i made my first apron!

i apologize from the get-go for what will probably be terrible pictures in this little how-to! i've been relegated to crafting in the evenings, long after the winter sun has disappeared, & especially in the recently rain [that we wish was more snow!]. i can't quite get used to the dark of night at 5:30 pm- there's just been no sun!

i've been indimitated to try making one in the past, but i've wanted an apron for so long now, i ended up just asking M to buy me one for my birthday... thankfully we found some super cute handmade ones at a craft fair on a recent trip. that way at least it was still handmade, i completely love it, & i had no idea how much i would fall in love with wearing it!

my sister-in-law and i like to try to & out-do each other with our sentimental gifts. this year, naturally thinking along the line of aprons, i decided i would finally go for it & make her one [& ended up wanting to make myself a coordinating one!] i decided on this simple method that turned out really cute- it is a little involved if you aren't super comfortable with your sewing machine. i wouldn't necessarily call it "quick & easy" [a little bit more of a labor of love, honestly] but don't be intimidated, just try it! i they make perfect gifts!

what you'll need:
-a small apron of simple shape [or large, whatever seems will fit your apron wearer]
-about a yard of fabric for the apron
-about 1/2 yard coordinating fabric for the ties
-any ribbon or trim etc. you'd like to embellish it with
step 1:
iron your fabric, fold it in half & lay it out flat. place your apron on top & smooth it out.
step 2:
cut around your apron shape with an extra 1/2 inch or so [cut straight across the top, not around the ties!]. since your fabric was folded, you should have 2 apron shapes.
step 3:
put the 2 apron shapes face-to-face, right side of the fabric to right side. stitch all around the edges, leaving a little un-sewn space to turn it right-side out with.
step 4:
turn it right-side-out, sew up the little space, and iron it again so that the edges are flat. it's optional, but sewing around the entire apron right at the edges at this point will make it look more finished and professional!
step 5:
cut about a 2 strips, about 3 inches wide, of your coordinating fabric for the waist ties and 2 strips about 1 inch wide, for the neck ties. use the ties on the original apron [& the size of your apron wearer] to guide you on the length they should be. you can roughly tie them around yourself if you're unsure!
step 6:
sew the 2 strips face-to-face & turn right side out just like you did with the apron. then attach the smaller one to the neckline. the longer one should go across the front of the apron & be stitched around the top to stay in place.

optional:
i actually ended up using some wide twill tape for the neck straps because my fabric strips were so thin it made them insanely hard to turn right-side-out. if you have more patience than me [or cut the strips more carefully!] there shouldn't be a problem, but the twill tape was easy & i liked how it looked! all i did was fold under the exposed edge & then stitch a square with an 'x' through it to secure it [like a purse handle!]

yay! you made an apron!
now the fun part: embellish however you'd like! this is where the sentimental part came in for me- i scanned a copy of my mom's chocolate chip cookie recipe card onto printable fabric, cut it out, sewed it at the top of the apron, & then zig zag stitched the edge.
i love that it is in her handwriting & has all the stains & marks of a well-loved recipe.
this little number was a christmas present for my sister in law- i've had to hold off on posting this one to keep from spoiling her surprise! i love thinking of her being able to wear this & thinking of my mom each year at christmas, baking cookies [& as she pointed out- using the recipe!]

i made the steps as detailed as i could, but i realize the pictures weren't too self-explanatory. please leave comments & questions if you're confused or get stuck- happy apron-making!

valentine's ideas!

usually i'm annoyed with stores skipping straight from christmas to valentine's, but i do have to admit to myself that it is already january, and for some inexplicable reason, i really want to make valentines this year! with a baby due in early march [which around here may very well actually mean late february] i figured the only chance for success was to start early.

not a bad mantra for me in general.

turns out, unsurprisingly, that valentine's must be a super-inspirational holiday in the craft world, because there are tons of adorable ideas out there. a quick search on one pretty thing brought up this handful of ridiculously cute ideas!

for my love:
a lightbulb message via design*sponge

especially with those fat, round lightbulbs!

