50 Projects in 2012 (Part THREE!) Final Count!

Alright, before I start my "50 Projects in 2013" I need to finish posting my "50 Projects in 2012" which I unofficially joined. I think I may have surpassed 50 by a good bit! You can read Part One and Part Two by clicking on the links. Alright, here we go:

46. Little stuffed Christmas trees




















47/48: Awesome crocheted rainbow hats for Luna. The first one ended up waaaay too large. So I made her a smaller one. I gave her both for Christmas.















49. Crocheted rattle. Started off as just the orange ball, ended up adding bits for Luna to hold onto and now it looks like a weird crocheted pacifier. Haha. Another Christmas present.

50. Chunky infinity scarf for Ryan. He liked mine so much, he requested one for himself for Christmas.

51. Needed an Ugly Christmas Sweater for a work party. Couldn't find any so I made one. It turned out quite pretty though. You can't tell from the picture but it's quite sparkly and gaudy.

52. Manly crocheted ripple scarf. Made this for my brother for Christmas. Ryan's modeling it in the pictures below. My brother really liked it, except for the fringe (which I was also skeptical about, but I had already put it on so I left it.). I showed him how he could remove it. It's up to him now. Haha. It also looks alot longer than the pictures.

53. Little Crocheted Christmas love birdy ornaments. Got the pattern from here on Attic24.

54. Rice pack heating pad Christmas gifts for my mom, dad, and brother.

55. Quilted Christmas pillow

56. Huge Fleece Raiders Blanket for my dad for Christmas.

57. Peace and Love Crocheted Banner for Christmas. Also based on Attic24's Pattern.

58. Painted/sealed salt dough ornaments

59. Cowl for my brother's ex - not pictured. I forgot to take a picture of it before I sent it.
60. Green scarf for Ryan's mama. Made it when I was in Ohio last week.

61. Holiday Bunting - I made three strands. If you look closely in the reflection you can see the longer strand above our window. The third one is hanging underneath our stockings.

62/63: I made two of these. (I don't have a picture of the other one.) One was made for a friend who was graduating college. You can get a better idea of them from the pattern I used.

So....that's it. Sixty-three projects. Goodness. That's alot when you consider throwing in a baby and then having to take care of a baby half of the year. (Except Mr. 246 helps a lot. If I need crafty me-time I always get it. He's the best!)

I've started my list for "50 Projects in 2013" here. It's a list in progress of course. And it's more of a guide than a instruction for the year. I'll update on here and on there as I go along.

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In other news, today is the last day of Luna's birth year and it makes me sad. She won't have been born "earlier this year" she will have been born "last year." She's also six months tomorrow. My how time flies. We're ordering in food and watching "Best of 2012" compilations online (like: news fails compilations, viral video compilations, ect.) Might even pick a movie to actually watch and work on my cross stitch some more. Here's to the new year! You can read about my resolutions here. They start tomorrow. See you next year!

- Ms. 246

I can sew anything!

Okay, I know I definitely can't sew everything, but I feel like I can. Why, you ask? Because dearest Mr. 246 spoiled me this Christmas. He got me this:

A new sewing machine! Not just any sewing machine -- a Brother cs6000i. Allow me to geek out for a moment: It has SIXTY stitches. It's quiet! It's light! I can do free-motion quilting! I can do quilting, period. It came with a walking foot even! It even came with the large table addition thingy (like above) AND a case! You can even change the max speeds so your stitching is even! And change your stitch length and width with a touch of a button! (Do I sound like a commercial yet?) I'll quit rambling about it. You can read more here at Amazon.

So, of course I had to try it out all the stitches immediately (except button holes, 'cause I'm scared of those still):

I can't get enough of all the decorative stitching. So wonderful. Of course I wanted to run out and buy a ton of stuff to sew but after looking at a stack of fabric I bought without any purpose (and still hadn't put away) I decided I needed to use up some of my stash so I practiced making my quilt lines and binding by making Luna another blankie. (Because 4 kajillion isn't enough for one child.)

It's just two pieces of flannel. I used a piece of fleece for the batting and I kind of like how that turned out. It's super warm, but of course it needs to be worked in. I might keep it around to sell or give as a gift since Luna has so many blankets already.

I decided my first real project will be a quilt for our bed. One of my unofficial goals for 2013 is to redecorate our room. (Well, actually just decorate it since we haven't.) Here's a pic I found from Pinterest that I'm kinda going for:

Image credit: click here.

