Sew, What's New?

I purchased a sewing machine from a family friend's garage sale sometime in the early 90s. The machine itself was her first sewing machine and dates back to 1975. Almost as old as me. She took fabulous care of it. I had grand ideas about learning to sew and, I don't know, making curtains for my residence hall room or something?? Anyway, I have moved this machine too many times to admit but it has been in several states! My children have done a number on my couch and pillows ... juice boxes, bottles, spit up, throw up, etc. So I purchased some fabric on sale and thought maybe, just maybe, I'd pull out that old sewing machine to make new pillow covers. Well, that was months ago. And yesterday I got the urge ... not sure why! Coupon from JoAnn's maybe?

So, thanks to the organization of this family friend, I was able to reference all the original instruction manuals and such. After fighting with the bobbin for a very long time, I finally mastered sewing in a straight line. WooHoo! So here are my first two creations ... SNAKES :) A girly snake for Kammy and a boy snake for Teagan. Just used some old fabric I had lying around. Cute, huh? Hee hee!



Well, then for the second reason the sewing machine came out. I have always wanted to donate to Locks of Love. I have very curly, very thick hair, though. And my hair has been short since grad school. My hair does not just get longer, it gets wider. I am badly in need of a hair cut but this LOL thing has been on my mind so yesterday I decided that I am going to *TRY* to do it. And in order to get through the hell that this will undoubtably be, I need to have some nice tight and wide headbands. Viola! Another sewing project. I made three of these :)



I might even attempt one of the 6 pillow recovers today ...

Happy Crafting,

Octo Purse

Morning! This is gonna be a quick post, as my kids are parked in front of the TV and we are all still in our PJs. Definitely need to be productive today! I made this card for a friend who was so kind to give me birthday present last month. Thanks, Sandy!




I also made a set of four cards for a Party Lite friend. She had mentioned maybe buying some cards from me a while ago but we just kept talking without any specifics. So, I decided to be assertive and just make her some to see if we could "make a deal". And it worked :) So, these were a gift. I didn't get a good picture of them unfortunately. They are square cards with a window in the center. I punched some scalloped squares from printed paper and cut out the window. Than, on the inside, layered another scalloped square of printed paper, a smaller solid colored scalloped square and than the candle party stamp which I thought worked perfect for this occasion. I popped up the candle stamp so it comes through the window a bit. Than tied a ribbon along the side, after running the front of the card through my Big Shot to add the embossed polka dots. Not sure you can see any of this in the pictures so hopefully this will give you an idea. I like how they turned out and were actually very quick to do!



Thanks for looking! Happy Crafting :)

One Project Finished

I have actually had a lot of time in my craft room lately. Not sure exactly how I managed that?? And Tim starts his marathon of work in August. So, that should continue for a while. I am officially a married single mom. Just until after Labor Day.

Anyway, next Tuesday, I start a book club at Kammy's preschool and wanted to have something to take notes in for that. Plus I wanted to post some altered composition books on my etsy store, Creations By SeaStar. So here is my finished project!





We are reading, No! Why Kids - of All Ages - Need to Hear It and Ways Parents Can Say It by David Walsh, PhD. I have only read chapter 1 so far, but it is really good! I am super excited about the club and the book. So, now I am already with my cute journal, too!

I have also made some progress on the other two projects on my craft table, but not enough to post yet. I want them to be completed -- who wants to see another sneak peek at the same unfinished project, right? Besides that gives me a little incentive for finishing them up.

Thanks for looking! Happy Crafting :)

Works in Progress

I don't usually start more than one project at once, but for some reason I was feeling a little ADD at my craft table this past week or so. Nothing is finished, of course! Thats what happens with too many things in progress at once. But I didn't want to disappear from my blog again for too long, so here is a super sneak peek!

My sister won the "whats the weirdest thing you have used in a stamp project" question. She made a pencil box for her desk out a tampon box. In fact, she made three of them because they turned out so cute :)

So, here is a sneak at her "prize". When its all finished I will show the complete picture.



Then, I wanted to alter some composition books since school is coming up fast, I thought those might be quick sales on my Etsy Store. And I am starting a book club at Kammy's preschool so this will be used as a sample for the store and my personal journal for that.



And lastly, another work in progress using some fun flocked paper I found on sale at Hobby Lobby. This one is really rough but stayed tuned for the finished masterpiece :)



Happy Crafting,