A few more projects complete...

 It is not a secret.  I love doing crafty things.  Its very cathartic for me.  And sometimes it becomes too much of a distraction.  So I told myself I would not start anything new, until I get everything done that I have already started.  I still have a few more projects to go - but I am getting there.  These are the things that I have finished over the last 10 months, in my "spare" time.

1. The coolest fabric ball ever! 
 I found this project pattern on a blog last year, when I was searching for Super Saturday ideas.  I book-marked it with the intent of making one for Luke for Christmas.  Well, it didn't get finished in time for Christmas, so he got it for Valentines Day (barely).  He loves it.  I also made one for my dear friend's little boy Elias, and for my little Hannah as well.  The pattern was easy, the instructions were clear.  There is machine sewing involved, but there is also quite a bit of hand sewing.  It was a nice project to do while I was catching up on some of my TV shows. :)  It is also a great project to use up all that scrap fabric.  Mis-matching colors work real well on this.  The pattern can be found here.

Elias' ball

Luke's

Hannah's

2. Framed Love Letter:  
I saw something kind of like this on a blog that I follow.  Although hers was actually a pillow, I really thought it was a fun simple idea.  She had a scrap of white fabric, and then drew horizontal lines on it.  She then used her sewing machine and sewed a few vertical lines - to give the fabric texture and make it look like a sheet of lined notebook paper.  When I saw it, I thought "what a cute idea", but I didn't really want to take the time to draw out the lines.  And its not that it would take all that much time to do, but it would really bother me if I didn't get the lines straight or evenly spaced.  It just wasn't worth the frustration I knew it would cause me, so I put this craft idea on the back burner.

Fast forward a few months, I found myself at Goodwill looking for white shirts for one of my kidlets.  Much to my surprise, I came across a white,  lined - perfectly spaced - already there shirt.  And it cost me a whoppin' 25 cents.  When I finally got around to it, I machine sewed the vertical and top lines, and embroidered the lettering.  I loved the way it turned out.  I gave it to Trace for Valentines Day - as my love letter to him (cheesy I know).

3. Faux Embroidery:
This is one of the projects that I picked out for Super Saturday.  I liked it because it was low cost, easy, and not too time consuming.  Basically you need muslin, a black fabric marker, and crayola crayons.  I bought the pattern from Twin Stitchers - they have some of the cutest embroidery patterns - and they are e-files.  I can purchase it and download it to my computer in less than a minute.  You trace the pattern onto your fabric (muslin is thin so it was easy to see - no back-light needed).  Then use the black fabric pen and trace over the lines on the fabric. The last step - using crayola crayons (they work the best - smooth and washes the best) - outline and color where you want.  Easy peasy.

 4. Hannah's baby blanket:
I started this blanket when I found out I was going to have a little girl - back in 2007.  Then life got in the way, and I wasn't able to finish it.  I had two more rows to go, and then it needed a border.  Well five years later, I found this unfinished project in the bottom of one of my bins.  But I couldn't, for the life of me, remember how the pattern went.  There is no love lost between me and the art of crocheting.  I LOVE it...when somebody else makes it.  I appreciate the time and talent it takes.  I just don't have much of either.  However, I have a few friends who are very talented when it comes to this fine art.  So I asked one of them to help me finish it.  She figured out the stitch just by looking at it, and put a border on it for me.  It turned out beautiful.  Hannah's a tad bit too big for this now, so I think I will save it for her, when she has kids.

5. FHE Chart:
Honestly, I have made a few of these in the past...but I either lost the pieces, or our family has out-grown them.  So, I kind of just gave up.  Then I got a phone call from a friend, who was out-of-town at another friends house.  And they were gettin' their craft on.  She called and asked if I would be interested in one of these.  Heck ya!  So she brought the material home and let me get my craft on.  I loved the way it turned out - the color scheme and fonts of the vinyl lettering - and I have it hanging prominently on our living room wall.  Now we have to actually use it, no excuses - haha.