You old timers may remember this post, where I knocked off a Ballard Designs detergent tin for about 1/6 the price.

That tin was a *little* blah, if I’m being honest…especially since my counter tops and walls are pretty much the same shade of boring.

I busted out the glossy red spray paint and look at it now:

I painted right over the top of the existing vinyl lettering. Then before I peeled it off I scored the edges with an Exacto knife and then pried up the corner with the point of a safety pin and peeled.

I love it and wish I’d done it ages ago!

***Don’t forget to enter the Cristina Ashley Designs giveaway here***

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***Don’t forget to enter the Cristina Ashley Designs giveaway here***

There’s no purpose for this post other than the fact that I’m giddy about some baskets I picked up at Lowe’s this weekend.

How cute is the little chalkboard label?  Under $10, too.

Would it be weird to get some for the kitchen?  I’m thinking “potatoes” and “onions”….

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*****GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED*****

Let me introduce you to Cristina Ashley Designs. Cristina makes beautiful unique hand-stamped jewelry. She also blogs here. Her kids are darling and her pictures are great, so it’s worth a look for those 2 reasons alone!

This is her Sweetheart Necklace. I love the little heart detail!

More of a bracelet kind of girl? Check out the Sweet Loves Wide Cuff!

Not looking for something personalized? Cristina’s got that covered, too, with a selection of designer necklaces. This one is the Simple Joys Necklace.

So, what can you win? Cristina Ashley Designs is giving one lucky Crap I’ve Made reader their very own personalized (up to 3 tags/initials) Joys of My Heart Necklace!

How do you enter?

Click on over to Cristina Ashley Designs and have a look around. Come back here and leave a comment ON THIS POST with what your favorite item in her shop is.

Giveaway runs now through Sunday, May 16th at midnight!

On your mark, get set, ENTER!

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Most of today’s post comes from a Facebook exchange with an old friend.  It’s a little long, but it sums up my feelings better than anything else I could re-write.

He asked the following:

I’m happy to hear that you are loving being a mom. But you’ve shattered one of my ignorant hypotheses. I’ve talked to quite a few people who are staying home with kids, both male and female, who strike me as intelligent and intellectual. I get different variations on the same theme from them and from myself. It seems like each stay at home parent I’ve talked to believes in what he/she is doing and loves the kids and wants to do what’s right and best for them, but also is frustrated at the lack of a life. We’ve all had a similar thought that we’ve given up our lives for our kids. Each of us has a different sense of loss related to that sacrifice, and each of us has voluntarily made that sacrifice, but it’s a sentiment that I had thought must be pretty much universal. So I had come up with this hypothesis that perhaps the mothers who wanted to stay home with their kids and didn’t miss that "external life" outside the family weren’t as bright or as intellectually driven or something. So imagine my surprise when you shared your love of parenting! You’re clearly one of the bright ones. I remember you as one of the smartest friends I’ve had. So my ignorant, perhaps even bigoted, hypothesis is now in the trash heap. Now I’m seeking another idea about what makes a contented homemaker…

My response:

I think it’s a choice. Staying at home/becoming a parent (the two are so intertwined in my life that it’s difficult to separate them) was an awful transition for me. I had always made more than half of our income. I had a job that I enjoyed. I was finally back in school after putting my husband through school. And, *TMI warning*, the baby was not planned right then and maybe not ever. I cried for months. At my first prenatal appointment, my OB actually suggested abortion and adoption. THAT is how not thrilled I was about the whole thing.

When my baby was a month old, the very day I put my parents back on a plan for Florida, I broke my foot and my hand and was housebound on crutches for 6 weeks or so. (In retrospect, I was majorly depressed and I probably should have sought help.  Have you ever tried carrying a newborn whilst on crutches?  Im-freaking-possible.) I remember sitting there one day lamenting how much the whole thing sucked and I had this moment of clarity. I realized that this was my life for the next 20 years minimum and I had 2 choices. I could be miserable every day for 20 years, or I could learn to find joy. Oprah moment ahead:

I chose the joy.

Not gonna lie…at first it was a lot of effort and a lot of making conscious decisions. I’d find happiness in having a clean sink or showering before noon or whatever. We also used to do this thing before bed where we’d each take a turn saying what the best part of the day was (sort of like Dora the Explorer, don’t act like you don’t watch). It helped me be mindful of just how good I really had it.

To claim that it’s all sunshine and roses all the time would be absurd.  Life throws trials in all of our paths! We’ve had our fair share…worse than some, better than others.  And, I continue to choose the joy.

Happy Mother’s Day!

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Did you know Crap I’ve Made has a Flickr group? You can find the link at any time up on my menu bar under Crap You’ve Made. Go add your stuff! Please?

Projects from the Flickr group will be featured on Fridays

And, there’s now a Flickr stream widget over in my left sidebar. Click on over from your reader and check that out.

Meet Amber Lynn from Posies and Planes.

Her sweet little Tillie turns one today (at least I think it’s today…maybe I made that part up).  Lucky for us, they celebrated last weekend, because look what she wore!

The fabric covered party hat tutorial can be found here.

And, the applique template for the number 1 is here.

The bloomers?  Maybe if we all ask nicely, she’ll tell us how she made those.  They might be (and by “might be” I mean “for sure are”) my favorite part!

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We use the Alfred books. They measure approximately 9” by 12”. If your books are bigger, you’ll need to make adjustments.

