Etching

Last time I posted I had high hopes of getting back into blogging regularly!  I was way wrong.  Since then I have had very little time to do anything between work and moving.  Yep, we moved.... To Arkansas..... My husband is ecstatic.   I was sick and tired of driving an hour to and from work everyday and so was my husband.  I was missing all of the kids school events because if I wanted to go I had to take a half day off.   That's impossible to do with as many activities the kids were involved in.  

Anyway, we have moved into a much larger, two-story house.  Now, I have to decorate this sucker.  Considering it's double the size of what we were in before, I have a lot of empty areas and plenty of decorating to do to get it feeling like a home! 

Today, I etched.   I would have never thought it would be so ridiculously easy.  I mean, seriously, I could etch all day without much effort.  

Painters tape

Armour Etching Cream 

(Mine was $8.99 at Hobby Lobby)

Over 'n' Over stencil

(you don't have to have a stencil, you can cut out the shape on the tape)

A glass jar 

(also Hobby Lobby, half off)

 

 I forgot to take pictures of the process, but it's so simple. 

You put the stencil or cut out on the glass.  Remove all air bubbles.  Tape around if you're messy like me. Then glob the etching cream on with a small paint brush (don't let it touch anywhere you don't want etched!)  Let it set for 5-7 minutes.  Wash it off with warm water and you're done!  D.O.N.E!  Ten minute project!

  My family loves pasta dishes. As you can tell I barely have any penne noodles left because we have used them!  I'm going to do one for all the types of pasta we use.  Then I'll find other things to etch.  Makes something so simple look personalized.  LOVE THIS SO MUCH! I fear every piece of glass in my house will be etched now....

This weekend I will post the cardboard letters I made for the laundry room!  They look fantastic.

Oh, and we have a cat now.  Matthew's cat and he named her Mitten.  6 kids, 2 dogs, and 1 cat.  I'm so done!

Making A Comeback....Hopefully

I cannot believe it's been a full year since I've posted on this blog! Then again, it's been a CRAZY year. Thankfully, I'm working full-time and doing photography part-time. That takes up so much of my time I haven't been able to blog! But I'm going to try my best to jump back in. I have a couple projects in the works and have a few already finished.

THANK YOU PINTEREST!

I'm a pinning fool and there's so many creative ideas on pinterest I could stay busy day in and day out! If you haven't been to the site, you need to go!!

Anyways, if anyone is still out there listening, I'm alive!

Madisons Quilt

I'm finally posting the quilt I finished a few weeks ago. It was a labor of love. It was for my cousins daughters 1st birthday. I literally worked all day and night for four days straight to finish it.

The hardest thing besides cutting all the 5x5 squares was constantly laying it out on my carpet to make sure I sewed it in order.

My living room was a disaster for DAYS!! I'm just glad my husband wasn't here during this time or it would have drove him nuts!

I'm very happy with the end result! My cousin Liz is too!!

I was in such a rush to get her the quilt before the birthday party I forgot to take a finished photo so Liz sent me one of it laid out on her queen size bed.

Rabid Wolves

My husband is off doing a military school for a while so I've been left to fend for myself amongst rabid wolves, aka, the kids. I thought my husband was going so I would have a break kinda. Don't seem shocked. I need breaks...We all do! Anyways, I thought it would be a perfect time for me to get a lot of projects done while he's away without waking him up or interrupting his sports.
Nope, someone has been sick and home since. First was my youngest, he was very sick for four days...FOUR DAYS! Next was my oldest son for just a little over a day. I had a two day break and now I woke up with a fever and sick. Sick mom, dad gone, five kids....just isn't right.
I hope mine is the day one and not the four day one. I have a quilt that HAS to be finished in the next few days. I know I can get it done, I just don't want to be sneezing all over the thing!

Has anyone else been sick this winter? It feels like it's a never ending story around here!

Great Start to 2011

Is anyone else still dumbfounded that it's actually 2011? Crazy isn't it?

Besides the fact that my back went out (old injury) and I can barely move, I've gotten a lot accomplished.

I wanted to make a handbag the other day and I had two flat quarters I bought a while back and didn't know what I was going to do with them since my dog, Max, is a boy. I had tortured him enough recently...

Can you see the shame? He looks so stinkin cute though!!

When my daughter seen them she squealed and asked for a purse to carry her Littlest Pet Shop animals (I so can't wait for her to stop liking those). This is what I came up with eyeballing it. She loves it and that's all that matters, but I'm kinda proud of myself for making it in an hour without a pattern. I wanted to put a zipper in it, but I messed my chance up so I put a magnetic clasp instead.

Other than that, this is a sneak peek at a quilt I'm working on for my cousin's baby girls first birthday. I hope to get it done by the weekend and I'm going to push it even faster if I can get my back feeling better.

Another goal I'm adding for 2011....No more staying up all night and taking really bad lighting pics. I'm going to try to get to bed by at least midnight every night and do my sewing during the day while the kids are at school.

Oh, speaking of school, I'm going to take a few of my quilts at different stages to my second graders class tomorrow. This week they did a story on piecing quilts and I offered to show the kids first hand how it's done. I'm a little nervous. More than anything, I don't want to embarrass my sweet boy. I will just have to resist the urge to kiss his sweet little cheeks in front of everyone! Wish me luck!

