Back to School 2011-12
August 29, 2011 By 18 Comments
Mary Poppins
August 28, 2011 By 3 Comments
Do you love Mary Poppins? (I hear Tam does…)
Are you in Utah?
Did you know that Mary Poppins is coming to Utah September 1st – 25th?
Now here’s the best part…
Thanks to Today’s Mama, you can get 2 for 1 tickets to Mary Poppins for select shows opening weekend!
Shows eligible for the discount:
-
Thursday, September 1st, 2012 (Matinee)
Saturday, September 3rd, 2012 (Evening)
Sunday, September 4th, 2012 (Matinee and Evening) -
Ticket pricing:
-
Thursday, 9/1/2012-$62.50 and $42.50 ($31.25 and $21.25 with discount)
Saturday, 9/3/2012-$85 and $65 ($42.50 and $32.50 with discount)
Sunday, 9/3/2012-(Matinee) $85 and $65 ($42.50 and $32.50 with discount) and (Evening) $75 and $55 ($37.50 and $27.50 with discount) -
TO GET THE 2 FOR 1 PRICING:
-
Click on over to ArtTix to make your purchase and use code “utahmama”.
-
If you decide to go Saturday night, keep an eye out for Macy and me!
-
***I was provided with 2 tickets to share this promotion with all of you***
Py(rannasaurs) Rex
August 24, 2011 By 36 Comments
The first step is admitting you have a problem, right?
(And that’s not even all of it.)
(It’s not even all of it in that room.)
So, what do you collect?
How do you display it?
Do you use your collection or is it just for looks?
Any pictures you can link me to? I’d love to see!
Sewing A to Z with Nancy Zieman
August 23, 2011 By 72 Comments
True confession: Back when I was newly married and I hadn’t sewed in years, I used to watch Sewing With Nancy on PBS on Saturdays. And by “watch”, I mean that if BC even looked like he was going to try to talk to me, he got shushed. So, when I was given the opportunity to review here new book, Sewing A to Z, I jumped at the chance.
Thing #1 that I loved straight out of the box? The book is spiral bound and lays flat (and stays open) on your work space.
Thing #2 I loved? The alphabetical table of contents. In other sewing books I’ve used, things have been grouped in ways that didn’t make sense to me. The fact that in this book I look under V if I want to know about sewing vinyl makes me really happy. Guess where you’ll find the section on sewing with a double needle? Under D. Nice, right?
Thing #3 I loved? The diagrams and illustrations. Sometimes when you’re sewing, you just really need to see it, right? I think it’s why we all read blogs and love tutorials so much…the visual aids turn previously scary techniques into something you know you can do!
Are you brand new to sewing? This book would be a FABULOUS reference. It has basics on everything from garment making to quilting. It even talks about sharpening your shears and being organized in your sewing space. (I should probably re-read that section another 4 or 5 times.)
Are you a not so beginning sewist? I took my first sewing class in 9th grade. We’re not going to get all mathematical here, but let’s just say I’ve been sewing for more than 20 years. 
I’d still recommend this book as a reference when you need a little refresher (because if you’ve been sewing for 20 years, you’re old enough that you might be losing your mind just a little 
).
If you’d like a sneak peek into the book, Sew Mama Sew is offering a free download of the ENTIRE Seam Finishes section. You can click on over here to check that out.
AND, to celebrate the release of her new book, Nancy has put together a prize package worth over $450! Nice!
You can enter to win that here on Nancy’s blog.
*************************************************
Disclosure: I was provided a copy of Sewing A to Z to review. Opinions are my own. And yes…that confession is 100% true.
If you’re so inclined, you can check out the rest of the book tour as follows:
15-Aug Nancy Zieman’s blog
16-Aug Whipstitch
17-Aug Sew Mama Sew
18-Aug Diary of a Quilter
20-Aug Amy’s Creative Side
22-Aug Quiltville
23-Aug Crap I’ve Made
24-Aug Eileen Roche’s blog
25-Aug I’m Just a Guy Who Quilts
26-Aug The Free Motion Quilting Project
27-Aug Sew Serendipity
29-Aug Lazy Girls Designs
30-Aug Pat Sloan Blog
31-Aug Tallgrass Prairie Studio
1-Sep True Up
2-Sep Sew News
6-Sep Off the Cuff Sewing Style
7-Sep V and Co.
8-Sep The Cottage Home
9-Sep Colette Patterns
Giveaway: Vinyl Crafts
August 22, 2011 By
I want to introduce you to Crap I’ve Made’s newest sponsor, Vinyl Crafts.
Becky is the owner/designer and she says:
I am happily married to one amazing man and mom to nine incredible children. My days are filled with all the wonders, joys and frustrations that come with a house full of people ranging in age from teenagers to babies. The creative outlet this shop provides helps balance out my sanity {and I realize “sanity” and “nine children” are not often used in the same paragraph}.
I have taken my love for home décor and my love of crafts and combined them to produce the items you see in my shop. I hope you will find something you enjoy and that can add beauty to your home.
In addition to her ready made designs,
there’s stuff you can personalize
and she’s happy to take custom orders, too.
