Vintage Melmac + Fabric = CUTE!

I hit upon a cute and simple project this week. Eureka! I had some vintage Melmac cups around the house from my obsessive trips to the thrift stores during my maternity leave. I decided they needed to be "upcycled" into something useful, as our house simply doesn't need any more teacups.

To make these adorable pincushions, simply cut a circle out of fabric roughly the size of a dinner plate. Sew around the outer edge of the circle to gather it up. Stuff the inside with some batting and pull your stitch tight, sewing up the hole so your batting doesn't escape. It doesn't need to be pretty because it won't show. Then get some heavy duty craft glue and paint the inside of your cup with glue. Smoosh your little puffball cushion inside and wait. I glued my adornments on, but if you wanted to sew on vintage buttons or ribbons, just do so while you still have a nice, flat round piece of fabric (before you sew around the perimeter).

I think these will make fun little throw-ins at Christmas this year. I can't wait to whip up a whole bunch for my friends and my Etsy shop! Now to find the time...!

What's in the Mailbox?

Yesterday, this adorable crocheted Penguin bib arrived, handmade with love care of my friend Meggan back in Minnesota. And for mama, a coaster featuring my BF Matt Damon. So hunky. Now I can rest my baby bottles in style on his boy-next-door-good-looking face. Yay!! Here's to handmade gifts from good friends. I can't think of anything more fun to get in the mail.

Thanks, Meggan!

Secret Keeping and Gift Making

My two-year-old is a genius. It's true. Yes, I know, all us mothers say that about our children. But this time I really mean it. My toddler has learned to pin and iron and sew. Carefully, carefully supervised, of course, but nonetheless, he made his daddy's birthday present, then helped me wrap it up. And the best news -- he loved every minute. In fact, now he sometimes puts down the Thomas the Tank Engine and says he wants to do some "ironuning" and pinning. Here's some suggestions for including your toddler in your crafting projects.

My first word of advice is to choose a project that's small and has lots of short steps -- sitting around pinning for 10 minutes is really just going to end up with someone getting a pin stuck in their foot, or nose, or whatever. Then, get some sort of kid-proof container for the pins. I liked the fact that the pins were not being opened and closed (and landing on the carpet, only to be found again by bare feet) without me controlling it. Again, who wants a pin in their eye? I also recommend not involving the toddler in the cutting at all. Unless you have some child's safety scissors, I just don't think you, your project, or your child's clothes/appendages will survive it.

With the ironing, I suppose it depends on how well your toddler understands hot and don't touch. As I mentioned previously, my son is a genius, so he understands them perfectly. Ahem. Almost. What I did was set the iron on the lowest heat I could to make it work. Then, I explained in as graphic a detail I could that, if he touched the hot part, he would get a really, really bad owie. Here is where you can call on your long-suppressed desire to be an actress and mock-touch the hot part of the iron and recoil in horror. I also adjusted the ironing board so it was at the perfect toddler hight. Then, I showed him how to take the handle and run it up and down the ironing board. He did manage to touch the hot part of the iron for a split second, and more so for dramatic effect than anything else, I then rushed him downstairs to put ice on it. He then definitely got the message that the hot part is hot, and not to touch it!

For sewing, I set the little guy on my lap while I sewed. I also explained that he must not put his fingers by the needle or move any buttons (which, of course, was not a direction that was completely followed). I did give him two "jobs," which seemed to be enough to keep his interest. As a side note, if you have not yet started giving your tot jobs, try it. Our kid thinks it's the coolest thing ever if it's called a job. His jobs were to remove the pins as I sewed and put them back in the box and, upon command, push the reverse button to double back on the stiches.

When the project was done, I let him wrap it and choose a bow. He's been carrying the present around from room to room since yesterday when we finished it. Obviously he's extremely proud of his work, and cannot possibly wait two weeks until daddy's birthday.

Next up: toddlers learn needle felting. AHhhhhhhh...maybe I'll hold off on that.

Know any other great projects for kids?

