Tuesday, July 7, 2009

I really do make an attempt to update my blog more than just once a month but so far that has almost been impossible. BUT the advantage is that I have a LOT to post. So here it goes...

1. I have been wanting to make a place to hang the drawings and paintings that my son does so that it is more visible and not on the fridge. So I put out the APB to all of my friends letting them know that I was looking for ornate frames that I could use for this purpose. Not only did one find some for me at a yard sale, but they were also free!!! So I had my husband get some galvanized steel cut, put them in the frames, I mounted them on the wall and they are all set. My deadline for this was September because my oldest is going to start Pre-Kindergarten and I wanted it for all of his school projects too. I LOVE how they turned out.
2. So the Theatre is coming along... once I figure out what to do with the TV and its components, I can get the curtain made and it will be officially done. But I did make these 2 signs. One is to be mounted above the stairs leading to the Theatre. I was unsure of which word to use, Theater or Theatre and I found this entire web page devoted to answering that very question. And what it boils down to is that Theater is meant for live performances and Theatre is meant for moving pictures. So of course I used Theatre. I wanted it to look like the "Cheers" sign. So I looked up a font that I thought that would work, I drew it on there plus the pointing hand and I painted them on. I LOVE how it turned out... the letters almost look like foil rub-ons. A little more work and a lot less $ and I love it. Here is the restroom sign. To add just a little more detail I made this sign for the bathroom. I think I might outline the people in black. 3. I have also started on my Christmas cards. I know, I am crazy... but I am block printing them and I have to make like 100 cards, so I thought I should probably get going early this year. This is just a preview but the actual card is green and there is a going to be a separate "ornament" card hanging on the front that is removable so that the recipients can hang them on their Christmas tree. I know what "font" I want to use for the inside greeting and I plan on carving my own rubber stamp so that it looks exactly the way I want it to. I still have most of my cards to print and the inside stamp to make and stamp but here is what I have so far:4. My mom told me on the phone this week that "necessity is the mother of invention" and so is true with my next project. We have a gas fireplace and never use it. It adds resale value to the house so I don't want to remove it but meanwhile I have to find something to do with it so that the kids aren't bumping into it and so that it is insulated. The "flue" on it is always open and the fireplace is the source of a constant draft in my house so I decided to make a "blanket" to attach to the front. And because it is a fireplace I wanted it to look like a fireplace so I appliqued and embroidered logs and fire to the front. I LOVE it and now I can't wait to make log bolster pillows to throw in front of it to look like my spare fire wood :-)
5. I just made the invitations for my son's birthday. They are pretty plain but I think sometimes less is more. I used Paper Source cards that I bought from UA+C and the actual card doesn't open so I just put the info on the back. Hopefully everyone will find the info without help... we will see :-) These pics turned out bad, but the card is yellow.
6. My niece was over for the 4th and she loves to get into my purse. So I took 10 minutes away from the party and sewed her a little purse to match with some of my scraps from my purse. Here is what it looks like: 7. I moved my monogrammed wall and put all of my Ys above my fire place. I think they look way better in the new location. I wanted to also show 1 Y in particular that is actually a shelf. I was talking with my mother-in-law about how most of my Ys weren't hangable and that they needed to sit on a shelf. So she said, "what you need is a printer's tray" and I said, "No, what I need is a printer's tray in the shape of a Y." Well since my Husband's grandfather is a wood worker, she had him make it for me for my birthday. It looks AMAZING and I love it, so I made it the focal point to my collection.8. I've talked about my son's imaginary friends before, His Monkey's. Well for his birthday this year, I decided to make him a couple more monkey dolls and a house for them to live in, or rather a small monkey yurt. I started to work on it and decided that he might like to help so we decorated the inside of the house with the luxuries that we would like if we lived in a tree house. With his help, I drew the monkeys, digitally colored them and made heat transfers with them. I like how they turned out but I don't like the "plastic-y" feeling that the transfers have. I think it might go away if I wash them, but I don't plan to do that. I made a heat transfer of a TV, with Spongebob playing, and one of a framed picture of my son :-)
Monkeys:
Inside the house: Outside the house:9. I was going through a bunch of my junk a few months ago to get ready for my yard sale and I found a bunch of frames that I haven't used. Some were just frames and others had small paintings in them, which I took out. I painted them all gold and put fabric covered peg boards in them so that I can use them as an idea "board". I hung them in front of my sewing machine and they look great. I am not sure if I am going to actually use them or if I like them plain.10. Another thing that I wanted to get done before my son went to pre-kindergarten was his school memory book. I saw one on Barnes and Noble a long time ago and I decided that I could make something similar with my own touch. So I bought file folders pouches that I will 3-hole punch for a binder, put decorative paper on them and of course the info to fill out on them (which I haven't printed out of my computer yet. It is still a work in progress but I am excited to get these somewhat done by the time I need to start filling them out :-)11. I also finished my applique/embroidery of the Libbey House. I actually did 2 but this one turned out the best.
Upcoming projects: I am working on a really special project for a Christmas gift, but because I don't want to give anything away, you are going to have to wait for the pics on that one. I still need to continue working on my lip gloss shelf.... that really should become my priority!!!! I also need to work on the thank you notes for Jasper's party.. so they can be ready to sign and send. I already have the ideas, I just need to buy the card stock and get going on them. What else??? I have really wanted to start painting with watercolor but in an unconventional way. I know that I have seen this on the Internet, but I would like to start painting Batiks out of watercolor on paper. It would be very similar to a cotton batik using wax as a resist and I plan on painting the entire sheet with each of the water colors between waxing. I know that some people that use this technique will just paint sections but I think that there is a certain effect that goes along with the entire page being painted that I just LOVE. Maybe if they go well I can sell them on Etsy or maybe just the prints? That might be a stretch considering I am going to start watching my niece during the day this coming Monday. So my time will be severely limited... we will see what I can actually accomplish. Oh and I want to start making myself some clothes :-) I think I am being a bit ambitious! What's new :-)

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