we are fine

Hi, everybody. I've been glued to the storm coverage just like a lot of people. In our particular part of metro Atlanta, we got socked with a scary looking and sounding storm (that kind of ominous lightning that never lets up, just flashes constantly), strong winds and rain, but no property damage and no injuries to ourselves. There was a lightning strike near my MIL's house, and she said it sounded like a bomb went off.

My family in Alabama was not so lucky. I spoke with my Mom and sisters in Huntsville. They say north Alabama is without power, and will be for several days. There's limited gas available, and cars are lined up for hours. Refrigerators and freezers full of food are going to waste. My Aunt Georgia's house in Cullman took a direct hit from the tornado, but the group in her basement, including my Dad, who had just arrived, are all ok. Thank you to God!

My heart goes out to those families who were not so lucky, and who suffered terrible loss and destruction in these storms.

this year's easter dresses

 Very distantly related to vintage Simplicity 7563

We had a lovely Easter. I hope you all did too. It was gorgeous weather here, not too hot. And I fit into an awesome dress that I bought seven years ago and still love, so that was a bonus. 

I always seem to end up making the girls' dresses at the last minute. It's becoming a dysfunctional tradition. I do work better under pressure, but it makes for some bad moments. (Like when your model goes to bed before you are finished and you have to guess how to closely to fit the dress. That kind of thing.)

I really struggled with inspiration this year. None of the patterns I had on hand excited me. I just didn't know what I wanted to make. Then as the time whittled away to a couple of days I just settled on whipping out another two simple sleeveless shifts like I made last year, in some loud fabric.

I had this Amy Butler Lotus on hand in the stash (which I love and had intended for myself, but that's another thing that gets put aside when you wait 'til the last minute), so I altered the neckline, armholes and hem more to my liking and made the shifts.

And they looked like tent dresses. Then I remembered that I had to take out a huge amount of width last year to make them more fitted. So that is when I came up with the button tabs for this year's version. They worked a lot better than I thought they would to give the otherwise shapeless dresses a little fitted waistline. I really love them!

This shows the backs. Regular zippers for closure. I put two darts in the back of the oldest's dress, just for some shaping. The bias binding was just the cheap store bought kind. Not very soft, but hopefully the color will retain its brightness better than cotton. And hopefully not bleed all over the fabric. I'm a little scared to wash these.

Left dress: How is it that I managed to cut both back pieces in almost the exact place within the repeat of the fabric? And then didn't notice it until it was sewn together? AGAIN?

The hems were made like the Oliver + S Lazy Days skirt hem. I love that method, it makes such a neat finish. Only instead of ribbon I used single fold bias tape. Then another row of single fold tape above it just for looks.

Some action shots during the egg hunt at my in-law's. You can see that Thing 1's dress made its debut Sunday without the extra border above the hem. I was tired, people. And I figured since the fabric was so loud and busy, it didn't need it. But my daughter gently pointed it out to me and asked me why her sister's dress got two borders and hers only had one. So. I added that to the dress on Monday.

I finished both dresses about 11 pm or so on Saturday night, which gave me plenty of time to make some other stuff to put in the girls' easter baskets. Ha ha.

Like these matching headbands to go with their dresses. I'm so glad I was seized by the impulse a while back to buy some of Jessica's beautiful jacquard ribbon, because it leapt out at me as I was standing there at midnight trying to decide what kind of (hopefully quick) hair doololly to make.

I sewed the jacquard ribbon to a length of grosgrain ribbon for backing and added some elastic. Voila. They worked great. I was really surprised how well they stayed in. This kind never stays on my head, it always slips off the back.

And then because sleep is for quitters, I also made these tie-on bunny ears for their Beanie Babies. Easy, just white and pink felt with pipe cleaners inside for bendability and a ribbon tie. Everything is cuter with bunny ears.

That's right. I'm not from Texas.

But Texas wants me anyway. (Great, now I can't get that song out of my head!)

