I Made... Barrett's Birthday Party Invitations

I caved and decided that if I'm going to have Barrett's birthday party at Gattitown, then I can at least give the kid a Titanic-themed party like he wanted. My main concern was the cake and I think we've come to an agreement on that. I had a stroke of genius when it came to the invitations though.

My original idea was to make them look like boarding passes to the Titanic. I looked through Barrett's Eyewitness: Titanic book and couldn't find a good picture of one. But I did find a poster advertising what would have been the Titanic's second voyage and decided I could replicate it on word and make changes to promote Barrett's birthday party.

I was able to use fonts already installed on Word to create this document. I did download a font called "Titania" from http://www.dafont.com/ for one or two parts of the invitation.

I think it came out super cool. Barrett actually walked in while I was making (after I'd already put him to bed like three times) and got so excited he didn't go to sleep until after midnight. I was so excited about it I had to do something else to get my mind off it and didn't go to bed until about 3 A.M. I think I couldn't sleep because I felt that the invitations were incomplete because I didn't have any cream colored printer paper to print them on.

I got some at Walmart today though and printed those bad boys out! I wanted to share their awesomeness with the world because I think they are supercool. Please note that just because it's posted for all the world to see doesn't mean the whole world is invited. If you receive a hard copy, you're in. Otherwise... no. And I'll be able to spot any counterfeits. ;P

I Made... Alphabet Blocks for Amanda's Baby

So Joann.com posted a project on Facebook the other day for these alphabet blocks. Basically, they were three blocks made from fabric with an A on one, a B on another, and a C on the last one. I thought they were really cute and quickly skimmed the project instructions to get the gist of the materials needed and dimensions. Then I shared the project on my Facebook wall stating that someone needed to have a baby so that I could make these. I had to turn the waterhose on my dear friend Annie who suggested that I needed to have another "cub" (direct quote). Later on in the dialogue, my high school buddy Amanda reminded me that she was with child, and BOOM! Another project was born. (Bah-dum-bump!)

I decided to make alphabet blocks using the letters of Amanda's baby girl's name which will be the beautiful and sophisticated "Isla". Wait! Stop the presses! Amanda, you have to learn the lyrics to Madonna's "La Isla Bonita" and make it her own personal lullaby. Even though, I'm thinking that her name will be pronounced "Ai-lah" like Isla Fisher, the actress who starred in Confessions of a Shopaholic and is married to Sasha Baron Cohen. Awaiting confirmation on the pronunciation.

So I made four blocks: one with I, one with S, one with L, and one with A. I bought six different quarter flatsfrom Joann's in various pink prints and used felt for the letters. For each block you need six squares of fabric. I cut four four and a half inch squares in each print. Then I put them into four groups of six making sure that I had one of each print in each group. I chose which print I wanted to display each letter and chose a felt color that I thought would complement it.

I cut a three by three inch piece of felt to cut the letter from. Then I just freehand cut the letters out trying to maintain that three-inch size. I used some Aleene's OK to Wash It! glue to secure the letters onto the chosen square. Then I let the glue dry for at least an hour... maybe two.

It must have been at least that long because when I tried to go to bed around midnight, I couldn't. I just kept thinking about working on those blocks! So I got up and sewed all the faces of the square together leaving one edge open to turnout and stuff. I used a slight zigzag stitch, tension level 2. I stuffed them but didn't stitch them completely up. I was still debating whether I wanted to add some embroidery details to the letters or just leave them plain. I also was unsure about how much stuffing to put into the blocks either. I had them pretty stuffed.

But I didn't go to bed just yet. I decided to make the skull pin cushion wristlet that I posted at like 2 A.M. this morning. I don't know why I had to make it right then, I just felt compelled and inspired which for me are pretty much one in the same. Wow, epiphany right there.

