inspiration: time lapse stitchery

is stitchery even a word?
if not, i'm claiming it is.
i've got nothing this weeks folks..
and no it's not because my nose is stuck in a book (or two, or four)

saw this today on the urban threads blog & had to share.
i love stuff like this.
makes me feel like ignoring the dishes & making something.
too bad i'm in the absorb mode & not in the output mode of creating.
ebb & flow my friends.



video from love&asandwich.

hope you have a great weekend..
i'm looking forward to a date night with the hubs.
dinner & a movie. no kids.
it's been a looong while
well, not counting the super lame-o christmas party for work he drags me to every year, and i'm NOT counting it.
i'm still debating wether i want to torture him with a chick flick (one for the money) or indulge in some vampire (underworld: awakening)
time will tell! :)

xo-k

diy: valentine crafts

i'm not sure if valentine's crafts are in the cards for me this year.

i am HOPING to do SOMETHING...

but as of right now, i got nothing planned.

..........yep. nothing.

so i thought i'd link up some of my valentine's projects from last year..

because the lack of craftiness around here is getting disgusting.

(i need those darn page protectors already...)

secret agent box.

this was my little present to mason last year.

it has been well loved, & the box could probably stand replacing!

glitter cup.

this was our gift to mason teacher last year.

just a store bought plastic cup, all glittered up for valentine's day.

cupid's wingman shirt.

a little felt applique on a onesie for the dude.

he was my little co-pilot for the day, making trips with me to drop off goodies to loved ones.

thumbprint heart keepsake.

this was the little piece that started my obsession for the year.

an inkpad, a pen, & some wiggly little fingers & your done.



fudgy valentines.

mason's class treats.

they were recycled plastic baby food containers,

filled with fudge & topped with valentine's sprinkles.

so cute, and a great way to get rid of some of my stash of stuff to re-purpose!

valentine's glitter frame.

just a few coats of spray paint, some mod podge & glitter.

(this kid cracks me up!)

here's to hoping i find my inner craftiness!

have a great weekend!

xo-k

diy: embroidered doodles

i really have the best intentions when it comes to giving gifts.

i usually have all kinds of ideas, & it's the funding that's the problem.

this time.. it didn't dawn on me until wednesday night that friday was the dude's last day of school..

and we hadn't gotten anything for his teacher.

wednesday night with nothing planned & not an idea in sight.

i was racking my brain for ideas while working on my christmas gift for my sister in law.

the dude was totally entranced watching me embroider

& was literally on top of me the whole time i was sewing.

he's a doodler that one.. and he gave us all christmas cards that night.

and i fell in love with this picture of a rose he drew me

(although i'll admit i thought it was supposed to be a tulip at first)

he's extremely detail oriented & his teachers are always complimentary & amazed at his artistic abilities.

so it hit me to combine the two & make something his teacher could hang on to..

it took him a about 15 minutes to perfect his flowers

& write out his teachers name.

i picked out the best flowers & written name & traced them onto a new paper

(because as a perfectionist.. there were tons of erased scribble lines to wade through)

once i was finished i waited until the next day to tape first the design 

& then the fabric over the top to trace on the pattern with a water soluble pen.

then i stuck the fabric in a hoop & embroidered over the pattern i traced.

when i was done i used water to remove the pen marks from the water soluble pen.

ironed out the piece & taped around a 5x7 piece of cardstock.

stuck it in a frame & wrapped it up to gift.

i was a little nervous about whether she would like it.

but mason was sooo excited about it, that i hoped we were on the right track.

well, she loved it!

& she thanked me twice at school during his christmas party..

& then called the house again later to thank me again!

i was so relieved!

i know teachers aren't like parents or grandparents

& don't particularly want 100's of hand prints

& drawings from their students over the years..

but i intended this to be a bit of a nameplate..

something she could put on her desk

& not necessarily a keepsake.

it would definetely work as a last minute gift idea for family members though!

just trace over one of your children's doodles & viola! :)

xo-k

linking up:
tip junkie
today's creative
craftomaniac
skip to my lou
the blackberry vine
tidy mom
whipperberry

diy: laundry detergent (borax free)

about three months ago i came across a few pins on pinterest for do-it-yourself laundry detergent.
i set my mind that once our current detergent ran out, i was going to give it a go.
but i also promised myself i'd really give it a good run before telling anyone about it.
so about the time i was ready to blog about it, i ran out of dishwasher detergent..
and figured i'd try out the do-it-yourself for that as well.

well, let me tell you, i've learned just a little more than i ever planned to about some of these
do-it-yourself cleaning recipes!

the first diy laundry detergent called for called for borax.
it seemed to be popping up everywhere, and everyone was claiming it to be wonderful...
so i gave it a go.

