Thanks to Mary Ellen for alerting me to another one of my pictures featured on the Craftzine blog! You can see the chairs all painted and finished here. I made these for last year's Club Little House and I am so excited to see that Amy is planning for the next one! I already know what I'm making since last year I couldn't decide between two projects and bought the materials to make both but choose the popsicle stick and toothpick chairs over the.....secret project!!
P.S. This picture here shows the distressing/crackle finish on the chair better.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Nails in the walls
Now that we own our own house, I feel the pull to explode my crafty and creative side all OVER it! This weekend, I've been adding some more wall art including these four paintings I finished months ago for the living room but hadn't gotten around to hanging. These are above the dining table now and I like them much better hanging than sitting on the floor!
I found this lovely owl cut paper art this morning at a garage sale for ten cents! I put it in this frame that had been hanging around, waiting for something to put in it and now it's brightening the hallway.
I also found this expanding peg rack, something I'd been keeping an eye out for to put in my craft room! Now it's waiting to be filled with all sorts of fun creations!
I have a really cute yarn painting I got at a garage sale a while ago that I just can't find the wall space for! Need to rearrange! (You can see it even still has the price tag on it.)
When we moved in, we painted just about every room, and not limp beige or eggshell. Ok, so the living room is a bit of a beige (Bagel, actually) but we paired it with a rich brown! The bedroom is Halcyon Green, Mike's office is smoky blue and my studio in Afternoon.
After all that painting, I was done for a while. It's been a couple of months (We've lived here 6 months now!) and I think I can paint again. I've chosen a small project, the bulkhead in the kitchen. Right now, it's a bland tan color. Putty? Dried mud? Whatever it is, it doesn't inspire me!
So, I'm thinking green since I have a lot of retro green dishware/bread box/appliances. These two are top picks, I'm looking for a green with a lot of yellow.
I found this lovely owl cut paper art this morning at a garage sale for ten cents! I put it in this frame that had been hanging around, waiting for something to put in it and now it's brightening the hallway.
I also found this expanding peg rack, something I'd been keeping an eye out for to put in my craft room! Now it's waiting to be filled with all sorts of fun creations!
I have a really cute yarn painting I got at a garage sale a while ago that I just can't find the wall space for! Need to rearrange! (You can see it even still has the price tag on it.)
When we moved in, we painted just about every room, and not limp beige or eggshell. Ok, so the living room is a bit of a beige (Bagel, actually) but we paired it with a rich brown! The bedroom is Halcyon Green, Mike's office is smoky blue and my studio in Afternoon.
After all that painting, I was done for a while. It's been a couple of months (We've lived here 6 months now!) and I think I can paint again. I've chosen a small project, the bulkhead in the kitchen. Right now, it's a bland tan color. Putty? Dried mud? Whatever it is, it doesn't inspire me!
So, I'm thinking green since I have a lot of retro green dishware/bread box/appliances. These two are top picks, I'm looking for a green with a lot of yellow.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Take the plunge, update your own blog!
Several people have commented and emailed, curious about how I did what I did. So I'm going to give you some tips and websites. But I will preface this by saying this was my first time doing any major changes and I may not have done everything super-correctly! We will see if CorgiPants falls to shreds in the days to come, so far so good! (Sorry if this is way boring for those who either don't care or know way more than this!)
I started off with a free 3-column template from Simply Fabulous Blogger Templates and tweaked it a bunch. She also has some great tutorials so check her out!
I made my own background image in photoshop using those awesome free fabric texture brushes I saw posted on Craftzine. Here's a little info on using an image as a background.
I made my own header in photoshop too, using from digital scrapbooking thingies like ribbon. Those stripes? I used the Random Stripe Generator, did a screen capture and then edited it in photoshop.
Bloggerbuster and Tips For New Bloggers are two great resources for tutorials.
My tips are:
Save your widgets before you do anything else. That Simply Fabulous lady mentioned previously has a tutorial on how to do this! Don't be surprised (be happy!) when some of them are able to transfer over automatically.
Make a test blog, perfect your code and then copy it all over and delete the test blog. Do not try things out on your actual blog, too much can go horribly wrong! Not that anything went wrong with CorgiPants, I made a test blog that started out looking really horrible and finished up like this! Ta da!
