A Year of Reading

I've gotten a LOT of use out of my bookmarks this year, because, back in January, I set a goal for myself to read 52 books during 2013. Last month I reached my goal, one month early! And I'm still reading!

It all started with the Old Fashioned Book Lover's Swap I organized with my friend Susan on Craftster back in January. During that swap I became aware of a lot of interesting books that I wanted to read; I also found out about the website Goodreads, where I could keep track of what I have read, and write reviews to remind myself what I thought of those books! You can find my Goodreads profile HERE.

I read a lot of Stephen King this year--17 of the books I read were his. I like King's writing style and the way he develops his characters, and I became quite proficient at skimming over the more violent and/or gruesome passages! My favorites were Lisey's Story and 11/22/63.

One of the books I read was the one I received in the Book Lover's Swap: My Sister's Keeper, by Jodi Picoult. I enjoyed it enough to look for more by the same author, and unfortunately my next choice--Plain Truth--turned out to be one of the worst books I read. Do yourself a favor and skip that one. The other stinker that I had the misfortune of reading was A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb. This is a "young adult" novel that I chose after someone else in the swap claimed that it was her favorite book ever! It was really silly and strangely R-rated (the few other young adult novels I've read in the past were very chaste).

My favorite new author (new to me, anyway) is Wallace Stegner. I have read only one of his books so far (Crossing to Safety) and I love his writing style and the way he tells a story. I need to get my hands on more of his works.

Most of the books I read were physical books from the library, until I realized in November that I could check out some books electronically. Wow, what a cool revelation that was! I have an iPad and an iPhone (and I have a strong feeling that there will be a Kindle Paperwhite under the Christmas tree with my name on it), so I gave e-books a try, and I am so excited to be able to read on my e-device without having to buy the book (I'm cheap that way)! The best part is being able to read on my iPad at home, then, when I'm away from home and find myself with some time to fill, I can open the same book on my phone and it will take me to the spot where I stopped reading on the iPad! Technology is amazing!

I plan to continue reading with the same goal of 52 books in 2014. I'd love some recommendations--who's your favorite author?

Quilted Sewing Machine Cover

For a recent craft swap on Craftster, I made this sewing machine cover for my partner. Her favorite color is orange, and she likes it paired with purple, so that's why I chose this color scheme! I must say that after the top was all pieced together and I was considering a purple fabric for the binding, I wasn't happy with it--the colors seemed to be "too much".  Then I thought of going with the black and white stripe, and it took on a more modern feel to me, and I am very happy with how it turned out. I quilted it by machine, which is unusual for me (I do almost all of my quilting by hand), but I was running out of time, so machine quilting saved the day!

This is the first sewing machine cover I've ever made, and although I would have preferred to make a fitted cover with closed sides, I didn't have the exact dimensions of the machine it would cover, so I made it loose-fitting with adjustable ties. My partner says she loves it, and that's what matters.

This was my 52nd swap on Craftster! That's a lot of swaps! I'm going to take a break from swapping now and concentrate on other things...at the moment, my main interest is sewing and crafting for Blythe dolls. I've opened an Etsy store called Blythe Happy, and the embroidered panties are selling like crazy! I will be doing more blogging on my other blog (also called Blythe Happy) and less blogging here.

So, until next time, happy crafting!

Mod Swap

Last month, one of the first things the moderators at Craftster did to welcome the newest mods (including myself) was to organize a craft swap. Each new mod would be paired with an "old" mod in a mini version of a "Make a Friend" swap. We would exchange three things:  one thing we do well, one thing we love, and one surprise.

All the "old" mods are amazing crafters, and I had the fantastic good fortune to be paired with rackycoo. She tends to focus on paper crafts and assemblages, while I am mostly into sewing. That meant that I had to really dig into her Pinterest to figure out what to make for her--she didn't have a lot of sewn items there!  We exchanged messages, though, and she mentioned she would love some fabric baskets, so that's where I started.  Here's the whole package I sent to her:

The baskets are "the thing I do well."  I've done these before; there's even a tutorial for them HERE on my blog. Rackycoo's Pinterest was full of things that look old and worn, so I decided to use one of my cutter quilts for the heart and star on the front of the baskets.

