Thrifty Headboard

So for a while now hubby and I have been bothered by a big empty blue wall space behind our bed.  Recently, I set myself to solving this sore spot for the eyes and came up with the idea for a headboard.  I searched online and found several examples of headboards and several tutorials on making them yourself.  I wanted it to be cheap, but sturdy.  So I bought some foam (the most expensive part of the project, however, I've since found a cheaper way of getting the foam), found a scrap piece of wood in our sign shop, bought some buttons and fabric from the clearance scrap bin that would match the wall color well.  I put them all together and here is the result:

Along with the quilt my mom gave me for my birthday last year, the pillow in front that I made recently from a thrift store t-shirt, and Raffi the Giraffe (upper left corner), I am quite pleased with the result. 

I've also added a curtain to the open doorway to the bathroom and a handmade photo display in the short wall between the open doorway and our bedroom door.  When the door is closed this space was a blank canvas.  However, when the door is open, it covers the space and makes it a dead corner of the room; bare and naked.  Below are photos of the whole space.

I still have a big open space above the headboard to deal with, but hubby is planning to paint big navy and light blue leaves to match our normal bedspread behind the headboard, filling the whole wall.  I think this will fill it in perfectly.  Then the next task will be tackling the horrid closet doors that we never use.  They are always open and sticking out into the room.  Taking them off will open the left side of the bed nicely.  We are thinking of putting another curtain matching the one going to the bathroom.  Then this half of the room will be perfect and complete.

Many Wonderful Things

I've made so many things these past few weeks and have yet to share any of them.  I've been so busy, but luckily not to busy to fit in a project here and there.

I went through a couple week phase of creating stuffed animals, which I like to call stuffies.

 Then I've made some clothing items that I'm rather excited about.  One is a remake of a wrap I bought at a store.  I used the article of clothing I already had as my pattern and the result was close to my desired creation.  I will be making more of them and adjusting the sizes to make the fit a little more relaxed.  I think I will be trying some different materials as well.  The other item I made recently is my very first piece of baby attire.  Please do let me know what you think.

Another thing I've made recently, one of the most needed and practical things I've ever made is this book cover made specifically for my bible.

Bird Stuffies

Birds, birds, birds.  I've been sewing bird stuffies.  These I made specifically for a friend's baby shower.  It's a little big to be a mobile, but it will make a nice room decoration.  I've also been sewing birds in blues and a set in browns.  The blue set will go to another mobile, one of an appropriate size this time (I have a different hanging system in mind) and the brown set will be for my own bedroom. 

Summer is Coming

As I start crafting again like crazy, it comes to mind that I haven't posted anything in quite a while.  Easter was a whirlwind of craft projects ranging from easy to insane.  My church was most gracious in asking me to help them decorate for permanence.  It was so much fun designing, budgeting, shopping and creating.  But, I'm glad it is now over and I am full of gratitude for the many women that helped me make it happen.  We made many silk flower arrangements and that was one amazing craft day.  I made masters and my church friends copied them beautifully.  We also made around 300 bird ornaments to decorate the trees with.  That craft project was immense and very time consuming.  We are all glad that it is over and that we can now sit back and enjoy the fruits of our labor.

Now on to personal crafting.  New projects, new ideas (with some help from my trusty friend, the internet).  There are many things to come this summer and I for one am very excited for this.  My design studio is now up and operational, which helps so much in the flow of creativity.



My first project after Easter is this headband.  I saw the idea online.  Quick and very sturdy.  I broke a sewing machine needle trying to do it that way and so I resorted to just sewing it by hand, then hot gluing the trinkets/flowers on afterward.  Let me know what you think.

Two of a Feather

Hi everyone!  Just a small update.  These are some earrings I've been working on.  Feathers, I must say, are not easy to work with.  They bend and break easily when man-handling them trying to wire wrap and insert them into beads.  They seem to be pretty strong once I'm done making the earrings, but I've gone through a few feathers getting the technique down.   Enjoy!

Jacket Update

Hey there everyone!  I've made several more jackets and this one is by far my favorite.  The material just struck me and I had just exactly the right amount of yardage to make one jacket from it.  This one is super nice to dress up or dress down.  In the photo I've dressed it up and adding the high waist belt was a nice touch, it just brought the outfit together.  I can make these in any fabric you like, so if you have old curtains or you have a favorite color, but no jacket to match or accent it with, let me know and I can make them custom.  Enjoy!

Sew, sew, sew your coat, gently down the seam.

Kinda ridiculous little ditty, but made me laugh when my husband started singing it as he was looking over my shoulder today while I was making the second in a line of quick-sewn jackets.  I've made two so far and have the materials for five or six more.  I can make them custom if you like them and want one in a specific color.  I saw this idea in a magazine a couple days ago and have been itching ever since to make some.  The images below are of the one I made for myself and it's my usual black and gray combo.  Enjoy!

Purses, Purses, Purses!

 

Today I worked on the purse at the top and the two at the bottom were made several weeks ago.  I've been improving the styles, the method of sewing them and my speed from creation to completion over the past few weeks and finally have my system down.  Let me know what you think.  Also, these are for sale so let me know if you are interested in purchasing one of these or ordering a custom purse. Enjoy!

Getting Started

Welcome everyone!  This is all fairly new to me, so the look and feel of this web-blog might change a lot at first, but I will quickly find my niche and everything will settle into place. 

I'm very excited to start posting the projects I've been working on and in the next few days I should be adding a lot of images and descriptions.  But for now I will keep this short and sweet. 

I'd like to thank anyone who comes to visit this site and I am open to suggestions on design, organization and content, so feel free to comment if you have any ideas or critiques.

God Bless and Happy Crafting!

Desert Firetail Damselfly

K-10