Meet Sophia

Meet Sophia.

This is the cover I made for Sophia.

My directions came from the Australian Craftblog.  These were extremely easy directions to follow and a very nice tutorial.  I think I did a pretty good job except my seams don't match up, but you can't tell from a distance. Not bad given this is the first time I've sewed in YEARS.

I'm satisfied.

So many project ideas; so little time!

Here are two projects, by way of Be Different Act Normal, that I wish I had time to tackle:

A cookie cutter wreath:

And a fabric rag wreath:

I think I have wreaths on the brain.

Between Naps on the Porch: Welcome to the 44th Metamorphosis Monday and the Perfect Gift, Give-a-Way!

One of my favorite bloggers, Between Naps on the Porch, is hosting a giveaway for Metamorphosis Monday -- check out the beautiful handcrafted jewelry from Lisa Leonard Designs.

Giving Thanks to Homebody

A shout out to Homebody who gave me this idea for Scrabble Tiles.  This is one of those projects that I actually completed!  Yes, I know it's an easy little project (which is why I loved it), but sometimes even the easiest projects can end up being annoyingly difficulty

Take this one for example -- I didn't think I had a Scrabble set so I of course searched Ebay and was surprised to find the prices so high.  A lot of crafters like to use those little tile pieces for their projects.  So then I thought I could find them at Goodwill (and similar places), which I eventually did.  However, I failed to open the box to check over the contents.  Big mistake and lesson learned.  The tiles were all mildewed and yucky and no amount of cleaning got rid of the smell.  To bring an end to this story, I found a set of scrabble pieces in my basement.

On a separate note....  don't you just love my 1960's/1970's flocked wall paper?  Bleah!  Another project yet to be done.

Baby Me - More Fun with Photos

My scanner is an Epson  Perfection v500 with ICE technology.  Whatever that ICE technology is, it makes scanning slides very cool because it automatically removes dirt and other picture "noise" so that your end result is nice to work with.  That said, a lot of my slides are dark or over exposed, so they are a challenge.  I have very few pictures from my childhood, so I focused first on one of those.  How'd I do?

Before:

After

Participating in Metamorphosis Monday!

Chair Makeover Inspiration

Here are the chairs I now have:

And here is my transformation inspiration:

Now let see what really happens....

How to avoid blisters!

Well now, this is something I will just have to try the next time I stupidly do something and burn myself. Jealousy Design put out a post on how to avoid blisters after a burn by using egg whites. I have never heard of this one, have you?

Photo Fixing Fun

Here is my semi-successful before and after photos.  It's the photos themselves!  I just loved this picture of my grandma and her friends in the roaring 20's.  And the sweetheart picture of my grandparents is just precious to me.

I used Photoshop Elements to sharpen and fix the pictures after I scanned them.  Any creative ideas what I can do with them now besides frame them?

Before:

After:

And another one.....

Before: After:

Centsational Girl Giveaway

One of my favorite bloggers and DIY miracle worker, Centsational Girl, has a great giveaway for some beautiful jewelry by Lisa Leonard Designs.  Check 'em out when you get a moment.

Curtains!

In our living room, we have 4 windows and we have gotten by with the neutral, white, roller shades left by the prior owners these last 4 years.  Each winter I swear I will buy curtains and reduce our heating costs -- it's a big room.  Did I mention our windows are original to our 1968 home?  Yup.  And they show it.  Especially in the winter with drafts.  Anyhow, we are on our second set of curtains and will be returning these too.  I don't know why the right ones are so difficult to find!  I'm very frustrated and could use advice.