Thing-a-Day 2012 - #9 Felt Valentines

Felt Valentines

I saw somewhere on the 'net some felt valentine ornaments, but I am running out of places to hang things so I left off the ribbon and made these to nestle in a bowl. Unfortunately, the bowl I wanted wasn't available, so I stuck them in my mondo mug. I think they're cute and I got to practice my blanket stitch again :)

Also, they were made completely with supplies I had on hand AND they are stuffed with scraps! Waste not, want not. I used up the scraps from these hearts in 3 of them and then pulled out a bag of fabric scraps from a bag I made a couple years ago. Yes, I kept my scraps for that long. Yes, I always keep the scraps. You never know when you may need a patch, or a small bit for another craft :)

Thing-A-Day 2012 - #8 Felt Heart Bunting

#8 - Felt Heart Bunting

I had a huge stack of felt that I bought several years ago for another craft that I never got around to finishing. I've seen these heart buntings around the 'net for awhile now, not only in felt, but paper as well. It took me longer than I thought to hand cut all those hearts and in the end I had to cut some more to complete the entire room. On the up side, I did use up most of my felt bits and instead of tossing all those scraps I stuffed them into an old mason jar, tied it with a bow and called it "bonus craft!"

And later I can pull those scraps out and do something else with them ;)

There is nothing better than making something awesome out of scraps that would normally go in the trash. 

Inspiration Station: Upcycled TP Tubes

found on flickr

Isn't this amazing?! Who would have thought that the lowly, empty toilet-paper tube could be turned into something so lovely? I think I might start saving those cardboard tubes and have a little fun :)

Summer Lovin'

Is there anything better than enjoying fresh picked, locally grown fruits and vegetables?! I love summer's harvest of goodness. We've been enjoying sweet corn, yellow squash and zuchinni, tomatoes, peaches, and blueberries. So yummy!

In the Good Ole Summertime!

When the hot weather rolls around, we start making a lot of freezer pops. So many in fact, that I think it's time I popped into Target and bought a couple more of these. For now we just make kool-aid pops, but I want to start making some yogurt and fruit pops as well. The heat lasts quite a while around these parts so I have plenty of time to experiment with my freezer pops!

Inspiration Station: The Kitchen Plates

Look at these pretties! I found this on DesignSponge. Which was inpired by

Lisa Congdon's clever kitchen post on Design Sponge. I like this idea and fully intend to copy it when I finally have a house again :)  Especially since I loooooove collecting interesting old plates and things. What a fun collection!

Where are my Pedal-Pushers?!

Check out my new bike!

I was out walking this morning, getting in some marathon training, and I saw this parked in a yard with a sign that said "For Sale - $20". $20! Can you believe it?! What a deal! There was no one home when I stopped by after my walk, but I left a note and a few hours later the owner rode the bike over to my yard and asked if I was still interested. Was I interested? Ha! I took her for a spin and knew this was my bike. Chad was so tickled with my enjoyment that he paid for it himself! Best $20 spent, ever. It's in pretty good shape, but needs new handle grips and a new seat. No biggie. I was hoping I'd find a girls bike, but this'll work!

It's even my color!

Spring Fling Shopping Tote

I picked up some lovely pants at the local thrift shop and thought they'd make a beautiful tote bag. I looked at several patterns on the net, but didn't find exactly what I was looking for so I winged it. I did use the handle idea that I found at morsbags. I didn't use the pattern because I didn't want an envelope-style bag, I needed something with a bottom and a good deal of room. I also added some pockets!

This pocket is in the center panel on the front of the bag. Fully lined and stitched together with the seaming, you can't even tell it's there until you put something in it! I also added a small pocket inside.

It looked a little plain Jane to me so I pulled out some scraps and made a pretty flower. I had a lot of fun working out the pattern for this bag. There are a couple things I'd do differently, like boxing the corners instead of making a separate bottom. That'll be part of my next bag!