Busy Hands are Happy Hands

If you think that your life is going by at a leisurely pace, get yourself a teenager with after-school activities... next thing you know you're living off the snack basket kept in the car and a magical place called Costco...
In our case my Firstborn has become involved in the Drama department at his High School - we're now approaching show musical #3 and our house or life has never been the same.  Don't get me wrong - it's a lot of fun but so much work. I have been a busy Drama Mama sewing costumes and building accessories, upholstering set pieces; and helping to keep over 100 teenagers and tired parents fed.
I wanted to brag and post some of the projects I made for the last show - they put on Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" - a cast of 80 (including both of mine) - over 200 costumes sewn from scratch or rebuilt from existing ones - 3 months of very little sleep and a new look for our house - I call it "Early Hoarders - The Before Picture"! It was breathtaking to see the looks on the little girls' faces that came to see the show dressed up in princess costumes; we had set up an area to have pictures taken with Belle and the Prince after the show.

Here are just some of the things I made - mostly from leftover bits and pieces of fabric, trim, broken jewelry and my fave - cardboard TP rolls, plastic food containers etc. 

Some of the 25 custom hats I made for the finale:

I liked the idea of fashioning them in the style of other princesses:

Jasmine

 Mulan

Rapunzel

Cinderella

There were custom necklaces/chokers to go with each hat as well:

I will show some photos of the costumes soon. There are so many to go through...

There were also corsages for Prom to make; I made 2 for my boy's girlfriend and her friend, they came out really well (she's not the traditional floral girl).

Not to be outdone by Big Brother, my little one landed a big part in her school play and needed a costume as one of the Ugly Stepsisters.

Now that we're home for the summer I am hoping to work my way through the sadly neglected stash of projects before we start production work on the fall show...  I am already putting ideas together and have collected materials to build some prototypes... I really need to find a hobby on of these days!!!

Until next time.  C.

Summer has arrived !!!

Poor unfortunate, neglected little blog,

I know it's been way too long since I last stopped by here... between work, family, night classes and life taking up every moment of the last few months I am so grateful to have some down time ahead... sort of. Let me think, there is an ever-growing list of "To Do" stuff (a few fun things but mostly chores around the house and yard... blech!), keeping the fridge and pantry stocked for two growing and hungry kids, attempting to keep the peace between said children (so far it's not looking good for the home team) and of course the small (not really) issue of trying to find a permament position (keep your fingers crossed that I can permanently get the position I filled last school year; the staff and kids were just awesome and I'd go back there in a heartbeat!).

Now we're off for the summer and the weather in our neck of the woods has actually gotten the memo (it's supposed to get up to 80 F today!!! ) Holy Smokes. So we're hanging around the house enjoying sun tea and some lazy down time... awesome!

Being a Master Procrastinator I finished 4 costumes I sewed for our Vacation Bible School Program around 10 am this morning (the big meeting is this evening... insert eye roll here!). After taking 2 years off I am looking forward to being part of the music crew again; a great way to minister to our kiddos and have a ton of fun! This year's program is set around "Hometown Nazareth"; here are some pics of the costumes I made:

I'm not sure why these pics are flipped around once Blogger uploads them (sorry, techie stuff is NOT my thing... I know, shocker!).

On the creative front I have spent most my time remaking clothes (both for Little One and myself): I'm still working my way through a huge stack of T-Shirts, we'll see what I can come up with.

Here are some shirts for Little One (I added lace, ruffles and scrap flowers to existing shirts; also added some length to some of them - she is growing like a weed!)

And something for Mom:

Seriously, I need to start taking some "BEFORE" pictures... derp!

Green and Purple Tee: I'm trying out some of these pin tucks on both the sleeves and the neck, the purple shirt also has a handkerchief hem

Striped Maxi Dress: once upon a time it was a long-sleeve charcoal shirt (turned into a tanktop; then strips of T-Shirt fabric was added at the bottom; LOVEloveLOVE this dress - wearing it right now, Comfy Central!!!)

