Button Sheep

I saw this post and was instantly in love, it was such a cute, unique idea that I knew I'd make one. 

I was a little worried about having enough white buttons but you can't even tell I made a dent in my button stash.  I was really lucky, when I started crafting my Mom was more than happy to unload some of her craft supplies so she no longer had to store them.  Among them was her collection of buttons including all the ones she'd inherited from her Mom, I have an awesome container of unique ones.

I decided one evening it was time to start a new craft but it was too late to get any green fabric, I also needed a frame so I went to Micheal's.  I'm not actually very happy with the frame I got, I hate how shiny it is but it was cheap and the right size.  I have visions of spray painting it but for now I was too lazy and hung it as is. 

I also found at Michael's a green canvas bag for $1, I figured that was perfect so I took the back of the frame out and used it as a guide to cut out a square of fabric.  I should have done this last because I didn't leave any room for fraying and I did a lot of handling of the fabric.  Halfway through I stopped and very slightly trimmed with my pinking shears but the damage was already done and if you look at the right angle you can see that I didn't have quite enough, oh well.

I made very few changes to what Fowl Single File did, really the only thing I changed was the face.  I didn't want to use a french knot for the eye because I thought it was too small, I wanted something a little bigger.  Initially I decided to use felt and I came up with this.

Two things wrong, 1. It's in the wrong spot.  2. It's just plain scary.

I unpicked and ended up using the end of a dressmaker pin.  I just used pliers to cut off the head and then I hot glued it on.

If I'm really honest about this piece I'll admit that it really didn't turn out as cute as I thought I would.  I don't know what's different about it that I don't like but it's not a piece that I'll keep around forever.  It's hung in Catie's room beside her butterfly picture, I wanted to put it on the other side but I was afraid she'd be able to grab it.  Like I said, it's fine, if not slightly random in her room.

Here's the original which I love, and then mine which is okay.

Looking at them side by side I'm sure it's the colour of the green that I'm not happy with.  That's not something I'm going to change since I had to sew all those buttons on with different colour thread, I'll just have to learn to love it.  Her vibrant green is really a lot cuter than mine though.

Dizzy Daisy Watch

Have you seen the new watch trend?  It's a watch face with a removable band made up of big beads?

 My Mom LOVES them.  She owned two already and was excited to organize a watch party with Dizzy Daisy Bead Co.  I had seen her's and thought they were very nice but was only mildly interested.  She invited me to her party and I came mostly because she was worried no one else would, I had no intention of buying one because honestly they're a little expensive.

I knew I was in trouble when Jody showed up and started pulling out all of her beads.  My parents have an L shaped counter and a small island, before long they were both covered in containers full of the most beautiful beads I'd ever seen.  I knew I was in trouble.

First you pick your watch face, here were 3 or 4 I loved but finally settled on the turquoise one.  Once you've picked  your face you then get to pick your beads.  I initially picked enough to make about 4 watches and had a hard time narrowing it down.  Eventually I was able to pick out an order I loved.  You string them and it's done, ready to attach to your face.

Here's a close up of some of the beads.

The big black one has fun sproingy silver metal around it.  The metal one was stupid to thread but looks great.

I love the polka dot one and the crackled one on the end is gorgeous. I love the chunky white cube.

Here are the one's Mom made, all jumbled together.

You should organize a party, it was so much fun and I love my new watch!  Mom says she's upset that she can only wear one at a time.


Dizzy Daisy Bead Co. - Custom Watch Design
Jody Gurney - 403-756-2238
dizzydaisybead@yahoo.ca

It's a Giveaway!

My very first to be exact.  I decided it was time and I feel like I have something fun to offer so let's get this going.

Here's what's up for grabs, your very own Framed Quilled Monogram.

These are the two I've done already and I love the way they turned out.  If you want to read more about the two above you can go here or here.  If you win I'll make one in whatever letter you want.  I'll let you choose a basic colour scheme and then I'll matte and frame it as well.  Size will be determined by whatever frame I find but it will probably be an 8x10.

There will be two easy ways to enter, first, become a follower and leave a comment letting me know.  If you're already a follower just leave a comment.

Second, post a link on your own blog telling others about my giveaway for a second entry, make sure you link back to me.  Just come back and leave a comment letting me know you shared.

That's it.  Easy right?

If you win I'll need to email you to talk about colours and the letter you want so make sure I can contact you.

I'll run the giveaway for a week and then at the end I'll use a random number generator to pick the winner.


One last point.  Since I'll need to mail a frame out and it won't be the cheapest shipping charge I'm going to limit this giveaway to Canada and U.S. so I don't have to pay oversea prices, sorry.

Good luck!

Photo Album Embellishment

I went to a craft fair today.  It's something very new.

I'm not sure I'll do another but I'm glad I went.  I took my little girl's necklaces and a few other accessories but I'll post about those later.

I had also decided I wanted a photo album to show some of the before and after jobs I've done re-covering items so I could maybe get a few jobs.  I left this part until pretty last minute so when I went to London Drugs to print my photos I grabbed this book.  It was a great size, 5x7 and I liked everything about it except the word family.

I made some quick little rosettes and glued them on, much better hey?

