Spring Knitting

Usually by this time of the year my desire for knitting is long gone. Knitting is a winter sport for me. But since we were home bound last weekend I decided to start up a new project. So, during countless episodes of the first season of House and several movies I worked on "My So Called Scarf."

I am 2/3 of the way finished and ran out of yarn. (I swear this always happens to me!) I am using the taupe and pea green colors from Vanna's Choice, which is a good thing because it is pretty reasonably priced. The pattern really seems to use a lot of yarn, but the scarf is exceptionally thick. It will definitely be warm! I'm just hoping I don't have to use it before November!

Giveaway Day!

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:4
Timestamp: 2008-04-28 16:13:41 UTC

And the winner is Amy Jo! Thank you all so much for your comments, kinds words, and advice. I really appreciate. Our weekend turned out to be really nice. Yardwork was impossible and no one wanted to leave the house much, so we spent some much needed time at home together, just relaxing.

And Amy Jo's fabulous prize? Here it is. A little something I whipped up from a clearanced beaded napkin ring that I cut apart. I have several more done that I plan to put up in my etsy shop.

Favorite Friday??

It's been pretty quiet on the blog this week. Sorry about that. Not much fun stuff to share around here. My mind is overflowing with not fun/uncrafty things and it seems to be stealing any creative motivation I had left. Maybe this should be called whining Friday today! I figured if I wrote about all this junk maybe it could get out of my head and I could do something fun this weekend! Here goes...

This week we (Sydney) kicked the pacifier habit. It's gone better than I expected but she sure doesn't sleep as much as she used to. Our mornings now start at 7 and nap time is barely over an hour, if she sleeps at all. I know that doesn't sound that bad, but she used to sleep until at least 8 and take a 3 hour nap everyday. My late night crafting is going to have to stop so I can actually get some sleep!

One of Sydney's gymnastics coaches approached us at class on Wednesday about trying out for their competitive team. They usually start at 3 but she thought Sydney has what it takes to start now (she turns 3 in August.) This is not at all what I had in mind when we started gymnastics (we go to a parent/child class just to have fun, work on coordination, and spend time with other kids.) But she absolutely adores it and she has improved so much in the few months we've been in it... I'm totally torn on this one. I know it seems ridiculous to start a (less than) 3 year old on something like this, but if she is having fun and loving it, is it really so bad? Do I sound like a scary pageant mom?

I am so sick of living in clutter and mess. It seems to be overwhelming me a lot more than usual. My sister and I are planning a garage sale this summer, so I have been sorting through everything and trying to cut back. It probably doesn't help that it has been cold and rainy all week so we can't get outside much.

It's supposed to snow all weekend. Enough said.

Is that enough complaining for you?? Guess I'm having a little pity party today!

So, here is the one creative idea I came up with this week. It's not much, but it's all I've got. I have a theory about kids and coloring books. Once they have colored on about 25% of the pages there is absolutely no appeal to them anymore. I can't really say I blame them. Think if all your past projects were laid out in front of you every time you went to work on a new one. I also despise the look of a big pile of ratty old books. Where all these coloring books even come from is beyond me. I can't say I recall ever purchasing one. Regardless, they look junky and never get used. So I attacked them with my exacto knife, cutting out all the clean pages. Then I punched them with my 3-hole punch and put them into a binder. Nice and neat and the pages can be removed as soon as they are finished. My ratty pile of coloring books is much more condensed without wasting anything, and the cast-offs are headed to the recycling bin!

P.S. I had some rather boring pictures to accompany all of this but blogger is being a pain today and wouldn't let me load them. So, if any of you actually read through all of that without pictures you are wonderful! Leave me a comment and I'll draw a name on Monday for a little giveaway! And thanks. I think I feel better now!

Why to thrift...

In honor of Earth Day I thought I would share (boast) about my latest thrift store purchase. We decided to check out our local St. Vincent De Paul store after a not-so-great day of garage sale shopping on Saturday. Much to my delight, the fabric section was overflowing! Usually this shop is a great spot to score vintage fabric, but this stuff was all new, current prints. And nice quilt store fabric too.





Of course I bought everything they had. This whole basket of fabric cost me about $15. Can't beat that! The pieces aren't huge, less than a yard in most cases, but that's fine with me! I seem to recall telling you recently that I don't have very many fabric scraps, well not anymore! Time to get busy I think!


Oh, and some how these managed to jump in the bags as well! Funny how that happens.

Favorite Friday

My favorite project this week! Made from the infamous Simplicity 3835 pattern that everybody seems to be using these days. This was my first time using it and seriously it was a breeze!

I made it out of some pretty boring fabric thinking that if it didn't turn out it was no big deal, but if it did it would be okay to wear. I added the trim along the bottom hem to add a little interest to the rather dull shirt. I did change a couple other things (of course!) I skipped the elastic in the arms. I hate how that feels. And I ripped out the side seam a little to make a little extra room for the rear. As seen below! (Woohoo, my butt is on the Internet! Aren't you so proud mom?)