I was inspired by Colleen and her new blog, FreshBlogTips! I have a couple of other new things planned, including a weekly feature that involves a diary from the 40s!
I started off with a free 3-column template from Simply Fabulous Blogger Templates and tweaked it a bunch. She also has some great tutorials so check her out!
I made my own background image in photoshop using those awesome free fabric texture brushes I saw posted on Craftzine. Here's a little info on using an image as a background.
I made my own header in photoshop too, using from digital scrapbooking thingies like ribbon. Those stripes? I used the Random Stripe Generator, did a screen capture and then edited it in photoshop.
Bloggerbuster and Tips For New Bloggers are two great resources for tutorials.
My tips are:
Save your widgets before you do anything else. That Simply Fabulous lady mentioned previously has a tutorial on how to do this! Don't be surprised (be happy!) when some of them are able to transfer over automatically.
Make a test blog, perfect your code and then copy it all over and delete the test blog. Do not try things out on your actual blog, too much can go horribly wrong! Not that anything went wrong with CorgiPants, I made a test blog that started out looking really horrible and finished up like this! Ta da!
I was inspired by Colleen and her new blog, FreshBlogTips! I have a couple of other new things planned, including a weekly feature that involves a diary from the 40s!
A new pair of pants!
As Mary Ellen was quick to notice, CorgiPants has a fresh new look! How do you like it?
It went from "I need to freshen up, I'll make a new header image."
to "For a small fee, I could have someone make me a whole new template."
to "Heck, I can do that myself with a little research!!"
So here it is, 3 columns just like all the grown-ups! Please let me know if anything is amiss like text/link colors being a little weird or something out of place. New additions to the sidebars include an updated blogroll (please peruse and meet the neighbors), SwapDex button is now clickable (duh, why didn't I do that originally?) and a group profile widget for our new My Friend Dolls flickr group!
It went from "I need to freshen up, I'll make a new header image."
to "For a small fee, I could have someone make me a whole new template."
to "Heck, I can do that myself with a little research!!"
So here it is, 3 columns just like all the grown-ups! Please let me know if anything is amiss like text/link colors being a little weird or something out of place. New additions to the sidebars include an updated blogroll (please peruse and meet the neighbors), SwapDex button is now clickable (duh, why didn't I do that originally?) and a group profile widget for our new My Friend Dolls flickr group!
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
A big Thank You!
Thank you to everyone who has posted some linky love for my free patterns! And thank you to everyone who has made a purchase from the Make-Do Mercantile! There will be new items this week, a new pattern is in the works (one perfect for fall and winter coming up!) and a couple of really special sets for those who love your Fisher Price My Friend dolls. I can't believe how many Jennys and Mandys I am seeing pop up on blogs! I'd love to hear from anyone who loves them as much as I do. Maybe we could start a flickr group? Ok, I went ahead of created a flickr group: My Friend, what a doll!
For those who purchased the Pillowcase Pinnie Pattern or are new members of the Make-Do Marigolds, I would LOVE to see pictures of any project you make using my patterns! Please let me know of any you post so I can enjoy them and link back to them!
For those who purchased the Pillowcase Pinnie Pattern or are new members of the Make-Do Marigolds, I would LOVE to see pictures of any project you make using my patterns! Please let me know of any you post so I can enjoy them and link back to them!
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Buttons, buttons, who's got the buttons?
So, did I get the swap apron done in time to go to the giant rummage sale with my lovely mother? No, I cheated and still went, though still following my self-imposed rule because my lovely mother informed me she was ill and I had to go alone. Didn't get much, an accent chair for the master bedroom, some ikea curtains (most likely to be used for sewing, not curtains) and some wrapping paper and crochet cotton. But at a yard sale following the big rummage sale, I hit the jackpot!
I forgot to take pictures of them but my big find were vintage hats! I have a wedding to go to in October and am making a dress but need a hat to go with it and I found several to choose from!
I also found jars of vintage buttons, somewhat color-coded, but each jar has neutrals in addition to whatever color the jar is based on. There were 10 jars but I only bought 6. Do any of you do this? When I find something great, a big stash of something neat, I always feel bad buying it all up. I almost never buy it all because I like that feeling and want others to be able to find their own special something too!
Here are some of my favorites! A lot of them have rhinestones and there are multiples of most buttons.
