My Blog is Moving!!!

I finally decided to combine this blog and my main blog into one new blog. So this blog will be going away shortly.

Check out my new blog: http://www.another-ordinary-life.blogspot.com/

Thanks for reading!

Crafting Draught

I haven't been doing much crafting lately, I have started knitting 3 blankets but I haven't finished any of them. Today I whipped up this belt (I got the idea from Capricious) because I am in desperate need of something to hold up my pants. I made a similar one for Chase with paw prints on it.

Drawstring Backpack

They recently started sprinkler days at Chase's daycare so I wanted to make him a little backpack to carry his swim gear in.  I made a little drawstring bag.  It has two pockets outside, one pocket inside, and is lined with orange and black.  I was very happy with how it turned out.  I wanted to take a picture of it on Chase but I just haven't gotten around to it.

I haven't managed to finish any of the other billion crafting projects that I have recently started - I am apparently in a starting projects mood lately.

Pear Bag

On Thursday I found this wonderful pear fabric - I love it.  I made another little hand tote out of it with a matching wallet (which is unfortunately a wee bit too small - I probably need to redo it).

Bag and Baby Shoes

Yay!  Finally some time to update my page with a few projects I recently finished.

Dew Drop Bag

I saw a picture of a bag like this online and I am very excited because it was my first attempt at making my own bag pattern from a picture.  I think it turned out quite well.  I would do the handles differently next time because they aren't as neat looking as I would like but overall I was happy with the project.

Here are some baby shoes I recently made from a pattern I found online.  I love them because they are quick and easy and they don't use a lot of fabric.  I made these for friend who is having a baby shower next week.

Free Stuff

Check out my main blog if you are interested in a give-away I'm doing.

www.somesexandthesuburbs.blogspot.com

Amy Butler - Birdie Sling

I was surfing  the web the other day and I fell in love with the Amy Butler Birdie Sling - so I ordered the pattern and TADA here is my new bag.  I am very happy with how it turned out - I think if I were to do it again I would make the strap a little shorter.  Also I wasn't very happy with how my top stitched turned out at the top of the bag it was a bit sloppy.

My First Bag!

I am so excited!  I just finished my first bag and I think it turned out pretty well.  I had a really hard time with the hidden inner pockets (I did two instead of one) and they aren't perfect but they are alright (I think it is because I downloaded a free pattern and the instructions weren't great).  I also learned that I have a horrible whip stitch - the bottom of the inside of the bag looks like a 5 year old sewed it.  But I love the fabric and I love how big the bag is so overall I think it was a success.  

More PMC Fun

I had a weekend full of crafting.  Yesterday I ended up going to Denver Fabrics and buying a bunch of fabric to make bags out of.  I intend to make a bag that I found a pattern for online and I also ordered a pattern for the Amy Butler Birdie Sling which I also plan on making.

Last night and this evening I spent some time working with PMC again.  Below are a few of the things I made.

Custom Charm Bracelet

For my mom's birthday she requested that I make her a custom charm bracelet.  I was really happy with how it turned out.  She wanted designs stamped on the back of the charms and custom phrases / names stamped on the front.

Craft Fair

Yesterday I participated in my first craft fair!  here are a few of the new things I had prepared.

Etsy Bling

In anticipation of my upcoming craft fair I finally got around to "branding" my Etsy shop!  I made a new logo that actually has matching business cards and such.  Now I just need to get around to actually making more product...I'm in the process of crocheting a yoga bag which I have had to start over about 5 times for various reasons - maybe I should just give up...

(I know the image looks tiny but if you click on it you can actually see it.)

Finished Jewelry Pieces

I finally got around to taking a few pictures of my recent jewelry pieces.  I don't LOVE any of them because most of them are practice pieces but I am overall happy with how the PMC turned out.

Here is my favorite bracelet - the picture quality sucks but I really like this piece.  It says "LIVE".

This is the other one of my favorites...it reminds me of the moon for some reason...

This is just a stamped metal necklace but I really liked how the beads looked on this one.

Small PMC charms

Shrug

So here it is - the first article of adult clothing that I finished.  I think it turned out pretty well.  I had to make a TON of alterations to the pattern because the original pattern ended up making a teeny tiny shrug that maybe a 10 year old would fit into - it also had a weird seam that I decided to get rid of (I guess that is what you get with free patterns).  Overall I think if I did another one I would make a few changes but I am pretty happy with it.  There were also suppose to be ruffles (like around the sleeves) at the neck and back but I decided to skip that because Boris and I both thought it looked fine without the extra ruffles.

