Ditty Bags

Oh my goodness have I been busy!  I don't know how I was bitten by the sewing bug, but I've been stitching up a bunch of goodies.  This little Ditty Bag is the one that has me the most excited... and it's sooooooooo simple!

I think my excitement comes from learning how to print my creations on fabric.  I am no good at stenciling, stamping OR painting on fabric so I searched the web for instructions on how to print my creations with my ink jet printer.  I was elated to find information from hp (Hewlett Packard) as I have a hp Photosmart ink jet printer.  The following is how I did it, which isn't exactly what I learned here.

You start by cutting freezer paper into 8.5 x 11 sheets, obviously the same size as a standard sheet of paper that will fit in the printer.

Then you take a piece of COTTON material that you've ironed nice and smooth  - on the cotton setting, and don't use steam when you iron it.  Lay the freezer paper on the material and cut the material a little larger than 8.5 x 11.  You definitely do not want your piece of fabric smaller than your sheet of freezer paper.

Lay the freezer paper on the ironing board plastic side up.

Lay your piece of fabric on top of the freezer paper, right side of material face up.

Iron to fuse the fabric to the paper.

Flip over and iron the paper side to give it good adhesion.

Now it's time to trim the extra fabric from all the sides.  You might be tempted to pull the loose strings on the edges....DON'T DO IT!  Just snip them off.  If you pull them, you'll end up with raveled loose edges on your paper that could damage your printer.

The next step calls for an ink fixative.  You can purchase such products, but since I live in the middle of nowhere I have to improvise if I want to get anything accomplished.

I don't think you'll be surprised to learn I used Mod Podge spray sealer (matte finish) instead of traveling 90 miles to find an ink fixative.  Oh how I love Mod Podge!  Just a light spray twice over works just fine and only takes a few short minutes to dry.  The corners curled a bit, but I had an easy solution for that too...

When dry, load it in your printer according to printer specific directions to make sure your print comes out on the fabric, not the paper.  For mine, I laid it fabric side down.  It's also a good idea not to have any other paper in the printer paper tray.

Here's a screen shot of how I laid out my creation in Print Shop.  The design is centered horizontally with vertical margins about 4.5 inches from the top and 1.5 inches from the bottom.

I set the print quality on "Best" and tweaked the ink volume (in advanced settings) from the default setting to reduce the amount of ink saturation.  I don't know if messing with the ink volume is necessary.  I did it because I didn't want it a deep black.  I wanted the finished project NOT to look brand new.

(The default setting is halfway between "Light" and "Heavy".  I slid it to the left so it was half way between "Light" and the default setting.

And here's how it comes out - Beautiful!

Peel the paper from the fabric and you're done!  Well, you're done printing any way.  The rest of this story is about how I sewed it together.  CAUTION:  I AM NOT A SEAMSTRESS and probably did things the hard way, but hey, it worked!

After cutting another 8.5 x 11 piece of fabric for the back, I pressed all of the edges about 1/8" from the outside.  Then I zig-zagged all the way around all the edges.

Then I folded and pressed about 1.5" from the top of the pieces...laying the fabric right side down on the ironing board.  

I pinned the pieces together (rights sides together) and marked - with disappearing ink : ) - the spots where I needed to stop in order to leave an opening for the drawstring.  I sewed as close as possible (for this crooked sewer) to the zig-zagged seams.  Once the sides were all sewed up, I opened up the top and sewed two seams all the way around the top for the drawstring.

Then it was a simple matter of turning it right-side-out and stringing the drawstring ribbon through the openings.

I was real, REAL pleased with the finished product : )

It measures approximately 8.5" tall by 7" wide.

I might add that I have more designs lying in wait to be created.  You see, the one pictured above is all about being a perfect little gift for my granddaughter.  I found an old picture that somewhat resembles Marlee in an antique sort of way and made up a business name (had to include something about a crow, of course : ) and I placed that fictitious business in "Marlee, Iowa".  Here's a peek at the graphic for her brother... it's from "Nolan", Iowa.

 

And there's more - when I get them finished - for Ethan, Iowa, Chandler, Iowa and Lauren, Iowa : )

But right now, Grandma needs a nap.

Linking up with all the other cool crafters at:

The Trendy Treehouse

Sunday Showcase Party

(Thanks for much for the feature Stephanie!)

Funky Junk's Saturday Night Special

Enjoy!

Halloween Trickery

My husband made the mistake of leaving me home alone last weekend while he went to Kansas City with his buddies.  I didn't want to go with him or anything.  Believe me, I was happy for the no cooking, do what I want, snore-free nights his little trip awarded : )  His mistake was not being around to save the surroundings to which he has become accustomed.