Here are some of the fabrics I picked up today (I'll also be supplementing from my stash.):

I can't get enough of the folksy fabric, or the peacock fabric. This quilt is going to be wonderful! Mr. 246 and I have decided we're done with anything matchy-matchy and will be likening our abode to "The Burrow" from Harry Potter and I couldn't be more pleased.

Another thing I'm working on:

A Mario crossstitch. Who knows if I'll ever be finished. In the end it should look like this, but I forgot how long crossstitch takes. I proposed it for an OWL for the Harry Potter Craftalong, but I'm half tempted to abandon it. I suppose I could keep trucking along at a snails pace. It only takes me so long 'cause I can't sit and cross stitch forever. It makes me go a bit cross-eyed after a while.

So yea...that's what I've been up to. I have to go back to work Wednesday but I'm pretending this vacation will last forever. What's Mr. 246 and Lunabean been up to while I've been having all this crafty fun? Looking cute, as always:

Goodnight!
Ms. 246

Lofty New Year's Ambitions

Merry Belated Christmas. Now, on to resolutions...

Christmas is over and now it's almost 2013. I have a long standing tradition of making a ridiculously long list of New Years' Resolutions and I plan on continuing this tradition. Of course, I usually never succeed in actually accomplishing these resolutions, but it's always inspiring just to make them. This year, however, I do plan on actually detailing a plan of action for each resolution. So, without further ado, here are my 2013 New Years' Resolutions:

1.) Lose 50 lbs.
Why: Quite lofty, I know and stereotypical, but so be it. I've gained a lot over the past year due to pregnancy (and the fat that I'm horrible at maintaining weight) so my plan is to lose the pregnancy weight and then some so I can be a healthy weight to be a good role model for Luna. She's still young. I don't want to have her watch me struggle with my weight. I want her to only know good eating and activity habits so she won't have to worry about anything weight related. I've struggled with weight most of my life and I want her to just naturally make good food decisions so she can spend that time being a child and young adult without that added stress and depression.
How: I've joined Weight Watchers online. I've had success with it in the past. (I lost 25 lbs!) After my three months of WW is up, I'll be going back to SparkPeople. I plan on eating better, planning out my food the day before, cooking more (Mr. 246 does most of it since he's a SAHD), and for exercise I'll be taking Luna for long walks in the Ergo (it just gets more intense the heavier she gets) and doing short weight training sessions at least every other day. (I'm weak!) If you want to add me as a friend - go ahead. I'm Whistlefish on WW and Whistlefishy on SparkPeople.

2.) Participate in a 365 Photo Project.
Why: It's been a long standing goal of mine to become better at photography (and learn how to properly utilize all functions of these fancy cameras I keep buying). And now that we have Luna I want to capture every moment 'cause she's already growing too fast. (Can you believe she's six months in a couple days?!)
How: I've got some photography links on my Pinterest already saved up. There are some free lessons online that I plan on doing so I have "assignments" to work on which will help my skills and motivate me to continue with the 365 project. I've started a set on Flickr for this project. The link is here. There aren't any pictures yet obviously. I'm going to start January 1st.

3.) Continue making Shutterfly Photobooks.
Why: Because I'm too lazy to scrapbook, these books are gorgeous, and I want something that my family can cherish for a long time. We've already made one from her birth-October. I'm now working on a Christmas one and I'm freaking in love with it. (We had five separate family Christmases!)
How: My main goal is to make an 8x11 hardcover book at least every 3 months. So that's 4 a year. I'll make more if I have a super special occasion with tons of photos.  I will probably also make one once the 365 project is done. How cool would that be?

4.) Participate in 50 Projects for 2013 on Craftster.org
Why: So I can plan my major projects. Plus, this goal covers a lot of my crafting goals. (i.e. Finish the Harry Potter quilt, make a quilt for my bed, redecorate bedroom, ect.)
How: I'm working on my list. The thread is still being set up on Craftster. If you'd like to join or see what it's about you can go here.

5.) Create a family mission statement.
Why: Because I'm secretly into hokey self-improvement stuff like that and I like that sort of thing. I like a clear cut direction of what I need to do.
How: Do some research on family mission statements. I'll have to sit down with Mr. 246 and figure it all out. Again, I'll be sure to post when I'm done. (*I just talked to Mr. 246 and he said it's a good idea and he's willing to work on it with me. Bless his heart, always putting up with my random projects, especially when they involve him.)

6.) Make a family budget.
Why: Because we have a child now. That kinda makes us *real* adults. I've got a somewhat respectable amount in savings but I know I could save more. I kind of just buy whatever I want whenever I want it. There are things that my frivolous spending should be put aside for: paying off student loans, creating an emergency fund, starting a retirement fund, creating a moving fund (we want to go back to the midwest), possibly money for a down payment for a house if/when we move (although I do love the perks of renting).
How: Mint.com which we've used in the past, but I've been lazy. Mr. 246 and I are going to create a new Mint.com account for both of us, do our monthly budget, and see what we can accomplish.

