Lingerie Cases

This post got buried in my drafts folder. I'm trying to catch up on the list of things I should have blogged about last year, but never got around to.

My sister had a small bachelorette party - just the bride and bridesmaids. I'm not too keen on buying (or making) lingerie for others, so I made something for her to keep lingerie in. The outside is made with a satin-like fabric (it's washable, though.) I wanted my gift to reflect my Sister's love of monkeys, so I got a fun monkey print for the inner lining. The lining is cotton.

A lingerie case is a somewhat old fashioned concept. I tried to do some research on them, but apparently they were not enough of a novelty to be widely written about. I remember one from the movie Rebecca - Mrs. Danvers shows Mrs. De Winter around Rebecca's old room, and one of the things that Mrs. Danvers shows her is a lingerie case.

I don't know if you can see it in the picture, but I divided the inside. I have made a second case for a friend, and am working on writing out directions for this project.

Scrappin' Saturday XVI

Welcome to Scrappin' Saturday - take a peek into the pages of my scrapbooks, and learn how I made them.
I'm showing two pages this week, since there's hardly anything on them. As I get more photos for these pages, I will write a separate blog post for the second page.

Background Paper: Solid yellow, from one of the pastel packs.
Border: The border was punched using Fiskars Embossing Border Punch Dandy Doodles
Letters: The first letter came from a chipboard assortment. The rest of the letters were made using the Cuttlebug Red Tag Sale Alphabet Die Set
Photos: The photos were cropped to the size I wanted, then I rounded the corners.
Projects Pictured: Sophie Doll & Nightie, Sophie's Homestead Dress
All the empty space is for pictures of outfits that haven't been made yet!

Friends In Stitches

My second finished project of the year! This was my "take it to work" project, and I haven't really worked on it since I lost my jobs. I pulled it out the other day, realized how little there was left to do, and finished it. It still needs to be mounted. I want to mount it to the cover of a wooden, unfinished box. The box itself will be decoupaged, inside and out, and will have some sewing accessories inside.

The kit is put out by The Victoria Sampler, and is part of their Beyond Cross Stitch Learning Collection. This particular one is Level One - Montenegrin Stitch.

Polymer Clay Creations

Polymer Clay is my newest hobby. My interest in clay was sparked when the children I was babysitting asked me to help them make things with clay. I had a lot of fun, and decided to try it on my own. These little guys were my sister's Christmas present; she loves monkeys, so I decided to make a trio of Hear No Evil, See no Evil, Speak no Evil monkeys that could sit on the edge of a shelf.

I've made a lot of flowers - a few of which are in my Etsy shop. This little bouquet went to a friend who was recovering from shoulder surgery.

This was my Mom's Christmas present. She loved the flowers I'd made, and when I spotted the little watering can in a store, I knew it would be the perfect bouquet holder. I did have some trouble getting the flowers to stay where I wanted them. I made the stems short, and figured I would poke them into some styrofoam. That didn't work very well, so I tried some cotton batting. The batting didn't work either, so I put some tissue paper in the bottom, and wrapped the bouquet in tissue paper. I also put in several pieces of Limonium to look like Baby's Breath or Statice. I wanted to give Mom the option of arranging the flowers, or even putting them in another container, if she wanted, otherwise I would have glued them down permanently.


Cupcakes! My sister wanted to send a care package to a college friend. Her friend likes cupcakes, and she found some cute cupcake earrings on Etsy. The problem was that the seller lived in Poland, so she asked me to try making some.
This is what I came up with. My sister chose the lighter pair to send to her friend. The other pair will probably end up in my Etsy shop.

Project Resolutions

Every year I rummage around for the previous year's resolutions, realize I didn't really accomplish any of them, and make a few new resolutions. I leave the list out for a month or two, then file it until next January. However, when it comes to projects, I do a little better. Maybe it's because I keep my list in my craft notebook. Whatever the reason, I usually manage to meet a few goals throughout the year. I also reevaluate once in a while and set a few new goals. This year my crafting goals are simple, and a little more open-ended than usual.