So I crashed around 2:30 A.M. Woke up around sixish. Ate a couple of poptarts and drank some OJ. Watched the first season Project Runway marathon that was on Style Network. Fell back asleep after the US Postal Service episode, woke up and it was the finale with Kara Saun getting busted for getting free shoes. Barrett was already up by this time playing on the computer. He informed me around 1030 A.M. that he needed breakfast. I said, "It's almost lunch. Want me to make chicken burgers?" "I want Burger King." "Why?" "Because I want a Transformers toy." "How do you know they have Transformers toys?" "I saw the commercial." "Oh. [long pause] Lemme take a shower."

So we went to BK, no Transformers toys. Apparently their location didn't receive them. Asked Bear if he wanted to go to Joann's, Hobby Lobby, or Michael's to get the craft stuff I needed for today. He said Hobby Lobby so he can get that Titanic model. I told him he wasn't getting it (ages 14+ !) but we went anyway. Titanic model was sold out, but he didn't notice. Got some embroidery thread, some wooden dowels to make talking wands, got some clearance July 4th baking goods stuff, got some mini cupcake liners to go with the mini cupcake pan I got a Wally World yesterday.

Came home, determined which color thread to use for which letter. Did some stitching on those while watching Jem and the Holograms and Fraggle on HUB Network. Never realized when I was a kid how many near-death experiences Jem had. Restuffed the blocks with much less stuffing that I had originally used, and they look and feel and sit SO much better. Stitched them closed while watching a recorded episode of How Do I Look?. OK, the mark in this episode was this chick who DJs weddings as a hobby, she's like in her mid-forties probably, and dresses like she just stepped out of a Great White video. She idolizes Rick Springfield to an unhealthy degree (and all I was thinking was, isn't that the dude that had a cameo in Californication for a few episodes?).

And one of her four children was an accomplice. Her daughter's name was... wait for it... TAWNY! Of course, she spelled it Taunie, but still. Really? Really? I am dying to know what her other kids names are. Coverdale? Brett? Nikki? Dee? Bon Jovi? It was quite an episode. But she did look very fabulous in the end. And Rick Springfield came on the show and gave her tickets to go on the Rick Springfield and Friends Cruise. I can only imagine what that would be like, but at the same time, I just don't think I WANT to imagine what that would be like. Especially after being scarred from his Californication appearances. Ack!

I Made... a Skull Pin Cushion Wristlet

I skimmed through craftgawker.com earlier and saw a picture of some fancy-schmancy ladylike pin cushion bracelet. So after I finished working on a sewing project (which I hope to finish sometime today and post later), I decided to bust out my own version of a pin cushion bracelet.

With my plethora of felt, I cut out a simple skull shape in bright green (two of them) and a couple of eye sockets and a heart-shaped nose in purple. Then I used black embroidery floss to stitch the eyes and nose on. I ran out of black, so I used red for the teeth. I had a small length of elastic, so I measured my wrist and stitch that on the back skull piece. I popped the face piece on top and sewed it all up with a pink zig-zag stitch, stuffing it with the polyfil before sealing the deal. Stuck a few pins in for good measure. Instant Brandification. :)

I might make another, just because this one was so quick and easy. Literally took me about fifteen minutes to make it. It's not perfect, but that's how I like it.

I Made... an Aja Peg Person

Ever since I hurt myself, I've not been in the mood to create much. But, I forced myself to make something today. Last night, I saw the sickly pallor of my kiddo a result of too many computer games because Mommy just didn't feel well enough to entertain him and decided that we must absolutely do crafts today. So we did some peg person painting.

While persuing the random geekery section in Etsy at the beginning of summer vacay, I came across these cute little hand-painted peg people in some of my favorite characters. I posted some of them on my FB wall (Dr. Who, Ghostbusters, LOTR). I decided that I need to make a Jem and the Holograms set. With access to my beloved childhood fave on the HUB Network, I became especially fired up about all things Jem.

