yesterday i got my “summer haircut.” somewhere i recently heard someone say that getting a new haircut was like getting a whole new wardrobe. i agree. ahhhh…..
i also found these delicious smelling lily-of-the-valley blooming in my garden. i’m so happy that they’ve come up! i keep hoping they’ll spread and take over the garden, but for now i’ll be content if they just continue to come up and bloom each year.
so many other fun projects…. but they’re all secrets! soon….
here are two albums i’ve been meaning to review on the blog for quite some time. the first is a cd i would have never guessed i’d like so much:
do you remember the song from a dell computer commercial awhile back that began, “i am green today…” in a sort of dreamy voice? that song is on this album. it’s not necessarily my favorite song (or least favorite song) on the album, but because of the commercial, it was the most familiar. but i like so many of the songs on this album that it’s difficult for me to pick a favorite! the catchy tunes of “caterpillar, caterpillar” and “midnight moonlight” and “surfer mama” stay in my head for hours (or days) after i’ve listened to them, but not in an annoying way. i also love “big brown bear” and “the sound i found” and “let’s go to work.” you can hear samples of each of these songs at cdbaby.com (just click on the image of the cd cover and you’ll go right there. then, click on the little circled arrow beside the song title to listen to a sample.) my only complaint is that i wish it was a record with two sides. or a two cd set. or something. because what she’s basically done is recorded the songs with and without yoga instructions spoken to kids along with the music. this makes the cd great for active classrooms, but i think the chatting can get old after repeated listenings. although the album is currently sold out at cdbaby, you can still purchase the mp3 and download the whole thing and give it a listen. it’s another album i found myself listening to over and over and over.
on the flip side, when i heard about caspar babypants, i was pretty sure i was going to love this album. and i do!
if you’ve ever listened to and enjoyed the band “the presidents of the united states of america” then you will likely love this cd. the lead singer of that band decided to make the leap into kids music–and really, it’s not that far of a leap for him. you can listen to entire songs on the caspar babypants website, or you can hear samples of all the songs and/or purchase the cd at cdbaby. my favorite songs on the album are probably “little broken truck” and “under a rock” and… “the island hop.” but really, they’re all good and you should just buy the album. even if you don’t have kids. because it’s made for kids, but strong enough for grown-ups.
and i love it, love it, love it! i decided to go with a stripey binding (my first non-solid binding!) and ended up finishing the hand-sewing in one evening, with the help of hulu and episodes of arrested development. that is some funny stuff.
here is a full shot of the quilt top hung on the backstop at the park across the street from my house:
in my head, i usually orient it vertically (not horizontally), but i’m not tall enough to hang it that way for the photo, so you’ll just have to turn your head or your monitor.
loopy, loopy quilting. it’s quite a mess, but i actually sort of like it that way. mr. happy stuff “doesn’t get it.”
and here is the back (i used a lovely, lightweight dark denim that my grandma gave me from her stash):
i’ve even tried it out in my car to see if it works (that’s my toasty warm feet up on the dash):
it works! too well, in fact. i spent a wee bit too much of my lunch hour admiring the way the sun shines through to the backside when you’re cozied up underneath it. it was the perfect weather for trying out a quilt–sunny, but surprisingly chilly.
i haven’t yet washed it, and i haven’t made the bag that the quilt will get stored in in the car (that’s where your block will go, liz), so you may get to see more pictures of this quilt. i am so happy with it! thanks a million, common threads buddies, for helping me to create this beautiful, funky and soon-to-be-very-well-loved-and-frequently-used quilt!
tonight is my last class for this semester. yes, i’m taking the slow train to mastersville and will not be completely done with my degree for another few years, but i still get a huge sense of relief at the end of each semester when i get a break from a weekly class and the time-chomping habits of homework. anyway, i’m just putting the finishing touches on my last paper for this class (which has actually been one of the more enjoyable classes for me–young adult literature) and am looking forward to having my tuesday nights free again.
i keep meaning to show you this “repair” tape that cracks me up. this photo was taken in my classroom, but there’s more of this tape over at the university’s recreational facility where i go to swim (one of the many perks of being a long-term student). every time i see it, i wonder if it’s supposed to be telling someone that something needs to be repaired or if it is, itself, the “repair.” it’s usually in place for a very long time.
anyway, after tonight i should be able to finally finish my car quilt. only the binding to go!
a few months back, my blog friend rebekah knitted the cutest fingerless gloves and i just loved them. the idea of something that keeps my hands warm, but leaves my fingers free to work seemed very appealing. i don’t really knit, so i asked rebekah if we could possibly arrange a craft swap. she agreed (i won’t reveal my end of the bargain until after i’ve sent it to her) and today in the mail, i received these fabulous, pea-green gloves! (i took this photo with my chin, in case you’re curious.) i put them up and down immediately and wore them for the rest of the afternoon. the very generous rebekah had also tucked in a few japanese goodies.
i was so excited when i saw this package in my mailbox that i literally jumped with glee. thanks, rebekah! i look forward to returning the favor!
this one’s for you, georgia!
today, i’ll show you how to make a blinking firefly from a flashlight. it is my favorite style of crafting–make-it-up-as-you-go-along–so feel free to adjust my instructions according to whatever materials you have at hand.
materials i used:
led flashlight — “pen light” style (here’s a photo in case that helps)
pipe cleaner
clear plastic (like dust jackets for books–i pulled this one out of the trash at work.)
yellow tissue paper
sticky-backed felt
red foil
brown floral tape
tape and glue (scotch and tacky)
instructions:
1. take flashlight out of packaging and put battery in. make sure it works.