1 cup of borax.
1 cup of arm & hammer super WASHING soda.
1 bar of fels naptha (found in the laundry section) grated.

combine it all & use one tablespoon per load.
it lasted a good month & a half.
at about 5-7 loads a week, i figure i got about 35-40 loads out of the mix.
let me just tell you, this stuff works GREAT and is CHEAP.
a box of borax is less than $5, as is the super washing soda.
the bar of fels naptha is 97c at walmart.
with only using a cup of each of the powders, you could get SEVERAL batches out of these boxes.
FOR $10.

so here's where the twist comes in. (cause there is ALWAYS a twist right?!)
i mentioned i decided to give a diy dishwasher mix a go.
ya. SO not successful.
it also had a mixture of borax & baking soda...
and when i googled to figure out where i'd gone wrong..
i came across all sorts of information i should have been smarter about seeking out before i started using borax!!

turns out borax, and fels naptha, while cheap.. aren't exactly green.
which was what i naively thought i was being.
not. the. case.
the few websites i came across warned that borax could cause intestinal problems if ingested over time, and that it could also cause skin irritations, and developmental effects specifically in the testes!!!!
and this stuff doesn't have to be ingested, the dust can be inhaled to cause certain ailments.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

just googling it & sorting through half a dozen pages of information made me sure of two things:
1. i was NOT using it in my dishwasher
& 2. i was NOT using it on my laundry.

so, i found another diy laundry detergent mix.
and i'm happy to report it works just as well as the first did.. if not better.
the clothes, in my opinion, are much softer.

1 cup arm & hammer super washing powder
1/2 cup baking soda
1 bar dr. bonner castile soap grated (your choice of fragrance, i used the orange citrus)

again, so cheap.
the dr. bonner's soap is a little more inconvenient to find locally, at least in my area.
it's also $4.99 vs. the 97c for fels naptha (which by the way has a long list of chemicals & ickies too!)
but STILL. you are looking at less than $7 for 35-40 loads!!!!
and it's a truely GREEN diy mix.

the ONLY downside i could see is that there is no 'smell' to your laundry.
the only smell is just warm clean linen.
no lavender, or tide smells... although there is a very very faint citrus-y smell when i pull the clothes out of the wash.

i haven't worked on finding another diy dishwasher detergent yet, and am currently using the very-not-cheap seventh generation.
but i feel good about using it, and since i'm saving so much on laundry detergent, i don't mind so much until i find a good, green mix that doesn't leave an icky residue all over everything!

and we are just one step closer to cleaning the chemicals we can out of our home!

happy monday!
xo-k

linking to:
the blackberry vine
ladybug blessings

diy: mama & me notebook

as much i want to say it's not true..

sometimes the dude gets less attention from me, just in general.

and for a kid who was an only child the first 6 1/2 years of his life..

that's a BIG change.

i try my best to set aside time for him on a regular basis..

to have chats like we used to..

but it doesn't always happen..

and sometimes, i think of things i'd like to tell him, and he's away at school.

so when repinned this idea on pinterest,

i knew i had to pick up a composition book right away

& set to making this a daily thing for us.

it's a mama & me notebook.

for me to write him letters of encouragement..

or silly little stories about what rance & i did while he was away..

to leave under his pillow for him to find when he gets home from school.

then he'll write me back, or draw a picture..

and i've given him instructions to be stealthy & sneak it back under my pillow before bed.

my hope is that it's something to help our bond... 

something that makes him feel special...

and gives him a way to tell me something maybe he couldn't 'tell' me.

ya know?

and. it won't hurt him to practice his letter writing, or writing in general :)

 supplies:

-composition book

-scrapbook paper

-alphabet stickers

-masking tape

-scissors

-adhesive

just lay your composition book down on top of your paper & trace around it..

cut out your shape with scissors or a paper trimmer.

put down your choice of adhesive.

put your piece of paper down over the adhesive & smooth it out.

annndd decorate as you see fit :)

& then if you have a child like mine..

write a DETAILED note about what the book is, and what to do with it.

