New Tattoo... Sewing Needle and Thread

I have many updates for the days to come, new toys, new projects, a parade!  But for now, a quick picture of my new ink.

Tattoo by Scott Hale of Tattoo Garden

Changes

Well things have been very busy around here, and I have some big decisions to make in the near future.  Most importantly, do I say goodby to my online presence in favor of my new brick and mortar location?  If anybody out there has faced the choice between selling exclusively from a shop or doing both online and boutique sales, please help!  I am trying to imagine a way to insure no conflict between sales online and in the shop, but I don't have a realtime tracking solution at the moment...  I guess I should just take a moment to  enjoy my little corner of the new 3231 Creatives Fashion Boutique, before I panic about the next step.

All Hallow's Eve

I LOVE HALLOWEEN!!!  Yep, I am yelling at you, but I must to emphasize my love...
It is a well known fact (if you know me) that Halloween is my favorite holiday.  I do enjoy Thanksgiving, and Christmas gifting is cool, but I friggin' LOVE Halloween!

I love costumes, scary movies, and spooky decor.  Oh, and did I mention my husband and I met on Halloween?  We vaguely know when we got married and make an attempt to mark that anniversary, but in reality we celebrate the day that we met, and this All Hallow's Eve marks our 14th anniversary! We will be decorating, dressing up, and trick-or-treating with our son, 'cause that is how we roll.  So, I thought I would share a sneak peek at our preparations this year.

I've been working on my embalming techniques...

and doing a little tinkering...

now to hide the body, in plain sight!

P.S. to make that wonderfully spooky mummy head I started with the instructions given by everybody's gal pal, Martha (watch the video, she is funnier than I thought).  I made a few changes, first off, I used cheesecloth strips instead of paper towels because I had about a yard in my stash.  Secondly, I didn't glue it, my mummy can be completely unwrapped if I want to save the head (since I use my mannequin for displaying my crafts).  And, finally, I sewed up the eyes and mouth with black yarn and added some plastic flies. 

This is a great centerpiece and I like it so much I think I will sacrifice the mannequin head and spray the entire thing with adhesive to keep it for years to come.  What do you think? 

I will share more pictures of our scary decor and maybe even some costume shots next week.

Some Autumn Things

Well summer has finally come to an end.  I am actually glad to see it go, I am ready for a new season and new things.  I love the fall, I enjoy leaves changing, pumpkins fattening, apples falling, and boots!  I adore sweaters and hot beverages by the bonfire.  I even enjoy all the rain I know is headed my way.  But I am getting ahead of myself, for now I will enjoy the early autumn activities of picking blackberries, making pies, and nestling in to my cozy home.

I have been so busy this summer that these first few days of back-to-school feel like just the thing to rejuvenate this mommy.  I have started the final deep cleaning before the cold sets in (it is hard to do this when it gets wet here in Washington, so winter isn't the time to clean).  I rearranged my living space yesterday.  The light is terrible this morning, but here are some pictures anyway.

Last night I lit all the candles and we ate dinner by their light, it was so lovely we decided to let them burn for another hour after we finished our meal.  Perfect way to spend an evening with my boys.

Before I moved to Washington 2 years ago my son attended a Waldorf school.  I try to incorporate ideas from that tradition into our home life because he attends a public school now.  One thing I have been wanting to do is a nature table, but it took reading this great blog post from Tinker Lab to get my butt in gear!  Thank you ladies.  My son is nine, so we can have a wonderful variety of items on our table, including things he has collected (he is really big on rocks).  And underneath I can store some of our games, which seem to have expanded beyond the cabinets ability to hold them recently.
 

 

 Along the same lines I also try to keep my son interested in the fiber arts.  He learned to knit and crochet a couple years ago, but it is difficult to keep him interested in these activities.  A few days ago he discovered the Coco the Cat series in Crochet Today magazine, he thought she was the cutest thing ever.  He wanted one so bad I made her up while he was in school Tuesday.  He crocheted her scarf that evening (with much complaining about the difficulty, he was very rusty).  He is very excited about her and wants her to have 100 dresses!  The boy even had the audacity to tell me I should make her a dress a week since I wasn't working on my sweater a month anymore!  From the mouths of babes... so be on the look out for my next sweater, I have a couple that need to be written up, and then I better get back on track for the one a month, I'm being watched!

Back to School

This week I have been working on some alterations for my daughter.  I love vintage, and felt it was time she worked a few pieces into her wardrobe (she is beginning her Senior year in less than a month).  She usually wears the usual teenage girl's uniform of jeans and a tank top so this is a stretch for her, but I hope the tailoring helps her see you can make a vintage piece look and feel like it was made for you.

Vintage lace added to the hem of a cute printed skirt

A cute wool skirt taken up to become a mini

And the most amazing pair of vintage Italian jeans!