All seams are 1/2", unless otherwise noted.

Out of the exterior fabric, interior (lining) fabric, AND interfacing (I used fusible fleece) cut the following pieces:

2 – 11” X 14” (front and back)
1 – 13.5” X 14” (flap)
2 – 11” X 3.5” (side panels)
1 – 14” X 3.5” (bottom panel)

Out of exterior fabric only:

1 – 5” X 28” (strap)

Out of interfacing only:

1 – 4” X 28” (strap)

You’ll also need 2 – 2” pieces of velcro.

Here we go!

Embellish your exterior fabric front flap as desired. I used freezer paper here and applique here. My piano keys template can be found here. Be sure one of the 14” sides is the bottom.

Apply interfacing to either the exterior fabric pieces or the lining fabric pieces….whichever you prefer. Some people like the exterior fabric to be “stiffer” while some prefer it stays smooth and any fusing “bubbles” are hidden on the lining. I’m going to fuse it to the exterior pieces.

Fuse the strap interfacing right down the center of the strap fabric, leaving approximately 1/2” along each long side.

Next we’re going to sew velcro to your interior flap piece and your exterior front piece. Place the corner of your velcro 2” up and 2” in from each corner.

Sew in place.

If you want to add a pocket to the lining, now is the time to do that, too. I cut a piece of fabric about 13” X 7” and folded it in half, right sides together.

Sew from folded edge, around 3 sides. Leave a 2” opening along the bottom (marked by pins, which are barely visible).

Clip corners, turn right side out and press.

Center on back lining piece and stitch in place, leaving top (folded) edge open.

Next, get both flap pieces. Place right sides together.

Along each bottom corner, mark 1/2” seam allowances. Using a cup or bowl, mark curve.

Sew along 3 sides, leaving top open and following curves you just drew. Trim seam allowances. Turn right side out and press. Set aside.

Next, the strap. Press the “extra” fabric along the edges over the interfacing.

Fold the whole thing in half lengthwise and press.

Stitch the open edge shut, about 1/4” from the edge.

Sew 1/4” from the folded edge, too. Set strap aside.

Now let’s assemble the body of the bag. Take the front piece and make sure the velcro is at the bottom. Place a side piece on the right edge, right sides facing. Start at the top of the bag and stitch.

Stop approximately 1/2” from the bottom corner. Be sure to backstitch!

Fold the corner back at a 45 degree angle like this:

Put the bottom piece on top of the folded side piece and the front of the bag, right sides facing, and stitch, starting about 1/2” in. Be sure to backstitch!

Stop 1/2” from the next corner and do the same thing, only attaching the remaining side piece and then sewing all the way to the top edge. You should now have something that looks like this:

Attach the back piece to the side and bottom pieces the same way.

You’ll notice once that’s done that the bottom corners are still open.

Fold them flat and stitch them closed.

Trim the bulky seams.

Turn right side out and set aside.

Assemble the lining pieces the same way, but leave a 4” opening along one of the bottom seams for turning.

Center the flap piece, matching right sides, on the back of the body of the bag. Make sure it is NOT on the side with the velcro (that side is the front).

Use some pins to hold it if you want.

Center one end of the strap on each side of the bag.

Here’s what you should have now:

Slip that into the lining (which should still be wrong side out).

Match seams. Pin all the way around (but you’ll probably want to take out the pins you used to position the flap and the strap, since they’d get trapped inside when you’re sewing).

Sew along the top edge all the way around.

Turn the bag right side out through the hole you left in the bottom of the lining.

Pull the lining all the way out.

Sew the hole closed. You could hand stitch it so nothing’s visible, but who really looks inside the bottom of your bag anyway? I just do it quickly by machine.

Tuck the lining back down in and press the top edge.

Top stitch along the top edge, about 1/4 from the seam.

Enjoy your bag!

Manly:

Or girly:

Or sick of mom taking pictures:

Perhaps we have bigger issues than not wanting to practice piano….

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Cut your front flap piece 14” w X 13.5” h.

Cut a piece of background fabric (mine’s light gray) 4” tall by 14” wide.  Back with Wonder Under.

Draw a line every inch with a water soluble marker.

Peel off the paper backing…you don’t want to sew through it.  Sew on the lines you just drew with black thread.

Fuse to flap piece, approximately 1/2” from bottom edge.

Out of black fabric backed with Wonder Under, cut your black keys.  They measure 2 1/4” tall by 1/2” wide.  Fuse in place.  Stitch around edges.

Stitch around edges of keyboard, too.  I used a tight zig zag.

Rest of tute coming soon!

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My grandparents stopped by this morning, so the rest of the tute is going to have to wait a day or two, but you’ll need time for your paint to dry anyway, right?

The flap piece for the bag measures 14” w X 13.5” h. You’ll notice that I had mine turned the wrong way, so my keys are at a different angle on the actual bag.

Here is a link to the piano keys template. It’s only one octave. You can repeat as necessary.

To get the same look as on my bag, you’ll want to trace the whole thing onto freezer paper TWICE. Then, cut out just the white keys. Place and iron them onto your fabric individually, leaving small even gaps between them…like this:

Then, take a piece of freezer paper for the top and place the straight edge an even distance from the tops of the keys. Iron in place. Do the same with a piece along the bottoms of the keys.

Paint and let dry.

Freezer Paper Primer here.

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