Seven Years of College Down the Drain....

Oh my. How I love Halloween.

This is Chadson's costume #1 and may be his only one judging by how fantastic it came out! Just goes to show the power of simplicity.

Now you can buy this tee shirt but the easiest thing to do is track down a blank (this was $7 at Target) and iron on your own letters ($3 at a craft store). It really is that simple!

Halloween: Make it Original

Last year I did a post about my favorite Halloween costumes that people I know have MADE. I am of the school that for Halloween, regardless of your sewing skills, you do not buy a costume. It's the perfect excuse to come up with a crazy idea and do your best with cheap and creative materials to execute your vision.

So this Halloween I challenge all of you to forgo the ridiculous trip to the crowded and crazy halloween/costume shops. Besides, what are you going to find there? For women it's a bagged costume of every animal imaginable only "sexy." For men, it's the line of inflatable penis jokes or a caveman. One word: LAME.

So please: Just Say No to the Un-imaginative. Even if you don't have mad sewing skills (I'm living proof of that people!) you would be amazed at how far a glue gun, a trip to Goodwill and a little creativity will get you!

Take for example my brother. He is stationed in the Extreme North of Cameroon volunteering to make the world a better place. That's Africa people. It takes him 3 days and a series of motobikes, overcrowded bush taxis and trains to get to a major city....as you can imagine, there is no such thing as a costume store and I'm pretty sure anyone who shows up as a "sexy nurse" would be run out of town.

But in the true creative spirit of this fantastic holiday, he and his fellow volunteers threw a costume party. After sifting through the pictures, I'm amazed! With nothing around but a few local weekend markets, the pictures show a Bunny, a Greek Goddess and my brother, The Castaway complete with Wilson the Loyal Sidekick. Awesome.


So again, I encourage your originality. Take a chance and try to make something with your own two hands. Better yet, get your kids involved and have them try to make something with their own two hands. It's the one day a year you can look ridiculous and get away with it....why not be able to take full credit for it?? Poo poo for PreMade. Hip Hip for Handmade!

The Sweatshop Makeover: Part 1.

Anyone who crafts understands the constant battle to get and stay organized. I'm usually pretty good at existing within chaos but when I looked around this weekend and realized that I couldn't walk into my craft room let alone finish Chadson's elaborate and totally kick ass Halloween costume, it was time for reform.

Since we've moved in, I've tried numerous configurations for said room and nothing has really worked. My brother calls my crafting space "The Sweatshop" in reference to the fact it always looks as though Martha Stewart ate a fabric store and then did her best Exorcist impression, projectile vomiting flotsam everywhere.

The one thing that HAS worked is my fabric storage solution. The closet in this room has a slanted floor which is ever so practical. So my very handy husband and father installed this lovely Rubbermaid shelving system and voila! A few $2.99 Target crates and on a good day, you can actually FIND fabric. Deeeelightful.

So what prompted this sudden spurt of cleanliness? Well, it was 3 giant plastic tubs of individually wrapped Utz pretzels my office purchased for a fair. Say it with me everyone:

"REDUCE, REUSE AND HOLD ALL MY CRAP!"

Now I have one for ribbon, one for fabric scraps and one for trims. I plan to track down one more and use it for my sweet little wooden men that will someday become a clever checkers set.

Closet? Check. Scrappy tubs? Check Check. Space for all my books? Darn.

I had another piece of low budget black and silver furniture hanging out in my closet housing years worth of promotional tee shirts. I thought, this piece of crap furniture has a higher calling! Presto: I have a crafty reading nook and the perfect spot to do a little stitching. I need to upgrade the chair but I also need to paint the room...all in good time. The plan is to have it be a lovely steel like grey with sunny yellow accents and a pretty ikea chandelier.

And now my sewing table isn't quite so cluttered. All I need is a shelf in the middle to hold numerous mason jars full of colorful buttons, glue on rhinestones, beads, pearls and anything else that needs a home.

Presto Chang-o....and Eat that Martha!

Happy Birthday Blog!

I made it!

That may sound silly but if you look back at my first posting, I was not convinced that I could keep this up. But I have a year under my belt that included becoming an Auntie, decorating a new house, a holiday reflective of the current economic situation, a wedding, several living room redos (the latest of which I have yet to post), LOTS of gifts, LOTS of ideas and my Etsy shop of which I am exceedingly proud. I also just finished my paralegal certificate...yay me!

So today I'm patting myself on the back and reliving a year of crafts. It makes me feel like I've accomplished something! To celebrate, I have a new addition to the Sweet March collection...and I rather like her.

So for those of you following along...thanks. It's been fun and I promise more crafty to come!

When you become your mother....

