Aren't Baby Shoes the Cutest?

We finally came up with a way to save all those baby shoes we didn't want to throw away: make something artistic with them! Why not? For about Joey's first year, we had a growing mountain of little baby shoes that were too small for him but we couldn't bear to throw them out. I think I saw this idea in a RealSimple magazine, but of course I did it my own way. :)

I went to Michael's and used one of their coupons to get this shadowbox (I never go to Michael's without a coupon...). It ended up being $11 or something ridiculous like that. I thought this was a great shape for all those little shoes, although don't ask me what's going to happen when I run out of room. I haven't thought that far ahead, yet. New shadowbox, maybe?

We decided which shoes we wanted to keep. It ended up being the right shoe from all his pairs of tennies. I printed off the month tag labels with the time he last wore the shoes and used my cricut to cut out the labels. I fastened snaps to the sides of the labels and attached the whole assembly with glue dots. They stick really well to this fabric background on the shadowbox, surprisingly.

Then I used much larger 3d glue dots to adhere the shoes to the fabric shadowbox because they needed something a little stronger. Don't worry about them sticking out any more than they already do, though. The 3d dots don't actually add any height.

So, in the end, we were able to get rid of all the dirty shoes we were keeping and keep something that really reminds us of how quickly they grow.

We've got this cute little baby wall going for Joey, and soon I look forward to making another little shoe shadowbox with perhaps some pink, flowery shoes!

FINALLLYYYY! One UFO down...

I can honestly say it feels like a HUGE weight has been lifted off my shoulders. About the weight of a giant double afghan, to be exact. I started this project several, several years ago. I think it was one of the first things I wanted to make Scott after we got married. Yep, that was almost 7 years ago. At least I can say I'm dedicated to my UFOs (for those who don't speak 'craft', that means unfinished object, of which I have too many).

This is a picture of his blanket back when I had "finished" it. I think I just got bored with it and decided that was enough for now. Scott is such a wonderful husband that he never said anything about it, and he used it all the time despite its unfinished potential. :)

But then I FINALLY got to feeling so bad that I decided I need to finish the damn thing. Then I could stop thinking about it and stop feeling guilty and he would have a wonderful blanket to actually use! And I also have made a sort of pact where I'm telling myself that I'm going to lessen the number of UFOs I have and to also stop not finishing them! It's a tall order, I know. I have faith in myself, though. So I'm going back through my stash and trying to finish things I've started way too many years ago and just dropped out of boredom. *sigh*

This was a great way to get started, and Joey, of course, insisted he help. Really, I just gave him a ruler so he'd feel important. :) This was our fringe station, and I kept having to rearrange it because Joey liked stepping on the piles of yarn, but we all had a good time in the end. I couldn't help but laugh. :) It took me several hours to do all this fringe, though. It took me about 5-1/2 hours to do both sides of fringe. That includes cutting all the yarn and evening the trim, though so it was A LOT of work. Glad it's done. :)

This is probably one of the most incredible blankets I've ever made just for the fact that it's a great winter-weight afghan, I love the colors and, with the fringe (which I usually hate) and this lovely scalloped border detail, it really does make a very simple blanket really beautiful. One day, I myself will have a double weight afghan. :) Not now, though. I'm still reveling in the glory of having finished this one. I probably won't be ready to start another regular-person-sized afghan for a while. Ugh.

After I got all my pictures for ravelry and said blog, I went right to where my husband was playing video games in our cold basement and put this on him. And here he is where I am making him enjoy the blanket I just worked SO HARD to finish after a ridiculous number of years. If that doesn't say I love you, I don't know what does. <3

Underwater Basket Weaving - Turns Out, It's Not That Easy

I was exposed to an entirely new form of crafting last week. One I had miraculously never even considered before: basket weaving. I even drove 5-1/2 hours to try it. IT WAS AWESOME. Yes, it killed my fingers a bit, but it was totally worth it! I went to one of these art classes with my Mom, and we both made baskets.(That's my Mom and me if you hadn't figured that out, yet. Aren't we amazing?!)

