I Love Rhinestones!

Ok so I have done some work this week on some projects, but this one has a special place in my heart. I love to work with rhinestones! How can you not love the pretty, shiny, little things? I am heading over to a friends house today and she just recently moved in so I figured I would bring something with me (hopefully she doesn't read this before I get over there!).

This started off as a project my mom and I came up with. We both use regular clothespins to keep our snack bags closed. My friend saw these and started making fun of them so my mom and I came up with the Designer Chip Clips. I have been using mine for months and they always put a smile on my face. All those rhinestones. My mom has a set in Florida and my friend who made fun of me also has a set.

So obviously, my love of rhinestones is not limited to clothespins. I have also added them to one of my favorite items, martini glasses. The hot pink martini glass is a favorite of mine. (I collect them and have a large selection to choose from, but the pink is always among the first to be picked.) Then there is also the champagne glass! Everyone should drink champagne. It's not just for special occassions! Although, two sets of the champagne glasses are for just that. I have created to sets of wedding champagne flutes. Each set is has a blue and a pink glass. The bottoms are painted irredescent pink and blue and each has mostly clear rhinestones with some pink and blue rhinestones, so one for the hubby and one for the wifey!

I also created a couple of champagne flutes for my girlies when they come over. It just makes you feel glamourous, drinking out of these shiney, pretty glasses. Hope you enjoy and if you like shiney things and are interested in anything let me know, I can always make more!

Sister's Diaper Bag Christmas Present

Well now that the holidays are over I finally have time to catch my breath. Today was the first day I worked on a project since Christmas! But I did want to post the major, big project I did was my sister's diaper bag. She is going to have a baby girl in February so I thought it would be a great present.

It all started late one night when I couldn't sleep. So it was about 2 am and I was watching Project Runway and just started sketching bags. I started with some handbags and then moved onto my sister's diaper bag. I thought it would look really cool with quilting (wow, was that some work!) In the end I was super excited about how the bag turned out, but have to say I probably won't do one with quilting again. It didn't fit into my sewing machine at times so I had to hand sew some layers.

My favorite is the inside lining. But you shouldn't look at it for too long because I know I was getting headaches as I worked with it.

The bag also has three outside pockets, one large pocket on the front and two on the side that you can fit bottles into.

Hope you enjoy it and let me know what you think!

Magazine Baskets

So my grandma saw a basket I made for my dad's girlfriend last year and decided she wanted to give some for gifts. It started with "Can you make me 4?" and I said sure no problem. They aren't that hard to make. Then a little bit later she asked if I could make 2 more. Ok sure, though by now I am bored with making them. So I finished those yesterday and then I call her and say that my husband and I will make it up there so she will have them before Christmas. I also had to drop off my Christmas present from her and one for my husband so she is able to wrap them. (I help her with her shopping so I always make sure I get what I want. :) ) So during the call she asks if I can make one more!!!!!! I of course, say yes and then get my butt in gear to work on the last one. Not only do I have to be able to get it done but they also have to be sealed which takes a couple of hours with each coat and I have to do inside and out. So, finally, today at about 4 pm I finished the last basket and started coating it.

So here are the last three. I think I may be done making these for now. 7 is definitely enough.

Now I can get to work on my other presents and of course yesterday I came up with a few more that I have to get done. Hopefully, I will be able to get everything done before Christmas.

Christmas Pillow

I had a great weekend this weekend, but no project work. :( But I did go to a craft show, Crafty Balboa, in Philly on Saturday with my friend. We had a good time and got our goodie bags since we were the first in line! You never know, with traffic, how long it is going to take you, so I was there almost an hour early! Oh well, good time to catch up with my friend. Picked up a few fun things and some great ideas for more projects, including a mobile made of stuffed birds. So excited and when I looked for a bird pattern, I found the exact pattern. But, of course, that project will have to wait until after Christmas! Then I went to another friend's house for girls' night. We all had a great time and then went to see New Moon Sunday morning.

Finally, Sunday night I settled down to check out my emails and found this great blog that had a tutorial for a pointsettia pillow. I thought it would be a perfect present for my grandmom, so I ran to the fabric store and picked up the materials. It was pretty easy and I think it looks great. Thanks Centsational Girl for the great idea!

So tonight I have to work on the magazine baskets I promised my grandmother I would get done for her. I have to have them done before the weekend because I have to get them to her before Christmas. Then I have two more bags and a bowl to get done before the big holiday.

Sailing Pillows

So I finally got back on track and feeling better. Yesterday, I was temporarily sidelined by a migraine so I wasn't able to do much, but today I hit the ground running.

My husband had a project for me this time, a thank you present for someone who is into sailing. So we decided on a throw pillow. I wanted to do embroidery on the pillow but couldn't find a pattern to use. I ended up finding a stencil for painting and just drew it on the fabric. Then as I was working on that one, I realized it would also be a great Christmas present for someone. So I made two.





They have a sailboat on the front and an anchor on the back.
They were fun to make and I enjoy embroidery because it's something I can do in front of the tv. I have found it a little tougher lately because I need glasses for up close work. I am hoping to get them this week so maybe that will cut back on the headaches.

Next up, I have to finish a pocketbook for a friend and then work on two projects that were created by my foster dobie, Pepper Penny. She loves to eat my clothes and the other day she got a hold of a favorite tshirt so I am repurposing that. And yesterday she escaped from her crate and ate my hoodie that I had just created from an old Custo Barcelona shirt. It took so long to do the first time, now I have to redo. Gotta love the puppies.

My First Blog

Today I finally started my blog. I'm excited to share all the projects I have been working on. I have been very busy since Christmas is around the corner. Right now I am working on purses for some of my family, a diaper bag for my sister and some pillows for presents. I think there are probably a few others that I forget at the moment. I'm always looking for something new to try and love to work on all kinds of crafts!

The next computer project is getting my store up and on line. So I have to take photos of all my items and see what I can sell. So for now I gotta run and let the dogs in because they are barking like crazy. I'm going to go work on my pillow that I am embroidering.