I love the retro signage look of this piece. Plus, you know I’m obsessed with orange.
If you’re the mushy type…
If you’re the cooking type…
Tangent: Have any of you ever taken fenugreek in an attempt to up your milk supply? I did, and it just made me smell like syrup/crave waffles. TMI for ya? 
So, what’s in it for you?
Becky is offering one lucky Crap I’ve Made reader a $50 gift certificate to Vinyl Crafts!
TO ENTER:
Click on over to Vinyl Crafts. Have a look around. Come back and leave a comment ON THIS POST (on the blog, not on Facebook or in response to your email subscription) saying what you’d use your gift certificate on.
Extra entry:
Like Vinyl Crafts on Facebook. Come back and leave a comment saying you did.
Giveaway runs through Friday at 10pm MST.
Dyed Doily Pillows
August 17, 2011 By 54 Comments
Let’s get in our time machines and go back to June 9, 2010. I posted this.
I’d taken some ratty old thrift store doilies (I’ve recently spotted doilies at Dollar Tree and JoAnn’s, if thrift stores aren’t your thing) and dyed them with Dylon dye.
I told you I was going to make pillows.
Well, I finally did. And it only took me 433 days.
Supplies:
Canvas drop cloth (or other fabric for the body of the pillow)
Doily (dyed or not…your choice)
Sewing machine and thread
Random blah blah blah about the body of the pillow: I had an 18” pillow form, so I cut my front piece 18” X 18”. I used the already hemmed drop cloth edges to cut two 12” X 18” (this was the hemmed edge) pieces for the envelope closure on the back. If you don’t have a hemmed edge, you’ll want to cut yours bigger to allow for hemming.
I centered the doily on my square of fabric and pinned it in place.
I used a zig zag stitch to sew around the edges and to tack down part of the middle as well. Since I used matching thread, you can hardly see it.
Here’s a shot of the back, to give you a better idea:
And, that’s it. Put the pillow together and you’re finished!
Petal Pillow Tutorial
August 16, 2011 By 19 Comments
Supplies:
Canvas drop cloth (or other fabric for the body of the pillow)
Felt (7.5” X 17.5”)
Sewing machine + thread
Hand sewing needle
Petal template
Random blah blah blah about cutting the petals: The wool blend felt I bought was 17.5” wide. I cut three 2.5” strips and then cut those strips into 2.5” squares. This gave me 21 squares (18 for the big petals, 3 for the smaller center petals). I stacked the squares 3 or 4 at a time to cut them out.
Random blah blah blah about the body of the pillow: I had an 18” pillow form, so I cut my front piece 18” X 18”. I used the already hemmed drop cloth edges to cut two 12” X 18” (this was the hemmed edge) pieces for the envelope closure on the back. If you don’t have a hemmed edge, you’ll want to cut yours bigger to allow for hemming.
Now where were we? Oh yeah. The pillow.
Decide where you want to position your flower on the pillow. Lay out 6 of the petals like this. I’ve included my tape measure in the shot, so you can see about how far apart I spaced them.
Pin them if you need to, and then sew them down (in towards the center).
Position another 6 petals for the second layer. Pin and stitch.
Position another 6 petals for the third layer. Pin and stitch.
Your 3 center petals are going to be sewed in place like this:
(pinch ‘em like a piece of farfalle pasta)
You can tack them into that shape first, or you can do it as you sew them on. You’ll want to sew them on with the points lined up with those in the 2nd row of petals.
Put the rest of the pillow together, and you’re done!
A Monday Quickie
August 15, 2011 By 16 Comments
I did some accidental thrifting this weekend. It was accidental because I was meeting Tauni (of SNAP! Conference fame…venue announcement over there today, if you’re interested) to hit up our local Parade of Homes. Her dog got out, so she was delayed. I used that time to hit DI (local thrift chain). And in a matter of minutes I had texted her “Um, I’m buying a dresser. Might be a sec.” The dresser is fabulously perfect and matches a desk I had purchased previously. You’ll see them both, eventually. 
I picked up a couple of other great finds Saturday, but this post is not about them either. Ha!
On a previous trip, my mom and I argued about who was going to be the owner of this:
I’m not really sure what it is (chips and dip, maybe?), but I love galvanized stuff (hint: my coffee table), so I wanted it.
I hit my local home improvement store and picked up one of these from the ducting department:
Combine the two…
Add a glass dome?
Maybe even some apples?
I think I’m in love.
Got 2 Minutes? Make A Bracelet!
August 10, 2011 By 43 Comments
I spotted these on Pinterest, but couldn’t find a tutorial (mostly just lots of links that didn’t go anywhere or were from somewhere in the UK and I was NOT paying international shipping for one 
).
You know why there’s no tutorial? Because even a monkey could make one. Get some ribbon clamps (I picked mine up locally at Robert’s on 50% off day, so I think I paid $1 for enough for 3 bracelets) and a tape measure.
Cut a piece of tape measure to fit your wrist. I did about 7”. Put the clamps on the ends.
Wear it with dorky sewist (it’s better than sewer, remember?) pride!
What’s your favorite super quick and easy project you’ve made lately? Share a link, if you’ve got one!