Inspired by Capricious Again

I was inspired by Capricious again - she recently bought some of the cutest tags on Etsy and today (while I should have been resting) I decided to be a bad bad sick person and craft for a little bit.  There is only so much laying in bed one can do.  Besides I have been seriously neglecting preparing for a craft fair I intend to do in April and I thought these would be perfect small items to sell!

The "With All My Heart" tags are definitely my favorite, Boris liked the tree ones the best.  Sorry about the owls and shoes being sideways but I can't figure out how to make the blog rotate them.

Also I promise to post some of the pictures of my fired and finished jewelry soon - when I get around to taking pictures of them...oh yeah and I finished the shrug too - pictures of that coming soon also!

A Shrug, A Sweater, Jewelry - I just can't stick to one project

So I have been busy starting crafting projects and not finishing them.

The list of my half finished projects includes:

- A crocheted sweater (about 50% done)

- A crocheted shrug - which I hope to wear this Saturday (about 75% done)

- Two crocheted bags that just need linings

- A bunch of silver pieces that need to be sanded and finished (I did finish three pendants and bracelet already but I have a few other pieces left - plus I want to make more)

- I found a dress I want to sew

- I need to finish Chase's scrapbook

- Oh yah and I am suppose to be getting ready for a craft fair that I have done nothing for because I've been busy making stuff for myself - whoops...

I would include pictures of all these projects but I broke my camera =(

The Sweet Return to Crafting

It has recently been hard for me to find time to craft as life has been a little hectic but I finally had time to get back to a few projects.  

Here is a little cream sweater that I finished crocheting yesterday.  I LOVE this sweater, it is made of a bamboo blend and is super soft and a nice weight and I think the bubble details at the bottom and the little jeweled red buttons are adorable.  I wish I had a little girl to put this on!  The best thing about crocheting baby stuff is that it goes SUPER fast because the pieces are so small. 

Yesterday with the help of some grandma baby sitting - which is always the best - I finally got around to playing with my new clay supplies!!!  I am not totally in love with any of the pieces that I made but I wanted to make some super simple and small items so that I can play with firing them.  I figured that if I made something really nice and it was ruined in the kiln I would be pretty upset so better to start small.  We'll see how these fire up and then get into pieces that I like better.  I also realized that I think the difficulty with this craft is going to be that the options are limitless so it is hard to get started and even harder to settle on something that isn't perfect.  I'm sure over time I will get better.

The other project that I was able to start yesterday was my first crochet project for myself!  I am biting the bullet and I am going to try to crochet a full adult sized sweater - I have been fearful to start something this large and complicated in the past!!!  Phew it feels like quite the task and  I think I need to go buy more yarn because I doubt I have enough of the yarn I chose to use (which is a super soft really nice merino wool blend).

Here is a picture of the pattern and what I have started so far - I really like the stitch so far.  I am doing the sweater in grey because it happens to be the yarn I had around - I really like the orange in the picture but I'm sure it will be fun in grey too.  The only thing I am a little concerned about is that the grey won't show off the detail in the sweater as well as the orange does but  I may just have to live with that (or I guess if it goes well I could always make it in another color).  The best part about this sweater will be picking out the buttons!!!

Wish me luck on this one - I'm sure I'll need it.  So far there has been limited cursing involved but one never knows how a project will progress.

My First Baby Sweater!

I finally finished crocheting my first baby sweater (and I do mean finally it took me a few weeks to find enough time to finish this thing!)  The only thing I'm not thrilled about is that I wanted the opening to be a little off centered by it is REALLY off centered...I guess the weight of the sweater is a bit heavier than I would have preferred as well.  Otherwise I think it turned out alright.

It's Here!!!!

I am so excited because my kiln and PMC supplies are here!  I unfortunately haven't had any time to use them yet but I am still happy that it is all ready to go.

I have kind of been in a crafting lull lately as I haven't been able to find any time to finish anything but I'm almost done with the baby sweater I am crocheting and PMC jewelry will be coming after that!

Crocheted Hats

I've been hooked on crocheting lately.  I made a darling red and cream baby blanket for a friend (which I unfortunately didn't take any pictures of) and I made the below kiddo hats.  I really like the beanies with the brims - I think they are as cute as can be.  I'm also currently in the process of crocheting a baby sweater.

I also have a ton of upcoming projects that I just haven't been able to get to!  I bought some acrylic because I want to try to use it with my jewelry making and I ordered a PMC kiln which I am very excited about!

I hope I can find some more crafting time soon!