Not busy me...

This week has been spent looking for jobs (keep praying) and reading. I was going non-crafting crazy and was trying to figure out what I could do that takes up no space.... I finished a baby blanket (which I forgot to photo). I tried to shuffle boxes to find my works-in-progress box, but it didn't work (now all the boxes are straighter in the garage though)

I finally ordered a pattern I had been admiring on etsy. I originally saw them here. I love her colors. I want to make a HUGE pillow for me and one for Kelly. I am also thinking about making some nativity puppets and wanted some ideas. I thought I would start with the actual pattern and picked out felt that matches Kelly's love for green. I might have to make Ireland some purple ones though....

I don't think I've ever really embroidered, so it was a new challenge. I think they turned out cute. I didn't give them mouths.... The larger size will have more embellishment.

I found another blog addiction today called www.thisyounghouse.com , it is an adorable couple about our age who are super awesome do-it-yourselfers and a great source of inspiration... except it makes me want to spend money :).... They use "moodboards" and some of my other blogs do "inspirationboards" for weddings and decor. I decided I needed to do some of my own, Britton is supposed to put our photoshop on my computer so if I can acutally pull them off I will post some. They include our already owned furnature and then what I want for our spaces.... right now I am just working on bedroom and livingroom. We finally agreed on an accent color for our bedroom, so I think I am going to work on a matryoshka to match that color scheme and I have some fabric I already own that I might make a pillow out of. (I found that box.)

So... Keep praying that we find jobs soon and (I am a complete idiot and Britton got me a new digital camera for our anniversary (ours had gotten stolen out of my desk at school) and on the first night we went out I managed to lose it. I swore it was in the car, but I can't find it. So if that would amazingly reappear that would be amazing too.)

Busy me....

So I haven't posted in almost a month. Sorry! I have been very productive, some crafty mostly not so much. I finished the table runners I was making for my mom and my MIL for their birthdays. (They are next month, but since I am with my parents today and won't see my mom for her bday, she got hers) and my MIL doesn't read my blog, so I can share!
I found a red-white-and-blue table runner I really liked in a quilting magazine. It was pretty country and I liked it but I have been collecting more mod fabrics for a few months. I started these toward the end of june and made 10 blocks total. They are "courthouse step" blocks and have red centers with white and blue steps.
Once I had all the strips cut, I pieced them and then completed 10 squares. I connected the squares, alternating the white and blue. Then I added the red boarders. It took me a little while to figure out how to quilt them. I had to pin them twice and rip out and requilt 1/2. I finally found a tutorial and pinned them to my carpet, which worked well. I borrowed my friend Jenny's machine (which she had never used) and quilted with a zig-zag around the squares. The LGSM only has forward and back, no zig-zag.















I was worried about choosing backing and binding fabric, but a nice lady at the quilt store helped me and I am happy with my choice. They are kinda of 30s print and I think they work. My mom loves hers! :) She even said she was going to show her quilty friends, which I guess is a big deal.

Anyways in the last month we decided to move back to Louisville. (so pardon the pics that show chaos) So I packed the apartment and everything we own is in our cars or the Penske truck. I have done very little crafting because I was so busy packing our house and classroom. Between report cards and chaos I am exhaused. I am so glad we spent an extra night in CO so I could relax. I am very stiff from carry boxes and climbing the stairs for 2 days straight and then sitting in the car for 2 days staight. ( I also sunburned my right shoulder badly from my sunroof- so I am very uneven and my shoulder hurts! What a dork!)

So the shower I helped Kelly make invites for the last time I was home is this coming week and I am sad I cannot attend. So since everyone in CO at my house was at work today I threw together an apron for Lily. I wish I had a cookbook or whisk or something to go with it. Oh well. I used an apron my mom had for my idea and went for it. The tension was screwed up on her machine so I dug the LGSM from the back of the moving truck and used it. The tension on it was funky too. I am almost positive mine was because of a dull needle. Oh, well. It's cute. I looked up her registry and am hoping it matches her kitchen.
I hope I will be crafty this month, but starting new jobs and moving with my inlaws for 6 weeks might stall the crafting a little... Although both my SILs have birthdays this month.... So we will see.

