Swap-o-rama!

Phew! It has been a busy few weeks around here. The boy has been sick again but is now feeling better. I'm hoping that with the weather warming up he will stop getting these nasty viruses! I have also been keeping busy with swaps.

Thanks to whoopdwhoop.com, I have been making hats like crazy. Also, a friend of mine on Facebook started a craft swap group and we completed our first swap a few days ago. The theme was Sci-Fi, and it was really cool. I received my package on Friday, and I was thrilled with what I got. Check it out!

I was amazed at all the cool stuff I got. She made these great hairpins and ring out of bottle caps and filled them with an epoxy.  It was crazy that she made me stuff from bottle caps because I had planned on making her a necklace with one (but it did not work out). And how great are those shoes!? It looks like she hand-painted them. (If you're my swap partner, Allison, stop reading!)

And here's what I sent my partner. I was late sending my package (sorry!) so my partner probably hasn't gotten hers yet. She was a fan of the movie District 9, so I made a couple things with that in mind. Here are some pics:

Here, I tried to replicate a sign from District 9. I put the image together in PhotoShop from some pics that I got from a Google search. I printed it out, minus the red part (because I don't have a color printer), painted in the red part, and then used spray adhesive to stick it to some foam core. I then sprayed it with some Krylon glaze to make the paper a bit more durable. I considered using Mod Podge, but just painting it caused some wrinkling, so I knew Mod Podge would make a lot more wrinkles. Then, I used some brown acrylic paint to make it look dirty. I am really pleased with how it turned out.

These earrings are made from an old circuit board. I had seen some like them on Etsy and decided to give it a go. I used a Dremel to cut out the pieces, and it ended up being more difficult than I thought it would be. I also sprayed on some triple thick Krylon glaze to make them look a bit more polished. I think they turned out pretty well for a first try.

Space food! Who hasn't always wanted to try astronaut ice cream? This I put in as a reference to another of my partner's favorite Sci-Fi movies, Moon. 

I'm most proud of this shirt. I used a freezer paper stencil, and it turned out great! Now my husband wants one. :)

This bag was made from Dana of Made's tutorial for the Hobo Sack. The only adjustment I made was lengthening it in order to accommodate the sign I made. It was made completely from remnants I had from previous projects, and it was a nice way to wrap everything up. My partner has a baby boy, so I figured the bag will come in handy with him eventually, too.

Now I wish I wold have gotten a picture of my package all together, but I'm sure my partner will when she gets it. :)

So, that's what's been occupying my free time lately, plus a few other things here and there. I'm really loving this swap business. I've gotten so much cool stuff from Whoopdwhoop, and I LOVE getting little packages in the mail. :) Our next Facebook swap theme is woodland creatures. It's going to be super cute! Let the swapping continue!

What I've been up to...

Sorry that it's been a while since my last post. Just as he was getting over his breathing problems, Lex came down with an ear infection. This has meant many fussy nights and little sleep for Mom. He hasn't let me get much done in the last couple of weeks, wanting to be held constantly because he has been feeling so bad. Hopefully this will be the last of illness for a while.

I have been able to keep crafting, though! I found this awesome site called WhoopdWhoop. It's a bartering site where crafty people can trade their creations. You earn currency, called whoops, by posting items for trade, inviting friends, and agreeing to swaps. My Raspberry Beret has been my most popular item. Luckily I can crochet between calls at work, so I've been able to turn them out fairly quickly. I've already used some of my whoops to get these earrings. And I think next I'm going to snatch up these reusable swiffer pads.

I just sent out my first beret today, and I decided to have some fun with the packaging. I found a tutorial on making waterproof mailer and stitched one up. I embellished a little with some stamps to give it a sort of signature. It was easy, free and looks great. I hope my swap partner enjoys it!

I'm a big fan of swaps in general. You get to make stuff for others and recieve handcrafted items in return-- what could be better? I've participated in one swap on Craftster. It was really neat. I had to get creative and inventive, and I learned a little along the way.  A friend of mine just organized a sci-fi swap on Facebook. I'm excited to get started on that, too.

Spring!

Spring is definitely here in Arkansas. My most favorite part of Spring is seeing the daffodils spring up, almost overnight. I'm so happy that at my new house we have lots of them in the flower beds.

I can't believe it's already mid March. I have been wanting to plant a vegetable garden for about four years now but have never quite gotten around to it. This is the year that changes! I've already got someone lined up to build me a few raised beds, and I've still got my seed packets from a few years ago. A friend of mine also has the hookup with some potent compost tea and compost so I'm really excited about that. I plan on using the square foot gardening technique that I learned in my organic gardening class at UCA.

I think I'll also try to do some canning this year. Punk Domestics has some great recipes and canning ideas throughout the year. And thanks to the ridiculous amount of cabinets I have in the kitchen at this new house, I have plenty of room to store canned goodies.