or this love frame via the inadvertent farmer

i'm picturing this in a daddy's office, perfect too if you have 4 kids!

for sisters or grandmas:
a cute little sachet via craftypod

although i think those stacked hearts would be cute sewn onto pretty much anything. oooh like the end of a scarf!

for the house:
a valentine wreath via tatertots and jello

i'm totally on the hunt for one of those heart-shaped wreaths to make this with!

for the kiddos:
heart-shaped multi crayons via the long thread

these would be a super cute idea to make a big batch of if you felt like being one of those awesome moms that brings in a little something for your kid's whole class!

and though i can't knit a stitch, i couldn't help but say awwww when i saw this incredibly cute idea: a holding-hands mitten! via coco knits- even cuter that she called it a smitten mitten. love.

now that the inspiration fires are burning, i've got to get to work!

first project of 2011!

i'm trying not to get myself all worked up about "resolutions" this year, seeing as how i am definitely the type of person that makes them but does not keep them. so instead, i'm simply trying to take one project at a time & instead just be resolute about finishing and enjoying them! a lot of my ideas and inspiration revolve around the house... the tricky thing about a rental is that you move into a completely builder-beige blank slate [which, if you're like me, is just dying to be "done over!"] but you're only allowed to do so much because the space is not really yours. thankfully, some of the changes M & i have in mind are considered upgrades to the house & we're allowed to do them.

first thing first, we're still working on getting the master bedroom just right. so new year's day, M started off with a bang by installing a beautiful new ceiling fan! i absolutely LOVE how it looks in the tray ceiling!

and speaking of builder-beige-blank-slate, this main wall in our living room has always seemed to me like the perfect spot for something statement making- a big piece of artwork, a huge framed mirror, a big shelf... something big. it's the first thing you see when you come in the front door, & we just haven't had the space in the past to really go big.
we did build a little shelf, and i added every unclaimed picture frame in the house i could find, including some empty ones, onto it for some collage action:
but the more i think about this wide expanse of wall, and the more i think about the tons more family photos i'd like to be able to put up there, the more i'm loving the idea of a wall-long chair rail two thirds of the way up [rather than halfway up like a usual chair rail]. it is so easy to move the frames around when they're leaning up there rather than nailed into the wall. and of course, a board and batten treatment underneath would be just lovely, and not to difficult based on some of the tutorials i've seen! here are my inspiration photos:

the nester

just beachy

our humble abowed

color zen

[& ps. this is my favorite tutorial for it so far if you want to try it too- makes it look so easy!]

[pss. i'm seeing tons of blogs talking about the new pantone color of the year, but i can't get these beachy blues & greens out of my head!]

like handmade friends.

putting away the christmas decorations is always a bit of a bummer for me- it's so fun for the house to be so full of merriment, and then it just feels so naked when you take it all down! although i must admit i do like having the space in the living room back from where the christmas tree was [K has her little toy corner back!]

i thought as i was carefully packing up each ornament, wrapping it & tucking it into its little pocket in the ornament box, that i would get some pictures of some of the handmade ornaments over the years. i like the idea of making at least one each year, and i can't wait to see some of the ones that K will make as she gets bigger!
i started with these beaded stars forever ago. they take forever to make but turn out so beautiful and sparkly when the lights hit them!
the anthropologized felt star- i think it might need some glitter.
the little felted crocheted snowflake- still one of my faves!
the little felt flower ornament made from a jar lid!
i made this little glass snowflake one this year by punching out snowflake shapes with a paper punch on aluminum tape [from home depot- i think it's meant for pipes or something?] & then adding some 'faux snow' inside. love it!
probably my favorite one: last year i made these flat etched glass ornaments- the snowflake one was my tester & the other was a gift for my brother & sister in law. i have one more blank one sitting unfinished in the craft room to make one with my family name. i love family/monogram kind of ornaments!
it's not on the tree because only one of my salt dough ornaments turned out cute enough to keep... painting them got a little experimental! i think i'll try again next year when K is big enough to help.

