Today...and the Rest of the Month

I have two blogs I want to tell you about that I think are just fantastic and make me feel great and inspired (not that jealous/not doing enough feeling blog sometimes do). I will get to that later (hopefully today, but you know me...). 

Instead I was just letting you know that this weekend I am going to try out a few things I have pinned (either by finding myself or seeing on Pinterest first) and I will let you know how they all went.

from The Idea Room

First up, as in as soon as I get off the computer, I will be making these. My old co-worker/friend said they were good and I trust her judgement.

from The Fabled Needle

Also on the to-do list is to be brave enough to make a dress for myself. The bravery is more about how I don't love how I look in dresses these days! I have the fabric and pattern for this one (I love the gray stripes she used, but my fabric is just gray), so it's just a matter of finding a spot big enough in the house to lay it all out. (Oh, and I bought a downloadable pattern online here since it is no longer in print and to buy a regular copy on ebay, etc is super expensive. Unfortunately it means I have to tape all the pieces together which adds to the time. Maybe I should call this a sometimes this week, not weekend project.)

Calypso St Barth dress

I love this dress and think it would be great for summer. I have a tunic pattern I can lengthen to make something similar. I need to hunt down some fabric first though.

from Fave Crafts

Ok, now I can tell I'm just making a list of things I want to make next, because clearly at this point, I couldn't manage all of this in a weekend, and unless I become someone else, not in a week. So let's call it a list for this month! I don't sew for my daughter nearly enough. When I just had boys I thought how awesome it would be to have a girl to sew for and now I have one and I just hit up Target or the thrift store or the amazing hand-me-downs that others have so generously given me. Anyway, this one is made from a pillow case. I don't even have a pillow case to use yet.

from Heaps of Laundry

I want to make one of these small carrying cases (this was actually made by my sister) and use to to put some "busy bag" things in for my littlest. Again, don't have the supplies yet. I have some of the busy bag supplies all ready to go though!

I love cuffs and still want a brown one. I'm not sure on exactly what style yet - it will depend if I use and old belt or new leather. I think I want texture, but not too much other stuff. I plan on using this tutorial for help, though without the massive flowers.)

from Juggling with Kids

And lastly, I think I should mix some of this cloud "dough" up. We have an empty bin right now that used to house their water beads and I think they would love it. Plus, it's been rainy so laying in the sand pile hasn't really been much of an option the past couple of days.
I think this is a manageable list for the rest of the month. I'll have to focus, but I always feel better when I do, not just get ideas.

Not So Wintry...Yet

So, here I am again, this time to report on how I am doing with some goals so far this year. (Two posts here so far, that is a good start!)

Re:Finishing stuff. I bought some snowflake ornaments, a styrafoam wreath thing and some tulle last month  so I could make a winter wreath. I have only made one other wreath in my life and it is far from amazing (though I bought my first glue gun because of it and was a little weirded out that I was doing something so crafty.)

As I wrapped tulle around my foam ring thing, I realized I had no idea what I was doing. I arranged the snowflakes a few times and it just looked bad, so I quit. This is my normal pattern. I get frustrated and just stop. However, this time I am going to finish it anyway.

I looked around on the internet and found a few wreaths people made with supplies similar to mine. So, I pinned them on my Pinterest account and hope to get it done and on the door by the end of the week.

In addition to that, I have a baby gift to make by next Monday and hopefully I will decided which other things on my list to tackle next.

Blogs I Like and My To-Do List

I mentioned the other day that I found too many more blogs to look at and get ideas from. I cleaned out a few old ones that don't really apply to my life and added a few new ones to my Google Reader.

Some "new to me" blogs that are just full of fun great projects:

I am Momma, Hear Me Roar!

 There are a LOT of projects on this site that I could post, mostly involving revamping t-shirts into something less plain. The main idea I am excited about amazingly is something I read in Family Fun magazine a while back and did not file into my brain. As I was telling my sister that she would love to make these bleach pen shirts she reminded me that it had been in the magazine too. I love the combos she does of bleach pen, fabric paint and on this one even washers! So, I have a shirt or two purchased just for this on my to-do list.

Every Crafty Endeavor

From this site I have already shown an idea I liked using washers for necklaces (and have made, but not posted still!) In addition to that, I like this jazzed up version and would like to make one.

Crap I've Made

 

If the title of the blog alone isn't enough to like it, then the ideas within certainly are. I was lead here via UCreate (which I had also never visited before) for a tutorial for butt ruffles on onesies. Although I have made a couple (to be posted later), they are still on my to-do list for my own unborn baby girl.

