Socks

As if you can't tell...

My main goal as a crafter is to be able to do all that I love, creativly, while still including my kids and making it fun for all of us.

I am trying to get things ready to sell all The Tattered Trunk Boutique (check it out!) coming up this November and have been having so much fun doing it. This past week I worked on these cute little socks my beautiful mother taught me how to do. This one is way too hard to explain. I think you need a mother/grandmother or friend to show you how! My grandmother always made these beautiful socks and I love keeping her memory alive by making beautiful things I know she would love.

To get Lacy involved this time I put some cheap big beads on sylcaone baking mat (so the beads would sit still and not roll all over the place) on a cookie sheet and some pipe cleaners and let her make some fun easy jewlrey. I love using pipe cleaners because the beads dont fall off- the fuzz keeps them on, and the wire makes it so your little one doesn't need a needle. We both had a lot of fun playing with beads making beautiful things.. and I got about 15 pairs of socks done!

Painting for the kiddos!

I was trying to get some painting done for a project I was doing and Lacy just was driving me nuts! She wanted into everything, as usual, to do what Mommy is doing... so I improvised. I had these 2 plain wood magazine holders, some washable crayola paints, and a sleeping baby. While Hugo napped I got a wax-paper lined cookie sheet and put spots of crayola paint and a couple paint brushes and let Lacy have at it. I knew all the paints would wash out if they got on the table, floor, clothes, hands, or pretty much anywhere else Lacy could think of. I love these paints- we have used them for so many things. Face painting, poster painting, etc. It was a fun craft and now Lacy has a new fun place to put the Princess magazines that Grandma gets for her.

Perfect! Plus I got some stuff of my own done and we could have some good quality Mommy-Lacy time while we painted together!

Freezer Paper Stencils

I found this awesome craft and it is SO MUCH FUN! Making freezer paper stencils and painting shirts. If you buy Reynolds Freezer paper, it actually has directions on the box. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will certainly be doing this more often!

The Freezer Paper comes in this HUGE roll so it will last a long time.
I actually cut 8 1/2 X 11 pieces and found clip art online (free at Microsoft online) and printed right on the paper. (the papery side, NOT the glossy side!) Then i took my X-Acto knife and my cutting mat and cut out the images i liked. Be sure to save the image and reverse image for 2 different looks when painting. Then get the image you want situated where you want on what you are painting onGet your iron nice and hot (and dry) and iron the paper onto the shirt. Be sure if you have printed from the computer that you use a sheet of paper in between. BELIEVE ME I learned this the hard way! The ink from the paper will get onto your iron and then onto your shirt and make a big mess. If you don't want to print from the computer you can just draw right on the paper any image you want!
Get some fabric paint and a good paint brush. If you don't want to buy separate fabric paint you can use acrylic paint. It will just make your fabric kind of hard. You can use a painting medium to make it the right consistency. Just be sure to heat set your image.
Voila- the finished product. I LOVE the way they turned out. It was actually a pretty quick process. I really enjoyed it. YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY TRY IT, You'll be hooked!

I'm going to take some buttons and other accessories and dress them up a little more. Maybe some leaves on the trees, who knows!

Be creative and have fun!

My Craft Cupboard

My mom always teases that my sister Charmaine has a messy house with beautifully clean, organized closets... and that I have a clean house with disastrous, un-organized closets. Well I have been wanting and wanting to get my craft cupboard organized for a long time and I just haven't had the motivation. I wish Charmaine was here to help me get organized. Well with my calling, my hobbies, all the things I'm asked to do and want to do.. it was time!! I had my mom and my mother in law both come over for a joint effort in getting me organized. I really wish I would have taken a before picture, because it was a huuuuge improvement. My cupboard was exploding to all parts of the kitchen.

I am soo pleased with the results. Everything is so easy to find and looks great. I have my fabrics where I can see them, all my drawers have themes, kids crafts, flowers, ribbons, baby stuff, beads, etc. I just love that I don't have to un-load the whole cupboard to find what I'm looking for.

Thanks so much for the help! I truly needed it!!