Frock Update

WHEW!! That was fast and easy...now it's lunchtime!!

Maybe these pics will give a better idea how the sash works with the rest of the dress.

Grosgrains: A Frock by Friday!

I'm participating in Grosgrains A Frock by Friday sew-along...I'm SO EXCITED that this talented woman is sharing her secrets and inviting us all to join her!!! I have waited SO LONG for her to have a tutorial of this type!! Yippeeee!! Below are my fabric selections for the dress and optional sash, however, after speaking with my hubby, he'll be wearing a navy uniform this Friday for his fire academy graduation ceremony, so I got to thinking...
Should I stick with my original color combination...or...
Should I match his uniform color?? There is a light blue and navy pinstripe in the fabric, so it's not like I'm pulling it out of nowhere...It's a navy fabric with stars on it...a little too mystical for the stripe pattern, but since I need to go buy a zipper, I could also buy a solid navy that matches his uniform color better. What do you all think?? Maroon sash or navy sash??

I Spy Friday...

I spy with my little eye....a field of corn?? hahaha...maybe in a few more weeks. Looks like a burial site...don't worry though, that's to keep the dirt-digging dog out! I sure look plump too!

Bird Swing Tutorial

I thought it would be fun to share how I made the bird swing for Aprils Year of Enchantment ornament. I was inspired by Spool's bird mobile and I last blogged about it here. They are pretty easy to create if you have all the right tools, and could probably be made for people who keep birds...I'm just not sure if there is any kind of safety issue with any of the parts I used. That would be up to you, bird owner, to decide if this is right for your pet or not. :) Otherwise, it's PERFECT for the Spool bird pattern that I used! Here we go...

Things you'll need:
1/2" thick sticks or dowel
18 gauge plastic coated steel wire
ribbon or mini-garland
ruler
plant pruners
sand paper
pencil
drill
5/8" wood drill bit
needle nose pliers
can of foodWhat to do:After searching and locating the right size twig/branch/stick, mark about a 4" long area to cut out.With the pruners cut sticks at the marks. Try to cut swiftly, this will create a cleaner edge...as you'll see next...This part could also be done with a circular saw, hand saw or the likes, but I wanted to avoid large equipment and/or sawing by hand. See those broken ends?? Sometimes that happens, but since they're actual sticks, and just work with it and keep 'em some-what natural.Sand edges smooth. I angled mine like a pencil to soften the edges as well as straight up in a circular motion to soften the very end.

Turn the stick around to determine which side you would like facing up. (Well, that's just silly, why? Some of my sticks had a dirtier side or a knot in the middle or were slightly bent. Not that it matters, but I wanted the pretty side up.) When you have found "up" mark each stick about 1/2" from each end. Using an edge (table edge, 2x4, step, whatever...I used my dining chair) drill all the way through the stick at each marked spot making sure not to turn your stick.Cut a length of wire about 18" in length, lightly mark or bend the center. Using the end of a stick, wrap the wire around it at the center point, pull each side tight to get that top circle, then twist like a twist tie 1-2 times. Center the twisted point of the wire on a round can to curve the wire into shape for the top of the bird swing.
Push both ends of the wire through the drilled holes on the stick.
Push the stick up the wires to the desired height for the perch, I did mine around 3-4" inches high while keeping each side equal in length. This is a good time to do a little reshaping too, in case it got a little bent out of shape.Mark the wire 1/2 below the wood perch and trim off excess with wire cutters or the pliers. Bend the ends up 1/4" and flatten shut. Push down the wood perch over the exposed bent end of the wire, trying to tuck it into the drilled hole.
YAY! You have a bird swing! Now the final step is to decorate it with a mini-garland. I had mine left over from Christmas, since its a Christmas ornament swap, or ribbon.and then create yourself a perty songbird to perch on it! Like I mentioned at the beginning, my birds were from Spool's bird pattern and are super easy and fun to make.
If you have any questions or any bit is confusing, feel free to ask!

I Spy Friday...

I spy with my little eye...does it always have to be presented in picture form?? Would if I spelled it out for you...what I spied today?? Would that work just the same?? Okay, lets give it a go...