(i feel like i have 9th grade handwriting in this.. but my normal writing is a mix of cursive/print & the dude can't read it well..)



then.. sneak & hide it beneath your child's pillow! :)

i'm excited.. maybe even more than he will be!

i kept notebooks with friends in school..

and i can't believe i didn't think to start one for the dude sooner..

although until last year he probably wouldn't have been up for it!

xo-k

linking to:
today's creative blog
tip junkie
sugar bee crafts
whipperberry
sun scholars

halloween: 2011

i am under no delusions that i will always be able to get them in 'theme' with each other..

but i'm going to embrace it while i can :)

when mason decided he wanted to be harry potter,

i knew right away i wanted to make rance hedwig, harry's snowy owl.

i absolutely love putting together costumes..

and the older mason gets, the harder it is to convince him to let me do so..

he always wants an EXACT duplicate of whatever it is he wants to be.

(such a little stickler for details!)

(i love moments like these!)

in a situation that i'm sure is a result of karma..

his wand disappeared into the house a week before halloween.

(a few weeks ago he wacked my aunt with it)

we spent a good portion of sunday really SEARCHING for it.

i'm convinced house elves made off with it.

we had no luck in finding it..

so on monday morning i decided to make him one.

'cause you REALLY can't be harry potter if you don't have a wand!

i used this tutorial i found on pinterest.

30 minutes later & even i was pretty impressed with how it came together!

after being bummed about his missing wand,

even mr. stickler couldn't believe i had MADE his new wand.

and from a sheet of paper no less!

as for this little guy..

his costume was inspired by several different versions of owl costumes across the web.

i wasn't planning on posting a tutorial on how i did it, so i don't have pictures of the process..

but here's a quick rundown..

for the body:

i bought a $2 white onesie from the clearance rack at target.

i had some leftover white fabric &

 i purchased a fat quarter of fabric from joanns of a piece of white with black circles.

i drew a elongated wide scallop shape on a piece of cardstock & cut it out.

traced it on the white & the patterned fabric over & over & over again

 & then cut them out.

started at the bottom & laid my 'feather's out & hot glued them down at the straight part of the shape..

leaving the bottom loose to 'ruffle'.

for the pants, i bought a set of women's knee length socks & used this tutorial.

for the hat:

i bought a grey beanie from the dollar spot at target

cut out circles from the left over white & printed fabric.

sewed on white buttons

cut out a little triangle from gold felt

it looked a little bla, so i added a few left over feathers around the eyes..

 & hot glued it all to the hat.

mason was so excited everyone knew he was & kept calling him harry potter.

my mom (like most mom's) kept bragging on me every time someone complimented rance's costume.

(which seemed like everyone!)

no one could believe his pants were really socks! :)

we went trick or treating with my cousin's family..

this is their little girl.

the phrase 'she's a pistol' applies SO well to this little one.

full of personality!

we didn't even pose her, she just hitched her thumbs in her pockets! :)

this may be my favorite halloween picture of all time.

and i'm not sure why. i just love it.

and if you look REALLY close you can see the marks of the first scar i drew..

because mr. stickler made me draw it three times to get it right.

and that revlon lipstain. it STAINS.. had to rub off a layer of skin in between drawings!!

that's about the best photo i could get with the three of them.

one was ready to trick or treat.

one just wanted to walk.

and one was just trying to get everyone to listen to her for a minute :)

and i said i wasn't going to do it, but i am..

i'm crossing 'celebrity sighting while trick or treating' off my bucket list..

we totally trick or treated at john travolta & kelly preston's house.

(one of them anyways)

and while i wasn't star struck like some of the others around us where.

i'm just amazed that in the po-dunk town i live in..

my kids got candy put in their buckets by kelly preston dressed up as a witch.

(and no, i didn't get a picture!)

hope you had a great halloween! :)

xo-k

linking to:

today's creative blog

tip junkie

sugar bee crafts

whipperberry

sun scholars

diy: halloween decor

i think i mentioned that i LOVE halloween.. once or maybe even twice.

so it really shouldn't come as much of a surprise that all my recent craftiness has entailed halloween decor.

last year i was in such a post baby funk, just adjusting to life, that i couldn't get into the mood...

i mean really, who cares about decorating, when you are just happy to find time to take a shower?!

so here are some quick halloween decorating ideas..

for busy mamas of kids, big or little..

or crafty ladies who want a quick-fix for their crafting urges!

bloody drippy candle:

supplies:

-candlestick holders (these are pewter from my parents wedding reception!)

