My mom is totally awesome!

Dear Shayne,

Remember those awesome buttons I told you about from Pottern Barn? My mom read that post, is totally awesome, and bought them for me! YEAH!

(They're a birthday present. My birthday is six months away. Mom plans ahead.)

If you can believe it, they rock harder in person than they did in the original picture. That big one is huge! My photo here does not do them justice, as I took that practically on my way out the door for vacation. (This week's posts are getting automatically published while I'm gone -- I love technology!)

I just put them out on the dining room table for this pic, but I'll think long and hard about how I arrange them. I'm not fond of PB's choice to put them all in a row -- I think I can do better!

I'll post again when I get home and hang them up. Whee!

love,
kelly

Blogness cards!

Dear Shayne,

Over the past few months, I've attended few crafty events that have resulted in me meeting people and mentioning this little blog. And even though we're not selling anything here, I thought it might be nice to have a little card to give to people so they can find us when they get home.

Not "business" cards (since this isn't a business), but "blogness" cards. Hee hee.


At first, I thought I should include more info... maybe our names, perhaps? But then I figured they could just enter in that URL and figure it out. If they were on the east coast and got the card, it's Shayne. On the west coast? Kelly. (Most likely.)

I started with a dark outline of the US, but it seemed kind of "blah" to me:


I felt like it lacked "oomph," so I tried the white ink and I like it much better now. Still feels like it might be missing something (like part of New England and Texas -- sorry to folks who got cut off here!) But a pretty good first shot.

(By the way, that US is a totally awesome rubber stamp from the good folks at Stamp Francisco. Check them out -- they are amazing!)

I made a little batch of cards... ya want some?


I recycled used food and drink packaging to make these. This cracked me up... these ones? With the US map on the front? Oh, mostly from Canadian beer packaging:


Hee hee.

love,
kelly

Garden update

Dear Shayne,

Remember this post where I was talking about my little attempt at gardening? Good news: I haven't killed my lavender plants yet!


Side note: Are there any gardeners reading this blog? Should I be trimming the dead stems off of those plants? Looking at the photos from the last post, the flowers were purpler (it is so a word!) and fluffier then. I see some little shorty flowers coming in, so am I supposed to cut off the long ones that have already finished flowering and let the new ones grow in? (Yes, yes, I am totally clueless.)

This shot shows some of the shorter, purpler stalks that are cropping up along the bottom:


And remember my catnip? Well, the day after I made that post, I thought I had killed it for sure. It looked like this:


Ack!

So I went online to read up on it and everyone says, "Oh, catnip is so easy to grow! It's practically a weed!" Oh, thanks. But then I saw this: "It is possible to overwater it." A-ha! I had definitely done that! I asked Bill, "So what do I do now?" He looked at me and said, "Stop watering it." Duh, right? So I did that and now look at it:


Healthier than ever! (I do water it sometimes, just not as much as I started with.) I can't wait until it flowers and I can dry the 'nip for the kitties. Kaesea and Biscuit loooove catnip. Is it a popular drug-of-choice amongst the felines in your house?

Despite my lifelong aversion to plants, gardening is going pretty well for me this year. So far, at least. Oh, but wait until you see what Bill is growing in the backyard! Wow!

love,
kelly

Crafts from the past: Awesome box

Dear Shayne,

Poking around my hard drive, I found some photos of craft projects I made before we started this blog (What? There was a time before we started the blog?! Hard to believe, but yes.) So I thought I would share some of them with you.

First up is this awesome (if I do say so myself) box I made for my friend Dawn -- it's about 5x7x2.5 inches:

(You remember Dawn -- she sent me this awesome package. Everyone who sees that apron in my kitchen flips out over it. It's so great!)

I love this blue paper. I bought it at Paper Source and I found a little scrap of it in my craft closet yesterday. Sniff. I love this paper SO much and now it's no longer available. I should have bought more.

I also bought the kit to make the box at Paper Source. Once you buy the kit, you can just buy the supplies ever after and make your own boxes in any size you want, which is cool.

Making these boxes is not "difficult," but it is time consuming. You have to be really precise and careful, which I am normally not good at, but I think this box came out pretty great.


I took these photos when I had a much crappier camera and I am disappointed to see that I used some sort of unprinted newsprint for the background, which is a greyish white and not at all attractive.

The "spine" of the boxes looks yellow in these photos, but is actually a sort of acid green (it's this book cloth) (also from Paper Source) (of course) and it looked great with that paper. Gosh, I'm modest! Sorry to pat myself on the back so much, but this is one of those craft projects that came out way better than I had hoped. Looking at these photos makes me happy all over again!

love,
kelly

Congratulations, Jan and Lori!

Dear Shayne,

As I mentioned in this post, our good friends Jan and Lori are getting married. And the big day is today! (Yay!) It's also Jan's birthday -- they got engaged on Lori's birthday. How cute are they? Answer: totally!

