Swiss Days in Midway, Utah

I went with a friend to Swiss Days in Midway, Utah over the weekend. It is a HUGE craft fair with lots of fun stuff. We went for crafting ideas:) Anyway, I just thought I would highlight a few of my favorite boutiques at Swiss Days...

Cale & Company Design Sweet and Shabby Designs Vinylicious Designs Me and Mom's Hats

We have some talented crafters out there!!! -Anisa

I'm a little obsessed with Owls!!!

Okay, so after last month's wood craft workshops at my home, I got such a huge response to owls, that I went a little crazy.... I made a cute yard stake for my little boy's silent auction at his school (sorry, I donated it before I thought to take a picture....I guess I'll have to make another one). And my sister-in-law and I made this adorable wreath! I just love it. It's already on my front door weather it's fall or not!!!

I have been having fun designing a lot of my own wood crafts. You can find some of them finished or unfinished in my Etsy shop The Craft Menagerie (link is in our side bar). I will gradually be adding finished and unfinished products to my shop. If you are local, stay tuned for my October-themed crafts which I will be doing at the end of September.

-Anisa

Seed Beads

We didn't receive any seed bead projects from our readers this month, but we hope you'll join us in next months' challenge! Below are some beautiful items I found on http://www.etsy.com/ (complete with link to seller) that use seed bead in wonderful ways. Seller's link here Seller's link here Seller's link here Seller's link here

I began using seed beads on a canvas bag I've been embroidering and I used them on this scrapbook page about my daughter's newly-discovered love of beading.

Hey, speaking of scrapbooking...

Did you notice our new links section (to the right) that puts blogs for specific craft types in to various categories? Well, under the Scrapbook and Photography Inspiration is a link to Twiddle-Scraps. Click on it (or here) and you'll be transported to a gallery of our personal scrapbook pages that you can scroll through for ideas on scrapbooking your own photos and memories. Check it out!

1 Craft-3 Ways: Aprons

For our 1 Craft 3 Ways this month we decided to make aprons. It was so fun to see the different patterns and fabric that we each chose. I have a friend who is an awesome cake decorator. She teaches classes at Hobby Lobby and I told her a LONG time ago that I would make her an apron. So, I finally made her one for her birthday! I bought this cute fabric at Hobby Lobby:) I don't do well with patterns, but my mother-in-law had an apron similar to THIS pattern that you can buy at Material Girls. I just kind of looked at the pattern and made my own version. I will do a tutorial for this apron in the near future or you can purchase the pattern here. I went a little apron crazy and I have another apron in the works that is made out of a pillow case (tutorial coming soon) I also made an apron similar to this one that I am going to be GIVING AWAY soon in a CONTEST that we have coming up.... stay tuned!!! Anisa

Aprons are the uniform of motherhood. I didn't believe that until I put one on while I was cleaning my kitchen. Guess what? I wanted to clean! But, I'm not in love with the aprons I have in my drawer already. This post was the perfect opportunity to create a new and beautiful uniform that I would love wearing. The fabric was found at a local quilting store on clearance and the pattern came from my moms stash. (Seriously, we're talking the late 70s!) When I saw the simplicity of the aprons, I knew it would be easy to update it. Instead of making the the neck strap and waist ties out of fabric, I used some inch-wide grosgrain ribbon that contrasted with my main colors. I also added the yellow gingham ruffle to the bottom for a little extra femininity. It was such a quick and easy apron and I love that it wraps completely around me. (In fact, Cami told me-ok, she dared me- I should wear it to church. Looking at this photo, I almost could!)

Angie I had no desire to make an apron per se, but looked forward to sharpening my sewing skills (which compared to Angie's and Anisa's, need a lot of work). I asked a small group of friends if anyone wanted an apron. At least three volunteered to help by accepting one. I'm lucky that some graciously deferred and I only had to make one.

However, as soon as I started flipping through Angie's copy of A is for Apron, I found myself in love with at least three different ones and came home with the fabric store with fabric for nearly that many.

