I never really liked that song, but it’s was in my head all day as I did the final touches for Super-E’s Egyptian costume. His Egyptian Opera was this evening.

moody Egyptian eyes

The kids did a fabulous job of performing an opera that they created (songs, music and script). Unfortunately, I had to sit through 5 other plays first, in a crammed cafeteria with my little I-guy on my lap, WHILE trying to video tape the performance. The other plays were cute and all, but those folding chairs do not make a pleasant experience for thee ol’ buttocks.

We made the collar together. I used an old piece of black-out lining (for curtains). It has a great surface to paint on and it won’t tear or fray. I drew the design he wanted and he had at it with the paint. Then we put his name on a shirt with hieroglyphics using this table. He LOVED that! I also sewed up an Egyptian kilt to complete the costume.  It was a fun time, but now I’m beat.

Now to bed…yaaaawwwn.
Good night!

I guess I’ve been in a stamping mood lately. I made these sometime last week as “thanks yous” for my swap paticipants.

I really like being able to use several different stamps for layering.

The front of the bookmark has a house, bird, paisley and swirls and the back has the upside down queen with pigtails (that I drew in).

I think Super-E and I will be collaborating on bookmarks for his class mates at the end of the school year. He can draw up the images he likes, I’ll carve them out and then let him stamp away.

This weekend though, we I get to work on an Egyptian costume for a play that he’ll be in for school. Fun!

I made these potholders for the fair this last weekend.  Stayed up really late making them, and wouldn’t you know, not a single one sold.  Ah well, into my etsy shop they will go on Wednesday. They were fun to make and would make a great Mother’s Day gifts.  That’s coming up, you know.

My favorites are the cherries, teapot and ladybugs.  They are insulated with Insulbrite, and have a pocket on the back side for easier handling of hot items.

And because I can’t stop sneezing and scratching my eyes,thanks to these beautiful grapefruit blossoms,  I made more tissue holders.  I really love these.  I made a bunch for the show and sold several.  I put my six most favorite ones in my shop, just in case you have the sneezies too.

They have my signature twill tape on them that say, “Salud! Gesundheit! Bless You!”, just in case you are alone when you sneeze.

Packages of beautiful notecards have slowly been making there way to me. I have received 7 sets so far, and lots more are on the way. It is so exciting and fun to receive packages in the mail everyday. Opening them up is my favorite part. So far, I am very blown away by the talent and creativeness of you swappers!

This is my contribution to the swap. Lots of carving and lots of stamping. It was a nice, quiet, relaxing project.

Adendum:

Don’t forget to check out my Rubber Stamp Tutorial for tips on making rubber stamps.

Blick E-Z Cut,  Speedball Speedy Stamp and Speed-Cut Blocks are all excellent choices for making stamps.  They are high quality, soft and easy to cut with linoleum cutters.  Very safe too.

I realized late this morning that we are having a baby shower at work tomorrow for a co-worker. So, guess what I spent the day doing……

Soft booties, a bib and two freezer-paper-stenciled onesies all tucked nicely into a matching bag for the mommy. I made THIS bag for the same person over a year ago and she has been hinting, ever so slyly, that she would like a pink one, so there it is. Pink and lots of it.

I think this is the 5th (?) time I’ve made this little baby set. It has become my signature baby gift. I will be making a boy one (finally, someone has had a boy!!) very soon.

You can find tutorial links on how to make this set and lots of other baby goodness in the following posts.

* Bibs Galore & using single-fold bias tape

* Baby Gift Set with bag

* More bib sets and randomness

* Big Baby Package for my friends

Also, check out some great onesie inspiration HERE!

Have a fabulous weekend!!!!!

I don’t know what got into me yesterday, but all I could do was make this little box. I was obsessed. I did have a few minor interuptions, like taking Super-E to School, picking him up, making meals, showering, a work meeting, ya know, that daily life stuff.  I’d finish up these minor little set backs, and run back to this little box.  Thank goodness my mom was here to entertain the kids.

It all started with THIS video by etsy lab, which progressed to trying to figure out how to make it out of fabric and with a smaller lid.   After fiddling around with several pieces of paper, I finally got the pattern for this pretty little box.

What is it for you ask?  I have no idea.  A gift, earrings,  buttons maybe.  I’m really not sure why I made it, I just knew I had to and I had to do it NOW.  Now that it is done, I’m feeling much more calm and satisfied. Funny how crafting whims do that.

I’m running out of time now, but if anyone is interested, I can give instructions for this. You could totally figure it out on your own if you watched the video, but I added a few things and made some minor adjustments to the lid.  Anyway, just let me know in the comments.

For the last 3 or 4 years I had wanted very badly to sell my things. I made stuff like crazy (sorta like I do now) but I never did get around to selling the stuff until just recently. Well, the end result is piling up all around me. Clocks made during my clock phase and OH so many other things. I’m desperately running out of room. I bought 100 hair pins in hopes of making pretty hair pins. Only a couple were made. I decided I had to have 15 wood plaques and 10 wooden mirrors… they are all piling around me. The worst part is I’ve moved this stuff twice now and it just seems crazy. CRAZY! I have to get rid of it.

