February 2012Occasionally Crafty: February 2012

Sunday, February 26

Girl's Pieced Skirt (and Coordinating Shirt)

Last week, thanks to Pinterest, I found this Strip-Pieced Skirt from SarahB Designs for Moda Bake Shop. I thought it would be the perfect thing for my next sewing project.

I picked up a faux jelly-roll of fabric at Walmart and got to work. This was an easy project- easier than I thought it would be! It's basically sewing straight lines. It has pleats, which I've never done before, but the tutorial was so easy to follow that I had no trouble creating and sewing pleats in this skirt.

To make the coordinating appliqued shirt, I cut scalloped flowers on my Silhouette Cameo using the tutorial here from Linda at Craftaholics Anonymous (though I did not use Silhouette-brand interfacing- I just used the regular kind you can buy at the craft store). I ironed the flowers to the shirt and added some cute buttons for the flower centers.

My daughter has a new outfit for her collection, with just the right amount of twirl.

I'm sharing this at some linky parties this week- hope you'll come along with me!

Sunday, February 19

Sewing Nook Wall Art

I've got to be honest. I'm a little jealous of all the ladies who have craft rooms. Or even a whole side of a room for crafts. My creative space is our home office/guest bedroom/preschool room (for my son)/sewing table/craft room. Sigh..... I would guess that I'm not alone in NOT having a "pin"-worthy craft space, though.

Our catch-all space is decorated with a baseball motif, since it was originally my husband's office space. We've never gotten around to changing it up, so I decided to just ignore what's there and carve out a little space for my own. I knew a few bright colors and some inspiration would give me just the bump I need to stay creative.

This is my little creative space:

I bought the hoops and letters at Hobby Lobby, and the fabric was leftover scraps from my Sweet Scallops tote. The "beautiful things" printable came from Landee See, Landee Do. The "measure twice, cut once" came from Oh Sweet Joy. And I apologize, but I cannot remember where I got the "Keep Calm and Get the Sea Ripper" one from.

This looks like a cabinet, but the door actually opens up to make a perfect sewing table, and the end props up for extra length. I'd love to paint this table but am a little scared. What color would you paint it? I was thinking maybe red or black....

I'll also admit that I do a lot of crafting at the kitchen table. If you're like me and have limited space for your sewing and crafting, don't hesitate to make it your own.

Sharing at some of these parties this week: come check them out with me!

Monday, February 13

Cute Valentine's Day Mani/Pedi

I'm back....at least for now. Last week, that lovely stomach bug made the rounds in our house, so I didn't do much besides rest on the couch, hover over the toilet, and take care of my little ones doing the same. Certainly no crafting was done.

I do want to share a few things with you really quick.

My Ruffle/Rosette shirt was featured today on The RetailMeNot Insider. Click here to check it out and for some last minute Valentine's Day inspiration. I'm really honored to be featured!

Second, I gave myself some really cute toenails for V-day and beyond. Of course, I went to take a picture and my camera battery was dead. And, I cannot find the charger anywhere! So, you're going to have to settle for my inspiration pic:

I got the idea from Pinterest, which featured this manicure by A Vain Woman. I love it!

I never paint my nails, though. I'm a little hard on my hands. So, I painted my toes instead. I used bright pink and white. Here's the steps, just in case you need them.

1. Prepare your nails by removing any old polish and lightly buffing. Paint a base coat if desired. I'm too lazy.

2. Paint your toenails alternating colors. I chose pink and white. Depending on your polish, you may need two coats. I'm cheap and buy cheap (but cute) polish, so I needed two coats. Clean up any stray polish with a cotton swab or tiny paintbrush dipped in polish remover.

3. When solid coats are dry, create polka dots- white on color, colored on white. I straightened a bobby pin and dipped one end into a dab of nail polish I had placed on a paper plate. It made the PERFECT sized polka dot for my nails. Use one end of the bobby pin for the white dots, the other end for the colored.

4. Let polka dots dry, then finish with a top-coat!

Happy Valentine's Day in advance! We don't have any exciting plans, thanks to it being a school night (pout). But we are going out on Saturday instead. What are you doing? Tell me and make me jealous.....