I settled on this one for starters. A simple, big pocketed design which filled Jeana's only requirement: she wanted a big bow in the back.

-C

We love our readers!

We love our readers. And we especially love it when are readers work on crafts and we get to see what they do! Here are a couple that were sent in to us.

Liberty sent us these adorable pillows! They are made out of old button up shirts! How cool is that?

Shellie made these cute Placemat Purses after she saw Angie's post on them. Love them.... and that little girl is adorable too:) Sydney sent us this super cute purse that she made. She found the tutorial here on Lula Louise. I especially love the button on the front! It looks like we had a lot of our reader sewing this month... we've been busy sewing too! Check back later this week for our One Craft 3 Ways... we made aprons!!! And don't forget if you made anything with Seed Beads to send those in... we'd like to post your projects on our blog!

-Anisa

Blank Canvas

Canvas Bags.

Really.

They aren't much too look at.

They're sturdy.

They're practical.

They're good for the environment (as shopping bags and library bags).

They are also brimming with possibilities!

They come in a lot of shapes and sizes.

For this bag (which is little more than 7" tall) I used die-cut felt from Fancy Pants designs. I used a simple running stitch to applique it onto the canvas bag. You can't see it, but I wove embroidery floss through the braided handle to add a touch more color.

They come in a small variety of colors.

I did not want to buy a $14+ backpack for my new preschooler, so when I saw a colorful canvas bag I decided that this would be perfect for my little girl. It didn't take much convincing her. She loves it! The solid shapes are painted with regular acrylic paint and outlined with fabric paint. (Before you paint on a canvas bag, make sure you have a piece of cardboard inside the bag to prevent the paint from seaping through to the other side) The buttons are attatched with glittery fabric glue. The fluffy pink trim was simply attached with hot glue and it has held up perfectly.

And you can embroider them, paint them, sew on them, attach iron-ons, appliques, buttons... Craft with one today!

This is my new reuseable library book bag. I love it, but I'm also far from done with it. It seems like a fun project that I can add on to indefinitely and yet still use it in the meantime. It's mostly embroidery, but I'm beginning to add sead beads to add a bit of sparkle. Love it!

--C

Practically Cute

Practically meaning practical. My little family has a BIG road trip planned soon. I've been a little nervous as it's just me and my man and 3 kids 7 and under-no grandparents or other babysitter type help. All summer I've been thinking of what to do to make the long hours in the car happy ones. Three of three little monkeys like to color. So I thought I'd do something practical like this: that they can use as a little lap table for their travel projects.

But, how could I leave that sad little thing so plain? I couldn't, so with Pride and Prejudice on my ipod and a few hours to myself....

So much better. Practical and cute! I love what a little Mod Podge, paint and paper can do. the kids have seen these and love them. The best part is they can be simple like this or go crazy with embellishments. This just worked well for us. (I did not want to take the blame for a flower-rubbing on a Darth Vader picture if ya know what I mean!)

Glass Etching

My sister in law thinks I'm crafty.... I wonder where she gets that idea. So, a couple of weekends ago, she called me up and said she needed to do some glass etching. This is a craft I have never done. I'm up for trying a new craft any time. So, off we went to buy some fun glass stuff.

Here's the basics of glass etching.

1. You need to make a stencil. We used the Cricut to cut a stencil out of contact paper. I'm sure that is way easier than trying to cut out a stencil with an exacto knife. What we discovered was that you need to have a stencil that is one continuous pattern. You don't want to have to put tons of tiny pieces into place.

2. We stuck our stencil on what we wanted to etch. Can I just say that it was really hard to wrap the stencil around the vase. I would suggest flat surfaces or a pretty straight image for a vase.

3. We used this glass etching cream. You dab the etching cream on according to package directions (I would check your local craft store for etching cream.)

I love the finished project... They turned out sooo cute. This is definitely a craft project that I need to perfect. For us beginners, it was a lot of trial and error. Make sure you have lots of extra contact paper:) -Anisa