Some New Bibs Finished

Lately my sewing muse, Sandra has been making bibs which reminded me that I was supposed to get some of those going, too.  Sandra's bibs are made from old jeans and have sweet designs with fabric appliques and trim.   I used old jeans but decided to let my machines do most of the decorative work by using some of the embroidery designs I had purchased from an Etsy shop and the Embroidery Library.

This first one is for the average, easy-going baby.

Etsy shop embroidery design.  Bib pattern is free from http://www.poopockets.com/free/bibs/bibs.htm

 This next one is for the feistier baby--you know mild to moderate mood swings.

Again, Etsy shop design

The last bib is for those babies that really need cautionary labeling--like a cigarette pack.  You know the ones that throw food and/or feces around at will.

Embroidery Library design.  Okay, I have to point out that I KNOW I put the snaps on the wrong sides on this one.  Hopefully the mom will be too busy to notice.

New parents who might be reading should not worry too much about these wild babies.  Most of them turn out fine.  Take my niece for instance.  During a short nap once, she decorated herself, the crib, and the wall behind it with the contents of her diaper.  Even though her mother was nauseated by the sight, there was a little maternal pride there, too.  The kid had made her own art supplies!  Today that girl is an art teacher.  There is hope!

There you have it!  Three bibs finished thanks to Sandra's inspiration.

Once last thing--I used my new SnapSetter from Snapsource. com.  It's a low tech one that requires a hammer.  I had one like this from Joann's that was totally worthless, but the reviews for the SnapSetter were great.  I am glad I decided to give this one a try.  It's easy to use and the snaps are nice and tight. 

 Linking up with

 

Fauxing up the Cabbage

First Tina Lou made faux cabbage leaves.  Then Danni took a step further making entire cabbage heads.  As Danni says, go ahead and take a look.  I'll wait.  You have to see how great theirs turned out.

Mine came out looking like lettuce rather than cabbage, but that's okay!

This was a fun project!   

I actually started putting these together while the filters were still wet because I have no patience.  It was a bit messy, but not too bad--like working with papier mache.  Once I got a filter pinned on what would be the top of the cabbage, I turned it upside down on a drinking glass and started layering the rest of the filters on,  pinning them at what would be the bottom and lower sides.  I put one last filter over all the pins and just pressed that one in place--no pinning.  I didn't do anything with the tops of the "leaves" at this point.

I let this all dry which only took a couple of hours.  Once it was dry, I took off the that last, loose filter and ran an Elmer's Glue Dot Runner all around the edges and pressed it back in place.  Then I flipped the cabbage up and used the glue dots to press in and hold all the "leaves" closer to the form rather than pinning, and kind of bent them out to look like the real thing.  The glue dots worked great--no pins are showing!  (Danni managed to do hers without the pins showing.  I'm sure she might be able to give you some advice on how to do it.  I had the glue dots and gave that a try.) 

Shopping: The Good and the Bad

Shopping!  Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.  This one was a winner.  I wrote a bit about it on my, "This is Me" post, and some people asked for a close-up. 

It's from an Etsy shop, M D Sparks.  The book opens and has two places for tiny photos.  I also liked the $35 price.

Now for the bad.  My son was so proud of these shorts he bought Saturday.

DKNY at a great price! 

Wait a minute.  Do you notice anything?

That pocket on the left?  It's not just folded up.  It is SEWN that way.  The mistake that every home sewer has made at one time or another--catching something in a seam.  When they reinforced the edge of the pocket at the factory, the inside pocket material wasn't folded out of the way. 

It's not a big deal in this house.  I have a seam ripper, and I know how to use it.  (I should embroider that saying on something.)  I'll rip it out and put in new reinforcement stitching on the pocket. It's probably not nice, but I kind of like seeing that even the pros mess up now and then.  It makes me feel better about my sewing failures.  I'd prefer that stores acknowledge the flaws rather than just sliding them onto the sale rack, though.

 Feel free to use this as a cautionary tale when trying to train the males in the family to try on the freakin' clothes before buying them.   Stop laughing!  As we approach our 30th anniversary, my husband almost always tries on clothes before buying as long as I'm there with him and insist.  

