It's Been Swell

but it's time to move on. Both Melissa and I are finding it harder to find time to make enough crafty things to keep this site interesting. I'll be adding my craft posts to a new personal blog I started, which you can view at Blackbird Pie Blog.

This site will remain but will no longer be updated.

Thanks for the fun!

Amanda & Melissa

Craft Blast from the Past II

Why just visit the fringe festival this year when you can have your kids making big dollars busking with this divine Box Horse costume!



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Here comes another one

just like the other one.





I tried another new stitch here, the red around the rocketship but I can't remember the name of it and supreme laziness is preventing me in going downstairs to look it up.

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Fridge Organizers

In an effort to keep clutter off of the surfaces of my home, I made a couple of little things to keep pens and notepaper for grocery lists, etc on the fridge. To the right is a simple clip I glued magnets on and to the left is a box I made for holding pens and yet more notepaper. I made the box from a cereal box (cut the bottom off, cut that in half and inserted one side into the other) and then glued magnets on it and then covered the whole thing in fabric. Magnets make me a bit nervous with a small child around (if eaten by a child they can be fatal) but I used a really strong glue and they are either covered in fabric or out of DS' reach.

Inspired by Not Martha's Fridge Tin Pen Holder.



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Navy Rocketship

One of a couple custom orders I received for this shirt. I tried a new stitch around the rocket, a cross-blanket stitch.





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Craft Blast from the Past

My DH's grandmother gave me a set of craft cards that all sit in a little box. Sort of like recipe cards but each card has a craft project on it rather than a recipe. The set covers pretty much every craft you can imagine and DS really wants me to do a train applique he spied amongst the projects. Some of the projects though were just so outdated or odd that I can't resist sharing.

Tonight's feature vintage craft project: Fantasy Film Flowers. Now I really do not know why Becky didn't wear this headress at her wedding this summer, it is just so beautiful. I do not know what is classiest in this photo.. the carnation flowers, the soft light or the freaky makeup job. Maybe I will go as this photo for Halloween but then again, that might scare my kid.



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Castle Desktop Organizer

I am so making one of these with DS. Via Activity Village



I am busy painting kitchen cupboards, so no crafting for me at the moment.

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Do I dare post?!?!

I'm so ashamed that I basically haven't posted all summer. We are having a major home reno season, first we were outside now inside...so there has been very little time for crafting!

But here are some iron on transfer shirts i did last night. they may not make sense to anyone but the person they are intended for. Making shirts for Brodie and Cooper was Brodie's idea with the scrabble font. When he saw the other shirt. I was really impressed with the quality of the iron on transfer. These were pro grade ones bought from Best Blanks.

Elephant, circa 1976

My MIL gave me this old toy pattern and I immediately recognized it because we had the dog and kangaroo when I was a kid. I made the elephant tonight.





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Pink Inked Bag

I had more of this great fabric left so I made another bag with it.. for sale at Blackbird Pie. I also have some of the same fabric in multicolour but haven't decided what to do with it yet.







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Shop Update

http://www.blackbirdpie.etsy.com







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Rocketship Shirt

My son has rocketship pjs that he loooooves. It's been too hot to wear them so I said I'd make him a rocketship shirt he could wear instead.



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I heart the Edmonton Reuse Centre

Just wanted to rave a bit more about the reuse centre. I went today and scored 4 ani difranco cd's, a vintage stamped embroidery linen, some blank linen for embroidery or cross-stitch (they had a whole barrel of linen and canvas pieces), 5 unopened craft kits to make a suncatcher with DS, some ribbon embroidery and luggage tags, along with some other little frames for kitschy cross-stitch, vintage stencils and some old Halloween materials (in big brown envelope, original price 35c.



So yeah, not really contributing to any downsizing efforts of mine but it is pretty dandy to take in stuff I won't use and get stuff I want to use in return.. all for 2$ a load, no matter how much you take. I bought a membership today (20$ for the year).

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Crankypants Magnets

My new thing is making cranky little cross-stitches for magnets.



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Blackbird Pie

Now I've done it. Introducing:



Blackbird Pie

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A few goodies

A bib and 2 hair elastics (the beaded fabric flowers) and an Anpanman sunhat and onesie. The sunhat material and patch for the onesie are from my brother and sister-in-law's trip to Japan.



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Works in Progress

Works in progress:
Mosaic and tile side table
Sunhat
Embroidery project

What's been holding up the posts:
It's summer and we are outside more
Doing home reno stuff instead
Decided to make a craft-supply filled closet into an emergency closet, which required a weeklong craft room clean.

Other stuff for readers to check out instead:
Edmonton's Reuse Centre. This place is cool. There are buckets of yarn, fabric, egg cartons and all kinds of things and you can take a bagful or a carful for only 2$. Guess who's getting a membership? I also unloaded things like sewing thread bobbins, old CDs and baby food jars.
Weeds. My new favourite show. Smart and funny. Third season starts next month.
The Dragonmobile on Craftster.
The Harry Potter Challenge on Instructables.

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Book Cover

I purchased a copy of The Chrysalids at the thrift store. I love this book and have read it a number of times but didn't have my own copy. I didn't like the cover but some fabric and a hot glue gun fixed that.

