MST - February 4, 2010

My first Mug Shot photo for the Mug Shot Thursdays Group on Flickr!

Not my best pic, but I love the mug! I sent a similar mug to Rachel on Swap-bot.

E's Baby Shower

I am having so much fun planning a baby shower for a friend at work! I have a large list of things that need to be completed, but I have finished one project and almost finished another - have a look!

This is the sign I plan on hanging on the wall behind the baby gift table. This is not quite finished yet - I still need to attach the back circle of white felt.

I got the idea for this project from a blog titled Everyday Celebrations (http://everydaycelebrate.blogspot.com/2009/10/tutorial-felt-banner.html). She taught us how to make a BOO banner from Fabric and felt. I used her idea, but changed it slightly:

Instead of fabric and felt, I used just felt. I didn't want an 8" base, so I used her 7" circle as my white background, cut my own center circle from blue felt, created my letters in a word editing program and hand stitched them all together. Then I used her pattern for the hanging tabs and attached those by hand. My last step will be to cut 3 more 7" circles from felt and hand sew to the front, giving the back a really finished look :)

Finished so far are the Washcloth Lollipops. I made these to decorate the Diaper Cake with. (I know the blue of the cloth is not Tiffany, but its as close as I could get.)

I got the idea for the Lollipops from Google, when I search for homemade Baby Shower ideas. You just roll 2 cloths together, tape the spoon to the back, wrap and ribbon & voila!

Lots more projects are on the go...I will show you more pics and things soon!

Thanks for reading, Amanda

2010 has arrived!

No resolutions for me this year - I always end up bailing on them anyways. This year is going to be different - setting up some little projects that I intend on finishing in a timely manner :)

My main goal is to get my Etsy shop back up and running. It is a lot of fun & an honor that people will use their hard earned money on my items. I have a lot of items ready to go - but I need to prefect my photography first. I am never happy with my photo's and photo's make the ad.

Hubby and I are planning to build me a dollhouse out of 1/4 inch plywood. I got a book (from 1976, but I love it..) about how to build a dollhouse from 1 sheet of plywood. We are going to use many of the ideas in the book, but not going to build it the same. I want the house to hang on a wall, but I still want it with space for the following rooms; living room, craft room (of course), bathroom, kitchen, dining room, 2 bedrooms and a games room (I want a pool table, darts, mini bar, etc..)

Thanks for reading, please feel free to comment :)

"Pick Your Color" Christmas Ornament

I am really happy with this project! This was for a swap on http://www.swap-bot.com/.

We were to pick from a list of 3 colors that our partner had posted in the comments area of the swap. My partner listed purple, white & red. I decided to use all 3 colors, but with purple as the main color. You can't see the back, but it is purple too. It measures about 4" by 4".

The main body is machine quilted. The trim & hanger are bias tape, which is hand sewn onto the back.

I really hope she will like it!

Baby Bottle Cozies from Felted Sweaters

Hello! This is a tutorial for Felted Sweater Baby Bottle Cozies (or covers). You need to have some pre felted sweaters, if you are not sure how to felt sweaters you can view my tutorial here: http://amandaleestreasures.blogspot.com/2008/09/how-to-felt-wool-sweater.html

Supplies

* Felted Sweater(s)

* Scissors

* Embroidery Floss

* Pattern from here. (Link to be updated - you don't really need one, this is fairly simple to make.)

Step 1. Cut out your pattern pieces. If you aren't using a pattern, but your baby uses Evenflow 8oz glass bottles you can use these dimensions:

1 pieces @ 6.5" tall by 8.25" long

1 x 2.5" square which has been trimmed into a circle.

Step 2. Pin the main felted piece around the bottle.

Step 3. Turn the bottle upside down and place the circle of felt on the bottom & attach with blanket stitch.

Step 4. Use the blanket stitch to work your way up the seam on the main body of the bottle.

Step 5. You are done! You can add applique shapes, or leave as is. I have left this one since I love the sweater pattern, but I have made bottles with hearts, diamonds, and many other shapes on them.

Thanks for reading, visit again soon!

How to Felt a Wool Sweater

My first tutorial will be on felting wool sweaters. I plan on writing a tutorial for felted sweater Baby Bottle Cozies, so you will need to have this step completed first. (Of course these instructions are good for making felted sweaters for any project.)

This can get a bit "fluffy", so make sure you read through the instructions so you will know where to keep an eye on it.


Supplies

* Sweaters (at least 90% wool - this will make a better felt, therefor better end product.)
You can get sweaters from friends, family, thrift stores, Freecycle etc.
* Washing Machine & Detergent
* Dryer
* Scissors

Step 1. Cut the sleeves off the sweater and cut up the sleeve to open it up. (This prevents heavy lines in your felted sweater material.)

Step 2. Cut the front from the back & remove all buttons (if applicable).

Step 3. You can wash all sorts of colors and patterns together, so get to your machine & throw in a load on hot wash / cold rinse. Don't forget the detergent!

Step 4. Clean your poor washing machine, as you will have covered it in little pieces of fluff!

Step 5. Throw your sweaters into the dryer on medium heat. Come back to your dryer every 5 - 10 minutes (use a timer if you can) because there will be a lot more fluff in the lint catcher and the dryer drum - you need to keep those clear to avoid potential issues (i.e. fire).

**TIP**

Shake the sweaters out really well before you put them into the dryer, this decreases the amount of lint a lot! Makes a bit of a mess though, you may want to do it outside.

Step 6. When they are dry, they will be felted. You may need to wash & dry some sweaters twice to get the texture you wish for.

Thanks for reading, please visit again soon!