Always be prepared ... to craft

When I was a kid, I tried a lot of extra-curricular activities. There was guitar, piano, archeology, theater, space camp, baseball, swimming ... it seemed that every year I had a new activity to explore.

The one thing I didn't do - and deeply regret not doing - was Girl Scouts. I can't remember why I never joined a troop - my guess is that my mother was much like I am today: pretty stingy with how many activities she'd let her daughter engage in at one time. Call me lazy (I like to think I'm just super aware of the energy that is required to maintain a busy activity/school schedule, and know my limits) but I have a one-big-extra-activity-and-that's-it rule about my kids. Whether it was time or money that kept me from doing Girl Scouts as a kid, it was something I always really wished I could do.

One of my best friends was in a troop lead by her mother - an incredible artist and craft guru. I would have killed to be in that troop. They were always doing such cool things - especially crafts. Oh the crafts! Egg carton worms, plastic berry basket projects, paper mache! Oh dear paper mache! (can you believe I've still never done paper mache!? I know, it's sick.)

So from a very early age, I knew I wanted to lead a Girl Scout troop for my daughter. And finally, the time has come. I spent all day yesterday at Girl Scout Leader Training. And while there was no direct talk of crafts (we were more concerned with business/safety training) I could feel the crafty possibilities bubbling up.

And don't forget the cookies! My fabulous co-leader, Anna, has agreed to handle all the cookies sales. Which is perfect, given her rockin' blog is called "Cookie Madness." Between the two of us, we'll have some fantastic crafting and cooking going on in our troop. Be prepared to see some of the fruits of our labor (and fun) here.

*These images are from a 1975 Junior Girl Scout Handbook that I found at Half Price Books last week. It is choc full of really cool stuff! :)

Silly Fun Crafting

Silly Fun Crafting
Originally uploaded by burb_mama

I have a few things I've been wanting to post about ... and I will. But for now, just some fun, silly crafty goodness.

(Click on the picture at the right to see a larger version and click to individual images ... if you're into getting up close and all)

When Sister Diane first posted her Glove Monsters, I was giddy at her brillance. The she went and posted a tutorial and I knew I had to make one. Fortunately, Target happened to have knit gloves in the Dollar Spot this week, so I grabbed a pair. This little guy (gal?... not sure) was a blast to whip up while watching TV on the couch. My favorite part is the hair. I'd cut open the cuff of the glove to unfold it for more height (per SD's tutorial) but when I tried to gather it at the top, it just wasn't working for me. I ended up just stitching straight across, which left just a flat piece of cuff sticking up at the top. I decided to see what would happen if I clipped along the ribbing of the cuff.

BRILLIANCE! It curled all on it's own, and in 30 seconds, the monster's personality popped forth. (Can you pop "forth"?) It was so much fun.

I'd also nipped a little hole when I was clipping the seam of the cuff, so I stitched it roughly to make a "scar" on the face. That was fun. I can't wait to make another one. I'm so glad gloves come in pairs (aside from obvious reasons) because these little guys are addictive.

Then I had the chance to go to a Shrink Art class tonight at the Work*Shop (in love with this place!) and I had such a blast. I brought along my stash of Sublime Stitching transfers, and they made great patterns to trace, color and shrink. Next thing ya know, I've got a rad pair of robot earrings, some smoking flame earrings, and a sweet, stylish swallow pendant.

I told my husband I'd be home at 9:00 tonight. I got home at 11:00.

Time evaporates when I'm crafting ... and that's just how I like it.

That's it. I'm hooked.

Mom and I took a crochet class at Craft-O-Rama last night (FUN place, and so much yummy fabric and fun stuff and great people) and it was a blast. I really enjoyed working with yarn and the hooks (I have this strange love for the actual *motion* of moving the hook in and out of the loops of yarn) and I had fun practicing a bit once I got home.

I'm still working on how to hold the yarn/hook/piece - it gets confusing to me. And, of course - like most beginners - I have the tendency to go waaaaay too tight. I'm also still a bit confused on identifying each stitch and spot where I need to push my hook through. My things got a bit wonky because I kept missing stitches or adding stitches. I admit it, I was chatting too much and not paying close enough attention. That's my only fear with crochet - can I chat or daydream while I do it? So far, I feel like I need to count a lot and pay attention. Two things I tend to avoid when crafting.

Mom had loads of fun and did really well. She was a little nervous and cracked lots of jokes about how "badly" she was doing. Give it up mom, you were rocking like nobody's business. Own it!

And what makes learning a new craft even more fun? How about having the sweetest little dog you could ever hope to meet curled up in your lap while you crochet? The teacher's dog (named Olive) sat in my lap for the first half of the class. I'd scratch her belly and snuzzle* her head and then get back to stitching. Every once in a while, she'd bop me with her head or paw, looking for some more lovin'. She even got tangled in my yarn. Nothing says fun and cozy like crocheting with a cute pup in your lap.

