Tutorial: Yarn Pom Pom Creatures

Sorry I was MIA last week. I have depression, and it catches up to every once in a while. I usual am able to work through it, but last week was bad. I'm pretending I had the flu. :)

Anyway, I'm feeling much better today and so I've got this cute tutorial for ya. We finished reading the first Harry Potter with the boys, and we promised them a Harry Potter party when we finished. One thing I wanted to do was make owls with them. This is a great way to use up some leftover yarn and my boys had a blast winding their owls. We used this tutorial, which is adorable. It worked well, but I have a slightly modified version that is simpler and faster, although not quite as professional.

Here are the boys' owls. Maxton's (the middle owl) has longer feet and that is why he is looking up. Maybe he's just more interested in astronomy than the other two.First off, you need a rectangle of cardboard with a slit cut in it (mine is about 2.5" wide, which means my finished pom pom will be about 5" tall), a small zip tie and some leftover yarn.Take the base color yarn (in this case, green), insert the end into the slit to hold it and start winding. The thicker you wind, the more strands you will have and the fuller your pom pom will be. I wound mine about 1 inch thick. Make sure not to go too wide or it won't be easy to gather.If you want a 2nd color for the belly or some hair, wind the 2nd color over the first.
Wiggle your zip tie underneath the yarn next to the cardboard. You can use heavy duty string, but I think zip ties are faster, more sturdy and easier to get tight.Close your zip tie as tight as you can.
Trim off the end of your zip tie. Turn your cardboard over and using a pair of sewing scissors, cut down the center.Once you've cut through all the strands, it will look something like this:Trim up so that your strands are more or less even.Add embellishments with hot glue. For this monster, I used a pipe cleaner with a paper flower and metal rimmed tags and large brads.This is my little owl. He looks so dejected that even Aubrey noticed and asked me, "Owl sad?" Maxton can't decide if he's more tired or sad. I like him--I can relate. I want to snuggle him, take him out to dinner and movie, and cheer him up.

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.

Baby Butterfly Digital Scrapbooking Kit Freebie

New to digital scrapbooking? Never downloaded a digital kit before? What in the world are .rar files anyway? Get your answers here: How to Unzip Files So You Can Digi Scrap.

This is the baby girl version from last week. I have a thing for butterflies. So does Aubrey. We went camping this past weekend and she saw a white butterfly and almost went crazy. She was fluttering her hands like wings, then sticking her finger out for the butterfly to land on. The butterfly declined, much to her disappointment.

The layout is a photo from over two years ago. She was such a little thing. She was a quiet baby--I really never expected the huge personality she has now. Came out of nowhere at about 15 months.


Journaling reads: Aubriana, looking at this photo, nearly two years later, I’m blown away by how beautiful you are. There is no way I could have predicted your smart, sweet, hilarious personality. Now that I know you, your baby pictures are all that more precious and wonderful.

Click thumbnail to download.

Contents: 6 pattern papers, 1 embossed frame, 1 mask, 2 journaling blocks, 2 labels.

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.

Project Progress: Tying Up Loose Ends, Week 3

I didn't do as well as I hoped this week. I feel scattered, like my attention span has become pea sided and bouncy. Hopefully I will do better next week. I still got a lot done, but I was light on the finishing part.

You know about the library tote bag. We used it and it's perfect!
I also have a quilt I technically finished ages ago, but I hated the way I quilted it and started to unpick it. This week I finished unpicking it and started quilting it again, but didn't get too far on it. The nice thing about this project is that I already did the binding, sooooo, as soon as I finish quilting, I will be instantly done! Hopefully, next week I will finish. I have to say I'm pretty sick of quilting, lol.

On Wednesday, I sewed this hoodie up. It's still missing the zipper. I got frustrated and put it on hold for now. That can happen when you sew the zipper on UPSIDE DOWN the first time, then after unpicking that, sew it with too much seam allowance. Arg!

