Fruits of Labor

Once again it's been FOREVER since I've posted. I've been overwhelmed with work and hadn't really been crafting much. Last week I decided it was finally time I get the craft hut up and running again. I cleaned out all the chicken dust, threw open the curtains (should have done that before dusting), and pulled out some glitter and glue. More on those projects later though. My neighbor friend Nicole just got back from her honeymoon in Hawaii and we were excited to have an afternoon to craft with each other after a long hiatus with all her wedding planning and crafting. Nicole brought over her fabric scraps and a cute fruit pincushion pattern. This was the first time we actually finished a project in one sitting! Well, almost. A little bit of embroidery on the leaves and I'll be content with it. We hand-sewed our pears and used some wonderful wool felt for the leaves and stems. They came out so cute we decided we are going to make a whole basket full of fruits.

Happy Sewing!

Cerise : )

P.S.: I PROMISE to post more!

Summer Shirt Dress

On a last minute whim, Theresa and I decided we just HAD to use our grand opening coupons at the bigger and (slightly) better JoAnn's in town. Of course, that's always hard to do when almost everything is on sale! We spent way more time browsing than intended, mostly due to a few people with TONS of bolts needing cut, and of course we are easily distracted. A lovely cotton shirt fabric jumped off the shelf at me and I headed overto patterns to find the perfect design for a lovely cotton floral print. I had in mind a wrap dress but a Simplicity Lisette shirt dress pattern seemed absolutely perfect for my newly found fabric friend. When I got to the cut table the bolt was short a half yard for the dress pattern but I decided it would work to shorten it into a shirt or do the other not-as-cute-or-flattering shirt dress pattern in the set. Saturday was my day to relax and not worry about cleaning the house or weedingthe garden so I decided to start on my dress. It's been quite a while since I've sewn. The craft hut is still a chicken-rearing disaster so I brought my machine and tools into the kitchen, threw the leaves into my grandpa's table, and started ironing and cutting away. My goal was to get the dress done for a dinner date and good-bye party but, asusual, that was another silly Cerise dream. After my dinner date (sadly, I missed the good-bye party since dinner took a while), I stayed up late sewing and ran out of thread. Sunday morning I switched from a bright reddish-pink to a bright red spool of thread and kept on sewing while Theresa made a zafu and linen napkins. With the sleeves painlessly sewn on, the button holer was attached and sewing away with not all the button holes being centered down the front plaquette by the end of it all. I added a random mix of white buttons from my collection of odds and ends gathered from thrift stores and old clothing along the other front plaquette and viola! A done summer shirt dress. Unfortunately, it was a rainy day so I'll have to put it away for the summer sun, if it ever comes! It's a little snug in my hips but fits my upper body really great.The buttons were put on too close together so theleft side of the dress is about an inch shorter than the right side, but at this point, I don't really care and I don't think anyone else but my fiancé will notice.

Happy Sewing and Hoping for Sun!!!

Cerise : )

Lovely Linen Napkins

Our sad little excuse for a fabric chain store was closing it's doors to open a larger store in the Big Box section of town and there were some great closeout deals. A wonderful green linen peeked out from between gaudy costume fabric and a bolt of disturbing colored velveteen. When I saved it from the pile it pleaded to be made into a set of napkins. Sewing on sunny weekend days is always hard to do but unfortunately Corvallis got a not-so-rare rainy day in mid-summer. Cerise invited me over to sew while she finished up a cotton shirt dress so I measured out my fabric and cut it up into squares, ironed and folded, and sewed away. A half hour later a set of six wonderful napkins were neatly folded and waiting to be used for my next dinner party. A great project for a rainy day!

Theresa, Ommama

Facebook Fan Fridays!

Great "breaking" news! We were so kindly featured on Zakka Life's blog on the Facebook Fan Fridays section. Check out the great Zakka Life blog and Zakka Life on Facebook. I love getting the email updates and looking at all the cool craft ideas and projects. Thanks!!! And don't forget to check out the new Krafty Katina and Om Mamma's Facebook page. We might just have to start up a Facebook fan section too!
Happy Crafting,
Cerise : )

Dragon Tie Belt Picture!

