Caught the craft bug...

"When I don't have any ideas, I pick up fabric and start working with it and something happens."

-Geoffrey Beene

Not knowing exactly where my sewing machine is going to be stored for the next couple of months (we're apartment hunting this weekend... wish us luck!), I decided I better go ahead and get it all of the craftiness out of my system.

I've been on the lookout for a new summer purse that goes with everything. I haven't found quite what I wanted, so I decided to try one of my own based one of my favorite bags (which is looking a little rough these days!). I filled several pages of a little notebook with sketches, layouts, and steps, hoping to minimize the mistakes. Besides having to rework the lining of the bag, it turned out pretty stinkin' cute!

If you're curious about the fabric... the print is "Ellie" by Michael Miller Fabric and the solid is just khaki-colored Duck from Hobby Lobby.

And, then once I had a cute purse... I needed some matching accessories. So, today I created a luggage handle wrap for our upcoming trip and a sunglasses case to protect my new shades.

 

Maybe someday I'll create tutorials for them. But this time, the process constantly evolved as I was working.

Aunt Jana Camp Crafts...

"For me, the best work is passionate, fresh, well designed and well executed - the perfect balance of art and craft."

-Judy Villett

It's taken a couple of days to unwind and clean up after the boys left on Saturday; however, I did want to do a quick craft wrap-up from "Aunt Jana Camp" last week. Although most of the activities we engaged in throughout the week involved toy cars, the Wii, or the swimming pool, Thursday was designated as "craft day"--with somewhat of a snake theme.

We used watercolors to paint snake coloring pages which I printed from HelloKids.com.

We used freezer paper stencils to make snake t-shirts, using this process from Say Yes to Hoboken.

We also bought neckties from the thrift store and turned them into stuffed snakes, like this tutorial from Skip to My Lou.

We drew and colored a drag strip/mud hole for the matchbox cars to drive.

And, last but not least, we created a "Welcome home from your trip!" banner to hang from the balcony.

Needless to say, Thursday was a busy day!

Photo Challenge: Day 30

"Hope is that thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops... at all."

-Emily Dickinson

Day 30 (06/17/11): A photo of whatever you please.

Can you believe that this challenge is over? Can you believe that I posted 30 times in 30 days? Can you believe that I actually finished something that I started?

The end of May and the beginning of June brought lots of changes, some endings and some beginnings. It brought visits from family and friends, some planned long in advance and some more spontaneous. It brought both crazy days and relaxing days. But, with this photo challenge always in the back of my mind, it always brought inspiration.

I finish up the month today on my 27th birthday--no longer in my early twenties. I sit here without a full-time job, without knowing where we're going to live a month from now, without knowing what surprises the next year will bring. But, today, I'm okay with that. Maybe I won't be tomorrow... but today I am.

I'm finishing up a crazy but fun week with my nephews, and my fingers are crossed that Rob is able to make the first flight out of LAX today. I'm ready to see him. I'm ready to kick off this new year in style!

Photo Challenge: Day 29

"The activist is not the man who says the river is dirty.  The activist is the man who cleans up the river."

-Ross Perot

Day 29 (06/16/11): A photo with clouds.

Granted this only has one cloud in the sky. But, crazy enough, out of all of the photos I took this week of the boys, this is the only one that had even a hint of a cloud. Guess that's what happens when your subjects are close to the ground. 

Chase offered to take TJ for a walk while I worked in the front yard. After making it several houses down and back, he came back asking if we could go for a walk around the whole neighborhood to pick up litter. A heavy rainstorm the night before had soaked the ground, and left a lot of wet newspapers. As we trekked through the neighborhood, we played "I spy" with newspapers and then tried to guess whether it was "readable" or not. We left the dry ones, but figured that no one was going to sit down with a soggy paper. 

We filled up the stroller basket with wet newspapers and other tidbits of trash. Chase really wanted to save them to show his good deed to his mama, but luckily I was able to convince him that a photo would do the trick, since the garbage collectors were coming the next morning.

Photo Challenge: Day 28

"Boys are found everywhere -- on top of, underneath, inside of, climbing on, swinging from, running around or jumping to."

-Alan Marshall Beck

Day 28: An action photo.

This week an action photo is not hard to come by...

If you ask Chase how much fun he had at the park, he will say, " Too hot, too much walking, boring." But this photo shows otherwise...