I am obsessed!!

So from the way I understand it, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder has many degrees and varieties. Well, my particular brand has Everything to do with CRAFTS!!

I have gone through so many different obsessions lately, first and always it has been scrapbooking and cardmaking, then I found glass etching and went absolutely crazy with it for about 3 weeks. Next I moved on to Plastic Canvas crafts, I really loved making cute little boxes for trinkets and stuff. I even have this cool idea in my head to make a plastic canvas play mat for my son to drive his cars on, and I can make 3-D buildings and things to attach onto it for him to re-arrange and stuff. Well, we will see if that ever happens. If you look back through my blog I have also gone a little crazy making dozens of trinket boxes, then handmade notebooks.

Right now I am loving to sew! Sewing. It is so weird to me that I have found such an interest in it now, I was taught how to sew when I was young. I even made myself some clothes like during my elementary and jr. high school days. I made a vest, skirt, and pajama pants, you know things like that. I learned originally through 4-H, but my mom is a very skilled seamstress and has always made me and my sisters things growing up. My mom made my Jr. Prom dress, and lots of our Halloween costumes. My younger sisters were even in a Renaissance Fair and she made them the most beautiful dresses for it!!

Well, despite all of my mother's efforts, I never really picked it up, until now. I found some adorable patterns at Joann's and thought I would give it another shot. Plus I recently got a new sewing machine for Christmas and have been so excited to give it a go. When JoAnn's has pattern sales I can't help myself! I got 20 new patterns this week for only $.99 each!! On my receipt I saved over $150 dollars!!

Okay, thanks for being patient through my ramblings. Here is what I made first, keeping in mind that I have since made 2 more little girls dresses and am cutting out my most recent pattern of a little boys' dress shirt, vest, and bowtie!!

The dresses are for my daughter EmmaLee and our friends' daughter Lucy. I made them in a 4T and 24mo/2T. They are basically the same dress, but I varied a few things.

I didn't think EmmaLee would like the sleeve elastic scrunched up on her arm, so I made hers with flowing sleeves, and a bow right on the front center. Lucy's has bows on the sleeves, and one on the bottom left front. Also not shown, on the back of the dresses they have 2 buttons, EmmaLee's are round and kinda big, and Lucy's are small and heart shaped.

Of course, they had to also have matching purses!! I can't believe how difficult it was to read the pattern for the purses!! I had a little help from mom with that, but then had a blast putting it all together. I love to use up every last bit of something, so it was a great way to use the small scraps of fabric.

365 Cards Day 46 - Matchbook Card

I ran across this awesome blog and have wanted to join one of their challenges for weeks, but have been having a hard time finding the spare time to make a card. I happened to have just made this a couple days ago!! Hope it will count!

I think I made this on the day that they had the Gift Card challenge, but didn't enter it in time. I wish I could get into this whole blogging thing better!! I stink at posting! Thanks for looking.

My Etsy Shop

I am so excited! I just opened up my own etsy shop! It's this cool website that people sell all their handmade items from. Check it out!! Just click on the Post Title or on my name at the bottom to see my shop!

I'm Back

So I have returned from my little excursion to the states, and will hopefully be able to jump right back into the swing of things. It is always refreshing to be away from my children for a short time, but inevitable that I start missing the very things they do to annoy me!! *smile* Oh well, what can you do.

Let's get this posting thing back on track too! I have already written other pieces to go along with EmmaLee's story but havn't published them yet, I feel they might be a bit outdated now and will work on that this week. I was contacted by another mother with a daughter also diagnosed with Netherton's Syndrome and was inspired to finish my journaling of living and dealing with it.

Thanks for your comments and interest in us and my blog!

Glass Etching

It is actually sooooo simple to do, and the results can be stunning. The only drawback of glass etching that I can see is the cost of the etching cream. It is EXPENSIVE! Oh man! A small 10 oz bottle of it was $34.99 at Michaels. Of course you should use a 40% off coupon and save yourself $14.00 to help ease the cost. I also purchased my mirrors at Michaels, for quite resonable prices.

Seriously I got a little carried away once I discovered how easy it was! I started with this small coaster set. Here's how:

Supplies:

piece of glass or mirror

plastic or paper stencil

etching cream

repositionable spray adhesive

flat bristle paintbrush

1. Clean your glass with Windex first, wipe until dry.

2. Spray the back of your stencil with the repositionable adhesive. ( I laid down scrap paper underneath to catch any overspray from the can.)

3. Position the stencil on your glass. Don't worry if you place it crooked or wrong, just peel it back up and position again.

4. Rub the stencil firmly to ensure complete contact with the glass, especially on any small pieces in the design.

5. Using the paintbrush, apply a thick layer of etching cream onto your stencil making sure to completely cover all open areas of the stencil. *Also be careful not to brush any extra cream in unwanted areas!!

6. Let cream stand for 5 minutes. ( I have found that adding additional time is not neccessary and doesn't improve the darkness of the etching very much, but it doesn't hurt if you accidentally leave it on too long.)

7. Wash cream completely off under running water. Dry, and clean with Windex again.

That's it! Just think about all the possibilities with all the stencils out there!

Glass Etching on votive holders is a little more difficult but worth the trouble for the beautiful outcome. When you think of all the glass items in your house that could be spruced up with some decorative etching I hope you'll be as excited as I am!

Catching Up...

What you've missed...

For Halloween EmmaLee was Princess Belle and Ethan was her Knight. She demanded that we call her Princess EmmaLee Belle for weeks afterward! Oh, and I was a scarecrow.

I absolutely love the wig on her. I was kinda hoping that she would too, since she will never have a full head of hair. I've always been open to the idea that she might want one someday, I thought maybe even as early as 5 or 6 years old. Nope, she did NOT like it, just too itchy.

And... EmmaLee turned 4. She wasn't very happy on her birthday, not even blowing out the candles. But obviously she liked the frosting. There WERE stars around the whole border of the cake, until she ran her fingers through it. I actually sat there and secretly watched her do it, I think every kid is allowed at least that on their birthday! lol! What made her finally smile? ELMO pajamas!!!!

My Layouts

Okay, so these are really old pictures in the layouts but I've never scrapped them on anything. And...I actually made everything for the layouts myself!! Pat. Pat. Yes, I'm patting myself on the back.

And yes, I realize that these still need some journaling or explanation...at the very least, a date.