Tutorial Tuesday: Home Sewing Is Easy: Darts and Mitered Corners and Shirring!

Here are my pals Sally Stitch and Mrs. Home Maker with the tutorials for today.
Please click the images to enlarge!

There is even another sample for your sewing practice scrap book!

What? you haven't seen our "Home Sewing Is Easy" gals in action before? Well, Let me tell you!
These women have mad skills.
Click on the label "homesewing is easy" below and see all the tricks and tips , previously published!

Hmmm.. since they are taking care of the tutorial... I better get to my sewing machine!

Made It Myself Monday: Needle Felted Birds

Here are a couple of chirpers from my newest batch of needle felted birds. I am thinking of putting these in my Etsy shop.

I originally put them together because a lovely lady at Candystore in SF mentioned she believed they would sell there. I don't know if I am afraid of success- afraid of failure- or afraid that selling at wholesale prices would make me feel like I was working for nothing... But I haven't emailed her. Of course if I pop them up on Etsy and no one buys them... then that is pretty pathetic in it's own way.

I do enjoy making them.
Oh, Business. It is bothersome to me.
Sure, selling is fun. Knowing something I made is in someone's house... that they like it.
And the money helps take the edge of the cost of the habitual hobby. That is certainly a positive. But it isn't always successful. Sometimes it's stressful.
Sometimes it takes all the funny fun-ness out of making whatever I want. Goodness knows, I can't keep storing all the stuff I make.

It needs to go SomeWhere.
But Where?

I have only ever sold 9 whopping things on Etsy. Not an amazing track record in the year or more I have had the store. I try not to take it personally, but when all my stuff "expired".. I didn't have the heart to list it all again. I don't know if it is the enormous amount of craft available at rock bottom prices on Etsy, or if it is my less than stellar marketing practices or maybe just my stuff isn't what the people want. Maybe I charge too much. Maybe it's too wierd. Too Normal. Too hard to find. Who Knows?
I am of the general opinion that I will probably be happier if I don't over analyze it and I just keep making what I like... and putting some of it here or there, and if it sells.. Well, Jolly!

And if not, some poor relative will get another
handi-crafted thinga-ma-jig for the holiday du jour.

And speaking of Holiday Du Jour....

Happy Halloweek...

We have embarked on the most ambitious Jack-O-Lantern in our family history.
That, my friends, is a whole wad of pumpkin guts.... looking for a place to happen.

Thrift Thursday and Thank You Thursday too...

Well, it will probably take a week or two for me to come anywhere close to posting 5 days a week. But here is my " Thrift Thursday" entry for today!

I got this quilt at the Goodwill for 16.00. Not in my usual budget but I was really drawn to the craftsmanship and the cozy fall palette. I am working on some cute Joel Dewberry throw pillows to go with it. I may sell it with the pillows on Etsy, as I don't have the perfect place for it in my house.. but for now it is on my rocking chair... daring me to redecorate, so it can stay.


Here is a belated Thank You Thursday Post too..

Look at this gorgeous donkey from
Laurie at Old School Acres... This guy is so cute and poseable too. He reminds me of Eeyore and of Brighty of the Grand Canyon.. all the storybook donkeys of my youth. I love him.
And if that isn't enough look at all the baubles and trims! Thanks Laurie! You are too kind!

Made It Myself Monday: The Portable Project Board

This is my latest time saving semi-craft. I got a piece of homosote noise dampening board at the huge mega hardware mecca and cut it up with a box knife to appropriate sized pieces. I wrapped it tightly with a couple of lovely pieces of stash fabric. I kept it neutral so that I could highlight my project on it.

I then pinned up the pattern envelope, sewing instructions sheet, all the findings, my tape measure, the smaller cut pattern/fabric pieces, my tailors chalk and seam ripper. I spend way too much time looking for these things as I fuddle my way through most clothing construction.

It is a great way to keep all the bits of the project at arms length and eye level. I had an idea for an improvement though; I am making an arrow "you are here pin" to pin on the instructions too... Because I accidentally read the wrong instructions for the other "view " of the blouse I was making and did an un-necessary facing. Argh.

Thank goodness the extra seam ripper is pinned to the board.

And just in case you were afraid it was all business here at Abode de la Betty:

Snail of Wee Wonderfuls.. for my All Handmade Holidays this year. All wool felt, Heather Bailey fabrics and shocking pink antennae hat. Hopefully a young lady I know will like her a lot.
I think, for now, her name will be Astrid.

Had a Happy Week

Well, I am having a run-away mom girl weekend with my best friend from college this weekend but wanted to do a bit of a weekly recap.

I think that Very soon I am going to try and do themed posts.