I sketched out the Jem and the Holograms characters on my Fashion Girlz sketchpad the other day and decided to start with my fave Hologram, Aja (pronounced AH-JZAH). I've always been drawn to her Asian look. She's probably one of the reasons I am so into Asia's style and aestethic in general.

So I found some Aja pics online, sketched her up, and painted her up as a peg person. Is it my best? Nah. My hands and arms are shaky due to my pain but not bad. The great thing about paint is it can always be painted over again.

Aja is currently perched amongst my nail polish collection in the Bran Cave. I think she looks marvelous betwixt the rainbow-colored bottles. She is anxiously awaiting her bandmates!

I Made... a Dr. Seuss Spoof

At the beginning of summer vacation a funny idea zoomed into my head at warp speed. I'm just now getting around to bringing it to life... it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Popped this baby out in less than an hour.

I am a huge fan of Top Chef. I am also a huge fan of Dr. Seuss. I realized that Carla's hair looks a lot like the puffball that Horton carries around. There was also an episode of Top Chef in which the viewers learn that while grocery shopping, Carla and her husband use a primitive tracking device called the "Hoodie Hoo". When they are trying to locate each other, one says "Hoodie" and the other answers back "Hoo". It's like Marco Polo for the supermarket! Needless to say, after a cranial lightning strike, Horton Hears a Hoodie Who was born.

Quickly I found a reference picture of Horton and Carla online, printed them out and let them simmer on my desk for about two or three weeks. One boring night (tonight), I warmed up ol' righty and busted it out. I LOVE it!

I'm going to be brave and submit it to TeeFury to see if they'll print it on shirts. That would rock so much if they did!

I Made... My New Favorite Burger

As you may have noticed, there are no photos to induce salivation but these burgers were so good I couldn't stop to take pictures!

I bought this big ol' package of Angus Frozen Hamburger patties at Sam's a few weeks back and I've been throwing them on the grill at least a couple of times a week.

Well, today, I decided to make my burger a little more gourmet than my standard-issue-mayo-mustard-cheddar cheese-lettuce-pickle. I topped the patties with Swiss cheese today and squirted on some Grey Poupon dijon mustard and... wait for it... a handful of baby spinach leaves. Holy schnikes! That was one of the best tasting burgers I've consumed and believe you me, I'm a bit of an expert when it comes to burgers (my favorite food, pretty much).

I encourage you to try it out; you will NOT be disappointed.

I Made... Johnny Boo and Squiggle Dolls

Bear and I love this cute little graphic novel book series by James Kochalka called Johnny Boo. It's about a little ghost named Johnny Boo and his ghost buddy, Squiggle, and all the predicaments they find themselves in. The books are really fun to read, especially if you read aloud and use the Ralphie Wiggum voice for Squiggle. I tend to read Johnny Boo's parts in a William Shatner-type voice, which, for me, isn't nearly as fun as Ralphie Wiggum.

These dolls were made from craft felt. Nothing fancy. I'm waiting for the Aleene's OK to Wash It! glue to cure before I can wash them. I used a yellow marker to draw the characters on the felt before sewing and cutting. Bear is chomping at the bits to play with these guys. In fact, he was playing with Squiggle while I was sewing Johnny Boo and the mouth came off. This mishap prompted me to read the directions on the glue bottle and I found out that they needed to set for 24 hours first and a whole week before washing. Of course, I had glued the mouths on prior to sewing so I had to reglue when I was done. I'll be sure to glue any facial parts on after I sew next time. I'll be making the Ice Cream Monster from the Johnny Boo series as well. Stay tuned for him. :)

Look inside Johnny Boo books @ Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Johnny-Boo-Book-Little-Ghost/dp/1603090134

YouTube Book Review by the One Minute Critic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoiF0wnkXa8&NR=1

More about James Kochalka: http://www.indyworld.com/kochalka/

I Made... Cheer Squad Shirt v 2.0 Designs

At Kasee's farewell lunch today (well, yesterday seeing as how it's past midnight), Debby (my co-captain) asked me if I had worked on the design for the Intermediate Cheer Squad shirt for the 2011-2012 school year. I informed her that it was already done and that I would post it on my blog for her to see.