-white candles

-red candle

-lighter

there really aren't any 'step-by-step' pictures.. pretty much you just light your white candles & let them burn down to a height you like. these are more of a decoration, than a functioning candle... once your white candles are at the height you'd like, blow them out & let them cool until all the wax is hardened around the top.

next, light the red candle, and hold it at an angle so that the wax drips down onto the top of your white candles. let the red wax pool & drip down the sides of the candle for a 'bloody' effect & viola.

simple gory-esque candles to add to your halloween decor! and definitely do this someplace where you can scrap the wax off of, because it does splatter just a bit...

trash bag fringe curtain:

supplies:

-black yard/lawn bags (found at the dollar store for $1)

-duct tape/heavy duty adhesive

-scissors

i can't honestly remember where i first saw this idea. martha stewart seems a likely place, but to be honest with you, i just kinda went off my memory of having seen the picture of it however long ago... again, no real 'step by step' pictures. just cut up one side of the bag & then across the bottom seam to open the piece up into one long panel. attach it to your wall with your chosen adhesive ( i used scotch heavy duty outdoor adhesive, it's a SUPER strong foam tape). once attached start at one side & cut varying widths of strips from the bottom to the top. once you've cut fringe across the width of your panel, start at the top of each piece of fringe & pull lightly in two inch sections to stretch out the piece. you can then adjust the length by cutting/ripping off the bottoms. 

i'm kind of smitten with this little curtain...

we have a black light (which you can see in the above picture) that lights up at night..

it's spooky & eerie & not at all well photographed :(

the dude thinks it's 'AWESOME'.. rance laughs when he goes through it..

and my husband eyeballs me with a look that says he's contemplating my sanity,

and asks 'you stuck trash bags.. to the house.. on purpose?'

he likes to give me a hard time.. and he just doesn't get it! :)

these projects cost me $6 total.

$1 per white candlestick

$1 for a box of 7 black trash bags

$3 for outdoor foam adhesive tape

i already had the candlestick holders, and the red candle,

but you can get both of those items at the dollar store as well!

cheap is good after you invest $30 in a harry potter ensemble...

but costumes are something i'm okay with investing a little money in, because it's one thing the dude gets good use out of, he wears them until they are holy & ripped, or he is too big for them!

what halloween decorations have you made this year?

i'd love for you to link them up in the comments!

xo-k

ps.. just a tip.. if your kid is like mine.. snag up discounted halloween costumes the day after halloween & save them for christmas presents! my mom & i have done this a few years now, and i can't tell you how much money it's saved us, as we have to replace spiderman, & batman costumes almost every year because he wears them soo much!! :)

linking to:
get your craft on
tip junkie
sugarbee crafts
ladybug blessings
whipperberry

diy: bleach sprayed shirt

i should probably be ashamed at my complete lack of attention to my blog.

in my head october was going to be a great, busy, blogging month.

in truth, it's been a great, busy, lack of blogging month.

honestly.

i feel bored with myself.

i feel like i have nothing to say.

i'm kinda in a rut.. but more than that, i'm wondering why i blog.

is it the craftiness that brings you here?

the recipes?

my general loveliness?

i'm totally kidding on that last one..

'cause i know it's my sarcastic wit that keeps you coming back!!

whatever it may be that brings you here, thanks for stopping by.

i know i've got to blog that darn birthday party of rance's...

 but it's sorta intimidating me now with all the pictures..

so in the mean time..

how about a easy crafty project?

i'm so cheap, i didn't want to pay for a 'fan' shirt for the babe to wear to his brother's soccer games..

so i totally diy'd it.

i'm became sort of obsessed with this bleach spray technique, if it can be called that, over the summer.

i've started to blog about it a zillion times..

but each time i try to get the boys in their shirts for pictures, it just doesn't pan out.

irked at the lack luster pictures.. i shelved the blog entry on it.

well, when i went to make this shirt last week..

my camera made it clear it was on strike, because the shutter froze up & the battery died.

the nerve, right?

so.. determined to blog this idea already, i went to the trusty ol' cellphone pictures.

