P52 - Week 4 - Bokeh

Wikipedia's definition of Bokeh.
"  is the blur, or the aesthetic quality of the blur, in out-of-focus areas of an image, or "the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light." "

This week between everyone except the hubby getting sick, trying to sew Missy Moo's dress, and Noo-Noo teething...well...basically no photography happened. So I'm cheating a little and using a photo from earlier this month that I feel is a great match for this theme.

Checklist - Striving for 52 Handmade in 2012

I need a place to keep track of my "To Do" and "DONE!" lists, and what better place to do that than right here? I'll be editing this as I go instead of re-posting as I finish another item or find something else to add to the list.

Items on the "To Do" portion are not necessarily going to be completed in that order. I'll probably choose one to do as the need arises or simply choose one that tickles my fancy that day!

DONE:
Updated 2012-1-29

1. Go Mama Diaper Bag
2. Homeschool cabinet - curtain sewn for opening
3. Zippered pouch for Missy Moo's crayons with clear vinyl front
4. Booger's "JOE" stuffie (designed by him in...oh...about 2009!)

TO DO:

• Mod Kid Kyoko for Missy Moo
• Finish Missy Moo's In Threes Cardigan I was knitting before Noo-Noo was born
• Few mug rugs as gifts for family? (UFOs and from scratch)
• Hello Kitty wall hangings from panels for Missy Moo
• IOOP shorts from cammies I have aside for Booger
• Sheets and pillowcases for Missy's bed from our queen sheets as well as new veggietales, HKitty etc fabric
• Build Ana White workbench for garage so that I can build more easily
• Build big kid picnic table from Ana White
• Sew doll diapers, moses basket etc for Missy's doll, Ariel
• Sew medium sized lego playmat for Missy, the one that has a drawstring to close it- small enough for her to carry it around, even on stairs without her tripping
• Sew sweatpants and jackets for Missy for next winter from the hearts and stars sweatshirt fleece
• Sew jammie pants for me and kiddos from the stretch french terry
• Tank dresses with lettuce hems from the Muse of the Morning, Practically Perfect Tee pattern and tutorials on her blog
• Patch holes in homeschool cabinet (from hardware removal)
• Sew long Spin Around dress with cap sleeves for Missy Moo
• Sew shorter Spin Around dress - sleeveless
• Quilt for Booger - maybe Quilt as you go,like Keyka Lou did?
• Wooden puzzle (and other) storage envelopes with foldover flap and clear vinyl front - also one for Moo's ballerina
• Dragon on the Loose's Owl softie for Missy
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P52 - Week 3 - FOOD

Well, week 3 the assignment was food. I really didn't think I'd have trouble getting a shot of food in this house...but somehow I never seemed to have a spare hand or time, when anything was being prepped or served. So I was very happy when the opportunity to make a Summer Cake presented itself, and here is the shot:

The delicious top layer of the summer cake...YUM! (Way better than frosting btw!)

Handmade 52 - Items 2 and 3 DONE!

I'm really enjoying finally sewing a little again. It was a long dry spell and my fabric stash was starting to taunt me and threaten to run off!

But I'm BACK!

Project #2 was a basic little, slightly gathered, curtain for the cabinet housing our homeschool books and supplies.

Before:

Nothing that pretty about it. Plus you can see all the places hardware was removed from it. It was supposed to have a big wooden piece that folded out and down to make a table for a laptop or keyboard to sit on. But seeing because we bought it for $15 in the AS-IS section of Ikea, well, it was missing that part! I still need to fill in the holes, but that will come later because I'm having too much fun sewing to find the right stuff to fill it with. Wood filler? Who knows, I'll find out soon!

Start by adding self adhesive velcro hook to the back of the little wooden piece where the curtain will attach.

Hem and gather the fabric for the curtain, then use the cool trick I learned on Pinterest for GATHERING MORE EASILY. After that sew on the velcro loop to the front of the curtain, carefully making sure your gathers are somewhat even and not coming loose.

After:

Attach to the velcro hook, and  VIOLA!  A curtain to hide the books and random assortment of homeschool goodies!

It ended up being about 3/4" too long, but that's an easy fix that come later if I decide it has to be done. ;)

Project #3:

A clear front, crayon bag for M.

M's crayons are out of control. They are everywhere! But the solution needed to be an easy place for her to remember to put them, and just as easy for her to find them. What better than a zippered pouch with a clear plastic front? It would be easy for her to see the colours she had available to use, easy to find the pouch in her drawer (that mess is a whole other issue), and easy for her to put them away and zip it closed.

So off to Joann we went and bought a yard and a half of the thickest clear vinyl they had, which was 8 gauge, I wouldn't use anything thinner btw, I'd actually prefer to try 10 gauge next time but this is holding up well so far.