The skirts were very basic changes, the first one I simply added the vintage lace to the hem with my machine, done in less than 10 minutes.  The wool skirt I took about 6" off the hem and then gave it a new hand-sewn rolled hem, this one took longer, but still used very basic sewing skills.  Both of these skirts could be done by a beginning level sewer.  The jeans required lowering the waist and tapering the legs, but they were so worth the effort.  I think these may be the most rockin' pair of pants ever.  It doesn't hurt that the jeans cost about $5 and then we found $2 in the pocket!  I also did up a pair of skinny purple jeans and a cute little black vest for her, having items tailored to fit you just right makes all the difference in bringing new things into your fashion repertoire- it is hard not to feel comfortable when things fit "just right."

The 10 Foot Rule

I just completed my "cooler cooler" project!  I love it.  It is homely and slightly inconvenient, but from 10' away it looks like a million bucks! And in the SCA that is good enough (for most people).  A big thank you to the folks over at Honor Before Victory for yet another awesome idea.  This is basically a cooler covered in brown paper and varnish.  My cooler was a slightly different model from Gregor and Genoveva's so I made a few modifications.

First, I had a weird lip on my cooler that made it so the top didn't actually come down to meet the sides.  I decided to use a strip of faux leather to hide this after it was all covered in the paper.  It actually worked pretty well, my only complaint is the fabric has enough stretch to conform to the shape of the lid so it got a little tight on the sides, but it looks great (you just have to be careful the cooler seals properly when you close it).  The faux leather was just a scrap I had lying around from Halloween so it wasn't quite long enough and I had to use two pieces to wrap around the lid, if I had my preference I would have used one continuous piece. 

Secondly, my cooler did not have handles, but it did have weird holes in the edges of the lid, go figure.  I have no clue what these hole are for, maybe you can lock the cooler to keep out Fish and Game? (kidding)   So, instead of wrapped handles I decided to put a braided cord on either end to make it easier to lift the lid (this is especially helpful because I covered the lip intended for use in raising the lid).  Finally, my cooler had cup holders in the lid, this is the most obvious non-period detail about the whole thing and I will probably cover it with a cutting board most of the time... but I know we will want to use those cup holders so I didn't want to cover them permanently. 

 

We will debut this bad boy at Boar's Hunt this weekend, with a little luck it will keep everything cold AND look good enough to pass peer scrutiny!  

Blacksploitation Barbie...

Today I am sharing a deep, dark, hidden secret- I still like to play dress-up!  What?  You already knew that about me?  Oh, well... I bet you didn't know that sometimes I give my outfits names.  Like today's ensemble, I called it "Blacksploitation Barbie," but it could have also been named after whatever version of Better Homes and Gardens was aimed at the black hostess of the '70s.  I rocked my favorite mini mumu with denim short shorts, and lots of accessories.  Since I shaved my head I feel like I can really get away with some fierce/fun looks including lots of make-up and bling.  Sadly I had nowhere to go today, but I looked fabulous while I sat around my yard and painted my nails.

More importantly, I have made it to the half way mark on my embroidered bodice!  Next step embroider the straps with a border, this is simple and will give me a much needed break from the main design.  I will need to pick up some more floss, I am running low on a couple of the colors already.  Then I will trace the completed half of the design and transfer a mirror image onto the other half of the bodice and embroider that too.  I think this will be done in about two weeks, then I can make the dress to go under it!  I am trying to decide between purple and green for the dress, right now I am leaning toward purple, but I am open to suggestions.

Restless Rhymes With Rainy...

 

Rasberries!  I am having a twitchy, itchy, restless kind of day.  It is still raining and I can't get outside to wiggle.  I think it is time to bust out my hula hoop and have a private dance party, yep, I said it.  **sigh**  But first- I made this great top in an attempt to feel productive.

You can find the tutorial over at Her New Leaf, a fun blog about DIY and such.  It is super simple, but I will let you read the tutorial and see for yourself.  The only changes I made were to cut the neck out of a long sleeved T-shirt and cut smaller slits, then I used the described technique, and finally made a little bow out of a strip of the leftover neck and sewed that on over the beginning hole.  

Thanks to my recent stint in retail I have some icky "work clothes" and I do use that term very loosely, these are horrid retail slave appropriate, not for an actual job (sorry retail slaves).   Instead of disposing of these sad little mishappen soldiers I would like to repurpose them.  I actually have two more shirts just like this one but in green and black to spruce up later, and I am taking suggestions.  Have you done any great T-shirt makeovers?  I have lots of very rock'n'roll ones with fringe and ties and such, but I could use some more lady-like options like this.

Now, for some hula hooping

Little By Little

I am working away on my embroidered bodice.  Here is a snapshot of my progress, hopefully nobody will ever look this close while I am wearing it, and I can get away with the sloppy stitches!