While lying in bed trying to fall asleep, it occurred to me that I could also draw the idea I have with my Fashion Girlz paper. So I did.

I envision the design on a v-neck athletic-inspired short sleeve tee. I am thinking either white or heather gray for the tee shirt color. My illustration of the shirt design is slightly different from the one I did on Word. I think I used the Minnie font for "FLOUR BLUFF" and Whitewater for "Cheer Squad"; "Intermediate" is in Varsity. I created the megaphone using the "shapes" tool on Word. I will probably end up just drawing it by hand for the real deal because I think it looks a little hokey the way it is now. There's also some stars thrown on there. Open to criticisms, fellow cheerleaders. :)



You can view the actual shirt design by visiting the link on Facebook in the comments section.

I Made... Perfect Cupcakes

There's nothing really extraordinary about these cupcakes. Strawberry Supreme Duncan Hines cake mix. Classic Vanilla Duncan Hines frosting. Party-colored baking cups. BUT, I did bake these perfectly. They are the moistest, most perfectly shaped and colored cupcakes I ever did conjure. I filled 19 cups with cake batter, filled them each almost to the top and baked them for 20 minutes at 350. I topped each with a swirl of frosting (only enough for 14). I used ziploc bags to dispense the cake batter and the frosting and it makes life SO much easier. :) Will I win Cupcake Wars with these? Prolly not. But OMGeezy, they are SO good.

I Made... Breakfast Sandwiches

When we woke up this morning, Will wanted to know what I wanted to do for breakfast. I wasn't really hungry but he said he was starving. I really didn't feel like getting dressed and going anywhere so I offered to make him toast and a fruit bowl. Well, he scoffed at that so I lay there for a little longer mulling over the contents of the fridge. I figured the reason he didn't want toast and fruit is because it wasn't filling enough for him. So I decided to make him a sandwich.

Last week I bought this HEB Bake Shop bread called "Milk n' Honey". It is SO GOOD! It's like the King's Hawaiian bread but like, better. (I know that's crazy talk because NOTHING could be better than King's Hawaiian, but this is sliced bread!). I started off by toasting the bread. Because this bread is so moist, you have to crank up the toaster a little higher than you normally use it. I had mine on 3 for a light toasting of this bread. When the toast was done I put a slice of Swiss cheese on one of the toast pieces so it could start the melting process.

I fork-whisked a couple of eggs together and cooked it omelet-style in a small pan. As soon as the eggs were cooked, I folded the egg over and placed it on top of the Swiss cheesy toast slice. Then I threw a couple of pieces of Boar's Head Virginia Brand ham in the pan and heated them through before placing them on top of the egg. I put the other slice of toast on top and put it in the microwave for ten seconds to melt the cheese a tad more. Will said that it was "really good, Sweetie" twice, so it must be true. Will's sandwich is pictured directly below.

I made a Milk n' Honey toast sandwich variation for Beary too (pictured directly above this paragraph). He is anti-egg, and probably not too keen on Swiss cheese, so I used a slice of Colby for his and three slices of ham before nuking it in the microwave for ten seconds. When I called him to get his breakfast, he was pleased that it was HAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMM! (Ponyo alert). He then proceeded to inform me that he likes his ham cold and his cheese non-melty on sandwiches. I told him to take a big whiff of the warm sandwich (it smelled AWESOME) and try it out. He wound up eating only half of it, but then again, it DID have a lot of ham. I'm just glad he gave it a shot. He's culinarily non-adventurous.

As for me, I had a bowl of Special K Red Berries cereal drowned in Lactose Free milk, and a large navel orange. I have to be in a mood for hot breakfast. It was much too close to lunch time for hot breakfast.

