7/50 - Baby Book

Boy, #7 already? January isn't even over - I have to say I'm proud of myself!

This project is 4 years in the making. My nephew (friends kiddo) who is now over 4 years old finally has a baby book. Back when he was born I had bought an inexpensive scrapbook kit and told my friend that I could put together a baby book for her.
I sat down and planned out some pages then got super intimidated...
What if it sucked?
What if she hated what I put together?
What if I regretted cutting some things?
What if what if what if... ugh

So there it sat... eventually being put in storage.

A little over a week ago I came across it and brought it home. I stared at what I had ready (oh but mind you NOTHING glued!) and then I bit the bullet and said 'fuck it! get this thing done already!'

So I did. Its simple and I'm happy with it. And hopefully she is too!



On another note, its been a hard week for me! I've been having a hard time getting my sleep schedule to work with me so I've been doing a lot of sitting and being lazy. It felt good today to finally DO something.

I cleaned my ceiling fan!
Seriously... freakin nasty dude... yeah, I took pics lol



OMG bug! (thankfully it was dead!)

pretty!

ahhh much better


Right after I took that last pic I heard a faint cracking sound... promptly said 'SHIT' and took the cover off to see a nice crack forming. Patched it the best I could and wrapped the whole edge with electrical tape and stuck it back up (more gently) Hopefully it doesnt die anymore!
I had tried cleaning it when I first moved in, but it was so dirty I had given up.

The weather in Portland has been oddly warm - last weekend I brought out the bunnies to play in the grass.

6/50 - Wall Art

I got my order from naokosstoop and promptly got to work to get it on my walls.
While the big print was still on its way I checked her shop to make sure I would get the right size frame.
On Monday I asked mom to go to goodwill with me and found a nice simple frame that was marked for the right color to be 1/2 off!


The big one ended up being $1.99
and small ones were $0.99 each (two were 1/2 off from $1.99)

On Tuesday I used my Dremel to sand off the finish on the large frame


Then I went to WalMart and picked up a can of black spray paint for $0.96!

Oh, I also received the large print in the mail on Tues!

I am really trying to be frugal with anything I'm crafting and was concerned about the cost of a mat for the larger print (and knew I could figure something out for the small ones)
Then I remembered I had red wrapping paper I bought from Ikea a year ago so I figured 'wouldn't hurt to try!'


So after some Xactoing and lots of measuring I finished and now have wall art!


I apologize for all the reflection!

My clock used to be on that wall so...
BONUS PROJECT!

Before:

After:

I had to find a new home for the clock so I thought Jack could keep it company. Then realized... it looks GREAT there!

5/50 - Beam Bling

I am SO excited about this post.
I live in a place that I'm not allowed to paint, so I'm stuck with a lot of white.
One really cool thing about my cozy home is that I have beams. But they are painted, so they kind of just... get ignored.

Before:


I put a lot of thought into the roll of black con-tact paper I bought.
Where I would put it.
What I would cut it into.
IF I could cut it.
Would it be too sticky?
OMG WHAT SHOULD I DO?!
So there it sat, still in its plastic... just... a roll.
Until last night when I got the urge to start a project I had talked to my mom about.

I had to find an image of a hopping bunny... as in the progress of a hop (I dont have drawing talent so I couldnt freehand it!)
All I could find was a pretty small image so I bookmarked it planning to take it to work so I could enlarge it and print it. (This was the other day)
Last night it popped into my head to use my computer as my platform and just trace it onto parchment paper! DUH!
And on I went!
I cut out one 'bounce' but realized it wouldnt be enough so I cut out one more today and finished it up. This was way faster and easier than I had ever expected!

The process:
Find image, enlarge in photoshop to desired size, trace


Cut out with Xacto knife


Put a dab of double sided tape to arrange


Stick them on one at a time and voila!


I LOVE it, this makes me smile every time I look up, and its so eye catching.

