Saturday, April 10, 2010

Mimi's Gift

My Munchkin's Mimi (and my Mother-in-Law) will be celebrating her birthday today at our house. I found a fastastic antique egg scale for her on Ebay and to go with it I made a few things. The wreath above, for one. Here it is in the making:
It was just a plain wicker wreath I found at Goodwill for .99 but I think the yarn turned it into to something a little more stylish. I used beige homespun yarn I found at a lawn sale this past summer and wrapped it nice and tight. Then I made some little cotton flowers to adorn the wreath. The bead in the center of the flowers is a leftover one from my Bead Bling post this past December. Clink the link if you'd like a tutorial on how to make the beads. :-) Here are the flowers being assembled:
I just used some embroidery thread of a similar color and stitched the strip of cotton together (with the bead in the middle) and then sewed it onto the wreath. Moving on!! Here is the egg scale:
I love it. Basically, I love any old farm antique. They have so much character and they are always so well-loved. And, well-used. I made the egg out of sculpey and painted it with acrylics based on a image of a Murre's egg from the book, Eggs by Marilyn Singer. 

To buy the book click here. There are some *really* gorgeous illustrations in this book and a lot of great information too. For instance, did you know that the Murre egg is shaped more tapered than the regular egg so that it will roll in a circle (and not right of the cliff, where all the Murre's nest)??
Anywho. I made a little stamped card using cotton paper and some stamps I found at, you guessed it, Goodwill. Most people shop there for clothes.....I go there for CRAFTS. :-)

All in all, I thought the present turned out pretty nice. I love making gifts for people!!



Punkin Seed Productions
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Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Iris Folding

 This is Katahdin. He was one of the first cards I ever made using Iris Folding. He was also my first cat. A big all-outdoor cat who would eat squirrels (except the tails....because really, who would eat a tail when you can have raw entrails?!?!). I would find big, grey squirrel tails from time to time on the lawn. I never really understood him. But, I knew enough to keep him far away from my Munchkin because, seriously, he tended to Stalk and (obviously) he had an appetite. He ran away this past fall, and I wouldn't be surprised if he had set up his own Squirrel burger cafe somewhere out in the woods behind our house.
I digress: Iris Folding is a craft that on the surface appears to be quite complicated, but when you actually give it a try you realize how very simple it is in reality.  I found this great site with a basic tutorial and free templates here .
For my Munchkins first birthday I made this card:
It's really a lot of fun to make these. All you need is an:
Exacto Knife
Cardstock
Decorative paper (origami paper works well, too) 
Tape 
Template (you can make your own easily enough)

For instructions (with pictures) on how to do a basic template....which will give you an idea on how to do *any* template....click here.
Here is where you can find some free templates (in the center of the page there is a tab for Alphabet templates.....I can really imagine some fun children's room decorations coming out of those). There are some simplistic templates ones here.
Have FUN!! Happy CRAFTING!!

I joined these Linky Parties:
Creative Therapy
Make It Yours Day
Show Us What You're Workin' With
Whatever Goes Wednesday
We Did It Wednesday
Thirfty Thursday
Under $100 Linky Party
Get Your Craft On
Bring in the Spring Blog Party
Thursday's Treasures
Strut Your Stuff
Feature Yourself Friday
Look at Me I'm So Crafty
It's HodgePodge Friday
Frugalicious Friday
I'm a Creative Cat
Weekend Wrap Up Party
Saturday Nite Special
Flaunt It Friday
Check Me Out Saturday
Make It For Monday
Just Something I Whipped Up
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Monday, April 5, 2010

1949 Birth Announcement

Isn't this the cutest little Birth Announcement?!?! It belongs to my Mother-in-Law. She was born in 1949, a daughter of a pilot from WWII. I love those little goggles on the baby and the little Avaiator cap. 
The Announcement says:

THE ARRIVAL OF A NEW MODEL
Pilot
Co-pilot
Flight Captain Doc
Passenger
Weight____ lbs_____oz
Arrived on
INSPECTION INVITED

What a great Birth Announcement for an avid aviator. :-) This is a Hallmark. I thought maybe some of you might be interested in spinning your own idea off this card.
Here are the Linky Parties I joined up with.....check them out!!
Just Something I Whipped Up 
Making the World Cuter Monday 
Made By You Monday 
Market Yourself Monday 
Make Your Monday 
Make It For Moday 


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Saturday, April 3, 2010

A Tisket A Tasket

I
I've Made My Munchkin's Easter Basket!!!!
I've been dabbling in some very beginning basketry, and I thought I'd give coiled baskets a try. To really achieve a coiled design, you shouldn't be able to see reed/paper that form the coils, they should wrapped fully. But, as I started this project last night and didn't finish until three in the morning (can you say, **snore**) I decided to make the project a little more simple. I like the way it turned out. 
The flowers like it too. There were so many bee's in our garden this morning. I love to see honey bees. That's what my name, Melissa, means. :-)
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Friday, April 2, 2010

Easter Basketry

"I, a woman, have dropped the symbols of my sex, yarn, shuttle, basket, thread."
~Olympia Morata
I picked up most of what you dropped, Olympia.
I spent some time yesterday and today making some Easter baskets. I found a tutorial on weaving baskets out of paper and I thought, "Hmmm, I've got some marbelized paper to use up!!". So, I covered 3 pieces of paper with contact paper (for strength and waterproofing) and went to it. I think the colors meld well with the Spring feeling in the air. 70 degrees in Maine today!!
I thought I'd try it with some paper twist as well. It was lucky that my munchkin requested that I pretend to be Trusty from Lady and the Tramp....because I was growling up a storm for this basket. I just told her I'm a method actor. The paper twist was just way too easy to bend....and that made it harder to weave. But, still, I like the way it turned out:
Just don't look too closely. ;-) 
This bee couldn't help himself.
Enjoy this gorgeous weekend!!!!
Here are some places I linked this project too, check them out and be inspired!!
Feature Yourself Friday
Creative Cats
Spring Has Sprung
Get Your Craft On
Thursday's Treasures
Strut Your Stuff
Show And Tell
Weekend Wrap Up Party
Saturday Nite Special




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