Fruit Fetish

I'm busy making some new stuff for the shop. Okay, not really. I'm busy thinking about making some new stuff for the shop when in reality I've hit a crafting block. Have no fear, I shall overcome.

In the meantime I've listed some vintage items in the shop and quite frankly I'm surprised they haven't sold yet because these are some high quality items - if you have a thing for fruit.

I mean, check out these fabulous vintage patterns!

Do you have a strong and unhealthy desire to be the next member of the Fruit of the Loom spokesperson group? This pattern could be your first step in the right direction. They've already got the grapes so that's out - but consider the watermelon or the strawberry! You'd be a shoe-in. What about the tomato? I mean they allow that leaf guy in there, why not a tomato. Sure some people consider it a vegetable but botanically speaking it is classified as a fruit.

My favorite though has got to be this 1988 California Raisin pattern. This thing just screams class.

You know I've had this pattern for quite some time (it wasn't mine originally I found it at a sale) and it took a lot of willpower for me to finally give it up. I used to have the little raisin figurines and all that jazz and this costume pattern brought back a lot of memories. Strange but wonderful 80's memories.

I debated this past Halloween on making my own raisin costume from this pattern, but in the end decided that even dressing as a dehydrated fruit would probably still make my ass look big.

Valentine Block Magnets

I've been dying to do this alphabet block project ever since I saw it months ago, but I just didn't have the heart to cut up the kid's alphabet blocks. (project by Megan of Plum Pudding)

And then it hit me - why can't I just use plain wooden blocks? Then it hit me again - why not paint the blocks and embellish them? Then it came back at me again with brass knuckles - since Valentine's day was coming up why not use some cute hearts? And by this time I was battered and bruised, but inspired nonetheless.

Here's the finished product:

And here's how I did it.

I bought a set of 1 1/4 inch wooden blocks at the craft store and prepared the blocks following Plum Pudding's fabulous tutorial (here). Just get yourself a little saw and a 3/4" drill bit and you're good to go.

Once you've followed those instructions your blocks should be sawed, drilled and magnetized. Next, comes the pretty part.

Paint them. I just used acrylic paint. It's a good idea to slide a scrap piece of paper into the slit after each coat of paint to keep the paint from piling up in there.

Get yourself some wooden hearts and give them a quick coat of paint as well. Trace their outline on some scraps of decorative paper and cut them out.

Adhere the paper hearts on top of the painted wooden hearts with glue. I used Mod Podge. Once the adhesive is dry take some sandpaper (I used 220 grit) and rough up the edges of the paper and the wooden hearts for a nice distressed look.

If you don't want to go the paper route you can always just use the painted hearts and leave it at that. I just painted this one, sanded the edges and used rubber stamps to embellish.

Then give each heart a thin coating of Mod Podge to seal it up and then smack it on the front of the block. I used my favorite high-inducing adhesive: E6000. Hot glue would work well too but it's just no fun without the fumes you know man.

I knew I'd be putting mine on the fridge so I centered the hearts on the front of the blocks but if you wanted them to possibly sit on a flat surface for display, make sure to glue the heart up a little higher so the block can sit flat.

And there you have it. A great way to display Valentine love notes you receive.

Or better yet, pictures of your Valentines. These would make quick and inexpensive Valentine gifts too.

Of course the possibilities are endless in how you could decorate and embellish these magnet blocks. Who knows maybe inspiration will strike again, but if it doesn't start pulling its punches I'm going to have to get a restraining order.

How much longer till spring??

The city I live in has had 41.4 inches of snow since Dec. 1. . . just let that soak in people . .. 41.4 inches!!! We’ve had at least 5 inches of snow on the ground for the last 50 consecutive days. (disclaimer: I know I have no right to complain because a lot of places get more snow than this on a regular basis - BUT this is the most snowfall we've seen in over 100 years so for us it's a lot and I reserve the right to bitch about it OK?)

You’re thinking, “What’s the point here Amy?” And I’ll tell you what the point is people. The point is that I’m so sick of snow that the next time I see a flake falling to the ground I will either a) curl up into a fetal position and start sobbing uncontrollably until spring, or b) figure out how to sell all of the duplicate organs my body can spare on the black market and drum up enough money for a 3 month vacation to the Bahamas.

Another point is that with the copious amounts of snow and ice on every surface of the earth around here getting out and about with two kids is not really feasible so cabin fever has set in. No, let me rephrase that; it has moved in, claimed a shelf in the fridge, used all my shampoo, borrowed my favorite pair of jeans and is currently wiping its orange cheese puff encrusted fingers on the arm of my loveseat.

Most people deal with cabin fever by finding ways to get out of the house. I combat it by purging and organizing. Because when you feel the walls closing in, the most logical thing to do is to get rid of as much stuff as possible that lies between you and the walls so that you have a little more room to breathe.