White Vest: used to be a VERY large long-sleeved shirt with a funky metal clasp where the girls should be (maybe if you wore that size; me - not so much... ahem...) I sliced it up the middle, removed the sleeves and sewed a row of decorative seams at the shoulder.

White Sundress: this one is actually pieced together from random leftover scraps; the off-white flower goes from the neck down to the waist.

There's a whole stack of unfinished projects waiting to be finished; Little One has been patiently waiting (ok, maybe patiently but certainly not quietly) for her "new" bedding" and curtain... she's hoping for a duvet cover with a Panda on it (freehand of course)... I have pink, white, black and gray sheets and an image of stripes and ruffles in my head... hmmm...

I also made a few comfort blankets for the special needs kids in our school; sadly I didn't take picture of them.

Well, in the spirit of procrastination I better go grab my script for our summer VBS program... I need to see what I've volunteered for!!! Hey, I have a couple of hours... maybe some Facebook game time before I go???

Have a blessed summer's day!

Love, C.

It might be gray outside...

... but I have spring blossoms on my mind.

Here's a pic of some fingerless ruffly gloves that I made for someone at my work; I wear the "prototype" over my regular knit gloves to keep my wrists warm.

Just looking at these fleece flower pins makes me forget the nasty wet weather around here.

I will be making more of these lovelies... so many colors to choose from ... next up hot pink!

I took Little One to the Dollar Store (my fave) to pick up some supplies to make Valentine's Day decor for the living room... I have been drooling over the awesomely creative projects out there in blogland... especially the Subway Art and the paper/fabric rosettes. Hoping to be able to squeeze some creative time in this week, it will a busy one between work/evening classes and of course MomTime.

I better keep this short, the offspring are getting restless and are threatening to raid the fridge...

Have a blessed evening. C.

Sprechen Sie Wordle???

Hi, there -




just wanted to show off this neat site where you can create "word clouds". You can manipulate the layout, colors etc. until you come up with a unique piece of artwork.


Here's mine.

This baby will be framed and hung over my craft area (aka. the breakfast counter, I know I'm just THAT cool!)
Try it out, it's fun.
I better finish off now, the offspring are getting restless and about to raid the fridge...

Blessings,
C.

The most wonderful time of the year...

Hello and Merry Christmas to all!!!

I'm hoping that this is a time for all to celebrate not only the birth of our savior, but also family, friends, love, laughter and compassion.
We were able to celebrate with our extended family on Christmas Eve as my hubby had to work today.

I'm just stopping by my itty bitty corner of blogland to post a few pictures of our Christmas along with a few Christmas projects I've been working on.

Here's our tree (this is our first year without the little kid's tree, so now our Veggie Tales ornaments are finding a new home next to my angels and girly things). I'm going for "Something for everyone in the family"... now I just need to come up with some manly man ornaments... hmmm.

Here's us opening some presents:

And of course the Christmas projects

bookmarks, key fobs, bag for Little One

Ipod and cell phone case for Big Guy

and for some cuteness here's the note Little One left for Santa last night:

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Goodnight!!!

Love, C.

It's a bird, it's a plane...

Hello, there -

yes, I have not been around much, mostly due to Teenage Offspring's hogging of the main computer with the photo software. Also, the sad state of the house had a lot to do with it, we've been fighting the dust bunnies and have even managed to clean up the children's rooms - that was a scary day!!!

Just wanted to post a few things I've been working on lately.

Here's some snapshots of two Sunday's past: I was in hog's heaven, able to spend almost the entire day sewing. My superfancy work area (alright, I admit, it's just a wooden TV tray that I put into the bedroom so I could watch some TV while working.

One of these days if I am very lucky I might get a craft room, heck I'd even take an empty closet or something other than this high-tech setup (oh, and my sewing machine sits on a low counter in the kitchen). On the upside, I am able to sew, turn on the dishwasher and keep an eye on the food on the stove without having to get up (trying to look on the bright side here).

Of course this is the most important part of getting me through a day-long craft session:

ahhh, come to Momma...