I do believe that one of the big difference between men and women is that men always carry a little bit of their mother with them. Women always carry a lot of their mothers in their brain. And right now she's reading this and saying "Uh! Well...you should BE so lucky."

So what does this have to do with the craft du jour? My brother, sister and I were notorious for coming to my mother the day before a school event and saying "Oh mom...by the way, I need a colonial shirt/a pioneer dress/a turkey costume/a pink poodle skirt for tomorrow." And while she would roll her eyes and let us know she was not pleased with the timing of our requests, the next day, we had what we needed. She would hand it over to us, sigh and say "Well it's just going to have to do." And always we would be the best dressed kid in the place. She's pretty magic like that (you should see the curtains she made for my niece's nursery. They are divine. But my niece is the only grandchild and of course, the favorite...she's my favorite too.)

I never picked up on my mom's perfectionist gene, but when Chad asked me to make him an apron for an Associate Appreciation Cookout tomorrow (guess who's manning the grill...), the part of my brain that is my mother snapped into action. Voila!

While I didn't have many fabric choices, Chad picked this one. It's an outdoor fabric, so it has good shape and will clean up easily. Especially important when you're cooking hamburgers for 2,000 odd employees.

This is a Butcher Style Apron and is incredibly simple. Click here for a good tutorial I found! Otherwise, if you understand the basic shape, just wing it (like I did). Fold the fabric in half long ways and cut out a rectangle. It should be the size of your chest to how far you want it to wrap around on the side. Then figure out where you want it to stop on the top of your chest and cut a curve to accommodate your arms. If you're not sure what I'm talking about, pull out an old apron, fold it in half longways and use it as a pattern.

To avoid hemming the sides and neck (because I hate hemming soooo much), I decided to back it with a little of the corresponding fabric I had in the ol' stash. So cut the same shape on the fold for the lining. Obviously sew right sides together with the neck loop and back ties sandwiched in the middle of the two fabrics in the appropriate locations. Stitch across the top first, then do the sides. Flip inside out and hem....it's truly that simple. I did top stitch the neckline...it made it look a little more finished.

For added fun, I took an old GEICO tee and backed the graphic with iron on interfacing. Interfacing makes things stiffer and ensures that the fabric won't fray. And like magic, there's a Gecko hanging out on Chadson's apron. Obviously you can get creative with this. I fully intend on recreating this craft and having some fun wit add ons. Think of the possibilities: Pockets, slots for grill tools, pictures, sayings, the list goes on and on.

TA DAH!!!! He's so handsome :)

By the way...if you know me, you're probably getting an apron for Christmas.

Busy Hands are Happy Hands

After going Etsytastic for the past month or so, I am completely burned out and the sight of my sewing machine makes me itch.

Thankfully, like in Mary Poppins, the winds have changed and my favorite of all seasons is upon us. I love fall for its amazing holidays (Halloween is like Christmas for crafters and drag queens alike), there are gourds of all shapes and colors, the fact I can wear my sweaters again (because you know, chubby girls look better in sweaters) and I love football season. I can think of no better Saturday than having the windows open with a lovely breeze and the TV on with game after game. I particuarly enjoy sports because the plot is always simple: someone will win and someone will lose. No love triangles, baby daddies, class hierarchy, eliminations...just a winner and a loser. It is uncomplicated, fall bliss.

I especially love that my husband and I watch football together, but I am not one to veg. Not to say that he's a couch potato, the man can seriously get things done. After the house is clean, chores are completed and he's gotten a bike ride in, he definitely loves a good veg. Me? My hands have to be busy, working, doing, creating. If I'm sitting still I only think of more projects I would, could and should be doing.

So I restarted a project I had attempted earlier...my wedding sampler. Originally, I was going to complete this project on linen but there was total drama. And that would completely ruin my drama free football season. So I started over using 18ct Aida which is small enough to have the same effect. Stitching Snobs would say differently but why would I subject myself to an annoying craft? Completely not the point.

Above is the design. I am very unimpressed with any hint of country decor, and stitching walks a fine line. I like to think of this as more of a vintage colonial look. However, it's testing my ability to finish a lengthy project. This one is going to take all of football season!

Obviously I've done the date. On either side of the couple will be our names....and the dog will have a head. Eventually :)

For the Love of Etsy: A Little Love Goes a Long Way

I'm so excited because yesterday a fellow Etsian contacted me to say that she was featuring my shop on her blog this morning. And low and behold:

http://archdiva.blogspot.com/2009/08/monday-pounce-sweetmarch.html

So while I've been spending the last few weeks critiquing my shop like crazy, taking and retaking photos and evaluating whether or not anyone will ever think what I do is as cool as my sweet and supportive husband does, I think today I will just enjoy this.