*Snuzzle is a technical term meaning to smoosh your nose into the dog's head and kisskisskisskisskiss while making idiotic lovey noises. In case you didn't know.

oooooh ... fun stuff!

Good stuff comes in threes, I think.

1. Last week I received a stack of vintage embroidery transfers from a fabulous woman in England. There are some really cool ones in there, and I'll scan them as soon as I get a chance. The bonus: they came the day after my birthday, so it felt like a little birthday gift. Plus, I love getting mail, so .... it was just a really rad package.
   
2. Moxie and the Compound is hosting an awesome Project Runway viewing/contest. How freaking cool is that? It's times like these when I wish I had any grasp of garment design/construction. I'm so tempted to enter one week just for kicks.
   
3. I found out today that I came in third place in a little naming contest I'd entered. Let me tell you, third feels FANTASTIC! I entered on a whim (the sewing studio owner decided to change the name of her sewing class business and asked for suggestions, then people voted on those suggestions.) and wasn't too confident in my entry (Third and Thread, because her studio is on 3rd street) but what do you know, I came in ... THIRD! And I won a $75 voucher toward classes with her. That's freaking awesome! I took an embroidery class from her about a year and a half ago, and she was so fun. I've wanted to take more classes, but haven't had the budget for it. Now I can. Woohoo! What to take, what to take...... I swear, I could take sewing/crafting classes every day of my life and not get bored.
   

And this week is when I'm taking the crochet class with mom - can't wait. And I'm working on a birthday gift for my best friend, so that's fun. And I finished the dish towel for my grandmother-in-law over the weekend. And I read Doodle Stitching (fantastic!) cover-to-cover. And I found out about a fun shrink plastic class at the Work*Shop.

Whew! Super fun crafty goodness all over the darn place!

The Thrift Find is complete

Whew - wrapped her up last night. The flower border got frustrating after a while, and I have to admit that I cheated and didn't cut and finish each one - I just strung on to the next one. So, the back is .... not perfect, but considering that I'm framing her - no one will ever see that. I love the way she turned out, though! I used little sequins around the border - something I haven't done before - and I like how they turned out. They were super easy to work with. AK keeps saying she wants her hung up in her room .... is it totally wrong that I want her in my office/craft room? Argh.

We're heading up to my husband's grandparent's house today for a loooong road trip (up and back in one day). I've stamped a tea towel with one of my favorite designs so I can stitch a little something for his grandmother on the way up there.

Happy weekend!

Crafts from the past

Since I was crafty before I started this crafty blog, I thought I'd pull up some projects I've done in the past. Plus, it's a laundry day, and I'd actually like to try to sew something before I have to pick up the kids, so I'm slacking on actually posting a new project. Here's one of my faves from a while back that made me laugh.

I give you: CraftsterWoman! (the text below is copied from my original posting of this project on Craftster.)
In a couple of hours, I'm heading out to see Leah at the Work*Shop here in Austin. She's doing a book thing, and there's going to be a surprise craft swap of some sort. I had a random hit of inspiration in the shower last night, and came up with a "Craftster Woman" (think: Wonder Woman with a glue gun) accessory set. It must have been meant to be. I had all the materials I needed on hand, my freehand cutting of a felt glue gun silhouette rocked on the first try, and I was able to complete the set (and a matching tote bag to wrap it in) throughout the day, while hanging with the kids. All pieces are wearable (the headband has squeeze clip barrettes that I pirated from my daughter's old bows, the cuffs have button fasteners) and the image of "Craftster Woman" on the tote bag has the glue gun, scissor and spool details morphed into her costume. She's off to save the word one craft at a time! Enjoy. It was fun to make. Hopefully someone who shares my slightly lame sense of humor will get it tonight and will model it. I'll have to take my camera.

******UPDATE*******
The event was great! If Leah is coming to your hometown (or close by) you must go! You'll have fun, meet crafty folks, and get to make some cool stuff. The craft swap was great, and I am pleased as punch that Lisa (co-founder of The Work*Shop Austin - very cool place) picked the Craftster Woman set. It was insanely perfect. The woman OWNS and spends most of her time in a C-R-A-F-T S-H-O-P, folks! It was right up her alley (which was good, because I was afraid that someone might get it and think I'm really weird) Can I say how completely stoked I was that she not only donned the ensemble, but wore it all evening. How cool is that! Here she is looking ready to fight off bad craft vibes with her cuffs. I added a note to the bag that said something like "The head band will keep you focused while crafting. The lasso will rope in good ideas, and the cuffs will deflect any self doubt you have while crafting." or something to that effect ... I was writing it while my kids were crawling on me, so I don't remember. Fun stuff!

Signs your kid watches too much Stylelicious

What can I say? The kid's a regular Andie Walsh. She dismantled a Barbie dress to make a new outfit for her Tinkerbell dress. (ripped the bodice off the skirt, dug up this net business from some other character of hers, added a headband from a My Little Pony) I seriously think she got the idea from watching Stylelicious with me. I'm surprised she didn't use the phrase "gussied up" when she was describing her work to the family.