After however long it's been...toooooo long...here is a picture of the dragon tie belt. All upcycled materials! Unfortunately the camera is thrown off by the shimmer of the gold dragons and can't manage a great picture, but hopefully you get the idea. I'll be holding down the blog fort while mum is in Denver. More to come soon...
Happy Crafting,
Cerise : )

Dragon Tie Belt

A while back my dad gave Dale all his cubicle-era ties he didn't want anymore. One of the ties that ended up in the bunch was my favorite tie from my childhood (next to the Yellow Submarine one of course). I decided to sneak that one off the tie rack and make a belt out of it using some vintage hook buckles I purchased off Gingham Girl's Etsy site. I don't like the belts made by just using the original shape. I wanted a belt that would go through my belt loops but still be noticeable as a tie. I ended up ripping the seam on the back of the tie and trimming the inside support down to the smallest width. Then I pinned it to the support and painfully sewed wiggle designs with my Brother sewing machine in gold metallic thread. This tool FOREVER and my thread broke every few minutes. I had to adjust my tension over and over again and that still didn't help. The thread bunched up really badly in many areas on the back side of the tie/belt. At least only the decorative gold wiggle stitching is visible, not the out of control bunches of thread. I attached the very long belt to the right dragon and began figuring out how to make the belt adjustable without buying more materials. I decided to use buttons. I have a wonderful vintage candy tin full of old buttons from Merry Sunshine on Etsy. I plucked out a card of gold buttons to match the dragon. I tried out the metallic thread for the button holes but threw out the idea on the first break of the thread and used yellow instead. My button holes came out great! I think it might even be the first time I've actually made real button holes for buttons. I sewed on the buttons and though they are evenly spaced, they do not match up with the button holes. I might resew them but two at a time will button in, enough to hold the belt on the needed size. I have three more vintage hook buckles and some thrift store ties for belts. There will definitely be some changes in the second belt but overall this was a really fun project and came out pretty neat. I can't wait to wear it!
Happy Crafting,
Cerise : )

Eco-friendly Dry Snack Bags

On my trip to Jo Ann's for...hmmm...I don't remember what for...I had a wild hair you know where and decided to start yet another project. This one I actually started and finished the SAME DAY! Eco-friendly snack and lunch bags, produce and bulk food bags, and shopping bags have been all the rage lately. I have seen them on Etsy, in Whole Foods, and other areas on the web. I decided about a month ago that I should make my own. I have been eco-groovey lately (I think it's the anticipation of being Corvallis and getting back to my "hippier" lifestyle) so I decided to take advantage of some sale cotton quilting fabric. I passed some wonderful pear fabric and was instantly inspired. I also got some cute cherries on checkers and some tree lover fabric (very fitting since it's saving bags!) and picked up a package of sew on velcro. I started in on my project right when I got home. I never pre-wash my fabric (I know, this is a no-no but I have coin-op laundry only!) but I did iron my fabric. I've found this is a really good idea with the cotton. I pulled out my bolt of muslin (sadly it's bleached) and started cutting out square of outer fabric and lining fabric with only a small idea of how I was going to make this snack back. I started with the pear print and quickly finished a great little velcro closure baggie. It came out exactly why I wanted it to! I thought the velcro may not be strong enough just attached to the muslin liner so I pulled out all my ribbon and began matching colors to prints for something to blend in the stitches on the outer fabric. I consulted my testing crew (Dale) and he decided it was quite sturdy with the velro just on the muslin. But the ribbon and lace looked so pretty on the cherry checker fabric that the pears now looked naked. I found some pretty scrap lace and seam biding ribbon for the happy tree fabric and after an afternoon and evening of sewing, with a break for dinner and the weekly crossword, I had three littl snack bags done. I really like the ribbon/lace accent on the outside and am going to hunt for something to match the pears for the next baggie. I love them and will soon be using them when my upcylced ziplock baggies get too ripped up to continue using. I also plan on gifting them and most likely selling them on Etsy or even at a craft show in Oregon and will definitely take special orders and requests until they hit the public market! I have some cute dino fabric on the way to make kid-friendly baggies too! I also want to make some reusable leak proof snack baggies for wet and gooey stuff but that is a future experiment that will have to wait a little while. For now, I'll just be using all the leftover apple sauce jars.
Happy Crafting, Cerise : )

Thrist Store Finds...