I cut the bold words "happy" and "love" out of a piece of new fabric with an old look to it.  I left all the edges raw, so there are plenty of loose threads!  (Everything is securely sewn, though, so it won't be falling apart any time soon.)

For her "surprise" item, I made this zippered pouch (although it could also have been the "thing I do well", since I've made so many of these!)  This is the first one I've done like this, though, with both a pieced section and an appliqued section on both sides.  Rackycoo loves birds, and things wearing party hats!

In return, rackycoo made me some truly amazing items!  First, this elephant box that I requested; she started with a blank paper elephant form from a craft store, and with a lot of work she turned it into this piece of art!  I love it. (Yes, the box under the elephant does open.)

Altered tins are one of her specialties, so she made this one for me. The old buttons are still on their original card.  So cool!

The third item is actually three miniature treasures for my Blythe dolls.

First, she made this box of letters and post cards...they all have writing on them, and tiny stamps and post marks! The envelopes each contain a piece of paper with a letter written on it, to one of my dolls!  These are unbelievably detailed.

Next, there is this sweet terrarium.  The butterfly is a metal charm that she painted and somehow bent to give it a more realistic look.

And last, a clock!  This is so beautiful and elegant!

The back of the clock features this pretty picture, so it can be used with either side facing forward.

I jumped right into this swap but then started to feel nervous as I was crafting...but rackycoo is pleased with what I sent her, so that's all that matters!  I love what I received as well--thanks so much for the swap, Kristen!

Perler Bead Challenge

Now that I'm a moderator at Craftster, I'm organizing a crafting challenge.  I am happy to announce that the "Anything Goes Perler Bead Challenge" is now open!  All you have to do is make something--anything at all--using Perler Beads and then enter it on the challenge board between June 12th and June 18th.  That's plenty of time for you to get your hands on some Perler beads (also called Hama beads in some parts of the world) and get crafting!

Since I'm organizing it, I won't be entering the challenge, but after looking online and seeing all the cool things people are making with these beads, I wanted to try it myself. I started with something simple:  a coaster!

After I came up with a pattern, I placed the beads on the peg board (which is sold in craft stores, either separately or packaged with beads). I found that tweezers were very helpful for placing the beads.

When all the beads were in place, I carefully carried the pegboard to my ironing board (dropping it at this point would have been a disaster!) The beads come with a piece of parchment paper, which I placed on top of the beads before ironing. The directions said to iron at medium heat for 10-20 seconds; I found that I needed higher heat than that.  After the beads were melted enough that they were all sticking together, I flipped the coaster over and ironed the back, too.

Cute!

Okay, since that was pretty basic, I wanted to try something a bit more challenging (I am being inspired by a CHALLENGE, after all!) so I decided to try making a table for my doll house.

 It started the same way as the coaster, with a simple square, but I wanted it to have more depth when viewed from the side, so I also made two squares that were empty in the center, like a picture frame (hey--that's a good idea--I should make a picture frame next!), which I hot-glued to the bottom of the table.  Then I made four legs out of the Perler beads, and hot-glued them in place.  The extra layers of beads on the underside of the table helped to support the legs.

Here's the finished table. Alice approves!

 Any member of Craftster can enter the challenge, even if you've just signed up. It's a great community to be a part of, and I hope that if you haven't signed up yet, you will now, even if you don't enter the Perler bead challenge. (But I hope you will enter the challenge too!)

Mini Pinwheel Quilt

For a recent Blythe doll craft swap, with the theme "Spring", I made my partner a quilt for her doll, and used the same fabrics to make a matching outfit.  The quilt could be a bed cover, a wall-hanging, or a picnic blanket--or maybe she will use it for all three!

My partner commented that she had never tried the pinwheel pattern because she didn't feel comfortable working with all those little triangles...but there's a secret to this pattern that I will now reveal:  you don't have to sew any triangles together to make this quilt!  Sounds impossible, right?  But it's true!  They are called "half-square triangles", and you make them like this:

1.  Cut two different fabrics into squares (mine are 2 1/4" square).
2.  Draw a diagonal line down on the wrong side of one of the squares.

