Lazy Sunday

Sunday's always tend to be lazy around our house... okay that is most days but especially true on the weekends as we don't like to get out and go shopping on Saturday or Sunday due to the traffic and amount of people in the stores. Don't get me wrong, I'm not phobic about crowds but it does get tiresome when you are trying to shop and there are long lines and impatient people. We just go during the week and it is much calmer. We will go to my mother's today (first time for DH to be out around people since surgery) for snacks and football, so that should be a welcome change for a little while. I'm sure most the country will be watching the game, now who is it that is playing again.... lol, can you tell I don't watch football... I just watch it for the commercials.

One of the projects I mentioned last post was my little bags for the kids in the oncology department at the local children's hospital. Well here is a picture of the first batch ready to be delivered.

They could be drawstring or snap close but not buttons as they were afraid the buttons would come off, so I did a mix of both. My kid theme fabric was sorely lacking but I think this is a good start. If you would like to donate little bags (mine are 4 x 5 and smaller) or material, please contact me. You would get a donation receipt for tax purposes. You can contact me via the e-mail me button on the left hand column or leave me a comment with your e-mail address and I'll contact you for specifics.

In getting back in the swing of things, I volunteered to host an art charm swap. This one has a Zentangle theme. Oh, what fun will these be. I have only done Zentangles on paper but wanted to try to do some on pieces of wood that I could make into a charm so I found these small "Z's". I'll drill a small hole at the top and insert an eye pin so that they can hang. I think I'll have to get more of these as they were really fun.

This is the front.

The back.

As you can tell I did the front and back as well as three of them around the edges. If you like Zentangles and want to find out more about them or how to make them, then visit www.zentangle.com. There are also a ton of books available that are a great inspiration.

I love making things, as if you couldn't tell that already, and for the holidays I made homemade hand lotion and cream. Well now I'm developing my own recipe (I used someone else's before). The first batch didn't turn out quite the way I wanted and felt a little gritty in the liquid state but was fine after you rubbed it in but I still didn't like that feeling. The second batch turned out much better with just a few modifications and additions. I did try to fix the first batch this morning, hopefully the gritty feeling will be gone once it cools.

Second batch, cooled lotion.

I also made some cuticle cream and have a recipe that I love. I added a touch of lemon and lavender essential oils and it smells really good. It would also be good on rough scaly heels and feet.

All of the lotions I'm making have a paraben free preservative, so I feel much better about using them and giving them as gifts. DH asked me last night if I was doing this as a hobby or if I intended on selling them and I'm still asking myself that question but my first answer is that I want this as a hobby to use the products for myself and give as gifts. If those friends and family start coming back to me for more between gift giving then I might consider taking money to help offset the cost of materials, but right now I'm having too much fun playing.

And We're Off...

Off to Arizona that is. Hubby bought a motorhome on Ebay. I always wondered who would buy such expensive things like boats, houses, cars, RV's on Ebay without even seeing it and now I know....it is us. Wow, I sure hope it runs. It is a used 1997 Foretravel, 36'. I'm sure I'll be posting pictures of it once we get on the road tomorrow evening. Now we did see pictures of it, but you know how some pictures can be deceiving, so we shall see. Wish us luck. It will take us about 3 days travel to get it back home if hubby we drive 8 hours a day. Here is the picture of the outside that was posted by the dealer.

Yes, I know it looks like a bus and I haven't driven a bus before, but does a Suburban qualify?

In other news, I sewed all day yesterday and now I'm sewn out. New things I made were to re-purpose some material to create passport covers, yes my own bad design, but since we wanted them for this trip, I didn't make them too fancy. Hubby's is the denim made from old jean shorts that didn't fit and mine was from fabric scraps left over from all the drawstring pouches.

My other little experiment came to me when I was trying to sleep the other night. I have tons of vintage hankies and some of them aren't really good for much as they are stained and have holes, so I thought why couldn't I make some drawstring pouches with them. So here is my first attempt. It didn't turn out too bad, but next time I will reinforce between the layers with interfacing or quilt batting. I'll have to test both out to see what works best.

This was so easy as the ends are already finished on the hankies so all you have to do is create the casing for the drawstring.

I'm still working on putting together my February newsletter, but it looks like it won't be out until next week, so you still have time to sign up.

February Giveaway...I haven't forgotten and that will have to be next week also, but I have a huge selection of Copper jewelry that I've made that will all go to one lucky person.

Going Overboard

Anytime I get involved in a new project I tend to go a little bit overboard. Hence my latest endeavor of making drawstring bags for my jewelry. This first started out as the hunt for a small sewing machine and has bloomed into a fabric/bag nightmare. I will soon have way too many bags if I keep this up, so I'll be putting some of them on my ArtFire and 1000 Markets studios for sale.

I am so in love with all the wonderful fabric choices. I haven't sewed in probably 10 years and we didn't have the selection that you do now and I haven't even found the designer fabric section yet....maybe I better stay out of there.

Fabric is 100% cotton and is normally used for quilting but makes wonderful little bags. These are small at 9.25" diameter when laid flat, but when drawn up they are nice and compact. Great for slipping into a purse or tote bag. Some have pockets on the inside and some don't so those without will be about 1/2 the price.

I'm pleased with how they have turned out. I would love to hear what you think.

Jewelry Pouches

Pearl over at The Beading Gem's Journal has found some great tutorials for anyone wanting to make their own jewelry bag. There are several different bag styles. I actually have made the circle one with the pockets on the inside before and have bought some to use as gifts when a customer purchases an expensive item. Check out all to see which one you would prefer to make. I'm liking the simplicity of the one from the Purl Bee, but what's your favorite? Do you have a favorite item to hold your jewelry in?