The Power Went Out So I Went on Vacation

Dear Loyal Followers, I am sorry for this pitiful start to Craft Month. It seems something has come up at every turn! We got our power back on Monday night so we were able to sleep in our own (rock hard) Tempurpedic bed. And then on Tuesday we started our drive down to Asheville.

The way this was going to work out in my head was that I'd make all the crafts on the weekend, and then share them with you during the week. And then I couldn't make the crafts because my fingers were blue. But I want to do Craft Month. And since this is my Craft Month project, I decided I'd do 31 crafts and I'd show them to you when I could. So I went to Asheville and had a good-ish time (complicated story but a four day vacation where you spend three days driving is no sort of vacation at all). When we got back, it was to the realization that our power might be back but our internet was still out. And my Google phone doesn't play well with the Blogger app. Go figure.

So let me quit bitching and tell you about the four crafts I have for you today.

What's a birthday without a birthday card? I used my all-time favorite Stampin' Up! set, Flower Shop, with the matching punch. I paired it with a DSP I don't remember the name of (oops). Not sure if you can tell, but the green top is embossed with small dots.

For Day 3 of Birthday Week, I made a matching gift bag. I gave this to my sister for her (belated) birthday when I saw her Saturday. She liked the bag, but was a little disappointed she couldn't throw it out. (We were going to see the Peking Acrobats right after I gave this to her.) I love making gift bags.

Continuing with papercrafts, I made this cake topper. I had thought about adding "birthday" but  with a word so long, I wasn't sure I'd be able to do the engineering to get the "happy" to hang nicely. While photographing it, I did think that one could make each letter of birthday a separate pick (using toothpicks) and you could have those letters closer to the cake. You could then also use this for an anniversary cake or any other happy occasion!

The good part of taking a vacation where you drive three out four days is that you can get some stitching done! (When you're the passenger.) I was trying to come up with another craft for birthdays, and remembered this freebie from Erica Michaels for Rainbow Gallery threads. The pattern is 14 years old (and considering how little I remember these days, the fact I remembered a 14 year old pattern festering in my freebies file is a miracle. Although they do say you lose short term memory first!) but is also still on the web. You can find it here (see June).

I didn't use Rainbow Gallery threads for this; I used DMC. Here's my conversion:

• Flame: 3078
• Candles: 3042
• Chocolate: 840
• Bottom layer of cake: 316
• Top layer: 778
• Bottom icing swirl: white
• Top icing swirl: 316
• Stand: 3042 for one symbol and silver cable for the other
• beads: 00123 and one I stole from a Mill Hill Celtic Santa kit (watch me be nine beads short)

Okay two more Birthday Week crafts to photograph and tell you about. Then I'll turn to Valentine's Day. I hope to be caught up by the weekend, but that's all up to Verizon. And Skylar*.



*They say this isn't hitting Philly. But with my track record you can't be too sure!

Birthday Party Hats

I know I ended that last post, all, "I am a crafter, hear me roar! Nothing's gonna stop me." But it turns out sleeping in a house that is 49°F makes you really flapping cranky. And stoppable.

I couldn't bring myself to make anything on Sunday. I would have had to pack everything to bring somewhere else where there was heat and light and power and I couldn't. {Sad trombone.}

However, when I was planning craft month last year, I was also planning my 50th birthday party. And I made a craft for that day and was planning to show you in March. In the end, I know it was a craft I did 18 months ago, but it fits the birthday theme. And it is awesome.

Called "Party Hats for Grown Ups" they are super simple. You paint paper mache cones (4" x 2") with acrylic paint. (My party had a pink and gold theme, and I used two pinks, gray, and metallic gold paint.) When they are dry, decorate. I used scrapbooking supplies, pearls, paper flowers, pom poms, ribbons, and metallic pipe cleaners. 

Then you hot glue them to a head band. I used headbands that were wrapped in ribbon. They cost a bit more, but I think hot gluing to ribbon was easier and more secure than hot gluing to metal.

Then bring them to the party and make people wear them!

This is Nicole without whom I would have frozen to death.

Everyone wore them from 3-73 years old! (Somewhere there is a picture of my dad wearing his as a beak.)

