Got the dressed finished in time for the dress-up day at school. It was one of the most fun sewing projects I have taken on. The fabric was easy to work with, and the pattern alterations were just enough of a stretch for me that it was a challenge without being overwhelming.

Latest projects

This picture is the model for my daughter's Halloween costume. It's progressing nicely. Need to attached the collar and hem it. Pictures and review to come.

Some recent scrapbook pages:

Suhweet!

Let's just say I was more than a little excited when my daughter told me she wanted to be Annie for Halloween. So I went searching for patterns. With no actual costume pattern for Annie, I decided to shop my pattern stash and found this pattern:While the pattern isn't perfect, it certainly was a start.

I spent this evening almost complete redrawing most elements. Here are the changes I made:

• I folded out the bodice pleats.
• I took off inches in the sleeve in width so that there will not be so much gathered material in the armscye seam and at the bottom of the sleeve.
• I widened the contrasting band on the sleeve by a couple inches.
• I changed the collar to be pointed rather than curved.
  
• I complete redrew the skirt portion so that it is an A-line cut rather than a gathered square-cut.
• I will create a belt rather than ribbon for the waist detail.
• I will also add black piping to the sleeve detail and the belt.

Wish me luck. I hope everything works with all these changes. I did wonder at one point why I just didn't start from scratch.

More Recycling

I created a couple more cards using cardboard. I made this owl card. I think I liked the other one with the leaf-stamped background better.
I was disappointed at how this one came out. My friends are buying a new house, and I wanted a card to give them along with their housewarming gift. I'm not sure what I don't like about it. It just seems a little . . . flat, I guess. Still, I had fun playing with recycled materials and hope to do more in the future.

Owl Card

I love all the new owl images on stamps and whatnot, but I have trouble justifying paying $20 for a stamp set with such a specific theme. I saw something like this in a Paper Crafting magazine and thought it was cute. Plus, I like the idea of recycling in my crafting. So I found some cardboard and went to work. It's a little silly, I know. But I like it.

I used an elm leave to stamp the background and found a stick in my backyard to use. The eyes are made from buttons on top of chipboard circles.

I already have another owl cut out that will go on orange card stock and read, "You're a HOOT!"

Dusting Off the Ole Sewing Machine

Yay! I have finally gotten the sewing bug again. I needed a simple and fast project, and that's exactly what I got. I made this skirt for my daughter. She picked out the fabric first; we found the pattern later.

I cut a size 4 in width and 6 in length. It fits her well, I think.

We have a woven fabric for the top, which was largely why we picked this project. Now I'm not so sure I want to do the shirt. The fabric is striped, which I picture as being pretty busy with this skirt. Plus, a woven top like this just doesn't sound comfortable to me, and I'm not so sure I like the cut of that top. We'll see. Maybe I'll talk her into making PJ pants with it and finding a nice knit T to wear with the skirt.

With the way my schedule is so busy when I'm in school, I think it's important to stick to simple and relatively fast projects. The days of fitted jackets are going to have to wait until I'm not so busy.

Some recent projects

I spent Friday night at County Purr Farm, our local scrapbooking store. I love it when my friends I get the opportunity to do this. We enjoy one another's company and get to work on our latest projects. We catch up on one another's lives, give scrapbooking advice, laugh and eat chocolate. Last night I was there for over four hours and somehow left with only two things: a single 12X12 layout and a card. So not the best use of time, but I was happy with what I brought home. Plus the store was having a clearance sale, so I spent time shopping and brought home some of my favorite Chatterbox papers.

I have been into two things lately: using grids for my photos and using tan colored cardstock as the background. I love how pretty much any color works with it and how, despite what I expected, it does not suck out the energy from the photos.

This page incorporates both elements. It's about what a great father my husband it. The journaling is behind the bamboo stamped cardstock and tells a couple stories that illustrate his love and devotion to our kids.
My cousin got married today, so I made this card for her. It took forever for something so simple. The inside has a quote stamped in it. My favorite part about this card are the tiny blue gemstones I placed in the center of some of the flowers. It adds dimension and sparkle. I didn't get to go to the wedding, since I have a sick kid, but I did send the card and a gift certificate with my parents.