EmilyPlays

Winter snow snow snow

2009-01-02T18:47:00.000-08:00

We've finally thawed out and melted. Winter and holidays - they have come and gone. Just some quick peeks into winter for us.

All of our Christmas doodads are buried in the storage unit. So we created out Christmas from paper, felt and salt dough this year. The little tree will be planted at the new house, which is need of some landscaping, plantings or something!

These little felt numbers were inspired by some I spotted on Etsy by Rikrak and an online Martha Stewart pattern.

The ice skating was lovely. This is a seasonal ice rink, there just don't seem to be as many rinks in the area as when I was a child (lo, some 30 odd years ago!). So that is a photo of her first time on ice... and yes, she is twirling around! Who knew?!

Another undocumented Art Bag

2009-01-01T23:15:00.001-08:00

The birthday party invitations are coming fast and furious these days. There was an eleventh hour request to "please make an Art Bag for J...'s birthday" How could I say no!? I try to cherish these days when my daughter is thrilled by the things I sew for her and her friends. I fear that as she advances into the teenage years the appreciation may wane. Well, the request came the day before the party and I put it off until the next morning. It turned out cute. No photos exist to prove this, you'll just have to take my word for it! By the time I finished sewing it and hoped into and out of the shower, we had fifteen minutes to wrap the present and get to the party. Not a photo opportunity!
I used a vibrant pink and green Ikea fabric. I love their fabrics! I've decided that with the heavier weight of the decorator cottons from Ikea, I don't need to line the bags as I had with the quilting cottons. Makes the whole process that much quicker. They do lose the cachet of being reversible though. I just zigzag all of the seams and it is quite sturdy.
I really do need to make my poor daughter her very own Go-Go Art Bag. Her bag is the one I will make a tutorial with - I swear! I think I'll start with the unlined version - great to whip up for a birthday party!

A wonderful gift from WonderMommy

2008-12-31T00:02:00.000-08:00

My number was up!
Melissa over at Adventures of WonderMommy had a giveaway and I won the fantabulous Farbenmix pattern Weeke.
This may require some serious digging into the fabric stash!
Thank you so much Melissa! Be sure and check out WonderMommy's latest Adventures! She is busy making very cute stuff!

Sewing? Sewing!

2008-11-12T22:48:00.001-08:00

Let's see, so much has happened since my last post.
Our house sold, we moved into my mother's studio - an artist loft in the Industrial zone of our fine city.

Which has the glorious indoor swing - 15ft ceilings!

We bought a house and have proceeded to rip it apart! Why oh why do people build houses without any windows on the south side?! We need daylight around here - it is gray for half the year and we need light! A little demolition will bring in some light!

Is that a chain saw next to him?!?!

But the real reason I have unearthed my blog is that I have also unearthed my sewing machine! It was actually brought out of storage to perform its annual Halloween magic (Spotted Bat - thankyouverymuch!). So I've set it up on the dining table here in our temporary home. And found this wonderfully easy and fool-proof tutorial for making a zippered bag on an Australian blog called Heart of Mary. Zippers and I have never found a way to work together. This time it worked! Here is a link to the tutorial - I heartily recommend it. I made this for a dear cousin who needs a little cheer.

The only caveat with this technique is that you have to use the same fabric for your lining as your outer fabric. I may try to figure out a work around as I love the contrast between linings and outer. It can add a bit of fun to a bag. Thank you Heart of Mary!

Goodbye Little House

2008-08-19T18:33:00.001-07:00

We are selling our mid-century modern home and moving to the city.

Leaving carries a bit of sadness with it. This is were we got married & started our family. It has been an eventful 12 years. I get a little misty when I look around and am reminded of all the memories we have made here. But on the other hand I can't wait to get out and find a new place in which to begin the next chapter of our lives.

Whatever house it is, it will need a ton of work. The bonus of all the work is that we can design it to our tastes (and then build it to our tastes too!) My poor husband was not "handy' before we bought our house. He grew up in a house that never changed. Unlike me, who grew up in the midst of constant remodeling, deck building, jacking up the house etc. He has his handyman chops now though!

Now you must realize, the city is just about 12 blocks away. Yet, crossing the city line changes the pricing of homes tremendously and not in our favor. We will be camping out at my mother's art studio in the industrial zone until we can find a house that achieves that precarious balance between needs/wants and the budget! This is a pretty HCOl area, particularly in real estate. But I do like the city!

