I was perusing the many, many links at kootoyoo's My Creative Space and visited Crafty Ady. As I am wont to do, I scrolled through the previous posts on the site checking out the different projects and posts I miss in between My Creative Spaces. Ady posted about her version of the Hug Pillow, which she found here, at From an Igloo.
I love this version of immortalizing your children's handprints! My twist: saving the handprint templates, naming and dating them (i.e. John, age 5, 1/28/11) and later down the line, using them to create a quilt to show your children's growth. Knowing me, I'd probably start making the pillow, stop half way through and end up needing to make them into a quilt anyway. I can't tell you how many unfinished projects I have.
Happy Friday All!
Gayle
Friday, January 28, 2011
Frustration
After Wednesday night's thrill of finishing a beautiful project in a couple-a-few hours time, yesterday was quite disappointing and frustrating. This year I volunteered to help make costumes for The Keiki's (my 5 y.o. daughter) after school program's play/fundraiser. Well they gave me a pre-sewn shirt and asked me to sew elastic a few inches from the end of the sleeves. Easy-peasy right??? Oh, I was so wrong. After trying to do it the wrong way for a few hours, I finally realized that I needed to stretch the elastic over the fabric. Well that is easy said than done too. At least for me. So this weekend's project will be to somehow stretch the elastic and pin it and then sew it... Oy. Google here I come. If anyone has suggestions, please, please, please, let me know.
Thanks,
Gayle
Thanks,
Gayle
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Craft Bloggin Ettiquette
I just wanted to share this link, because as new blogger, I found it very helpful. I had posted a pic that inspired me without first contacting the original blogger to get permission. Luckily I just read this post at Design*Sponge and have taken the down the picture until I contact the owner of the picture and make sure it is ok. Thank you Design*Sponge!
My (Very First) Creative Space
Woohoo! My first Creative Space. I have been following kootoyoo and My Creative Space since last year and I finally get to link up (I hope).
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| The synthetic silk kimono fabric I got from Shibori bought, shipped and received in 5 days! It is about 14.5 iches wide and about 56 inches long. |
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| With the double sided plush fleece (from Fabric.com). |
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| This is the finished product. I cut a piece of fleece to match the Japanese fabric. Faced right sides together and pinned. I sewed 3 sides and the corners of the 4th side (leaving the center of the 4th side open). I turned right side out fixed my 4 corners. I pinned the opening closed with 1/4 or so hem. I top stitched the 4th side closed and top stiched 1/4 inch around. Voila! A (synthetic) silk and fleece wrap/scarf. |
It is a little short for a wrap and a little wide for a scarf, but I'm short (4'9") too. There are some minor imperfections, I hope to donate this to my daughter's after school program fund raiser. I hate to be prideful, but I have been patting myself on the back since last night (completed start to finish in 2.5 hours). My first saleable item (IMHO)! Etsy here I come (soon). For more Creative Spaces, visit kootoyoo.
Inspiration
I was just over at One Pretty Thing perusing her Jewelry Round-up and saw this link to Bugaboo, Mini Mr and Me. One of my big projects for Xmas was making magnets with these flat marbles and doing essentially the same thing that Kimberly is doing for her pendants and keychains. What a great idea!! I think I shall be adding this to my project list for gifts this year. I found an old picture of my family friends and I when wwere in high school and will make some key chains for them. Thanks Kimberly!
Finally a Post
As usual, I missed my own deadline to get this blog up and running. I had hoped to post a New Year's welcome, but western New Year's has come and gone. I am in time for the Lunar New Year, however, so I guess that's something.
Welcome to my little blog. I've tried to blog in the past and each time it has been short lived. This blog is a little different as I hope to record my travails in crafting and for the first time organized my craft projects for the next year or two. Again I am dreaming big and have about 20 projects on the list; some time sensitive, like the 3-D origami Swans for my brother-in-law's first anniversary, and some will be works in progress that will take at least a year if not more.
Inspiration
The inspiration for Insanity by Crafting label and blog came from last fall's dash to make Christmas presents. Every year I do the same thing: I find craft projects I want to make for gifts that seem so simple and easy. Then I blow the project out of proportion - ie I decide to craft in bulk - and what is essentially an easy project becomes quite the production and always, always, always takes me more time than expected. And by the middle of December I am practically hysterical by all the projects I have not yet finished - I am essentially driven insane by my craft dreams.
