A Plan for the Year...

I'm not really one to make resolutions.
When I *do* make them, I have the lack of willpower to keep up.
Sure I need to lose weight, try new things, and take more joy in my life...
But who doesn't?

I am a crafter.
I am creative.
I currently have a Crafty Cave that does not inspire me...

Aspects I love about this space:
1. It exists
2. My Hoopla Wall is abundant with awesomeness
3. I've got a comfy chair (nobody expects the spanish inquisition)

Things I want to improve upon:

1. Better lighting

2. Appear Uncluttered (Storage and Concealment Curtains for said storage)

3. Organized Small Crafty Things

4. Utilize the Closet better

It's to be expected that I LOVE this space. 

Clutter and all.

It's just not the refuge I want it to be, more of a hovel to cower in at the moment. (Gollum, Gollum)

Brainstormy:

1. Yarn Bomb Ottoman and Metal Desk Bits

2. New Ironing Board Cover (already aquired)

3. Pretty up the Armoir without painting, or banging holes in it (because Lee would kill me)

4. Painted Peg Board for Weapons of Choice (scissors, small baskets, rulers, tapes, quarterstaff, magic wand)

This is my Crafty Cave Intention Statement.

I pledge to try and post a progress picture once a month,

motivation is my kryptonite.

So, Happy New Year to all you lovely people!

I hope your next year comes with oodles of niceties!!!

Anyone have any favorite craft supply organization tips?

I would be super psyched to hear them!

PS:

I made a polka dotty change to the look of my blog. 

Polka dots are currently a very uplifting thing for me.

YAY HAPPY DOTS!!!

Teacher Christmas Gifts 2013...they "rule"!

Long time, No Posting.

Sorry about my slacking....

I've no excuse, nor clever ruse.

I'm also putting off gift wrapping.

OK, Now on to the Teacher Christmas Gifts for 2013!

Ruled Paper Canvas Bags

(they "rule"!)

Along with my "kind of vow" to not craft for anyone, I was in a bit of a crunch for the 

Teacher's Gifts this year. I had 5 teachers I needed to gift for.

Then I stumbled onto this great Tutorial for these pre-bought (GASP!) Canvas bags 

through cometogetherkids.com.

Here's the official link for the bags: Guest Host: Rachel from Sun Scholars

I ended up doing 6 bags because I remembered I have a teacher too!

I go to a Satori Violet Belly Dancing class every Wednesday night.

I adore this class and my teacher, Cassie, so she needed one too. 

The Tutorial was very fun to read and easy to implement.

I finished them all within 1 1/2 hours!

If I were to say anything about the bags it would be to 

use ULTRA FINE TIP Sharpie Markers.

The regular size will bleed on the canvas.

As Professor Hinkle would say...

Hope everyone is having the greatest LAST WEEK BEFORE CHRISTMAS EVER!

Half Blood Prince Ornament!

Just in time for the Holiday Season!

(sung to the tune of "Away in a Manger")

Away in a classrom,

on a shelf in the back.

Snape hid his old textbook,

crib notes written in black.

He was brilliant with Potions,

and words he won't mince.

A Secret Hero,

Our Beloved Half-Blood Prince.

This is a teeny tiny paper ornament project with actual miniature printable pages from the book.

Spray adhesive bled through a bit, but I think it gives a bit of an aged look.

Lately, I've been working diligently on 2 swaps.

The "I <3 Tea" and "Geeky Christmas" ones.

I'm crafting those instead of presents this year, for no reason in particular.

I'm not taking a stand...but perhaps I am...

Maybe it's my way of surprising people and mixing things up a bit.

It's actually quite freeing!

Here's to a low-key Holiday Extravagant to everyone!!!

Flourish and Blott's Tote Bag!

These days, every store has their own reusable shopping bag...

From the recent Return to Hogwarts swap I whipped up this fun lined bag.

To get the image on, I used the Freezer Paper Technique and my Fine Point Gel Fabric Marker.

Here's the hard surface I used to work on.

 This pen is great for fine lines. There's no "setting" time and it doesn't smudge after about 2 minutes.
I do like to iron just to be on the safe side.

