Color Technique: Muslin + Crayons?

Whew!  I realize this post has been almost a year in coming!  I first hinted at this technique almost a year ago when we made a banner for the lemonade stand!  I love how this turned out and have had so many people compliment it. (P.S. It still looks great after wintering outside!)  This technique is one my mother taught us when we were very young and I still have some of the pieces we made.  It takes the lowly crayon to a whole new level!

So without further ado, the muslin crayon technique:

Materials:
Muslin fabric in desired size
Crayons
Permanent Markers
Scrap fabric

Technique:
I like to sketch out my design in pencil first and then go over it with the permanent marker so I know it will turn out how I want it.  You also may choose to place a design from another source under the fabric and trace it on.  Really the permanent marker is optional, but it really helps with definition. 

Color in as desired with the crayons.  After you are completely finished coloring, place a piece of fabric (I use an OLD, thin towel) over the colored side of the art and iron through.  The color may dull or bleed ever so slightly and will likely stain the scrap piece.  And you're done!

Just in the last year we've used this technique for banners (lemonade and craft fair), wall hangings to be framed, and a pillow case!  The possibilities are endless!  I've not yet tried this technique on clothing that would be washed frequently, but if you do would you let me know how it goes?  These have made some fun gifts and the kids love getting involved with it, too!

DAISY Chain Craft Fair!

Happy (belated) Easter friends!  I'm terribly sorry I've been a bit absent lately, but I've been thinking about catching up every day!  There has been a lot of behind-the-scenes type work going on around our house lately, and I'm so excited to share it with you!  As I mentioned in my previous post, I'm going to be setting up my first craft fair booth at DAISY Chain's 2nd Annual craft fair in just a couple weeks.  Today I want to give you an idea of what I've been working on for my little table! 

 

 

Art Print Cards!  From several of my larger pieces, miniaturized, folded, inscribable, and givable.

 

 

Baby and Toddler Skirts!  My daughter wants to wear a comfortable "dancing skirt" all the time and these are such a joy to make.  My fabrics and trimmings are often from my multigenerational stash (thanks Mom!) and vintage, upcycled sources, but always thoroughly cleaned beforehand, of course.  

Bandana Bibs!  Little ones can produce an illogical amount of drool, especially while teething, but they can sure look cute at the same time!  I love the look of these little bandana style drool bibs and tried to incorporate more absorbent fabrics into these.  I have both regular and slouchy (shown) styles.

 



I also have a variety of winter and summer bonnets, candles and magnets. There are also many more styles and designs of each, this is just to give you an idea  And who knows what else I might get a hankering to whip out before the big weekend! ;)

It was so hard to decide what to focus on, but this is the direction I've decided to take for my first show.  I'm a little giddy through all this prep, and I truly hope if you're able to make the trip that I'll see you there!  April 9-10 from 12:00 - 4:00 pm at 1244 Lawrence St. in Eugene.  Look for my sign (it will hopefully be slightly more embellished by then):

Beginning the Gardening Adventures (2016)

Daffodils blossom at the base of a fallen snag.

 

It really is February still, right!?  With this weather, I'd never guess!  On our trip to town this week the kids were hot and stripping off layers, begging to have the windows down in the truck!  We did and it felt SO lovely!  "May means maybe" (may still have more snow and freezing temps)  is what we were always told in AK, so this definite spring so early feels a little foreign yet!

Spring Queen

And things are blooming!  Daffodils and crocuses of course, but also camellias, violets, nettles, mock cherries, and several new to me as well!  So I began to think, "well, maybe I should be growing things now, too?"  And, though slightly early, when I looked at a planting chart for the area (great zoning and scheduling for US here) it could already be time to plant some of the seeds I had OUTSIDE!  I love it!  And I love how we can get hints about the timing of planting based on the wild things growing around us!