It's Halloween and a girl just has to have a little fun, right?

The first thing I did was pull this $3 portrait I got at Dollar General from the closet.



I was attracted to it because in a maybe-it's-an-ancestor sort of way, this guy kinda looks like Glen.

I also went to Wal-Mart and spent a whopping $79 on a Brother sewing machine and made a couple of stockings to hang on the mantle.  It took me longer to figure out how to thread the dang thing than it did to make the stockings - and I even read the directions!

I have to confess my reason for making these Hallowing stockings.  For the first time in 34 years, I do not have any little kids to take trick-or-treating Halloween night and I want candy!  I figured maybe the Great Pumpkin would visit us Halloween Eve.  (I'll let you know how that turns out)

While I had the burlap out, I made a couple little pumpkins.

Then I got brave.  

I took down the $300 dog picture Glen purchased at an auction and put up what I thought looked much better hanging above the mantle : )

Let me tell you, the chain from one of my outdoor hanging plants worked GREAT for a broom holder!  A couple of old wood sewing thread spools Gorilla glued to a little pine crate serve very well for a place to hang the stockings.

While I was at it, I carelessly wrapped my $1 Dollar General feather boa around an old grapevine wreath that was headed for the trash can.  I needed a place to hang the beauty, so I swiped the master's fireplace tool stand and exclaimed, "this is good!"

I was also able to finish my second set of Halloween blocks (can you believe my mom HAD to have the first ones!?  Who can say no to Mom??) - see tutorial how to make them here.

But before I knew it, and before I was done with my Halloween display (it still isn't done) Glen came home and as you can about imagine....

 

He was a bit shocked to discover that I know how to sew : )

Have a great rest of the week!

Halloween Blocks

Whew!  These took a while to get from brain to blog.  I'd like to say my family got in the way of progress on this project, but we all know better, don't we?  It's really the other way around.  I'll take family moments any day over my projects : )

Anyway, this project is not difficult at all, but family aside, it is time consuming.

I started by learning how to use a power saw to cut two-by-fours into blocks!  (Don't ask me what kind of saw it was, I haven't a clue.  The blade was huge and it made a lot of noise, but all I had to do was lower the blade and keep my fingers out of the way).  By the way, did you know two-by-fours aren't really two-by-fours?

They're actually 1 1/2 x 3 1/2's.  Leave it to a man to make lumber so confusing.  Instead of 4" x 5" blocks, which was logical in my mind, they ended up 3 1/2" x 4 1/2".   After I cut them, I sanded all sides with my handy dandy Black & Decker Random Orbital Sander (LOVE that thing!) and stained all sides of the blocks except the side I would use for the pictures.

I made the pictures by "digitally dinking around"  see that post here.  I must admit, it did take a few evenings to come up with nine Halloweenish designs, but I loved doing it!  I printed them out on card stock with my ink jet printer - not a user friendly format for Mod Podge unless you want somewhat of a smeared antique look - but that problem is easily solved with another great Mod Podge product:

I was able to easily and porportionally resize my graphic designs by saving them in PNG format so I could put 4 pictures on one sheet of paper.  Before I cut them out, I sprayed the sheets with Mod Podge Clear Acrylic Sealer.  It water proofs and smudge proofs!  (Using my color laser printer was another option, but I prefer the clarity I get with the ink jet.)

I might add that I let the stain and the sprayed sheets of graphics dry for a couple of days so I wouldn't run into any moisture problems when it came time to Mod Podge the pictures onto the wood.  As soon as they were secure on the wood, I brushed Mod Podge on the front of the them as well.

This is what they looked like after everything was dry:

As you can tell, the pictures are a bit larger than the blocks.  Not to worry.  That was taken care of in the next step...

sanding all the edges to give them a little antiquish character.  I used a very fine grit sponge sanding block.  It wasn't difficult at all.  I did use scissors to trim off the excess to make the sanding easier.  Do make sure the Mod Podge is completely dry before sanding or you will have a mess and be very mad. (Fortunately I remembered that step and didn't have to get all bent out of shape.)  And that is the end of the story.

Unless you can't decide how to stack 'em.

So, you'll have to let me know what you think.  I think they're something to crow about!  I like them and I have two more sets of blocks ready to make some more.  I'm toying with the idea of leaving the letters off and just having individual scenes that could be used in various places for Halloween decorating.  Or, using 1/2" thick blocks and attaching them to a board so it can be hung on the wall.   Hmm.

It's past my bedtime, so I'll be linking these up soon!

Someday Crafts looks like a good place to start linking : )

It's almost Thursday, so I'll link up over at
Somewhat Simple's Strut Your Stuff Thursday too!