2. tape a wad of plastic to the light end. this will make the bug’s butt glow better than if you just put the tissue paper directly against the pen light, and will make it more sturdy than if you just left space inside the tissue paper. this is why it’s important to get an led light–no heat!
3. tear two squares of yellow tissue paper (about 2.5 – 3″ square) and cut a piece of clear plastic the same size. layer the squares–tissue+tissue+plastic and fold it over the end of the pen, plastic on the outside (to make it more sturdy), secure with tape.
4. trim the excess. this will give your floral tape more surface area of the pen light to grab onto.
5. begin to wrap the flashlight in brown floral tape. you could probably also use brown masking tape if you had that.
6. shape some legs from the pipe cleaners and use scotch tape to tape them onto the body of the firefly, then wrap the rest of the pen light with the floral tape, criss-crossing around the legs so that they are securely attached. you can also, at this point, add some antennae with more pipe cleaner. don’t wrap the clip of the pen in the tape–you might want to be able to change the battery in the future.
7. cut wings out of sticky-backed felt, but don’t peel the paper back (exposing the sticky part)! lay the pen on the wings and figure out where the wings will contact the flashlight. cut the paper back only on that small strip, so that you’ll have a sticky surface to attach the wings onto the body of the firefly. the clip from the pen will also help to hold the wings in place.
8. if desired, decorate your bug’s wings with strips of red foil.
and now you’ve got a flashlight firefly! if you make one, i’d be thrilled to see it–send me a link!
i spent part of my day today at work making a plate of pancakes. i spent another part of my day transforming this:
into this…
which ultimately became this:
and then i made two more just like it, for a grand total of three fireflies with real flashing hind ends! they’re props for a preschooler’s “play” that i’m developing for the summer. we’ll see how they hold up, but i think i managed to make them relatively sturdy. i took enough pictures to do a tutorial, but then realized that the demand for that kind of information might be a little sparse, so… if you really want instructions for how i made this, let me know and i’ll post them.
thanks for your stencil love on my last post! it is now the new banner on my etsy shop and i managed to also make an avatar from the same photo, but i’m not sure if i’m sold on that yet. i also posted my first screenprinted items for sale in the shop–two sets of upcycled pillowcases. some of the prints from my most recent printing session came out less than crystal clear and i’m thinking of adding an “almost perfect” section to the shop where i can sell pieces that aren’t quite as cleanly printed as i’d like for a discount. what do you think? will anyone want to buy slightly smudgy prints? i’ll consider selling finger puppet monsters, but right now my puppets are pretty heavily inspired by “made by moxie” and a little bit inspired by “kit lane” but not nearly as well-made as either of those two artists’ work and i don’t want to be accused of being a cheap copycat, so for now, i’ll just work on developing my own style. it looks like made by moxie still has one monster finger puppet in her shop, so you could buy that one if you really want. kit lane also has a shop full o’ cuteness.
yippeee! today one of my items was featured on the front page of etsy for a few hours! it was part of a beautiful treasury built by my very dear friend, “poor robin” (which you can see here) and basically meant i got a lot more shop hearts and item hearts. i’d just changed my header and icon last night and i’m still not sure i love them, but they’re good for now. i’m so very, very close to being ready to have some screen printed items added to the shop, but i don’t have time right now. in fact, instead of blogging, i should be cleaning the house because tomorrow night a big group of church folks are coming over right after work, but i just had to tell you my exciting etsy news (okay, maybe it’s not that exciting for people who aren’t involved in etsy, but it was exciting for me!). *the photo above is the contact paper stencil that i used on a screen printing session last weekend. hmmm… maybe i should design my shop header using that photo….*
hmmm… that was a pretty loooooong weekend, wasn’t it? i have had some really fantastic crafty sessions this last week (see “licky” above–my second needlefelted finger puppet monster), and now i have so much to share with you and to add to my etsy shop that i’m feeling a bit overwhelmed. so tonight, just a little taste (yep, pun intended), and i’ll do my best to give you all another “taste” tomorrow. or the day after that.
i think you all know me well enough by now to know that i may or may not be on time with delivering these promises of posts to come, but i do want to make sure to tell you that i finally got back to my last giveaway post and the winner is … claudia! i’ll get your screenprinted linen napkin to you sometime….. congratulations!
i am teetering at the top of a tantalizing four day weekend in which i hope to do a nice chunk of crafting. in order to facilitate this, i am self-imposing a blog (and google reader) fast. i don’t know if i’ll be able to go for four whole days without reading or writing a blog, but lately i’ve been shocked to find myself dawdling on the computer, reading about crafting instead of actually doing any crafting myself! this has got to stop. so i’m diving in. if you don’t hear from me right away on tuesday, don’t worry. i might just be caught up in some good sewing. or printing. or photography. or maybe the weather got so nice that i actually went outside! and if anyone catches me commenting on a blog for the next four days, please write me a little slap on the wrist. see you in a few days! (and i promise to post some nice pictures of my weekend….)
