More Projects

A few days after beginning my adventure in sewing, I thought it would be fun to see if I could make a Raggedy Ann doll.  So I bought a pattern (this one) and started with some fabric I already had - a gold and ivory gingham.  I wouldn't say it was easy, but it wasn't as impossible as I thought.  The directions called for her face to be embroidered, but I couldn't figure out how to do that after she was stitched together, so I painted it instead.  

I was pretty proud of this first little Annie (the one on the left) with her sweet expression and red hair, and was excited to show her off to Mom and Grandmother.  I decided that she might like to live at Mom's house, so I tucked her behind a basket to play a game of hide and seek. ;)

I couldn't wait even 24 hours before starting on the next projects, so Saturday I made this jack-o-lantern.  He's cut from a pattern I drew and made from osnaburg.  I painted and sanded him, then brushed him with Coleen's mixture for aging her "babies" - that recipe is here.

And because I liked the first Raggedy so much, I wanted to try another.  This one is made from osnaburg as well, and aged with Coleen's mixture (recipe above).  Her face, tights, and shoes are also painted, and she's holding a grubby security blanket made from an old floursack towel that's been aged as well. 

 I've had a lot of fun with these projects, but wasn't getting much else done.  Really, the house could have been falling down around me and I wouldn't notice!  So I'm taking a break for a week, then can't wait to get back to work on some more projects swimming around in my head.  We've even got a place in mind to set up the sewing machine on a more permanent basis.  I'm actually looking forward to cold winter days!

More Crafty

I went a little haywire at Joann yesterday, so there'd better be some finished projects on the horizon. I'm not good at sewing by any stretch, but what I lack in talent, I'm trying to make up for in enthusiasm.  And supplies!

Sew What?

Sewing and I have a long and complicated history, starting in 7th grade Home Ec.  Long story short, the teacher would not even grade the shirt I made which resulted in me spending the weekend at my Grandmother's making a pair of shorts to turn in instead.  I tried again in high school Home Ec, with slightly better results, but not by much.  I believe high school was probably the last time I used a sewing machine.  

 So, 20-some years later, I have borrowed my Grandmother's sewing machine.  I'm hoping that somehow her machine is blessed with her sewing skills!  I sat down at it last night for the first time.  My first attempts are in the picture above.  The machine was already threaded, but came undone after those first two lines.

 I huffed, I puffed, I read the book.  Got it threaded, only to have the bobbin thread disappear into the nether regions of the machine.  I read, I huffed, I puffed, I texted Mom, I nearly gave up.  But, somewhere in the depths of my brain, I remembered a few things from those Home Ec days.

 I got it threaded again and went to town, trying out different stitches and attempting to make straight lines.

 I decided that I needed a little project, so I made this little pillow.  I didn't have stuffing, so like my pioneer ancestors before me, I stuffed it with strips of old Hanes t-shirt.  What...you doubt my version of history? ;)

I'm already looking forward to seeing what I can make this afternoon!

It's Pinterest's Fault

The Ozark Craft Fair is my favorite of all the fall festivals, and for the last few years, I've taken a vacation day so Mom and I can go on the first day of the fair.  We didn't buy much this year, but it's still fun to look around.  Some of the crafts are really impressive, while others, well, not so very much.

Even though we didn't buy much, I still had the crafty bug, so on Sunday I got busy.  I made a set of fall nesting boxes for Mom, painted a pumpkin on canvas for a friend's birthday, made 30 gingerbread men ornaments for a Christmas tree idea that's brewing in my brain, and made 15 salt dough candy canes for another project.

I realize it's a little early for Christmas, but I blame Pinterest!  Actually, Pinterest gets credit - or blame - for every one of the projects that I did Sunday, as well as the Crockpot Jambalaya that I made for dinner.

September Catch-Up

September and October are usually busy months at our house.  Usually busy with fun stuff, but not always.  This September started with a trip to Illinois to attend the funeral of David's nieces husband.  It was a very sad and unexpected loss.  While we hated the reason for the visit, as is often the case at funerals, it was nice to see some family we don't normally see.  David's two great-nephews were the highlight of the trip for sure.

The Tuesday after Labor Day is the annual dog swim at a local park.  This year it rained and was delayed by lightning.  Once they were able to open, the rain continued, but the pups didn't mind.  Riley swam and swam and then swam some more.  We finally took him home when we were worn out. ;)

 The next weekend, we camped at Table Rock Lake for Bass Pro's Outdoor Days with the Off Road Camping Club.  We only see them once a year generally, but they're such a fun and welcoming group.  David got to try out a fat tire bike - he couldn't wipe the grin off his face!

 Riley camped all weekend with us and was a great camping dog.  He also guards our area after dark - maybe a little too well - with growling and barking at anyone who dare walk by.  We didn't have as many friends come by as when the event was held closer to home, but my faithful Mom and Dad still came, bringing cookies, cake, and other birthday goodies!

 As much fun as camping was, it was still pretty nice to come home and put on some soft new socks and relax.  David's birthday fell on the night we were getting ready to camp, so we had take-out Chinese.  My birthday fell on the day we came home from camping, so we had pizza.  Not our usually birthday celebrations, but fun nonetheless!  I got to open my birthday gift from David while we camped - it was a REALLY great surprise!  I'll tell you more about that in a few weeks. :)

 The rest of September was filled with crafty projects, pedicures, good food, and good friends.  It's a rough life I lead, isn't it?

Some great things are coming up in October, and I'll try to do a better job of updating!

Pumpkin Art

One pumpkin painting led to another then another.  I saw a picture on Pinterest that said "I never met a pumpkin I didn't like" and thought that would look cute on the three paintings, so I added the words with a brown sharpie.  Normally three family pictures hang here, but these just seemed to fit so well like they were made for the space.

Happy Almost Fall!

Pinterest and Etsy have given me a bad case of crafty fever lately.  I have a long list of fall and Christmas crafts that I want to do, so on a cool-ish day in August I got started.

 No craft is complete without hauling out every possible supply.  All crafts shown have been supervised and approved by Gracie.

 My first project was a sign.  I had saved a scrap of wood in the garage, so with a free board and supplies I already had, I was ready to try a practice sign.  I think it came out pretty good.

 Christina and I had a pizza and painting night, using the instructions found here and here.  We were both a little nervous to get started, but much to our amazement, it worked!

 We liked our first pumpkins so much that we painted another canvas of pumpkins.  Not sure why this picture won't turn sideways.

 And my most recent project was a set of nesting boxes for fall.  This is my first attempt at a crow.  He's supposed to be holding a star on a string in his mouth.

 I'm pretty happy with the way they turned out too, and it was fun to do.

 And last, this is not my personal crafty project (although I wish I was so talented!) but one that I purchased on Etsy (From the Farm Primitives).  They're fabric apples with twigs as stems.  They even smell good!