Merry Christmas

A non-crafting post, but to those who check for regular updates (coming as soon as I return home to Arizona in a few days... I promise!) I just want to say happy holidays!

Stocking Sunday

So here's how I spent my Sunday (today). Making stockings. Six to be exact. One for me, one for the boyfriend Chris, one for our cat Mustang, one for our cat Mercedes, one for our guiena pig Artemis, one for our guiena pig Porthos. WHEW... I spent all day on this. However I spent very little money. I already had fusible fleece and used fabric scraps already in the apartment.

The lining of the stocking is made from the same fabric that is folded over the cuff of the stocking. All six in their christmasy glory:


Chris's stocking:


My stocking:


Mercedes the Cat's Stocking:


Mustang the Cat's Stocking:


Artemis the Guiena Pig's Stocking:


Porthos the Guiena Pig's Stocking:


And all the stockings hanging in their rightful place in the apartment...

Miss Parker Cross Stitch

So... remember this Mr. Raines little cross stitch??? Well now I have a Miss Parker one to go with it:



Jarod, Sydney, Broots, and some other fashionable Miss Parkers will be along soon...

I *heart* Halloween

I wish it was Halloween season all year long... especially after completing these projects. I hate to have to them away after October is gone...

First up is an apron. Nothing too exciting. I've just always wanted to try and sew one. I just bought the fabric and followed the instructions. Its's a Debbie Mumm design, I believe.

The ever necessary action shot...




The first pocket:


The second pocket:



A Halloween purse for ME:


I love this purse! I wanted to use candy corn beads for the handle but couldn't find them ANYWHERE. So I'll have to amek those out of Fimo clay when I get the chance. These handles will tide me over for this season though.


An inside look at the lining and at the snap:


Next is a tote bag that wasn't supposed to be a tote bag. It was supposed to be a purse. It came out HUGE. Oh well. Its got a flat bottom, a zipper, and I'm in love with the fabric. I use it haul all my stuff for work to and from. It works fantastic! I've loaded it with so many papers but thanks to the 20lb fishing wire and crimping beads this baby can handle the load!


The handles. Honestly, I had a REALLY difficult time coming up with handles for this bag that I liked.




The lining:


Both fabrics used is the tote above were part of those fabric quilters bundles you get from JoAnn Fabrics for about $10.00 a bundle. I had to buy two bundles to have matching fabric and now I have all this extra left over Halloween fabric that I can't wait to use.

The above purse was, also, another experiment to try and make the inside seams, seamless. It worked but the top part near the zipper is all cruddy. I'd rather just have seems on the inside of the bag. BUT, I love this one, all the same!

And finally, not Halloween, but throwing it in here before I forget about it:


I followed a pattern (Simplicity 2830) to make the smallest tote bag in the world. Man, this thing is SMALL. I bought the pattern to learn how to make flat bottomed purses. The pattern came with two sizzes (the above one is the BIG one). It barely holds one of those Banquet frozen meals in it, it is so small. BUT, I still use it to carry my lunch to and from work. It works.

Sarah Jane Productions Introduction

I wanted to call my little etsy shop Sarah Jane Designs but that was taken, as was Sarah Jane Originals so I'm going with this. Not too shabby.

I'm opening up my shop with these two purses:

Candy Stripper is what I'm calling this one... and I'm in LOVE. I really, really, don't want to part with this one.


The ribbons weaved together are yes, Christmas, ribbons. The handles are made from crimping beads, 20lb fishing wire, and beads. The handles old up great with a lot of extra weight!


A close-up of the handle and how its secured to the purse.


This purse has snaps.


The purse is made from wired ribbon and is stiffed so it will stand up straight and not flop all over the place.

The second I call Peppermint, Peppermint. This purse was actually an experiment of using ribbons of different sizes.


Up close and personal with the handle and wired ribbon:


And finally, the snap and the lining...


The above purse is also stiffened.

Now I just need to do all the business aspects and get these puppies out of here. I'll be doign all that over fall break next week (Yippie!)

Whew... Long time no blog

Although, I have been crafting! Sort of. School has kept me going here and there and everywhere. I have parent teacher conferences next week (all week) and then I'm off for a week, so maybe I'll get some crafting done!

First up are some old, old projects that I did way back when I was first learning how to knit. I was going to wait to psot these until they had their counterparts done, but they've been sitting my "take pictures" pile so long I got sick of it.

The first up is a pink and white hat & scarf set made from knitting looms (the missing counterpart is mittens)





The second is an orange/yellow/red fingerless mitt and scarf set (the missing counterpart is the hat). I'm still learning how to circular knit with needles, yes its not that hard, but I have a small head.





I just LOVE this yarn!

Halloween Charm Bracelet

I bought the beads and the charms from JoAnn fabrics. They had more Christmas stuff :( than Halloween stuff but I worked with what they had... and I LOVE it.

"SJ" Purse

Back to school means ZERO time for crafting, which is a shame because I have a ton of materials that I can't wait to turn into projects, but sadly due to lesson plans, grading, and various other school related items, I have no time. I did however manage to punch out this purse despite the lack of free time.

I saw this Chanel purse tutorial on craftster and thought it was great, but I made a few change to make it more ME.

The full purse:


A close up the lettering. This part SUCKED to sew, I hate it. The thread kept knotting up and I was having a hard time turning it on the machine but I think it still looks pretty cute.


I punched these buggers in all by myself and didn't have to make my boyfriend do it. I was thrilled (and so was him).


Snaps. I couldn't find a green zipper that I liked so I decided to try snaps. They turned out pretty well!


And the inside of hte purse:

Free Stuff!

JoAnn Fabrics (this is why I love them!) hosted a teacher appreciation day last Saturday. They gave teacher discount cards (which I already had) and a goody bag full of stuff, this is what was in my goody bag:



I don't know what I'll do with most of it, but I love it!

Queen Amidala

This first of my Star Wars Cross-Stitch design line:



She is stitched on 28 count Aida fabric, uses 21 colors, and is 75 stitches in height and 35 inches in width.

I have 90 other Star Wars patterns in line to follow her, in similar design. As well as 59 Harry Potter, 6 Lord of the Rings, and 40 Star Trek: TNG.

Whew, I better get working!

Button Jewlery!

This black and white button jewlery set is very similar to the green and blue set that I previously made. The necklace is designed a little differently and it is minus a ring, but other than that the two sets are nearly identical, save for the differences in color of course.

The whole set:


A closeup of the necklace layout:


A close up of the earrings:


Close up shot of the bracelet:


I've got a few more button sketches so expect to see some more button work in the next few weeks (I hope). I'm back to work/school next week...

Safety Pin Earrings

I saw this post on crafster of safety pin earrings. I thought these were just the cutest and most unique thing I've seen in a very long time. They seemed fairly simple to make and exactly my style.

These were very, very easy to make. I whipped up several in the span of minutes.

This first batch was made using the larger types of safety pins:


This second batach was made using the smaller types of safety pins:


If I had more beads, I probably would have made dozens more, and experimented a little bit more.