Category Archives: Pinterest

Crafting, Holiday, Pinterest, Quilting, Sewing

Special Birthday Stocking – 2023

So I ran across this quilt block that just meowed to be done into something special for someone special: Peeping Cats The block is super easy and the instructions are great even for first time quilters/piecers.

My coworker has 2 cats and she’s have a special birthday this year in December. So this just screamed “Make Me” when I saw it.

I haven’t done much crafting the past 4 or so months, so I sort of have to make up for that now, I guess.

So I set out to see what I have and what I need to do what was in my head.

I was seriously lacking in Christmas red – so I had to buy a yard of that, but I am sure I will use it somewhere else.

The other colors I need could be scraps since I was making 2 smallish cats. Just to make this a little more sweet, I did find out what her cats looked like. 

I got a pattern for a Christmas stocking from the web, actually I think I downloaded 5 or 6 – because I wasn’t sure what would work out the best. Then I started sewing, and ripping and sewing and ripping and sewing.

With no pattern to go by and just an idea in my head, this was going to be a process. I like having a plan, well I didn’t even have plan, I had a thought in my grey haired covered head. 

I made the Peeping Cats block – then took it apart to make it thinner to fit the stocking a bit better.  At first I was just going to make a flat – non-opened stocking, just to hang on her door. But I just really didn’t like that very much. So I disassembled that and put together the plaid lining which was in the original idea. I watched about a dozen different youTube instructionals about making stockings and combined them all to make what I did. It actually is so so cute, I almost want to just keep it, but I can’t.

Last year I had made some of the girls in the office simple table runners and I had some small pieces of fabric left over, that is where the cuff for this stocking came from – it actually matches her runner (I think 😀 ). The rest of the pieces that I used for the Peeping Cats blocks I pulled out of the scrap bins. 

It was a struggle, and frustrating at times, but I can honestly say it is one of the cutest things I have made in a long time.  As frustrating as it was at times it was also very satisfying when it was completed.

I believe the presentation is very important, here is how her gift will be wrapped and you can see that when you open the box it just looks like a read stocking with the cat fabric for the cuff. However, when she pulls it out and unrolls it she will the have a second surprise.

I do need to say that this is not “quilted” it is pieced however.   I was going to do some FMQ on it, but I got in such a groove when I was putting it together I whizzed right by that part. Probably because I was so distracted by the assembly of this stocking.  They eyes are some scrapbooking embellishments that I have had for years and year – nice to use something in my stash! The whiskers is cross-stitch thread.

And for a side note, not that it was planned this way, at all, it is actually the exact size that a bottle of wine would fit perfectly in it.

Merry Christmas everyone, may your holiday season be purrfect.

 

 

 

Pinterest, Wood Working Craft

The chips are stacked

I finally figured out how I wanted to finish these off. Not bad, if I do say so myself.
Don’t they look like huge cup cakes?

These weren’t very hard to do, if you have the right tools:

  1. We took 2 6″ round cedar posts
  2. Cut into 1 1/2″ slices – band saw (the post was too big for the chop saw)
  3. Rounded the edges – table router
  4. Painted 1 set of white and 1 set of red – paint both sides – paint, brushes
  5. Cut crown from a sponge and sponged the “King” one side only, sponge

Next I have to make the board, but I’m conflicted:

  • painted on the deck?
  • canvas weaved/sewn together?
  • 6″ patio blocks laid out, permanently in the lawn?
  • The board for this will be 48″ square, minimally

Garden, Pinterest

Decorative planters

I was looking for something new – a planter and I had seen an old water trough used at a friends house and I know I had a couple laying around here.

Low and behold, I had one ( I found 4, but this one is in the best condition).

We looked up how to build a reservoir in a flower pot and we came up with our own design – which I will post when I see how it worked out. I had ordered some flowers for a dance group fund raiser – so I took one of those pots apart and put it in the planter. Dang – this thing looks pretty good, even if I do say so myself.

Right now I’ve got it placed to cover up the electrical box, but I think I have to move it – the tree there is covering it too much. But I have to figure out how to move the dang thing – it’s got big cement bricks on the bottom and it’s half filled with dirt.

Pinterest, Signs

Barn Quilt – 2018

So far so good.

I fell in love with a quilt pattern, but I knew I didn’t have the drive to make it so I decided to do a new barn quilt for this year.