Here's the lining. She stated Slytherin House, Green was definitely in order!

I love this linen outer fabric.

I picked up a BUNCH from the Thrift, and will be very sad to see it used up.

Perhaps I have enough to finally make pillows for my bed?

The Doctor LOVES his Triceratops!

Happy 50th Birthday 

and 

Day of the Doctor...Day!!!

This Hoopla was stitched up for a recent Whovian Swap and 

it represents her fave episode

"Dinosaurs on a Spaceship"

I used waste canvas to do the "blackwork" (brownwork...because it's in brown).

My VERY first attempt at it thank you very much.

I can't wait to try more with this technique...The stuff I've seen

with shading by adding more to a basic square is amazing!

I threw in some french knots for texture...

because why not?

"Dinosaurs on a Spaceship"

isa cute episode and also where we get to meet Rory's Dad!

Here's a little trailer...

And yes, that is Mr. Weasley as the Dad.

Fetch, Tricey!

Harry Potter Schoolbook Papercuttings!

Papercuttings are fun and lend themselves well to 

recreating Hogwarts Schoolbook Covers!

I did these for my swap partner who's favorite store in 

the Potter'verse is Flourish and Blotts.

Hogwarts: A History

Please forgive my glare. 

I haven't quite mastered the whole photography thing.

I used pretty cardstock scrapbook paper, an X-acto Knife, 

and a printer to accomplish these.

The trick is to print the image you want on the back of the paper in reverse.

Cut from the back.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard.

What I need to "Improve" on for papercutting is the little holes...

like for inside the "B", "D", and "R".

The 3rd one is me getting a little cheeky...

You've been warned.

The Invisible Book of Invisibility!!!

Papercutting so very zen for me.

I love the focus it requires.

My mind really shouldn't be hectic and cluttered 

when wielding something pointy and sharp!!!

Weasley Family Napkins!

I Finally made something with the super-fantastical thrift store fabric I found a while back!

Napkins!!!

I decided to make some "Weasley Family Napkins: 1 for each kid in the Burrows"

to enter in the Summer Nerd Wars.

Here are the "name" pins we use so there's no mixing up between 

people. I just use beads with the favorite color and first initial of the "wipe-ie".

It was great before my kids could read, the colors would help them...

Now that they're older the letters work great! 

I wouldn't put it past that excellent Domestic Hero of mine, aka Molly Weasley,

to have this fabric close at hand.

Or wand...

And because I'm a stickler for even numbers,

I had to make 8 Napkins in all.

There are 7 Weasley Kids.

I just couldn't stop myself. 

If they every come for an afternoon tea, I'll just hide the 8th one.

Morgan's 1st Hoopla!

Miss Morgan's been wanting to stitch on and off for a while.

When I sit down to help her, show her the basics she gets frustrated and puts the thread down for a spell.

This most recent time I decided I'd let her draw with markers on fabric in a hoop.

She LOVED it!

She was even using her hoopla scene as a backdrop

for some Lego Minifig adventures.

I'm seeing a great first step to craftyness!!!

Potter'verse Popsicle People!

I "arted" up some Popsicle Stix for the

recent Return to Hogwarts swap on craftster. 

I'd been seeing so many wonderful 

Popsicle Stick People on Pinterest 

(say that 10 times fast)

and thought I'd try my hand at some.

I used the fatter sticks, not the one that actually come inside 

that most wonderful of frozen treats...so there's no DNA to be found.

No, no cloning will be done by this craft.

For the coloring...Sharpies; my old standby.

The uses could just be about anything you could think of:

Bookmarks

Garden stakes

Puppets

Mood of the Day Signifiers 

(I'm feeling very Snape today)

Whovian Perler!

The kids and I were having a grand afternoon of Perler-Palooza, and while I was manning the iron I thought I'd whip these up quick for an "extra" in the recent Doctor Who craftster swap.

I didn't add anything to the back like a magnet or lapel pin, I thought I'd leave that decision up to the recipient. 

I'm so in awe of some of those really huge detailed Perler creations out there...