On my drive home from the craft store (YAY! I HIT A BIG SALE!!), I spied with my little eye a lean, thirty-something man with long wavy blond hair, sitting disgruntled on the curb, an overweight woman on a tiny concrete porch with a metal overhang comforting an equally overweight man who was leaning over the tiny metal railing, (perhaps her spouse? perhaps her son?) both looked upset, a tall, burly, older man with white hair and beard dressed in a woodsman style clothing (faded denim and plaid flannel) meandering in a front yard with a huge mottled Great Dane without a leash, and two unhappy-looking women burdened with large items from a car (car seat, big paper bag, stack of books) walking away from a white car hooked up to a tow truck.

In a fifteen minute drive I saw a lot of life and a lot of emotion...today was also 75 degrees for the first time since last summer. Everyone was out and about. It was a BEAUTIFUL day!

Blogging

I just learned how to change a few things on my blog!! Again, I was blog surfing and came across Shabby Blogs with free downloads to add a little pizzazz to your blog. SO FUN!! I love the little owl I added above my visitors link asking "Hoo goes there"...hee hee....so cute!! So what do you think?? I may change it some more, I don't know...it's fun playing with though.

Friendship

Why do people feel the need to lie?? Like, right out lie to you? My particular case involved a friend, who I believe flat out lied. Who I've caught lying to me (regarding the same topic) in the past. They lied to make them look like a better person to me. Why does it matter what I think? I'm not here to judge them? I'm here to be there friend and support them, no matter what they choose in life. So far this friend has made many bad (and to me very frustrating) choices in life, yet here I am, still their friend. Does that not prove that I'm a friend who will not judge them no matter what?? I asked my husband today "Why do we continue to be friends with people who continue to frustrate us?" Right after that I asked myself "Why does it frustrate me?" I don't know, I think it's because the decisions being made are just so unwise that anyone with a sense of what is best for themselves and their immediate family would not want to cause further harm. I really need to learn how to let other peoples idiotic choices go. I really need to learn how to not be so affected by them. It's just difficult. Now I've vented, shouldn't I feel better? I don't. Moving on...

I Spy Friday...

I spy with my little eye...a guestroom??? Where'd it go mom?? (An example of a very serious case of when crafts take over.)

Taxes, Tutorials & Mobiles

I HATE doing our taxes. I don't know why, they're not hard. I'm about 95% complete, I just need my hubby to look them over one final time with me. I don't fully get all the deductions and junk. BLEAH!!! >:(

Okay, now that I've got THAT off my chest, I've been doing some surfing for bird tutorials for this months Year of Enchantment ornament theme "the songbird." I've found so many fun things to make...I just had to share them with you all...
First of all...I love, Love, LOVE this mobile!!! It's funny how you start blog surfing, and one blog talks about another blog, and another and another until you come across a blog that will have a tutorial that you just fall in love with!! I borrowed this pic from their Flickr group, but it was blogged about here at Spool Sewing and they go on to say that they actually have the pattern and tutorial for the birds here. YAAAAAYYY!! I've already made four of them that I'm going to have to photo tomorrow, as soon as I sew up their tail ends. I may make more, I don't know, I was sewing along and thinking about all the different ways to put them together for individual people. Now I have a list of people that I want to make them for.

Random thought: Maybe I should start surfing for mobiles and featuring them here....I've ALWAYS wanted to make one, why haven't I?? I need to put that on my TO-DO list.

I also came across this flower tutorial, it was originally intended for scrapbooking...naturally I'm going to make one and put it on something else. Not sure what yet though. I do have a whole corner of scrapbook stuff, I really should use it or destash it...hhmmm...more food for thought. Prior to finding the flower, I learned about the LollyChops blog. I've added it to my list of blogs to follow. YAY! She has A TON of fun things she creates and shares how to. She recently did a Week of Wallflowers, each day she did a wallhanging with three dimensional handcrafted flowers using all sorts of mediums....yarn, fabric, scrapbook paper, floral supplies, buttons, felt, you name it. My personal favorite: Orange you glad it's Monday. I LOVE ORANGE!!! This is what Lolly Chops created for orange:
LOVE IT!! I just love it when people as wonderfully creative as this share how to create their wonderful stuffs!! Yet another craft on my TO-DO list.

I Spy Friday...

I spy with my little eye, a cat among some jewels.