1. Finish at least 1/2 of the projects on my current WIP list.
2. Take pictures of completed projects.
3. Start Christmas gifts ASAP, and finish them by the end of August.
4. Empty &/or downsize sewing basket.
5. Frame completed cross stitch projects.
6. Update Etsy shop on a regular basis.

 The WIP's I would like to finish this year are the crocheted afghan, one embroidered pillowcase, cross stitched family tree, Lady of the Thread, knit stockings, knit socks, and the punch needle design. I will be trying to post regular updates of these projects.
Speaking of projects, I have removed the drop down menu of my completed projects. It was getting too long, and I didn't enjoy messing with all that HTML. My completed projects are now listed on this page. You can also find the link underneath my blog header, next to the Scrappin' Saturday page.

For the month of January, my goals are:

1. Finish and mail belated Christmas gifts.
2. Finish granny squares for crocheted afghan.
3. Start participating in Tatting Tea Tuesday.

Scrappin' Saturday XV

Welcome to Scrappin' Saturday - take a peek into the pages of my scrapbooks, and learn how I made them.

Background Paper: A sheet of pink paper, probably from a pastel 'stack'.
Border: Spellbinders Borderabilities Classic Lace Border
Photos: Some I simply cropped, others I cropped and rounded the corners. The center photo was cut and layered using Creative Memories Cutting System Oval Patterns
Die Cuts: Spellbinders Nestabilities Scalloped Paisley and Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels One On the die cuts I listed the pattern, and a few notes about it.
Project Pictured: My first heirloom sewing project. The pictures and a few details are in the slideshow at the bottom of the post.

Scrappin' Saturday XIV

Welcome to Scrappin' Saturday - take a peek into the pages of my scrapbooks, and learn how I made them.

This is part of a two page spread of things I've made for my 18" doll.
Background Paper: A solid colored sheet of paper.
Border:I used Spellbinders Borderablilities Classic Lace Border.
Letters: The letters spell out my doll's name, Katrina. The first letter is a chipboard letter, and the rest are from different colors of paper using the Red Tag Sale Alphabet set by Cuttlebug.
Photos: The photos were cropped to the size I wanted, then I used Fiskars 4-in-1 Corner Punch, Glory on the corners. The punch embosses as well as cuts the corners. The embossing doesn't really show up, but I mostly wanted it to shape the corners.
Die Cuts: For my journals, I used Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Two. I cut the same shape out of two separate papers, then glued them down with one on it's side, and one right side up.
Projects Pictured: Doll Clothes (Some of the pictures are in the Flickr Slideshow at the end of the post.) Also, the outfit Mom made for Katrina.

Filigree Quilt Blocks

Have you ever had a project that sat around for years, then one day you finally decided to finish it? That's what happened with these Quilt Blocks. I originally bought the kit because I liked it, Mom liked it, and there were enough supplies to make 2 sets, in two different color schemes. For years I've been telling myself "I'll finish it for Mom's birthday" then "I'll finish it for Christmas" then "Maybe I can get it done for Mother's Day?" Last year I got tired of seeing it in my WIP list, and managed to finish Mom's set for her birthday. That still leaves my set, which I am not planning to start any time soon!

I can't remember where I bought the kit, and the only place I can find it online is directly from the manufacturer. The kit is titled "Filigree Quilt Blocks Kit #201" and is made by the Lake City Craft Company. It was simple to make and put together. The only difficulty was that not all my pieces came out the same size, nor were they perfectly symmetrical making it rather difficult to fit and glue all the pieces together.

First Finish of 2011

These wristlets were one of my vacation projects; I completed about 2" on vacation. The pattern is from Creative Knitting, November 2008. Once I started working on them, they went very quickly. I finished the second one in two days. They are very warm, and fit perfectly. My only complaint, (or disappointment) is that the yarn is too bulky to really show off the mock cable pattern.

The yarn is "Plumlishious" from The Colorful Ewe on Etsy.