparents are going to love this year's valentine card!

{P.S. the word 'LOVE' in the first picture is spelled out with unfinished wood letters that I bought at my local craft store. They were 80 cents a piece. I painted them with metallic silver paint and adhered them to the wall with wall putty. so pretty.}

Heart Felt Valentines

Well after a little hiatus with a sickly computer... I'm back.
And I'm hoping you have room in your heart {and schedule}
for my pretty valentine project.
Don't be fooled by their super cute exterior, these are simple to make!

You will need:
assorted colors of felt scraps
assorted buttons
basic sewing supplies
lolly pops and candy sticks
and this template

did I say slash marks are for "view one"? I meant view 2.
Enlarge or reduce this image as needed so the heart template measures
approx. 4" wide and 4.25" long. Cut out templates.

Heart on a Stick Valentine

Fold your felt in half so you have two layers.
With a water or air soluble fabric pen, trace one heart per valentine.

If you're lolly pop is small, go ahead and cut out your hearts, two at a time.
Mine is a little on the larger size. {yes, we are still talking about the lolly pop. not my rear.} Instead of cutting out the heart on the line and stitching on the interior edge,
I'm going to use the pen line as my stitching line, which will make my heart a little roomier.

Cut around the heart loosely leaving a wide border, if necessary.
Using your pen, trace on your message. I did "xoxo" but "love" would be cute!

Using a zigzag or satin stitch, stitch over your "X"s and stitch buttons over your "O"s.
I used a tear-away stabilizer for the back to keep the felt from puckering.
If you don't have any, you can use wrapping tissue. Stitch through only one heart.

Pin the top layer of felt onto the bottom with the right sides facing out.
Stitch around the heart using a narrow seam allowance.
Be sure to leave a gap in the stitching at the heart's bottom point.

Trim around the heart.

Using that trusty old fabric pen and a ruler, mark a line on across the back of the heart.

Pinch the front and back heart and pull to separate.

Make a small snip and carefully slide your scissors into the opening.

Cut along the pen line up to but not through the stitching line.
Cut through only the back layer.

Slip the lolly pop into the slit with the stick going through the opening in the stitching.
Pull the top flap over the lolly pop to conceal it and you're done!


Cupid Struck Valentine

Trace and cut out two hearts per valentine.
Pen the slash marks onto the top heart.

Pin the two hearts together and stitch using a narrow seam allowance.

Using your presser foot as a guide, stitch around the inside edge of the
first stitching line. {This gives it just a little more visual interest.
You don't have to do it if you don't want to.} Using the same method
as the lolly pop valentine, cut through the slash marks.

Trace the arrow head and tail onto felt but don't cut out.
Note the DO NOT SEW lines marked on the template with double slashes.

Cut around the design but do not cut on the lines.
Pin to a second layer. Stitch on the drawn lines.

For those not familiar with how to 'pivot and turn' it's really easy.
Stitch to the end of your marked line and stop.
Turn your hand wheel {on the side of the machine}
towards you until your needle is in the down position.

Raise your presser foot and rotate your fabric with the needle still down.
Rotate until the center mark on your presser foot {most feet have one}
is lined up with the connected next line to stitch.
Lower your presser foot and stitch on.

Trim around the stitching. Your pieces should look like this.

Feed a candy stick through the slashes in your heart front. Slip the tail feathers onto the bottom of the stick and the arrow head to the top. You can keep the head from falling off by placing a small glue dot onto the candy and then pressing the felt into it.

See? Easy Peasy. And too stinking cute. The pen marks should dissolve on their
own in day or so. So let me know if anyone needs my address.
so you can send me one. I just love candy!

the next holiday on the list...

Ok. I don't mean to annoy everyone, but I'm a "so now what?" type of girl. It's what keeps me going, it's what keeps me excited about something, anything! And yes. Valentines is next. {unless you celebrate President's Day. and frankly if you do, you're weird.}

and these? are adorable. My talented brother - in - law Sam, has just put a few goodies in his brand new etsy shop. Check it out here. These little heart stands will make a delightful teacher gift (or anybody gift) for the lovely holiday.

coming out of hiding

Ok. I think I'm recovering from the after Christmas blues. I was composing a running poem in my head yesterday as I ran my errands about the very emotion. I do that. monologue in my head. is it still a monologue if it's never spoken aloud? Anyway - I even considered posting it on my personal blog, but it was a little gray as far as poetry goes, and someone might think I'm serious.

But the sun came out today, and I decided to check my email for the first time in a long time. My good friend Candis, who is a talented photographer among other things, sent these beautiful pics of her boys wearing the Tom scarf.

I guess I should have asked permission before posting these. Oh well. It's ok right Candis? I mean, these kids do often play my muse. And Tom of the tom scarf is their baby brother.

Thanks for the boost guys.

And I'll have a nice wintertime project coming soon. Something to do inside while the weather outside is frightful.