Bubbly fun

2008-07-14T10:21:00.000-07:00

A dear cousin got married this summer. And they invited my bean to be the "bubble girl"! Of course, she was thrilled. It was a beautiful wedding, tuxedos with flip flops casual, out in the country.

So, in the midst of our current chaos, I decide that really, I just have to make the dress. I mean, I looked for a bubble dress, I truly did, but the only one I found that I liked was too big and needed sleeves. So it served as my inspiration piece.

Which, by the way, is listed for the amazing price of $16!!! Click on the picture to check it out.

I modified a Big 3 pattern and ended up with this - note: I forgot the big ivory sash at home! It looks so cute with it on - oh well.

Love sweet little puff sleeves!

It was one of the most beautiful and loving weddings I've attended. It was such a joy to see my cousin and his wife so happy!

Okay, I've got to get back to painting trim now!

Time flies....

2008-06-27T22:44:00.000-07:00

I have no idea where the last month as gone. Kindergarten has ended, summer swimming has begun and our house is in chaos. We're prepping to sell in this sinking market. We had to paint over a little piece of family history. I did some photo documenting before it became just another wall cloaked in Devine Honey. This is the yummiest paint though. There are no bad colors!

All that fun combined with some strict dietary changes for various members of our family has made time race for me.

Next post will be all about the wedding bubble-girl (think flower girl, only with bubbles) bubble dress I made. I awaiting pictures from those who had cameras at the lovely wedding.

Swinging from the Chandeliers

2008-05-16T19:28:00.000-07:00

We got to see Cirque du Soleil last night. So amazing. The physical prowess of the performers was impressive and production value was high. Don't we all want to swing from chandeliers?!!

I didn't like the circus for many years. Odd since my husband is a graduate of Clown College. As soon as the elephants would come out, I would start crying. Cirque has changed all that for me. This is the 3rd production I have seen - Saltimbanco, Dralion and now Corteo.

I made this?

2008-05-15T10:59:00.000-07:00

There is something about the teeth falling out that really gets to me. I don't mean the gore of bloody bits of body parts dropping away. (that actually carries a certain train-wreck fascination!)
It is more that it places her teetering on the ledge between the last vestiges of baby hurtling towards girl-becoming-woman. That bare gum with little white dots poking through is so little baby, but she has moved so far beyond those days. Bitter sweet.
But how adorable is this picture? My Bean is clearly thrilled! And yes, the Tooth Fairy did hook her up!

Oh no! Is moose again!

2008-05-08T09:34:00.000-07:00

This little moose will be shipping off to Alaska to a new baby cousin. He was so fun to see come together, I love the transformation of felting.
It is from another wonderful pattern found on Etsy. Have I mentioned how great Etsy can be? Or how much time I can lose browsing?! Some very yummy items!

There are few more projects nearing completion. Plus, I am going to have to dust off the sewing machine. My Dad has requested a bag to protect one of the tribe's paddles. I want it to be just right for the paddle - nice clean lines and natural fiber materials. Maybe black with leather drawstrings.

Mmm Fabric

2008-03-21T10:32:00.000-07:00

I love fabric, it may go beyond love to obsession even. Either way, I seem to accumulate fabric that waits for its day. I look at it, fondle it, wonder what to make with it and then eventually inspiration hits, Sometimes with fabulous results and sometimes with flops.

There is a wonderful online fabric store that I discovered through her very interesting blog. Sew Mama Sew! Beautiful fabrics and wonderful people. She is in Oregon, which is practically local, which I love also!

I recently received a wonderful packet of fabrics and have to share....

These little dolls are so sweet. I can't decide if they'll be for me or my daughter!

Thank you Sew Mama Sew!

Pear-licious!

2008-02-25T09:57:00.000-08:00

She is a pear on the edge.

I don't know why she is so nervous.

I guess the fruit bowl really was just more than she could bear!

Felted fruit!

I really liked the needle felting I did for the eyes and mouth! This is the first time I have tried that technique. It is such a fast and fun way to add a lot of character. I did break 2 needles though - scary! I guess I was a bit too enthusiastic.

The basis for the pear came from this pattern by crochetroo from Australia. Yea etsy! I changed the size and gauge and some of the pattern to suit my felty needs. It was a fun project.