4/50 - Fingerless Gloves

I had purchased these super awesome knee socks that with little wear got a hole in the toe!
Sadness happened.
While cleaning out my dresser I came across them and thought "Well maybe I can patch the toe a bit..." then I realized I have around 20 pairs of knee socks and maybe I should just let them go.
But no! The thought popped into my head about hearing someone make fingerless gloves out of knee socks.
So I set them aside to work on after I finished the window scarves.

Heres what I came up with:

Materials - Socks, sewing needle, thread, and scissors.


Cut off the feet


Cut small hole for thumb and sew around it (otherwise you'll eventually have a HUGE hole)

(I stuck my hand in a couple times to judge where I'd want the hole and started it super tiny so I could go up or down from where I first cut - I also used the pattern on the sock so that I could make the two gloves match)

Turn sock inside out and fold down the unfinished end


Tie small knots just to hold down the fold. I did about 7 knots for each glove.


Ta-da!



I love them!

3/50 - Window Scarves (End!)

I FINISHED!


I'm excited, I dont feel like the photos really show how much nicer it looks in here.


I'm also excited that I can now start working on other things!


I was originally going to leave the caps off because I have mismatched sets and one missing. Turns out they look pretty nice though!


And the lacking one I used in the kitchen since its on the side of my fridge anyway it shouldnt be missed.


Its very nice to have some color on the walls!

I've ordered some prints from naokosstoop with Christmas money from my father and I'm super excited for them to arrive to add even more to the walls.

A couple other things I've done since my last post:

Birthday card for a friend


Cupcakes for the BCS game

2/50 - Window Scarves (Cont.)

Still moving along with the window scarves!

I've got five done and have three more to make. Originally, I thought this project would take me longer, but I guess I'm determined to get it done!

Last week I only had one bar up on one window. As of today I have all four bars installed and ready for their scarves!

I'm actually hoping to get this done super quick so that I can post about something else!

(First picture is closest to the true green, second is closes to the true red)

1/50 - Window Scarf

I finished one window scarf before New Year and have just finished number 2. I have 4 windows in my place and plan to make about 2 for each window (depending on the look, maybe more!)
I've just done a simple straight knit, no pattern.
My windows get so boring when its not a holiday and the window scarves I already had were way too long so I figured I could make a project out of it!
(I'm really going to try to get to the decorating of my walls/windows this year)


These two will actually be split up once I take my Christmas decorations down and mount the poles. I plan to do a black, green and red theme (since those are the main colors in my place).



I have all kinds of yarns already that are the right coloring so this one is a big stash buster!

50/52

I've joined the task of 52 in 52 (or 50 in 52).
This is 50-52 projects in 52 weeks.
I seem to have a hard time crafting throughout the year and would really like to keep it up.
My mom has also joined and we're decided to also stash bust along with it.
We both collect and collect all kinds of cute crafty things we like... THEN HOARD THEM!
I'm really trying to overall use more of what I have and save money (not just in crafting, I'm going through my kitchen and going to use whats in my cupboard!)
I started my first project before the New Year so the 1st part to it I'm not counting.
The 2nd part I just finished today so 1/50 is complete! (That will be the next posting)

Some things I want to make in this time:
Window scarves - Done!
Window ornaments
Make more greeting cards
Birthday gifts for friends (not sure what yet though)
Baking (new recipes!!)
-Make something with Yeast
-Make marshmallow fondant
-Make something using the candy thermometer
Beading (jewelery)
Sewing
Printing a bunny on pillows and storage containers
Purse organizer
Contact Paper bunnies for ceiling beams - Done!
Paint/Revamp sewing box
Shelving for S&P shakers
*I'll keep adding to this as I think of new things to do throughout the year*

As I said in my first post I'm not going to beat myself up if I don't keep up with the blog portion of this - I had never planned to blog about it!

A Fresh Start

I've exported my old posts so I could have a fresh start.
I don't expect to keep this up very long - I never do!
However, I've been wanting to track my projects a bit more than just posting them on a forum.
So with lots of thought, and no commitment here I go!