flirty apron swap!

i finished my apron! my partner said her favorite color was pink, i hope she meant it! i included recipes for princess pudding with cappuccino whipped cream & spicy cinnamon crackles, a hot pink silicone hot mat, and a hand knit washcloth in "pink lemonade" colorway. i wish i'd had more time for photos, as usual i shook hands with the deadline. but i am super happy with it, i love the ruffle on the bottom and the ties are extra long, so you can tie them in front.

i know i am my own worst critic, but if you can't be honest with yourself - maybe the waist band could have been a little wider... the reverse should have had a floral pocket or some rick-rack... and my ruffling needs improvement. but i still love it!

brown bag it, no more!

as you can see from the button to your right, i am part of the lunchbox swap over at oh, fransson! i am excited about this one because it's a bit more challenging to me - forcing me to try something new. the tutorial for her vinyl covered lunchbox made from a vintage pillowcase? genius. but maybe a bit too much for my first time. plus, with the hubbs working nights now, travel to a fabric store is out. not to mention thrifting for a suitable pillowcase.

so i've been looking around for other ideas, and i think i've decided upon the one at supafine, here although i am only now realizing how beneficial flickr is as a source of inspiration. i found several styles there as well. i plan to sew a trial bag, hopefully tomorrow. troy said he'd take the kids somewhere for an hour or two so i can have a break. now i am ticking off the minutes until i can focus on sewing!

if this first bag is a success, i know i will make one for my mom. she takes her lunch to work all the time, and i'm certain she does so in a plastic bag! so this will be a perfect gift for her.

easter cookie goodness

yay!

more apron swaps, people! head over to abby's if you want more details.

also, while you are there, check out her excellent burp cloth (or puke-wipers!) tutorial! baby blocks may have just got bumped...

more fun links!

i've been wanting to knit cakes since i saw the knitted cupcakes in oneskein, but here is a great pattern for a knitted slice of layer cake, yummo!

don't toss those broken crayon pieces! use them to make crayon cookies! (here's some more, & here too) i made some of these for my kids - let me warn you, mine didn't come out as great as theirs, i forgot they were in the oven & over melted them! they have a clear layer of wax on top, so only one side colors. ah, well. i used a regular size muffin pan, so they came out kind of flat. but i plan to try it again when the kiddos demolish another few boxes of crayolas.

i have not been brave enough to try this pattern yet - knitting for me needs to be something i can memorize & pick up/set down every row. but someday, i have to make this! if only because i love learning new ways to knit.

and finally, the next baby gift i plan to make, is a set of these cute blocks. these are going to be for my own little munchkin, so he can build towers right along with big bro & sis.

show off your goods

has it really been a whole week since i posted? i've been sort of lazy, with lots of new books from the library to curl up with, new movies for the kids to watch, and a huge pile of gravel in our drive to climb on. i've been knitting washcloths - some are gifts, some are for a swap i'm doing next month. and i've been tossing around the idea of having a booth in our local craft show this fall.

has anyone done a craft show before? the ottawa homemade holidays is a juried show, and i would need to submit photos along with my application. i went to this last year, and it's huge! it's held at the middle school, and it gets a ton of traffic.

since i can also sell baked goods at this show, i am thinking a booth with cookies and cakes, some packaged cookie mixes, and a few handmade items would be a lot of fun! and i have until july to decide if i want to enter, so if you have any tips or advice please let me know!

apron show & tell

hooray! my apron arrived today, and i absolutely love it! it's so pretty, & it matches my kitchen perfectly. thanks abby! although i won't be wiping any icing on this one, i can promise you - it's too sweet to use for that. she also sent me a cookbook of soup recipes, i can't wait to try some out.

does anyone have any tips on displaying aprons? i have a bunch of vintage aprons, passed down from my mom's side, but i don't know what to do with them. i had then hanging from a small peg rack in my old laundry room, but that doesn't really highlight them. they bunch up and hide all the cute details, like embroidered flowers along the hem.

in other crafty news, i've been knitting washcloths and making baby bibs, nothing mentally taxing but it's been nice to have mindless projects. after laying the ceramic tile floor in our mudroom last weekend, i'm not really up for any more challenges right now!

tutu cute

this is the sweetest tutu i've seen. i especially love the model, she's so adorable! i am going to try to make these for all the girls in the family. hobby lobby has spools of tulle on sale this week. i figure this would be a good project for movie watching with the kids, no pins or beads or anything messy. wish me luck!

craft show

the lawrence spring arts & craft show is this weekend at the douglas county fairgrounds, 9am to 4pm. aack, i can't go & it makes me crazy! i'd love to see what's there this year!

i know what boys want!

i want to give a handmade gift to troy's cousin, who had her 2nd baby recently. it's a beautiful girl this time. so i've made a bib, a ball, and now i am trying to think of something to make her 2 year old brother. any ideas for a good boy gift? should i make him a ball, too?

crazy busy

I swap with Swap-bot!
i now have the swap fever - so i signed up for another apron swap. http://flirtyapronswap.blogspot.com
i've been itching to make some more, and i found this one right as they closed it. sorry i couldn't give you any notice so you could join too!

i didn't get any crafting done this weekend, we're in the middle of some home improvements, and we had 2 parties to go to and i made a birthday cake. what, that's it? i know, i'm a slacker.

i've been reading a few craft books i picked up my last library trip. craft, inc. which is a great resource if you've thought about making money from your art. and where women create, which is just luscious and envy inspiring. all of these fabulous artists and their incredible studios. but it's a good read, giving a favorite quote from each and a little bio about them. cool.

i also picked up a few quilting books, so far my favorite is alex andersen's baby quilt book. (i'll edit this with the actual titles tomorrow) right now i am in the research stage of my first quilt - not because i'm not dying to get started, because i AM! but next weekend i'm going to tile our floors, and i have some painting to do. then my husband goes on night shift for 2 months. so things will be pretty crazy until may. and then of course it's spring, so we'll be outside working in the dirt. mmm, i can't wait for some yummy basil.