I started my purging/organizing in my craft area.

I keep my fabric in large plastic drawers and I really wish I had taken a ‘before’ picture because they were awful. The fabric was just shoved in willy nilly. Some of it was folded but most of it wasn’t and the only way I could find a specific piece of fabric I was looking for was to dump the entire contents of a drawer on the table and paw through it like a little old lady diving into the bargain bin at JC Penny.

I cut squares (or rectangles depending on the amount of fabric) of cardboard and folded each piece of fabric neatly around it. Then I organized by color. Isn’t it beautiful?

I also got rid of about 1/3 of my scrapbook paper and supplies. I really had a lot of stuff that I couldn’t ever conceive myself using.

I even made a pennant banner out of some old vintage fabric to spruce up the place. It's like the grand opening of my new cleaner space!

Maybe I can make it till spring after all. Next stop – the closet!

Those aren't raisins

It all started so innocently. I had a little bit of yarn leftover from a project so I made this little cutie.

And then I thought he might get lonely, so I made him a pal.

And they quickly formed a strong bond.

A couple days later I came home to Neil Diamond on the stereo and an opened bottle of Boone's strawberry wine. I think you all know what came next.

And then things really started getting out of hand.

I can't keep the cupboards stocked. They really like cookies - I'm buying Chips Ahoy in bulk!

And I'd really like to watch somehting other than GSN. I mean I enjoy Press Your Luck and old episodes of Let's Make a Deal as much as the next gal but 24/7? Everytime I try to change the channel thought things get ugly.

So I'm shipping these little guys off to my husband's mother who will find good homes for them with the children that come through the social service office she works for.

If you've got a surplus of cookies around you can make your own bunnies too. I used this fabulous free pattern from one of my favorite Etsy sellers; Rebecca of Danger Crafts.

The Joys of the Season

I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday. I got some much needed time off and I happily spent it doing absolutely nothing. It was wonderful.

However, since I did absolutely nothing but revel in the joys of the holidays, I don't really have anything craft related to share with you today. But I didn't want to leave you hanging so I thought I'd show you one of the gifts I recieved this year. An Edward Cullen figurine:

As you may recall, I kind of have a small obsession and my husband indulged that obsession by putting this little guy in my stocking this year.

About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward's/Robert's hotness doesn't translate perfectly into plastic. Second, there was a part of me, and I wasnt' sure how embarassed I was of it, that was really excited about owning this figurine. And third, that I would absolutely and irrevocably keep this thing forever no matter how sad and pathetic it might make me.

I kept him on my desk at home during the holidays but I found that he drew quite a crowd. I tried to tell the princesses that Edward didn't like blondes, or seafood but they wouldn't listen. I thought Belle might have a chance being a brunette and all but she was just there to ask if Jacob was around. It seems she's got a thing for guys with fur.

So that I would have his full attention, I took him into work and put him on my desk next to my filing cabinet and I've been composing poems for him all week with my magnetic poetry set.

On a completely unrelated note

Have you ever gotten a tacky gift? I'm sure you have. A few years back my best friend and I decided to celebrate the joy of tacky gifts by creating a Tacky Gift Competition. Visit here to get more information on how the competition started and its rules.

My reason for telling you this today is that it's voting time. Both she and I have purchased our tacky items and I'd like your help to determine a winner. Take a gander at the tacky beauties below and then if you're so inclined, please head to the tacky treasure website to see even more photos and place your vote.


Which is tackier? Jesus of the Sea? or Googly Eyed Fisherman with crotch protruding pole?

You decide!

Stamped Clothespins

I've got a lot of clothespins hanging around my house and I've also got a fair amount of rubber stamps. This weekend I put them both to use to create some fun stamped decorative clothespins.

Here's how I made them.
Supplies:

Rubber stamps or clear acrylic stamps
Wooden clothespins
ink pad or ink markers

I chose a variety of rubber stamps though you could easily do this with the new clear stamps as well. As you can see, even if your stamp is larger than your clothespin you can still make some pretty cool effects.

I found the easiest way to stamp the clothespin was to place the stamp rubber side up on my table and then apply the ink. I used these ink markers which are very convenient and allow me extra control over what section of my stamp gets inked. Of course a traditional ink pad would work as well.

Once you've inked your stamp in the color of your choice, simply press the paper clip down onto the stamp. I used fairly firm pressure and rocked it very slightly to make sure the design transferred to the wood.

And simple as that you've got your decorated clothespin.

I think the swirl one is my favorite.

They'd work great to clip a gift tag onto a present.

Or a gift bag.

Think how cute they would be holding closed a small bag of homemade holiday goodies! You can smack a magnet on the back and use them to clip notes on the refrigerator. Decorate lots of them and use them to clip your Christmas cards from friends and family onto a ribbon or string. The possibilities are endless.