So my trusty helpers and I got everything together and got those seeds in some rich dark dirt. Mostly according to the directions, but  when your over-eager assistants are 2 and 4, the depth and spacing measurements are kinda out the window.  We'll see how things go!  This is my first year really trying a container garden, too!  My hope is that we'll be moving to our own plot of land by the end of harvest.  It may be a long stretch, but I can dream, right? =)



It's good to coat my hands in earth again!

So once we planted and "tucked in" our seeds (for whatever reason, burying them was too traumatic, so we just tucked them in their dirt beds and bid them a nice nap! =) ) it was time to water them.  Out came their water buckets and certainly washed away a section of our broccoli before it even had a chance!  I quickly stopped that method and we pulled a couple milk jugs out of the recycling bin. 

With a few holes hammered into the lids and filled with water, they made perfect watering cans for the little ones: a manageable size that only released a drizzle instead of a deluge of water at once!  Now we wait!  I can't wait to be growing our own food again!

Any hints for a new Oregon gardener  wannabe?  Every thing seems so simple here as a whole!  I'm comparing this to my Fairbanks garden where I had to dig several feet through peat moss to the permafrost, build a frame for my garden and line the bottom with 2" insulation, fill with dirt and surround with a fence to keep the arctic hares out all while fighting the swarms of mosquitos.  Then every year our neighborhood moose and her calf(s) would eat the majority before I could harvest it!  SO infuriating!  I've been told the deer are an issue here, and I remember the slugs; is there anything else I should be aware of?  I look forward to hearing your gardening adventures!

KISS Play Dress or Shirt (Keep It Simple, Sweetie)

Pretty sure I figured out (one of) my problem(s) this week.  I often feel like I do nothing well, but I'm interested in doing almost everything.  You've heard the phrase Jack of all Trades?  Me to a t.  It's becoming clear to me as I see the same attitude in my tiny daughter whose favorite phrase right now is, "Me got this."  I got it, I'm good, I can figure this out by myself.  Apparently, from my own mothers stories, my similar phrase at age two was, "Do it by myself."  I'm sure it's quite common among two year olds, but I evidently never grew out of that!  I have this desire in me to figure things out by myself and just be as self sufficient as possible.  And most often this comes out in a joy to learn new skills such as cooking from scratch, animal tending, and homemade utensils and clothing.  But then I'm on to the next thing, often without honing my skills to an adept level, but just enough to get by in a pinch if I needed to. 

Ah, well.  Perhaps expertise will simply come with age?  Speaking of which, is it just me, or has time picked up the pace a little bit?  It seems to be screaming by with a 4 and 2 year old growing in our home!  Wow!  Every day they amaze me!  And every day I'm amazed by which of their clothes no longer fit! =)  Even a non-parent friend of mine commented yesterday how absurd he found it to spend a fortune on a child's wardrobe when they so quickly out grow (or wear through) it! 

And while children's clothes can be less expensive, great deals can be found a thrift shops, and little blessings of hand-me-downs sometimes appear, there's something very satisfying in making something specifically for your child.  While I love knit and crochet, the investment of time alone into the project makes it a precious commodity that I tend to reserve for occasions such as church or the like.  But more often than not, my children live in play clothes.  I've made (refashioned) several simple play dresses for my daughter, but have been hesitant to share them on here because they're not perfect, not well-finished they're just comfortable play dresses that she will outgrow in a couple months!  But for those of you who might have a similar interest and goal, I'll sketch out my quick process.  Usually this dress takes me less than an hour, start to finish.

1)  Select a shirt: I do this from my give-away pile.  Some stains and small tears can be avoided depending on where you place your pattern.  Select a long sleeved shirt if you want your new dress to have long sleeves.

I wanted to put this here because it's often difficult to determine the shape of the sleeve.  You want to shoot for this bell shape where the sleeve will connect to the bodice so that it will hang well. 