I can't believe I get to GO to this (as a consumer that is, not a vendor!). WITH my bosom friend! Oh, man, we are going to have so much fun! And eat Indian food! And laugh! And swill coffee and snarf sweets at regular intervals. And look at cool arty stuff. And talk about arty stuff. And buy arty stuff. And log away ideas. And look at interestingly attired people. And punch each other when we see crafters we idolize. Fun fun fun fun fun! If you go, I'll be the one walking around looking beatific.

Go here to see Robyn's photos from the trip they made to Austin last year. Just looking at all the cool places she visited gives me a to-do list as long as my arm.

guest post at Kojo Designs

I'm guest tutorialing at Kojo Designs as a part of their knock off series, The Sincerest Form Of Flattery. I recently made a pillow sham for my daughter's bed that was inspired by WE's ruffled pillow sham, and you can check out more photos and the tutorial there!

by order of the management

 

I got the tipoff about artist John Golden from my BFF. I had not seen his etsy shop, but when she sent me the link I fell in love. She just finished using his By Order of The Management prints in her kids' bathroom redo, and so I had to copy her and hang them in my kids' bathroom too. It's ok. We live in different states. I have full permission to totally rip off any decor idea she has. It's how I get my best stuff.

Sorry for the ick photos. Pictures in the bathroom are a booger. It is a small, narrow space, and I ended up climbing on top of the sink counter and into the bathtub. The lighting is akin to a bat cave. You get the idea though. 

John has a huge selection of clever signs in this series, so it was difficult to narrow it down to four. He also sells precut mats for the signs, and it was so totally worth it not to have to cut my own. He signs each print, and he even mounted them in the mats for me so all I had to do was plunk them in the 11x14 frames, which I found on the cheap at Michaels.

I sure need to freshen up that shelf. It's a couple of hobnail milk glass vases and Thing 1's flower girl basket that I stuck up there for lack of a better idea. It needs something. Maybe I should just ask Robyn to decorate a similar shelf and send me a photograph.

Funny about that shower curtain, both me and Robyn fell in love with it and bought it about the same time. But then she took hers back and totally one-upped me by sewing a much lovelier curtain a la AMH. The nerve.

P.S. I wanted to thank you guys for the lovely response to the needle books! I will make more, but it might be a few weeks. I apologize to those who didn't snag the one they wanted! I will try to figure out a better/more fair way to get the word out.

needle books now in the shop!

Note: Top row, third and fourth from the left, are reserved.

Two posts in one day! Just thought I'd give a shout about the shop update. Maybe your needles need a cozy, handmade place to hang out? If so, hop to the shop.

Spring Board Winner!

Through the magic of random number pickery, Rachel of Nest Full of Eggs is the new owner of the Gramma Wolfie Doll! Rachel, contact me and we'll get your prize in the mail.

And to answer some of your questions, yes, this will be a pattern, and also there will be a Little Red doll pattern. Soon. Ish. Soon-like. Well, as soon as I can.

 My Heather doll, a small Raggedy Ann made by my Mama Graham,
and my big Raggedy Ann.

Thanks everyone for sharing your favorite dolls and doll memories. I had some great laughs from them, especially the stories featuring evil older brothers. I started feeling really nostalgic about my two dolls and wondering what ever happened to them, and then it dawned on me they are both in my cedar chest. Duh! I went and dug them out and was really embarrassed at the sad shape and the dirtiness. At this point, I can't even wash them because I'm afraid they'll fall apart. The feet on my Raggedy Ann are split like that because I always walked her around by holding her in front of me and kicking her feet in unison with mine. I will have to make her some tight fitting booties or something to keep her stuffing from coming out.

See, my Raggedy Ann also had a heart that said "I love you" on her chest. My next-to-me sister and I both got one at the same time, and when she ripped the face on hers I remember she kept trying to pass it off as mine. Or was that our Snoopy dolls? If I have trust issues, I blame you, Libby. :-)

more needle books

This new batch is finished! I had a great time picking out new color combos and trying some different things.