This pear is destined to be a birthday gift for a dear friend. I hope she'll be as amused as I am! I'd like to give her(the pear not my friend!) a nice name before she leaves. I'd ask for ideas, but I fear I would only hear an echo!

Next I'd like to make one to have around our house. Perhaps play with some different expressions

Soon, I'll show the rainbow felted heart pillow I made for Valentine's day. Well, after I take, upload and edit pictures!

old school medicine

2008-02-22T21:39:00.000-08:00

I don't know where the time goes! I feel like I can't make a new post without fresh, edited new photos, but that is just holding me back.

So, let me tell you about my teeth! I have a long, sad and expense history of dental troubles. I am trying to set my daughter on the path to dental happiness! So far so good. She had a cleaning scheduled this week, but when we arrived at the office, they had it down for the following week. (Again! This is an ongoing problem - however I love the dentist and will suffer through the office problems to see her!) So my poor baby loves going to the dentist so much, she bursts into tears right there in the waiting room. Can you imagine? So far so good - six years old and no cavities!

Anyway, back to my teeth. I had two adjacent molars prepped for crowns and they were just killing me days later. The dentist was out of town - but the woman who works the front desk calls in a prescription for antibiotics and vicadan for me! Aren't you supposed to have some sort license to prescribe these kinds of goodies?!? I don't like taking either, so didn't go fill the "prescription". It was nice to know it was there waiting for me if things started seeming worse of the holiday weekend! So 4 throbbing, aching-skull days later, we are off to our playgroup (friends from college, all with kids) We arrive and our hostess makes me a lemon drop.
Let me say that I am now a firm believer in the medicinal qualities of alcohol. I felt pain-free, in a way that tylenol and ibu just could not achieve. It was heaven! So I'll leave you with a link to the recipe - in case anyone needs some pain relief - old style!

To Me From Me

2008-01-18T10:36:00.000-08:00

Edited to add:
Perhaps I should blog all of my losses!
My scarf has returned to me! We were out with some friends at our favorite Pho place. As we were leaving, I looked down at the little ornate end table in the waiting area. There was a stack of hats, mittens and such, but peeking out from the bottom of the pile was a tendril of my scarf! Hooray! Banh Choux a la cream and my scarf - a great night out indeed!

I finally made myself a scarf! I have been saving my punch card from my LYS, knowing that when it was full it would be time for a to-me-from-me. I don't do enough of those. For instance, I used to make quilts, yet I don't own a handmade quilt!
Now with crochet, it is not such a heavy time, space commitment. Makes it so much easier to put a for-me project in amongst the gift line-up. I chose some soft and rich yarns and whipped up this neck wrap.

It was warm, light & wonderful!
It went with everything I wear!
It was perfect!

I lost it! I have no idea when or where - I keep hoping it will just pop up somewhere unexpected. Or I at least hope that someone else is enjoying it. I hate to think of it languishing in a puddle or heaping box of lost and found. It was a modified version of these scarves - which I haven't made in quite awhile. Probably because by now I have made one for everyone.

This one is quite vibrant, but the dear friend I made it for is such a vibrant woman that she can pull it off!

So now it is onto fingerless mittens. I've learned to do the foundation single crochet. Rock my world! It has such lovely give and stretch! I may use it for everything.
I found this wonderful photo tutorial at snuffykin's journal which helped immensely.
Oh and be sure to check out her adorable mushroom!

I had tried using the FSC article in Interweaves Crochet magazine, but the illustrations just did not translate into 3-d for my brain. I started out with this lovely tutorial from Crochet Me for the mitts, but have been modifying it quite a bit for yarn substitution, fit and edging. I haven't taken photos yet, but will post them when I do finally get around to it. I hope to sneak in a bit of crocheting today inbetween preparing for taxes and updating some software.

Handmade Holidays

2008-01-06T19:56:00.001-08:00

I made this puppet theater using the book Bend the rules Sewing by Amy Karol of Angry Chicken (she has a wonderful and inspiring blog!) I modified it a bit as I wanted it to be both longer and wider. Longer so that she could stand and do puppet shows. Wider so that it would hang like a curtain from her loft bed and have room for 2 kids to hide behind. I also used a dowel for the top instead of the tension rod. Which we hang using a ribbon and hook. Well ideally we'll use a hook. So far, we have just been using push pins! Amazingly, it seems to hold.