Before: looks like someone designed this cover to make it look more adventurous or appeal to people who read The Hardy Boys. What are those things in the forest behind him? The villagers? They look like evil goblins.




After: A nice striped flannel cover from fabric Melissa gave me.




Okay and I just have to show off my other find- a Harry Potter pop-up book! I love pop-up books and this one is lots of fun. If you pull the tabs the streetlights go on and off and McGonagall transfigures. I had to restrain myself from putting an exclamation mark after that last sentence.



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Kitchen Chairs

Another reason the posts have been slower on the site is I have been doing some home reno stuff and not all of it is crafty. This one counts though! I reupholstered my dining room chairs. This was my first time reupholstering and I did new foam and fabric and used a staple gun, oooh. I'd never used one before.

Before



After



I used a ReadyMade magazine tutorial from a copy the lovely Hilary sent me. Hilary blogs on Mom's Tinfoil Hat and Foodie Loves Picky. I listed to a mix cd from Jupitermama while doing this project and Jupiter may have the distinction of being one of the only people I know without their own website or blog. I have the distinction of writing really long sentences like the one above.

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Wedding Gift

I wanted to do something traditional for my friends' wedding gift and decided on embroidered pillowcases. They turned out nicely but I completely underestimated the time this project would take (hence the lack of posts the past few weeks). This project represents Seasons One and Two of Weeds, and almost the entire audiobook of Stiff: The Curious Life of Human Cadavers.



Stitches used: split, satin and backstitch.



Hmm.. no wrapping paper, tied with a ribbon and something embroidered inside? I wonder who this is from?!?



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Talking Pea Puppets

I love this! Tutorial here.



I might have to make Mama, Papa and Little Pea.



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Moon Apples

I'm in the middle of a big project right now, so just a quick snack that my son likes. Cut your apples width-wise to make large circles and then use a small cookie cutter to cut a shape in the middle to remove the seeds. You can leave the slices as they are or cut out matching shapes out of cheese or another food item to fill in the hole. I got the small cookie cutters at Michael's, they were a halloween set.






Another fun apple snack we make is to cut the round circles, cut a small circle to remove the seeds and then use peanut butter and raisins to make happy faces on the apples.

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Superkid

I made this for a little girl who is into superheroes. I tried to make the t-shirt look deconstructed and stylish but it came off pretty homemade-y ;) I used acrylic paint mixed with textile medium to put a line of messy number 4s stamped down one-side of the shirt, then set it with the iron. I carved the stamp out of a potato. Good thing she is just turning 4 and not 14. There is a matching wristcuff and headband around the top of the hanger. The shiny material is cool but tricky to sew.







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Banner Tutorial

Stitch. Rip. Repeat has a banner tutoral on her site: Sew a festive banner. I have been meaning to make a Happy Birthday banner for parties.



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VeganYumYum- Knit Night Cupcakes

Whoa! See post here.



If you go to VeganYumYum's main page you will find a tutorial to make these amazing cupcakes.

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Sunhats

I have wanted to try sewing sunhats for a long time and finally gave it a go with Kwik Sew 3309. I am charmed with the results and by how easy they were to sew. I have some ideas I would now like to try with the concept. The one on the right is size 12-18 months and the left one is 3-6 months, both made with cotton and interfacing.



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This Week's Work

A couple bibs and placemats:





A pencil crayon roll. I love the ribbon used for the tie, it is marked like a measuring tape.



and another cross stitch for my friend, this one is based on a Subversive Stitching pattern.



Any suggestions what to do with this old piece of embroidery I found? I really like it, but am not sure what to make with it. The stitching is about about 6"x 6" and it was made from a vintage pattern.



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Kid's Cardboard Camera

You can make a simple cardboard camera with a small box and a toilet paper/paper towel tube (or roll your own tube from another peice of sturdy paper or cardboard). Trace the end of the tube onto the front of the box. Do not cut the circle out but instead cut from the centre to the edge of the circle, making a star or pie shape in the centre. When you insert the tube triangle shapes will invert and help hold the tube more snugly. Cut a viewfinder hole in the back and the front so you can see through the box. Use pieces of the cardboard you cut out for the viewfinder to cut out buttons to glue or tape onto the box. Cut out a picture and glue or tape it onto the back for the preview screen. Let your child decorate further, or you could make a strap to carry it around their neck if they'd like.



Look at the goodies I got in the mail this week! A chocolate lollipop fat quarter bundle. Yay!



I have already had some fun with the fabrics, more photos later!

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Tidbits from the Weekend

I finished the embroidery piece I was working on and sewed it into a bib, along with 2 other bibs:



I also did a tiny cross stitch for a friend, this is just 1" x 1.25".



I was sorting through some old craft materials given to me by my MIL and her mother, and found these sweet embroidery patterns. I can't wait to use them, maybe on a clothespin apron. I love using my clothesline now that the weather is warmer. I do think though that you must get more sentimental when you get older because 10-15 years ago I'd probably rather wade in pirahna-infested water than wear embroidered kittens on anything.





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