They are all handmade of wool and wool-blend felts, and the covers have been fortified with fabric stiffener to make them a bit more durable. They each have a loop for hanging, and a button/string closure. Inside are four felt pages for parking your needles.

I'll be listing them in the shop, hopefully by Monday afternoon.

Spring Board: What big eyes you have, Gramma. And should you be drooling like that?

Comments are now closed! Thanks so much!

"Oh! It's so good to see you, dear little Red. My, you've grown. Wait here just a moment, I have to put away my knitting." (Pinches cheek)

 

"Okay, I'm back. Yes, it's VERY VERY good to see you, little girl. Come here. Give Gramma a biiiig hug." (Licking chops)

Hi, Everybody! Isn't this a hoot? A warm welcome to all first timers who are here via Knitty Bitty's Spring Board. It's Wednesday and that is my day to reveal what I made with the Spring Board pack! You've already seen the awesome handmade goodness and giveaways that were revealed on Monday and Tuesday, right? Be sure to visit to each Board Member's blog to get in on their fabulous giveaways all this week.

To sum up about the Spring Board concept: a group of creative bloggers each received a package containing two fat quarters, rickrack, a cotton doily, a square of unbleached cotton and a spring challenge: Imagine something up, make it, blog it and give it away!

So, you guys knew I was going to make a doll, right? When I saw the polka dot print, rickrack and the doily that settled it. Just perfect for a two-faced doll. I couldn't help myself, even though it will hurt to give her away.

Gramma is on one side, telling you to have another cookie, and Wolfie is on the other side, squeezing your arm to test for tenderness.

The doll was made using most of the items from the Spring Board stack, along with some odds and ends from my stash. Gramma's face is the unbleached cotton, with wool-blend felt nose and hair, safety eyes, and stitched details. I snipped the doily to make her shawl after I reinforced it with stitches so it wouldn't fall apart after snipping.

Her feet are some thrifted corduroy. There's the rickrack around the bottom of the dress.

On the wolfie side, the big blue safety eyes look kind of wall-eyed and a little crazed. Which I guess is pretty normal for a hungry wolf. Wolfie's face is made of some thrifted gray cotton and felt odds and ends.

Gramma Wolfie's arms (both sets) are appliqued felt. She's stuffed with polyfil. The only thing I didn't use was the green plaid print, which will be joining my stash for future creative endeavors.

It was a fun challenge and of course I enjoy bringing anything from folk tales to life. All she needs is a little Red doll to sit next to her. That's where YOU come in, my friend. Because if you make one comment below, you will be entered in the giveaway to win this Gramma Wolfie doll for your very own, and then you can challenge yourself to sew her up a little Red friend. Winner will be announced on April 18th!

It would be nice to hear what your favorite childhood doll was too. Mine? It was a tie between my oversize Raggedy Ann and my Heather doll (you remember Heather: best friend to Holly Hobbie).

Many thanks to Fabric Shoppe for sponsoring the event and providing the materials, along with some extra fabric! Be sure to visit her shop for some great fabric deals.

And get ready to see what Gussy Sews has to reveal tomorrow!

enough about you. let's talk about me.

If you would like to know more about what makes me tick and get in on yet another giveaway (yes, I know, you are thinking it's almost too many giveaways and enough with the giveaways already), visit SewSpoiled's blog for her interview with me and then enter the giveaway for four chances at a Baby Binky Bunny Pattern! If you already know that I'm kind of a crafting loony, then you can skip the interview and just enter the giveaway. Feel free to taunt me in the comments.

P.S. It's the last two days for the HAPPY3RD coupon in the shop! Be sure to take advantage of the 20% discount before EOD tomorrow.

get ready for the spring board

Image via Knitty Bitties

Do you need a creative kick in the pants? Get ready for a week of inspiration and some crazy good giveaways. Spring Board is a week-long creative collaboration of bloggers and is the brainchild of Knitty Bitties' Andrea Taddicken, a talented sewer and etsy shop owner. The kick-off is this weekend, and Monday the fun begins in earnest.

