wordless wednesday

boy and his new hat

the aviator

this will be the first of many posts about our halloween holiday. i thought i'd start with the little man's costume. or i should say one of his three costumes. yes, my parents and aaron's dad both sent costumes for him. and since he had two to choose from i decided there really was no reason for me to worry about making him a costume. both were adorable and warm. (see above photos) but while out searching for bits and pieces for our costumes, i found a little bomber jacket for $2. and *ding, ding* i knew i'd be making him a costume now. especially since it would sorta tie into our costumes.


i was able to find a generic pattern to make an aviator cap. i lined the ear flaps and headband with fleece to make it a little more comfortable for him to wear. i also knew he probably would not wear goggles, so i made a pair using black felt, gold paint and clear plastic all of which i happened to have lying around. i attached them to his hat and used a piece of crepe paper to to make the strap. (i would probably modify this part since it was pretty much shredded after the second wear. but it served its purpose for the most part.) his scarf is actually part of the slip from my costume. the slip was too long for what i wanted to use it for so i cut it down and used the excess to make his scarf. his pants are his normal pants. and the last thing i made were his spats. i found a pattern on the internet to give me a general idea of what i needed to do. of course i had to modify them to fit a much smaller person. i also made these using the fast a furious method meaning i used velcro for the closure and instead of real buttons i used paint. i didn't finish the edges either, i decided painting those would seal them and save me a lot of time.


finally the last thing i made was his candy bag. i knew he'd be using this more than once so i didn't want it to be costume specific. right now i'm all about monsters, the cute and adorable kind, so i just went with it.

ave did great wearing his costume. i was a bit worried he'd refuse to wear the hat since we're just now transitioning from the summer to the winter hat but it wasn't an issue at all. his costume was a big hit and i'm glad i did decide to make it in the end. i'm already thinking about next year...well that is if he lets me pick his costume again. fingers crossed.

owl stop

so much for blogging more. after a serious flux in crafting the last month preparing for the boone handmade market things are finally starting to settle down. i was pretty much burning the candle at two ends. chasing a one year old around all day then trying to craft after he went to bed. i have tried crafting during daylight hours but the wee one has made it virtually impossible. with a minor freak out at the sound of the sewing machine and getting his hands on all my non-kid friendly craft supplies i have decided it best not to craft while he is conscious. burning the midnight oil has become a norm around here. (not really anything new if you know me)

so in my attempt to keep the blog and craft thing going, i'll post the new things being created by a rude girl and start updating the shop as well. i'll also go into a little more detail about craft shows and all the new things people noticed in my booth pic in another post. for now i'll let my little owl stop tide you over.

we've been using a bottle of laundry detergent to hold open the baby gate at the top of the stairs. on sunday i decided to make something a little less of an eyesore and voilà a hootie was born. i used fabric i got from my grandmother a few years ago, some felt and a few buttons from my stash. i left the opening at the top, filled a 1/4 of it with rice and the rest with reclaimed pillow stuffing. i was able to put a flat bottom on him but i'm still learning how to construct a pattern so it's not exactly as nice as i'd like it to be. it probably took me a little more than an hour to make and i didn't do all that i would have liked to have done. if i do another, i'll probably add some wings and a few more decorative accents. but for a quick and easy project, i'm quite happy with it. and little man noticed it right away, brought it to me while i was brushing my teeth the next morning.

oh petunia

a few months ago, katie's sister asked me if i had heard of the petunia picklebottom diaper bag. (she too has a infant a few months older than avery) she told me they were the cadillac of diaper bags. i had never heard of them and had forgotten about them til we went shopping in charlotte a few weeks later. when i saw them, i was instantly infatuated. yes, i couldn't believe i was ga-ga over a diaper bag either. when i saw the price tag, i cringed. no way was i paying that much for something that's sole purpose was to carry diapers, bottles and anything poopy.

i got home and looked on ebay, hoping i'd find a gently used one in a color/style i liked. i had decided i wanted the glazed boxy backpack in a somewhat gender neutral color. (i did consider aaron might be carrying this thing around) i had set my maximum price i'd be willing to pay...and i pretty much got outbid every single time. i felt like if i was going to spend that kind of money i might as well get exactly what i want. my birthday was coming up, so i decided this was gonna be a great birthday present to myself. my logic...since this was pretty much gonna be my "purse" for the next couple of years, i can indulge. yes, my reasoning is somewhat skewed when it comes to anything avery.

so when my bag arrived, i was surprisingly giddy with excitement. you would have thought it was christmas morning at our house.

now, a few months later, do i regret getting it? heck no! i absolutely love it! i take it with me pretty much everywhere. and it's been perfect for all the traveling we've been doing lately. added bonus: i've gotten so many compliments on it. yes, i love a diaper bag! (the one pictured above is the one i got)

mobile upload

random picture on my cell phone. what you'll see riding in my mother's automobile. and yes, he bobs. happy mother's day, mom!

robots can love

cute video my brother-in-law's girlfriend made for a design class. starring both danny and karla. cute.

