Halloween Tree

I had this branch and I had this base (for a flag) so I put the two together to make a spooky Halloween tree. TA DAH!!

I got some cute scrapbook paper with vintage Halloween greetings. The kids helped me laminate, cut out, and glue ribbon to each one to hang on our Halloween tree.

The tree got a makeover for Thanksgiving: I added silk autumn leaves. It was a long time before we got our Christmas tree this year, so we left this up in the meantime (bare). It truly looked like Charlie Brown's Christmas tree--probably worse!

How to Make a Wax Seal Stamp from Sculpey Clay

I was making some test wax seal stamps today for a project and I thought I might write up the instructions to share.

Here's a wax seal stamp of a leaf that I sculpted when I was 17. I've kept it all these years, but for some reason I had never actually used it until today! I can't remember specifically what tool I used to sculpt it. Probably a toothpick, paperclip, pencil, or something similar.

Now I'll show you how to make one using a small item as a mold:


1. Start with Sculpey Clay. You can find it at most craft stores. It's $11.99 at Hobby Lobby.

2. Take a lump of clay and warm it up by kneading it in your hand.

3. Roll the clay into a cylinder. Try to get it as perfectly round as you can, ideally 3/4" in diameter.

4. Next pick the item you want to use as your mold. I used these jewelry charms. You could also use interesting buttons, small toys, etc. 

5. Take your item and place it face down on the clay and press it in. Your wax seal will come out in mirror image.

6. Use a pin or toothpick to carefully pull out your item and then smooth down any imperfections in the clay.

I made the owl on the opposite side of treble clef. I also made the owl stamp a little more oval.

7. Next bake your clay (or let it air dry, depending on the kind of clay you use). You should bake Sculpey at 275 degrees F for 15 minutes per 1/4 inch of clay. I baked these for 15 minutes.

8. When your wax seal stamp is cool get it nice and lubricated with some oil (I used olive oil). Here are some links to wax seal instructions from Nostalgic Impressions: 

Instruction page here
Instruction video here

9. Let your wax cool a bit longer before stamping than you would with a regular metal wax seal stamp. The first time I stamped it came out mushy, so I tried again letting it cool slightly longer, adding more oil, and also holding the stamp down longer while the wax cooled even further. I'm not not sure which one was the magic ingredient, but it definitely came out better the second time:

Here's the treble clef:

Fun, isn't it? I'm excited to try out more. I'll be making these with my kids for school this coming year. We'll try both sculpting and mold-style wax seal stamps.

Scripture Brief Cases - Missionary Style

I finally made the boys some scripture/church cases. This is another one of those projects that has been a couple years in the making. I knew I wanted some manly briefcase-style scripture totes, but I didn't find the unfinished cases I wanted until just a couple weeks ago (Hobby Lobby for about $7, if I remember right. AND, by the way, Alexander's already needs a new latch!).

Once I had the right cases I still didn't know what I wanted them to look like. I knew I wanted their names on the outside and the missionary name tag popped into my mind. Then the whole shirt and tie just came together after that. I already knew I wanted some fun patterned paper, although I had considered vinyl for a leather look. My mom and I had fun making the name tags in Photoshop from an image of a real missionary tag. Then we put the kids' names on them in a font that turned out to be surprisingly authentic-looking (after a bit of stretching). FYI, I blurred out the last names for privacy on the www.



The white paper is textured so perfectly. It looks like a woven shirt. I had such a hard time with the Mod Podge, though! You can see I got wrinkles in all three papers, even though they were of various thicknesses. What's up with that?

 These scripture cases were the boys' Easter present from me. They found them under their Easter baskets.

I wish I could say I have some really cute pictures of my kids in their Sunday best holding their missionary scripture cases. And lovely photos of the interiors, all neat and organized with the perfect-sized 6x9" writing/drawing tablets, writing utensils, and scriptures all tucked inside. All those have really existed at one or two points in the last week and a half, I just don't have the pictures to prove it. I could wait and post this after (and if) the stars align and I get some awesome pictures later. But my blogging has been so sparse lately that I think I'll just post it as-is. So you have these photographic gems to look at:
:)

P.S. Did you spy what the Easter Bunny brought me? No, not Pat the Bunny and a wooden castle. Those are Ivory's. 

Small World Bibs

Ikea bibs embellished with Alexander Henry's Small World fabric and fun felt scraps. This was for a baby shower gift for my niece Emma. I wish I had gotten a better picture. This fabric is some of my favorite. I've got a Small World quilt for Ivory in the works. Really it's just in the planning stages right now, but I'm pretty excited about it.

Blessing Cap and Shoes

Hello! It's been a long time since I've posted. I had forgotten that I hadn't finished this post that I started ages ago. I actually made an heirloom! Two of them! Well, three of them, if you count each little shoe separately.