Today we celebrate Stella's "Gotcha Day," the day--SEVEN years ago--she came to live with the dude and me. This picture is from last December. (Right now with her shaved neck, Stella would prefer no photos.) Don't be fooled; this photo documents Stella at her cuddliest

It also happens to be my dad's birthday. Later today, I'll be bringing him a blueberry cake. Blueberry cake is his favorite. My mother made it every year for his birthday until Maggie came over to help my aunt clean our house and she decided that this little stand up recipe holder that my mother had, the one with our family's most important recipes, was too dirty. So she threw it away! (She also assumed my mother didn't really cook since she wasn't much of a housecleaner.) (Not true.) Anyway, since the advent of Pinterest, I've been trying different blueberry cakes to see if we can find the old recipe.

I haven't been stitching much partly because of my parents' visit but also because some somebodies turned TWO!

And how old am I, yelling out the years as if I am completely unaware that time passes?

Happy Birthday, Dude

Don't let anybody tell you that being able to visualize on a grid--a skill I learned in the obvious place--isn't a useful, transferable skill.

Manly Men Men Men

My almost-BIL (my cousin's husband) had a birthday this weekend. I made him the manliest bouquet you have ever seen--booze, cigars, and moustaches!

Another pinterest success! I got the original idea here. I found the printable moustaches here. Something was up with my printer, so they printed in plaid rather than in black. The best screw-up ever! I had the pot in the basement. I bought a styrofoam disk and moss at AC Moore to hold (and cover up) the bamboo skewers I got at the grocery store. I had a really nice guy help me at the local cigar store (no web presence, d'oh). I looked for a printable "happy birthday" but the one I really wanted said "happy birthday, babe" which would have been totally inappropriate. So I made it myself in word. Everything is attached to the skewers with Glue Dots glue lines. Just a note, they worked much better on the square bottles than on the round ones. Total cost: $45 but you can make different choices about the cigars--which is where most of that cost came from.

The birthday boy liked it.

The guy at the cigar store said, "that's a great gift and presentation."

Its' man approved!

Birthday Goodness

On my birthday, I got a note from camp friend, known in the comments as "dd," telling me she was finishing a project for me, but it would be a belated birthday gift. 
It came today and it is g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s. 

The back with my initials.

You can see how delicate this over-one stitching is.

Bear in mind the weather is atrocious today, these photos were the best I could get. The whole needlebook is about 2.5" x 2.5" and is stitched over one. Those black dots are tiny little beads. The stitching is perfect. You'll note the date of MMX. I just love it. I'm sitting here fondling it (with freshly washed hands).

It's so perfect. Thanks much to mi camp amiga.

Lining fabric, delicious! There's even a little pocket to hide
secret things. "dd" did a superb job finishing, but she's
been an excellent seamstress ever since she sewed her
thumb with a sewing machine as a child.

Sisterhood, Moving On

Today is my baby sister's 40th birthday. Here's one of her gifts:

You may recognize this as the messenger bag I made last April. The pattern is from the Village at Chelsea Lane.

This is the lining fabric. It's fun, but I thought it would be too busy on the outside. She dug it.

And it seems appropriate to announce that the sisterhood pattern is moving on. Check out Kathy's blog.

Lists

I need a packing list. And a birthday wish list. And a list of things to do before we go*. And I need about... 24 more hours**; that should do it. Did you figure out how to create time, yet?

In the "things to cross of the to-do list" file, we did get into camp today. We're going in April. Will we see you there?

*Do not break into my house while we are gone. All of the neighbors are watching. And someone's coming to stay but you won't know when. And if they find you taking our shit, they are gonna kick your ass. Also, I'm going to set some automatic posts so you won't even know when we're gone. Stay the fuck out of my house!

**This means that I may not get to the post office to mail things I promised to some really nice people in Europe. I hope they will forgive me.

February 22

Sissy's birthday is Friday. Friday. How did it get to be late February? I am no closer to finishing the Amy Butler Weekender Travel Bag than I was before Christmas. We're having dinner in the city with her on Friday, so I have to bring her present to work with me that day. I have three nights. What can I make in three nights? I think I have an idea. I just hope someone has the recipe...

Okay, I just wrote to my great aunt to see if she has memere's (my great-grandmother) fudge recipe. That stuff was gritty with sugar, but Sissy's favorite candy is circus peanuts... Memere made mean fudge and even better brownies. She called all the great grandchildren "brownie" or "cookie." I always thought she just didn't know our names. I may have been right: she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 1987 or so. In the 1970s she drove a pristine forest green bug with white leather interior. Yes, I said pristine and white in the same sentence. This is the same woman who helped my grandmother with her cleaning every week for as long as I can remember. She ironed everything: sheets, underwear, money... Another thing I remember about her was how she used to draw on an upper lip with orange lipstick. I photographed her 75th birthday party with my brand new black and white polaroid camera. (I'm so old.) She'd have been 108 this month and I haven't thought about her in a very long time. Thanks.