hamburrrrrger

i made these little sliders for a super bowl party we went to on sunday. yep, they're cupcakes. i saw them on a crafting site and thought they'd be perfect for the party. after screwing up the first batch (forgot to add water to the mix) they were indeed quite simple to make. one batch of yellow cupcakes, one batch of chocolate, icing, food coloring, a little cutting and assembly and presto you have burgers! they were a hit at the party and a lot of people liked them cause the weren't drowning in icing. i've even eaten a few. here's a little tutorial if you'd like detailed instructions on making them.

zebras, dots and lots o' pink

although it seems like i haven't been up to much, (in dire need of a shop update) i do have custom jobs i'm working on. case in point: a nice care package for miss katie. when i was in illinois a few weeks ago, katie and i picked out fabrics to make baby blankets for her new nieces. we wanted retro, rocker chic and i think we nailed it with both.

this was a first for me. these are the largest blankets i've made thus far. katie wanted them to be large enough you can set a baby on, but small enough to tote around. they're about 32" square. it's the first time i've sewn on satin binding. which was not an easy task. mitering the corners proved to be quite difficult for me. i'm sure with more practice, i'll get the hang of it. of course with the left over fabric, i made matching 12" tag blankets, burp cloths and pacifier clips. i also made a couple of ribbon hair clips. yes, there are three new projects here i tried my hand at.

there's the blankets. then the burp cloths which are made from cloth diapers. they were a pretty simple to make. pretty much sew a band of 5" fabric down the middle of the diaper. i might try giving the next batch some ribbon accent. but these turned out super cute without.

when in illinois, i also picked up some alligator clips at hobby lobby. the quality wasn't the best, i'll look at sally's beauty supply for better ones. but they served great for practice purposes. i'll probably feature the clips in another post later after i've made a few more. super easy to make once i found the right glue.

i'm off to start on some other custom jobs and to mail everything off to katie.

a little cuteness on a monday afternoon

from time to time i'll try and post some of my favorite etsy sellers. today it's lou and lee. they make the cutest things for baby. mostly of the girl persuasion or for the little boy who wants some flair! diego?!? ;)

things are starting to get busy around here. we've decided to finish our basement. the walls need to be drylocked, which we've decided to do ourselves. once aaron started i think he quickly changed his mind. the stuff is super thick and we've already gone through a five gallons of it and only finished one coat on half the basement. he knocked out a quarter of it saturday and i chipped in last night and we got halfway done before running out. it definitely went faster with two of us working. i'll probably be spending most of wednesday finishing up so they can start construction. at least my blisters will get one day of rest before they multiple and enlarge!

tonight we're heading down to charlotte again. we've got reservations at the melting pot tonight. i think the last time we went was when i first got my braces on, about three years ago. so the westphals do do fondue. tomorrow we're hitting up carowinds. hopefully we'll have less of a crowd with kids back in school and the weather will be a little cooler. 88 degrees. which sounds tolerable. i can't wait.

i'll be posting pics from last week (went to a johnson city cardinals game and visited another waterfall in blowing rock.) and pics from tomorrow hopefully on wednesday. i've been bit of slacker when it comes to blogging. need to get back into the swing of things soon.

how 'bout dem apples?

i've been hoarding a bunch of japanese fabric i got last year. i didn't have a particular plan for them, but they were too cute to pass up. they're fairly expensive, so i wanted to use them sparingly or at least have a craft i've perfected before i put them to use. today, i finally made the cut. luckily this project only used 1.5" squares, so i barely used any. i listed a few and will probably list more next week. i have a red apple set that i wanted to try and attach rhinestones to. things didn't go according to plan, a little too messy for my taste. i have to figure out what glue to use and get a pair of precision tweezers.

on a fabric note. when i was in carbondale i saw that jo-ann's started carrying alexander henry fabrics. maybe they've always been there, but i'm just now noticing. i picked up some cute apple and pear fabric and a bold floral print as well. no plans yet, but i'm sure something will come to mind. i guess i need to replenish my checkbook covers this weekend. who knew they'd be so popular.

who do you love?

when we first started dating i told aaron if he ever wanted to get married he'd have to get a tattoo. a small sacrifice to prove his love. actually i told him it had to be large, no dinky taz or tweety for my man. maybe my name across his chest or a dragon across his back. of course he told me tattoos weren't his thing. i'd keep chipping away til he changed his mind. eight years later, they still weren't his thing. i knew he wouldn't budge on the subject, so i ended up compromising in the end. happily married, me inked and him naked of art.

i came across the perfect alternative on etsy today. uncorked sells the cutest symbols of love. i considered buying a set for us, especially with valentines day approaching. i'm almost positive he'd be happy to receive it and i'm equally sure he wouldn't wear it. but i thought i'd share these original gifts in case anyone else is still looking.

simon's got back

this video is too cute. little langei is singing and dancing to "baby got back"

his mom would like everyone to know, he learned it from watching shrek. and not from her. although i will say the moves look quite familiar, but i won't point any fingers.