monday's buttons - week 11

Mondays.

Buttons.

Blogs.

A Little Bit of Kooky  Rachel, the self-described Kooky Queen, has a fun . . . bright . . . and kooky button.  Check out what she has to say about her kooky button:

1) What five words would you use to describe your blog?

Laughable, Entertaining, Absurd (at times, haha), Lighthearted, and KOOKY!

2) Did you craft your button or did you commission someone else to craft it for you? If you crafted it, what program did you use? If someone else did, who?
I did it myself. I bought Microsoft Digital Image Suite a few years ago on sale for $30. It's like a Photoshop knock off but I love it!

3) What was the inspiration behind your button? What did you want it to say about you or your blog?
Most of my blog is rarely serious and very colorful so my blog and its button needed to be so. I am a lively, friendly person so I want my blog button to be inviting and happy!

4) What kind of buttons stick out to you when you are poking around in the blog-world?
Creatively catchy phrases, colorful pictures or artsy and inspiring! I loooooooove blog buttons!

5) What inspires you to keep blogging?
Blogging to me isn't about how many followers I get or the number of comments (though I *LOVE* them), it's totally stress relief and it makes my day to hear that I made someone laugh! Truly and honestly, I just love to show the funny side of "mommying" and of life.

Dolls And Daydreams  Sarah is one busy artist and blogger.  You may remember Sarah from the numerous times I've raved about her other blog and charity called Dolly Donations.  This button for Sarah's other blog jumps off the screen with that cute little doll face front and center.

1) In one sentence, how would you sum up your blog?

Dolls And Daydreams is a place where I share all my crafty delights, daydream giveaways, tips and tutorials!

2) What was the inspiration behind your button? How does it reflect your blog?

It’s one of my daughter’s favorite dolls I’ve made her so far ;)

3) Did you craft it or inspire/commission someone else to craft it for you?

I made it myself with Photoshop.

4) What kind of buttons stick out to you when you are hopping around in blogland?
Simple and cute ones.

5) Why did you start this blog?
To share my work with other Mothers who love crafts, art, sewing, recycling and inspiring their children’s imaginations!

Current Giveaway is my Eco Friendly Doll House!

The Creative Maven  Molly, the creator of the Creative Maven, has a button I was born to love because it's minimal.  I like to think I'm a minimalist, but I'm probably not; however, I'm drawn to things that fit into the minimalist world in color, design and simplicity, so naturally I'm drawn to Molly's button.  And it doesn't hurt that she does have crazy creative skills too!  Here's what Molly shared about her button and blog:

1) In one sentence, how would you sum up your blog?
A place for me to share all my creative passions, whether it's sewing, cooking, paper crafting, home decorating, holidays, entertaining - you name it!

2) What was the inspiration behind your button? How does it reflect your blog?
I am drawn to so many different design styles, it was really tough. I guess I just really wanted to stick out in people's minds and be unique among the many craft blogs out there. It has a very clean, modern and preppy look that I haven't seen a lot of. While the colors and "preppy" design are unique, I like to keep things sort of general too. I have so many creative passions, I didn't want to be tied down to one type of crafting. I'm on a huge sewing kick right now, but when I started my blog, I actually thought it was going to focus more on home decor and food!

3) Did you craft it or inspire/commission someone else to craft it for you?
I had Shay at Dumplin Design Studio do my entire blog design, including the button. I like to joke that I can do just about anything with fabric, paper or glue, but I am NOT a graphic designer.

4) What kind of buttons stick out to you when you are hopping around in blogland?
I like buttons with a few bold colors, or a unique logo. I think it's really important for a blog to have a recognizable logo.

5) Why do you blog?
I blog to keep myself accountable. Before I started blogging I had a project list that kept growing, but nothing ever got done because other things always were a higher priority... but with my blog, it keeps me motivated to keep crafting. My blog is also the first thing, in a VERY long time, that I've done just for the fun of it. No goals, no monetary motive... just sharing what makes me happy - making things!

Take a few minutes and visit the blogs behind the buttons.  Don't forget to say "Hi!" and give these bloggers a little comment love while you are there.

Craft on!

monogram taggie: a new spin on an old standby

Taggie blankets are the old standby when I need a quick baby gift.  I've made so many taggies, I could probably make them in my sleep.  Seriously, I think it's possible.  I used to hide things in my sleep when I was in high school.  I once hid one shoe so well while I was sleeping that we never found it.  If I could do that while sleeping, surely I could make a taggie blanket. 

Uhm . . . hello tangent . . . back to the actual point of this post.

