Craft Time turned Silly

This is a picture I took a few months back. My friend Mandy knowing how obsessed I am with crafts and making stuff asked if she could come over and we do some crafts together. I don't have many friends who enjoy this kind of thing so I was excited. We chose to buy a few t-shirts from the thrift store and rework them to turn them into something a little less frumpy and a little more fun. Mine ended up being a fringy eighties rocker sort of looking shirt (which I only wear to bed) and we also made some fabric dangly earrings(which she told me we should wear them to this social gathering the next day. I wore mine even though I thought they were kind of dumb and she didn't and then laughed at me because she said she was joking. darn her :)  . When we were done we were looking at all the scraps laying on the table and somehow decided we needed to wear them as blindfolds. It was a random moment but worthy of a picture I thought.

Getting older stinks sometimes because it seems like it's not proper to be silly and make yourself laugh till your stomach hurts and your eyes water. We have to be serious and responsible all the time or so it seems.

I hope in the new year I can be a little less serious and learn to laugh a little more at myself. Laughter is good for the soul right?

Pants

Today I sewed my first pair of pants! I haven't used my sewing machine since who knows when and have been wanting a pair of wrap pants for a while now. Most people probably have never seen these pants and apparently they were popular in the 60's or 70's (I can't remember which). They have a bit of a bohemian look to them. wide legged and flowy.

I made them following this tutorial. I am wearing them right now and will eventually get around to posting a pict. They are super comfortable. I think I might make a pair with sweat pants fabric for lounging around the house.

I would consider myself a complete beginner when it comes to using a sewing machine. The fact that I made these and they turned out good means it's very easy. I used a chocolate brown linen material and I think I will make another pair with a lighter(lighter as in weight) fabric.

PS.Just had a caramel brulee latte from Starbucks. tasty!

Good night....

Me

I made these two new necklaces for my shop and took some photos to put on Etsy. I decided to mess with them a bit. I love how you can change photos with a touch of the keys. Whatever I did made my freckles way more visible, but the effect is neat. Except for the freckle mustache. ;)

The Weekend

It's Sunday and I'm about to go out to eat. I thought I would post a few picts of the necklace I just made.

I am really getting into sewing again. I go through phases and I guess it's making it's return. Sewing by hand is so relaxing and fun. I went to Hobby Lobby yesterday and didn't intend on buying fabric, but when I saw these two in the pictures below I knew I had to buy a little of each. I had no plans for what I would make with them, but today I got out my Yo Yo maker and made a few yo yo's. I LOVE making Yo Yo's! That progressed into making a necklace. I think it turned out really cute.I will probably make a few more and put them in my Etsy store.

My husband was out of town for most of the weekend and so I treated myself to a movie yesterday. I saw The Fighter. It was really good and Christian Bale was really great in it. I love that it was based off a true story too.

Mexican food awaits!

Vacation

We went to Gatlinburg TN several weeks ago just for the fun of it. We rented a really cute cabin and had fun walking around shopping and driving through the mountains. Here are a few photos of our trip.

Finished Bag

I Love how it turned out and I am sooooo thankful that Tandy leather brought back the cool vintage looking buckles.

For Moi.....

In the year that I have been doing leather work I have only made myself a belt, two necklaces, and one cuff. I always think of things I would like to make myself but I get caught up in making things for others or for my etsy store. even if I really like it I feel guilty keeping it for myself with the chance I might be able to sell it. I decided to make myself a purse and I totally love how it turned out. Here are pictures I took before I dyed and painted it. I will show you the finished product soon.

I chose a Lotus flower because A)they are beautiful flowers but B) they have a lot of symbolism and meaning behind them. They represent change and growth among other things and I feel like those are two things I am definitely walking in at the moment.

There is really nothing like making a functional item by hand. This purse took me many hours to complete. All the tooling, mixing paint colors and dyes, lacing the thing (was sort of a nightmare-I had what looked like leather dandruff all over my clothes.the fibers were flaking off as i was pulling the lace through each hole). There are just so many steps involved but I got such great satisfaction when i went out today to run errands and brought along my new bag to carry my things.

I am working on a small clutch purse for my shop with a similar feel to it. you will see that in a few days.

Christmas Tree

It seems like people put their trees up earlier and earlier every year. Most people I know had theirs up the day after Thanksgiving. We almost didn't put up a tree this year. I considered it and then gave in because it just sounded too depressing to think of Christmas rolling on by without any special attention. We have a fake one (i have never had a real one!) and it's quite cute-Thanks Big Lots. We are the only adults that i know who decorate our tree with our old childhood ornaments. Babies first Christmas, numerous ornaments that say "Chris" and a few strange slightly crusty looking random ones. It's not the most attractive looking Christmas tree but it certainly brings a lot of fun memories back. Right now there are only 3 presents under our tree. Hopefully it will fill up a bit more in the next week.

The more I live life the more the real Christmas story (not the one about Santa) touches my heart.I sat down the other day before I put our tree up and started reading in Luke chapter 21 and on. I have read and have heard others read that story so many times but this year it touched me in a way it hasn't in the past. This past year has been amazing and also probably one of the hardest for me. I have experienced great joy but also incredible sorrow. I am so thankful that God loves us the way He does. I could go on about how I feel about God but I won't. It's late and pondering on his love for us should keep your mind busy for awhile anyways.

Good night.....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

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Cherries

Last night somewhat late I started on this cuff. It reminds me of a small town fair and a bake off competition. Maybe a cherry pie competition. The cherries kind of look like they are sitting on an old fashioned paper doily. hmm...just thinking.

I also made a really cute little birdie that I will turn into a pendant. Look for him to show up in my store very soon.

This has been a really nice week. My sales have really picked up with Christmas around the corner and that is a HUGE blessing. I repriced a lot of items in my store making them a wee more affordable. I kind of want to sell most of it so I can start fresh in the new year. I have lots of ideas and am excited to get started on them.

I hope you all are having a great weekend!