Let the Christmas Crafting Begin! The Not Ugly Trash Bag

Wednesday (a day off!!! woot!) marked the first day of the Christmas shopping season for me. I loaded up wee Pumpkin and headed out to K-Mart to pick up a few of the Martha Stewart ornaments, first. I also picked up some towels to use for a One Yard Wonders towel embellishment project. This took all of about 7 minutes. The bulk of our time was spent looking at the animatronic lighted reindeer and Christmas trees on display and sitting on the firetruck ride outside the door (darn, mommy doesn't have any quarters...).

Of course when I have these very rare opportunities to spend time alone with my kiddo, I use it as a "teaching time" to learn something new. So what's to learn at K-Mart, you ask? Plenty of things, such as "never wear your pants that tight if you look like that" but that's a lesson for another day. I took on the task of teaching my two-year-old about giving gifts (versus receiving them). [As an aside, he calls them "pressets" and "supuprises" and every time I hear it I smile.] I let him select some ornaments for his cousins and he did really well until later in the day when we were at the sporting goods store. He found a nice, little, orange shovel "for his cousins" that he has taken to bed with him every night since. Hmm, guess he's not quite ready to fully appreciate gift giving. But we tried.

But, anyway. On to the crafting! I spent a few hours working on the Not Ugly Trash Bag from One Yard Wonders for a certain someone on my Christmas list. I'm pretty sure she doesn't read my blog, so I'm safe in sharing with you. It was an absolute cinch to put together and it just made me want to try more projects from the book. So very soon I'll be getting started on another one. And maybe this year I'll actually reach my goals for Christmas crafting.

What's on your agenda for this year? Thinking big? Scaling down?

Birthday Shirt WIP

When my little pumpkin turned one, it felt like such a major milestone. Sometimes it was hard to believe we all survived. I wanted to make sure it was absolutely the most perfect day ever...like moreso than I ever cared about my wedding being perfect. His first birthday was pretty perfect, with everyone in our families and all of our friends there to see him smash cake in his face, open a ton of really awesome gifts and just generally be showered with love.

This year, I've come down from that cloud a little. Of course I do want the wee one to have a fantastic birthday. But, I'm not quite as obsessed. I did briefly consider renting a bounce house for the party, but I think I came to my senses. Ideally, we'd rent him an ATV or a Bobcat he could sit in, but that just seems a little overboard.

I have been working on a little crafty project for the birthday. It's a really cool car shirt using a vintage boy's button up short sleeve shirt pattern my mom gave me. I think it's turning out great. I just have to find some buttons for it. Any recommendations? I'm thinking making-versus-buying the kiddo's birthday gifts will make a pretty good tradition if I can keep it up. My sister does it with her kids and it's always really special. She and her hubby have made a little bench, a play theater, all kinds of cool things...

Any brilliant ideas on fun activities for a 2-year-old birthday? I mean, aside from a bounce house...

Here's a Holiday Gift Suggestion: Boob Slippers!

If you're under 18, avert your eyes.




Some of you might remember that I bought these slippers back in September from Piddies. In said post, I commented that [ha ha] Mr. Pumpkin had loved them, even asking if they had any designs for guys, like with boobs on them [ha ha]. Well [ha ha], the good people at Piddies thought that was pretty darn funny [ha ha] and we got to talking and decided [ha ha] that it must be done.

Several email messages later, after talking through boob and fleece coloration [ha ha] and nearly wetting my pants hearing about the design process, involving product design advisors [conferring over drinks] and testers and such [ha ha], the final product arrived in my email box to review before shipment. They were wonderfully bulbous and perfectly perky. Perfect, I said! Just what the doctor ordered! These one-of-a-kind beauties must be mine! My own Piddies slippers on my feet, I shot the email back: send 'em my way!

I couldn't have been happier when the goods arrived. They came with their own pasties, also handmade I suspect by Piddies [devious genius] craftswoman herself. I was in complete boobtopia when I saw the bottoms: clever traction provided by "sitting ladies" painted in silver sparkly fabric paint on the bottom of each slipper. Genius!

I predict a new niche for Piddies. Ladies will be running over to the Piddies Etsy shop to buy these this holiday season. They are an absolute hysterical (yet functional, fuzzy and warm) gift. I'm pretty sure if you ask, she'll make you a pair, too. Don't give your guys a lame sweater this year, girls. Get him the gift of boobs.

