House Repair: New Entryway Roof!

      Before: The railing and concrete is what was torn off
Mike decided to take this week off work so he could replace the roof above our back door. Previously, it was a concrete slab with a railing around it. Now, this did not make much sense, but, well, what can you do? Anyway, the big problem was that chunks of the concrete would fall down right above the door so it was getting to be a bit risky when you were standing there trying to unlock the door. Personally, I don't think much more could ruin your day than getting bonked in the head with a chunk of concrete while trying to get in the house, so Mr. Procrastinator was forced to do something about it.

 After they tore off the concrete, they installed chipboard
With his friend Kevin's help, they tore down the concrete (Mike had tore down the railing last yr but that was as far as he got) and replaced it with a metal roof that is sloped quite a bit more than the concrete. Which, being up north, is a very good thing. They also installed ice jacks. If you don't know what these are for, they allow the snow to melt and drip slowly rather than just falling down and burying you alive. Another good thing.

                                              Mike working hard. That's Kevin's dad supervising
So now I need not worry about getting knocked out by concrete or buried in snow. Happy happy, joy joy! Oh--the sides and gutters still need to be put on yet but I thought I'd go ahead and blog now bc those will probably take another 10 yrs to do :/

I do wonder how long it may be before Mike repaints too. New roof really makes that part of the house a bit shabby.

Finally Finished

A couple of months ago I got an order to make some baby items. The expectant mother is a friend of my niece's and she sent me a TON of Curious George fabric to make these items with: fleece, cotton, and flannel. The only requests she had were two blankets (one small, one larger), a car seat cover, bumper pads, a quilt made from the leftover fabric, and things to decorate baby's room.  All of these were items I had never made before so I had to put my thinking cap on.

 I figured the easiest thing to do would be to choose one of the fabrics and make everything I could out of it, and then continue on with each of the fabrics. So I started with fleece. I made her a crib sized blanket and a smaller blanket.

I also made a car organizer, car seat cover and snuggle wrap from fleece.

 

Then it was time to move on to the flannel. Since the flannel was the only fabric I had enough of, I made the bumper pads from it. I also made some bibs and burp cloths and a monkey blankie.

Now I was left with the cotton. I made quite a few things with it. A travel high chair, wall letters, a stuffed monkey (from a Bit of Whimsey pattern), and a toy set.

 

And lastly, I made a rag quilt with the leftover cotton and flannel.  My first attempt but it was fun and I really like how the rag quilts look.

Thank You Letter

A few months ago, I was contacted through my etsy shop by a group that gathers expectant moms of deployed soldiers together and holds a huge baby shower for them. They contact various sellers and organizations to ask if they'd be willing to donate items. I thought it was a good opportunity to get my name and baby items out there and I also thought it was a great cause. A way of saying "thank you" to the soldiers who are out there protecting our freedoms. So, I decided to donate some wrist rattles and teething toys.

Last week, I received a letter from one of the moms thanking me, even though she couldn't use the wrist rattle as she was having a boy and the one she received was for a girl. She went on to say that she passed the rattle onto a friend who was having a girl. I was so touched that this wonderful lady (can she be called anything but) had taken the time to hand write me a letter thanking me for something she couldn't really use for herself.

So, I decided that I would make her something, for her baby boy, that she could use just to show my appreciation at the time she took to write and send me that letter. I made a burp cloth/bib set for her. I chose one of the cutest boy fabrics I had and I plan to send it to her tomorrow. It's the least I can do.

What To Do?

I need some advice.  I've noticed that although my character blankies are absolutely adorable (if I do say so myself) and I have gotten quite a few compliments on them, they're not selling well.  So what do I need to do to make them more appealing? Change the description? Better pictures? List them separately? If you think I should do any or all of these things, please let me know your opinions and what you think will make them move. If you think I should take better pictures, how would you "pose" them? I'm so not creative at this type of thing.

