Sewing

I’m not very expierenced at sewing, but I do ok.  My Gram needed a heat pack and I just happened to find cat fabric at the store yesterday.  So I threw together 2 different sized heat packs for her.  But, of course, I forgot to take pics before I gave them to her!

And, while I was out at the craft stores, I also found some baseball fabric and knew I had to make something with it.

So, first thing I did was take a yellow fabric marker and change baseballs into softballs!  LOL  Then, after a few attempts I made myself an armband for my iPhone for listening to my tunes! 🙂

iPhone armband

My room

A while back I had posted that I now had my own art room.  It’s been a work in progress (and probably always will be) but it’s finally pretty functional!  I’ve made lots of scrapbook pages, ATCs and paintings in my new room.  It’s a pretty small room, only 7ft x 9ft but I’m making it work…it’s better than the dining room table!

This is the view from standing just inside the door

from the door

This table was custom made by my Dad for all my paper crafting.  Adjustable shelves hold all my paper and stickers.  Underneath I’ve attached an envelope for scraps and my stencils.  The shelf above the table holds my pictures that are ready for scrapping, Sharpies, and little bitty stuff! My cutter hangs just under the shelf.

my paper crafting table

I have a nice window in my room!  It’s recessed and has a nice wide sill that holds my dock for my iPhone and a few old Care Bears from when I was little.  The long hanging frame will slowly be filled with a few of my favorite pics of my girls.

above the table

To the right of my table is a bookshelf for all my scrapbooks in progress, stamps, ink and other accessories.  And some of my favorite artwork on the wall.  And my painting corner.

to the right of my table

On the same wall as the door (well, in the corner behind my table) is my painting corner.  Finally, a permanent spot for my easel, canvases and paints!  My dad built me the paint table out of scraps so it doesn’t matter if it gets a little messy!  I hung my brush roll with push pins on the wall to save a little room.

painting corner

Next to my painting corner (behind my table) is another bookshelf with ATC and smash book supplies plus other odds and ends.  On the wall is a little shelf with my softball stuff- one player made me an Orbeez filled softball and I had an extra trophy last year (a player dropped out after the first practice) so I added that to my shelf too!  On the back of the door is a shoe organizer I use to store all my adhesives- tacky glue, mounting tape, E-600, Mod Podge, etc.  And a left over Little Mermaid painting on the wall from when this used to be the girls’ playroom.  Little Mermaid is my favorite Disney movie so I left it on the wall for me! 🙂  There’s a little storage space under the stairs that I just added a few plastic bins to for misc stuff and my sewing machine.  Much easier than hauling it upstairs all the time!

from next to the table

 

Weekly menu

Even though it’s been a few years, I still haven’t completely adjusted to a once-a-month paycheck.  I would go do one HUGE shopping trip on payday and pick up produce, bread and little things throughout the month.  I’d buy stuff that I wanted to make and forget about it.  Meat would get buried in the freezer, taco shells pushed to the back of the cupboard.  Anyway, I tried to do the weekly menu thing and it just didn’t work.  How could I plan what on wanted to eat on Friday when it was only Sunday??

So, this last payday I sat down and made a menu.  Went through the freezer, panty and cupboards to see what I had on hand.  Made a shopping list and stuck to it…and my grocery bill was $125!  Stuck to the menu too!

This week, I did the same.  Made a menu.  Made a list.  And made a weekly menu planner for my fridge!  The grocery bil this week…$65!!  And, no, I am not an extreme couponer.  As a matter of fact, I don’t use coupons at all.  I buy generic!  I love Wegmans brand products!

Anyway, here is my planner.  I created it in Microsoft Word and printed it on cardstock.  I trimmed the cardstock a bit and glued it to a piece of kraft paper.  Then I covered the front in clear contact paper so I could write on it with a dry erase marker.  I cut a slit for my notepad (grocery list) and put a few magnet strips on the back.  Voila!  My menu planner:

Device Covers

We’re addicted to technology.  Who isn’t these days?  Laptops, smart phones, digital cameras, DS’s and now a Kindle, a Kindle fire, a couple of DSi’s, a DSiXL and an iPod Touch.  So, today I put my sewing machine to work!  I see lots of iPad cover tutorials (of which we don’t own) and thought, I can do that for our stuff!  And I did!  The littlest one and I went to Joann’s this morning for some fabric and batting.  2 bobbins, one mis-cut and a few pins in the fingers later I have 3 covers done and 1 more to go.  I need to go back to Joann’s for more velcro.

This was the first one for the iPod.  See my Craft gallery for pics of the others.  Thanks for looking and have a great weekend!

iPod cover

New Website!

Well, I’ve realized that my blog started out for my photography and artwork.  Then I added a little of everything!  But, my photography seems to be buried among everything else, so….I created a website specifically to display my photography!