Last year, I found that projects I worked on could easily be saleable. I had made generic sets of glass magnets and gave them to my officemates. I made hand warmers/wrist pads (inspired by How Joyful with this post but with some minor tweaks for my poor sewing skills) filled with rice. But the project that really made me realize I could, even with my poor sewing skills and lack of meticulousness, produce a product that people might want to buy, was a brocade - fleece blanket. I found the idea at Joann.com and it called for some furry frills around the edges, which I opted not to do (in part because I wasn't sure I could and in part because I didn't like it). This truly was a simple project - 2 yards of brocade, 2 yards of fleece cut to size. Face right sides together, pin around, and sew three sides. Turn right side out. Pin 4th side and top stitch to finish. It turned out really well even with the little inperfections. I could create crafts that looked professional enough to sell - even if it drove me insane.
My general inspiration for crafts comes from my fellow bloggers and I hope to have a list of them on the site soon. Two of my favorites that I will mention here are Kristy of kootoyoo, who hosts a weekly round-up called My Creative Space, and One Pretty Thing, which finds some of the best crafts around and posts them daily with different themes, such as Valentine's Day or Christmas. I have many, many more blogs that have inspired me but I mention these because you get to see the work of many bloggers at one time. My Creative Space allows bloggers to link a post to kootoyoo to show off their current Creative Space. Sometimes that space is a picture of someone's current project or the general mess the crafting inevitable creates or whatever space the person feels they want to post. One Pretty Thing's round ups features links to themed projects and is a great way to easily find new inspiration.
All of the bloggers I follow inspire me with their ability to juggle life and crafting. I am constantly amazed how they can juggle family and kids and crafting enough to go to market.
Goals
My goals are to continue finding an outlet for my creativity, as little and provencial as it may be, work towards selling my creations, and to acknowledge those that have inspired my creations. I hope to publish pictures of my work and may be even do little tutorials. Mainly, I hope to continue to create personal and thoughtful gifts for my friends and family.
Welcome to my little blog. I hope you find it enjoyable.
Welcome to my little blog. I've tried to blog in the past and each time it has been short lived. This blog is a little different as I hope to record my travails in crafting and for the first time organized my craft projects for the next year or two. Again I am dreaming big and have about 20 projects on the list; some time sensitive, like the 3-D origami Swans for my brother-in-law's first anniversary, and some will be works in progress that will take at least a year if not more.
Inspiration
The inspiration for Insanity by Crafting label and blog came from last fall's dash to make Christmas presents. Every year I do the same thing: I find craft projects I want to make for gifts that seem so simple and easy. Then I blow the project out of proportion - ie I decide to craft in bulk - and what is essentially an easy project becomes quite the production and always, always, always takes me more time than expected. And by the middle of December I am practically hysterical by all the projects I have not yet finished - I am essentially driven insane by my craft dreams.
Last year, I found that projects I worked on could easily be saleable. I had made generic sets of glass magnets and gave them to my officemates. I made hand warmers/wrist pads (inspired by How Joyful with this post but with some minor tweaks for my poor sewing skills) filled with rice. But the project that really made me realize I could, even with my poor sewing skills and lack of meticulousness, produce a product that people might want to buy, was a brocade - fleece blanket. I found the idea at Joann.com and it called for some furry frills around the edges, which I opted not to do (in part because I wasn't sure I could and in part because I didn't like it). This truly was a simple project - 2 yards of brocade, 2 yards of fleece cut to size. Face right sides together, pin around, and sew three sides. Turn right side out. Pin 4th side and top stitch to finish. It turned out really well even with the little inperfections. I could create crafts that looked professional enough to sell - even if it drove me insane.
My general inspiration for crafts comes from my fellow bloggers and I hope to have a list of them on the site soon. Two of my favorites that I will mention here are Kristy of kootoyoo, who hosts a weekly round-up called My Creative Space, and One Pretty Thing, which finds some of the best crafts around and posts them daily with different themes, such as Valentine's Day or Christmas. I have many, many more blogs that have inspired me but I mention these because you get to see the work of many bloggers at one time. My Creative Space allows bloggers to link a post to kootoyoo to show off their current Creative Space. Sometimes that space is a picture of someone's current project or the general mess the crafting inevitable creates or whatever space the person feels they want to post. One Pretty Thing's round ups features links to themed projects and is a great way to easily find new inspiration.
All of the bloggers I follow inspire me with their ability to juggle life and crafting. I am constantly amazed how they can juggle family and kids and crafting enough to go to market.
Goals
My goals are to continue finding an outlet for my creativity, as little and provencial as it may be, work towards selling my creations, and to acknowledge those that have inspired my creations. I hope to publish pictures of my work and may be even do little tutorials. Mainly, I hope to continue to create personal and thoughtful gifts for my friends and family.
Welcome to my little blog. I hope you find it enjoyable.
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