Absolutely Small's Adorable ABC Book (Friday Find, delayed due to Blogger outage)

I read a lot of other crafty and artsy blogs, and one of my current favorites is Absolutely Small. Just last week she posted pictures of the amazing ABC book that she made for her daughter Olive. The letters are all represented by pictures and it's a felt book so she can enjoy it now!

Check out this awesomeness:

Y is for Yoda, Z is for Zelda


S is for the Sun and Stars, T is for Totoro

Including other awesome illustrations (X is for X-men, W is for Wookie, O is for Olive herself!) I am just thoroughly happy that this exists and feel inspired just looking at it. It just warms me down to the cockles of my heart!

You can check out all the letters here in Absolutely Small's Flickr group - Olive's ABCs.

Screwing Up - Quilting Edition

I am getting better at screwing up. Though how I managed to put together an entire quilt block upside down is a little beyond me. It was really depressing for about a minute (because they take at least some work to put together) but then, THEN! I noticed it!

Here's a picture of the finished quilt:

There in the robot tummy is Quilt Block Redemption! The design goes backwards there! I wasn't screwing up, I was unintentionally working ahead! So instead of doing blocks 1, 2, 3, 4, I'd done 1, 2, 18, 4!

This isn't exactly a lemons-to-lemonade style thing, but I'll take what I can get.
Just for reference, here's the design with the correct (new) quilt block:


I think Thursdays are just going to be either Fail Days or Thrift Days (if I can ever stick to a schedule) so be prepared for that.
Have you seen any good craft/art/sewing fails? Or created any of your own?
I'd love to hear about them (to further help me feel less derpy).

Pegasus Bracelet

Michelle had given me this pegasus brass stamping forever ago because we both agreed that Annie should have *something* with it.

I kept meaning to do something with it.
For the past two years+.

Finally, yesterday, I did! I combined some ribbon I had in very Annie colors, with a brass cuff bracelet from Ornamentea. I "aged" the brass stamping by first washing it, then painting on it and wiping the paint off (seems silly, but it makes sure the paint stays more in the creases, which makes it look older, so there you go).

Then I sealed it, and sewed it on! Voila!
What took me so long? Oh, you know, worrying that I was going to screw it up probably. It's not perfect, but I like the way it came out. Plus! I learned that patina-ing brass using vinegar takes forever/overnight, so plan ahead if you want to try that (I started, then went with the paint instead!).

Does anybody else have a project they've been putting off forever? Maybe we can have a "Finish it" week sometime soon to motivate us all.

Same Hill, Different Day (by Paul Octavious)

This inspiring project is called "Same Hill, Different Day" by Paul Octavious. Paul found the hill in 2007 while walking around Chicago and has been taking pictures of it all the time since. He sums it up beautifully, “The hill is my stage and the locals are the actors in this daily play.”

Same Hill, Different Day by Paul Octavious

Boxy Bag (with a link to Tutorial)

I found this adorable boxy bag tutorial yesterday! I had this fabric that is perfect for my friend Michelle, but I didn't know what to do with it, exactly. I only had approximately one fat quarter, and I was tired of making drawstring bags, or the usual zippered pouches.

Googling about, I turned up this gem of a tutorial for little boxy bags by three bears. The end product is pretty small, about 4.5" x 3" x 2", so it's perfect for small things, or perhaps notes about how someone's birthday present hasn't come in the mail yet.


I really like the instructions on how they handled the zipper, and it makes it go even faster since it's unlined (it's so small that it doesn't need it).

I also found a great tutorial for making a cute bag out of tshirts (of which I still have a pile, if you don't remember) so I think I'm going to try that next!

200th Post! Steampunk Jewelry!

Yay! I've made it to 200 posts! I'm kind of proud of myself because I wasn't entirely sure how well I would keep up with this blog, but it's fun to take pictures and share them, and I am pretty much constantly making *stuff*, so here's hoping for another 200 to rapidly follow!

I've been working on some new jewelry recently (besides the Game of Thrones inspired stuff). Here's what I've been working on:







I'd been holding onto all these pieces of jewelry that I've been scared to use in case I didn't use them the "perfect" way, or complete a project with them that really held up to the idea/picture I had in my head. I've finally learned to combat this type of thinking in two ways:

1) Each time I make something, I learn something
Nothing is perfect, and even if the end product isn't anywhere near what I wanted
2) I am not using the very last (sparkly star pendant, mother of pearl bird) in existence
Just go for it. You can probably find another one online somewhere

Mostly, I tell myself to relax and have fun. Working on it!

The Week in Review: Clockwork Ball, Flowers & Stuff

Wrecking once's car, then finding the repairs were going to be more than the car was worth, finding a person to sell it to, and then going through the rigamarole that is involved in selling it - it takes a lot effort. Also, it kind of makes you feel like an idiot for being in a wreck.


That's part of why I haven't updated, I've been feeling like a big dummy for wrecking my car, and trying to figure out what to do next. Also, I've been sort of busy - we had our friend Rachel stay with us over the weekend, and we went to the Clockwork Ball. (This is Rachel, she is awesome)



There were auditions (for Nick) and a benefit dinner that we attended. It's kind of been a blur. But! I have been working on making some new jewelry for my etsy shop. That whole Ornamentea shopping spree will do that to you.

More updates on jewelry, quilting, and everything else coming soon! In the meantime, here's some pictures of my cheery flowers. Can anyone else who's watched Ouran High School Host Club manage to say "Lobelia" without singing it twice?