A bad example

I'm very aware that I need pictures of human beings wearing my hats in the store. Although I have no problem seeing how a hat would look on a child when it's being modeled by a crystal candle stand... (That's right. It's a pillar candle stand and I got it at Ross for $6. Did I just ruin some of the magic? Like finding out Sleeping Beauty's castle at Disneyland doesn't actually have any rooms in it. Besides the gift shop.) But it's so hard to get your hands on a calm kid, arrange a photo shoot, etc. whine, whine, complain.

In the meantime, I'll post these pictures of my boy wearing a girls hat. And I'll be sure to get my slide show up and running of all the little darlings who have been so good to share pictures with me. I'm not going to lie - there are some pretty cute kids in there.

By the way, taking a picture of this kid is like trying to take a picture of a streak of lightning. And I'm no professional! I'll try and get some amateur pics of my new fleece hats too. And then some day... real pictures. pretty pictures. If I can dream....

Love at third sight.

To mark the end of fleece month, (even though I did have more projects planned. oh well, next year.) here is the debut of my new fleece hats.

TA DA!

and can I just say, without sounding too biased, that I just love them?! Yes, I think I can because it's always a surprise to me how things turn out. So I happen upon my creations not unlike someone who might happen upon them online. I'll make something 3 - 4 times before I hear deb's words running through my head:

"that's the one. I think it's going to turn out real nice."

this is the 3rd revision of my fleece hats. The first two were so-so but this one had me instantly dreaming of snow capped mountains and wooden shoes. That's what I love about it - it's so folksy. Can't you just picture this on a little blond girl clad in a bright felt poncho, maybe embroidered with penny rugs, toting a little goat behind her on some grassy hillside?
Well I can.

There are more girl colors and definitely some boy varieties too. I'll hopefully get them all posted tomorrow. that is if my trip to the dentist goes quick. I hate the dentist. And the condescending way he asks if I've been flossing when he knows perfectly well the answer to that question!

BLACK FRIDAY

Friday November 27, 2009 only
Here are the dealios:

Changing Pads: $20

Burp Cloth 3 Packs: $5

Everything Else: 10% off !
(excluding reserved listings)

Now lets see who's paying attention. My little niece Chloe will also be one month old on November 27. Anyone who mentions the sweetie by name in the 'notes to seller' section, will get an extra 5% off. (That's a total of 15% off folks!) Friday only!

Need something extra cute and comfy to wear on the black event? Check out the free download for a New Moon iron on t-shirt transfer at my good pal's Heirloom Paperie blog. (You may have noticed her artwork all over my blog/shop/labels.) She has one, I have one, all the cool people have this t-shirt. And yes, I said 'free.'

easy squeezey boa constrictor scarf

A little more advanced than the last project,

but don't worry beginners, it's still a cinch.

You will need:

• 1/4 yard each of two different colors anti-pill fleece
• 2 green buttons (I used 5/8")
• scrap of 5/8" wide red ribbon (I used a felt ribbon so it won't fray)
• basic sewing supplies
• sewing machine
  

Trim fleece to a 6" strip with both colors.

Cut 6" strip into 9" pieces.
(some of you may be thinking, "why didn't we just leave the strip at it's original 9" width and cut 6" strips instead?" Well you're sharp, but here's why:

this keeps the stretch of the fabric going around the neck, where it can useful.)

Continue cutting with both colors until you have 5 pieces of white
and 4 pieces of black. You will start and end with white.
This will make an approx. 50" scarf, a good size for a younger child.
Add more pieces for an older child.




Copy this template. This will be the snake's head.

Enlarge or reduce the image so the bottom edge measure 4 1/2",

And the top to bottom edge measures 6".

Fold one of the white pieces in half so it measures 4 1/2" x 6".
Place template on piece and cut around. Do NOT cut the fold.

It should look like a mutant two-headed snake.

Center your ribbon scrap on one head's "mouth" and stitch.

Starting with the bottom edge of the head, sew the strips together along the 9" edge alternating colors.

Be sure to sew right sides together

(remember anti-pill fleece has kind of a fur on the right side?)

Use up all your strips. Does it look like this?

Now fold it in half with the stitching and wrong sides of fabric facing out. Pin the edges.

At the bottom of the scarf, cut the last strip to a point.

Starting with the head, sew along the raw edge. You should be starting on the fold side of the scarf and wrapping around to the raw edge side. Sew all the way down the to tail.

Leave the short cut edge of the point open for turning.

Turn the scarf right side out through the opening in the tail.

Press it flat and hand stitch the opening shut.

Sew on the eyes and fork the tongue. I turned my buttons sideways so the holes would look like snake pupils. (If you're using a ribbon that will fray, you may want to fray check the cut edge.)

Well that should take care of the adventurous little boy on your list.
Just don't get too carried away when you're wrapping this around his neck.

He's not actually supposed to suffocate.

Although if you make this for someone a lot older, say your brother, or your husband,

I guess there will be times when there's no such thing as too tight...

But good luck getting a grown man to wear a scarf that looks like a snake.