Chillin' Elves

Happy and Jolly, our magic Christmas elves have arrived! Guess where we found them this morning? Chillin' in the fridge with a fun frostie soda pop! Those silly elves! They have already been up to lots of mischief this year. They have sprayed "snow" on the widow, "sledding" on the couch in the playroom, and brought my kids Lego Advent calendars. You can read more about their arrival adventure here on the Happy To Create blog. Looks like were in for a fun holiday season with Happy and Jolly!

Over-Night Owl Bag

I've been teaching my daughter how to sew! Several years ago, I bought her a kid size sewing machine and she just didn't really have the interest yet, preferring to build lego sets and make crafty things. Which is fine, a kids gotta be a kid, right?! I figured if she showed interested then she'd be able to focus and learn. There was no sense pushing something on her that she really didn't have an interest in.

Just last week I showed her a project that I thought would be fun and reasonably easy to make (maybe even for Christmas gifts.) She decided she was interested (squeee!) and we have been working on those gifts together. So, since our family might read this we'll wait until after the holidays to share that project. However, we can show you the darling little bag we made together.

This little bag is to hold her toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush etc. for overnights. I had some leftover owl fabric from her "night owl pajama party" that I used to sew bags and pillows for the girls. Once again, the craft stash pays off! It's always so rewarding to use up scraps to make something useful that may have otherwise been tossed.

We didn't use a pattern to make the bag, we just figured out how tall it would need to be to fit her hairbrush and toothbrush and the amount of fabric we had determined the width. She sewed the side seams and pockets, helped assemble it together (with the "full size" machine, not the kiddie one!) Next, I figured out how to put the lining inside and attach the handle. Then, she proudly attached the button herself. ;) It was definitely a team effort. Next project will have to be "all Maddy."

It's been a delight teaching her how to sew. My grandmother taught my mom, my mom taught me and now I'm sharing that legacy with Maddy. It hasn't been without tears, she was so upset the first "mistake" she made but it was a good teaching opportunity. I introduced her my good friend, the seam ripper. "Get to know it well, it will be your friend too!" I think it helped dry those tears when I shared some tales of the seam ripper. Sometimes the best way to learn is to learn from your mistakes. It's always easier when you can fix them too! :)

I look forward to many more projects together with my seamstress-in-training!

Wonder Fall

I love Fall. The brisk air, crunchy leaves under your feet, pumpkin pie and apple cider. It's all wonder Fall! It inspired me to paint and create a new digital scrapbooking SNAP kit this week and it's now available for purchase at Happy To Create!

And here's a couple layouts of my cuties using the Wonder Fall SNAP kit.

I hope it inspires you to go outside and enjoy the falling leaves. Take a few photos to scrap too while you're at it! :) Enjoy.

Hybrid Craft: Halloween Luminaries

Looking for an easy Halloween craft? Check out this post on the Happy To Create Blog where I show you how to make Halloween themed luminaries from peanut butter jars, battery operated tealights and digital scrapbooking supplies. And then go make some and be creepy! :o

I Spy a Lego Jedi

Look who's watching over me while I work.

It makes me feel so Jedi protected or something. (and wowsers, please ignore the dust on my monitor! Perhaps I work more than I housekeep!)

I wonder if Jedi's do house cleaning? Hmm. Probably with a light saber. Nevermind.

Use the Force!

May the force be with you, my son.

I found a white t-shirt on clearance at the wallymarts the other day and thought it would be fun to make an iron on design for my son. (I figured it was so cheap that if I ruined it, it wouldn't be a huge loss!)

I encouraged him to create his own artwork that I could use for the iron on design. He loves Star Wars so he created his own version of Luke using the force, and clones, and blasters, light sabers and I'm not sure what else. Very clever. 

So I scanned in his artwork, added a title with a free Star Wars font I found, and outlined it with a rounded rectangle in Illustrator. Then, follow the manufacturers directions for the iron on transfer paper. I used Avery #3271 and you have to make sure you mirror the image before printing. Also, please ignore the bad kerning, I had a little Jedi looking over my shoulder begging "is it done yet, is it done yet?" When you're making your little kiddo smile this big, who cares about kerning, right? What matters is that he loves it. I don't think the iron on stuff will last through many washings though. He wore it to school today and it's starting to crackle and wear off a bit. But then again, a white shirt doesn't stay very white on my boy. ;)  If you want to try to make one for your little Star Wars fan, you can find free fonts out there. I think this is the one I used Star Jedi Font. And may the force be with you. ;)