Violaceous

Color Cravings

Needing a little extra color in my life right now! It has been so gray and dull here lately and I can't wait for spring flowers to start blooming and for the sun to come out!

Luckily I've been able to surround myself with color lately...

Embellishments spilled onto my craft table...

Painting wooden figures for our Etsy shop, Armadillo Dreams...

And from today, selecting fabric scraps for a scrappy quilt I'm making Lucy for her birthday. Love all these colors.

Any signs of spring where you are yet?

Counting Blessings

 

 I've been trying hard to count my blessings lately. I've been going through a period where I feel disconnected, stressed out and generally negative. You know when you just have those down times that last a while? We've had a lot of changes in our lives lately and I need to get to a place where I feel calm and centered. 

Things that have been helping me to remember what's important:

• Feeling my sweet little baby move and kick - there's nothing like it.
• Lucy. Oh heavens yes, Lucy. She's my light.
• Being outside in the fresh air and sunshine
• Baking and cooking, feeding my family good food
• Working with my hands
• Being with my dear husband, just the two of us.

What helps you to remember what's important? What helps you to get to a place of feeling calm and being okay with what life throws at you?

This project that I just joined, Counting my Blessings, came along at just the right time for me. The idea is to stitch small squares (about 1 by 1 inch) and stitch one of the blessings in your life into each square. I love stitching (one stitch at a time, just like life) and the idea of putting my blessings into needlework sounds very soothing. I think for the next few weeks I'm going to work on my "counting my blessings" sampler and post photos of my squares/what inspired them. Can't wait to share my blessings with you and maybe learn a few things along the way!

Couple More

Here are a few more digital scrapbook pages I've been working on...

 

 

I think the last one is my favorite so far.

My plan (and trust me, I have many of those) is to make a bound book full of these for each year. 

Off to work on Lucy's birthday quilt! It's cut out, but did I mention that her birthday is on Saturday? I am a woman of high ambition and little time. ;)

Digital Scrapbooking Love

I've just discovered digital scrapbooking and I love it! Photoshop has always intimidated me like nobody's business but I'm starting to overcome my fear. I have learned a lot in the last couple weeks! It always feels so good to learn something new. I've been playing with textures and overlays, frames, sizing, correcting - all kinds of things!

This is my first digital page ever:

 

I put a vintage style texture on each of these photos - I love how they look so golden and warm.

These are my favorite resources so far:

Two Peas in a Bucket

Oscraps

And I'm dying to purchase these actions and texture:

Flora Bella

Have you ever tried digital scrapbooking? Any other good resources I should know about?

Monday Things

Just a few random things from today...

Making: A little package I put together for a swap partner - vintage buttons on a handmade card. Pretty cute, I humbly say. 

All wrapped up and ready to go.

Dreaming: An idea from my favorite magazine; how to make an outdoor bath that you can heat up with a propane stove. I really don't think I can talk my husband into this without him thinking I'm a little weird, or that I could actually take a bath outside with someone (Lucy) pulling the curtains open and running off with something. But the idea sounds wonderful. Someday...

Feeling: My itchy growing tummy. Itch, itch, itch. I'm a little scared because this photo is from today, at 15 1/2 weeks. How big am I going to be towards the end!?

Tired. Lucy has a terrible cold and is teething her bottom molars, which means she's up every 3-4 hours all night long and is sensitive and fussy during the day. Poor sweetie.

What do you have going on today?

Velvet Strawberry Tutorial!

I can't stop making these cute little velvet strawberries and thought I'd offer a tutorial in case someone else out there wants to try making some too.

You will need:

• scraps of velvet
• thread
• needle
• sewing machine
• green wool felt
• pearl beads
• fiberfill stuffing

Step One: Iron your velvet on low, on the back side if it's wrinkly (mine was stuffed in a bag)

Step Two: Use a CD/DVD or something around the same size to trace around on the back side of the velvet. This will be your pattern.

 

Step Three: Cut out your circle and then cut it in half.

Step Four: Fold your half circle in half with right sides together.

 

Step Five: Machine sew along the straight edge of your folded half circle. This will be the main part of the strawberry that you will stuff. Mine in the photo is a little off, try and have yours be a little more even. :)

 

Step Six: Turn the little cone you just made right side out and hand sew a running stitch all around the top.

 

Step Seven: With your needle/thread still attached, stuff your strawberry with fiberfill stuffing.

 

Step Eight: Pull your thread tight so top of strawberry closes up, and knot it.

Step Nine: Cut out your leaves from wool felt. I don't have a size or pattern for this, you just have to eyeball it. My leaves sort of end up looking like a star.

Step Ten: Sew the leaves to the top of your strawberry, making sure to cover up all your mechanics/gathering on top.

Step Eleven: Get out your little beads and make sure you have a small needle that will fit all the way through the holes.

Step Twelve: Sew your beads onto your finished strawberry.

And you're done! I hope this was all clear enough - let me know in the comments if you have any questions or need any help. :)

There are tons of ways you could customize and decorate these. Maybe use a different fabric for the strawberry, use different beads or french knots, or add pretty embellishments on the top!

Have Fun!!

Color Shots

Oh January. Gray. Watered down sunlight, cold, blah. Not to say that January doesn't have it's own beauty - it definitely does. But, I'm not in a January mood today!

I just wanted to share a couple things that cheered me up this afternoon.

 

Getting some pretty, cheery wool felt in the mail today. I can't wait to start making some flowers out of these fun colors!

 

Finding this old book at the local antique mall today - although it's a little odd how my felt matches the colors in the illustrations. I adore the colors in books for children from the fifties and sixties. This is one of my favorites, color-wise.

A couple pages from the song book...

 

And Agnes's cheery blog always makes me happy.

What's cheering you up today? Is January weather cold and blah where you live?

Pretty Messes

Do you ever come across a little mess or pile, on your craft table or in your kitchen or something, and feel inspired by the way it fell?

 

And then you do something like this?

 

Or is that just me.

Batch O' Babies

In progress: A batch of soft cozy babies. I think they look so cute all sleeping in a pile. They make me smile every time I walk by.

Sewing, sewing

Machine sewing...hand sewing...It seems like that's all I do at this time of year!!

It's sort of funny, I really never saw myself sewing for a living. It's a different direction for me, but I kinda like it!