I can certainly make taggies, but I'm tired of making them.  Cut squares.  Cut ribbon. Pin. Sew. Turn. Done.  With the arrival of a friend's new baby, I decided I needed to put a new spin on my old standby.  Thus the monogram taggie was born.  (Did I just use the word "thus"?  Yikes!)

If you've made a taggie, you don't need this tutorial because you can obviously print your letter out, cut and go.  So this is for those of you out there who have yet to venture into the taggie world.  Next time a friend or relative finds themselves with a new baby in the house, try this little tutorial out for a sweet handmade gift.

Monogram Taggie

Here's what you need:
-fleece, soft fabric or flannel in contrasting or matching patterns/colors
-a variety of ribbons
-a baby link or toy hook

Here's what you do:
1)  Use Word, Publisher or whatever to pick a font, make a very large letter using the first letter of the baby's name (first or last name) print out and cut adding about 1/4 inch edge all the way around when cutting.

2)  Place fabric wrongs sides together.  Pin printed letter to fabric and cut out.

3)  Cut strips of ribbon about four inches long.  I used 14 ribbons total.

4)  Fold ribbons in half and pin around the right side of the thicker of the two fabrics.

5)  Place letters right sides together and pin.

6)  Sew around outside of letter.  If you are doing a letter with an opening in the center of the letter - like A, B, D, etc., don't sew the center openings and sew all around the outside leaving no opening for turning.  If you are doing a letter like C, S, N, etc., leave a two inch whole for turning when sewing around the outside of the letter.  

7)  Unpin, clip corners and turn.  I used the opening in the center of the A for turning.  

8)  Topstitch around outside of letter.  If you are doing a C, S, N, etc without a center opening, fold in the turning hole which will be sewn shut in topstitching.  If you are doing another letter with a center opening or two, continue to the next step.

9) Trim opening(s) with pinking shears.  You could do this earlier, but I waited until this point because the fabric could shift in topstitching the outer edge.  I wanted to make sure that the edges were fairly evenly matched in the center.  After cutting with pinking shears, topstitch around opening(s).  

10)  Add a baby link and little toy.  Personalized gift . . . done! 

Craft on!

I may be linking to these fabulous parties!

stay tuned for another CSN giveaway

CSN is EVERYWHERE lately!  And there's a reason for that.  We're busier than ever, and shopping on-line makes life just a little bit simpler.  Before I committed to making all my Christmas gifts for this year, I bought all my gifts on-line to avoid crowds, lines and aimless wandering through store isles looking for the right gift.  Well, CSN is giving one of you the opportunity to do a little on-line shopping.  Whether you are looking for dinnerware sets for your sister or doll furniture for your kids, CSN has it. 

Stayed tuned for a giveaway coming up for a $45 credit to any of CSN's 200+ stores.

In the meantime . . .

craft on!

behold! the fifth craft till Christmas

Choices . . . choices . . . choices!  Last month I had tons of ideas for my sixth craft till Christmas, but no desire to actually do any of them.  This month I have even more ideas added to the gift list, and I have a desire to do all of them. 

So . . . I finally just picked one. 

When I was little, one of my favorite toys was a little carrier for my doll.  It was a green and yellow bassinet with two handles.  My mom made it for me complete with a matching pillow, baby blanket, and a few doll diapers.  It was simple, and I loved it.  I loved carrying it around the house - dragging dolls in tow.  

I'm hoping my girls love their little bassinets just as much.  Yep, that's right my fifth craft till Christmas is a doll bassinet complete with blanket, pillow and doll diapers . . . times two. 

I have no idea how to actually make a bassinet, but I'm going to do my best to figure it out.  I hope you'll join me for this journey because it could be hilarious and a complete failure, so I'll need your support when I reach the edge of giving up and your advice when I'm absolutely clueless about what to do next.  

Craft on!

the silent treatment & a stow-away bag

I’ve been giving my sewing machine the silent treatment. It’s not that Betsy did anything to me. (Yes, I named my sewing machine, and I talk to her too.  They say plants grow better if you name them and talk to them, so I'm hoping that sewing machines work better if you name them and talk to them too.  Hey, you never know.)  Between the pretend and play mail carrier set in May and the pillow buddy in June, the two of us were spending a lot of time together . . . too much time together in fact. We needed some space from one another . . . we needed a break.

