Late to November

Since I can't post anything until December 26th (I've been crafting my face off!) I'm posting pics from a baby shower we threw for my friends Larry & Theresa last year. It was a Pirate-themed co-ed baby shower on the beach, because, what other theme can you do for the couple who met at a Jimmy Buffett concert?


I made the invitations by dyeing plain 8.5"X11" office paper and envelopes in coffee and air-drying them, then ironing them flat. The Pirate Boy stamp came from Buffalo Stamps. I wanted a pirate baby, though, so I cut off his cute little head.


I searched the internet for a baby stamp and found this bear on ebay. It wasn't worth the trouble of actually ordering it & waiting for it to get shipped, so I decapitated the bear with Photoshop & used my Pazzles & runner stamp material to create a "bottom half" stamp. (This is probably copyright infringement, but since I wasn't making any money off of it I'm fine with that.) I also made the "Pirate on Board" stamp with the Pazzles from a stock image from the internet. I stamped the images (other images came from a $1 stamp set from Joann's, Studio G if I remember correctly) and used black embossing powder for a raised, glossy image. The text is in "Pieced of Eight" font, printed in a regular inkjet printer. I inked the edges using Tim Holtz's "Walnut Stain" to further age it.

I also made "Thank You" cards with the Pirate Baby embossed in black, and a watermark image on the envelopes. I made seals by punching small circles, stamping an "Aargh!" in black and adding a glue dot (with the paper backing still on one side) so Mom & Dad didn't have to make an extra stop at the store.




I made silkscreens for all of the images on the quilt. I stamped images from the pirate sets I had, scanned them, enlarged them & used them on the 12"X12" quilt patches. The anchor & ships wheel came off of the internet, though. The quilt reverses to a Firefighter theme, since Baby John's father is in the fire department, and a Pirate/Firefighter quilt is the coolest thing a baby could hope to puke on.



My friend Pam had the "Pirate Baby" made out of stained glass at Creation Station in Silver Creek, NY, to match.

Instead of "Baby Bingo," because that is lame, we did "LARRY" with Dad as the center square.
They loved it!

Also, we had cake. It matched the invitations. It was delicious.

This is how we roll at the beach.

November

Hi!!! Erin was gentle in reminding me about this... I've been so MIA. Sadly since getting a roomie all of my craft stuff has been locked away in storage...

SO, for anyone still looking for an idea for the month (sorry this is SO late!).....

As the holidays approach, focus on making a gift(s), OR something that makes your own life easier!

This for me means, most of the ladies in my life will be getting a vintage cake plate! I'll be spending a day of thrift/antique store shopping looking for vintage plates and candle holders to glue together with the Amazing E6000 (glue) from Michaels that I've heard works well. SUPER cheap, easy and great for gifts! :) Have fun!
Happy Holidays!

Captain CaveKid

There was never really any question that Luke (my four month old) would be a dinosaur for Halloween. I am so in love with the the dino costume his big brother wore his first Halloween that Luke and any future babies will most likely be wearing that their first Halloweens as well (provided I can squeeze them in to it it fits them).

I had a really difficult time deciding on Adam’s costume though. I originally toyed with the idea of him being a dinosaur too, but I knew there was no way he would keep any sort of mask or hood on, and most of the costumes I found online had one or the other (and not to mention were more than I wanted to spend). I really wanted the boys’ costumes to go together so when my husband suggested Adam dress as a caveman, I knew it was perfect (though technically according to the geologic timeline cavepeople and dinosaurs did not coexist, but what's 65 million years between friends?).

So a a quick trip to Joanns for some animal print fabric and another to a Halloween costume shop for the plastic bones around the top and we were in business. I used one of Adam’s shirts as a guide for the size (and still ended up having to take in the sides twice).

We added his dinosaur feet slippers and a club (yes, I gave a two-year-old a club, probably not one of my better parenting decisions) and there you go, instant Cavekid. We'll be going to a party at a friend's house on Halloween, instead of door-to-door (he's still a bit young for trick-or-treating), but we'll put pants and a long-sleeve shirt underneath to keep him warm.

I think my little wild man pulls off the caveman look pretty well.

(By the way, Erin - I can't comment on your post for some reason, but the costumes you made for your boys turned out fantastic! You did a great job!)

Dressed Up Canning Jars On Driftwood

I've been wanting to decorate the driftwood stump in our yard for a while. My neighbor Pam has a beautiful sculpture garden in her yard, so I had to give her one too. I've made several of these since & keep refining my process, so sadly no step-by-step, just the pictures.

I live in the most beautiful place in the world, Sunset Bay, NY.

Costume Making Year 2

Elliott is Super Why and Henry is supposed to be Woofster (Super Why's dog), but he wasn't into the cape, so he is just a dog.

Elliott's costume is two pieces, shirt and pants--which I managed to make on the first try. His shirt is appliqued and he has a blue cape and green mask. The mask could've used more tweaking, but he doesnt seem to care.

Henry's is a jumpsuit and it is my second try. The first attempt was with a more dog-like fuzzy fabric. Problem was, it had almost no give (so what was a little small was REALLY tight) and the inside of the fabric was itchy, so he was just not happy. The second try was fleece and MUCH easier. He has a hood with ears and a tail in the back. The jumpsuit zips up the front.

The costumes weren't as hard as I expected, but I didn't really follow a pattern, either. I just traced around a big shirt/pants of theirs and added a BIG seam allowance so that they'd be able to wear the costumes over clothes (this is Western New York, after all!). Then I embellished and sewed the two pieces right sides together (except for feet, hand, and neck holes). MUCH easier than I expected!

Can't wait to see what other people have come up with!

Erin

All dressed up with nowhere somewhere to go!

This month's theme is dressing up! So many choices... dress up a cardigan with flowers... bedazzle a tshirt... or show off a Halloween costume or decoration you made! Happy crafting :)

A Little Less Exposure

This is really for the house, but I've meant to do this for at least two years. I crossed it off of my to-do list, therefore it is for me.

Our bathroom has these tow 48" X 48" mirrors over the bathtub so, in addition to the two mirrors above the vanity and the one on the linen closet....that's a whole lot of naked to see when stepping out of the shower. I wanted to make it a little less...reflective.

The curtains are made out of muslin ($16 for 10 yards at Joann's) and tied back with twine. Eventually I'll add beach glass to the ties, but we're throwing a party for 100 of our closest friends tonight so it won't happen today.

The palm trees are "etched glass" cling-ons I bought in Florida. When I first put them up, I thought it looked a little too much like something Bea Arthur might have in her bathroom, but together with the curtains, I like it.

Instead of having the various seashells from our beach adventures scattered on the ledge, I put them in an old candle holder and it made the difference I was looking for.

If anything, it's something new to look at while doing my business in the morning (Note the position of the toilet. Like I said, it was a WHOLE lot of naked before the curtains!)

Now for the rest of the list....