3.  Layer the squares, right sides together.  Sew two seams, 1/4" away from the drawn line, one on each side of the line.

4.  Cut along the drawn line, and trim the corners as shown in the triangle on the left.

5.  Iron the fabrics open, and ta-da!  You have made two half-square triangle patches!  Do this again to make four patches, then sew them together to make one pinwheel block.  Easy!

My finished mini quilt is about 12" square.

On a side note, I got some exciting news this week:  I have been accepted as a new moderator on Craftster!!  I have been assigned to the Miscellaneous Topics and Crafting for Good boards.  I am very excited to become more involved in this website, where I have enjoyed spending so much time in the past couple of years.  I hope to see you and your crafty creations there!

My Matchbox Collection

As I wrote the previous post about the monster matchbox, I realized that I now have the beginnings of a very nice altered matchbox colletction. Here's what I have so far:

I love that they are all so different and interesting, and that they are small, which means I could amass a very large collection without having it take over my house!

This cute felt bird box has a needle-felted worm for a drawer pull--so cute!  I got this one in a matchbox swap on Craftster; my inventive partner wanted the box to look tree-like, so she covered it with actual birch bark!

This next one should look familiar!  It's the monster book matchbox from my previous post.

I made this winged heart box last year as part of my first "go" at art abandonment. This was my practice box, and it ended up being the only one with wings on the heart.

I love this next box SOOOO much!  It came from the amazing Lime Riot when we did a personal swap. I love the tiny paper clay house on the outside, and the equally tiny felt heart on the inside.

The last one is from my second round of art abandonment; I made enough to give away, and still have one for myself!

Now that I see my little collection, I'm sorry I've missed the last couple of matchbox swaps on Craftster! I will have to keep my eyes open so I catch the next one. In the meantime, I think I will get more inspiration by looking huge variety of altered matchboxes that are on Pinterest.  If you like matchyboxes, you should check it out too!

One More--no, TWO More Tiny Monsters

As soon as I signed up for the One Tiny Monster Swap on Craftster, I started imagining what sort of monster I might make.  Before I got my partner's questionnaire, I was thinking of making something with a matchbox, just because I love working with matchboxes! Inspired by the Monster Book of Monsters in the Harry Potter books, this is what I made:  a matchbox, covered inside and out in book-themed scrapbook paper, then "monster-ized" with the addition of fake fur, polymer clay teeth, and bead eyes. But what's inside?

...Another monster, of course! You can see that I cut off one side of the matchbox and glued the drawer to the cover, so it would open like a book.  But I thought it would be cuter to have another monster inside than to have book pages, so that's what I went with!

The one-eyed purple guy is hand-sewn from wool felt.  I think they are a great pair!

After getting my partner's swap questionnaire, I decided to make her a different tiny monster, but this duo was perfect to send to my Harry-Potter-loving partner in a Blythe doll swap I was also participating in.  So now everyone is happy--especially me, because I made another one of these for myself!  When I put it on the shelf above my computer, I realized that I have the beginnings of an altered matchbox collection, since I've made a couple of other ones and I've received a few in swaps. I will photograph them all together and show you my collection next week.

A Peaceful Dragonfly

Here's the second prayer flag I made for a partner in the Prayer Flag Swap Round 3 on Craftster (the first one can be seen HERE). As soon as I read that she liked dragonflies I knew that would be the central image on her flag; and the word "peace" was the most fitting one from her list.

I'm not happy with the way the word "peace" turned out though...I printed onto fabric using my computer printer, then stitched around it; maybe if it wasn't sewn on crooked I would like it better!  (I wasn't thrilled with my word on the other prayer flag either. I think I need to go back to my rubber stamps!)

All the fabrics were cut free-hand and machine sewn in place, leaving the edges raw.  The finished size is 5" x 8".  There is a hanging sleeve on the back.

After this swap I will have quite a nice collection of prayer flags; I intend to string them together and display them indoors (I haven't decided exactly where yet; I guess it will depend on the length of the string!) I will post a picture here when that is done.