I was originally going to do the same detailed pattern but once I started it I thought about it and the barn quilt is seen from such a distance that something with that much detail would just get lost so, I simplified it a bit. But I’m just not 100% satisfied with it … or i’m just bored and still want to paint.

Crafting, Holiday, Pallet Projects, Pinterest

Yet Another Pallet Project

Well while the other pallet project was drying and the weather was so nice and I had a few pieces of pallet wood left, I decided to make a new decoration for our front step – my hubby just loves having to sweep snow around all the crap I load up on our steps for Holiday decorating.

It’s only about 4′ tall, not sure if I’m staining it or not, but it just turned out so cool.

Behind it we used the 2×4 from the pallet and it worked out so perfectly that it looks like a tree truck or tree stand at the bottom – so cool. 2 sizes of wood and the air gun/stapler and I was rocking.  This went together so quickly, I almost wanted to make another one – but I’m out of pallet wood now, so I can’t.

I am toying with painting it green, but not sold on it yet. A few lights and this will be AWESOME!!

 

Crafting, Pallet Projects, Pinterest, Signs

Another Pallet Wood Project

My Horoscope says “No new projects”, but finishing projects is highly recommended.

Well, my horoscope doesn’t know me then, cuz this chick is gonna craft in the holidays!!!

So I had a friend tag me a reminder of something she wanted for christmas last year and didn’t get and since I seem to have lots of free time on my hands this month, I decided to use up some of the stuff I have laying around and do the crafts that I love to do.  Creativity B-A-B-Y!

So I pulled out some of my pallet wood that I had torn apart a few weeks ago, and laid it out.  I then stained/painted some boards to give it some pizzaz.

I love, love, love how the wood took the paint/stain – it muted it nicely. Especially with the lettering done in white paint. It’s a big phrase so I feel it needed the color behind it – to pop out.

When cutting the stencils for something this big, you have to do it in pieces and because I’m cheap and want to use as much of the template material as possible so sometimes it’s not a straight forward process of just cutting the stencil, laying in on and painting. So the design doesn’t always come out exactly as you are expecting it to. But hey, I think it turned out great.

It’s a bit choppy on the letters, not crisp, but that’s because of the course texture of the wood. This pallet manufacturer Unaka Forest Products had even sanded it down after staining, but pallet wood is not known to be a real high quality of wood, now is it.

 

Crafting, Holiday, Pallet Projects, Pinterest

A Little Fall Decorating

SO my hubby bought me a new tool …. which I think he now regrets.

So since I had 3 pallets sitting around, I said why not – let’s party!!!!

I know they look crooked here, but they really aren’t.   One just extends farther than the other one.  As you can see once they got up on the barn.

He’s such a good sport.

Now to start planning for the day after Thanksgiving – how many pallets do I have left?

Shorter pumpkin is about 30″ wide, 36″ tall. The two combined are about 45″ across.

Crafting, Finished Tops, Pinterest, Quilting

HST Arrows – another pinterest project

So I snuck in some sewing time this past few weeks. I had to break it up but, this is such an easy pattern it could be done in one day or weekend for sure.

I am a “American Pickers” addict, it’s so romantic to go into those places and come out with ‘good stuff’ – the only thing better is ‘Flea Market Flip’ – we usually give our design ideas first then critique what the contestants did and then sit in awe at the prices they get for those thing – how romantic is that!!!!!

Anyway, I learned a term on Pickers lately – “Completest”

completest:  having all necessary parts, elements, or steps – in quilting terms: this is where you are obsessed and have to have the whole line of fabric – even if you don’t have any idea or plan for it.  I have come to realize that I am a completest! and to complicate it even worse, I am a purest. I cannot take a pattern and change even the colors – or I cannot image a pattern in a different color set.   I am not a doodler in the terms that I can sit and sketch things, I sketch words or phrases – not images.

So, any way, back to my mini project: I found this on Pinterest and total fell in love with it.

I had to find the exact fabric it was made in and this time it wasn’t out of production (you can’t imagine how many times that happens. Order it. There is no pattern exactly, she just tells you what you need for squares, then triangles then you put it together. But I had some alone time this weekend and I was able to get it put together. I am putting this on the top of my UFO pile to be quilted/finished – that pile is getting very tall, by the way.

Her directions are here, in her instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/p/BQnh3RfBp2B/

Here is mine and I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT.