Freezer Paper project finished!

Remember the freezer paper stencil from a few days ago? Here's what I did with it!


sorry for more crappy rainy day pics

I used mmmcrafts free basic messenger bag pattern, which I can't say enough good things about. I've tried to make a messenger bag in the past and it was all sorts of disaster, so I was a little scared to try this one.

I was scared for nothing though because Larissa's instructions are crystal clear and straight up dummy proofed. If I can do it, anybody can do it.



The outer fabric is that $5 corduroy that I've been using, the lining is leftover (from THIS project) home dec weight fabric from Ikea. Since the corduroy is fairly light, I also used fusible web to stiffen it up a bit.



The bag has a nice substantial weight to it, which I love. I want to take it everywhere with me! After seeing the finished product, hubby is ok with crafting with freezer paper now, heehee.

Who knew freezer paper did that?

Apparently, a lot of people know about the joys of freezer paper. I'm slow to catch on and only discovered freezer paper stenciling recently. If you google it, you'll find a bunch of tutorials.

Here's what I did:

Step 1: Tell hubby to add freezer paper to the grocery list. Don't mention it is for crafting or you might get "the look."

Step 2: Trace a pattern. I used a pattern that I liked from Jenny Hart's Sublime Stitching. Its an embroidery book, but perfect for simple outlines too.

Step 3: Spend a half hour deciding which way is most comfortable to hold an X-acto knife. Also contemplate which way will be less likely to land you in the emergency room minus a finger. Then cut the shape out (make sure you have some cardboard underneath your freezer paper...don't want to scratch your table). I wanted to keep all my digits, so I went slow and this step took me about an hour.



Step 4: Proudly show hubby your stencil. When he says "is that the freezer paper you asked for?" just smile and walk away. Admit to nothing.

Step 5: Iron the paper onto your fabric, shiny side down. I'm using more of that leftover $5 corduroy as my fabric.

Step 6: Totally optional. My old iron bit the dust (it was nearly as old as Pi) and I bought a cheapie new one at Kmart. So, I also spent a moment admiring how much better this one works. If your iron hasn't gone to iron heaven, then like I said, this is totally optional.



Step 7: Paint a thin layer onto the stencil. I used fabric paint and a styrofoam brush to dab the paint on. Pretty sure acrylic would work too. Now's the hard part...be patient and let it dry. Since it was nearly midnight by this point, I just went to bed. If its a normal time of day and you don't want to wait, use a hair dryer.



Step 8: Wake up. Lament that you still can't have coffee (this is again, optional). Then peel the stencil off!



My stencil bled a little bit in two places, but not enough to make me unhappy. Next time, I need to iron the stencil just a little longer to make sure it sticks completely. That should take care of the paint bleeding.

Step 9: Embellish if you want. I used teal fabric paint and a toothpick and freehanded some details onto the flowers. Its a little rough looking (I'm no artist), but I like it.



Tada! How easy was that? I'll be able to show you what I'm making with this pretty soon.

So go grab some freezer paper and start stenciling stuff.

A whole lotta nothing

Crafting this week = a whole lotta nothing. I've started a few things, but haven't completed anything. Total crafty ADD lately. But the weather was so nice this weekend, that I didn't mind my lack of focus too much.

We spent most of the weekend outside. On Saturday, Piper earned her water safety badge with girl scouts. Sadly, we weren't allowed to take pictures, but it was a trip watching all the girls "rescue" each other in the pool. I'm fairly convinced that at least half of the girls were vying for an Oscar. The way they screamed "HELP!" was drama-worthy indeed.

Sunday was all about family time. We went to see Alice in Wonderland in 3D. I thought the previews looked a little too dark, but Pi has been asking about it. After checking the reviews, it didn't seem like there was anything too bad, so we went to see it.

I enjoyed it and Pi really liked it. It wasn't as great as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but still well done. The one thing that really stood out were Alice's dresses. They were all gorgeous... very couture.


Notice hubby's hands in the background, eating all the nachos.

After the movie we went for a stroll in the park and watched the geese for awhile.



Look how tall the spawn is getting!



This church is right next to the park walkway. Not sure what religion it is, but I think its neat because its so old school. My town was "discovered" in 1777 so there's lots of old stuff around.

We ended the day on a high note... with ice cream from Coldstone. Mmmmm!!

Baby Binky Bunnies

After falling in love with the Molly Monkey pattern by Mmmcrafts, I just had to try the Baby Binky Bunny pattern too. Considering I know so many people who are having babies this year, it was a perfect excuse to give it a go.

The pattern is so well written, that I was able to complete two bunnies in one day. I'm a sewing slowpoke, so this was no small feat.


Excuse the dark pics. Rainy days = bad light

Yarn tails are the cutest little detail.



Each bunny was made with lightweight corduroy that I got on clearance. Their bellies and eyes are made from felt and the details are embroidered. The diapers are made from scrap fabric (the same I used for the first Molly Monkey's body).



The next day, I made the little patchwork blankies that go with each bunny. The ears and blankies were made with one charm pack that I bought at Joanns.



