Ribbon Organization and a Treasure Hunt of Sorts

My grandma has a cool basement.  It's not cool because it's finished and has a big screen TV or an in-home gym.  It's cool because it's full of interesting and vintage things.  My grandma fully believed the "She who dies with the most fabric WINS!" ideal and was really in the running for first!  Since she hasn't been sewing for a while, we've stolen most of her stash (she calls it our inheritance and is happy to see us use it while she's still here).  A few years ago I got her ribbon stash and the button box that was my great grandma's.  In tackling my basement studio and trying to bring some order to it, I started sorting and organizing the ribbon stash.  I found some cool stuff. 

The top two here are vintage velvet ribbons.  The bottom one is a deep purple color.  I love them both.  I can't wait to ask my grandma if she had these for a special project.

My mom and I couldn't remember if we got this for my Cleopatra Halloween costume (in middle school) or hers (probably around the same time).  Either way, it brought back good, but a little bit traumatic memories of my first costume Halloween party where my blue underwear showed through my white toga.  Darn!  Oh well.  I probably remember that more than anyone else - hopefully! ;)

This was a cool purple , red and olive paisley ribbon.  I imagine it was bought around the late 60's/early 70's, but it's in great shape and it's so pretty in person.  I was thinking it'd make a fun trim for a little girl's pillowcase dress. 

This is from my stash.  We bought my wedding dress the day before I got married (It wasn't a shotgun wedding, but it's a long story!) and it needed a tie to "cinch" it up.  We got this ribbon to do the job.  Apparently, we bought a lot extra as I gave the dress to Goodwill a long time ago.  Maybe if I ever have a little girl, I can use this ribbon for her baptismal gown, or something else that I'll she'll want to keep for a long time. 

I didn't take a picture of the before, but it was basically all thrown together in two plastic bins.  I'm happy to have the ribbons on display and the plastic bins available for other storage.  Also, I think the ribbons are happy to live with my great grandma's buttons. 

PS - I modified the clothespin idea found at Lu Bird Baby and used large popsicle sticks when I ran out of clothespins.  I used glue dots on the ends instead of pins.  Easy, but time consuming. 

PPS - I have more sewing/crafting space organization coming...I'm just still in the middle of it ;)

PPPS - Sorry for the bad pictures...that place has NO good lighting!! :(

A few handmade gifts

My grandma loves birds, so I appliqued this store-bought (had to make some short cuts in this handmade holiday) tote with a wintry cardinal scene.  I just printed a children's coloring page to use as a stencil for the bird.  Then I just cut out the branch and slapped some "snow" on it.  I'm going to put the kleenex cover I made inside with a cross I got for her at a craft show.  I didn't get it for Christmas but I forgot about it until now.

Then, I made this plate for Holden with a few others I can't show you yet...Here's how they'll look on Thursday night.

 

I (very roughly) followed the tutorial at Just Something I Made.  Though I didn't follow the steps exactly, I dd get the idea and the supply list there.   I used a few plates I got at St. Vincent de Paul in Spring Arbor and a few I got at Wal-Mart.  The Wal-Mart plates didn't have a good lip on them, so they'll turn out a bit different.  I'll show them to you later this week (after I've gifted them)!

Though my progress is a bit slow with a toddler running around, I'm getting there.  I'll show you more as I get things finished!

Hope to "see" you soon!

-Heather

PS - I'm linking this to DIY Day at A Soft Place to Land. (technically Tuesday, but I posted late last night and am modifiying on Tuesday.  That counts right?)

Cookie & Craft Exchange: Holiday Traditions

Every year, the married women in my Dad's family get together around Christmas for a Christmas Craft & Cookie Exchange. It's a fun little party where everyone brings one craft they made and a half dozen cookies for each person in attendance. Some of us are craftier than others, but it is just as much fun to laugh at each other and some of the crazy things we've come up with. My Aunt Debbie brought a papier mache Santa that used a light bulb as a base, and had a bit of a club foot. The Santa is passed around between my aunts and uncles, with each of them trying to avoid the odd shaped, googly eyed decoration! But, we laugh and recall the failed crafts of years before. One year my cousin Alicia made a cork wreath and her dogs ate it.  She had to come up with another craft VERY quickly! 