Ivory wore a real family heirloom gown for her baby blessing that many of her female relatives* wore for their own blessing or christening. Including Yours Truly. The various parts of the dress were made by my great-grandmothers, and the slip was even made from a pillowcase belonging to my great-great grandmother. That's Ivory's great-great-great grandmother!

*Ivory's mother, maternal grandmother, great aunt, all her maternal aunts and female cousins, and 3 first-cousins-once removed.

I wanted her also to wear something special and homemade that she would be able to keep as her own. I used some lace and ribbon my mom had lent me to make a blessing cap and tiny shoes.

(Photos of Ivory taken by Deborah Harroun)

Isn't she the sweetest? I wanted the cap to be a special heirloom. But that thought was so intimidating that I had to put it aside before I got the courage to start sewing! 

Various ideas I doodled before choosing one.

Here's my final pick. Strips of the embroidered, raw-edge lace sewn together into a long rectangle. With matching, scalloped-edge lace for the ruffled front.

I sewed a casing on the back and fed some ribbon through it.

I tightened the ribbon and tied it in a bow to form the cap shape.

Ta da!

Now on to the little shoes...

I literally made these the morning of Ivory's blessing (church doesn't start until 1pm, thank goodness). I made them in the same general manner of the ribbon ballet slippers I made earlier in the year. 

They are teeny-tiny! So I only made her wear them once. Twice. It was worth it, though, especially since she gets to keep them!  (And since it didn't take me long to make them.)

There you go, Sweetheart.

Cowboy Cac-tie

Cactus ties to wear to the concert of our favorite singing cowboys, The Riders in the Sky.

Too Slim, the bassist, is the inspiration for the cac-tie.

You might think you don't know this cowboy band, but I think you'd recognize some of their music:

Here are the boys waiting for the concert to begin, wearing their Too Slim cac-ties. Yes, that is a snail in Lincoln's hand. Boys will be boys!

Here we are after the concert:



The Riders signed the backs of the boys' ties. What a fun keepsake! (BTW, does Alexander's shirt look familiar?)

The ties were simple to make and hardly took any time at all. I could have made them more complicated, but why? I used a single layer of felt for most of it and stitched around the edges to keep it in shape. I used a tie we already had for getting the basic tie shape, and just free-handed the cactus "arms."

I did put an extra layer of felt on the backs of the cactus "arms" so they would reach skyward. Don't forget to add a couple blooms!

I'm a bit embarrassed to say that I had never actually tied a tie before. A YouTube tutorial remedied my inexperience. It wasn't hard at all! Why do we use clip-on ties, anyway? They're so tricky to make, and the clips can be pricey. I love the authenticity of a real tie. I plan to make some real real ties too (i.e. not clip-on and not cactus-shaped).

You can purchase an authentic Riders in the Sky Cac-tie on their website, here:
http://ridersinthesky.com/index.htm?inc=80&prod_id=3692&sid=17419

Lace and Ribbon Rose Cuff Bracelet

 

Remember a few months back when I was making ribbon flowers at my mom's house? This is one that I had leftover. The rose is made from grosgrain (the ribbon, not the "fabulous" blog!) and the leaves from a satin ribbon.

 

The embroidered lace was left over from Ivory's blessing cap (Have I blogged that yet??). I took an extra wide ribbon for the back of the cuff and folded it lengthwise over the raw edges of the lace.

 

At first I had metal hooks and loops, but the cuff looked too metally (like my mouth when I had braces a few years back). So I took off the loops and stitched some from thread. The exposed loops give it an old-fashioned corset look, I think. Very romantic.

 

As you can see, one of the satin leaves is snagged. That's what I get for not taking pictures before I wore it so many times! I guess now I can call it "shabby chic."

I have sensitive wrists, so I don't wear bracelets and watches very often. This is one that won't give me a rash because it's made of fabric with no metal parts touching my skin! Another romantic element!

Baby Dress

Hi there! It's been awhile since I've posted, but not for a lack of "stuff" to blog about. Does anyone else have a hard time doing everything they want to do? My life story. Anyway, here's a dress I made for Ivory a couple of months ago. It's made from two fat quarters. The fabric is called "Spa" by Rosemarie Lavin for Windham Fabrics.

I copied a dress from Target. Plagiarizing a finished piece of clothing is more interested to me than following a pattern. It was still a bit chilly when I took these pictures, hence the long sleeves underneath the dress.

It turned out a little short, so it's more like a pinafore top. I might add another skirt tier, or at least make a matching diaper cover.

Mmmmmm...grass. And yes, the front of her dress is wet. What can ya do?

Detachable flower pin/clip.

I have plans to make more of these little dresses. Also perhaps a tutorial...?