And this is what she ended up with:

I learned from a few mistakes along the way, and I used THIS TUTORIAL on Make It and Love It for sewing with vinyl. I mixed it up a bit with a cute fabric for the back piece instead of more vinyl, as well as a cute tag from my tag stash....which I will never show to you in entirety for fear of being forced to come to terms with the fact that I have a tag addiction love for cute little taggies! Ha ha!

Also, see the big zipper pull (is that the right name?) on there? These are handbag zippers from KANDCSUPPLIES on Etsy. The best thing about them, is because the zipper handle (still not right?)  is bigger, it means it's easier for little fingers to grab hold and pull the zipper closed without any tears or begging Mommy for help.... right as Mommy gets baby to sleep on her lap.... 

Me trying to show you the fabric back and the vinyl front...ignore any mistakes you happen to see ;)

It may look full (and especially so because of the horrible lighting, sorry!) but really it's only half full and so there's plenty of space for little hands to dig through to find that one perfect colour for the project at hand.

A close up of the tag...ignore the stitching, I didn't stick tape to the throat plate of my machine as it suggested in the tutorial (few steps above) and you can definitely tell where the vinyl was sticking as I was sewing *whoops*!

Anyhoo, off to cross these off my list and figure out what's next!

Oh and don't forget to check out my friend Katie's blog where she takes the Handmade 52 to a whole new level! She has link ups where you can link what you've made for all to see, and all sorts of awesome things that she herself creates! Go check out RAISING ORANGES and ooh and aah over her adorable family, and the gorgeous crafts you see!

Oh, and in case you're wondering. I obviously did NOT use all that vinyl on this bag...a yard and a half is going to last me a LONG time! ;)

P52 - Week 2 - "UP"

Project 52 - Week 2

Theme: UP

E is at the stage where he is always grabbing his feet and either eating them or just pulling them up high. He does this anytime he has access to them, even while nursing (it's my favourite nursing stage!). SO when I was taking photos of the slightly less than perfect tea party happening in the living room with the two oldest, I saw he was playing with his feet again. I pointed the camera down and snapped a shot a split second before he let go and stopped doing it (typical!!), and this is what I got.... YAY!  

Don't you just LOVE little baby toes and fingers? *swoon*

Striving for 52 Handmade Items in 2012

My goal for this year is 52 handmade items completed. They can be UFOs (UnFinished Objects) or something started this year. Sewn, built, crafted, knitted....you get the picture!

Basically I have a lot of things I want to get done and I never seem to get them completed. Partly because of lack of free time and partly because I'm scared that I will detroy the item in some weird and bizarre way, wasting both time and supplies. BUT...this year I am going to make more and try to worry less about disasters that haven't happened yet!

COMPLETION is more important that achieving perfection.
'Tis my new motto for the year. All the plans and projects I have in my head and pattern drawer mean nothing if I never actually get something done!

So in that spirit...here's project #1.

I cut out the Go Mama Diaper Bag a couple months before E was born last year and never actually got to sewing a stitch,once again, partly from lack of time (hubby was deployed until right before E was born) and partly because I was scared to try it.

Good news: It's DONE!  And this bag is HUGE! I don't know that I really need a bag this big anymore, but it will be especially useful to have all the extra space when we are out of the house for the day and I need to bring spare clothes for 2 of the kiddos and extra diapers, snacks etc. I promise, that plus more will fit!

I changed up a few things. I added an extra set of pockets on the other inner side, two elasticized loops for keys etc, I lined the back pocket, added a cute tag that you can't see (will take a pic of that soon with a link up to where you can buy ones like them!), and I also used duck cloth to stabilize the inner layers because I forgot to iron on stabilizer onto the inside of the outer layers before sewing *whoops!*. 

All in all, it took a lot on concentration and time, but I love it and even the hubby is impressed *win!*. If you need a big bag, I definitely suggest this one!  

Soon I will be making one of these as well, because a girl can never have too many bags! Okay that's not true, but I really, really want to make this one from Fishsticks Designs, because her patterns are awesome and worth every single penny! 

Fishsticks Designs- Mama and Baby Bag Pattern -LINK

Project 52 - Week 1 - Breakfast

A new start for a new year!

I decided to start over with my Project 52 this year because I am joining many wonderful ladies (from amateur to pro) on a photography forum I am a member of. Each week we're assigned a theme (this past week was "breakfast") and then we need to photograph something that depicts that theme for us.

Considering we usually make our own breakfasts, and not eat a beautiful gourmet meal each morning (think oatmeal or toast with yogurt for the kiddos, and cream of wheat or bagel etc for me), I decided to make Pumpkin Waffles and turkey bacon, drizzled with agave syrup!

And here's the resulting image:

Oh and this was taken using a lightscoop...I LOVE my lightscoop!


Week 2's theme is: UP. Off to brainstorm!