• Blog - Crafts - Creativity

    Panda pillowcases

    When I spotted some panda fabric at local quilting store I just had to grab it. Mini-me loves pandas. I thought I’d make her a cute accessory for her dorm room.

    My neighbor has been making beautiful custom pillowcases for family and friends over the summer. I’ve been admiring her handiwork. I happened to be with her at this particular quilt shop and guided me on how much I needed to purchase for a set of pillowcases.

    After giving me a brief verbal tutorial, she passed along the YouTube video tutorial she followed to create very professional results with French seams.

    I tried to snap some photos along the way but honestly without the video, my photos may not make a whole lot of sense. Not being one to try to recreate the wheel…and really just wanting to get these made…I didn’t take enough photos to create a tutorial of any sort.

    Sausage rolled fabrics that had me questioning my sanity.

    I’m mainly sharing my images to of course show off the cute fabric, but also to show how crazy this process seems and how you may fear you are doing something wrong…but don’t worry…it all comes together in the end.

    Again, this had me questioning my sanity…closing the seams with right sides out and raw edges exposed. All I have to say is, patience…follow the process…it will turn out right in the end.

    I love this little detail. A small tab of contrasting fabric.

    And here you have them…perfect French seam pillowcases…no exposed seams or raw edges. It’s a kind of magic especially when you think about the fact that I only sewed three lines of stitching, Crazy!

  • Art - Blog - Crafts - Creativity

    T Tuesday: catching up again edition

    Once again I’m playing catch up here on my blog. Spring definitely gets away from me. School gets more demanding as we near the end which leaves me too tired to do anything beyond feeding my family and preparing for the following day.

    This spring we also have the added pressure of Mini-me graduating from high school! Stressing over whether or not there will be a graduation ceremony, a choir concert, grad parties, etc. And if there are…how comfortable do we feel about it. We finally got the answer to a couple of those question marks. There will be a concert but it will be single choirs to limit people and possible exposures. There will be graduation which will look similar to those in the past due to since our governor announced a step down in restrictions taking effect before graduation. This does make me nervous even though we are all vaccinated. Mini-me will not be having a graduation party.

    Last week was an eventful one. Wednesday was my birthday…next year is a big one… I was spoiled by friends and coworkers with kind words and thoughtful gifts.  Thursday, Mini-me and I drove to Duluth to move J home from college for the summer. It was a quick up and back trip.

    We had to take a quick detour into Canal Park before heading to campus…we love Duluth so much. I wish we could have spent more time there.

    If you look closely there are two ships in this photo. The closer one is a “salty” meaning it traveled in from the Atlantic Ocean. The other one on the horizon is one of the Great Lakes fleet of ore boats.

    I did manage to fix my journal. I plan to add some beads along the spine to cover the extra holes but decided that it would make the most sense to wait until the journal is complete.

    Look at all the pretty papers! I can’t wait to start using it. I know my birthday cards and notes are going to have a place right away.

    I have been sewing too..no surprise there. It is so satisfying to be making a major dent in my scraps. I have yet to decide if this will become a bed size quilt or a couple of throws.

    I had to share the mug J bought for me. He said it was a combo b-day and mothers day gift. So sweet.

    This summer appears to be getting more back to normal. Both kids have jobs…thank goodness! Mini-me will actually have two. J currently has two but his school job will end in June obviously and he will be able to put in more time at his internship. It’s so very exciting to see them both taking those next steps in life. Although I’m not even going to pretend to be completely ok with being “empty nesters” next fall.

     

    What are you doing today?
  • Blog - Crafts - Creativity - Fun & Games

    T Tuesday: minecraft edition

    Hello and welcome to another edition of T stands for Tuesday.

    It’s been a pretty standard week for me…work, home and errands keep me busy. I was tasked with a project by Mini-me though. She has been playing Minecraft for 10 years now. If you’ve never heard of it, here’s a very basic explanation…it is pixel and block based building game so everything is square but check out the link if you want to know more.

    She wanted to make the windows in her room look like glass blocks in Minecraft.

    Out came the Silhouette portrait machine. We fudged the blocks slightly so that they would be attached for easy placement. Something you’d never notice on the final product unless I told you.

    My crafty neighbor had gifted me with some white vinyl a while back, I wasn’t sure how it would work but Lord knows I kept it just in case. It actually worked perfectly!

     

    Look at the fun shadows it creates as the sun sets.

    I can’t leave without sharing a sweet photo of Marvin on Caturday Saturday.

    And this is just a photo of Marvin being very helpful as Mini-me works on her classes.

    I’m totally loving my new mugs with one minor issue…I usually bring a cup of coffee with me to drink on my way to work. My new mugs do not fit in the cup holder of my van. Yes, I use really mugs with open tops in the van. I’m a nut, its okay, I’m good with it.

    What are you doing today?