I think next time I would like to try the pattern in a nice knit. The pattern doesn't actually have that listed as an option, but what's the worst that could happen, right?


Have a great weekend!!

Just the begining

Last Saturday Sydney and I ventured out to an indoor rummage sale/flea market. I was shocked how many people were there - both buyers and sellers. I guess everyone is as anxious as I am for garage sale season to get started! I didn't find too much, but I got great deals on the items I did pick up. For example, this pillow!

I got the pillow cover for a quarter. In fact, I got a whole stack of pillowcases for a quarter each, this is just my favorite today! Luckily I had a plain throw pillow at home that fit perfectly - it was meant to be I think. I love the print, and check out the button detail.

I know it's hard to see but those are hand sewn button holes.

And, remember these pillow covers I made last year for Spring? No? Well, anyway, I just pulled them out and I don't think they could match any better!

Like I said, meant to be! Good grief, do you think 5 pictures is enough for one pillow?! Can you tell how much I like it?

Have a great day!

Scrap Work

I'm sure you have all seen the amazing ladies out here that create masterpieces from scraps...people like Amanda Jean who is working on a series of monochromatic quilts just from scraps, and Katherine who makes a ton of amazing stuff from scraps and organizes them like a pro! Well, despite the amount of fabric I have, I honestly don't have that many scraps. What I do have is a ton of paper scraps! I keep it all and I actually go through and use it a lot. Anyway, inspired by all those scrappy ladies out there, I made these two cards this weekend (while watching The Bee Movie over and over again with Sydney.)

Just a simple strip of scrappy patchwork border. I tried to focus on greens for these cards. They probably need something on top, but I figured I would personalize them when I actually use them. I didn't really make a dent in the scrap pile, but it sure was fun!

Favorite Friday

Deciding on my favorite this week was easy!



Lucky me! I won a giveaway on Breanna's blog and she offered to make me anything I wanted! I requested a personalized soldered necklace. Isn't it gorgeous? I love it!






Not to mention all the other goodies I received! Feel free, click and zoom in, just don't drool all over my stuff, okay? :)




Here's a link to Breanna's etsy shop so you can get your own soldered beauty! Thanks again Breanna!

Spring Pendants!

Well folks, here they are! Yet another group of my pendants that will be entering my shop! These have all been inspired by Spring (regardless of it's actual arrival!) I love each one of them and hope you do too.

I've started adding them to my etsy shop, so hop over and take a closer look. As a little thank you to my faithful blog readers I will be offering free shipping to all of you. Just put a note in the message to buyer that you are a reader of Craft Addictions and I will refund all shipping costs*.

Also, I just wanted to thank you all for your well wishes for Sydney. The antibiotics are kicking in and she is feeling much better!

*Free shipping applies to U.S. and Canadian orders only. Please contact me if you live elsewhere and we can work out a special deal just for you!

Creative Boost

Inspired by this, I did this little project this weekend just to boost the creative juices a little.

I started with this magazine from the junk mail pile.





And this punch that I got at a garage sale last summer.





Punch, punch, punch, punch and glue, glue, glue, glue and I made these two cards!



It was fun to do a quick project that turned out cute and got me in the mood to create!

Unfortunately that mood is already gone as I spent my evening at the clinic with Sydney...ear infection and pink eye. Poor kid can't breathe, has one eye swelled almost shut with crud oozing from it, and an ear that has to be killing her but swears she's not sick. She's a trooper!

Favorite Friday

We are heading out to the sandbox already this morning. I think it is safe to say our summer will be spent outdoors. I thought I would share with you one of my favorite summer beauty products. Being a pasty white Midwesterner, I am a firm believer in sunscreen. Especially for my face. But sunscreen is always so greasy feeling, not something I want to put on my face. Not to mention the fact that time is limited for such things as I have a 2 year old begging and whining at my feet to go play outside. So I tried this product last year. I loved it and plan to use it again this summer. It is a tinted moisturizer with a 30 SPF. It's a little bit greasy, but not as bad as others I've tried. But I especially love that it is tinted so I feel semi-put together, but without a heavy foundation. I bought it at Target for $10 and one bottle lasted me all summer. I found that this with a little blush and powder provides pretty good coverage, definitely enough for a summer (or spring) day of fun.

Signs of Spring

Yesterday (and today for that matter) was gorgeous! It finally hit 50. Hallelujah! I thought I would share some signs of Spring that I found while playing outside yesterday.

Little plants peeking through

Constant swinging

This might be why I haven't been able to breath for 2 weeks. That is in fact mold growing on grass.

Buds just trying to break through on the branches of our willow tree.

Sidewalk chalk art (which resulted in a very cold rear)

Hanging Around

A new supply of pendants is patiently waiting to enter my shop. Motivating myself to photograph them is so hard! But they are ready and waiting! Maybe today. I'm planning something special for my faithful blog readers when that happens, so be sure to check back!

In the meantime, I am trying to play along with Amanda Jean and have a week of finishing up projects I've got started. So far I'm not doing very well, but I'm trying, and it is only Wednesday!