But recently, I saw a canvas roll-up bag in a catalogue . . . you know the kind of bag that you can roll-up very small and fit it in your purse for those quick trips to the market.  This was just what I had been looking for.  I'm always forgetting my ugly green bag either at home or in the car.  More than once I've made a quick trip to my car to retrieve a bag while the checker at the market was ringing up my groceries.  These bags caught my eye right away because they were cute, canvas and compact.  I thought, "Hey, I can make that."  So I grabbed a canvas remnant from my overflowing remnant stash and started cutting.  (By the way, I've joined The Train To Crazy crew in the GREAT de-stash challenge, so I can't even buy a single remnant of fabric until I've put a significant dent in the stash I have . . . yikes!)      

Although I didn't have a pattern (And even if I did you know I wouldn't use it because I like to make things harder than they need to be.), I thought I could figure it out on my own pretty easily. 

You can probably see where this is going by now. 

This bag should have taken less than an hour, but apparently, my sewing machine did not appreciate the break as much as I did.  Betsy made my life miserable and drove me to swearing often (no children's sensibilities were damaged in the construction of this bag) for roughly the two hours I spent sewing, ripping, resewing, ripping, rethreading, resewing, ripping, rethreading, resewing . . . I think  you get the picture.  I just couldn't get the stitch right, and I threaded the machine over and over more than a dozen times.  Finally, on the 13th rethreading, wallah . . . stitch perfect.  I swear I did the same thing over and over, so the only thing that I can attribute the problem to is that Betsy was feeling neglected and unhappy.  

We're finally on speaking terms, and I'm hoping that she has forgiven me.  You'll see why tomorrow when I announce my fifth craft till Christmas.

Here's my new bag . . . I'm calling it the stow-away bag since it will be stowing away in my purse until a much-needed moment. 

Rolled up into a nice bundle

Stowing away in my bag.  It actually fits nicely into the bottom of my purse.

Filled with OJ, black beans, green peppers, a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter.  Don't worry those things weren't all for the same recipe!

Do you see why I love this bag so much?  I think everyone need one of these little gems stowing away in the bottom of their purse.  What do you think?

Craft on!

tuesday's true confession: one of these things is not like the other

Have you ever felt like you don't belong?  You know, kind of like that song I used to sing along with the characters of Sesame Street when I was five, "One of these things is not like the others.  One of these thing just doesn't belong."  I feel like that today.  ;)

(Here's space for you to ask, "Why?") 

Well, thanks for asking.  I have projects in a couple of challenges right now, and my projects aren't quite measuring up.  They just don't quite belong in the sea of super creative projects.  Here's the thing I'm confessing today . . . I'm super competitive . . . BUT I'm not competitive against other people.  I know that's odd, right?  Typically, competition rears its ugly head against another person.  But I'm super competitive against myself, and I always have been.  This frustrating trait reveals itself in a variety of circumstances.  

Here's a few examples:

• When I was in school, if I got 95% on a test or a paper, I HAD to get at least 96% on the next one.
• If I run four miles one day, I have to run four and a quarter miles the next.
• When I was taking a class last fall in another town, I was always trying to shave a few seconds or minutes off my drive time from the day before.
• If I make make what I think is a super creative project one day, the next one has to be even more creative. 

This little trait is good at times because I'm always pushing myself.

But more often than not, it's debilitating and ridiculous because I can't always improve.  I mean, eventually I got 100% on paper and tests.  But I couldn't get better than that, and I certainly couldn't maintain that forever.  I can't always run more than the day before because time and my knees won't allow it.  I can't always drive faster . . . at least if I want to keep my licence and stay alive.  And reality tells me that some projects are super creative and some projects just are.  Each project cannot be better than the next. 

At some point I have to give myself a break.  At some point, I have to be okay with less . . . even much less than 100%, running less than the day before, driving slower and safer, making something that's just okay.

I started this crafting thing to give myself a break from competition against myself and my tendency toward perfectionism.  But somehow I let it creep slowly into what was supposed to be a therapeutic hobby.  

So today, I'm okay with mediocre.  I'm okay that my projects in these wonderful challenges just aren't as good as I want them to be and aren't as good as other project that I've done.  In fact, I embrace it!!  And to embrace my mediocrity, I encourage you to hop over to the voting pages for Iron Crafter and The Trendy Treehouse not to vote for mine, but to vote for one of the super creative projects linked up.  I'm loving so many of them.  And I do have a few that I'm rooting for, but I'll keep them to myself because I don't want to influence your voting . . . not that I actually have the power to influence your voting. ;)
   

Last week Cate confessed her own love of crazy music.  I'm so relieved to know that someone else knows the lyrics to Vanilla Ice's music!   