I Am Useful

Earlier today, or possibly late last night, or both,  I was complaining to my husband about my complete, and utter lack of motivation.  I was waxing poetic about how I have no ambition and it troubles me, blah blah blah.  Then I proceeded to trace out the lovely pattern I wanted to embroider on my skirt (to go with the bodice I finished yesterday while recovering from the stomach flu).  And in the process of laying the first few stitches it dawned on me that I am VERY ambitious.  I may not have "goals" in the traditional sense, you know making money, saving the planet, being remembered for my amazing contributions to society, but I DO STUFF.  There, I said it, I validated my existence, I do stuff.  In fact I MAKE stuff, yeah, that's right I make all kinds of stuff, and I like it.  So, next time I get all, "woe is me, I'm a useless skin sack,"  I will try to remind myself that I'm a valid use of space, I make things, and that is something, dare I say, special...

So here is a quick pic of the bodice, please forgive the dummy, she isn't as voluptuous as me, and a close-up of the embroidery project.  By the way the embroidery pattern comes from Kathryn Goodwyn's amazing work Flowers of the Needle.  Go check that out, it is an amazing FREE resource.

Slightly Modified Butterick B4669

Epic Fail, Followed by Success!

Sometimes when I pick up a new craft it reminds me of reincarnation.  I feel as if my hands have done this new thing a thousand times before.  I wonder if that is what instinct in animals feels like, if a bird flying south for the first time has the same feeling as me with a loom in my lap.  I wonder if humans have developed any sort of instinctual connection to old crafts... and then I have another cup of coffee and do some dishes and get back to normal, shallow, everyday thoughts.  Other times I can't figure out a new craft to save my life!  Today was one of those times. 

I ordered cards for tablet weaving when I ordered my loom and I have been waiting like a kid on Hogfather's for them to arrive.  I opened them and got to work the second they arrived today, around 11 am.  They were so cute and innocent! 

 I read the instructions I had printed from the internet, and a booklet I had picked up for parents and children.  I thought, how hard could it be? Children as young as 5 can do it, the booklet says so.  Apparently I am not as capable as a kindergartener.  By the time my son got home from school I was ready to cry and throw things!  These lovely photos show you the mess I made.  Pattern?  What pattern?  I simply couldn't get it working.  So frustrating...

Then something clicked, I had my aha moment, I figured out where I had gone wrong and suddenly the patterns were there, like magic!  I was so excited.  I made a sampler of four different patterns and they all worked out beautifully!  I can't wait to make some trim tomorrow when my brain is fresh enough to warp the loom again.  I do love learning, it just goes to show you the old "try and try again" is true as ever.  Good luck in your own learning endeavors.

Cluny the Scourge!

I am in the final count down to my son's birthday party, seven days to make magic.  I woke up excited and a tiny bit overwhelmed this morning.  Yoga helped settle my nerves, and a list of things to do daily until Sunday has given me back the control I needed.  I have a lot to do, but it is very manageable.  Heck, most of it is pretty fun stuff.  Today's big goal was getting the paintball target made before my guy got home from school.

Check! and with plenty of time to spare.   I will be putting this in the washer to clean up stray pencil marks and then it is complete.  This villainous rat is Cluny the Scourge.  He turned out great (if I do say so myself).  I will get some better pictures when he is mounted on Sunday, but in this quick pic you get the idea.  The drawing was done on a twin sized flat sheet, so Cluny is about 6' 8" tall.  My son and his friends will be using this guy for paintball slingshot target on Sunday.  I think he turned out right scary!

This project is an adaptation of something I did for my daughter many years ago (she is almost 17 now!).  I made a giant coloring sheet for her and a friend by drawing a scene with black sharpie onto a white sheet.  I set it up on the lawn and let her and a friend paint it.  Then we hung it on the clothes line to dry (and it quickly became a fort).  I assumed the "washable" paint we had would wash out and we could re-use it.  Silly me!  If you want to do this for your kids test the paint first, make sure it really is washable and you will get more than one use out of the sheet.

Now on to the next item on my list...

Expanding the Handmade Lovefest

Pay It Forward

Back in January a friend of mine posted a wonderful pay it forward thread on his FB page.  He was making handmade gifts for five friends if they would do the same for five others, thus paying it forward.  I jumped at the chance to make AND receive a handmade gift.  These are two of my favorite things!  Well imagine my surprise when I noticed this lovely post from This Enchanted Pixie Blog.  As luck would have it I am her lucky number three! 

I am so excited to continue the handmade lovefest here on my blog.  So, the first three people to comment on this post will receive something handmade from me this year.

The only rules are:

• you must do a similar blog post and make something special for the first three people who comment on it
• and send me something handmade in return

Now, if you want to play along just comment below; the first three participants will get an exciting handmade gift from me!  Oh, and if you actually know me personally and are playing along over in FB land, please don't double dip!