7.) Set a monthly family goal.
Why: This was originally "Organize our whole life" based on a book that gives you a different thing to work on every week and then at the end of the year your life is supposedly organized, but Mr. 246 and I agreed that while it seems like a good idea, it will probably never be accomplished. Instead we're deciding on a monthly goal to work on.
How: Every month we'll decide on a goal and then a couple things that need to be done to accomplish said goal. For example: "Minimize Our Belongings" would be the goal. Then we would make some sub-goals: pare down our book collection, go through storage (If we haven't used it in 2 years we probably never will...), get rid of a majority of things we just don't need.

8.) Get a penpal.
Why: Because I love stationary (I have a ton I do nothing with) and writing/receiving letters. I think it's neat.
How: Not sure yet. Maybe send out a request on Craftster or Facebook, or hit up an old friend. We shall see. Maybe a family member I'm not close with?

9.) Take a bit more pride in my appearance.
Why: I've been SUPER lazy in terms of appearance the past couple months. It's happened because of a combination of a couple of things: there are waaay more important things in life than looks, I've become frumpy feeling/looking so I tell myself, "What's the point," I don't have much a social life, this list can go on. I don't want to be a super girly girl, but I'd like to set an example for Luna to take care of herself and take pride in herself. Something I need to accomplish. Plus, Mr. 246 loves me dearly, no matter what I look like, but I'd like to be a girl he's proud to be seen with.
How: Do my hair at least 4 out 7 days of the week - I've been ponytailin' it far too often. I wear makeup at work, but I should on the weekends as well, at least sometimes. Dress up pretty at least once a week. Keep my nails looking good. Take some pride in my body even if it is not "ideal" at the moment.

10.) Blog, Journal, Record life in some way.
Why: I have a TERRIBLE memory. I can never remember any movie I've seen and my high school and even college years are already getting super fuzzy. I don't know why I have such a terrible memory for life events but I know one thing for sure -- I want to remember this part of my life. I LOVE my life right now. I want to remember every bit of it and if my memory fails me, I should hope to have a record to remind me.
How: I will try to upkeep this blog including backing it up on my computer/Google Docs. I also have a mini index diary that I need to start up again. I will also have a notebook that I don't write in as regularly, but will make all my notes for everything in so I have kind of a mish-mash memory of what's going on.

Phew. So there we go. A year's worth of goals. And since I'll be blogging more (right?) I'll be sure to update along the way. Here's hoping for a wonderful year!

Goodnight,
Ms. 246

Halloween!

Happy Halloween from our little drooly bat!

It seems like Halloween sneaked up on us, but we greeted it happily. I only wish it were on the weekend so we could have had a whole day of Halloween goodness.

Now that Halloween is over I can't help but to skip over Thanksgiving and go straight to being excited about Christmas. I'm already in full blown Christmas crafting goodness. My first priority is to finish the gifts I have planned. (Why didn't I start them sooner?!) Then, I've got a thing or two I really want to do for decorations. I wish I could tell you about my Christmas gift plans, but just in case someone might read them, I'll keep them to myself for now. Actually, Lunabean has a while until she can read. I'll update about what I've got in the plans for her soon.

I'll have another update from the humble abode of #246 sometime this weekend. Tomorrow is Friday and I couldn't be happier about that.

Goodnight,
Ms. 246

50 Projects in 2012 (Part TWO!)

Alright folks, I'm back. The countdown to 50 projects for 2012 continues...25 more. I haven't counted in advance, but I'm trying to see if I can or have already hit 50 craft projects for 2012. Read more about it and see the first 25 projects in this post. Let's get back to it...

#26: Baby crib quilt - Purple border, yellow background
#27: Baby crib quilt - Pink border, orange background
(Again, I apologize for the crappy picture.)

Does a pinterest fail count? If so...
#28: "Rainbow Sugar Cookies" These things made me resort to drinking with how horribly it all turned out. Every time I go to bake I seem to forget that I can't stand baking.

#29: Tie-Dye Onesies - I made a couple, some others were made by friends for my baby shower.

#30: Re-Upholstered dining room chairs. Mr. 246 helped with these. They were originally that brown swede and we chose a green/yellow swirly pattern. So freaking easy. I may have to change them again and again.