The gist: Each member of the board (including myself) was gifted with the pretty pack of fabric and notions you see above (sponsored by the good folks at Fabric Shoppe). What we created with it was limited only by our imagination. I do love a challenge. And, wait for it...each item will be given away to one lucky reader. So there will be seven chances for you to win a lovely, handmade item for your very own, but limitless opportunities for you to be inspired. Visit Knitty Bitties for the details, and check back with her each day this coming week to see the next reveal intro.

Well, I can just hear your craft gears clink-clinking. What would you make with the kit? If you would like a chance to win a lovely tied-up stack just like it and find out, hurry over to Knitty Bitties to meet the other members of the board enter her kick-off giveaway today. (Giveaway will end Monday, April 11th at 12AM {MST})

duvet cover reveal

You guys will be happy to know you won't hear me whining about sewing these two duvet covers anymore.

I'm very happy with how both of the covers turned out, and Thing 1 and Thing 2 just love them (it's a good thing too). They are so bright and cheerful in their room. Best of all, these things are OUT of my craft room. Yesss. Huge weight off my Towering Guilt Pile of Unfinished Projects.

I also sewed up a ruffled pillow sham (the subject of a tutorial coming soon) and the other pillow sham was purchased and then festooned with handmade yo yos.

 

On a whim I also sewed a couple of quick swiss dot pillow cases to go with the new stuff. I also would like to make a couple of cute accent pillows as finishing touches, but I haven't worked around to that yet. It's on the list.

felicitations to the winners and a coupon

Readers and fellow bloggers Libby (love your beautiful crocheting) and Tory (the description under your blog name made me laugh): I'll be emailing you both to get your snail mail address. I hope you enjoy the cards! And thanks to everyone for your very, very kind 3rd bloggiversary good wishes! (insert virtual collective hug here)

Since I couldn't make a set of scrap cards for everyone, how about a coupon code for the shop? If you purchase any pattern from the shop in the next week, be sure to apply the coupon code HAPPY3RD at the checkout for 20% off your purchase. Maybe a good time to go ahead and make some sleepy Easter bunnies?

mmmcrafts is three!

Comments are closed! Thanks everybody!

Another year of manic craft blogging has slipped on by. Mmmcrafts turned three at the end of March and I'd like to have a leetle celebration. Really, it all comes down to you people. Feedburner informs me that over 5000 of you have subscribed to the feed, and Google tells me that I have 2000+ following. That is really staggering to me. Have I told you lately how much I appreciate each and every comment you make, and how generally awesome all Mmmreaders are? I love it when you send me photos of things you make, share your faith, encourage mine, tell me funny crafting stories, and pass along cool links.

I give all glory to God for any creative talent He might have given me, but you guys keep the blogger in me going. You are unfailingly supportive and effusive and always stand at the ready with helpful suggestions when needed ("Maybe drink some coffee?"). You help to keep me honest by gently pointing out things like, why am I wasting time making something I found out several posts ago will look perfectly hideous on me. Why indeed. Sometimes I need reminding of these things.

It sure feels like an awful lot has happened over the last year. I'm so looking forward to finally being able to blab about my contributions to the craft books that are coming out in the summer and fall. It's going to be pret-ty exciting for me to see the final result of all that creative panic back in October and November, I can tell you that.

 

And I lurve the new mmmcrafts Facebook page, where I feel free to randomly comment about creative goals, mishaps, caffeine consumption and how chocolate is key to creativity. Thanks to so many of you who are 'likers'. Having the FB page really fills in a missing gap in the blog for me because the interaction with you guys is so much more immediate and chatty and I don't feel like something has to be post-worthy to put it out there.

(small flourish of trumpets) And now for the birthday festivities! As a small thank you, I'd like to give away two sets of three handmade birthday scrap cards (envelopes included), made by my own unmanicured hands. If you are like me, you always need a birthday card for someone. Just make one comment and be sure to include your email address so I can contact you if you are one of The Chosen Ones. I'll randomly draw the number of the winners on Wednesday.

And thanks for being wondrous. Here's to year four.