Crafty Links - Babycakes Approved

After a nice, relaxing break for the holidays, I'm ready to jump back into the week with some crafty links!

• I love projects that re-purpose old t-shirts - check out this tutorial on how to make 5-strand woven headbands, similar to those sold in stores (Make It and Love It)

• These are just about the fanciest cupcakes I've ever seen! Black Cherry White Chocolate Cupcakes in a Jar (Whipper Berry)

• This looks like a fun weekend project to sew or even liven up a pillow you might already own - Hexagon Pillow tutorial (Lark Crafts)

• Another great project from RWKrafts - reuse your old wine corks and make some fun stamps! (Prescription: Craft Often)

Crafty Weekend Plans

This weekend marks the first time in awhile that I am actually going to get to my craft room for some crafty fun. I've been a little lax lately (I'll update soon as to why, I promise!) so it's a comforting feeling to know I'll be able to work out my creative juices. 

The first thing I need to do is hem the adorable black cotton maxi-dress that I bought last month. It's an easy enough task, I just haven't dragged out my sewing machine in weeks.

I've also got some cute dog bone print fleece fabric from my dear friend Beth that I would like to make into a pillow. I know that summer is not exactly the most ideal time to work with fleece but I'd love to put it in my Etsy shop or on eBay as soon as I'm done. And I might as well hop on this project while the sewing machine is already out.

Lastly, I need to go through my extra fabric so I can give it to my friend Kerry, who has been volunteering her time making pillows for cancer survivors who have recently undergone a mastectomy or lumpectomy. The pillows are used to alleviate pressures on their wounds. Not only is Kerry sassy as hell but she's got a good heart, as you can see from her volunteering efforts.

I'm sure there will be a few other projects that I can put some time into (helloooo, cross stitch project) so I'll be sure to update as to what I get accomplished. 

Hope you all have a fun & crafty weekend as well!

More Geeky Crafts

As I mentioned last week, May is Geeky Crafts month. Since I have a busy day ahead of me, I won't be able to work on any projects today so I wanted to share the work of some talented & crafty geeks out there. 

This amazing Pac-man pillow is a one of a kind creation from "talking trash and wasting time" that she was kind enough to share on Flickr.

In honor of my hubby, who loves to play Angry Birds - you can actually buy the pattern for these cute little amigurumi Angry Birds characters. Picture from GadgetSin.com

And one of my favorite projects, even though they have long been sold on Etsy by diffractionfiber, is a unique set of Control-Alt-Delete pillows. How fun!

Have you made any geeky crafts in honor of this month?

Crafty Links - Babycakes Approved

I can't believe it's already Tuesday! Let's jump right into some fun links...

• Words I never thought I'd hear - Cake-filled Chocolate Covered Strawberries. I don't know if I'm brave enough to try these but YUM!

• Perhaps you are like me and have a ton of usable fabric scraps but you're not sure what to make with them? This wikiHow article may help you get some ideas...

• Since I'm knee deep in cleaning out our walk-in closet, these 5 ideas for Revamping a Tee-shirt from Dollar Store Crafts will certainly help me out (when I have the time, of course)

• I have no choice but to send you all to the Lucy Lou Creations shop on Etsy - this stacking doll pillow is just a teaser of all the cute things available!

Hope everyone is having a great week so far!

Personalized Angel Birthday Gift

Sometimes craft orders come from the strangest places - recently we've been doing some work on our house and the subcontractor asked if I could make a birthday gift for his girlfriend. He mentioned that she liked angels and asked me to create a pillow to match this Amazing Grace plate - 

I didn't include any tutorial tips with the pillow because I figure those are easy enough to come by.

A view of the embellishments from the top.  

He happened to mention that her favorite color is purple and her nickname is Angel so I created a personalized frame for a picture of the cute couple. I am going to post a mini-tutorial of this soon. 

Trying to think ahead, I decided I should take of the gift wrapping for him as well. I managed to be done way ahead of deadline (tomorrow) and I think he'll be pleased that the wrapping is done. 

I hope this Babycakes creation is a hit - I'll be sure to let you know how she liked it!

Crafty Links - Babycakes Approved

I always look forward to Tuesdays because it's link day and I can share some of the creative projects I've stumbled upon in the last week - 

• As an avid (online) Scrabble player, I adore this tutorial on making Scrabble tiles into pendants from Makes and Takes. They have a fun website with lots of good information.

• I've posted projects from Felt So Cute before - here is another really cute project. An easy to follow tutorial for the Flower Power Pillow. I love the colors she used!

• If you are looking for bridal or baby shower decorations, make a night of it with your girlfriends and create these beautiful hanging flower balls, made of tissue paper - from The House of Smiths.

• I saw these potholder-towels at a craft fair last year and was so happy to find an easy tutorial, courtesy of Therapy 4 Roses.

As always, support your fellow crafters and buy handmade!

Chinese Food Pillow - Finally Done!

Before I put up any pictures, I should explain that I started this pillow last summer. I was all excited to have found this Chinese food thin flannel-ish fabric at a hidden gem of a fabric store in Rhode Island. I'm pretty sure it's call Just Fabrics, in Cranston - it's worth a day trip. The prices are reasonable and there is a huge selection inside, considering it looks tiny from the road.

Armed with this new fabric (along with many others that I purchased that day), I tried to find a good use for it. I also happened to have a remnant piece of leopard print furry fabric from my friend Kerry's wedding so I decided to combine the two for a truly one-of-a-kind decor item: 

 

    

As you can see from the first picture, I have added just a touch of sequins on the top seam. I'm headed over to my Etsy store tonight to list this new item. It feels good to get this out of the 'unfinished project' bin!

Saucy Decor - Decorative Pillows

Sometime after I got my new sewing machine, I went on a kick making pillows. Some of them ended up being experimental (i.e. they came out terrible) but two of them provided results I was happy with. 

The pillow below sold at one of my holiday shows - just about everyone commented on it too. I would probably use the "no drama" message again on a pillow but with a different fabric. 

This next one will be for sale this weekend at Maple Fest - it's a cute pillow for any girl; glittery and sarcastic with a touch of zebra print!

I still have another pillow, with a really cute Chinese food pattern on one side, that needs a quick couple of stitches to smooth out the seam but I just haven't done it yet. I had it stashed in my "unfinished projects" bin and I recently took it out again. Maybe now that I've publicly declared that I am going to finish that pillow, it will help motivate me...