handmade cass

Last night my husband and I were watching a movie when I asked him to look up typewriters on craigslist. I figured that I could probably get one in okay working condition for about $40.  It was a mistake to ask him to do the search... Thinking that our local options were simply not good enough (and there weren't that many many manual typrewriters listed) he did a bigger search and stumbled upon this {$600} beauty .  Now I'm pretty convinced that I need to have a pink typewriter.  If only I had been looking two years ago this Royal pink one could have been all mine.  Better start saving up my pennies. And by the way - we talked about typewriters for almost two hours before he actually asked why I needed one. :)

I have been thinking about what kind of flowers to give my mom for the last few weeks. And I was sure that I was going to do something with blue hydrangeas, but it all changed when I saw these pinky-orange roses. I think the arrangement turned out pretty good for an amateur, but next time I'm going to try using some flower foam in the bottom to keep the stems from going all over the place. And the reason I had hydrangeas on the brain...I finally found the batik that looks like a blue hydrangea (top row, third from left).  I got the top row selections at Rosie's Calico Cupboard and the bottom row were all Christmas gifts from my sweet mother-in-law. I have a throw pillow from my husband's grandma that has one tiny piece I have been trying to match for a while. Now that I have it I'll have to come up with an awesome project.

It's been too long!   While I was off having a baby I managed to squeeze in a couple crafty projects.  I'll do a quick recap and then hopefully stay on top of more regular updates.  I have lots more planned for this year - quilts, scrapbooks, mini books, cards, baby clothes, applique, and the list could go on and on. From the baby shower...   A whole mess of onesies before they were decorated.  We had a table set up with iron-on transfers, fabric markers and paints for everyone to decorate.  Then I got to pick the winner! I made a felt goodie bag for everyone to load up candy from the candy bar on their way out.  The batik fabric leaves are die cut from the Tim Holtz sizzix die. Yay for the candy bar!  I still have leftover candy corn three months later...  Thank you notes for a co-worker that was having a baby...  I got a set of cards and envelops from Michael's and fancied them up with a Stampin' Up punch, baker's twine from The Tw...

It feels so good to finish a project!  I had this banner done in almost one afternoon and I was so proud.  I had seen a Martha Stewart project for a baby shower that had a mini flag banner as a table decoration and wanted to do something similar but on a bit bigger scale.  So when I found myself with a Sunday afternoon to work on crafts (because it was WAY too hot outside) I dove right in. I remembered that I had some Basic Grey chipboard letters from a while back and was happy to learn that they are self-adhesive!  Did a quick paint job with some Adironack acrylic paint on my trust craft mat. Followed that with a generous coating of the Tim Holtz Distress crackle paint in my favorite copper color.  It took a long time for that layer to dry and crackle - but you can see that it turned out pretty nice!  After about an hour I sanded the edges to get rid of any excess and they were ready to stick right onto the flags. I had a stack of fall themes cardstock ...

Spent the last week making some baby shower invitations and I love them!  Pink vellum overlay with a Stampin' Up woodgrain background in pink pearl ink, and a couple forest animals from Hero Arts and Amuse.  To keep it from being "too pink" I used copper accents with the ribbon and some punched leaves (Marvy Uchida punch with Stardream metallic paper).  The cardstock backing is 100% recycled, as is the kraft envelope.  I showed my husband and he actually giggled when he saw the squirrels.   I've also been sewing some bedding for the crib in our baby room.  The fabric on the top right (from Alexander Henry) is the main one and I have some green batik fabric and an orange print that coordinate like a dream!  Right now I have all the pieces cut and in various states of assembly for a bumper and crib skirt.  Also bought some coordinating fleece for a stuffed hedgehog toy that I saw in Stitch magazine - which is my new favorite!  More pictures ...

With lots of help and moral support from my mom, the quilt that I started two years ago is done and ready for snuggling.  It would actually still be in pieces if she hadn't taken it from me and finished it herself!  I did all of the quilting on the long arm by myself, and helped with the binding (a little).  But it turned out great! Frank has already made himself at home with the quilt and says that he prefers the minky backing for his naps. My mom and aunts coached me on the long arm part of the quilting and made me practice my design on a white board beforehand - that was a good idea because it was harder than I expected!  I decided that I wanted contrast thread colors so you could see all of the hard work I did on the quilting: orange on top and brown on the back. And to finish it off I signed my name in one of the bottom squares.  So glad it's done so I can start on a new project!

I've had a number of reviews go up recently and I've fallen behind on my own personal blog. So here are the links.  Felt Comparison: Acrylic vs. Wool (lots of project ideas) Omnigrid Foldaway Cutting and Pressing Station Westcott Scissors and Paper Trimmers Enjoy! Hoping to show more progress on my Alaska scrapbook soon. Although I'll admit that I've already gotten sidetracked making a picture book on snapfish.com with pictures from a different vacation. It's always something!