You know:
Made it Myself Monday
Tutorial Tuesday
WIP Wednesday
Thrift Shop Thursday
Fashion Friday

Or something less nauseatingly alliterated.
or not.

But back to the recap of The Week That Was:

Very decent Thrift-shopping:

• The 4 cup pyrex measuring cup... I only had the two cup.
• 5 mini fluted pyrex pie plates. These are fantastic. I will use them all the time!
• Handy dandy potato ricer/fruit press: appears to be vintage but unused, cute and handy.
• Nice vintage robe pattern: maybe a holiday item for Mr. Bitter.
• Red beads and a black patent leather frame handbag.

The table cloth was from a previous thrift-venture but it pulled the look together.

I think it is funny how what you buy from the thrift store usually has something to say about you current obsessions. Lately I have been cooking about a thousand times more interesting and complicated meals. Hence the small dishes and huge measuring cup.
But Betty why are you cooking so much more? Why, when there is sewing and embroidering calling out to be done? Why?

The CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Box. It is like an Organic Veggie Subscription.

This is a pic of some of the stuff we got this week.

Last week I made: fresh tomato soup, pumpkin bread from fresh roasted pumpkin, butternut squash soup, cornbread, eggplant dip and sauteed shrimp, margaritas, pita croutons for a salad made with mint and feta cheese, blue cheese-cranberry-pecan salad, apple crisp, pumpkin bread caramel sundaes, gingered lemon drops ( The cocktail, mind you.), tuna casserole with green beans, ceasar salad,

and tonight we will have almond crusted local salmon with creamy leek sauce, scalloped sweet potatoes with fennel, and mixed baby greens with pumpkin seeds and apple chunks.

Normally its just: pasta, burritos, pasta, grilled fish, soup, pasta.. and maybe an omelette.

I am going to have to find a happy medium someday because my craft time has been pretty sparse.. and the huge amount of dirty dishes.. aye-aye!

but for now we are fat and happy living off the CSA Box.

Weekly Gratuitous kitten photo:

Well, off I go to take my big orange cat to the vet. He hurt his paw trying to escape from this little terror.

Maybe I will get a chance to finish my New Vintage Shirt before I hit the road.
Well, a girl can dream, can't she?

Just a Little Piece of a Bigger Puzzle

I just wanted to do a little something for Blog Action Day..

This is my creative reuse for some found objects that makes a oft icky reuse situation pretty easy.
I am not a natural born fan of the plastic lunch bag reuse cause. Mostly because they seemed like a huge hassle to get washed and dried. It seemed like they never came out very well. But clearly they can be reused.
For the last couple of years I have used a homemade "bag dryer" and the chore is a lot more palatable. The bags smell okay, get dry although they lose some new plastic luster (and who needs that really?), they are generally pleasant.

I use an old glass flower-frog.. These bobbles are often found in the flea market/thrift store/garage sale arenas... and some wooden chopsticks to make a dryer for our plastic lunch bags.

I just wash them with dish soap and water and dry them, thusly.
Ta Dah!



How long can you make one box of lunch bags last? A whole school year?

Every bit helps.

What to Do with Your Weekend Flotsam and Jetsom

(please click to enlarge.. bigger is better for these!)

These pieces are by a local Santa Cruz artist, Rocky Wagers from a show he had at the Felix Kulpa gallery where my son used to take guitar lessons. (We miss our guitar teacher, Isaac. We hope he comes back to town. If anyone is nearby, and has a recommendation for another guitar teacher.. we are interested!)

The artist owns one of the local Antique Stuff stores, "Mr. Goodies"(my personal fave), so presumably has access to a lot of super fabulous semi-broken random articles, which he puts together in amusing ways.

This one is called the Garden Party. I must have the invitation around here somewhere. They look like my friends!

Anyway, they reminded me of the impending Spooky Holiday and I though you might enjoy.







I leave you with this..
Maybe, if properly sorted, there is no real trash after all.


Now off I go to play in San Francisco with my son, all freshly 12 years old.
Hurray.

You Say it's Your Birthday! It's my birthday too, yeah!

Well the real day has come and gone, the actual birthday.. that is. It was the 9th. Same as John Lennon's. Imagine. Sister Sarah ( one down the line from me..) shares Sir Paul McCartney's birthday. This coincidence so amuses me that I have likely mentioned it on the pages of this blog previously. The personalities fit us well too. She is cute and less controversial than I am.

So on the big day:

• Jake got his new "grill" going.. red and green.. He will switch to orange and black for the December fitting. Very amusing.
  
• I made myself a fantastic chocolate cake from scratch, recipe off the back of the Hershey's can is highly recommended.
  
• and my lovin' husband got me the coolest camera.. Yup.. My first big girl camera. Lots to learn. Canon Rebel ( good name, eh?) EOS XTI.
  

