The Gym Bag is Finished!!

I'm trying to do the after Christmas sewing challenge with Sew Much To Luv.  I did NOT think I'd pull this week off, but I did it!  This is from a Mackerilla Design pattern called Cruzer and Little Cru.  This is the Cruzer version.

I love this bag!  It has an open pocket divided into two on this side. And the other side has a zippered pocket--first time I've sewn one.  Not hard at all.

 There are side pockets for my water bottles/glasses/whatever-I'm draggin'.

You can see the zippered top flap and lining in this pic.

This is a great pattern on so many levels. It's a great bag with all kinds of pockets.  It can be used as a backpack or over the shoulder.  The instructions are simple and detailed enough even for the pattern-challenged like me.  This pushed me into trying new techniques and working with new materials including a couple of stabilizers. (It doesn't require multiple kinds of stabilizers.  I just wanted to try a few out.)

The only problem I had was finding the hardware.  Heads up:  go find the hardware before cutting the material for the straps.  Changing the width of the straps to accommodate what your sewing center has available is much easier than trooping off to every possible store and combing the internet to find the right size.  I could not find  1-1/4" loops or sliders. I could have purchased them online, but the shipping charges were outrageous.  One inch sliders worked, but I couldn't get one inch loops in the same color.  I finally used one and a half inch loops that are fine.  I'm sure that no one will notice that the loops are slightly too large and wider than the sliders but me.

Join in the challenge!  Click here.

Storing the Christmas Tree

Do you know how many years I spent sorting all the tree branches into piles according to the color on the tips before I could set up the tree?  I'd tell you but it would be embarrassing.  Now I do this:

When I take the tree down, each color set of branches is tied together with twine.
All the red branches are together, all the blue, and on and on.
So much easier to set up the next year.  Tie it with a bow so that it is easy
to undo next year.

So get out the supplies:

You all do have your string in a nice little plastic container with a hole in the
top already, right?  If you're smarter than me, you will only need to
do this once.  You will store the string  in the empty box for reuse
when taking down the tree rather than misplacing it.

Press all those branches together so they store compactly. (You are going to have to fluff them out next year anyway).

Make sure to fill the sides of the container not just the middle!  Push the set in there to the side and squeeze in the next set.

See all that wasted space?  Press this one to the side and put the next one in
that space.  They will hold each other in place.  

Let's talk tree storage container now.  We used the original box for our first artificial tree for a couple of years before it fell apart.  Then the hubster built a beautiful scrap wood and particle board box.  That was great until the pipe broke and flooded the basement.  Wood and water are not a good mix.   Now we use two large plastic boxes.  You need to be sure at least one of the boxes (if you need more than one) is long enough for the longest piece of center pole.  Remember, though, that the pole pieces can go in diagonally up and down with the branches stuffed in around it.  Measure the inside of the box inside diagonally before buying it.

If you have a minute, let me know when you take down your tree in the comment section.  I've been accused on doing it too soon.  I try to have it down by the first.  Too soon???

Storing Christmas Lights

Often Christmas light come crammed in little boxes that will never again hold them.  I bought more lights this year, so I thought I would show you my solution for keeping them tangle free:

Take one of those many corrugated boxes that are left from the holidays and
cut out a nice square that is strong and not bending.  You want it to be pretty
 solid.  Mine are about 15x10 but they can be a little longer or shorter.  Be sure
they are  not so long that they bend, though.  Then cut two slits about
2-1/2 inches long on each end.

Now fold those center flaps you made under on each side.  I don't cut them off
because I don't want to chance weakening the edge pieces.
The edges will keep the lights from falling off the board.  You certainly
could cut them if you prefer it.

Cut a small slit into one of the uncut long sides, and slide the beginning of the
light string in it.

Now start rolling in that center cut section.  Just walk around the tree and roll as
you go.  You can fit quite a bit on.  

Once it's full, make another small cut in the side and slide in the end piece.  I
have it marked with"start" to make it easier to know where to begin unwinding when hanging
lights the next year.

They may look bulky, but they unroll easily.  When I'm putting the lights on the tree,
I unroll  a bit and stick the cardboard piece between the branches until I'm ready for more.
Hopefully this will make the "undecorating" just a bit easier for you!

Wishing You a Happy Holiday Season!

I love my tree this year, but then I love it every year.  If you noticed that the manger is sitting in a massive amount of fake snow, I take no responsibility for it.   The kids helped me decorate this year. The youngest is about to turn 21 next month, and, still, they manage to act like, well, children.  The only difference is that they now bring their mates to join in their shenanigans.