It's been a LOOOOONG time once again! And again, I can blame school and work. Over spring break, I had my first field geology experience in the Mojave Preserve and it was a blast. Last week was spring camp at the Fleet, and this week I have no excuse really for not posting anything. I have been crafting this past week and created some eco-friendly dry snack bags (more on that later), discovered a new craft (also more on that later), and am finishing a dragon tie belt project (once again, more on that later). During my lunch break yesterday I went to my favorite thrift store in North Park and hit the jack pot on seam binding, biased tapes, piping, twill tape, and other sewing goodies. I did forget to grab the cute little oval embroidery hoop but maybe it will be there next time. The seam binding was the perfect find for my eco-friendly snack bags and was a much cheaper buy than the craft store and is using (almost) upcycled materials.
One of the other goodies is a sewing machine light bulb that fits my Singer Featherweight.
Ironically enough, the light just now blew on the Singer Featherweight. Good thing I got one at the thrift store. Let's hope it works so I can finish my dragon tie belt. That is (hopefully) going to be my next post.
Happy Crafting,
Cerise : )

P.S.
I started this post from end to beginning out of my humor for the blown light bulb. The new light bulb won't fit in my machine!!! So so sad. Off to the craft store after all!

The not-so-long awaited cat nip sweater!

A few days ago two packages showed up in my post box. Though both were addressed to me, neither of the them really was meant for me. One of them was a handmade surprise for my mum that was wrongly shipped to me and the other was Katina's little cat nip sweater toy. Of course mum hadn't forgotten about me. I got some sweet little froggy stickers and a wonderful book about a capy, one of the cute R.U.S.S., who lived with a family. But I couldn't give Katina her toy right then because my camera batteries had died, again. This morning I got up "early," did a few chores, and headed out the door for my yucky but conveniently located super market chain to get some batteries. We don't use batteries for that many things but we do go through them like crazy. I decided to buckle down and buy the recharge-ables and a charger since they were slightly on sale. just beat the wonderful rain back to the apartment I was happy to find out the batteries were pre-charged. I plopped the batteries in my camera and tossed Katina her toy I had been telling her about the past two days. Since then she has been sitting on it looking out the patio screen, tossing it around now and then, and trying to rip it open with her vicious little kitty teeth. I think she would give it two thumbs up if she had proper thumbs. I wasn't able to get the best action shots of her because she refused to act out for the camera. She is definitely an embarrass-able little kitty but I could tell she loves her sweater toy. Thanks Mum!
Happy Crafting!
Cerise : )

Habitarium No. 2

I am now scrambling to get holiday crafts and gifts done since work is slow and my craft "chores" are aplenty. Today I completed my second habitarium with a winter evergreen on a snowy hill. I like how this one came out and I cannot wait to finish my third one I am working on. The snowman is thus far quite adorable though he needs some cute little stick arms. San Diego lacks much foresty area but I know I will find some little snowman arms somewhere.
I am working on shnazzing up some paper stars with layer upon layer of silver glitter. These were leftover from last year. Apparently I never finished them but I am determined to get my holiday crafts done this year. Maybe my mom and I will finally finish that little Santa we've been working on for the past three or four years (how long has it been?). Check back for more habitariums and holiday crafts. I am almost done with a pair of festive arm warmers I knitted!
Happy crafting,
Cerise : )

Habitariums

I just thought to call them habitariums while uploading the pictures for editing. It's done!!! The long awaited "habijar" has turned out better than I had hoped and I finally found a use for a few of my small, nifty, vintage wooden thread spools. The base is secured to the inside of the metal vintage jelly jar lid and the little amanitas, moss, and snail are secured to the "grass" base. All the felt peices are hand-stitched and the amanita tops are secured to vintage wooden spool stalks, complete with little felt veils. I decided last minute to add the moss and am very happy with the look of it. I will be making more habitariums the next couple of weeks and posting them on my Etsy site so look out for these great holiday gifts (you can get them for yourself, I won't tell!). I started making an evergreen tree for habitarium number two but it is a little too large for the jar so I think I will have to think smaller (a very hard thing to do!). So instead it is mearly a snowy little tree. I'm going to make bigger ones to match these and they will definitely also be in my Etsy store.
Happy crafting, Cerise : )

Domo Done!!!

