Bearly busy at all.

These are two enormous pictures of the lil brown bear that I recently needle felted. He took hardly any time at all and barely put up a fuss. I was, however, wounded during battle by my own weapon. I poked my thumb with the barbed felting needle whilst looking up to be nosey instead of focusing on the furry face I was fiddling with.

At any rate, I love the little booger and have yet to allow him into the care of my little girl. She is just turning two Friday and, well, she might not appreciate the fine craftswomanship that Mommy put into this furry friend. I am trying to find an excuse to carry him everywhere with me and say loudly to all who'll listen, "Look what I made!" I have yet to find a good one.

I am quite happy that I have begun to craft again as it has been a long while since my last completed project. The purses that I finished last week turned out well and if I could ever find a great way to photo them I'll post. I must sleep, my lovelies, finals are around the corner and this History isn't going to learn itself. Loves to all.

Felt up...

I ordered some felting needles and some wool roving. I got just a bit so I could practice and see if I liked it before I spent alot. I LOVE IT!!! I'll post some new pics soon.

I have also found that a large mini M&Ms container from the gas station is the best container to hold your felting needles. I put a small piece of styrofoam in the bottom to protect the needle points. I am carrying 20 needles with no problems. So cheap, so easy, so happy I am.

What is next, my lovelies?

The big X-mas is around the corner. Its newly November and already the grocery stores and shopping malls are playing "Jingle Bells". Terrible ploy to start your pockets shaking. Well, Crafters, it doesn't have to be this way!!! They do serve a purpose by reminding us that we only have 44 days til Gift-apalooza. They remind us that Cousin Jimmy's sweater won't finish itself and Grandma Betty's afgan will be Grandma Betty's scarf if you don't get your needles moving!!

Come on troop, left, right, left, right, knit, purl, knit, purl...

By the way, I totally stole the sad little boy's image from the internet. I have no idea where, so don't give me credit (or take any for yourself, greedy booger).

Backpack Baby, oh yeah

I am so proud of this project. I made my little girl the characters, Backpack, the Map and a star, from Dora the Explorer. Dora (she says Dee-uh) is my 19 month old daughter's favorite show. I hope that she will love this cute little trio. I love to see her little face light up when she is excited. Christmas should be fun (if I can wait that long to give it to her).

I machine sewed most of the project with only a small amount of hand stitching. I used a standard stitch with no frills so this is, by far, an easy thing to create. Freehand drawing means no pattern, so one step is eliminated. The faces are painted on by hand with washable/dryer safe Tulip paints. (The kind of paint we made t-shirts with in middle school.) This entire project took about two evenings. It takes a while for the paint to dry and, well, I have a 19 month old who requires ...demands attention. Honestly, the cutting and sewing took only a couple of hours.

The bag is lined with pink flowered flannel. It makes the bag soft and ready for a bit of a beating. This was helpful when I ironed the bag (which should be done BEFORE painting on the face) to smooth out the folds. The star and the Map are both stuffed with basic fiberfill and hand stitched closed.

The best part about it is that the whole project is washable. The instructions call for a painted garment to be turned inside out for washing. I simply drop it in a pillow case (trusty old laundry saving friend) and tie it closed for a normal wash. Drying is up to you. Machine drying of a handicraft item is for the brave of heart. I find myself being the "lay it flat" type for something I put alot of time into. Give me a few years, though. With a few kids around, I'll be saying, "Who cares how it gets dried, they're lucky its clean!!"

Begin at the beginning...

(pssst...thats me in a new hat I made for my kiddo)

I am not at all original in this idea. I saw a crafter's blogspot and thought "what a great idea". She uses this as her motivation to finish projects. So, I steal. I stoly-stole the idea and ta-da...

I have an illness that shakes up my emotions quite a bit. Crafting is the best way to deal with it, for me. I create something with all the energy that the worry stirs up. I grow tired alot, so projects are usually quick, easy, or done in steps so I can return to it later. (I hope to post exact directions so you can stealy-steal the projects, too.) I knit, paint, sew, sculpt, decoupage, build, and just generally make something out of something else. I would love to learn to crochet, but I'm all thumbs when it comes to that. (Is there a craft using all thumbs? That is your first homework assignment.)

Some projects will be my own creations, some will have been dreamed up by others. All crafts will be attributed to the right creator and I hope you will do the same if you choose to repost in anyway. (I know you crazy kids will do that.)

Craftitude is about attitude. The stranger is no danger here. Strong, fun, crazy things are waiting to be dreamed up by anyone willing to think outside the box. So, grab two things and glue them together, hey you made something... now, figure out how to get the remote unstuck from the dog.