It was a pretty fun project though, because I used a hoodie she already had to make the basic pattern, then made some modifications to fit the vision I had. I really enjoy pattern making, although I would teak a few things on this one.

We also went back to school this week. Xander is a first grader! Maxton will offically start Kindergarten next week.

My little ragamuffin. Every time this outfit is clean, I put her in it. So far, she's only worn it on this side, so I might have to make myself put her in the other side next time. Usually she wears brown legging underneath it, but she's in various states of clean/presentable here, so no leggings.

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.

Go, Baby, Go! Digital Scrapbooking Kit Freebie

New to digital scrapbooking? Never downloaded a digital kit before? What in the world are .rar files anyway? Get your answers here: How to Unzip Files So You Can Digi Scrap.

Our internet has been horrible lately. I could probably write a novel about my frustration with it, but I'm going to give you the contensed version: internet sucked, we switched providers and now it works and so I have my happy ending. The horrible service is why I'm just now posting this, two days late.

I get a lot of hits for baby scrapbooking digital kits and I feel guilty that no one is finding ones specifically for babies, so this week and next I'm fixing that. Up first is this baby boy car themed kit. For me, baby boy just calls out for a transportation theme.

This is my new nephew, Graham. He's almost three months old already. Here he is at just a few days old. He already looks totally different.

Click to download.

Contents: 6 full-size digi papers, 2 journaling blocks, 2 labels, 1 paper mask.

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.

Library Lined Tote Bag Tutorial

This is showing up again on Friday as part of project progress, because I've been meaning to do this forever!

We have a lot of bags. I have a thing for bags. However, most of our bags are either A. ugly B. boring or C. in use. Whenever I go to the library, I wish I had a bigger tote or a tote just for the library. I don't read so much as devour books--my mom used to ground me from books as a child, as that was the most painful thing to loose and no chance of it turning me against reading. I can easily read a book a day if I don't control myself. I hate running out of books, so that means we need a lot of room in a library tote.

Ok, first off, a list of what you need:--About 1 1/4 yd of fabric for exterior and lining. Can be same or different, but about 1 1/4 yards total.
--Scraps to decorate front
--Ribbon to match
--Thread
--Fusible interfacing if you have a lightweight fabric (same yardage as fabric)
--Fusible webbing if you're doing appliques like I did

Step 1:
Cut out four panels the same size. I did mine 19.5x19.5". Mark centers on each side to help with alignment later. Cut out two strips of fabric, about 4x25". Apply fusible interfacing to back of all pieces if you're using it. Fuse webbing to back of scraps. Iron front exterior in half from top to bottom for next step.
Step 2:
Lay out appliques. Remember to keep about three inches from the sides and same from the bottom. I used ribbon and fabric circles to make flowers on mine, plus letters I cut out by hand. Once you have a design you like, start with the bottom layer and fuse and sew. I sewed about 1/8" inside the appliques so the ends will start to fray.
Step 3:
Finish sewing on appliques and trim all the threads.
Step 4:
Make handles. Fold your strip in half and iron, then fold outside edges to meet the center fold. Iron, then fold in half and topstitch about 1/8" from edges. I used black thread for added interest.
Step 5:
Baste your handles on top of front and back exterior panels. Measure from the outside. I did my handles at about 5 1/2" from the outside. Make sure your handles don't twist. Should look like so:
Step 6:
Put right sides of exterior together and sew around edges as shown, matching centers, with 1/2" seam allowance. Do the same for lining, except be sure to leave a gap (5-6") in the bottom for turning.
Step 7:
Iron seams open. Pull sides so that the side seam and the bottom seam meet. They should form a right angle. Press.
Step 8:
Draw a line at a right angle to the seam 4" long. Mark, then sew. Repeat for each corner, two on exterior and two on the lining.
Step 9:
With right sides together, put lining into exterior. Match up seams and centers. Pin. Make sure the handles are out of the way and between the layers.
Step 10:
Sew around top.
Step 11:
Pull out lining. It will look like this:
Step 12:
Put your hand through the gap to the bottom of the exterior of the bag. Pull it out through the hole, turning the bag. It's going to look like this:
Step 13: Iron gap so that it lies flat. Sew up gap.
Step 13:
Last step! Put lining down into bag and topstitch around top of bag.

