Crafts

So, starting back in October, I started having this major desire to be crafty. I started with beading, because that is what I actually had. I have to fix one of my necklaces, but after re-doing the same necklace about 5 times, I finally got it to a satisfactory piece of jewelry.

Here is my multi-colored necklace. I have actually had these beads for forever, like since middle school. I have wanted to make a necklace with them for a long time, but never did, until this past fall. I am quite please with how it turned out, and I have received a lot of compliments about it too. I only wish I had more beads to make some more necklaces like it for my sisters and mom, but I used them all up for this one.

I also made a black one, but that is the one that needs to be fixed, so I'll have to post pictures of it later. It's the same general design, multiple strands and such, just black beads.

For Christmas, I actually found some really cute door hangers with bells that Joe and I gave to each of his siblings' families. There were 3 though that I thought had really ugly ribbon and I figured I could re-do them to look better. Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture in the before stage to justify my work.

I did however take a picture of the ugly ribbon.

The finished projects turned out like this:

One of the things that I did over Christmas while with my family was to go through all of my mom's craft books and materials. I'm pretty sure she didn't appreciate all the things I brought with me on loan, but I know my dad didn't mind that I cleared out so much space in her closet and in the garage. I have so many things I want to do. Joe helped me make a list of craft priorities. The first one was to do a baby blanket "Marisa-style" for my cousin Brittany who is having a little girl in February. "Marisa-style" means the snipped frizzy edges like how I made the quilt for our bed. (If you don't remember, I gave it to Joe for his birthday, so look in the August files; I don't know how to link you to it in my blog.)

Anyway, Joe helped a lot with the cutting and creating a pattern. I really appreciate his tastes and opinions about colors and contrast and materials. He was also a great help with the seam-ripper when I needed help fixing my mistakes. I couldn't have done it without him.

The top layer is all cottons. I had a shirt when I was a little girl out of the bow material. I don't think the picture does it justice, but we felt it really turned out very cute. I love the alphabet squares, the light purple, and the light pink too. The front is the side that has the frizzy seams. With each wash it frays more and more. It's awesome. The back is all flanel. I am really excited to give it to her!

It has been fun being crafty. There is so much more to do, but right now the crafts are on hold while I finish my transcription stuff. Maybe I'll get to do a couple hours each week in the evenings and on weekends. We shall see. Just stay tuned for more craft projects.