Sweater Felt Project

I been wanting to try this project, it was in a Country Living magazine a few months ago. I'm sorry I don't have a link to it, but I will tell you what I have done.

I went to a thrift store and found this old sweater. I personally don't care to wear this particular sweater but I like the patch-work look.


First get a wool sweater and wash it hot water with detergent in the washing machine on a normal cycle. Then dry it in the dryer. That's it. Depending on the sweater you might have to rewash it several times. This will transform the wool into felt.

In the magazine they had instructions for a different style of bag. I did not care for that one so I did my own thing.


After the sweater became felt, the whole process of making this bag was fun! When I made the first cut with my scissors, it did not flay. I succeeded in making felt! I had no plan on how to make this, I just kind of went with the flow. I would love to make more wool felt but it was hard to find 100% wool sweater at the local thrift stores. I have to say, my curiosity was satisfied.

House of Discipline

I was out running some errands. Aaron was home with the children. We were talking on the phone and as Aaron was walking down the stairs he noticed someone was in timeout.



Aaron called Rachel, and she came from the TV room and replied, "What Daddy?"
Aaron then said, "Did you put your baby here?"
"Yes!"
"Why"
"She's in timeout." (Rachel was put into timeout this morning and was probably "reliving" the experience through her baby doll.)
Aaron asked, "Why?"
Rachel smiled and said, "'cause, she hit me"

Love is in the Air

Just before Christmas, American Crafts had a warehouse sale. My friend and I went there, I bought lots of ribbons and scrapbooking supplies. One of the things I bought was this container of felt cut-outs.


I thought using this would speed up the Valentine's project I had in mind. I used the felt hearts with embroidery thread, beads, and buttons. I made several combinations.










The project was small and very easy to do. Since I didn't have much time, before Valentine's day (helped the kids get their Valentine's pary stuff done, tae kwon do, and other things) I caried them around in a zip lock bag and I did them while waiting to pick up my boys from school and other spare moments I could find. I love projects like that!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's day with their loved ones!!

Michaelisms times three

Michaelism [mahy-kuhl-iz-uhm]-noun. A saying or idea from Michael that totally catches everyone off guard.

I have several Michaelisms, in fact it is hard to go through a day without at least one or two.

Human Right's Day

Sunday the 11th of January, we were driving up to Grandma's and Grandpa's house for a dinner, when Christopher, out of the blue stated that there was no school on the 19th.
Michael asked, "Why?"
Christopher responed, "I don't know".
Then Aaron chimed in, "It's human rights day or civil right's day."
Michael innocently asked, "What's human right's day?"
Aaron responded, "It's the day we celebrate all things right. We can only go right, turn right, or talk to the people on our right."
There was silence as the gears inside Michael's head started turning. I call it the ticking moment. He's thinking.
On our way home several hours later, Michael suddenly spoke up and said, "I don't like human rights day!"
Aaron, chuckled and said, "But, Michael, you get the day off from school."
Michael responed, "I don't like it."
Then Aaron asked, "Why?"
We were totally unprepared for the response. "Sometimes I want to go left or straight."

Question Asked

Aaron and I were in different rooms. I heard a commotion; the boys were fighting. And we heard, "Christopher you loser!" That is totally unacceptable in our house. We called the boys to us and gave them a chance to tell us what was going on.
Christopher said, "Michael called me a loser."
Aaron then asked, "Michael, did you call Christopher a loser?"
Michael thought for a moment and then finally responded, "Well... Daddy, that is a hard question."
It was so hard for us to keep a straight face.

Fatherly Advice

This again, happened while we were driving. Christopher tattled on Michael, "Dad, Michael is picking his nose!" (Oh come on, all kids his age do that!)
So Aaron said, "Michael! You can pick your friends and you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friend's nose!"
Michael, quiet for a moment (tick tick tick), then asked very innocently, "They can pick their own nose?"


Sometimes parenting is hard, but moments like these make us laugh and keep us going.

If you give Sachiko a piece of Jewelry

This is the only Jewelry I have from Lia Sophia. Depending on where the light hits it, it looks green or sometimes it looks blue. I love it so much that I wanted something similar but in a different color...








So I made a pink one! I wasn't sure what color I should combine, so I did salmon pink pearl and lavender Swarovski. And that reminded me that...






I've wanted a pink bracelet for a while. I don't know if it is that I'm getting older or if having a girl made me want to have pink things, but lately I've been drawn to pink stuff! In my bead case, next to the pink beads were some...






Burgondy beads. I wanted to experiment with them and make something in a darker color. I came up with these. I tried them on and was very happy! Those bracelets reminded me of...





A bracelet in Cath Kidson's catalogue, but it was too expensive for my tastes. I wanted to imitate the look and came up with this. The color of the pearl reminded me that I'd lost one of my favorite pearl earrings...





So I made one. I love the color white. I wanted a matching necklace to go with it. So I...









made a long necklace with pearl and glass beads and some beige-ish color so that it would go with several of my outfits. Neutral color jewelry is nice because it is versatile, but sometimes I want something a little more fun and different. Something different reminds me of the Lia Sophia earrings that I have. I think I'll wear those today!

Valentine Quilt (Top)

OK, it's not quilted but I pieced a Valentine's quilt togehter. I love the random look. I mixed new Moda fabric with scraps I had lying around.


I'm still trying to decide if I should add a border to it, or just call it as is. I had some left over fabrics. I can never get rid of tiny pieces. In my work area, I have a basket full of scraps. Some are 1" x 1", I don't know what I'm going to do with 'em, but I can't throw them out. With the left over fabric from the Valentine's Quilt, I just made this pin cushion.


There is something about Valentine's theme; red, pink, white, and chocolate brown, that makes me feel cheerful and happy. I might make some more Valentine's crafts in the next few days!

HOO-RAY!!!

I checked this site and saw that the CPSIA is on hold for a year so that it can be decided how this law should be implemented and enforced. This is a major victory. I want to thank all those that signed the petition and wrote their congressman. Our hard work has paid off. However we still need to gather more voices and keep moving forward. If we back off now, they may not change the law at all.

Again, I just want to say thank you, thank you, thank you, to you all!