 A Girl and a Glue Gun

 This project is on my to-do list. In fact, I actually bought a suitcase this week for $3 and plan to just use fabric I already have.A suitcase for dress-ups. If you click on the link you'll see how fun the outside is, and she made a girl version too. And there are lots of other great ideas on this site as well.

Welcome to the Good Life

This girl is so cute (and tiny!) and does the most amazing refashioning. I have seen this project show up on several blogs, but I just needed to add it to mine because I think it is so cute. Inspired by this dress she transforms, on my to-do list is doing a little reworking on a red gingham maternity shirt that I have. So, look for that in the future, but don't hold your breath!

Adventures in Dressmaking

I liked the idea of "dressmaking" alone as I first saw this blog. I have had love/hate relationships with dresses throughout my life and have been leaning towards love the last few years, but have had that horrid mom tummy that doesn't go away for some of us so I haven't been comfortable wearing dresses (yeah, I eat super healthy and exercise all the time, so it's not because of that...or something). Anyway, there are also lots of ideas on ruffling up t-shirts. There are tons of ideas out there and I love to look at all of them. I just made my first one the other day (again, a post waiting to happen) and it was fun. Here's one of many she has on her site.

  Sutton Grace

 I don't remember how I got there, but it was a link showing the puzzle bags below. It's a fun way to store them. I have read about the space reducing ways of taking games (and in this case puzzles) out of their boxes, but I just can't. Kind of like how I like having CD liner notes instead of just the music. There's nothing specific on the site that I want to make yet, but I liked the blog enough to add it to my Reader for now.

Those are just the new blogs I like. There are loads of old ones. I think my all time favorite is:

Make it and Love it

She comes up with such fun and amazing ideas all the time. Some recent favorites are the interchangeable flip-flops, booties for baby boys, simple headbands (which someday when I chop my hair I will love to wear again. Headbands look weird with my super duper long hair.). There is so much more - and not just sewing but decorating ideas, yummy looking recipes, etc. Totally love this blog. Like I said, it's my favorite. On my to-do list are these simple stuffed animals. I intended on making them to sell as part of our fundraiser for the Great Strides walk for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, but I am not going to get them done in time. Bummer.

And my all time favorite, the felt Mr. Potato Head. Apparently Hasbro didn't like her idea and asked her to remove the tutorial and pictures, but to those of us who subscribed to the blog via Reader, the old post is still around! Yippee! This means I can still make it at some point.

Another super duper favorite is:

Homemade by Jill

On my to-do list from her blog are a lot of things: a car play mat, a quiet book (something that has been on my list long before I found her site - in fact that is how I found her site, by searching for quiet book ideas - another great one here), and a cover for my Kitchenaid Mixer. My mom made us an awesome playhouse to go over a card table and I was excited when I saw Jill's version. It re-made me want to make one.a  to go over a card table.

 

  

Nanny Goat

 Now that I have a nice camera (that I really don't know how to use and have sat down to figure it out yet), making a camera strap is a practical idea. There are a lot of tutorials out there, but I had this one saved for when I get around to it.

There are a ton of other blogs I read regularly (and I will update my list on the sidebar some day), but don't really have specific in ideas to make from them. There are also a few other blogs I don't read regularly, but have found some items to make that I bookmarked for later.

This necklace featured on Samster Mommy. Not sure what color I'd do, but I like the idea.

Here were just some general ideas/color combos on shirts that I wanted to use for reference from Lex at My Momma Made it. I like the stripes. 

Not a craft per say, but still a project. I saw this "chore chart" on Make It Sparkly (via Every Crafty Endeavor) and thought it was a great idea. I have my own variation in my head, it just needs to go from my to-do list to my done list (and maybe my kids will be better helpers?!)

This sweet portable soft "high chair" from This Mama Makes Stuff is such a great idea. Our booster seat/high chair is pretty portable on its own, but I still think this idea is good enough that I want to make one. There is also a version on Homemade by Jill)

There are other things that I have wanted to make for a long time but haven't yet. I have supplies for crayon rolls,  felt boards (which I have sort of made some already), picture collages (I still have my own artwork from when I was a kid), a cute way to keep-without-keeping old childhood clothes (or your baby's clothes), and Scrabble tile pendants.

How about you? Is your "to-do list" just as long? What kind of projects do you like best? We'll see how many of these I can tackle and how many I avoid! If nothing else, I hope you find something that inspires you. There are SO MANY talented people out there!