An explanation as best I can manage: we wove the bottom of the basket, then we turned up the stakes and wove the top with different kinds of reed. Oh, and we got to cut the tops and do more weaving and then cut more stuff. And we used different colors! My favorite part was the basket feet, though. I LOVE baskets with feet. And also stair baskets, but we didn't make one of those. :( Anyway, as fun as that all sounds, you should definitely try it if you EVER get the chance. I'm pretty sure it won't be my primary hobby (*sad face*), since I have a bazillion other hobbies (how much is a brazilian?), but I will do it whenever I can. (Ooh! That's my basket!)

 

Actually, today I bought a ton of basket making stuff. I'm amazed at the ways you can use baskets. The basket class was at the instructor's house, and it was fun to find all the baskets she had around the house and all the uses she had found for them. They weren't just baskets. They were magazine holders, tissue boxes, utensil holders, bird nests, hearth baskets and trash cans. Now I want everything to be a basket, and, guess what? I think I can make them all. :)

New ECS Products! Introducing "The Bunting"

This is something I have always been interested in, and there are so many ways you can make them! Mine, of course, will be made with paper since we are a paperie, and I'm so excited to add them to the shop!

I am one of those people who loves things in miniature (keep your comments to yourself), and these little paper buntings are so cute I had to make one for myself. It does a great job at brightening up my crafting space, which is currently recovering after Hurricane Rayna ran through it. I'd love to get some picture of my craft space up, but that will most likely never happen since I run through my crafting space like a crazy person leaving a trail of cut paper, ribbon and messy adhesives in my wake. Feel free to imagine what it might look like, though. What you can see is the wall I look at when I craft. :) My drafting table is in this corner, and I have access to my crafting lamp and my embellishment center (on the right side of the picture). And then there is the lovely bunting I made for myself out of some of my favorite paper.

These buntings can be made out of all kinds and patterns of paper, and I am currently making them on 5'1" long cotton thread with 1' of blank string on either side for hanging. They can also be tied to skewers on either side and put into a cake! I'm thinking about making a cake just so I can do that. These things are very cool. :)

Go check these out at the shop... Love 'em! *ECS Paper Buntings*

Happy Mother's Day! And a Sale to Boot...

Good people of the interwebs, Ehle Custom Stationery is having a sale! It is indeed a momentous occasion. :) In honor of all the wonderful mothers out there, we are making our items cheaper! That's always good. This time, it's just for you!

All you need do is go to our online boutique, which you may know very well and you may not, but you can click on the image below to be transported to a world of paper crafting goodness. I've added a lot of stock to get ready for this sale so you should be able to find lots of good stuff. If you see something that is snatched up before you can get it, or if you want a sketchbook made out of paper you saw used for magnets, email me so we can make sure you get the item you want during the sale. The sale is for one day only, and you can only use the coupon code once so I want to make sure you get what you want!

Click on the image above to be taken directly to the Ehle Custom Stationery website. THIS SALE IS FOR ONE DAY ONLY! I don't mean to yell, but that's very important to know. The sale will last the entirety of May 8 give or take a few hours. I think we all know how I am with time restrictions. I'm always fashionably late. Don't wait until the last minute,though...  Be sure to use the coupon code mday50 to get the sale. This will save you 50% off your order of $20 or more. You must use the coupon code to get the sale. If you have any trouble, just contact me and we can get things figured out.

Otherwise, I hope you all have a wonderful Mother's Day, and I'm sending all kinds of good thoughts your way. Here's to Moms!

Ladies and Gentlemen, Let the Freebies Begin!

Come one, come all! The day has finally come for our Water for Elephants Giveaway! Huzzah! This was a fun giveaway for me because 1) ECS loves elephants! and 2) I love themes. :) I am a theme hound, and it was really fun looking for supplies to make this week's giveaway. Here, ladies and germs, is what we are giving away in honor of a fabulous-looking movie, Water for Elephants:

Here we have a set of 5 matchbook notebooks with 15 pages of recycled newsprint paper in them. We've got some cycling elephants, some circus poster taglines and the beautiful trapeze artist alongside her elephant pals (her elephant pals are on the reverse side :)). This one has rules just like the last one did so keep on reading!

Rule #1:
Like Ehle Custom Stationery on Facebook. If you already have, fabulous. This just makes it easier for me to find and notify people when they win. Click the link below to be taken to the ECS facebook fan page:

 Also, by becoming a fan on facebook, that's another way to keep up with the doings of ECS like sales, new products and shows!