Much of it will go in my etsy shop, some priced for the time, effort and product, others priced to get the heck out of my house. There will be more. I’m nowhere near done cleaning. I’m hoping to unload fabric too. I really need to clear up wall space, floor space and shelf space. That is what I’ll be doing this month. The BIG spring clean-up. In the future I’ll try to post some things first on my blog so that I can be contacted via email for cost of shipping only. I’d like to give this stuff away, but the thought of shipping costs would throw my husband into a definite hissy!

Some of the stuff I made for the art show is in my shop now (check out the sale section too). Newly painted plaques as well as clocks. I’ll be adding more every few days. Pillowcase totes, tissue holders, notecards and bird ornaments are to come, as well as all that spring-cleaning stuff I was just rambling about.

Thanks for all the suggestions for selling at craft fairs. I am definitely putting some of those ideas into action at my next attempt at a craft fair table.

It’s been well over a week since my last post. I’ve been super busy with work, another cold and a small craft fair. Mostly busy making stuff for the art fair that was less than lucrative. Very, very little money was made, but I’ve learned a lot and met some great new people. I had a friend sit with me each day, and that was really fun too.

The first day my set up wasn’t so great. I had Corinne selling very pretty jewelry on one side, and another jewelry table on the other. Basically, people were whizzing by my table without even a slowing of pace or glance in my direction, but they were stopping at both jewelry tables at either side. Okay, I realize that jewelry sells, but c’mon folks!

I went home that night thinking hard about my set up and what I could do to get people to just glance in my direction and maybe slow down a bit to a slow idle. I had cards in a card stand with my pillowcase bags hanging on the same rack, clocks and plaque art hanging on a stand and brooches, tissue holders and little things on a table. I totally rearranged the next day making my table longer, spreading things out a bit. It seemed to help a little and people even stopped to look at my art plaques and clocks, but no buyers. It was extremely depressing. Maybe I need to learn more, rethink what I’m making or pick better venues. I think my prices are very fair. I just don’t know. You can sorta see my set up in my flickr set. Please shout out if you have any suggestions or tips.Everything will go in my Etsy shop this week.

The best part of this art fair, was by far, meeting other great Etsy shop owners! It’s pretty amazing how many there are in Tucson and how super talented they are. Here is who I met~please check out their shops if you can:

Beauties & Baubles
Gift Idea Works
Handmade by Diana
Rainstorm
Joe Momma
Feral Empire
Dragon’s Spark
Chakra Pennywhistle

I’ve got a lot to share. I’ll be posting a lot more frequently from here on out.

This illustration (for illustration friday, word: choose) represents my younger self and my younger husband (15 years younger). I think I chose him, he thinks he chose me, but really it was instantly mutual. And honey, I’ll always choose you because I can’t imagine anyone else making me laugh as much, making me as happy or loving me as much as you do. (Now, you didn’t think I’d make it through an entire Valentines day post without a little bit of sap did you?)

And these are for my little guys. I had a craft date with a new friend today (we had so much fun) and I made the one on the left. When I got home I made the one on the right which is on a different type of cardboard so it looks a bit brighter.

These were the responses from my little guys:

Super-E: “Thanks Mom, it’s cool” Turns around and walks off. (what do ya expect, he’s 6)

I-guy: “Thanks mommy!!! I love it, I love it, I love it!!” while twirling around and looking at it lovingly. Wow, didn’t expect that kind of supreme cuteness! We immediately headed into their room and hung these up by their beds.

The night wasn’t complete without heart shaped pasta for dinner and wacky cake for dessert (recipe courtesy Pink Chalk Studio) Thanks Kathy, it was soooo good!

Hope everyone had a love filled Valentines Day!

You know about this? Handmade Parade’s Vintage Pillowcase Challenge? I saw it a while back and had forgot all about it, until I was reminded by this amazing entry(!!!) and I became totally distracted with this challenge. I knew right away that I was making a sun hat (you have to have a good one if you are going to live in Southern AZ!) only, I didn’t have a pattern. I searched the web, and couldn’t find anything I liked. So, I spent the entire day, messing around with circles, bandwidths, circumferences, diameters and pi!!! Boy did I ever flex that mathematical brain muscle!! Ouch!!

After I got, what I thought was the perfect pattern, I cut out my pieces only to find out that they weren’t sewing up perfectly like my mock pieces had!!! I have no clue how that happened, but I re-worked it a bit (actually a lot) and am pleased. It’ll be good for our morning hikes and for keeping the glaring sun at bay. I also dipped my pillowcase in tea to tone it down a bit. It was a bright white before.

I’m totally going to wear it too! It’s loads better than the ill-fitting one that I’ve been wearing for the last several years.

I used a standard size, thrifted, vintage pillowcase for the outside and lining, a double layer of interfacing for the brim, tea for a tea soak, and a wee bit of thrifted lace.