I Made... a couple of heart leggings designs

This is my first creation using my Fashion Girlz fashion design paper. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself. Of course, using Crayola markers maybe wasn't the best choice but it was all I had quick access to at the time. I need to see if I can find my old Prismacolors, that would be ideal.

The inspiration: Yesterday at breakfast at Taqueria Acapulco, a little girl was sitting on the bench across from our booth waiting to be seated. Besides being awfully cute, she was wearing cute little capri length leggings. The base color was pink with medium-sized red hearts on them. First thing that entered my mind was, "Ooh! I want those!" But of course, that's a no can do buckeroo since they were like little girls' size. Why can't clothing designers make textiles that are little girly for big girls? I don't know how many times I've cruised through the girls' clothes section at Target on the way to the boys' section and cooed in envy at all the cute stuff that I would love to wear. But, as the fashion industry is against me in this philosophy, I decided to draw what I think would be a good use of a textile such as this in adult wear.

I decided to make a "Sweet to Street" duo with this look. There are two girls per page. I drew the "street" look first. I personally think the model I created (obviously I gave her a makeover) looks like a combo between the Jem and the Holograms characters Video and Clash. Knowingly that not everyone would rock the "street" look, I created a more tame version on the other model, giving her slight Bettie Page-ish look.

When I finished the designs, I asked Barrett the following, "If you had a wife or girlfriend, which would you like to see her wear?" He pointed to the "sweet" look. I asked why and he replied with, "Because she looks like a cutie little teenager." Hmmm... maybe this would be a collection for the juniors' department. I would wear either look myself. Epiphany alert! Maybe that's why I am quite frequently mistaken for a sixth grade. Hmmm....

Third time's a charm...

This will be the third time I've tried to blog about something. I think I may have got it right this time. I will be blogging about stuff I make be it edible, audible, visible, sniffable, playable, teachable, readable, or whateverable. I think that's something that I will enjoy blogging about and that people would enjoy reading about. I may not make something everyday, and some days I might make several days. I'm one of those people who erratically goes in and out of "the zone".

I made a Mickey Mouse blanket for my nephew's first birthday today. I used two cuts of polar fleece: one in solid red and the other in a light blue Mickey Mouse print. I put a no-iron Mickey Mouse applique in the bottom corner of the red side. I cannot get iron-on appliques to work for me so I was very thankful when I found one that required me to sew it on. I used a contrasting zigzag stitch to finish it. Red on the light blue side and light blue on the red side. I love contrast stitching. :)

I think it turned out very cute and I hope he uses it for years to come. I'd love for it to be his coveted "blankie" but I think a certain store-bought chocolate brown dinosaur blanket might have already claimed that honor. He will outgrow the dino blankie soon though, whereas mine is quite large and he could get more use out of it... just sayin'.

So after I got the blanket finished today and had a late lunch at the food court at the mall (SARKU!), I went by Half Price Books because when I was there yesterday (after a fortuitous but unnecessary visit to the AT&T store right next door) I saw this huge book of fashion design drawing paper. It's this giant 400 page sketchbook of a thing called Fashion Girlz (ISBN 978-1-84786-715-5) that is full of underwear clad models for you to draw clothes on. I've always loved to draw outfits and stuff but never could get those fashion designer model illustrations right so this is like PERFECT! I contemplated getting it yesterday but decided to pass but kept thinking about it ever since. So I went back and got it today. I was inspired to create a look after seeing this little girl's leggings at Taqueria Acapulco this morning. I've started drawing it already--I hope to finish it later tonight and post it tomorrow.

While I was at Half Price a took a walk through the Art section, and honed in on a book I've never knew I needed until I saw it today! It pulled me in with it's tractor beam. It's called Japanese Style (ISBN 1-84222-081-0) and it has everything about Japanese design from commercial packaging to architecture and fashion. I can't wait to sink my teeth into that one because I pretty much love any and every thing Japanese. I just know I'll be inspired to make some stuff based on what I find in this book.

Well, it's back to work on my little girl leggings fashion design for now.