Win this!

I am trying to win this quit and get extra entries for posting this!! Go leave a comment to win it... (or don't! because I want to win it!) Isn't it beautiful!! I love the Ginger Blossom Fabric!

Procrastinator...

I worked really hard this weekend and finally finished a few things tonight. Britton was hiding in the bedroom and I was sewing up a storm and smelling up the living room with silicon glue (and watching the finale of the Batchelorette).
I have worked quite a bit on presents for my Mom's and MIL's birthdays which are in the middle of September. I guess that's how I operate.... either way prepared or way behind and trying to catch up. So although I have worked on the projects quite a bit I can only preview because I think my mom checks my blog once in a while.











I also wanted an affordable gift for the wedding we are heading to this weekend. We have spent to much on travel and wardrobe :) to afford the normal afghan. So I asked my recently married friend and she said she had really wanted cute luggage tags with her new married name. I had seen a few tutorials (here and here) so I kind of modified both and made my own version. I made some for us (since we are traveling this week) and for my friend Chelsea, shes moving soon and about to fly a bunch. I have another round I need to make for my fam (and the previously mentioned newlyweds who gave me the idea). I had to finally get out Jenny's machine that she lent me in April. (I needed a zig zag stitch to add the plastic part to the tags) I managed to thread it and the bobbin (multiple times) and didn't screw it up! Her's is SOOOO much quieter than mine.












Finally I finished these magnets which I bought the supplies for in February. I made some for the couple this weekend with their monograms and last name. Most of them are patterns off of fabrics and wallpapers out of Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel, etc. I had punched them one weekend Britton was playing guitar at church and I had lots of random time. I know they are hard to see but this is them on a cookie sheet. I had to make all of the magnets I had, because the tube of silicone popped and so I had to use it all up.
I have to go clean up from dinner and my crafty chaos. I have put off that and packing (I have to do it tomorrow night) I need to finish laundry and make banana bread for our staff meeting. I really want to make more tags tomorrow.... We'll see. I have to finish sub plans too. Arg... off to the less fun real world.

Sorry...

So I have been quite productive in the last few weeks. I just have been a bad blogger. I need to get in the habit of it so I don't go so long. It's the bad practice of trying to fit it in before things I have to do then I cannot justify procrastinating for crafting and blogging. Then I was on break and just have no excuse. So this will be a long post with lots of pics and I will try to be more reliable about posting. I finished some more crayon rolls but didn't take good pics.

I was given short notice on a birthday dinner. Since we hang out with the boys I knew it was up to me to find something thoughtful. I was pretty proud of these little zipper pouches (out of Amy's Bend the Rules) I threw 2 together in just over an hour. The birthday girl liked them. Conveniently green is her favorite color and comprizes a huge part of my newly growing stash.

I was also satisfied with my last minute birthday bag. It is cute and if Victoria Secret bags weren't so recognizable it would hardly look recycled. But I am trying to live more green....

This was a big afghan that I am quite proud of because I finished it in just over a week! It is almost queen sized and I started it on a Thursday evening. It is a brownish blue color, which I know is weird, but It was a wedding gift and their bedroom is blues and their living room is browns so it could be at home in either room. I love making homemade gifts to celebrate my friends and their special events. I used 10 skeins and a pretty large hook. I think sometimes I will give myself carpal tunnel with my hurried efforts. It turned out really nice though.

I think the thing I am most proud of sewing so far is these log cabin pillow tops. (tutorial) I made 2 and gave one to Kelly and one to Kimmi. Unfortunately my green bathroom doesn't need pillows. I loved how cool they turned out and was quite proud of myself. I even patched the bias tape for the back. They are awesome! I think I am going to make black and white for my bedroom (Kristy wants one too) but I am trying to add an accent color to our bedroom (maybe yellow?)