Let's check this thing out:
Picture of the bead light pull (5 shots to get this one, checking the settings and all):


And one Jake got of the light pull's new part time job as cat toy. (Yes, I let him play with my new goodie. I am trying desperately to be a better sharer. It is not easy. But truly he is a great photographer... better than me.)



Grill documentation:

I am sorry.. how cute is that face? Good ol' tinsel teeth. Poor critter.

Photography is fun! i am going to do lots of practice. I have taken 400 pictures in the last 3 days. I love digital. Love It.

And I have been crafting. Really. I am actually working through the Guilt List and have started on an all Handmade Holiday for this year. I had hoped to finish my guilt list before my birthday (old business over, new year=new business ... but I still have 4 people on there.) I will post wip pics if I can't force myself to actually complete anything..

And speaking of old business:

Robiewakenobie.. you get the ring!! But, as usual, Blogger will only let me know you live in Lexington. So, email me, lady!

And Clair in England: You get a birthday goodie too. So you email me too and I will send a surprise... That hopefull will chase your postal blues away.

More Cool stuff coming soon. But for now, I need to run!

The Champagne Bucket Challenge

My Mother in Law had two champagne buckets!Lovely silver, very classically ornate, totally too huge to store in a normal sized house.

She asked me what she should do with them. And this is what I suggested. She said "Will you take one of them?" and I did.
Basically I think what makes this work is the juxtaposition of the modern looking succulent container garden with the classic bucket. It works best in our cabin-y house. I love the tarnish. But if you are a more straightforwardly "feminine" decorator, a bushy flowering plant would be great too.

It is always interesting to come up with ways to use "heirlooms" or even cool thrifted items in ways they were not intended. It is my favorite reason for scouring the home mags. If you have some cool reuse ideas ... please do share!

Here is what I did with the bucket:

Just:

• fill the bottom of the bucket with wadded paper to support the pot.
• line the bucket with a plastic bag to protect the bucket
• insert a plant in a pot just barely smaller than the bucket and tuck in the plastic bag.

tah-dah!

Now the birthday season ring giveaway:
This is not for the twiggy of finger. It is a size 8 or maybe a teeny bit bigger.
It is a handblown glass cocktail ring made by artist Karen Carston.. currently residing in Seattle. It is really one of my favorite things ( I have a couple of these that I wear all the time.)
This one is a bit too big for me and has languished in the jewelry box. It needs a home where it will be worn!
Leave me a comment and I will draw a name on Monday.
I love this ring .. it looks like an ocean wave.


Gratuitous Kitten photo...Because I am obsessed with the guy.

And Up Came her Head and it was Tuesday Already.

Tuesday! (email me, Tuesday! .. Blogger is providing me zero info on you, mystery lady.)
You are the shoe winner! (Just to clarify: I bought them (the only pair, on sale) hoping my feet would suddenly be smaller and it sadly never happened.. And they were never ever worn.. But hurrah for a second chance!)

Kirsten Schueler will also get a present because she has the same birthday as my son..
She was the first to comment ... And I like that about her.

Well, I spent the weekend with a bit of a migraine on Saturday (indulged much? hmmm..) and the last crafty thing I did was make some "slightly bigger than change purses" from the photo tutorial on Practically Necessary by Kerry.






Not only is Kerry just a real fashionable member of the New Vintage Wardrobe crew.. in her bike riding apron ensembles.. She makes the cutest hats anywhere too. Another birthday treat for me? Stay tuned on that one for sure!

The pouches are a really great way for me to make something cool and practical with some of my Handprinted Fabric Swap fabric that I got from Micha over at Baking with Medusa. I am making cool pouches to hold a little bit of embroidery gear or a tiny felt animal that needs hand-stitching.( I like to have a porta-craft or two at the ready, as I am spending a great deal of time in the offices of expensive dental professionals these days. My darling son gets his braces on in 7 days...... duh da duh! Just 3 days before HIS birthday.. wah wah wah.)

But back to Micha. She has a new blog project that I just LOVE. Handmade Family. Check it out. I am tearing through the old photos to find something to send her. I must have a zillion things, back from mom and grandma's crafty days of yore.

And speaking of love.. Meet Milo.





We got him from the "pound" on Sunday. Critters aren't "presents" so I won't call him that.. but I have to say this wild little guy makes every morning a party... so hence, another celebratory event in our Birthday Season.
He flung himself at the bars of his little cage and begged us to please pick him. He was very convincing. And we are all head over heels with Captain Charisma.

OOH.. More give aways coming up:
A fantastic handblown glass cocktail ring by artist Karen Carston.. runs really big. size 8, I think.
Photos coming soon.