For Friday, it's a fun party at
Fingerprints on the Fridge!

Spotlight Yourself at its so very Cheri

looks like "the" place to be too! 

And

Saturday is the place to share at:
Funky Junk Saturday Night Special 

Under the Table and Dreaming

is a fine way to wrap up a week's worth of parties.

Check out the great Halloween projects at:
While He Was Napping!

Do be sure to visit all these great blogs for inspiration! 

Digitally Dinking Around

Lately I've been attracted to altered art and just had to give it a try.  I have to thank Jane over at Mamie Jane's for getting me all fired about all of this stuff because her creations are cool!  Here's an example:

As a result, I've spent the past two weeks dinking around with a few designs while learning how to alter things digitally with a program you can download for free:  GNU Image Manipulation Program which you can find here:   www.gimp. org 

Boy, have I had fun!

The ones above are just prints - no fancy stuff, but I made a couple others where I actually did some cutting and pasting...

Go ahead, click to enlarge this one... it's a permission slip - lol.

I stained/painted some scrap trim wood from our window replacement project and sandwiched the cut outs between them so they would stand and it works very well.  I think I got that idea from Mamie Jane's too.

I found many awesome images at these great places:  Carol Anne's Boutique and Marie's Freebies   and    Primarily Primitives.  (Many thanks for their generosity!)  I also used graphics from my PrintShop program.

I just couldn't quit making things, so I made a print for my sister who recently bought her very first home:

 Here's a better view of the print

 I also sold 4 copies of this one already

(without even trying)!

So, what do you think of my new obsession??

I've hooked these up over at:
Sunday Showcase at
Under The Table and Dreaming

and

Funky Junk Interiors
Saturday Night Special

Along Came a Spider

and cross it with something like this...

Well, first I got a headache from trying to think too hard about how to make a spider web.  Then I just decided to wing it with some wire.

Not too bad, even though I didn't pay nearly as much attention to detail as Mr. Garden Spider did with his.  Oh well, it wasn't an official competition.  I conceded to his design, but I let him know mine was going to last a lot longer than his : )

I knew right away what I could make spider legs from, but the body of the spider proved a bit more challenging.  Several trips rummaging through the sheds finally paid off.  I never dreamed I'd be so happy someone actually saved a totally-worthless-for-its-original-purpose metal float.  (I don't think it came from a toilet because it's pretty big)

But before I go any further, I must advise you NOT to use one of these when cutting up an old rake to use for spider legs...

Boy did I get a lecture when I said, "Honey, will you help me cut this rake?  I'm not strong enough to cut it."  The censored version of the response I received went something like this:  "That's not a tin snip, that's MY NEW GARDEN PRUNER!!!!   I sure hope you didn't try to cut metal with it..."

Oops.

For your information and continued chances of staying married, here is a picture of a tin snip:

and I must add using the proper tools makes life much easier in so many ways : )  After bending the legs and poking slits in the float, it was instant spider.

Ethan was happy with my eternal spider, so I knew all the trouble was worth it!

"Grandma, this spider doesn't scare me!"

He really isn't a very scary spider, but he does wiggle a bit when there's a breeze and the kittens are a bit curious about his presence on "their" farm, it's an interesting piece for sure.

I'm thinkin' this is a nice little Halloweenish decoration for our place and I'm also betting it will make a nice little trellis come next spring, don't you?

Goodbye Lovelies

Parting is such sweet sorrow.  I took time off from blogging to enjoy the wonders of summer...

The blooms have faded, the leaves are starting to fall and things are going to be different around here in many ways.

So while the beauty lasted, I enjoyed summer in its prime.

We had a great time with Glen's family...

Siblings and cousins came from all over... Minnesota, Missouri, South Dakota, North Carolina, Montana.  The only negative was the weather.  Hot and windy.  Not exactly conducive to picture taking, but the heat didn't seem to bother the kids.

Dirt and Tonka Trucks are are great fun on a hot Iowa afternoon... as long as there is plenty of shade for Grandma and her watchful eye!

We missed them as soon as they pulled out of the drive and wished the weekend could have lasted longer.

We no sooner said Goodbye to Glen's family and we learned our resident comedians would be moving too.
Boy am I going to miss these goofy guys.

They aren't moving terribly far away, just an hour or so, but golly, that seems like forever away, just like Nolan and Marlee, who also moved into a new house by the way. 

And so it is in Iowa.  We say goodbye to all things familiar with every changing season, and hello to things new and interesting all over again. 

So, I'll look to all those interesting things to come up with projects to drive Glen crazy and enjoy the beauty of autumn and welcome the harvest.