Thursday, December 8, 2011

'Tis the Season!

Since my last post, life's been crazy!  I had my first sale on Etsy, celebrated Thanksgiving with family and drove my best friend out to Arizona from Wisconsin.   Also, Christmas came early this year.  Santa gave me an iPhone 4, which was especially useful on the trip to Arizona.  Here's a few photos from the trip and my sales on Etsy.





Above-Going through Iowa and Kansas City.





Notice all this snow?  Yeah, we hit a blizzard in New Mexico.  Thankfully, we found a hotel in Moriarty and spent the night.   Great place to stay, the people were so nice!






Leaving New Mexico and entering Flagstaff, Arizona.





Both sold at my shop, CozyCrafts on Etsy!  : )

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Good Luck and Happy Birthday all in one!



Here's the latest project, a small lap quilt made from scraps leftover from a coaster project.  The front is multicolored floral prints with some lace sewn in places and the back is flannel.  

    


This was a going away / birthday present for a friend.  She had originally picked out the fabric for a coaster project, which she was never able to finish.  So I used the left over's for a nice gift for her.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

A Winter Project...



Well, here's the newest project for the Winter.  I got this from a co-worker who was looking to clear out her garage before the snow hits.  : )   Super excited about it.  It needs a lot of work--most of the drawers need to be restored.  It doesn't have the machine anymore, but I am interested in trying to put my machine in it--which could be a colossal fail.  I've searched online for possible companies that made this--without the machine there is no label, that I've found yet.  I think it's a Wheeler & Wilson, probably made around the 1890's.  They were a major sewing machine maker in the United States before they were purchased by Singer.  If anyone has any helpful information about Wheeler & Wilson, please comment!





Monday, October 17, 2011

A little something for Marilyn...



So here's my latest project, a cute little bag for Marilyn and her parents!  Below some more pictures of the bag.  I'm rather proud of myself for finding some cheaper pink fabric from Target (a sheet set on clearance!) that I will be able to use for lots of girly things--quilts and bags.  Expect to see more pink in the near future! : )  





While I have been crafty at home, I've also gotten out to see an amazing exhibition at the Milwaukee Art Museum.  "Impressionism: Masterworks on Paper" is an amazing example of the little seen drawings that let to many well known impressionist works.  I was lucky enough to attend the Presidents  Opening and hear three wonderful speakers.  I was more impressed by the works of lesser known impressionists than the works of well known impressionist in the exhibition--such as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Edgar Degas.  Perhaps I just like pretty things...lol.

Next up will be some Christmas crafts I've found in a magazine--my first attempt at cross-stitching and some cute Scandinavian garland. Wish me luck and hopefully the next posts will be soon!

Stephanie




Sunday, September 25, 2011

Happy Fall!

Happy Fall!  There've been a few life changes around here, so I've had little time to work on crafts.  But here's the first finished project I have.  A left over charm pack I made into a small baby blanket.  The perfect size for a car seat or just snuggling on your lap.  Tones of blue, yellow and green, it's backed with flannel and edged in yellow satin.  Enjoy!  This will be my first listing on Etsy.










Friday, August 19, 2011

New fabric and plans that backfire....

Last week I purchased some lovely fabric from JoAnn's.  All jewel tone colors and a couple, omg these are so cute fabrics.  The plan was some geometric quilted little bags.  Here's a picture of my first design.  Unfortunately, I didn't think this though enough, and joining the seams to make the bag will cut into the design.  There is that saying about hind sight or something...I think that applies.  Back to the drawing board.  Here's the colors I have to work with, besides white and black.


Also, here's something that I found at the Des Moines Art Center while I visited earlier this month.  It's been a source of mindless amusement lately.  Kids eco-friendly placemats you can color!!!  I loved the designs and when the gift shop attendant told me you could color on them I as sold!  They are essentially eco-friendly dry erase coloring mats. 







Friday, August 5, 2011

From Iowa, with love...

Things are finally coming together.  The garden has produced enough peas for one casserole of risotto and I've made my first batch of pesto.  Now we've got zucchini growing like crazy and it's time to make zucchini soup, bread and mixed vegetables.  It's been in the 90's the last three weeks, so I've neglected the garden somewhat.  It's probably the reason the pea plants are still there, even though they are done producing.

Rabbits continue to eat everything they can.  We have four now that have grown from cute little bunnies, nurtured by my poor flowers, into fully grown adult bunnies.  There have also been visits from four hungry raccoons and a few skunks.  Thankfully, no one was sprayed.

I've finished another project (that was hinted at in the last post) for my friends Julie and John.  They will be welcoming a baby girl in September (if not sooner!).



I am visiting them in Iowa for the weekend and tomorrow we're going to the Des Moines Farmer's Market!!!  Super excited--food, crafts, arts, music and food.  Did I mention food?    ; D  

Monday, July 11, 2011

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Summer has Arrived!

Summer finally arrived in Wisconsin.  With temperatures in the 90's the plants are finally having a growth spurt!  Sunflowers and Zucchini recently sprouted and I've been picking lettuce and baby spinach for a week now.  Here's a small look at how the garden's grown since May.





Some other blooming plants found my other gardens...