This week Lex was at home with a nasty cough that we're trying to finally cure so I made myself useful and cleaned up my desk and craft area.

 What with all the pregnancy, holidays and new baby, It had gotten pretty messy.

I've been feeling the need to purge myself of all the junk I've been holding onto (I get a little sentimental about it), so this was a good start. Now I just have to do my closet and bedroom...

I really do love spring. And I love that I have a great yard with great flowering plants throughout it. It just makes me smile. I can't wait until Lex and I can chill out in the yard. :)

Quilting

So, I'm kind of afraid to say this out loud, but I really want to make a quilt. I have wanted to make one for a long time. In fact, it's on my bucket list (dorky, I know).Thinking about actually starting it--actually buying the fabric and everything--is scary.

I guess I see it as a really big undertaking, but I suppose it doesn't really have to be. And now since I have a baby, it's a perfect opportunity to try my hand with a baby quilt. I poked around the Internet a little and found a couple of patterns that might work. Nothing too fancy--I just want a basic patchwork quilt for him, really. Here's what I found:

Rail Fence Quilt. The colors on this example are a bit too hokey (and girly) for me, but I like that it is a simple pattern.  It also looks kind of like chevrons, which are really in right now.

I love everything over at Red Pepper Quilts, especially the Alice pattern.

I keep seeing Oh, Fransson! mentioned whenever I read about modern quilting, and her stuff is just lovely. I also stumbled across the Modern Quilting Guild site and I love all the inspiration there. If I get into quilting, I would love to start a guild here in Central Arkansas.

I also really like the Family Picnic Blanket by Erin at Decor Allure. It would be an easy first project and I would get a nice big quilt out of it.

I may just go for a simple patchwork quilt of simply different squares of fabric.

 My memaw gave me this great vintage quilt top that is hand sewn. I want to finish it up and make it into a real quilt. I haven't decided on how to affix the top to the backing. I'm thinking about securing it with vintage buttons.

Most likely I'll finish this quilt and then start on one of my own. Who knows, though. As much as I hate sewing granny squares together, I'm not sure if I'll really enjoy it. We'll just have to see. 

May the Force Be with You

When I found out I was having a boy, I was happy that I would not have to deal with teenage girl drama or pay for a wedding.  But, being the crafty lady that I am, I was disappointed that I would not get to make all those adorable dresses, dolls, etc out there in crafty land for my baby. The world of craft is definitely dominated by things for girls. There are so many different accessories and types of clothes that girls can wear. The possibilities really are endless. As a result, boys tend to get overlooked. That's why a couple of my favorite blogs decided to create a series called "Celebrate the BOY."

Dana of MADE and Rae of Made by Rae are a couple of amazing crafting mamas who also have boys. To help remedy the lack of crafty boy stuff out there, they have collaborated to round up some great projects for the BOY. I'm loving it.

Since February's all about the BOY, I whipped up a little something for my little man. I bought some rockin' awesome Star Wars undies from Wal-Mart for V last month. They were briefs, and he's really more of a boxer guy, so they've just been sitting around the house. Last night, I got inspired and got to work. The result:

an awesome Darth Vader onesie!

His daddy was quite pleased. :)

In other news, for Valentines Day, V got me a serger! I am so excited about all the potential things I can make now. Thanks to "Celebrate the BOY," I've also got lots of great ideas. What have you made for your boy?

Ready to go out

One thing I like about my job is that I can crochet or knit while on the phone. It actually helps to pass the time a little more quickly and take some of the stress of calls away. Since I was able to work on it while at work and thanks to the snow storm we had on Wednesday, I got the blanket done in no time.

I love that it has a seat belt hole for the car seat.

The hat size is for a six-month-old, so it is a bit big on him. He'll grow into it, though, and it works for now.


And of course the day that I get it done, it's 60 degrees outside and we had no need for a cute blanket with matching hat. I'm sure there will be some more cold days still to come. Love that Arkansas weather!

Still Here

Wow, the last two weeks were definitely something. I started back to work, and while the first day was hard, I think I'm overall ok with the daycare situation. Lex seems to be doing well-- eating and sleeping like a champ. I swear he gets bigger every day.

I've been trying to get a hang on getting home, feeding Lex, making dinner and trying to get any other stuff done. This week I'm going to try some slow cooker recipes to make life easier.

With all the snow we've been getting here, I've finally found the motivation/inspiration to crochet again. Carting Lex around without a suitable winter hat when I can knit and crochet seemed like a shame. I found some lovely new colors of Red Heart Super Saver yarn at Wal-Mart of all places. They are called Windsor Blue and Tea Leaf. Very English, don't you think? I am in the process of making my boy a matching hat and blanket set out of Debbie Stoller's Happy Hooker. It's gonna be adorable! (pics coming soon)

What have you all been up to?