Little One just bought a stuffed black lab at Goodwill (she is crazy about animals and has an extensive collection). She had been hounding me (haha, made a funny!) to sew a collar and leash for her new buddy. Since I have mountains of fabric I decided to make an outfit for "Jackie" the Lab. Little One is a big fan of the movie "Underdog" so here's my take on it. I used an old T-Shirt she no longer wore and some scrap fabric for the coat.

"Jackie" with her doggie shirt, collar and leash

And here is our low-budget special-effects department to show "Underdog" in full flight. Are you not entertained??? Too bad I forgot to set up the fan to have the dogs ears flap in the "breeze". I think that would have finished it off nicely, don't you?

There's no need to fear - Underdog is here!!!

Tomorrow I will post my most impressive Goodwill find to date - vintage sheet goodness. Pics to come ASAP.
Time to put this post to sleep - family movie time (I hear the chips calling my name loud and clear).

Blessings, Christina

Panda Dress

Just wanted to start showing off my summer projects with Little One's Panda Dress. SHE LOVES PANDAS. A LOT. So of course she had requested I make her a Panda Dress this summer. So this morning I cut up a few T-Shirts from my stash and came up with this for my girly girl:

Little One with her best pal Bamboo enjoying the sun in the backyard (sorry the dress appears to be crooked but it's not, she's just a major wiggleworm).

Am I Supermom or what???

Now I am attempting to add some length to a purple summer dress I found at WallyWorld for about $3, it's one of those short dresses that shows entirely too much leg (especially the out-of-shape pasty kind I have). Hopefully it will improve greatly once I'm done with it.

Well I better finish this, have Offspring waiting in the wings itching to blow up some bad dudes on the computer...

Have a blessed day, everyone.

Happy Father's Day!

Wishing all the dad's a Happy Father's Day out there - you do an awful lot and we think the world of you. To all the military dads like my hubby, you often miss months and years in your children's lives; we are so grateful for everything you put up with and sacrifice.

In keeping with my tradition of very manly Father's Day Cards (from beer bottle cap "flower" arrangements to some potty humor inspired cards) here's this year's edition combining two things I love: flowery things and duct tape (big fan of Red Green on PBS). So what better way to honor Warrior Man than to give him this card:

I love the sound of ripping duct tape!

Also I made some wall art for a big dead space in the living room. I had bought some small canvases with seriously cheesy "art" on it at Dollar Tree (my fave) and finally searched through my mountain of scrapbook paper to find just the right one (holy cow there is a lot of paper, I seriously need to get off my derriere and get some more albums worked on...).

I tried to use the staple gun but switched to using duct tape early on (the staple gun and I have a history and not a pretty one, better to leave it alone as we are running low on band-aids).

Here's the before and after:

As I was hanging these babies up I noticed how sad the paint job in the living room is... high time for another one. I had chosen this shade of yellow to brighten the space up but throughout most of the day you feel like you live inside an Easter Egg (that's what you get for not trying the color out ON your wall first). The only thing that's holding me back is the fact that the living room, entry, dining room and kitchen are part of the same open space - that's a lot of painting... I'm sure the offspring would just LOVE to help with that job... NOT. I don't want to take the risk of arming them with paint brushes and rollers, someone could loose an eye or one of the animals could get a new look!!!

Now that offspring are out of school and I'm home for a while there are high hopes of getting loads of projects done around here - painting the outside of the house moss green with cream trim (if this rain ever stops, the next person telling me that's why WA is so green better duck!), some work on fence to protect veggie garden from curious dogs, some kind of patio or deck area and some other upkeep projects. I have an evergrowing list of projects that need to be worked on (rehab of some clothes for me and Little One), sewing projects (chair covers/curtains etc) and hopefully there'll be time left for some new bag designs. I would love to start listing some of this stuff on Etsy but seem to be giving items out as gifts as soon as they're done.

Better finish for now, I still need to wrap hubby's gift before he gets home.

Have a blessed Sunday, everyone.

Sweet Ruffle Purse and more Crafty Goodness

Ahh, it is so lovely to have the sewing machine back in service!!! It purrs like a kitten and I have been a busy bee finishing up the teacher's gifts before school gets out next week.