(i'm aware the phrase may be a little inappropriate, but it made me laugh, so that's what i settled on! :)

diy: bleach sprayed shirt

-shirt

-bleach

-spray bottle

-freezer paper

-iron

-design/stencil

just cut out your design from freezer paper, making sure the 'shiny' side is facing down to your shirt. i used my slice die cutting machine & cut out the letters. you print letters on to computer paper & trace them on the freezer paper, or freehand a design, etc.

iron the letters down onto your shirt. i had my iron on the cotton setting & just picked it up & put it down for a few seconds on each portion. it doesn't take long to get the letters to adhere. DON'T slide your iron like you normally do, or your design placement could shift on you!

once your design is on where you want it, insert a shirt board or a stray piece of cardboard into the shirt.

take your shirt outside & lay it face up on a towel & surface that you are not worried about ruining. DEFINETELY do this outside, or maybe in dry bathtub.

fill a spray bottle with straight bleach. squirt off to the side on your crummy towel a few times to get the bleach flowing. stand a few feet back from your shirt & spray up into the air, letting the bleach mist drop onto your shirt.

you can spray any amount you want, but if you want your design to POP, you need to try and get a fair amount of bleach around the design part itself... i have found that i like the randomness if i continue to spray up into the air & let it drop down... but you can spray directly at the shirt for a more solid bleached out area.

once you have sprayed an amount that you are happy with, set your shirt off to dry. let dry completely & then peel off your freezer paper. it typically comes off fairly easy once it's dry.

there ya have it.

i've found that the thinner the letters the more likely they are to bleed,

 like the 'y' in my & the 'ck' in kick did here. 

but i'm okay with that.

i've also found that not all shirts bleach the same.

this is a shirt from hobby lobby, & it bleached out pretty much like a pinkish white color.

a black one from the toddler section at hobby lobby bleached out like a orangish white, which was perfect because it was a halloween tee for the babe.

play around with shirt from different places.. see what ya get :)

hopefully i can get a picture of the ones we've made up here soon.

but for now.. i've given up! :)

xo-k

linking to:
whipperberry

diy: homework board

 can i just start by saying.. editing photos lately has been a REAL drag.

i love picnik, but sometimes some batch editing tool would just be grand!

i'da had this thing posted monday if i had something like that..

'cause i started editing.. and then got waaay bored.

anywho..

picking up the the bf's son this year from school

& we (mason, rance & i) have a good 30 minute wait for him to get out..

and OF COURSE the dude is eager to get his homework out of the way so that he can play when he gets home..

so i HAD planned on getting him a clipboard..

and that's when i heard gru from despicable me, in my head say..

"LIGHT-BULB"

i remembered this post from joy's hope on 'art on the go'.

she spray painted cookie sheets & then attached cups for markers.

i thought.. well.. why not use a cookie sheet instead of a clipboard?

TA-DA!

TA-DA!

ok. so hold the applause until the end.. i'm good with that too!

(kidding. of course.)

i really REALLY didn't want to spray paint the cookie sheet.

mostly because i was trying to do this with what i had on hand.

(mama spent a LITTLE more than expected on someone's first birthday party...

and soccer stuff ain't cheap.. jus' sayin'!)

so i was peachy keen when the dude said he wanted it silver.

yea!

already silver. done & done.

i tweaked julie's idea just a bit & guy'd it up for the dude..

and add a fun little tic-tac-toe board & a car scavenger hunt.

the cookie sheet homework board thing.

(no. that's not the technical name....)

supplies:

-cookie sheet

-scrapbook papers

-car scavenger hunt list printed on cardstock

-magnets

-mod podge

-tin (mine is old from jenni bowlin kit, you could use altoids tin)

-paint brush/foam brush

-paper trimmer

-corner rounder (optional)

-magnets

-e6000

-sandpaper (optional)

-hole punch

1. measure size of inside of pan. 

2. decide on paper placements & trim paper accordingly.

3. use corner rounder on paper.

4. lightly sand surface of pan. this is optional. i've mod podged on metal without sanding, & i can't say i notice a great deal of difference... just seemed like a good thing to mention :)

5. lay a coat of mod podge down on the whole of the tray.

6. lay papers down, use a credit card or bone folder to smooth out paper.

7. lay a piece of wax paper down over the top & put something to weigh down the paper while it dries.

8. use hole punch or cut out paper to go on top of magnets for tic tac toe board. mod podge onto magnets & then mod podge again over top.

9. glue magnet to bottom of tin using e6000.

10. once the tray has sat for about a 1/2 hour you can mod podge the top. i did swirls, because.. let's face it.. it's gonna have streaks no matter, may as well make it pretty :)

sooooo...

TA-DA!!! :)

ok.

so maybe it's a tweaked version of someone else's idea..

but we've been using it for a little over a week & it's been a big hit!

whaddya think?!

xo-k

linking to:
fireflies and jellybeans
tales from bloggeritaville
733