Nw that I think about it – we talk about the crazy, not-so-attractive crafts WAY more than we ever reminisce about the pretty, more displayable crafts! As much as that is true, given my love of crafting, I just can't help but try to come up with something that everyone will love. We draw numbers when we get to the party, so you never know who will get your craft. For some reason, in the 5 years I've been married, my Grandma has gotten my craft and vice versa for 2 or 3 of the years.

Anyway, our party was this past Sunday and I procrastinated more than usual. I had a general idea. I wanted to make a white velvet kanzashi, but I wasn't sure whether to make it an ornament, or really what to do with it. I had an old velvet coat that I loved, but wasn't very practical (being white) and was kind of a pain as it had to be ironed every time it was worn. The lining was a little too small, so without ironing, it bunched up at the bottom and just looked funny. I decided I wanted to use the velvet rather than wear the coat this year. I made the kazashi flower, and I decided (Sunday morning) to add it to a scarflette made from what had been a sleeve of the same coat. It's attached with a pin back so that you can wash the scarflette or use the flower as a separate brooch.  Here's my mom displaying the result:

My mom really didn't want to be my model, but luckily she's pretty accommodating where my brother and I are concerned. You just gotta love her! Besides, I got half my crafty genes from her, so she should've been prepared for the inevitable modeling job, right?

For my cookie this year, I made Cracker Cookies. I got the recipe from my mother-in-law and this will be a cookie I make again and again. They were SO EASY and SO FAST! Here's the recipe:

1 sleeve club or saltine crackers

2 sticks butter

1 cup brown sugar

12 oz. chocolate chips

nuts

Line a 15" x 10" pan with aluminum foil and lay out the crackers, covering the bottom. Melt the butter. Mix in brown sugar. Bring to a boil and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and pour over crackers. Bake crackers at 400˚ for 5 to 7 minutes. Spread chocolate chips over crackers. While they are melting, spread them out so they'll cover evenly. Sprinkle with nuts. Let cool for 15 minutes and then refrigerate until cooled. Cut or break into pieces.

These taste like toffee and are Oh-S0-Delicious! I don't know how easy or hard toffee is, but these take hardly any time at all. I loved them. I did take out 2 tablespoons for the 2 sticks of butter without any taste or consistency change. My mother-in-law was going to try taking out 3 tablespoons. I'll let you know if it worked out…

I should've taken pictures of all the crafts my family did, as I really have a lot of crafty relatives – but I didn't think of that until after the party was over. Sorry! I'll do that next year, for sure! Hope you enjoy your crafty holiday traditions, and since my Grandma got my craft again, I hope she stays warm and flowery this winter!

-Heather

PS-I'm linking this post to A Soft Place To Land's DIY Day and Get Your Craft On at Today's Creative Blog.

Heather's Handmade Holiday - The Grandma's

As part of a gift for my Grandma's this Christmas, I made these Kleenex covers. Both of them seem to have tissues at all times and carry the little tissue packages in their purse, so I thought it would be fun to dress them up a little. I used this tutorial at Skip to My Lou. I did add a slight overlap on the front. I had seen this somewhere else (I'm not sure where – sorry!) and I liked the look of it. So, you can overlap or not; your choice! Anyway, I made these out of some vintage fabric I bought at a flea market a while back. I think they're kind of fun, but pretty too! These are REALLY easy to make with very basic sewing skills. I think these would be great gifts for lots of people: teachers, daycare providers, Grandmas, Aunts, Hairdressers, etc.

I have to say that with all these crafty people out on the web, a handmade holiday is much more do-able! I think if I was to do it on my own (without everyone else's wonderful ideas) I might only have a few different things. This way, I can make something that each person will enjoy and maybe even treasure! I love the internet. It's one of the few reasons I don't want to be Amish – LOL!

Are you having a handmade holiday? Or maybe making a few more things and buying a few less things?  I'd love to hear about what you're making this year!

-Heather

PS-I'm posting this to A Soft Place To Land's DIY Day!