Wishing You a Exciting Holiday Season

and New Year!

The Newest Apron

I've finally got some sewing finished.  This is a late birthday gift for the younger son's girlfriend--only a little late, though.

Kelsey is in culinary school, hence the culinary queen.  I had to go look up my own apron tutorial created when I made my other son's fiance's apron.  So nice to have a blog to keep all these things.  It's a quick and easy project if you want to try one.  The tutorial is here.

We also got Kelsey a bead for her Pandora bracelet.  That's what is tucked in the little pocket. It's the ladybug bead in red.  Pandora has made my life so much easier.  I can always find a new bead for the girls to add to their collections.

The Stuffed Animal Tree Skirt

Wondering what to do with all those stuffed animals and dolls that the kids have outgrown?  You might want to pack them away.  They make a great tree skirt.  I packed away the stuffies and dolls that my kids especially loved and, at some point, started putting them under the tree at Christmas. There is nothing better during the holidays than listening to my kids reminisce about them.

Keegan's beloved Jeremy Fisher frog,

Kiefer's Bunny and Julia for whom I had to make up countless stories for bedtime,

And Kyle's cowbunnies that I made during his cowboy phase are all part of the collection.  The cowbunnie hats didn't survive but they still have their bandit scarves.  These were bad cowbunnies complete with black hats.

Who remembers Lamb Chop? There is a well-worn puppet version and one from Macy's (obviously with the name right on the hat!) under our tree.

There are couples under there:

Families:

And this menage a trois that resulted from a misunderstanding about who was buying what.  Now that I have seen Sister Wives, I refer to this set as Brother Husbands.

As the collection grew, I realized the tree skirt was wasted--you couldn't see it at all.  The toys became the tree skirt.    They all squash down nicely in a plastic box for storage taking up surprisingly little space, too.  Besides, the original tree skirt while nice,  never stirred up fond memories and got everyone talking.

What are all those holiday tins under the tree?  I started using the too-cute-to-discard holiday tins to store delicate ornaments before packing them into the big boxes.  The ornaments get unpacked and hung,  the tins are scattered in with the stuffies, and they are right under the tree when it's time to put ornaments away.   I know I could refill them with home-made treats to give others.  However, I love baking about as much as I love cleaning toilets.  No, I'd rather clean toilets really.  Holiday baking just ain't happenin' in my house.  Now that I've said that I am reminded that I promised to make another gingerbread house this year.  Why do I do these things?  Must get back to work.

Experimenting with Glitter Ornaments

How cool is that!

I've been filling clear glass and plastic ornaments with glitter using Mop & Glo floor wax as the adhesive.  I bought a giant pack of Martha Stewart's glitter.  This one to be exact:

I like the solid colored balls such as these:

but I decided to try mixing it up as I did with the painted balls such as this on in previous years.

Here are some of the results.

This is with two colors dropped in carefully on each side before
shaking.    I used a funnel at first as most tutorials suggest,
 but found that the glitter drops in pretty neatly with the bottle
 top off.

This had  a number of colors placed in separately.
 I like the swirl that resulted.

This had much more of the purple with another color.
Again.  I put them in separately.

Then I took the bottles with just a bit of glitter left and shook them together in a bottle before putting the glitter in to see how that would work.  Here are a few of those:

These look much better than they appear in the pics.  Some of these are just two colors.  Others are a mix of four or five that show clearly up close.

I was a bit worried about doing this with the plastic balls, but they worked out great.  They have some give when you press on them, but the glitter stays on perfectly.  

Some tips:  

• Mop & Glo works great!  I found that rolling the wax around for a minute, draining it completely, and putting the glitter in  immediately provided much better adhesiveness than letting the wax sit even for a short time. 
• Very fine glitter works best.  I'm sure it doesn't need to be Martha's.  Martha does, however, have the best color choices.  Michael's and Joann's carry it.  With their coupons, you can get it for a great price. Of course, if someone knows of another company with 24 colors including lapis lazuli, peridot, yellow barite, and fire opal, I'd love to know about it.
• I found that letting the finished balls sit for a half an hour before putting the tops on  carefully was sufficient.  I didn't have one incident of glitter being scratched off.  

I'm feeling a need to get back to making more sock creatures now.  Hopefully I will be able to  post about that soon!