#31: Crocheted squares for Knit-A-Square charity project. An organization sews them all together to make blankets for AIDS orphans in Africa. Inspired to make these due to the S.P.E.W. (HP Charity Crafting) craftalong on Craftster.

#32: Small Cuddle Texture Blanket out of a scrap I had. Sewed it all up nice for Lunabeaners.

#33: Another S.P.E.W. Project. This one was for Snuggles. You make soft snuggly blankies for shelter animals. :( The way that this lady feels about cats is how I feel about shelter dogs.)  It's a double-stranded crocheted mini blanket. I think it's about 30x30 inches.

Another shot at the blankets brings us...
#34: The second blanket in the pile is a blanket for Lunabean. (I had originally gotten the fabric on clearance to make blankies for the doggies, but it was so lovely and Luna liked it a lot so I made her one as well.)
#35: The "snuggle" on the bottom of the pile is for the Snuggle project as well.

#36: Set of "Defense Against the Dark Arts" HP ornaments made for the "Back to Hogwarts 3" swap on Craftster. They include (from left to right kind of):  A boggart trunk with a boggart of my partners worst fear - losing control, Mad-Eye Moody (Mr. 246 helped since unless I have therapy before hand I cannot work with clay), a set of three mini chalkboards with lessons on the Unforgivable Curses, in the back there are two DADA textbooks, a small Scabbers in the middle, two hand painted, decoupaged Prof. Umbridge kitty plates, set of three "In case of dementor attack" chocolates.

#37: Another project for the "Back to Hogwarts 3" Swap based on my partners favorite store - Weasley Wizard Wheezes.

#38: We nicknamed these "Jackson Pollock's Balls", but they're really Oreo Truffles. Quite delicious but also quite decadent. You definitely can't eat a lot of these.

 

#39: Crocheted Owl Bag - Made for my pseudo niece (my brother's girlfriend's child) since she was starting kindergarten (and it was her birthday). Her mommy said she loved it and was carrying around socks in it. Yea....I don't know. Haha.

#40: Crocheted Infinity Scarf: Modeled by Mr. 246 who now wants one of his own. ("Is this a girl thing? Can guys wear cowls?" "I think so!") Based on a pattern I found on Ravelry which I can't find again at the moment.

#41: Tiny Pumpkin - Made just yesterday in honor of Halloween.

#42: Chalkboard Calender - We are lost without this calender. It's kind of fun 'cause I get to decorate every month.

#43: Moon and Stars Baby Hat - Followed directions for a newborn size and unfortunately it never fit.

#44: Ear-flap Baby Hat - mentioned in previous post

#45: Slouchy Crochet Hat - not pictured. Made for a friend for her birthday and I forgot to take a picture.

Whew...so I've made it to 45! I'm impressed. There's probably a thing or two I'm forgetting, but I'm still impressed. I have a couple long-term projects that I work on from time to time - a granny square blanket which I work on when I have nothing else to work on. Here's a sneak peak (sorry for the picture quality, it's from my phone):

It's got about another half row currently. I know it doesn't look terribly wide, but once it's done (It's going to be 12 squares x 12 squares) I'm going to made a pretty wide border. 

The other in progress project I'm working on is my Harry Potter quilt. I'm following the pattern here from HP Paper Piecing. I must admit, though, since Luna's been born I haven't broken out the sewing machine too much. I don't have a designated spot to sew so I just set up at the dining room table. When I do paper piecing there's a bit more involved because you have to iron so much and it's just a big production I feel like. I can't wait for the day I have a craft room.

Well, I think I can make 5 finished projects by the end of the year. I'll update as I go. Then I get to start planning crafts for next year. First I must get through the holidays. (I finally feel like an adult because I am somewhat dreading the holidays. Not enough time to get things done, we have to travel with an infant, there's too much to fit in in too little time. It's just forced. I'm dreaming of a relaxing Christmas, but I have a feeling it won't happen this year. Anyway, this topic can fill a whole other post. I'm just being a Scrooge about Christmas today. Hehe.)

Thanks for looking!

Kindest Regards,

Ms. 246

50 Projects in 2012 (Part One!)

So, I was lurking around Craftster.org today and I came across a craftalong "50 Projects in 2012" post. You post your crafting plans for the year and then get crafting and post a picture of each project in your post as you complete them. I've done a lot of crafting this year. Most of it was when I was pregnant with Ms. Lunabean. (I had cravings for crafting the way some women crave ice cream when they're pregnant...well, I had ice cream cravings as well.) But, the craftalong got me thinking....I wonder if I have/had 50 projects in 2012. I decided to round up what I've made and make a post. So, without further ado, in no particular order (because I'm just not that organized)...