My Sewing Space

Unfortunately I do not have a room totally devoted to my sewing. I actually live in an old brick schoolhouse so I don't have a lot of room to work with, but I do the best I can with what I have. And here's my little sewing space:

My small sewing table sits in front of the dining room window. It has a leaf that can be folded out if I need extra sewing space.

I also have a cutting table that has two leaves. When these leaves are down, it's pretty compact at 12" wide x 36"long. Folded out, this table is a whopping 36" wide x 60" long! Usually I just fold one leaf out when using it. I store it under the stairs and beside my chinchilla's cage.

I use the end of the dining room table for my ironing. Since most of my projects are smaller, I find a tabletop ironing board works great. When not in use, I just lean it against my cutting table.

I do have a room upstairs that I use to store all my fabric and craft items. It's a larger room, however; it has a slanted ceiling that is very low so virtually no wall space.  If it weren't for that, I would probably make this room my sewing space as well. To store my craft items, I have a plastic shelf with my drawers and organizers.  I keep some trims and other odds and ends in them.  You will also notice all the black and white boxes under the shelf--these are all my sewing patterns.

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I bet you're wondering what's in those blue boxes aren't you? That is just some of my ribbon. I have it all organized according to color.

  And let's not forget all my fabric! I store it in metal cubes according to theme and then by color. For example, all my baby/kids fabrics are together, animals, floral, novelty, etc.  The smaller fabrics on top are fat quarters.

And last but not least: my MIL gave us an old secretary that I sanded down and repainted. I store all my finished shop items in it and it works great!

So now that you've seen my crafting/sewing space, what does yours look like?

New Job

Some of you may know that I recently got a temporary job for the census bureau.  I will be an enumerator, which basically means that I will go to houses that the census did not get a questionnaire from and try to urge the people/person who lives there to help fill one out.  This job is only temporary and will end on June 21st, but hey, a job is a job and I really need the money.

Training started last Tuesday.  I cannot even put into words how boring it was. Eight hours sitting in a hard chair (even an ass blanket didn't help) every day for four and a half days, listening to the same things being repeated time after time. Let's just say it was extremely hard to focus and not fall asleep.  The best training day was Thursday because we only had to sit in class a half day and then went out in "the field" for the afternoon.  It was so nice to get outside and off those darned hard chairs.  My butt was certainly thankful.

Friday, it was another day of "training".  It wasn't as bad though because we basically went over the problems we had the previous afternoon and any questions we might have had.  And trust me, there were plenty of both. Turned out to be interesting because the people who did the map spotting (marked the roads and houses we have to enumerate) did a pretty piss poor job.  There were roads/streets that were nonexistent, with houses I might add, that we had to enumerate.  How you do that with a non-existent road and house I have no idea!  It was nothing but a mess. So, I shall have fun this week trying to figure it all out to say the least.

Regardless of how difficult it may be because of bad map spotting, etc. I am looking forward to it.  I'll get to meet new people, get some exercise (I plan to walk as much as possible), maybe get yelled at or told to get off someone's property, and who knows, maybe even get bitten by a dog or two! Good thing they're paying me well.

Tutorial Tuesday: Recycled Jeans Pocket Pets

I thought something cute and fun would be in order for this week's Tuesday Tutorial. So, I have for you recycled jeans pocket pets! They're adorable little stuffies made from recycled jeans. These would be so cute sitting on your couch or chair! There is a cat, dog, and owl. So, hop on over to Art of Green Recycling's blog and get your craft on!
http://artofgreenrecycling.blogspot.com/2010/02/recycled-jeans-pocket-pets.html

Have You Ever Had....

Have you ever had one of those days when things just don't go right? I'm sure you have, I mean, who hasn't? Yesterday was one of those days for me. I had big plans of doing a little crafting. I was going to make covered button rings. I was so excited! But first I had to go to JoAnn's and get some glue. That in itself, was no problem--so far so good. I was very excited to get home so I could get my craft on!