2) Trace pattern: take a shirt or dress that currently fits (or mentally add a slight margin if you know you want it bigger), turn it inside out and fold it in half.  Likewise, fold the adult shirt in half. Line up he collar and, after you've determined how long you want the bodice to be, trace arm holes, sides and waist, lifting the sleeves to trace the arm holes if necessary.  Continue the waist cut all the way across the shirt.  This bottom rectangle will be your (already hemmed!) skirt section.  If you need to make it shorter, cut away desired strip size from the waist side.  Then determine how long you need the sleeves to be and line up the top folded edge before tracing it'sbell shape onto the sleeves of the shirt.  Don't forget seam allowance of about 1/4".   

3) Cut pieces: remember to consider seam allowance. 

4) Sew:  With right sides together, I like to start with the shoulders and sides of the top first.  Be sure you sew from the collar side toward the periphery on the shoulder seams so the collar is sure to line up.

 

 

     After this you can do a slight gather on the skirt, but I often just pin the bodice (right side out) to the skirt (inside out over the bodice so right sides are facing) at the quarter marks and then gently gather as I go. 

 

And to finish off with the sleeves, you need to sew the seam the length of the sleeve first, set it into the armhole of the bodice, and (pinned and right sides facing again) carefully sew around. 

 

 

 

 

New dress!  Time: 1 hour, Cost: $0 Ready to play and I won't worry a lick if it gets muddy, stained or torn!  This easily translates into a shirt pattern and you know it's going to fit your little one perfectly!  Though I tend to make mine on the larger side so she can wear it just a little bit longer! =)  I've used this concept for all the tops pictured.  As I mentioned, I'm not much of a sewer (Haha!  "Sewer!"  I mean "seamstress!"), so if you have any questions or I can provide better instructions in some way, I would love to hear from you!

Variation: with this sweater dress, I omitted the waistline and continued my side seams to the original bottom hem.

Variation: Use a men's dress shirt (and keep the pockets!)

Variation: no waist, higher bottom for shirt style that I did have to hem myself

Tea for Two: A Party in Blue

Tea for Two

We are already a full week into the new year!  And we’ve only had one official day of any sort of book learning as far as preschool is concerned.  But we’ve gone on several outings where they’ve learned by experiencing first hand!  That’s always my favorite, anyway!

One month ago my daughter turned two!  I love seeing her little personality and preferences come out!  I get to know who she is more every day!  I wanted to share with you about her tea party for anyone else who might like the ideas, but everyone was very much is the Christmas swing of things afterward that I decided to hold out until now.  One of the things our little lady loves (and often demands) is tea!  Though I let her have a sip or two of my Irish Breakfast Tea at times, she has a box of mint tea and berry tea of her own that she savors.  So naturally a “Tea for Two” party suited her to a “tea” =)

I scoured the thrift stores for old tea cups and saucers for a couple months.  I love how they’re all unique and some of them are quite old and lovely!  Most of them I was able to pick up for a dollar a piece.  It’s possible I was a little crazy offering real china to six children under the age of 5, but they all did great with a little parental assistance!

Blue is this little wildling’s signature color, so I worked it in as much as possible: blue and white balloons everywhere, blue tablecloth with lace overlay, chair cover, her clothes, and cakes and candies.  I made a three tiered serving tray out of plastic ware from the dollar store and used doilies, paper plates, and napkins from there as well. 

 Her little birthday crown is simply made from a length of lace and homemade mod podge (Online instructions here)

As for the food, we had cucumber (delicious recipe here) and tuna sandwiches, tomato ricotta mini quiche, apple rose tarts, and pirouette biscuits.  I attempted to make petit fours for her cake.  Basically I made a white cake from this  amazing recipe, cut tiny squares, doubled with a blueberry filling in the middle.  Then I covered with fondant and painted tiny pictures of her favorite things (horses, mountains, and flowers) in blue tinted sweetened condensed milk.  I really love how they turned out! 

We had a couple activities including the Tea Bag Toss(throwing tea bags through a giant tea cup)! I also sketched out a tea set outline for the children to design their own china pattern.  If you’d like to use this, the blank template is printable here! 

She ended up having the most wonderful time and continues to talk about it almost daily!  It may not have been perfect, but it was inexpensive and memorable and I’m quite certain our little lady felt like a princess for the day!