Shhh, they're sleeping!



The pink bunny is already living with its new owner, my cousin Bella, who just turned 2. The purple bunny will go to my cousin Nikki (not to be confused with my friend Nikki who just gave birth). She's due to have a baby girl in early July. With all the babies coming, I'm getting a head start.

P.S. - My neighbor Maddie loved her Monkey. Hubby and Pi saw her carrying it to school. That makes it totally worth it!

P.P.S. - Pi had her first physical therapy session yesterday and loved it. Like loved loved. She's such a little weirdo!

Snuggies for Seniors

Do you love Snuggies?

Do you love old people?

Do you love old people IN snuggies?

If so, please check out the Snuggies for Seniors fundraiser over Pulsipher Predilections.



While you're there, take a peek at Kristina's other posts. She's the queen of hilarity!

Good news!

I'm going to dub 2010 "The Year of the Baby." Sorry in advance if you get sick of seeing baby stuff, but so many people have procreated, that I don't have much choice, haha!


This is the bib that went to Lil Bean along with the Noah's Ark blanket. Lil Bean, aka Julian, was born last Monday. Congrats Nikki!





One side of the bib is leftover flannel in my stash from a ribbon teether I made last year. The back is a blue plaid flannel scrap that was given to me by a friend.





Using a velcro closure makes the bib reversible! The pattern is a freebie from Chickpea Sewing Studio.




Now for the good news! My biopsy came back totally clean! Yay! The only downside to that is that they still don't know what's wrong with me. But I'm very relieved there isn't anything very serious going on. Thanks for the prayers and good thoughts. It means the world to me!

Rainy Day

Its wet and windy today. Definitely the kind of day that you want to stay indoors and under the covers. When the weather is like this, I also get the urge to cook something a little special.

Remember the challah bread I made awhile ago? Three loaves was too much, so we gave one away and froze one. I defrosted that loaf last night so that it would be ready for french toast this morning. I love challah french toast...so much better than regular bread.

Rather than go the regular route, I gave THIS recipe a whirl.

Gather your ingredients.



Slice up your bread.



Mix it all up. You'll want to give the mixture a quick whisk between each slice to keep the cinnamon evenly distributed.



Dip.



Cook.

Add fruit and eat!

Mmmmm!

Happy Saturday peeps!

Randomness

A bunch of random type stuff...

- Piper has been having hip pain that the doc thinks is a slightly torn muscle. She's got physical therapy 2 times a week for 8 weeks.

- That will cost me $480.

- How old is old enough to walk to school alone? Pi has been asking and it has me pondering this question.

- MIL still in the hospital, but doing better. Yay!

- No biopsy results for me yet. Won't hear back til next week.

- Signs are all pointing to Spring. Birds are chirping in the morning again and its light out, both when I leave for work and when I come home from work. Who knew a little sunlight could feel so blissful?

- The Noah's Ark blanket arrived at my friend Nikki's house 4 days before she gave birth to a healthy baby boy. Glad I didn't procrastinate longer on getting to the post office.

- Lack of coffee hasn't produced any headaches or withdrawal symptoms, but it has resulted in profound forgetfulness.

- I've discovered I love Chai Tea from Dunkin Donuts.

- But I don't love the calories (330!).

- I'm knitting a baby sweater on the bus. Its purple and its purty.

- Quilting blogs have been sucking up my time. Who knew there were so many talented people out there?

- I've finished some projects, but still have to get the pictures from my memory card.

What randomness is going on in your life?

Blankie for Lil Bean

Sorry I've been MIA this week.**

Anyway, my good friend Nikki is due to give birth to her first baby in mid-March. She's been calling him Lil Bean, which is the cutest thing ever.

I know how incredible special this is for Nikki, so I wanted to make something a little extra awesome for her. The Noah's Ark blanket seemed like the perfect thing.


excuse the bad winter light


Since Lil Bean is a boy, I tried to use boy-friendly colors and stayed away from pink and purple. That was so hard to do because I've got loads of girlie colors in my stash.

I love how the turtle shell puffs up a little. The legs and tail weren't sewn down, so that bean can tug on them.



Hubby suggested a deep orange for the elephant. I was really hesitant at first, but I'm glad I listened to him. Its just right.

The giraffe is my favorite because of the variegated horns and spots. Love him!

The body of the blanket is made with pound of love in cream and baby blue and an I hook. There's easily enough left over to make another one.

The animals were made with stash yarn. There's caron pounder (the light orange, dark and light green of the ark), red heart super saver (blue and black details), TLC heathers (blue in the turtle), and some unknown stuff (dark orange and variegated blue).

It was fun to make again and I hope Lil Bean enjoys it. I sent a bib with the blanket too, but haven't downloaded that pic yet. Hopefully I'll remember to do it this week.

**Its been a super stressful week. Too much to go into detail about, but I wanted to mention that my MIL (she lives with us) is in the hospital with double pneumonia. Cross our fingers she's better and out of the hospital soon.