Necklaces

Disneyland keeps my Mother young.

She goes often with my Aunt B

{often enough to have annual passes}

and they've explored every corner.

This year for Christmas I made necklaces for each of them

themed around their favorite rides.

My mother loves to sit on the Mark Twain and have coffee.

And Aunt B loves the Haunted Mansion.

I found some of the frame charms at Ben Franklin

{because we don't have Joann's OR Michael's here! *gasp*}

but you can find similar ones here.

I found the rest on Etsy.

I printed out my images on plain paper,

cut them to size,

covered them front and back with clear packing tape

(yes, clear packing tape-it protects it like lamination and is super cheap)

then put it in the frame and applied diamond glaze over it.

So easy I think I'll make one for myself :)

Chloe's Birthday Theme

Chloe has decided on a theme for her birthday party this year

{drumroll, please}

Chloe loved this ride at Disneyland

{and I must say it's one of my favorites, too}

I am making much of her party things

but found a few songs to download for the festivities.

{click to go to Amazon & listen}

this whole album is good.

love ragtime!

I know it looks cheesy

but It's a Small World on the accordion

just sounds right.

This is a cute album-

all the favorites but a little

"cooler" for the older elementary set :)

By far my most favorite.

Is there such a thing as

disneyland songs for grown-ups?

I also got some of this fabric from

Fashionable Fabrics:

If only we could go there to celebrate :)

Happy New Year!

Yes, I'm still here

still sewing and crafting

and making a big thready mess

I just haven't had much time to share :)

Over the next few weeks I hope to

catch you up on all the lovelies I made for Christmas.

In the mean time,

this is what the first couple weeks of 2011 held for me:

Living Room Pinwheels

I used Heather Bailey's free pattern

{sort of, I used a lot of hot glue which she doesn't

but mine don't need to spin}

And I made a bunch of happy pillows.

{the ruffle-y one is my favorite}

Hope you're all having a crafty New Year!

Crafty Sewer + Space Geek= Super Cool Nerd!

I remember 

as a child 

my father waking me up in the middle of the night

and taking us outside

to look at fabulous things in the sky.

At times

we would just sleep out there

{perhaps it was easier than dragging us out of bed}

Dad would show us

craters in the moon

or stars millions of miles away

in his home made telescope

It took me a long time before I realized that 

dragging your children out of bed in

the middle of the night wasn't

a normal suburbia occurrence.

Along with that realization was the

epiphany that our family is made up of nerds.

Serious nerds, every one.

So now you know my secret,

I am a genetic nerd.

And I love to sew.

Which is why I am now in love with

Average Jane Crafter

She just won first prize in the 

Hubble Pop Culture Contest.

Yes, she mixed cross stitch with Hubble.

Nerd heaven.

Her cross stitch has a wonderful story behind it,

you can read it here.

And check this out:

She embroidered the shuttle's de-orbit map.

I think I'm in love.

People have even sent her space jewelry.

Check out her Space Shuttle bracelet.

My sister Laura works at Boeing.

Perhaps I could make her one

with a picture of a B-52

or a Hornet

oh a B-24 would be perfect!
(I know, not Boeing
but it's vintage and our Grandfather  helped design it)

What do you think, Laura?

Of course,

Rachel over at Average Jane also made 

these fantastic bags

Laura,  I can so picture you using one of these.

Rachel is my new favorite nerd-inspiration.

Are you a nerd, too?

Chocolate Cloud

Happy Birthday to my lovely Aunt Brenda!

I made her one of these in a yummy chocolate brown

The cloud cascade scarf

from the Lion Brand Yarn website.

It's nice and easy to crochet

and I love the way it falls.

I made a matching little scrappy flower pin

to decorate it with.

You can also wear it all ruffled around your neck.

{I love the way it frames the face and peaks out from a coat}

I made the same scarf in a cream color for my sister last year

but sadly I did not take a picture of it.

So here's a picture of me and my sister (and my big girl) instead.

Happy weekend!

No, I'm not sewing.

No sewing.

{or knitting or painting or crafting}

I was recovering from

4 nights of camping

{partially from a lack of sleep

and partially from having to remove myself

from such an incredible place}

and now I am enjoying my last week

with two little girls who will 

be starting school next week.

See ya soon!

Finds

Some of my recent thrifting goodies:

A Dressmaking book from the 60s

dust jacket is falling apart 

but the rest of the book is in great condition

This cookbook:

My mother has this book and

it holds some of my earliest childhood cooking memories (:

Another cookbook:

I almost didn't pick it up

because I couldn't really see any of the cover decoration

{Yes I choose books by their cover}

But luckily I opened it and found this:

Recipes hand written in every available space.

The book was written in 1906.

I love it.

And I paid a dollar for it.

The Complete Book of Sewing, 1943

I have a thing for sewing books and cook books. Can you tell?

And I got an assortment of children's books

for the kids' school/craft room.

And this is our new pet.

Chloe found him at a thrift store

and would not leave him.

She totes him around

and feeds him

and has dropped him on her toe.

And she loves to say "SQUIRREL!"

like Doug in the movie Up.

All for only a quarter.

Tomorrow we will be heading out

to my favorite camping spot

where we will spend the weekend

eating smores

and playing cards

and exploring the wonderful nature around us.

And in one of our most favorite places

with our closest of friends

we will celebrate 10 years of

a most wonderful marriage.

See you next week!