I just felt crazy accomplished getting these ironed somewhat evenly!

'Couldn't just send them loose, so I took the sleeve my new Union Jack umbrella

came in (who really uses those things anyway?) and sent them in British Style.

I'm currently doing another Who Swap.

Send outs are on November 19th.

In case you didn't know....

It's the Doctor's 50th anniversary.

I'm SO excited!!!!

Ooooo Weeeee Oooooooo!

Rory, the last CENTurion!

For the recent Doctor Who Swap, my partner chose 

my beloved Rory Williams 

as one of her favorite Companions of the Doctor.

Rory...well the story might be too long to go into here,

but I think this shirt over at Sharksplode.com 

sums it up nicely.

PS: The Rory story arc breaks my heart. (Moffat, you had me at... hello!)

I stamped on pennies for the first time.

Much more pliable than the washers I'd stamped before.

I also couldn't resist the cleverness to do a Rory set from

a bunch of 1 CENT pieces.

(hardy har har)

1st Leather Stamping!

This little cuff bracelet is my first foray into leather stamping.

Made for the Return to Hogwarts Round 9 Swap, my partner was 85%confusion.

(that's her username not state of existance. HA!)

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good"

Marauder's Map

Things I learned....

Metal Stamps CAN be used on leather 

but 

Leather Stamps can NOT be used on metal.

When stamping on leather a gentle tap of the hammer will do.

A brown fine tipped Sharpie is an awesome cheat

to make letters/motifs stand out better.

(wink, wink)

Doctor Who Painted Shoes!

Oh My Whovian Goodness, I painted a pair of shoes!

This pair was for my partner in the Doctor Who Swap: Round 9 on Craftster.

I've never done this before and it was really fun!

Kind of zen to use a brush and paint....

Ohm!

FiberAlchemist's (my swap partner) fave Doctors are 4, 7, 11, and 5.

I also LOVE these so I couldn't choose.

It was just killing me to even try, so I incorporated all of them.

As this was my first pair, I didn't feel comfortable enough to paint on the eyelets or tongue area.

(I'm sure there's some technical name, sheesh!)

I didn't get a picture, but I found some TARDIS Blue shoelaces to solve my dilemma.

Materials Used:

Walmart Special $5 White Sneakers

Acrylic Craft Paint

Grandparents to watch my kids

Krylon Sealant Spray

(which made the little touches of Sharpie Marker run in a few spots)

BIG THANKS goes out to chughes225 for letting me pick her brain.

She made some KILLER Harry Potter Shoes.

Here's the link to her project page....Harry Potter Shoes by chughes225 on craftster!!!

Stupefy Hoopla!

Here was a fun little Hoopla I did for the "Return To Hogwarts" Swap on Craftster.

Both she and I chose "Stupefy" as our favorite spell. 

I'm not sure how well the picture shows but those are french knots making up the letters.

Metallic Silver Thread French Knots!

While not the biggest fan of Metallic Embroidery Thread,

I think I loved using the knots for it.

I finally didn't have to stress about the thread twisting up on me! 

What's your favorite Potterverse Spell?

Rolling Pin Shower Gift!

My good friend Jessie got married last summer and what do you know....

I made her a gift that could also be entered into the Craftster Summer Nerd Games!

The prompt was "Romance v/s Horror"

I chose "Horror"

There was a Rolling Pin on her registry, I couldn't resist making a cozy for it.

But...

You've gotta have a little kitchen towel to match! Every good little housewife knows this!

This is where the HORROR comes in.

Becoming a happy homemaker was not on her list of "things to be". 

As a proud happy homemaker myself, I thought I'd sew up some snarky fun for her very traditional gift she herself had registered for.

Heh. Heh.....

Here's an action shot!

Here's the whole gift package I put together for her. 

Jessie's favorite thing when she was in her 'teens was Purple Rain.

When it purple rains, it purple pours!

I also included a little kitchen towel.

With my gel fabric marker, I drew a little snark onto it.

get it? tee hee!

I love making unexpected things.

I also give myself extra points for making myself laugh in the process.

Have a happy homemaker day!!!