back online!

for the past few weeks I have had a 6" black line running vertically down the screen of my computer... a new display later and I am back in business! It was incredibly hard to do anything, let alone edit photos in photoshop, so I am excited to share what I have been up to! talk soon :D

our first fair!

For all of my local readers... We are having our first Handmade with a Purpose Craft Fair to raise money for Young Life in our area. There are lots of great vendors lined up and it's for a great cause - so it would definitely be worth stop by to check it out!

Here are the details:

When? Saturday, September 24, 2011
What Time? 10am-5pm
Where? Miller Avenue Elementary
Admission? Free!

recipe box redu...

I have a crush on vintage advertising and labels. The wonderful artwork, the neat fonts, the retro colors - the sense of nostalgia. When we cleared out my grandparent's home for auction a few years ago there was no shortage of ephemera. My great-grandparents built the house, and like many during the depression years, they saved everything!

One of the carry overs of food packaging that has lasted to this day, is the inclusion of recipes. [usually the recipe calls for another product that the manufacturer makes] Some of the recipes I found were much more appetizing than others, but the artwork was lovely. I am a big fan of the old school Betty Crocker cookbooks with the 'sketchy' looking art, so I was super excited when I found these 'free with purchase' recipes.

I already had the wooden box, it just needed a handle for the top. With trusty modge podge at my side, I went to work. Some scrapbook paper, vintage images, and even a few of my grandma's handwritten recipes later, I had a great place to store my little tin recipe boxes and all of the misc. recipes I have printed off from websites that were previously hanging out in my cupboard.

The result is a little kitsch - just the way I like it. I hoping that it will encourage me to try out more new recipes and to cook at home more often [too bad I can't reach into the box and pull time out :]

baby bandwagon...

This summer quite a few new additions came to our town. [which meant some baby showers were on my schedule] As I have mentioned before, I really enjoy making baby quilts - you get to try out new techniques, you aren't committed to a giant project, + I get to give a personal, handmade gift! I hope that these little quilts will see alot of snuggle time :)

This is Zak. [really wish I could take credit for the adorable cap!]

I was completely inspired by this retro-esque backing fabric! It screamed to be made into something for a little cowboy.

The stars are paper-pieced and [I think] go along with the western theme. The patchwork was a great way to use my humble stash of American Jane 4-in-1 prints. Awesome backing fabric + stars +knotting = a great vintage vibe!

This is Emili. [this is a pre-delivery pic - but take my word for it, Little Miss Calli is ADORABLE!]

This is their bedding - I tried to stay in a similar colorway and this line has some plums in it. I've always been a fan of coin quilts and with a candy bar of Fandango in hand, I went to work. It went together fairly quickly, more than a few layout revisions on the design wall.

To personalize it a little more, I embroidered her name. This is my first real attempt at machine quilting with a darning foot. Not terrible this being one of the few things I have quilted, I was fairly happy with myself. I hope both of these quilts will be part of many fond memories for these first time moms :)

months gone by [in the nittany block party]...

Yes, I am a little behind in SHOWING my blocks for the past many moons from the Nittany Block Party, but I am happily on time with FINISHING them :) I'm not sure why a whole month to sew one block always seems like a stretch. Given the right month, I could probably push out a whole bed sized quilt. For me, it seems like there is always a bit of anxiety that comes with making a block for someone else - if it is a creative task, there is always the question of the other persons taste; if it is a 'make this block' month, I am worried about the limited amount of fabric provided in the event of an oops moment. I feel quite accomplished to be getting my blocks on their merry way home on time and in the correct month. April's block for Tracy - using THIS tutorial. Great block, definitely testing my hst skillz. May's block for Freida - love how the coal kona sets off all of those little colorful prints! The hst inquisition continues. June's block for Amanda - using THIS tutorial. Beautiful, simple... and, yes, filled with hst's! July's block for Jessica - using THIS tutorial. Definitely a new one for me. I really enjoyed building this one [even if it did end up 1/4" off - seriously not sure how that happened, perhaps something to do with not having a 'true' 1/4" seam allowance and tons of seams] I was up in August and I cannot wait to show you more of that project :) Block swaps are wonderful ways to connect with fellow crafters and to learn new skills! If you haven't joined in on the action, I would suggest you check out this flickr group. Remember not to over-commit; start out with one bee and make sure that you can keep up with that one.

aaahh! not real monsters...

* no monsters were harmed in the making of these pillows :)
Following my last post, I am fairly certain my grandma never made any monster pillows.

I came up with these guys on my own - using the faux fur as inspiration. I can't figure out which one I like best - though the one with glasses bares a striking resemblance to my husband :)

I'm calling these guys book buddies [at least that's the name I have arrived at for now]. Great for old and young alike, the pocket in the back is the perfect stash for a newspaper, crafty inspiration book, or a favorite Little Golden Book. They are up for grabs in my etsy.

fun & games [outside]...

Today we begin some work on the outside of our home, so I thought it only fitting to show you some projects I have worked on that find themselves in the out of doors. First up is a set of cornhole boards and bags. [I am not sure if the game cornhole translates everywhere, so here is a quick run through of the game]

This was definitely a handmade project - one of our high school friends built the boards for us and the I painted and varnished them. We used these instructions, and found them pretty clear and easy to follow.

I bought the home dec fabric for the bags before painting the boards, which meant I could paint them to coordinate :) Interestingly, I paid more for the half yards it cost to make these bags than I did a few weeks later for the entire bolt of fish fabric! [read more here] Always something new: to finish these bags I had my first experience at the feed mill! They were a little curious about what I was going to do with such a small amount of feed corn [perhaps they thought I had a really tiny chicken]

Another outdoor addition to our home is a lovely and relaxing hammock! Definitely not handmade, but we did assemble the stand all by ourselves :) We are enjoying these last days of summer. It's so strange; first it was too hot to enjoy the season, now it is beginning to feel like fall already! If anyone knows where the summer has gone to, leave me a comment, maybe I can get some of it back :)