This is Me

Danni of Silo Hill Farm is a bad influence on me.  Now she has me posting strange self-portraits.  I guess most of the blame goes to Amy of While Wearing Heels who has an ongoing link party entitled, This is Me.  You take a self-portrait based on the theme Amy chooses each time.  This week's theme:  Looking Down.

Rather than give this too much thought (a mistake I often make--not giving things enough thought), I just picked up the camera, held it up high, and took a shot.  Considering that I am perhaps the most unphotogenic person in the entire world, this is not half bad.  Most of my photos look as thought they were done at the local police station after a hard night on the town.

The cool part of this challenge is that it gave me an opportunity to really look at and think about who I am.  What does this photo say about me?  Well, it's my usual day-time combination of jeans and a t-shirt with just a touch of bling.  (For evenings I go for sophisticated with a touch of sleaze.)  That necklace just came in this morning's mail from Etsy.   It's got steampunk details set on top of a book. As a steampunk-loving bookworm.  I HAD to have it.  Why did I put on a blingy belt with L.L. Bean jeans and a cheap t-shirt today?  Because that is who I am.  I like things easy and comfortable, but still want just a little bit of something bright and shiny.

I cannot get Amy's button to work here, so I'm just going with this link below.  Hope you'll join in the self-discovery at

 http://whilewearingheels.blogspot.com/2013/03/this-is-me-march-link-party_29.html

Fairy Doors

I have fairy doors--

 all over my house.  Some are as tiny as postage stamps.

 Some are as much as 7 or 8 inches high.

Most of them are in closets,

behind doors, or near heating vents.  Fairies like to be warm, but you know that!

Why is the house filled with fairy doors?  Because little kids love them.  They love searching for fairy doors and hearing stories about fairies.  You can keep kids busy for quite a while as they try to find all those doors.  And the stories you can make up.  I love that part!

To keep the doors from being peeled off the wall (because they are vinyl--our secret), I have devised a story which I am sticking with.  The door are magical.  Only fairies can open then.  If one tries to open a door, said door will turn into plastic and peel off the wall.  Then the fairies won't want to live in my house anymore.  This is powerful.  Who wants to be responsible for driving fairies out of the house?

How do fairies get around?  In my house they ride on dragonflies;-)

My fairy doors are from Wilson Graphics, an Etsy shop.  No relation, money exchanging hands, or freebies for this post, though.  Just including that info in case you want to get some to entertain any little people.

You can also get stuff to entertain the big kids like this piece that I put on the front of my washer.

Spring Gardening in Upstate New York

 I hope you weren't expecting flowers!   Sorry about that.  I just had to post this.  So many of my blogs have had spring planting posts lately with all kinds of ideas for clean out the planting beds. I was reading one the other day and looking out my window at this lovely snow falling.  I had to chuckle.

I remember one year at the end of April being outside washing the car, wearing shorts with a foot and a half of snow on the ground.   The last frost date for my zone is May 30. It's gonna be a while before you see flowers on this blog;-)

Will a bird do?  Only this one was brave enough to put up with the snow.  Pine Siskin, I think, maybe??   No, probably a female Purple Finch.

Did You All Remember To Go To Jutta's New Blog?

I had been looking for things to put on the walls of my newly finished "meditation room" when I saw this photo on Jutta blog a while back.  I loved the dichotomy between the zen-like statue and the drum set.  I also love the simplicity of the window setting and slight touch of color in the plant and outside vegetation.  After leaving her a comment about how much I liked it,  Jutta offered to send me a jpeg!  Now here it is hanging in my meditation room! 
 
As you may well know, the nasty Ohio company named Organized Living had lawyers send a threatening letter forcing Jutta to change the name of her blog from Organized Living Solutions (note it's not even the same name).  Jutta's blog is now named Tales of Love and Chocolate.  You did all make a nice, smooth transition to Jutta's new blog, right?    If not, there are a couple of links there for you!

If you aren't familiar with Jutta's blog, you should go visit.  She is an excellent writer who even shares her thoughts in poetry now and then.  Then there are the many awesome photographs, inventive ideas, and  interesting recipes.  Since Jutta lives in Namibia, you get to experience a place many of us would never see.   Namibia is now on my list of places I really want to visit someday.