Rule #2:
Let me know which act it is that brings or would bring you to the circus. I'll start. I love the animals. The boring ones are okay, but mostly I like the dangerous ones. The elephants with their sharp tusks, the lions and tigers with their man-flesh-eating-ness and the alligators who also eat fleshy men. I love the danger in it. :) Now you. What is your favorite act at the circus?

So leave a comment on this blog post telling me all about your circus habits, and I can't wait to read them! Plus you'll be entered in the drawing. :) Also, if you join the Ehle Custom Stationery Ehlebots, there are discussion boards and other ways to get savings and new product reveals. We've just got all sorts of stuff going on!

The giveaway starts as soon as this is posted (if you're reading it now, that's now!) and ends Sunday night. Joey and I will be picking a winner Monday morning sometime so tune in then to see the winner! Just remember: elephants are our friends, R-Pat and Rees are tremendous actors and unfortunately good-looking people, and, hence, you should go see Water for Elephants. :) Ciao, bellas!   

I Can Yudu, Can You?

I have FINALLY got myself a Yudu. I've been watching these things for a LOOOOONG time, and seeing as there's no way I'm ever buying myself a craft something for $400, I didn't have one. Until yesterday... Being an exclusive member of Michael's email list, I get these awesome coupons from time to time. Yesterday, for ONE DAY ONLY, the Yudus were $99.99! That's hundreds of dollars in savings! I ran right out and got one. I stood right by the Yudus while the lady looked to see if they had any left. She was finally able to scrounge one up, and it was still in the shipping box! I'm still getting shivers thinking how close I was to having to run all around town looking for one of these things. Oooohhh...

Anyway, I got it, brought it home and immediately opened it and started trying to make something. I then proceeded to immediately mess it up. First of all, I'm not entirely taking the blame on this one because the instructions are crap. I should know, instructions are my living. They truly suck. So I effed up the only emulsion sheet I had. Scott had to run out and get one on the way home from work. He's such an awesome husband. :) Then I found out I needed some things that, for some stupid reason, were not included in the box. Okay, check this out. You put emulsion on the screen to make the image. You need emulsion remover to clean the screen of the emulsion ick. THE DAMN YUDU DOESN'T COME WITH EMULSION REMOVER! And I didn't know I needed it until I got the damn thing home and read the instructions. So then I had to run out and get that. :) The good thing is that I was able to find and print a 40% coupon. So there, Michaels. Take that.

So we're now at the point where I have watched several videos online to try to figure out what the heck I'm doing since the directions sucked. I have some new emulsions sheets and emulsion remover now so I can clean the screen I effed up the first time. After all that mess, it was pretty easy to do. I got my screen burned and inked.

The Yudu originally only comes with an adult t-shirt platen so I had to improvise to make this shirt for Joey. It worked just fine, though sticking the back of the shirt to the platen (like you're supposed to) and sticking a piece of cardboard (with double stick tape on the inside of the front and back so the cardboard doesn't move around in the shirt) in the baby tee. I just had to make sure the image on the screen was in the spot I wanted on the shirt.

Then you just make a couple runs over the t-shirt with the ink and you have a screen-printed tee! This one came out super awesome for my first try. The bottom's a little smudgy, but I wasn't sure how much pressure to put on the squeegee when I was pulling the ink through. I didn't push hard enough the first time, and then I lifted the mesh screen to see the shirt. Don't do that. :) So, after that, I made a couple more passes with the ink pushing much harder this time, and it went over it like buttah. I got this design from Michaels. They sell their own art transparencies, but you can also make your own designs. I might have to try making my own next time.

I'll admit I'm slightly concerned about the cost of maintaining my Yudu because emulsion sheets are 2 for $20, and you have to burn a new screen for each image you want. Unless you're doing bulk screenprinting or are an enthusiastic crafter (like myself), I probably wouldn't recommend it. You're essentially paying $10 plus the cost of whatever you're screenprinting. It's up to you whether it's worth it or not, but I just like the idea of making my own designs on t-shirts and such. I LOVE tote bags, and this will be perfect for that. Also, I just had another thought. I can screenprint my own notecard caddies! Holy moley, I love the sound of that idea.

I think Joey liked his new shirt. It made him run around like a crazy person. :) He looks so stylish in his mock designer tee!