Well, here's when my decent enough morning started to turn sour. It turned out that I didn't have the size covered button tool I needed to make the little buttons to attach to the rings. Well, ok, maybe I'll just make buttons then. Yeah, didn't have the size tool I needed for those either. Hmmm, well ok, I guess I'll just work on that order for baby items then.

So, I got out the fleece, cut out a car seat cover, sewed it like I THOUGHT the directions said. That was wrong. Had to tear it out. In the process my seam ripper broke. So I had to use the little cheap-o one that came with my sewing machine. After I got it all tore out and resewn, I was getting ready to put the elastic in. Turns out I didn't have enough. Well, let me just see if it'll work anyway. Not only did it not, but the elastic ends came unpinned and now the elastic is stuck inside the cover. Big SIGH. Needless to say, that was the end of my crafting for the day.

Maybe I'll try again today. Or maybe I'll just take an all-day nap.

Tutorial Tuesday: Cat House

This week's tutorial is for the cat lover. We all know how our kitties love places to hide and feel secure, so this week's tutorial by Sew Take a Hike will tell you how to make an adorable house, complete with windows, for your kitty!
http://sewtakeahike.typepad.com/sewtakeahike/2010/01/a-cat-house-tutorial.html

A Wonderful & Exciting Week!

I'm not by nature a depressed type of person. I'm usually happy most of the time: always joking, always smiling, always laughing, but sometimes life can really get to you. Especially if you are experiencing hard times--which I have been. Through it all I have tried to remain optimistic and my usually jolly self, but it has been harder and harder to accomplish this. I know I am certainly not the only one to have problems and feel down sometimes, so I know most people can relate to what I've been going through.

After two weeks of feeling depressed because of financial reasons, I have finally had a wonderful week. I cannot tell you how much it was needed. The first thing to happen was that I got a call from the Census Bureau asking me if I was still interested in a job. Since I haven't worked in over a year, the answer to that was, "Um, YEAH!". So I start training on the 27th. It's only temporary (maybe a couple of months) but it pays well and I REALLY need the money. So it is certainly good news.

The second thing that happened was that I received a $10 gift card in the mail from JoAnn's! Yes, I know, that sounds pretty silly, but I believe all my crafty friends can relate to how exciting this is lol.

The third thing (and don't laugh) was that my hot chocolate man of Wednesday night's "Criminal Minds", Shemar Moore was on Ellen. Oh YUMMY!! I truly enjoyed that! And best of all--he was on Weds afternoon so I got to see him TWICE that day!! Woo hoo! Hey, it's the simple things in life.

Now ALL that happened on Weds. Now let me tell you what happened last night. As I was coming in from outside, I noticed a HUGE hole in the old maple tree stump (if you can call it a stump since it's 5' tall) with a bunch of "shavings" on the ground below it. Naturally, I thought "WTH"?? I asked Mike about it and he said he noticed it when he came home. I of course wondered what in the world could've done that. My first thought was "pileated woodpecker". Ooooooo--more excitement! Let me tell you, I have been waiting for 10 YEARS to see one of these! We hear them across the road in the woods all the time beating on trees but had never seen one.A few minutes later, I had gone into the kitchen to finish my womanly duties (i.e. wash dishes) when Mike called me into the bathroom. Lo, and behold there it was--a pileated woodpecker!! I cannot even BEGIN to tell you how excited I was!! Mike had tried to take a picture of it from the bathroom window but the screen was on and all he got was, well, screen. So he took the screen out of the bathroom and bedroom window so we could try to get a decent shot of it. Naturally, it had flown away by then and night was falling so I didn't think it would come back again that night.

But TODAY--there he was in all his woodpecking glory! And I managed to get a few decent shots!! Hey, what did I say earlier about the simple things in life?

The Winning Bag

And here it is, the winning bag from my bag naming contest! Linda chose a celestial fabric I had in stock and I used a purple fabric with swirling starts for the lining and handles. I think it's just the neatest bag I've ever seen! Linda plans to use her X-Factor bag for her knitting projects! Congrats again, Linda and I hope you enjoy your new bag!