we have a cute little collection of some kiddo-made ornaments that my mother-in-law saved of my husband's and though i don't really have any i made as a kid, we have lots that my mom made over the years which are just as special. the only good thing about packing them all up is thinking of how in just a few months i'll get to pull them back out like old friends.

merry christmas & happy new year!

the stocking success story!

it started out as a saga- a near disastrous event starting with 1 overly optimistic crafter & ending with 3 paper bags hung by [sitting below] the chimney with care.
i'm speaking of my attempt to make homemade stockings for my family last year. in short, i started too late and ended up choosing to sit and smootch with my hubby by the light of the tree on christmas eve rather than shiver in the cold basement with my sewing machine. and despite the fact that i had relished in the thought of a whole year to finish them, they sat on my craft table in a little bag, only to be pulled out again, last second, & still totally unfinished this year.
precious hubs knew not to mention it, as i had already mentioned that the stockings must happen for real this year. however, when he asked ever so gently and carefully on christmas eve-eve if the stockings were going to happen, i said yes. and i meant it. even if i didn't sleep all night to finish them. i even brought my sewing machine up from the cold basement, figuring that trying to sew with numb fingers wasn't helping the equation any.

1 christmas cd on repeat, lots of mugs of apple cider, and a few stretch breaks later, they were done. at 2:14 in the am. and so, ladies & gentlemen, i present to you the finished stockings:
left to right they are kenna's, mine, and matt's. halfway through lining kenna's i realized the fabric i picked for kenna's lining would have been perfect for the frontand now i'm tempted to redo it... but "fixing it" would truly mean redoing it almost from the beginning & i'm just not sure i'm willing to do that.

here are some of the fun detail-y things up close:
i'm choosing not to allow the fact that there are still technically 2 unfinished stockings [1 for baby-boy-on-the-way and yes, 1 for the dog] sitting in pieces on my dining room table deter me in any way from considering this a success story. i'm also ignoring the silly fact that we had to line them up on the bench beside the mantel because we still didn't have stocking hangers [bought them 50% off this week at the after christmas sales!]

and best of all, i got to see my little girl up to her armpit pulling tiny gifts out of homemade love. totally worth it.

hovering.

so, christmas is just now ending... we're hovering in the glow of freshly fallen snow [8 inches!] and a christmas tree i don't quite want to take down yet. and though i feel the relaxation of no more immediate major deadlines to get things made as gifts, i am starting to feel the flood of things i want to make now that christmas is over....

things for next year, ornaments i want to make/finish before i pack up all the other christmas stuff, and wanting to make the house a winter snow cabin to avoid the usual post-christmas-decorating-letdown [ie: when you take down all the christmas decorations and the house looks naked! is that just me?]

and of course, there seems to be always the ever-present desire to completely redecorate the house, made only more intense and more crazy-driven thanks to the nesting flurry of only 10 weeks [!!!!!!] left to go!

so, until i catch up on a few tutorials and fun things i have started [but not finished before christmas!] here are a few inspiration photos i'm pondering, constantly thinking of ways to make home more homey:

because it is.

for christmas next year- extra fluffy wreaths

loving that blue & the his/hers effect- & i am now scouring craigslist for the perfect table to saw in half!

because a new year & an entire line of new products is coming your way from leaf&letter... & the flower hair clips must be displayed like this!

[ps- so, so sorry to not include photo credits- these are from my random inspiration folder & apparently i was too lazy to bookmark the original site. many apologies!]

ok, internets.

you're killing me here. i mean, really? less than a week before christmas & you're going to deliver a handful of the cutest little crafty ideas i may have ever seen?

i shouldn't be surprised... it happens every year. i make a list of ornaments i want to make, and then somehow it just doesn't happen. then i look over the list later & think well that's ok. maybe next year. but these are just too cute!

mini yarn wreath ornaments:
which means you could also make ruffle felt wreaths in mini-ornament form!
adorable paintstick ornaments:
tiny garland trees with wine cork stands:
and ok, not technically christmas related necessarily, but i'm dying to make some of these amazing tiny wooden cupcake stands!
i did make 1 this year... probably the secret to its success was that it was made back in november. and now i have to head back down into the craft room & get busy on these adorable ideas!