I have to make a confession: I love love love love girly flowery ruffly lacy things... anyone who knows me is probably rolling on the floor laughing by now. Seriously, this practical mom has an obsession with sweet things and shabby chic style (in reality our place is a bit country and a lot shabby - thanks to offspring and critters). But I try to practice the art of restraint so poor hubby (WarriorMan) and Dude (GuitarHeroMan) are not living in the Land Of Precious all over the house. So there's only a sprinkling of cabbage rose prints and ruffles around. But I hoard any lovely fabrics/papers/etc I can find until I come up with a good project. I'm excited to have one off my to-do list. I finally figured out a use for this beautiful flower fabric I have had for a VERY long time (another great curtain find at Goodwill, sadly not big enough for a large project). I have been ogling these ruffly and flower decorated bags on some great craft blogs and decided to take a stab at it. I'm not confident to try putting in a zipper, but some velcro will do the job just nicely.

Here's some pictures of the last few craft-filled days.

First, get a load of this ruffly beauty. I just love the colors and am pretty proud of how it came out.

This will be my new purse... I'll be the coolest mom in the frozen food isle!!!

Here are the teacher gifts I made for Little One (both for her classroom teacher and dance teachers).

More Cheese, please! & Tropical Flower (fully sewn by hand)

Groovy Blossom & "Rubber Chicken" Bag (Little One called it that)

So much for today. I better finish up so WarriorMan can get on the computer when he gets home.

Blessings. C.

Tea Rose Home: Tea Rose Home Link Party No. 7!#links#links

Tea Rose Home: Tea Rose Home Link Party No. 7!#links#links

I participated in the Link Party at this great blog. Just love her creativity and great eye for color!

Can you ever have enough purses???

Quick answer: NO !!!

I'm so excited, here are my first two beauties all done. The flower pins are removable, in case you're looking for some pretties to wear. They were given away as birthday presents this weekend.

Have a look. I think they're b-e-a-utiful.

Happy Monday,

Tina

Flowers, flowers everywhere

at least inside (sad state of backyard notwithstanding... I mean REALLY sad - trying to convince myself that dandelions are not a weed but a pretty flower... might need to think about scheduling a catscan).


Here are some flower pins I worked on last night and this morning (another early morning thanks to Uncle Sam). I wasn't sure if I liked making these babies, but they're fun to make and a great way to use up some quilt squares from projects off my "when I get a chance" list because let's be realistic when I Do get a chance to work on this stuff I'll be too old and frail to hold a needle!



There are some fleece flowers and scrap fabric ones and I love them all - let's not forget the little yo-yo flowers! Now that's something I can throw in my Busy Bag and work on whenever I get a chance (Little One's dance class or while waiting for all sorts of appointments). Two of them were given away as thank-you gifts for Sunday School teachers for today's last class of the year (does that mean summer is coming... me and my pasty flabbiness in a swimsuit... eewww); Little One snagged the yellow pin and I took the pink one (just love the fabric with the cherries and raspberries). The rest will go into my stash and hopefully be posted on Etsy in a few days.






Here they are:















I told Little One I needed one for each day of the year, but she gave me the "my mom has totally lost her last marble" look and said "No way". ... funsucker! Maybe I'll make one for each day of the week...hmmmm



Whadda ya think?



Oh, just to restate the obvious, photography is NOT my strong suit, but I'm working on it. At least these pics don't have a nice view of the laundry or other unsightly stuff in it - yay for me!

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday. I'm off to let the barking fools (Main Dog and Back-up Dog) back in the house now that they have sufficiently made a nuisance of themselves outside plus I saw some yummy puff pastry cookies and my beloved coffe mug out in the kitchen... need to reward myself for not abandoning whiny offspring at the craftstore earlier ("Can we GO now???).

Tina

Recent Projects

Here are some of the things I have been working on recently.

Mr. Ribbit (top left) was modeled after a drawing Little One gave me. His job is Cuddlebuddy and I am told he is very good at it.

The Owl bag (top right) was given to my niece P when her little sister C was born - note the binky on the baby owl.

The "M is for Monkey" blanket and Monkey softie was a baby shower gift for little C. My first attempt at fleece applique, I am so addicted to it.