#1: Set of 8 Burp Clothes - made with cloth diaper fabric and flannel. They're holding up quite well and we still use them every day.

#2 and 3: Repainted soup cans with little crocheted coozies.

#4: Doggie Blanket: Made little Boo Radley a nice little quilt since he was jealous of the ones I was making for baby Lunabean.

#6: Teal Valence for over Luna's crib and...

#7: Fabric Hoopla wall for Luna's room

#8: Personalized Bunting - Made for Mr. 246's sister's birthday for her dorm room.

#9: Crocheted Pygmy Puff - Made for Summer Semester Hogwarts Craftalong (Another awesome Craftalong!)

#10: Crocheted Giraffe Amiguri
#11: Crocheted Hippo (It's that purple/red one. In the end it looked more like a dog than a hippo to me.)
#12: Stuffed and sewn giraffe (I even used a sewing pattern -- a rarity for me!)
(The little crocodile and squid were both made by Mr. 246 -- I can't take credit.)

#13: Paper Mobile - Inspired by this that I found on Pinterest. And I can't take all the credit on this one. Mr. 246 helped alot. There are a lot more circles to cut out than you think. (Sorry for the super crappy picture.

 

#14: Peggy the Pegasus Plush - Also made by a pattern. I'm quite pleased, although she does seem a tad short and stout. Hehe.

#15: Watercolor Emerson Quote - I freaking love this quote and I thought it was adorable for Luna's nursery. It's bigger than it looks - about 18x26 in or something around that. I was lucky enough to use my mom's projector to trace the lettering.

#16: Crocheted Baby Blanket - Dang, this thing is SOFT! And I'm quite proud. My first BIG crochet project. Oh, and pardon my baby belly taking over the bottom of the picture.

#17:  Crocheted baby Hat - Modeled by Mr. Owl Puppet

#18: Quilted Harry Potter Coasters - My first attempt at paper piecing and it was quite a success! These were made for the "One Tiny HP Thing" Swap on Craftster. (Edit: These were based on these HP patterns.)

#19: Painted frames - I had a set of note cards that I absolutely loved. I thought they would be an awesome addition to Luna's nursery (the theme morphed into "bright colors"). So...painted some cheap $3 Wal-Mart frames with craft paint and covered with lacquer to make them all nice and shiny. (Again, sorry for the crappy picture).

Here's a bunch in one picture. (Note: I decided I wanted a mantle, but we're in an apartment and space is limited, and, uh....we don't have a fireplace. So, I put up a shelf and we've been decorating it every season. This is spring when it started.)
#19: Spring Bunting - The white letters are stitched on with coordinating colors.
#20: Painted Dinosaurs - It's hard to tell in this picture, but there are three (blue, yellow, and bright green) dinosaurs. I bought them at the Dollar Tree and painted them for some colorful decorations for our display.
#21: Salsa Jar Sweater - Look at where the flowers are on the right. That is a salsa jar. I crocheted a cover for it. It took quite a while since it's single crochet. At one point, I was sick of making it and then I came to the realization that I was spending tons of time on crocheting a sweater for a salsa jar. It makes me laugh every time I see it now. (Almost makes me want to do some yarn bombing in the grocery store!)
#22: Mini Bunting - Look at the twigs on the left side of the shelf. I made tiny little coordinating bunting out of a ribbon. (Note: Heat'N Bond is my best friend with projects like this.)
#23: Decoupaged Easter Eggs - Look to the glass contained to the right of the twigs. I decided it would be an awesome Easter project to decoupage some of those brown paper mache eggs with colorful paper. WRONG. This project sucked. Tiny bits of paper. And I used scrap book paper which was a poor decision with tiny round objects. I all around hated this project but this year I told myself : Leave no project unfinished! So I enlisted Mr. 246's help and made him join in on the misery.
#24: Mini Chalkboard - Learned how to cover frames with chalkboard contact paper. Only bad part - real chalk doesn't work so I had to throw down some $$ to get some of those chalkboard markers. I still love it though.

#25: Paper and Hot Glue Wands - When I first saw these I thought they were amazing. I still do. I'm quite please with how these turned out. The first and the third were made by Mr. 246. We followed this how-to guide to make them.

Whew! I'm up to 25! I've got a lot more. And some things I haven't taken pictures of yet that I need to. I'll post the rest tomorrow. I wonder if I'll get to 50. Hmmm...if I get close I'll have to make sure I do 50 so I can accomplish the goal I never had. Come back tomorrow for PART TWO!

Kindest Regards,
Ms. 246