Hey Target, eat your heart out. I finally finished my two year Domo Kun plush project and am more than squeelingly excited about the final product. Poor Domo got shrimpy little legs and was shoved into one of my many fabric buckets (along with other unfinished projects). He has been sitting out for a week now waiting his turn to be a finished creation. I cut off his stupid little legs and bottom and started anew with his lowers, not caring about the weird seams in the end. I know how I could better do him next time at least. Preplanning and measuring is really important. But here he is in all his wonderful Domoness. Now to make him Halloween costumes. I think that might be another few years.
Happy crafting,
Cerise ; )

Tulle, Tulle, Tulle

I'm in love with tulle and I have many colors, sizes, shimmers, and mattes of the beautiful netting. It has it's own smell, that certain sound, and a comfortable feel that I can only imagine comparable to my favorite stuffed animal. But I rarely use it for anything. Last year, I became obsessed (as I do much too often with clothing and accessory items) with a J. Crew skirt. This wonderful skirt fell just below the knee and was adorned in layers of ruffled tulle in a color choice of black or white. I had to have it. The only problem was the price. Yes, I am guilty of spending a lot on a single item of clothing. But this was beyond what I could let myself spend. And where would I ever show off such a fancy thing in Humboldt County? I'm not a wealthy English women or fancy East Coast girl who goes to frilly parties to mingle with other aristocrats. I decide instead of spending $5oo.00 (wowzers!) I would make the skirt myself. I downloaded the pictures off the J. Crew website and ripped all the pages out of the Fall 2007 catalog that pictured my newest obsession. I had some creme-colored, vintage silk-like material I used for the outer part and found corresponding lining, tulle, and hidden zipper and dug out my first real pattern (besides the classic pajama pants pattern my mom still has) and started cutting. Putting together the skirt wasn't too hard but I had cut a pattern piece wrong. I thought it might not matter much. The final creation was beautiful to an untrained eye or someone squinting from afar. But the hemming was less than perfect and it was two or more sizes too small for me. It would have to been worn very high on my waist. I had forgotten to take into account I was a little bigger in my college years than I was in my high school years and I guess the mis-cut did make a difference. None the less, I loved what I had made and was proud of myself for creating a $5oo.00 skirt on my antique sewing machine. I eventually sold the skirt to a very skinny coworker who might have future parties she could wear it to for $3o.00. I cut out pieces for a black one (this time the right size and without cutting the fabric incorrectly) and had stuffed it in my clothing fabric box. That was a year ago but I pulled it out yesterday and remarked all the pattern markings one should really pay attention to (the shirt I made the day before is a little haphazard due to lack of important markings) and started sewing away. I know have the the lining sewn together with very nice darts and am putting tulle layers on the outside. I am very excited to see how this one turns out and I know I can find somewhere here in the city to wear it. I hope to finish some more of my tulle skirts and maybe experiment with tulle in other fashion areas. At least I can wrap Katina in tulle and giggle at her.
Cerise : )

Habijar: New Project #1

Habijar? Yeah, it's not the best name. I'm open to suggestions for this one. Basically I fell in love with some old jelly jars from one of my favorite Etsy sellers, The Gingham Girl, and got six (all the ones that would safely fit in a $9.00 priority box). When I showed my fiancé, Dale, he loved them just as much and wanted me to get more for him. I bought out the rest of them and Dale didn't seem quite as interested anymore or had forgotten his brilliant idea for them. My first thought at the jars was snow globe. But I didn't want to put water in them because the lids would eventually rust through. So instead I thought to try dry snow globes for Christmas. The first thing I got was some fake snow craft goo from Michael's and some sparkly snow bits to mix in. I always wanted that stuff and finally had an excuse to get it. I searched around the inter net for miniatures of Christmas trees, snowmen, Santas, elves, and deer. When I visited Humboldt I thought sure Daisy Dry Goods would have something but they seem to be low on the miniatures ever time I visit now. All the miniatures on eBay were super pricey and most likely too big for my littler-than-I-thought-they-were jelly jars. I finally gave up and just let the boxes of jars sit on my craft books, collecting dust in a lonely corner next to my craft table. Finally, I realized I could sew miniature things and I didn't have to do Christmas (the thought of making a little gnome head is still intimidating me). I started on an example one and glued a mound of felt grass onto the inside of the jar lid. I thought to start with a couple of little amanita mushrooms and have made the cap to the larger. I hope to finish this jar over the weekend but my lack of time for crafts will be continuing with a long work weekend and a physics exam the day after my long awaited concert. Hopefully I will have some pictures of my first habijar up soon.
Cerise : )

You've got me in pieces!