And I got a large bag of vintage doll clothes, all needing a good wash and press. Here is what I found:
Baby-doll clothes, which I really have no use for. Do you? I have no baby dolls as I've never really liked them, much to my mother's chagrin.
These are all a little large for my needs, they would fit maybe 18-20" dolls. Some very cute things! Mostly hand-sewn, but all have wear and some have rips. I just have to show you this one up close. We all have favorites, right? Did you have a favorite dress to put on your dolls? Well, this must have been a particular favorite of someone because it has been worn nearly transparent. You can see the pattern it used to be on the edge of the collar, a blue and white flower print. But the fabric is nearly see-through now.
And these are JUST what I needed! They are for a project that I just thought of last week so it is especially fortuitous that I found them this weekend! A hint-they fit My Friend Mandy dolls! All need some repair but they deserve it!
I forgot to take pictures of them but my big find were vintage hats! I have a wedding to go to in October and am making a dress but need a hat to go with it and I found several to choose from!
I also found jars of vintage buttons, somewhat color-coded, but each jar has neutrals in addition to whatever color the jar is based on. There were 10 jars but I only bought 6. Do any of you do this? When I find something great, a big stash of something neat, I always feel bad buying it all up. I almost never buy it all because I like that feeling and want others to be able to find their own special something too!
Here are some of my favorites! A lot of them have rhinestones and there are multiples of most buttons.
And I got a large bag of vintage doll clothes, all needing a good wash and press. Here is what I found:
Baby-doll clothes, which I really have no use for. Do you? I have no baby dolls as I've never really liked them, much to my mother's chagrin.
These are all a little large for my needs, they would fit maybe 18-20" dolls. Some very cute things! Mostly hand-sewn, but all have wear and some have rips. I just have to show you this one up close. We all have favorites, right? Did you have a favorite dress to put on your dolls? Well, this must have been a particular favorite of someone because it has been worn nearly transparent. You can see the pattern it used to be on the edge of the collar, a blue and white flower print. But the fabric is nearly see-through now.
And these are JUST what I needed! They are for a project that I just thought of last week so it is especially fortuitous that I found them this weekend! A hint-they fit My Friend Mandy dolls! All need some repair but they deserve it!
Chicken Scratch Pattern #10
We've come to the last day of patterns. If you liked the free patterns, I encourage you to visit the Make-Do Mercantile and purchase the summer issue of the Make-Do Mail which contains a pattern for a complete chicken scratch apron, among other wonderful things!
The very last pattern in the series is another border. (Can you tell I like borders?) This one is a little different from all the rest as it uses straight stitches and cross stitches.
The very last pattern in the series is another border. (Can you tell I like borders?) This one is a little different from all the rest as it uses straight stitches and cross stitches.
Chicken Scratch Pattern #9
It's lazy Sunday here at the Z. household. That means we stay in pajamas all day, eat pancakes, watch what's on the tivo and generally laze about. I am going to cheat a bit and do some work because I have LOTS of ironing to do. But I don't mind ironing, especially when it's vintage doll clothes I snagged at garage sales yesterday! (more on that later today when I snap some pictures.)
Today's first pattern is a sweet little hearts border.
This pattern is, of course, for your own personal use only. And just in case someone has come upon these on the very last day, please see the very first day's post for link to how-to's and more info on chicken scratch.
Today's first pattern is a sweet little hearts border.
This pattern is, of course, for your own personal use only. And just in case someone has come upon these on the very last day, please see the very first day's post for link to how-to's and more info on chicken scratch.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Chicken Scratch Pattern #8
Saturday's second pattern has GOT to be one of my favorites! Fall is coming up sooner than I'd like to think and this one is just perfect for scattering around any fall decorations you're making. Think brown or orange gingham! Or maybe dark green with yellow and orange floss? Too cute!
This pattern is for you own personal use only.
I've been busy in the garden all day! I got a new flower bed mulched and ready for planting next spring and my new compost pile fenced off and started with some grass clippings that my husband provided by mowing the front lawn. Boy, was it a hot one today!
This pattern is for you own personal use only.I've been busy in the garden all day! I got a new flower bed mulched and ready for planting next spring and my new compost pile fenced off and started with some grass clippings that my husband provided by mowing the front lawn. Boy, was it a hot one today!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)