Tutorial Tuesday

For this tutorial Tuesday, I have a video link on how to make a customized card using a paper napkin. This is so neat! Will have to try it myself. If you make any of these, would love to see your creations! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hpqpeljWd4

And the Winner Is...

Today is the day I picked a winning name for my new style of bag. Let me just say, ALL of the name choices were so great! I had a very hard time deciding which one to choose. But I did choose one. I like the "X-Factor" bag that Linda suggested. Be assured, however that there were quite a few runners-up! I want to thank all of you for participating!

So, Linda, you can visit this link to see fabrics I have in stock. Just let me know what bag size and fabric you'd like (also your address of course) and I'll get your bag made! http://lilbitsassyfabrics.shutterfly.com/
Email: lilbit-sassy@hotmail.com

Name That Bag Contest

I am so in love with this new bag! I love the style, the size, and I especially love how the bottom looks. I plan to make this bag in several sizes:
small (approx. 6" x 6")
medium (approx. 7" x 7")
large (approx. 8: x 8")
The one pictured is a medium. When opened, it looks like a square bucket. It has two inside pockets and closes with a loop that fits over a button on the front of bag. The large bag will also have the choice of a front outside pocket.

The only problem I have is finding a name for it, so this is what I decided to do: whoever comes up with the most creative name will win one of these in their choice of size and fabric! I will leave this contest open until Friday, April 2nd (don't want to announce a winner on April Fool's Day--they might think it's a joke!). So, let's hear those creative name suggestions! You can also enter as many times as you wish!

Challenging Children

My great niece and nephew are the sweetest kids in the world, however, when it comes to gifts, they can be quite the challenge! I don't mean that they are difficult to please, I just mean that they really love to challenge my creativity. Not that I mind. I love a good challenge.
When asked, Tyler said that he wanted a bat doll for his birthday. Ooookay. Who knows where five year olds come up with their ideas. So, to the drawing board I went to try and create a bat doll for him. I actually used a Bit of Whimsy Mollie Monkey pattern for the body but still had to come up with a face, wings, and legs. So, I did manage that quite well. I made the body with black suede and the ears, wings and legs from black cotton that has a gray swirl pattern. I think it came out rather cute!Tyler's sister Kayden's birthday is next week. I asked if she'd like a girl doll with a couple of skirts. Nope. Not at all. But what she WOULD like was a robot doll. Yellow. A big doll. A girl one. Here we go again! This time I used my robot blankie as a template for the head. I made it a bit smaller because the blankie pattern was a bit big. That was the easy part. Then I had to figure out how to do the arms and legs. I looked around on etsy to see how people were doing their robot hands (I already had an idea for the legs/feet)and saw that most were doing claw-like hands. I'm not very good at drawing (can't even draw stick people) so even something so simple as claws were a challenge for me, but I managed. And so here is Kayden's big girl robot doll in yellow.

Can hardly wait for their next birthdays to roll around.

Make Your Own Bubble Mailers

I have decided to make Tuesdays "Tutorial Tuesdays" on my blog! Every Tuesday I will post a craft tutorial. These will be sewing, crafting, crocheting, etc. The first tutorial will show you how to make your own bubble mailers. Imagine the smile on the recipient's face when they receive something in a mailer that you made yourself with fun patterned paper! They are easy to do and you do not need a lot of materials.

Here is the link:
http://blog.shoplet.com/office-supplies/diy-custom-bubble-mailers/
Would love to see pics of your handmade mailers!