So the link up below is for you to add your own confession.  Confess whatever you want (silly, serious, sappy) or not . . . just try not to make it too sultry . . . if you know what I mean.  ;) 

If you don't have your own blog or don't want to take the time to write up a post, just comment below with your true confession.  Maybe you don't want to, that's fine.  If no one links, that's okay too.  We are all busy, and we certainly don't need another thing on the to-do list. 

If you do participate in Tuesday's True Confession, don't feel obligated to link back or post the button.  You can if you want to, but I don't demand it.  ;)




<center><a href="http://twelvecraftstillchristmas.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i767.photobucket.com/albums/xx317/twelvecrafts/confessitbutton.jpg" /></a></center>

monday's buttons - week 10

It's another manic Monday (thanks Cyndi Lauper),

and that means I have three fav buttons

from my travels around blogland.

Living My Sweet Life  I love simple clean buttons, and I think Liz hits the nail on the head with the button for her blog, Living My Sweet Life.  Here's what she has to say about her button and her blog:

1) How would you describe your blog to someone who hasn't visited your space in blogland?

My blog is a crafty blog that pretty much focuses on my sewing. I got a sewing machine last Christmas and I fell in love. I love trying new tutorials and most of my posts are projects I completed from other bloggers amazing tutorials. I am just starting to make my own patterns... so hopefully one day I can share a few tutorials of my own!

2) In what way does your button reflect your blog?

I love the whimsical colors and the fact that it looks handmade, I can see my self using those little trees as an applique pattern.

3) Did you craft your own button? If so, what program did you use? If someone else crafted it, who?

Yes, I made my own using Picnik. Homemade by Jill featured a wonderful tutorial on using Picnik and now I am HOOKED!

4) What kind of buttons stick out to you?
I am always drawn to the bright colorful buttons. I also enjoy the ones that are funny. (Have you ever looked at Crap I've Made's button? It's hysterical!)

5) What's one blog you turn to for inspiration when you are in a creative funk?
Wow... there are so many... I will have to go with Homemade by Jill. I love her style.

So Very Creative  Heather is a busy woman managing two super creative blogs.  Her newest blog, So Very Creative, is a place she organizes and lists some of her favorite projects around blogland.  Here's the lowdown on her blog button:

1) How would you describe your blog to someone who has never visited?
A blog that features all kinds of crafts from other blogs.

2) How does your button reflect this blog?

It is So Very Creative

3) Did you make your own button or did you inspire/commission someone to make it for you?

I did make my own button that is what makes it So Very Creative, I'm not much of a computer techy so I had to be very creative to make it. I used Picnik to make it.

4) What inspires you to keep blogging?
Other bloggers and their creativity! I love finding fun unIque projects, and I love being able to feature them and make someones day!

5) If you could only read one blog today, which one would it be?
Um wow this is a trick question right? Well if I could only read one today it would probably be Someday Crafts. It is the first blog I stumbled upon in the crafty blog world and was the first blog that featured my project from my other blog memakingdo.blogspot.com and made my day and inspired me to start So Very Creative!

Stepping thru cRazY  I was drawn to Sarah's blog because of the clever title and button that reminded me a bit of the Wizard of Oz - sans the ruby red shoes.  Here's what Sarah had to say about her button and blog:

1) What five words would you use to describe your blog?

Creative, varied, helpful?(I'm hoping, anyway!), colorful, and crazy.

 

2) Did you craft your button or did you commission someone else to craft it for you? If you crafted it, what program did you use? If someone else did, who?

I created it myself :) First I took a picture of my feet, edited it and added text with picnik.com, then turned it into a button with a tutorial from A Heart For Home. It was surprisingly easier than I expected!

3) What was the inspiration behind your button? What did you want it to say about you or your blog?
I wanted to be somewhat literal with the whole 'stepping' thing, so I wanted it to incorporate my feet. I suppose I should have been stepping, but I didn't like the way those shots came out. Anyway, I tangled my feet up in a measuring tape because it was fun. That's what I really want my button to say, that my blog is fun. And I do sew, so the measuring tape does come into play.

4) What kind of buttons stick out to you when you are poking around in the blog-world?
I love buttons that are funky, colorful, fun... things that really grab my attention, and make me say 'Whoa, what blog is that?'

5) What inspires you to keep blogging?
The power of craft. Hahaha, that sounds super dorky! No, I just love to craft and create things, and so many other people do, too, and if I can come up with an idea that someone else likes and wants to give a try, that's just so cool! My blog is my creative release, and my 'me' time. My kids love to watch me making something, I think it gets the wheels turning in their little heads, too! It's really a blast. :)

Go check out the blogs behind the buttons.  While you are visiting, make sure you say "HI!" to Sarah, Heather and Liz.

Craft on!