The color looks a bit washed out from the flash - it is so vibrant in person! I think my favorite part is the purple panne velvet curtains. They were such a bear to sew. I have no expertise in sewing knits, so they really pucker and curl on the hems. Even so, they still have such a lush, regal look to them!

I made a couple of bags for some family friends. The Ring of Fire was for our young Johny Cash fan and the the modern star was for a young lady who doesn't "do" pink any more, but is still a star! I dread the day when pink is no longer acceptable to my girl. Not so much that she needs to be uber-feminized by it, but it just looks so yummy on her! When it does happen, I will understand though - when you are born with a super-fem look, sometimes pink can just be too much for a gal!

GoGo Art Bag

2007-11-24T20:42:00.001-08:00

GoGo Art Bag, originally uploaded by emilyplays.

I finally busted out this groovy Hello Kitty fabric that had been in my stash for years. This is my umpteenth bag. They all have been improvisational. I'm attempting to get it edited into a tutorial. I may try to sell some of these on etsy soon. I think they would be great for spring and summer traveling. Pricing is still a mystery to me though!

The march of the holidays

2007-11-19T10:08:00.000-08:00

The march has begun. It varies in pace from a sprint to a waltz. I'm still trying to figure out the magic of making time come to a crawl. The season kicked off with a fabulous Halloween. The tooth fairy costume was done up in the finest tradition of made-from-stuff-around-the-house! Having a roll of gold lame laying about does add a certain polish to costumes. Not only that, but it was given to me! Thanks Cat!

We moved right on to the Tooth Fairy Birthday. The bonus of having a birthday so close to Halloween is the theme is set by the costume chosen!

Turns out I can transform a house with white paper. Think the paper snowflake scene in Elf only with teeth!

The irony of marshmallow teeth is not lost on me. But it was so easy!

Now we head towards Thanksgiving. I am hosting the family dinner for the first time this year. I am feeling surprisingly serene about a sit down dinner for 18. My wee crafter has gone into serious production of handprint turkeys and we still have some of the smaller garden pumpkins for decorations.

I have been sewing and crocheting. But somehow I never seem to get photos. there was another art bag made. There is another birthday coming up. I am going to make notes and take pictures while I make this one. I'd like to try my hand at a tutorial. The bags have been so well received by the recipients and their parents. I'd like to share as I have been so grateful for all the wonderful tutorials I have found online! Perhaps during the brief lull at the beginning of December!

1st day of Kindergarten & 1st bento

2007-09-12T23:12:00.001-07:00

1st day of Kindergarten & 1st bento, originally uploaded by emilyplays.

Can it really be happening?! All day Kindergarten?! It is true and I miss my girl each day. She is thrilled, but does ask for a daily report on precisely how much she has been missed.
I packed her a bento of goodies for her very first school lunch. The box is so perfectly her size.

At the end of the day, I picked her up from school and we celebrated the first day of school with a build-your-own ice cream sundae. At the risk of sounding unbelievably sappy, it is all almost more than my heart can bear! The launch into her own personal daily life. I hope she finds her own path, true and sure. I'll be her listening post and guide where I can.

Of course, my consolation is that I will have more space for my own creativity!

Go Go Art Bag

2007-08-14T23:40:00.001-07:00

crayon go go art bag, originally uploaded by emilyplays.

My daughter has hit the birthday party age. She has a full schedule! I've made another art bag birthday gift. These are such fun to make and seem to be well received. This one is a bit smaller and is also reversible. We filled it with crayons (natch!), notepads, stickers and pens. Plenty of goodies to inspire.

I think my favorite bit is the buttons that I dug out of my button box. Well really, my button boxeS! It is very satisfying to a crafty soul to be pawing through a well stocked button collection!

Speaking of buttons, I recently discovered two dear friends didn't own button boxes! I couldn't believe it - where do they put their buttons?! They both answered "What buttons?"
Of course, when I brought mine out for a felt purse project, each of them (independent of each other) spent hours digging and sorting. One has since remedied her button-box-less state, but the other is slated for a gift of pre-stocked box of goodness!

Here is the inside/outside of the bag>

Inaugural Post - or What Am I Doing Here?!

2007-07-17T23:35:00.000-07:00

A brief introduction....
I'm a woman with a love for modern craftiness. In my pre-mama days, I quilted. As my time and space have shrunk, I now crochet and sew clothes and smaller items. If I examine my inner-crafter, I see clearly that the sewing is just an excuse to satiate my fabric lust. I'm okay with that!