A little bit of my crafty side....

Who doesn't love Pinterest???  It's the best thing ever created.  I hope whomever did is now a billionaire because they are awesome!  I have learned so many things off of there.  Want to know how to cook something?  Go to Pinterest!  Want to sew a project and don't know how?  Go!  You'll find it.  It will be there, along with 50 thousand other tutorials for you.  I would love to say that I'm this mastermind that can come up with original stuff, but I'm not there yet.  As far as sewing goes, my feet are still wet.  Some days my sewing machine and I don't quite see eye to eye.  So there have been a few things that I've been wanting to learn.  1.  Infinity Scarf (I love these stinking things).  Could you not wear these every day in the fall?  I could! 2.  Decorative pillow case that could easily be taken off and washed.  Aaaannnnnnddddd......BOOM, Pinterest had it.  Now, I usually would give credit to the tutorial I got it from, but truly, I looked at so many today and kind of made my own thing up.  There literally were hundreds.  So here is a little look at what I did today:

 

With all of the tutorials I found on Infinity scarves, I didn't really feel like any of the measurements were what I was going for, so I finally found my own.  24 inches wide and 75 in height.  Crazy I know!  You use a ton of material for those things.  The pillow turned out so cute!  The vintage doily on the front I actually bought in Canton, TX at the Trade Days Fair.  I had seen another little booth there that gave me the idea of putting these cute vintage doilies onto a pillow.  So that's what I did!  I sewed it right on the front.  I let my stitching show because frankly, I think it's cuter that way.  The back was so much easier than I thought it was going to be.  And, I used antique flour sack that I had purchased at a Flea Market.  I love this envelope style on the back.  If something happens, you take it out and wash it.  Wow, I'm beat!  This is more sewing than I've done in a very long time!  I definitely have missed it!

Homemade Rice Hot/Cold Packs

 

 

My newest creation...homemade hot and cold packs.  I would like to give credit to where I saw these cute little things, but I simply don't remember.  I saw it a while back.  We have been busy with this continuous remodel we have going on, and in the midst of it all, my son asks if we can move his room to another.  At first I was reluctant, but when I got to thinking about it, I realized that my sewing machine could go into his "old" room.  It was like sparks flew through my head!  His old room is one of the largest rooms in our house.  I always hated sewing in the other one because I felt cramped.  Well, the moving around of 3 rooms is now finished and I am happy to add that I am able to sew more now and like it!  I actually had these square scraps from a rag quilt I had done for my nephew, and they are lined with flannel to help keep the heat or cold in longer.  I simply just stitched them together right sides in and left a little hole, turned them, filled them with rice and machine stitched closed.  Dada....cute, simple, fun!!  

Live Simply

Not the greatest picture but a little something I put together for a craft fair....which, I have to add that I actually sold!!  This was my first sign to sell & it made me happy!  I'm finding it hard to actually get things done that I want to do.  With 2 jobs now, a remodel underway on our house & a shop overwhelmed with things that I should probably get rid of, it's a bit overwhelming.  How nice is that statement though...."Live Simply"?  Everyone should try and do that.  I have made a promise to myself that this year I will try to declutter a bit and just live simply.  The world would be such a better place if everyone did.  As I sit here in the room full of clutter (no kidding), I have such a hard time letting loose of things.  Why?  Is it simply that I spent the money on it and I don't want to waste it?  I'm sure that has to do with a lot of it.  I need to remember to tell myself to just breathe and let it go!  Once I clear out, I will feel so much relief.  Who's with me?

Sign Making

 

 

Here is a little ol' picture of one of my latest creations....my Love sign!  I made it out of old barn wood that I got FREE from someone!  Yes, FREE!  Those are always the best!  I saw a sign like this posted and had pinned it to my Pinterest account in my "to create" file a while back.  The O is made into a heart with fabric flowers that I rolled.  Now, I had never made fabric flowers before....I taught myself using the Internet from some very crafty people.  Who would of thought making flowers from scraps of material??  At first I thought that surely I had enough flowers, but when I started filling them in, I realized that it was going to take quite a few.  To glue them, I used the hefty E6000 glue, or something of that nature.  I thought the sign turned out great.  I think it's my hubby's favorite too.  We were going to keep it for our house when we finally get going on the remodel, but I decided to donate it to a benefit auction for Saturday.  I can always make another.  I am finding that I get so much done for benefit auctions that I haven't really had time to make anything to sell or keep!  That's ok though because it definitely gives me time to perfect my art! And I think that you should always give back to help others in need! 

 

Some more pics of the flower process: 

 



Apparently I can make dolls!

Who knew that hidden inside this body, was a sewing goddess, who can apparently follow a tuturial perfectly!  Um....ok, maybe not perfectly. I did it though!  Yay me!  I'm finding that if I find a perfect tuturial, I can do it.  I have two of the sweetest little nieces anyone could ever have.  Sassy pants' birthday was in February and I didn't quite have the motivation to get hers done then. Then came the Princess' birthday, and I figured I better get on with it.  I found this tutorial not long ago and thought that it would be awesome if i could do it for the special girls in my family, using my grandmother's fabric.  A good thing to do to get rid of her fabric, and not feel bad about it.  So, if you want a super easy tutorial (except when you sew the arms on the wrong side....who, me??), find Martha Stewart's Black Apple Doll here. I was able to do it, so I'm sure anyone else could.  I'm actually thinking of tweaking it just a little for a better conclusion.  Yes, I said better!  Better than Martha Stewart....can you imagine??
 

Here they are...my sweet girls.

Finding Time to Blog

Since I have started The Nostalgic Owl, I am finding the hardest time blogging on a regular basis.  It's been nasty weather here and I don't get to get out in my shop much the last few months.  I have soooo many projects crammed into this tiny brain! Ugh!  What to do??  I forget to take my camera most places, which I know is a bad thing to do.  Just last week I finished another quilt for a new nephew and forgot to take a picture of it before I gave it to them.  Who does that?  Who forgets to take pictures of their own work?  So, starting from now, I'm going to be better!  I'm going to blog more!  My friend Amy has got me motivated again.  I'm finding out that a few of my very crafty friends also blog & she is one of them.  She is a quilt guru!  Check out her blog at http://prairieharmony.blogspot.com/ She is absolutely amazing and one of the nicest people I know! 

My first Wristlet!

If you are like me you tell yourself that no matter what kind of craft skills that you have, you doubt that you can do even the simplest project!  Not too long ago I found this pattern and of course, I had to "pin" it...thinking that maybe one day I would try it. This girl gives great tutorials and I was able to follow it step by step.  Of course there were times when I had to look up terms on the Internet and read my sewing machine manual for "other" know-hows, but I absolutely love this site!  She does a great job of explaining each step.  Just recently, I have decided I need to get back into sewing.  After losing my grandma almost two years ago, I finally have been able to drag out all of the material of hers that I ended up with.  I'm one of those emotional touchy feely girls that even though it's only fabric, it was hers and I don't want to give any of the projects I do with her fabric away!  I know....I might actually be the hoarder my husband believes that I am (I hope he doesn't read this).  So, each piece of this (mostly) is from her fabric stash.  And since this is my first, of course I can't give this away, right?  Anyway, if you are up for the 4 hours it took me (I'm slow), then you can do it!!  I only ripped seams probably 4 times and the zipper was way easier following her directions than what I have been able to find online.  Just remember, take your time....do not rush projects (my downfall).  I even learned about different "feet" on the machine....who knew??  Here are my pics of my lovely new wristlet clutch!  Enjoy!

What do you think????