My finished bag:

A close-up of the appliques:
I'm so pleased with how it turned out. It's the perfect size and I'm not going to be tempted to use it for something other than library books.

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.

Project Progress: Tying Up Loose Ends, Week 2

Sorry I'm posting this so late on Friday. I've been not feeling too great the past few days--migraines and cramps and feeling so tired and run-down. I spent most of the day today in bed, trying to nap. It's not easy to parent and nap at the same time. Sometimes I'm more successful than others. Yelling from bed isn't the best discipline technique.

Anyway, I dragged myself out of bed this afternoon and took these pictures. Quilt is done! Plus, I sewed two skirts for Aubrey this week. Super productive and my list is getting shorter! I start school Sept 10, so we will see what I can get done this next week. Xander starts school on Thursday (Maxton starts a week later), so I will have a little overlap where they will be gone and I haven't started yet.
The back of the quilt with my "creative" piecing to make it the right size:
A close up of the quilting. I really have got to start planning these things better. This was a very time consuming way to do it.
A skirt I sewed up after I couldn't stand quilting for one more second:
Plus, a bubble skirt:
It's a bit big, but I love it! Aubrey loves it too, especially the butterflies.

I'm thinking of selling the pattern on etsy, but we'll see if I can get it together enough.

Anyway, I can't wait to see what I finish next week.

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.

Fruits of the Crop

A Maxton and Griffin hug! Everyone say "awwwww!" I'm liking this layout, because I've had the paper forever and I'm so glad to use some of it. Maxton is getting close to 6 years old and I bought this paper to use on a layout of him when he was one.

I handcut the leave motif. I've got something really cool in mind using that technique and digital scrapbooking if I can get around to it. I love hand cutting because it's fast and gives an organic feel to your layout. Here I crumpled it and distressed it a bit after cutting.

Another great tip is to use tags as blocks of pattern paper. Here I stamped mine and I think it adds another layer of dimension. Paper is Making Memories and Chatterbox, Sticker is Heidi Swapp, Stamp is Cactus Pink (one of my most favorite stamps, EVER), Letter Stickers and Pen are American Crafts.

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.

Tutorial: How to Unzip Files So You Can Digi Scrap

I've had a few people ask me how to get at the digi scrapbook files once they've downloaded them, so I'm posting a quick tutorial that explains how to unzip your files.

The reason digi designers zip up their files is that it's faster for everyone (for them to upload and for you to download) and they take up less space out in cyberspace.

First, you are going to need an extraction program. Check to see if you computer has one (the easiest way is to skip to step one and right click on the rar file, if there's an extract option there, you are set). If you don't already have one, don't worry, you can get one for free. The one I use is WinRAR and it's free for download here. (Update: WinRAR is no longer free. It looks like this a good alternative, but as always, proceed with caution and have your anti-virus and anti-malware software on. I think it's a good one, but you can't be too careful.)

Once you have your program installed on your computer, browse your folders using your operating system to find where put your downloaded file.

Step One: Double click on it. You can also right click and choose the "Extract files. . ." option.

This will bring up your extraction application. Mine looks like this:

Step Two: Then browse to find the folder where you want your files to end up--the easiest way is to choose the folder that is second from the left on the row of icons, which says "Extract To."

Step Three: I have a "digital scrapbooking" folder on my external hard drive, so that's what I choose. Click "OK" at the bottom.

Once you select this path, it's easy to find it again for the next folder you want to unzip. Browse to the new folder to unzip, then click on the pull-down menu on the side and choose the same path.

Step 5: Browse for the file if you feel like it. Yep! There it is, all pretty and ready to go! Just double click and all the usable .jpegs and .pngs files are in the folder.

I've started a new blog: Come follow my crafting adventures on my new blog. Find me at: creativeirony.com.