Thursday Home/Craft/DIY Miscellany

• This article offers a great tip about not wasting time finishing books that you just can't get into. Clears clutter and saves precious time. Good thinking. While, I don't agree with "throwing the book out" as he suggests, I do suggest selling them online, putting them in a yard sale, swapping them, giving them away, or donating them to a library or library sale.
  
  
• This is a totally cool idea for DIY shelving.
  
  
• These "Don't Get Outta Bed" pants are pretty sweet (PDF download--you'll need Adobe Reader).
  
  
• This Reversible Tank Top Beach Tote doesn't require sewing and is really cute. I have a Led Zepplin shirt that I bought last year online and it's too small. I think I might make it into this cute little bag.
  
  
• This may be my weekend project. I have lots of hairbands that are brand new that I purchased right before I chopped off my hair. They will be perfect to use.
  
  
• And now, for a couple of movie trailers that look kinda good.
  
  I've been wanting to read this book and now they're making a movie.
  The Time Traveler's Wife Trailer
  
  
  Who doesn't love a good Bruce Willis movie? This sci-fi, dystopic thriller looks pretty awesome.
  SURROGATES trailer in HD
  
  
  This mockumentary staring Michael Cera looks really cute.
  Paper Heart
  
  
  

Cute Camera Strap Giveaway

Go on over to Make It and Love It and leave a comment to win a tres chic camera strap (ahem, Sooz and Chelle).

Per Your Request

I made this bag last night. Several of you knew I was doing it and asked me to post pictures. So, here they are. The pattern is from Simplicity New Look (#6574) and is the bag in the bottom left corner.


I have the hardest time reading patterns. The instructions seem to me as if they don't match the diagrams. And what they call the different sides always sound the same. I couldn't figure out which side was the bag front, the front facing, the bag back, and bag back facing. It all sounds the same to me!!! And what seems to take the longest with me is cutting, pinning, and figuring out the instructions. I spent FIVE hours on this bag last night. It should have taken maybe an hour and a half but I kept having to read Step 4 over and over and over.

The material I used is from a Waverly Home top sheet that I no longer have use for. I have always loved the pretty pattern of the material and decided that I wouldn't be wasting it if I created some "practice" projects. I had some white fabric that I used for the liner. The pattern said to use the same material inside and out, but I like contrasting liner fabric and therefore used the white. The thread I have is kind of crappy. I don't know why but it seemed very fragile. I did have to use the seam ripper more times than I care to admit and it made it easy to take the thread out, but I don't know how well it will hold up.

Finished bag

I had a problem with the stitching on the handle because I had to sew it together on the inside and by the time I turned the bag right side out, I realized there was a problem but didn't feel like going back because I had already had enough problems. Does anyone know of a way to fix this?

The inside lining.

I think it's so cute! I just wish the handle was stitched better. Oh, and for some reason the front side of one of the handles and the back side of the same handle didn't end up the same width; so, they don't exactly match up. Oh, well. I guess it gives it character.

Sunday Afternoon Project

This afternoon, I decided to attempt this camera carrier. Cute, right? Absolutely.

Well, what should have taken me maybe an hour turned into a three hour project. I had issues figuring out which side needed to go where. I tried to follow the directions but kept getting confused when I needed to sew the sides together. I probably turned the material inside out over 20 times. Plus, I didn't have any ribbon to use for closing the case, so I decided to use a snap. I couldn't figure out how to put the snap together, so I had to enlist the help of MK. He put it together for me. AND, the stitching is something to be desired.

So, here's the finished product. It is not at all as good as I wanted it to look. However, I finished it. I wasted a lot of time doing it, but it's done. I got really frustrated with myself for having so many problems. Maybe next time I'll do better.

Felt liner and outer fabric that I bought in the remant basket at Walmart.


As MK says, "It's not too bad. It serves its purpose." Haha.

Domesticity Revisited

I was asked to post pictures of my sewing machine, so here they are. Notice the TV to the right.



And this is the spinach quiche I made last week. It looked great on top but the pie crust wasn't completely done in the center. If I had left it in longer, the top crust would have burned. My oven is sort of crappy.

Domesticity

Here are some things I did over the weekend that have been unusually domestic for yours truly:

• Set up my sewing machine (finally!)
  Last weekend, I decided to clear out some of the stuff in the back bedroom. It had basically been turned in to a junk room where we put all of the stuff we have no place for. I finally got tired of not being able to walk through it, so I started throwing out things and consolidating boxes. I cleared off some of the junk on a little dressing table that is a family heirloom and Sunday, I decided to set up my sewing machine on that table. I got it all set up, threaded (I had forgotten how to do it and was glad the manual was in the box) and even sewed a little something but it turned out kind of bad. In my defense, I wasn't using a pattern, so I didn't cut the fabric even, which made the stitches not parallel. Oh, well, it wasn't too bad for being the first time to sew in 15 years!
  
  Then yesterday while I was at work, MK hooked up a TV for me in that room. We have this thing that mounts it to the wall, so it is to the right of my sewing table. The antenna isn't hooked up yet, but I can still watch DVDs whenever I'm sewing or doing a craft project. I'm glad that room is slowly becoming useful.
  
  Here are some projects I'd like to do eventually (I'm ambitious)
  -Square-Bottomed Canvas Bucket (to hold living room junk/clutter)
  -Hip Mama Diaper Bag (to give as baby shower gifts)
  -Coffee Cozy (to give as miscellaneous gifts or for myself)
  -Camera Cozy (for gifts)
  -Beautiful Tote Bag (for myself)
  

• Made shrimp dip
  I was looking through recipe books trying to find some light summer meals since I haven't had much of an appetite lately (this is a good thing!) when I came across a shrimp dip recipe. It looked easy and I decided to try it so we'd have something to snack on. I will list the recipe if you are interested:
  
  Shrimp Dip
  4-1/2 oz. can tiny shrimp, drained and rinsed
  8 0z package of cream cheese, softened
  1/4 cup of sour cream
  1 package dry Italian dressing
  2 tbsp lemon juice
  
  All you do is mix all the ingredients together. I suggest you make sure the cream cheese is very soft because when I made mine, the cream cheese was very hard to mix with the other ingredients and it basically pulverized my shrimp. You might want to mix everything minus the shrimp together and then add the shrimp at the end. Chill in the fridge for 3 hours before serving. Serve with crackers or pita chips. Enjoy!
  
  
• Played nurse (sorta)
  Well, I thought I had some others but I guess that was it. On a different note, MK has sciatica. We are treating it with anti-inflammatories and arthritis pain medication. It seems to be helping and I read that it will most likely go away in 2-3 weeks.
  
  

Hooray for creativity and domesticity!!!

What I Did This Week

I haven't painted a mural for two or three years now, and I remember why. It's very demanding. I love the creation process, but by the middle of the job, I'm very ready to be finished. I've also discovered that even though regular craft paint is non-toxic and water based, I have developed a physical reaction to it. I've had a headache and stuffy nose the entire time I've been working on my latest commission. So, unless it's someone very special, or something I desperately want to do, I will decline most future requests.

I did two rooms for a former co-worker. I love her dearly and miss being with her. She has a little boy and this is what we painted for his room.


She also has a baby girl, and this is what we added for her.


I can tell I'm getting too old to be crawling around on the floor trying to paint details on a wall. My body is yelling at me. But, I'm glad I did it, and am reasonably pleased with the result.