Getting My Craft On

It seems that lately I've been focusing more on cross stitching and sewing so I haven't crafted in quite some time. So, Monday morning I got the urge to do some crafting instead of sewing. I had bought a few supplies some time ago but just never got around to doing anything with them (I'm the only one that does this right?). I happened to find some jumbo paper clips and wondered what I could make with them. As it happened, I have a bookmark that is made with a large paper clip. It has a rubber frog on top of it (love that bookmark!). I thought I could make bookmarks with the clips, but what could I use for decoration? Ah-Ha! I have covered buttons! So I dug out some scrap fabrics and my covered buttons and proceeded to make four bookmark clips. I love how they turned out. And they were so cute, I decided to put them in my Artfire and eCrater shops.Since making the bookmark clips was so fun, I decided I would do some more crafting. Last night, being Tuesday, there was nothing on TV I wanted to watch, so while watching Celebrity Apprentice on Hulu, I made some barrettes. Some were made with mini roses and some were made with bug buttons I happened to have (no end of supplies in this house). I think they turned out rather cute. They're also listed in my Artfire and eCrater stores.

What's Cool About This Country

People that know me, know I love this country. They also know that I believe in my 2nd Amendment right to keep and bear arms. They also know I enjoy guns and target shooting. Having said this, let me tell you one reason why this country is great:

Today me, Mike, and Mike's buddy Kevin went to a gun raffle. This gun raffle was sponsored by the PA State Police. At this raffle, there were probably 200-300 people. Not radicals, not violent people, not people who were ready to "rise up" against the government...just regular folks like you and me. And while sitting there observing all these people having a good time, meeting with friends, meeting new folks who also shared their interests, it occurred to me that I love this country and the people in it. No, let me restate that: I am IN love with this country and the people in it.

Now some might say that because these people--these regular folks--would be "crazy" or "violent" because we were, after all, at a GUN raffle trying to win GUNS. And we were also drinking FREE beer!! Lions, and tigers, and bears OH MY! Alcohol and firearms, why someone is bound to get hurt! Don't be shocked--no one did. No fights broke out, no protests were held, and at the end of the day, everyone left as peacefully as they came. Some happier than others because maybe they had won a gun or some other prize they were raffling off.

Oh, and did I mention that it was held by the PA STATE POLICE? Oh, I think I did. Did I also mention how many officers were actually there--off duty---enjoying the raffle themselves? A LOT. So much for crazy, gun toting Americans!

Deals of the Day

I love a bargain! Yes I do. And today I got one that I'm SO excited about! I had to pay a visit to my local JoAnn's store to buy more felt for my counting book (still in the process of making it but will post when finished). While there, two of the associates were trying to decide which tote they wanted to purchase. Then one of them informed me that these totes were on sale for $4.99--they were regularly $14.99!! Well, I had to go take a look for myself.

So I walked around the corner and couldn't believe what a bargain it was! These are nice sized totes--big enough to carry my laptop (which is what I plan on using it for), they have two side pockets (one inside, one out), PLUS they are reversible! Thick batting is also used between the fabrics to give it a very cushy feel--perfect for protecting my laptop. They only had three colors to choose from, but since I'm not picky, that was fine by me! This blue one is the one I chose.

Another bargain I got today was this adorable pattern. It's by Simplicity and they are also on sale for $1.99 each. I love it! I can't wait to make some of these cute baby things!

Cupcakes & Ice Cream

Isn't it funny how certain items become popular? I always wonder how these things start. Who decides what is to be popular and what is not? And once something does become popular, why must we all have it? I have noticed that cupcakes are the "in" thing right now. Not just the food itself, but anything having to do with cupcakes. You see them all over: shirts, purses, toys, book covers, even wall art.

With that in mind, I decided to jump on the bandwagon and make some cupcakes. Not the kind you eat (to be honest, I'm not much of a "cake" eater. I know, I know, there's something wrong about that)but rather the kind you can hang on your wall. And they turned out cakefabulous if I do say so myself! These would be SO cute hanging in your kitchen, bakery, craft room..even your little girl's room!And what would a cupCAKE be without a little ice cream to go along with it? So, I made ice cream cones too! They are creamtastic! Best of all, these could go in boys' rooms (the girls can't have all the fun!).So if you're hungering for some cute wall decor, drop in my shop and buy yourself a half dozen cupcakes and a couple of ice cream cones! I can also customize these in colors of your choosing too of course :)