Of course, I made them a wedding card:


And what's a handmade card without a handmade envelope, right? (I used rub-ons for the initials):


The dresses on the card were easy because they're sold individually, but the scrapbooking aisle did not yet reflect the fact that marriage is now open to everyone here in California, regardless of gender. So I had to buy two packs of these stickers and cut them up for "Mrs & Mrs."


If anyone knows two fellas who are getting married soon, let me know -- I happen to have a "Mr & Mr" leftover right now.

love,
kelly

Subversive cross stitch

Dear Shayne,

Remember when I said that this skull was the first cross stitch project I ever actually completed? Yeah, I lied. I had actually finished my first project the week before I started the skull, but I couldn't show it to you because it was a birthday present for Jan (Hi, Jan!) and I know she's a faithful reader here, so I didn't want to spoil the surprise.

But Jan's birthday is this coming Monday and I gave it to her today, so here it is... my first ever completed cross stitch project:


This pattern, as I'm sure you recognize, is from the ever-fabulous Subversive Cross Stitch. I really enjoyed making this -- it was way faster than the skull, which made it a great first-time pattern. I had asked Jan months ago what her favorite one was and she said this one, so that's what I did.

I don't know if you can tell from this photo, but I put two layers of quilt batting under just the design itself so that it's a little puffy/3D. I like that look for cross stitch, since it says, "Hey -- I'm not a print!" I also like the pairing of this fancy frame with the not-so-fancy message. Hee hee.

Jan was really happy with it and I'm happy to finally get to show it to you, so yay!

love,
kelly

Oh, Pottery Barn

Dear Shayne,

I really enjoy buying unique, handmade items. (Etsy rocks!) But every once in awhile, the ol' PB whips something out that totally captures my fancy. Damn them for having my number!

Right now, I am lusting after these large decorative buttons:

(Photo from the Pottery Barn website.)

Wouldn't these look fabulous in our office/craft room? (Answer: Yes. Yes, they would.) And they're even on sale right now! Unfortunately, they're still overpriced, even at half off. But gosh, I want them. Want. Sigh.

love,
kelly

WiP: Memory quilt (completed top)

Dear Shayne,

I realize this photo does not look that much different from the last time I showed you this quilt-in-progress, but then it was just fabric pieces tacked to my board and now the the fabric is sewn together into an actual quilt top!


Unfortunately, I am now paralyzed. I cannot decide what to do for the quilting pattern. I am hoping that looking at this photo will inspire me. I know I want to incorporate hearts into my design. Other than that small nugget of an idea, I don't know where I'm going with it. (If there are any quilters out there reading this, feel free to chime in with design ideas -- I am begging for 'em!)

Meanwhile, here are some details of the "shirt parts" I used in the quilt. Like cuff buttons:


I also kept a couple of pockets, although I imagine the quilting will seal them shut at some point. For now, you could hold a pen in one of them (as shown in this very photo):


This last one is subtle (and hard to pick out in this photo), but I like the way it looks. I kept part of the yoke, so you can see shirt stripes going in different directions (it's the rectangle below the yellow rectangle in this photo):


Bill's mom told me that one of the shirts was far more expensive than any of the others and she asked if I could tell which one it was from working with the fabrics. I looked at all of them, thought about my experience cutting and sewing (and wrestling and grumbling) and pointed to the one with blue and pink stripes. She said, "Yep. That's the one!"

Shayne, if you (or anyone else out there) ever decide to make a quilt like this, here is my tip: Use expensive shirts. That fabric was SO much nicer to work with!

love,
kelly

Etsy: Also good for supplies!

Dear Shayne,

As we both know, Etsy offers tons of one-of-a-kind handmade items for us to drool over, lust after, and sometimes even buy. But it's also a great resource for crafting supplies!

Case in point: a few weeks ago, I fell in love with a new line of fabrics by Anna Maria Horner, called Drawing Room. The one particular fabric I went nuts for is called "Sketchbook" and I wanted it in Ivory. I used my Google Fu to find someone who had that design in that color (eQuilter had it in a different color, but they don't even have that now -- I'm obviously not the only only one who fell for this fabric). After coming up empty on Google, I turned to Etsy, entered in my search and... Yes! Etsy seller FabricByTheYard had just what I was looking for!

I'm not usually one for birds (yes, yes -- I know you are), but I just love this:

(I think it will be a bag. Or two. We'll see.)

I must also recommend this Etsy seller for that fabulous, "Yay! It's a gift in the mail!" feeling you get when you order from them -- they wrap up the fabric with a ribbon and seal it tight in a nice acetate bag:


Here are some details of this fabulous fabric:




As for the designer, if you haven't read Anna Maria's blog before, you should check it out. Not only is she an amazing artist and crafter, she has a charming writing style, great tutorials and free patterns, fantastic design sense (look at her fabulous booth at Quilt Market last month. Who wants those chairs? I do! I do!), and takes incredibly inspiring photos. Definitely high on my list of Craft Blog Heroes.

love,
kelly

Another yarn giveaway + cutie pie lamb photos

Dear Shayne,

We still need to figure out if you are allergic to alpaca -- I've heard that even people who are allergic to wool can handle alpaca. I wonder if that's true for you. Perhaps I should send you a little knit swatch of alpaca... you can rub it on yourself and see if you break out. Won't that be fun?