I actually wanted black and I've been surprised just how many times I've regretted giving Michelle the last of my black broad cloth.  I used what I had on hand and Michelle better appreciate that scrap of fabric :)

This book was a big success and TONS of people were interested, we'll just have to see if any of them pan out.

I Have a Button

It's pretty ghetto, not fancy at all and definitely looks homemade but I have a button!

Feel free to grab one and add it to your site..

<a href="http://laurathoughts81.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src="https://sites.google.com/site/bradwiebe/BlogButtoncopy.jpg?attredirects=0" alt="laurathoughts" width="125" height="125" /></a>

Quilled Monogram - F

As I mentioned in this post, I enjoyed making my first monogram so much that I was happy to make one for Michelle, hers being an F of course. 

Again, I didn't make a tutorial because I got the idea from here, and she gives a great tutorial.

Here are a couple different views.

What Catie Wore Wednesday #6

With the weather turning colder her sweaters are now appropriate and I'm loving all the layering options.  Now I just need a couple more long sleeve onsies for her.

Wednesday

Waffle T - Children's Place
Skinny Jeans - Children's Place

Then we went out later and it was chilly so we added her Roots Hoody and her pink puffed shoes from Superstore.  This was probably the last wear of the shoes, I really had to jam them on.  We went out to return a bass guitar that Brad had rented for the day.

Thursday

Yellow Yo-Yo Sweater - Old Navy (I've been waiting for this sweater to finally fit, it's my favorite)
Embroidered Jeans - Esprit
Little Yellow Hair Clip - The Dollar Store
We didn't go outside today so no need for shoes

Friday

Headband, made by me
Striped Dress - Superstore (It's much to short to be a dress for her so I made it a long shirt instead)
Flared Jeans - Old Navy

And then we went out so we added this hand me down sweater from Old Navy.  I'm not wild about the fur around the hood but everything else about it is super cute.

Saturday

Striped t - Old Navy
Brown Cords - Walmart, I love the heart patch at the knees.  These are actually way too big though so the patch comes below the knee.  She probably won't wear them for again for a while.

Sunday

This dress got more compliments than anything else she owns.  It was perfect for Sunday since it was her birthday, it's the perfect party dress.  I think it's from a boutique in BC but I'm not sure since it's on loan.
The shoes are from Zellers, 7 whole dollars.

Monday
I skipped today because she didn't wear anything you haven't already seen, not even a new combination.

Tuesday

 

 White T - H&M

Grey Sparkly Skirt - Children's Place

Heart Tights - Superstore

Linking to ...

Light Posting

Just a heads up that posting will be light this week.  I'm going to a craft fair on Saturday out in Magrath that you should definitely come to if you live in the area.  It's from 10am to 5pm and I have tons of cute little girls necklaces, ribbon belts and adorable ruffly headbands.

Because I still have some preparations to do I'm not allowed to start anything else until this fair is over.  I have a whole list of fun projects once it's over though so in the next couple of weeks there should be some fun things popping up.

I hope your week involves lots of crafts.

Paint Tip

This summer I've done quite a bit of painting.  There were the Tall Chairs, the Bedside Tables and the Headboard.  This much painting is new for me but I did pick up two handy tips that I thought I'd share.

When you're painting you don't ever want your item to lay flat on a surface, you need it to be raised so your paint doesn't touch.  My Father-in-law has these handy little plastic triangles that you slip under the feet of your project so I decided I should get some too.  I went to Totem, asked about them and they looked at me like I was crazy.  I went home empty handed trying to think of what I had that I could use and I came up with these.

Really cheap plastic clothespins from the dollar store (you can tell from the picture they're well used).  Like I said above, you just slip them under your item to raise it off the ground and paint away.  If you get paint on them who cares?  They're from the dollar store.  I used them almost more than any other item during my projects.

My other tip is what I use for a paint drop cloth.  I went to Value Village and bought a sheet for $2.50.  I tried to buy the ugliest one I could find and I think it's awesome.  It makes me smile every time I pull it out.

 If you look really close you can see my clothespins under the feet of my chair.

One Year Ago

Hard to believe that so much has changed in a year.

This time last year I was in the hospital waiting for little Catherine Mae to make an appearance.  She made her debut at 5:04 am, weighing 8.16 and was 51 cm long. She's completely changed my life in such a wonderful way.  Being her mother is a pleasure and more rewarding than I had imagined.  Below is a very quick summary of her first year milestones.

• Sleeping through the night at 10 weeks
• Rolled over at 3 months
• Solid food at 6 months
• Finally started to sit on her own at 7 months
• Walking at 10 months
• No more formula / bottle at 11 months
• Has 8 teeth at 1 year

Catie is such a joy, she laughs often and is easy to tickle.  She loves to play peek a boo almost more than anything else and is extremely shy.  She's never more cuddly than when a stranger is around.  She is fascinated by dogs and is excited to see them until they start to bark. She loves to swim and likes all food.  If there are stairs around she'll climb them and she sleeps like a champ.  She's always on the go and would run everywhere if only her little legs could keep up.  She's interested in everything, especially if Mommy likes it.  She finally discovered her voice and she's loud, lots of yelling.  Her teddy bear Mr. Brown is very important to her and she blows raspberries often.  She's the best thing I've ever done and almost always the best part of my day.