If I find the recipe, I'll happily share.

Can I Really Talk about My Niece and Pamela Anderson in the Same Post?

If you ever have to use the word "classy" to describe something, it never is. And I don't care if it is your outfit, Pamela Anderson stripping, a brass objet, a dame; if you use the word classy to describe it, it most certainly lacks it. Trust me: I'm from New England, and I went to women's college.

I stitched a dot on Anna's bird last night before I packed it in at 9:30. (It's okay, the doctor said I couldn't um, you know, what every other married person in America did last night.) But the meds have kicked so I should be able to stay up like a normal person. This is good because I have to finish the blanket. Today is the little one's 7th. Not so little; I still ended up feeding her lunch today--she gets so distracted--when we went to Jones. She had the Thanksgiving Dinner. I had calamari salad. (Just for a full report mom had grilled cheese and tomato soup, and Lala had chicken parm with plain pasta on the side. The dog pretended to eat the bread and some fries, but I saw him eyeballing the turkey.) This time the green glow is from the banquette and shag carpet.

Birthday Update

Nearly two years ago I reported the dude had bought me a ride in a balloon for my birthday. Of course, I wait two years and take my ride shortly after a horrible ballooning accident.

I promised a full report, and I am a woman of my word. You can find it here.

HB to DD

Another August birthday...
Free pattern here.
Caron Collection Waterlilies, peacock maybe. Since the great craft room cleanup, I can't tell you anything...
Fabric is linen, some kind of natural, 32 count
3.75 inches across.
The button was in bag of junk buttons I bought. So perhaps this qualifies as "just junk"?

Happy significant birthday, dear friend! Can't wait for your birthday trip to the east coast!

Thanks, everyone, for your comments on the last biscornu.

best pal, birthday gal

I just heard from best pal that she has received her birthday gift. I tried to capture best pal's khaki and t-shirt style with this one--I think I managed that. But try as I might, this little biscornu wouldn't give me a good photo.

Can I just say how much I love making these? I love making these! It's not just the cool way it becomes eight sided; I also like the ladder stitching finishing. That is the kind of finishing I can handle!

Free pattern here.
NN Blue Bayou, which turned out to have way too much white in it for my taste.
Khaki evenweave, 30 count
2.5 inches across

We have a Winner

Yesterday I totally forgot to bring the patterns I was considering for my aunt's 60th birthday present to my cousin's house so that she and Sissy could peruse them. Then I remembered that I had gathered them together for you to see!

Separately, I brought them into the study so they could see the choices. Both of them picked the same one, so I am going with it. It also happens to be one of the smaller ones--you all were so right that I did choose patterns that may not be completed in six months. (Peaceful Garden--I'm still going to do it one day!) When my cousin saw the one they picked, she said, "That's it!" even when she had two more to see. (The dude picked this one before I ever asked you all.) My sister showed similar enthusiasm for:

Animal Samplings by Hillside Samplings.

I ordered the fabric and NPI silks today! I have great belief that this will be done and framed in time for her special day.

Another Aunt Turns 60

When I was in Vegas with Auntie Em, I had the sudden realization that she too will turn 60 this year. My other aunt received the Drawn Thread Alpine Garden piece that I made. But Auntie Em is my favorite aunt. (You can't have favorite children, but you are allowed favorites among your other relatives. Auntie Em is my only maternal aunt; auntie Alpine Garden is my favorite, but not only, paternal aunt.) Em knows she's my favorite, and she knows what my dad's sister got for her 60th birthday. Fortunately, I have realized this more than 6 months before her birthday ( December 27).

I've got to get started! I'm going to bring some things over to my cousin's (Em's daughter) for her and my sister to look over on Sunday, but here's what I'm thinking so far:

Drawn Thread Cloister Garden

Drawn Thread Sanctuary

Moira Blackburn Peaceful Garden

Hillside Samplings Animal Samplings

Blackbird Designs something from A Fine Collection

I also considered DT's Souvenir Sampler, but the dude thought I should stitch something new. I'll take your votes, but I have to tell you that my sister's and cousin's have more weight.