EDITED: GUESS WHAT KIDS? PIDDIES OPENED UP A NEW SHOP CALLED NAUGHTYSOLES. CHECKIT!

Make It Yourself: Grilling Rubs to Give Away

I always love to make some edible gifts around the holidays. It gives me a nice break from sewing and knitting and such, and it's also a great option for the men on your list who really don't want another hat or scarf. My dad specifically asked for grill rubs this year, and I happily obliged. It's a really simple, but totally fun homemade gift you can make on a fairly small budget.

Here's what you'll need:
--Herbs and spices of various types from World Market/grocery store/etc.
--Spice jars with shaker/measurer lids (mine are from Ikea)
--Some kitchen twine
--Cardstock to print the labels
--Recipes; I made Dry Chimichurri Rub, Basic Barbeque Rub and Brisket Rub but there are tons of options out there
--A funnel is really helpful, but not required

I didn't find it too difficult to find most of these ingredients, but then again I wasn't super picky. I didn't have hickory smoked salt or savory, so I just made do with what I did have. I did use whole pepper and ground it in my coffee grinder. I also did use coarse sea salt and I think that will make a difference. After you mix the ingredients in a bowl, use a funnel to get them into the jars. Make sure you wash your mixing bowl after each recipe!

At first I tried to use stick on labels, but I hated that they didn't exactly form to the curvature of the jars. I realize that these round tags are probably a bit over the top size-wise, but I still think they look cute. If you'd like to use my designs, feel free to download the images here.
Just cut around the circles and hole punch them, and done! Instant handmade holiday gifts!

What handmade stuff are you making this year?

Martha Stewart Ornament Shopping

My grandma was a HUGE K-Mart fan back in the day. In fact, I have very fond memories of loitering there with her in wait for the much-anticipated loudspeaker announcement of the next big blue light special item. It usually went something like, "Attention K-Mart shoppers! For the next 20 minutes ladies plus size polyester Hanes underwear are 25% off! Head on over the Ladies Intimate Apparel to take 25% off today!" Off we'd rush, no matter how lame the sale item was, and stock up. Grandma Betty's philosophy was that a sale item was a must-buy, and some day you'd have a need for it. I guess that explained many a strange Christmas gift. But, I never really cared much, because I knew her secret.

My mom and I shopped there, too. I specifically remember these white tennis shoes my mom bought me there. It must have been in elementary school. They were so cool when they were bright white, but the faux leather got dirty and brown so fast and then they looked really gross. So we'd buy this shoe cleaner stuff there and try to polish them up. I think they might have been high tops with little "air vent" holes on the top. Boy, they were super ugly. But I know I went through several pairs of them, so they must have been stylish at the time. Or not.

Luckily, I tracked down a K-Mart store last weekend when I was really missing Grandma B. I thought it'd bring back memories to head over there and see what sort of deals they had going on. Much to my delight and amazement, Martha Stewart holiday stuff was on sale, so I scored big time. I left with about $50 worth of other random crap, too. I did Grandma proud.

Holiday Crafting Has BEGUN!

It's official! The holiday crafting has begun. Lately I've been loving the silhouette trend. Actually I've loved it for a LONG time. My parents had silhouette portraits of both my sister and I and I always thought they were cool (albeit a little cheesy). When I found a really great profile shot of one of my nieces (real name changed to protect the innocent), I knew it was my opportunity.

This project has been blogged in many varieties and mediums and final outcomes. I love this one from Inhabitots on making a custom silhouette tee of your kids. Also great is this one on Design*Sponge for making framed versions of custom silhouette art of your kids. I guess I'm a little late on my trendspotting, because back in 2007 Cookie Magazine had a write up about the silhouette trend and featured some awesome artists who will do the work for you (dog? cat? kid? couple? YES!). If you use Illustrator, you can even find a YouTube video on how to make a silhouette like in the iPod commercials. Wow.

I'm pretty lo-fi with my technology, so I used my old school Microsoft program to create a "cutout" of the image of my niece, then I selected a fill color (pink). Then I added an oval shape in the background and some text and done. Simple, but I think it turned out cute and my niece will think it's cool. I hope! Only 527 more gifts to go!