I have not had any craft time! I have been very busy with school (and it's only one class! How did I ever do more than one lab science class at a time), violin lessons, tap class, and am picking up a second job that I don't have much time for and don't fully understand (I should be getting a masters out of all this!). On top of it all I have a messy household, no time to clean it, and not enough room to spread out my fabric without the bedroom looking like the closet threw up all over. My need-to-be-worked-on-or-completed projects are as follows: finish Mom's socks (fortunately I am only sewing-up-the-toe away from mailing them out to her), finish making an astronaut beanie plush for my aunt's Challenger Learning Center in Alaska, making punk pigs (there's a story behind these I will post when I make one, I really can't wait!), doing something clothingish with all the ridiculous amounts of jersey knit and other knit fabrics I bought online super cheap, and prepping lots and LOTS of critters for a craft fair I am going to give a go in November (while finding tables and the like as they aren't provided!). I am overwhelmed at at a breaking point and I feel my stress coming on. On the plus side, I have a few friends who want to learn to knit and I think I might try to start a knitting group with them. If I can find time. My poor creatures are more like monsters. They sit around with half of their parts, no stuffing, eyes popping out of their lifeless heads. I feel rotten when I see them because I know they are sad that they have had their parts stuffed away in a bucket in the closet, waiting for the next holiday. Hopefully I can find some time between my un-masters work, my physics tests, the dishes, and shaving the cat to sew and knit.
Cerise : )

Buffet of Bow Ties

While visiting my parents in Humboldt, I noticed a couple old, mouldy looking boxes of vintage sewing patterns. Mom planned to take them to Daisy Dry Goods (one of my all time favorite stores!) on the Arcata Plaza to see if they would buy them. I thought to take a look to see if any of the patterns interested me before we too them in. Some were cute, some a bit creepy (clown costumes!), and some just silly (many of the men were very similar looking their female photo op. partner). All of them were must to small for my lady hips. But in the midst of all the funny 70s patterns was a bow tie package. Tie-yourself designs, pre-tied, clip-ons. At least the man really looked like a man. I snatched that one up and stuffed it into my luggage bag to later try out when I was back in my sewing pad in San Diego. A couple days ago I pulled out the pattern to start on a project for an alchemy request for a red bow tie. Now, not only is the red cotton fabric and its interfacing cut out, there are many funky and holiday-inspired bow tie wannabe cutouts all over my sewing table (and beyond). I thought, I might as well make a bunch since I have the pattern ad try to sell some in the boutique. So far I have all the pieces (save some interfacing parts) ready to be sewn together. I can't wait to attempt tying them for the Etsy pictures. My fiancé has volunteered himself and his fedora as the model. I hope other people enjoy my funky and a bit tacky taste in men's fashion. I know I would definitely done a tacky tie to a holiday party just for kicks if not for a nice conversation piece. My next task: cumberbunds. I just know I'll get a custom order from a holiday barbershop quartet group for some Frosty bow ties and matching cumberbunds.
Happy crafting,
Cerise : )

Featherweight 2

All righty, after a long, frustrating attempt to blog last night and lacking a picture of my wonderful Singer, here is my blog-in-a-better-mood. My mom taught me to sew and read patterns when I was a wee child (I don't really remember when we started sewing but I do remember the funny grey flannel pants we made when I was in 8th grade). I also remember we sewed a lot of 90s scrunchies, possibly for a sofball team. There are still retro memorries of those floating around the fabric bins. I became more avid of a sewer, not better but more excited to sew, in high school. Don't be jealous of the dress mom, the sleeves ripped off. When I moved out of the house and into a pad with my beau, I wanted my own machine. So I found a pretty good deal on one at Ebay (these suckers are expensive!) and got it with minimal plug damage (sad about it but I still have the peices I can glue onto it). Since then I have been sewing a few clothing items, including a pumpkin outfit for the Tiva the chihuahua, and lots of plushies that I sell on Etsy and to friends. I don't get enough alone time with her but when I do I relish it. I am still figuring out how all the doodads work with the machine (I love the pleater and zipper foot!). This is the most wonderful item I own and I can't imagine my life without it. I have a new digital machine (to be introduced in a later post) that I enjoy but I am so comfortable on my Singer Featherwieght (221!) that I use my other machine for making pretty stiches and such. I have too much fun editing my photos with picnik and I tried to give it an aged feeling, but there is my machine! And since I have some spare time and the cat and pig aren't bugging me, I am off to tackle a pile of elephant parts!
Happy crafting,
Cerise : )

Flickr

I finally got a flickr account and have uploaded a lot of plushie pics from my Etsy site. They have a very cool photo editing option that is a bit more user-friendly than Photo Shop but still time consuming when you have a lot of photos! Check out the cute plushies I have up on flickr. I will be posting some jewelry from my other site some other time.
Happy crafting!
cerise : )