Disney Book Rejuvenated

It's been a year since my parents took us to Disneyland. I need to get the book finished so that I can get it to my parents. Here's a page I put together today. I'm trying to keep the book simple - mostly blacks or whites and not overly bejeweled. This was a fun page to put together. The images are all brushes from the free "Proud to Be Digital" kit from twopeas. TFL!

Beading Digi Page

I created this this morning. I used the Martha Stewart freebie kit from twopeasinabucket.com. I was following their digital weekly challenge, which was to play with the paint brushes. I used the paint brushes a lot, but I wanted to use one I hadn't used before. The green circles underneath the title is a paint brush stroke that I think simulates the bead effect. TFL!

A bag and a new hobby

This is the bag I made using the tutorial I found online for the grocery bag pattern. You basically use a plastic bag as your pattern. I used a pair of DH's pants that had a tear in the tush area too large to patch. I thought he'd like the bag for shopping, but after he scoffed at the idea, I decided to girly the bag up by using a butterfly fabric for the lining, then fussy cutting some butterflies and embroidering a swirly design. I like it. So does DD who has inherited the bag.

As it turned out, the pants legs were not wide enough to use the pattern in full, so it's not really as big as it could be.

More pics:

I plan on making some more of these this month.

Now, I need a new hobby like a need a tall glass of acid, but here it is. I made my first piece of jewelry. Long story short: It's a very simple bracelet made to go with the blue top I made. I want to make some earrings to go with it. I'm hooked, though. I want to make more.

And here is DD making her anklet at the bead store.

Finally, A Finished Project

I finished my Simplicity 4076 top. I LOVED this pattern. It was easy and fast to put together. Plus, it looks nice. I used a soft rayon knit I found at Joann's for $2 a yard. I couldn't believe I found something that wasn't polyester and at such a great price. I made a size 14 in the shoulders and tapered up to a 16 in the hips. I added 1 inch for length because I wanted a longer style, and because of that addition, I add a quarter inch to the bottom width. It fits great and feels nice.

The one mistake I made was not basting the back neck area, as the instructions directed. As you can see in the pic below, I stretched out the neckline, but at least my hair hides it, and I'll be more careful with the next top.

This is the "right" side of the fabric, which I used as the wrong side. It has a bit of glitter in it which, believe it or not, actually detracted from the vibrance of the rich blue color. Fortunately, it doesn't itch at all.

A simple page redux

I reformatted the text in this version of the page I posted last. I can't figure out how to get Photoshop to both right and left justify text, so I did it on my own with spaces and font sizes. I think it looks a lot better than the previous. I'm not sure I like the fuzzy picture border, since the rest of the page is clean-lined. Comments are welcome.

A simple page

This is a digi page I made this afternoon. I wanted something clean, where the focus is on the content, although I am thinking I might want to add an embellishment like a ribbon between the journaling panel and the picture/title panel. Suggestions are welcome.

New Sewing Projects

Finally, school is pretty much over for me, with the exception of some projects here and there. That means I can start thinking about sewing. I haven't been able to do much for months and am looking forward to playing in my sewing area again. So this morning, I cleaned up my sewing area and made a list of some projects I'd like to complete:

• Curtains for the bedroom (Had the fabric for 2 years, time to get on it)
• A couple shirts for me
• Another Ottobre outfit for DD
• Barbie clothes for DD
• A dress for me

The list was longer, but I edited for a reality check.
What's up first? Barbie clothes for DD. She wants to help. I'm not sure what to do with her at this point. She's five and is getting to where she can do some things, but Barbie clothes require some precision. Yesterday, my friend cut out a couple items with DD and they "sewed" one of the pieces with fabric glue. Much to my surprise, it worked quite well. I may just do some gluing myself, and then DD can help with that.




For me, I am going to make one of the following two tops:

Both tops have gotten great reviews on patternreview.com. For the McCall's 5586, I plan to make make view A, the read shirt. I love how they embellished. Fun, but not too over the top. For Simplicity 4076, I plan to make the short sleeved version with the gathered neckline. I'll probably lengthen it a little, since the reviews indicate that it runs short, at least according to current styles.