Creative Holidays: Recycled Wrapping

I admit, neither of these remotely references Christmas, but I like both wrappings nonetheless.  I used poster sized photographs printed on matte bond paper that were tests from back when I had access to a large scale plotter-- one was they sky at dawn and the other just after dusk.  The sunrise wrapping, with its pastel colors, probably should have adorned a baby shower gift... but I wrapped the baby gift in canvas (a nod to the father and sturdy wrapping since it needs to travel well) and used a leftover piece of bias tape from the buntings I made for the same couple.  Since tape wouldn't stick to the canvas, I ended up sewing the package together using a curved upholstery needle.

Crafty: Bunting Flags

Wow, I feel like I was a posting machine for a couple of weeks and then wham-- radio silence.  I didn't burn out or anything, just got involved in finishing up a couple of projects that have kept me away from the computer.  One of them is making bunting flags for my friend's baby shower.  I wanted to contribute something to the decor that wasn't disposable and could be used to decorate her nursery in the long term.  Since the organizers hadn't chosen any colors, I started with some old fabrics that I had on hand and then bought a few more that tied them all together.  I would have preferred warmer shades of orange and yellow, but those just didn't appear.  Fate sent me green and blue.  I wish that I'd been able to find nicer patterned fabrics too, but I went to the fabric store closest to my house, and their selection was not good.  I feel like they'll be fine, but could be better.  Oh well.  They also took much longer than anticipated due to sewing machine angst.  (Old machine = temperamental and I'm not knowledgeable enough to adjust accordingly).  I'm just going to send them off (baby shower is in Northern California) and advise that the flowers bring in bright contrasting tones.

Weekend Edition: Wrapping Up Summer Projects

Remember this dress I purchased back in July as part of a big vintage haul?  Vintage 80's drop waist that needed a complete overhaul to work for my body type in 2010.  It's silk, and I really liked the intense red and fuschia floral pattern.  Obviously I thought I could make something wearable out of it.  I cut off the skirt, removed the sash, turned it front to back and deepened the yoke, removed the shoulder pads and narrowed the shoulders, and voilá, it's a long tunic blouse that can be cinched at the waist.  Much, much better.

Sorry for the grainy mirror photos, its impossible to take a good outfit shot in my house, which is why I never post my outfits.

So much better, don't you think?

I also finally made mozzerella this weekend.  I hadn't done it since last fall, when I made several pizzas to use up random garden harvest ingredients.  I had a problem with the rennet being old, at least I think that was the problem, and the curds didn't set up like they were supposed to.  I had to drain it through cheese cloth, and the process took about an hour and a half longer than it should have.  In the end, the mozzerella was delicious though, and the pizza even better.  There were a lot of toppings, a true garden variety.  The best was roasted eggplant that I marinated in olive oil and white balsamic vinegar and rosemary before throwing on the pizza.  I love roasted eggplant.

Garden pizza, pre-oven.

Roasted & marinated eggplant, black olives, red peppers, garlic, basil, and homemade mozzeralla and asiago cheese.

Did you make anything delicious this weekend?

More Time Than Money

I got invited, rather last-minute, to a baby shower this weekend. With only one week to come up with a gift, and absolutely no desire to hit the stores for a mass-marketed gift, I decided to make one from scratch. Luckily the weather has been overcast and rainy/snowy the last couple of days, so sitting inside sewing while catching up on my Hulu queue was not unpleasant.

Snow early this morning.

The shower is for a good friend of mine, who I don't get to see too often, so I wanted the gift to be unique. I decided to make a toy rabbit. Its not finished, but I think it's going to be cute. I'm planning on putting a little lavender sachet in the body so that it smells nice and helps the baby sleep. (I haven't heard if its a boy or girl, so I'm trying to make a neutral rabbit). I also wanted it to be soft, and safe for chewing (I'm giving it to a newborn), and for it to be entirely made of things I already had in my sewing box. I'm using fabric from an old pair of pants and some felt left over from another project. I'm not sure yet what I'm going to stuff it with.

Stuffed toy in progress.

I'll post the finished product when I complete it. Probably this weekend.