I’ve picked my favorites from the past couple years and will continue adding to it as the months go by.  I’ve also added a special gallery for weddings!

I love wordpress and will continue to post my “creative endeavors” here.  My new website will also free up a little space for pics of artwork and other projects! 🙂

Please, take a look and let me know what you think!

JillsCreativeEndeavors.weebly.com

Have a great week!

 

A Solution!

I have received some beautiful ATCs in the swaps that I’ve joined but a few are larger than the standard 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 size because of embellishments.  And, because of this, they don’t fit in the sleeves that I have in my binder.  I had them in a sleeve in the pocket in the binder but they weren’t really displayed…until now!

I took a regular full size page protector and made it into 4 sections!  Now the oversized ATCs fit nicely and I can add the pages to my binder!

First I put cardboard in the page protector and using an Xacto knife I made a slit horizontally through the middle (you HAVE to use the cardboard because you don’t want to cut all the way through the page).  Then I went to my sewing machine and sewed across the page just above the slit to seal the top section.  Then I made a vertical seam through the middle from top to bottom making the 4 sections.  I was surprised at how well it worked- who knew you could sew plastic!  🙂

2 of my sewn pages. One already filled with ATCs I've received

A close up of the sewn page

Oh, and if you’re going to try it, make sure you start at the bottom for the verticle seam!  The first one I started at the top and the plastic bunched up a bit at the center.  The second one I started at the bottom and had no issues!

I’m pleased with how my pages came out- a cheap solution when you’re on a budget!

Merry Christmas!!!

All the preparations, all the baking, all the cooking, wrapping and traveling…all over for another year.  I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas- I sure did!!

The 2nd last day of school was Raelyn’s class party.  I went in a little early to read the class a Christmas book and my sister, who had the day off, came along to surprise Rae!  One mom sent in “blank” cut out cookies for the kids to decorate with frosting and sprinkles!  During the party each of the kids got a letter from Santa-

Rae and Jordan reading their letters

Christmas Eve we spend with my Dad’s side of the family.  His older brother and new bride, my 2 cousins, my Gram and my parents, sister, a friend of hers, and brother all gathered here for a Polish dinner of Polish sausage, homemade pierogies and kluskis and veggie dishes.  As a little surprise I made a “wedding” cake for Uncle Tom and Cathy.  They both own Harleys- so I made black and orange accents with a print out of a bride and groom with 2 bikes on top.  By no means am I a cake decorator- but I thought it was cute and it went over well!

This year the girls got matching Christmas pajamas on Christmas Eve.  I always get a pic of the girls in their matching jammies on the stairs, whether we are at home or at my sister’s house.  Well, this year, Juli wanted nothing to do with a picture!

This is a centerpiece that I put together-

Christmas morning- Santa came!!  The girls were sooo excited to see the piles of gifts under the tree!  My sister stayed overnight with us so she could see the girls open all their gifts.  I was very surprised and excited to get a Kindle Fire from my husband!!

Santa came!!

Every year we go to my parents’ house for breakfast and more presents!

Rae got a Glow Dome

Nina got a hat and a coat

Juli got a tee ball set

and much much more!

One of the gifts I made for my Mom and my Gram I can finally post!  I made them each a heat/cold pack filled with rice-

We returned home for a couple of hours to open a few new gifts then the girls dressed in their Christmas dresses and we head to my mom’s cousin’s house for Christmas with her side of the family.  After a nice turkey dinner, the kids opened a few more gifts and we spent a nice evening together

5 great grand daughters

Overall, it was a GREAT Christmas!

 

 

 

 

 

More homemade handmade gifts

Thanks to Pintrest, I found LOTS of ideas for hand made stuff.  Well, I picked my favorites and got work to work.  A little improvising, a few changes and I think I ended up with some nice stuff! 🙂  Here’s a couple of my favorites; see my Craft and Projects page for pics of more projects and some info on how to make your own!

trail mix jar

Christmas post it holders

snow man candy jar

 

 

Updates!

I’ve been adding to my pages!  I’ve added the new FOOD! page, instructions for a simple kid’s Christmas tree craft, and some more projects! Please check back for more updates!  Don’t want to miss a post?  Become a follower and like me on Facebook!

Thanks for looking!

Mickey Mouse travel set

Ideas

I’ve added a new page under my Crafts and Projects page- just some ideas I’ve come up with and done around the house.

I had too many pictures displayed on the hutch.  But, who can put away pics of their kids?  Not me!  So, I looked around….I have 2 sets of pics (10×13) on the walls- the girls’ first photos from the hospital and 9 month pics.  On the hutch I have 5x7s of the current school pic.  So….I rearranged the 9 month pics and hung the school pics underneath.  Freed up room on the hutch and made a nice display to see the changes from when the girls were babies til now!

Through the years

I’ll add to this new gallery once in a while, so be sure to check back!