I made this bag specifically for Kimmi. It is the same pattern I used before but now I am smart enough to add pockets (I hate fishing for my cell phone in mine) The denim was left from my purse and I had just enough!! :) The interior is from a skirt from Target!!! I own the skirt, bought it for $5 at Easter, and wished I had got another to use for fabric. Well luckily in Vegas, Goodwill gets all of Targets cast offs, So I got this one for $1.99!! :) It took me way longer than I thought to rip it out, but the fabric was perfect and turned out beautiful. I might have to find another and make one for me :)

While in CO I made belts for everyone using some scraps I had brought. Kristy of course had to have black. I made Kelly and Kimmi green, and I have 2 more green ones ready to finish but I ran out of ribbon.

I used this tutorial and was happy with the results. The thicker fabrics were really annoying with the foot on my mom's machine. I will have to mix up colors. I also saw some similar ones with fun buckles, so we might have to look for some of those for Christmas.

Kelly and my mom are hosting a shower for a family friend's fiance. Since Kelly leaves for Russia for 6 weeks on Thursday (I am jealous and excited for her!!) She had to get the invites made this week. They turned out really cute. Mom has been instructed to print the info on clear labels.She is going to decorate with coffee and oranges. And serve coffee and deserts, maybe those should all be orange :)? I helped her and loved how the white stamp turned out on the brown paper. I love orange and brown!

We head back to Vegas tomorrow. It has been wonderful to have time with my fam but I love living with my best friend. I have lots of grading etc. that I put off before CO. At least no school until next Monday!

Mosaic Flickr Game

I have seen this game a bunch of places. Kelly and I played on our laptops last night. (I think everything is more fun with your sister) Here is my mosaic.

1. Katie the Pest, 2. raspberry show off, 3. Mt. Meeker and Longs Peak over St. Vrain Greenway, 4. Painful backache, 5. dave annable, 6. Mojito Power, 7. llibreria - bookstore - Amsterdam, 8. Strawberry Shortcake, 9. {over it}, 10. Step by step… steadily ♫♫, 11. joyful, 12. IMG_0403.jpg

The concept:

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

The Questions:

1. What is your first name? Katie
2. What is your favorite food? fresh fruit
3. What high school did you go to? Longmont High
4. What is your favorite color? green
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Dave Annable
6. Favorite drink? Mojito
7. Dream vacation? Europe
8. Favorite dessert? Strawberry Shortcake
9. What you want to be when you grow up? Mommy
10. What do you love most in life? Us
11. One Word to describe you. Joyful
12. Your flickr name BrittonandKatie

Isn't this fun! :)

3 day weekend!

I don't have too much to say but I did have a very enjoyable 3 day weekend! I love sleeping in. Someday last week I decided I was sick of the blue rug in the bathroom that didn't match the shower curtain. I moved all of the vacation pictures and sea shells that matched the pre-wedding beach decor to the laundry room. (Who isn't wishing for vacation while doing laundry?) And attempted to match the decor with the brown/green shower curtain that I picked out and love.

These cubes also got exiled from the bedroom, Britton thinks they are too dormroom/junky... I love them. Anyways I have held out for a while and finally got a lovely piece of art from my friend Chelsea for my birthday, which is neither dormroom, nor junky, so the cubes moved to the bathroom with their green artifacts. (junk) They inspired me to go mostly green in the bathroom. I did by plastic poppies to put in the Ale8 bottle to decrease its "junky" appearance.
So I raided my yarn stash and crocheted stripes from all my greens, browns, off whites, and made a bath rug that matches the shower curtain!
Then today I bought 9 5x5 canvases (for $1 each!!!) and 9 cool green fabrics (in fat quarters or fat eighths). Then I used my handy dandy staple gun and stretched the fabric on the canvases. I am headed back tomorrow to get the rest of the $1 canvases. I have an idea :)
Happy Memorial Day! Thank you again to those who sacrifice for our freedom and liberty and the freedom and liberty of others.