In the meantime, if you'd like to try to win some lovely alpaca, Martha's Vineyard Fiber Farm is giving more yarn away right here (scroll down to see it, then leave a comment saying what you'd make with it). Even if you don't want the yarn, you need to click that link to see more cute photos of baby lambs. Cuuuuute!

love,
kelly

Etsy Find: Clip Set

Dear Kelly,

I stumbled upon the most clever, yet simple product on Etsy today. Spacedogstudios makes these very pretty clips by adhering fabric or paper to clothespins. They even come with twine to make a line for hanging this and that. I just love the way these look!

Love,
Shayne

Blueberry Goodness

Dear Kelly,

I've been on a baking kick lately. Here are some blueberry muffins I made with orange icing:



















No special recipes or anything. I'd like to try muffins from scratch, but the ingredients are so much more expensive than the dollar-something mix. For the icing, I added orange juice and zest to a can of vanilla.

I really need to take those Wilton classes to learn propering decorating techniques. Have you ever done that?

Love,
Shayne

Score!

Dear Shayne,

This settles it. We definitely need to have a giveaway. Because I have won yet another giveaway on someone else's blog and it. is. awesome! (Technically, everyone who entered won, but still... I won!)

So what did I get? Some wonderful striped baker's twine from Wexford Girl! She's an amazing artist that you should go check out. I especially love her fantastic bears, so I was so happy that she also included a bear postcard with my winnings:

(Doesn't he have the sweetest look on his face?)

She will be at the Renegade Craft Fair in San Francisco July 12-13 and I totally think you should come visit me for that! Ready? Go!

love,
kelly

And yes, I still knit

Dear Shayne,

When last I showed you these mitts, I was facing my denial that they needed to be ripped back. I ripped 'em back and actually finished them about a month ago -- I finally got around to having Bill take a picture of me tonight (easier than self-timer):


I ended up only doing two rows of eyelets around the cuff, rather than the three specified in the pattern. I was happy with that choice at the time, but... looking at this photo, I can't help but think they could use that extra bump.

Oh, well. I now pronounce these "done." Let the hand warming begin!

love,
kelly

WiP: Memory quilt

Dear Shayne,

As I have mentioned, I am learning to hand quilt. It's going all right and I feel more confident in my stitches every day. I have been asked why on earth I would want to do such a thing, so I thought I'd share the project that will eventually be quilted: It's a "memory quilt" for Bill's mom made out of Bill's dad's old shirts.

It's still a work in progress, but here are a couple of photos. These are some of the original shirts, both whole and in pieces:


And this is a not-so-great photo I took while putting everything up on my design wall -- this is just the rectangles, before I sewed anything together:


As of today, I have most of the top stitched together. Working with these fabrics has been a huge challenge -- way more than I had anticipated. The different weights makes everything weird. Some fabrics are very thin and distort easily, so the blocks are not coming out entirely square. Whee.

I also included some portions of the shirts that show that they were once shirts (pockets, buttons, yokes) -- I like the effect, but it also threw some of the blocks out of whack.

I am afraid it's going to look a little homely when I am done with the uneven blocks and my less-than-perfect stitching, but this particular quilt is not really about style, so I think it will be okay.

love,
kelly

Skull-y print

Dear Shayne,

Last month, I mentioned going to the Pacific Center for the Book Arts (PCBA) Printers' Fair. Remember? I told you about the lovely ladies of PodPost? (I forgot to mention that they gave me a great little zine that day -- I still need to show you that!)

While I was there, I also bought this awesome little print by Daniel González for the skull-y bathroom:


I was originally going to hang it on the wall, but then I set it by the sink and I liked how it makes a little "vignette" with the skull soap dish (containing skull soap made by you, of course -- the soap that first brought us together... awww...):


I haven't posted photos lately of the skull-y bathroom, but I have been adding to it -- here's a longer shot of my little vignette, showing some other skull-y items in there now:


I'm working on a few other skull-y items yet, but I should post photos of that room soon. Because who doesn't want to see photos of my bathroom, right?

love,
kelly

Free yarn giveaway

Dear Shayne,

I know you're allergic to wool, but I also know that we have a few other readers following our little missives here, so for the rest of you: Martha's Vineyard Fiber Farm is having a yarn giveaway right now.

You've got one week to enter (she'll pick the winners Sunday, June 8 at 7 pm). Go to this post and make a comment telling her "the best piece of advice you ever got and who gave it to you."

While you're there, you should poke around her blog a bit. They've just had some lambs born and Oh. My. Goodness. The cuteness:


That photo is from this post where you can see many other precious photos of that little baby. Cuuuute! I can't get over that face.

love,
kelly