One Tiny Monster

The best thing about craft swaps is that they often compel me to make things I wouldn't otherwise think of making.  They broaden my crafting horizons. That's how it was in the One Tiny Monster Swap I just participated in on Craftster.  My good friend Susan forced insisted suggested I join it along with her; normally, the creative part of my mind doesn't think about monster-making, but I like knowing that it can if I need it to.

When asked to describe her ideal monster in three words, my partner for the swap wrote "fun, colorful, horns". She also said her favorite colors are purple and blue, and she prefers cute monsters to scary ones.  Looking at her Pinterest was helpful, because she had quite a few cute monsters pinned there.

So here he is! The only rule was that is had to be under 4" in each direction, so I started by drawing a 4" square and sketching a design inside it. Then I cut out the drawing and used it for a template. The purple fabric is fleece, which is great for making stuffies, because it stretches a bit when you stuff it, resulting in a nice firm creature.

I was thinking of adding spines down the back and tail, but I accidentally sewed that part before adding the spines, so I added a series of spots instead.

I LOVE how the horns came out! They are made of wool felt (as are the spots, belly, nose, and area around the eyes.) I'm sure I would not have added horns if my partner hadn't specified them, so that is a perfect example of how craft swaps help me grow and develop new skills.

This little monster fits right in with the color scheme of some of my Blythe dolls! I might have to make one for them to keep!

A Sewing Box from an Old Book

This is the project I entered in the current challenge on Craftster:  Bookworms.  

Voting doesn't start until March 10th (just in case you want to vote for someone...!)

I found a tutorial to turn a book into a sewing box HERE and I knew it would be 

perfect for my partner in the Book Lover's swap, which I had just started organizing 

when this challenge was announced.  So she got a new sewing box, and I got 

something I could enter in this challenge!  Win-win!

It started with this big, thick volume of Shakespeare I found for $1 at my local library. 

(People donate old books and the library sells them to fund their programs.)

First I removed all the pages--it was actually very easy to do with an X-acto knife:  

just one cut along the inside of the spine at the front and the back, and they all came 

out together. The pages aren't used in this project, so I saved them for something in 

the future.

Then I glued book-themed scrapbook paper to the inside of the covers, 

sandwiching in some ribbon to tie the box closed.  I measured and cut balsa wood 

into the sizes I needed to make the compartments, and used a hot glue gun to hold 

them in place.

I glued more of the scrapbook paper to the outside of the balsa wood to give the 

box a finished look.

I painted the top edges of the wood with gold paint.  The pin cushion is a simple 

circle of fabric stuffed with poly-fill and glued into one of the compartments.  I made 

a matching needle book to complete the package.

The most time-consuming part of this was the planning and the gathering of 

supplies; I've never worked with balsa wood before and I didn't really know where 

to buy it! (I ended up finding it at Michael's; in the future I will probably look for it 

on-line.) I worked slowly since it was the first time I had done it, but now that I have 

the experience, I think I could complete my next box in under two hours.  I like the 

way it turned out, so I will probably do this again, either for myself or a future swap partner.

Another Swap, Another Prayer Flag

As I thought about starting a third round of the Prayer Flag Swap on Craftster this week, I was inspired to make a new prayer flag...FOR MYSELF!  This is the only one I have that I actually made myself. It started with a tutorial I saw online at The Decorated House for fabric flowers; I've made simple coiled fabric flowers before, but hers have a couple of extra layers that make them look extra special. I highly recommend Donna's flower tutorial, but...once I got started crafting my prayer flag, I was in too much of a hurry to follow her directions (I'm really bad at following directions!) so my flowers ended up being my usual simple coils of fabric, with the exception of the larger one in the center which has a barely-visible layer of lace.  Then I added some other simple flowers, and heart-shaped buttons, and it all suggested the word "grow" to me.  Here's how it all came together:

I think the word "grow" is especially appropriate at this time of year, as Easter is approaching, and Spring is getting closer. I like having this word to think about and to consider how I can apply it to my life.

The Prayer Flag Round 3 swap is now open for sign-ups on Craftster.  We would love to have YOU join us!