2011 Sewing Goals

1. Giant Pinwheel Quilt
2. Wonky Star Quilt
3. Tumbler Quilt
4. Table Placemats
5. Embroidery Owls Quilt
6. Reupholster the Wing back Chair
7. At least one purse per month.
8. Coin Stacks Quilt
9. Hourglass Quilt
10. At least one other quilt.

That's all I have right now. I didn't do well on last years list, but I also had two surgeries and was sick for months. Hopefully this year will be much better! I think 7 quilts and 12 purses is a good start! :) Eventually I would like to have a quilt for every season and every holiday.

What did you get done in 2010 and what are your sewing goals for 2011?

Owl Be Ready

Excuse my very lame attempt at using the word "owl" in the title. I've been sewing a lot lately, getting a ton of use out of my Christmas present. (Sewing machine).

It was my first time trying placemats and potholders. I have the potholders finished, though the bias tape doesn't look spectacular, I think they turned out cute and will be very useful.

Aren't these potholders adorable? I love the little guys and the wood backing. I can't wait to put them in my kitchen and start using them. Trust me, in my kitchen they will have marinara stains on them by the weeks end!

These are the unfinished placemats. Just like the potholders I put the owl pattern on the face and the wood on the backing. I did cut out the owls and sewed them on the backing just for a little extra something. I'm seriously IN LOVE with them. I want to have a dinner party just so people can see them.

As soon as I buy wider bias tape I will finish these and post the pics. I can't wait.

Have you been doing any projects or making any lists for 2011? My 2010 goals were a HUGE bust, but that's not going to stop me from making a new one and trying again.

Workin the Elves

This year I had five elves. Five kids to do my bidding or they wouldn't be able to play xbox. The amount of productivity you can get out of kids is kinda amazing!

This evening the girls asked if they could help me cook Christmas dinner. I think it's good to show them that it takes effort to make something, teach them a recipe, and start a tradition. They loved it, but it made it ten times longer and harder! haha. It was well worth it.

While doing this I learned the oldest, Kyla, my stepdaughter, is extremely good at dicing parsley. Realllllly good at it. Emily, my daughter, is good at mixing and measuring.


I let them make the appetizers that have to be prepared ahead of time so Kyla and Emily made Sausage Balls and Hot Pepper Dip. We'll just toss them in the oven on Christmas and be done with it. I'm actually excited to try them. I pray that everyone makes a fuss over them cooking them. It took them FOREVER!

Kacey, my youngest stepdaughter wanted in on the action. I wanted her to make something simple and fast so it would keep her attention and still be fun. I literally let her do everything. I just told her what to do. She made a green bean casserole. She was more than happy about it and I can't wait til she sees people eating it.
Isn't she just adorable?

I love this! It was WAY more work than if I would have done it myself and twice the dishes, but it was well worth it. I know before long none of the kids will want me to do anything with them. I'm hoping they'll look back on their childhood and say regardless that there were five of them and they drove their mom crazy, I took the time to be there.

Ok, I'm going to go now before I get too sappy.

I'm not a sappy kind of person.....

Yes I am, but don't tell anyone.

I've been sewing after the kids go to bed every night and I'll post some pics later this week.

MERRY CHRISTMAS all. Remember Jesus Christ is the reason for the season! God bless you all.

Sleepless Nights

I've been having a bit of trouble sleeping at night lately! It really sucks the next day, but I do get a ton of crafts done in the middle of the night! Last night I made a stocking.

Tonight I actually went to sleep at a decent time and my husband wakes me up to tell me what hours he works the next day! Bless his heart, he doesn't have trouble sleeping at all! BLAH!!! So, after an hour of sleep I have been up redoing the ottoman to a chair-ottoman combo.

This is the ottoman before! My mother gave it to me like this cause she knew I would have fun doing something with it. Truth be told, I've been a little nervous to redo it. Guess I couldn't mess it up any more than it already is though....

Just ignore the laundry on the chair and the bag of snow in the crate by the chair. Eventually they will either be worn or put away! ;)

I picked Denyse Schmidt's County Fair and I think it turned out great! See the wingback behind it? Yeah, that's next! I am still nervous about that!

The more picks I post, the more and more I hate my carpet!!! Next time there may every well be bare floors in the pics! ha. My husband would kill me!

Fabric Wish List

I have a fabric christmas wish list. Here it goes!



Central Park and Bliss are my two favorites that I don't have. I want both of these ridiculously bad! They make me happy just to look at them!


Seriously, how amazing is the Prayer Flag? It's beautiful! I would make a quilt and throw pillows for sure!
Sherbet Pips makes me miss Colorado with my kids. I want to make stockings out of this!!
Origins makes me think of late summer nights for some reason. I would want a quilt for sure!

I can see so many different things I could do with the Azure Blue Swoon and the Lime Green Swoon. I think a brick quilt and some throw pillows would be great in these. Not to mention handbags, tops, and even tablemats! The possiblities are really endless!!

Awww, a girl can dream right? Anyways, what's on your wish list and what would you do with it?