Diaries of the Bedtime Crafter

Let's Try This Again

2011-02-23T06:53:00.000-08:00

I really want to be better at posting on here so I'm going to have to just start small and do a little at a time. Hopefully I can be more regular at not only posting, but actually doing crafts!!

I put this together for a friend who I now get to visit teach! I have decided that my word to work on for the year is "simplify". I need to simplify so many things in my life. I'm trying to simplify even the smallest task. This little treat is simple, but will hopefully bring a smile to a friend's face.

The Crafter is Back!

2010-05-11T08:17:00.000-07:00

So it's been a while since I posted here. I've been slightly busy moving and having a baby, okay? I have been more into sewing than card-making/paper crafting but I've been busy with all kinds of things. Here are some of my recent crafts:

Sewing:

I had some old shirts in a pile to give to Goodwill so I stripped a couple of them, ruffled the strips, and sewed them onto a new white shirt I only paid $2.50 for. Then I made little fabric rosettes and sewed them onto the top and bottom. I have more of these t-shirt refashioning projects in mind and I'm pretty excited about them!

My sister taught me how to make these cute fabric flowers. You can make them into clips or headbands or corsages. You can even clip them to your purse or diaper bag.

I got this pattern from here. I can't wait to try it in all different sizes and fabrics. It was really easy to do, even if you aren't great at sewing (which is me).

Cards:

Tea Party Baby Shower

2009-07-29T13:35:00.000-07:00

I threw my best friend Hannah a baby shower this last weekend. She's having a girl so I decided to do a tea party themed party, since that seems pretty girly. Here are the crafty things I did for the shower:

A lot of diaper cakes are really fancy with things sticking out of the cake like baby items and stuffed animals. I wanted Hannah's diaper cake to be simple and pink so I just got some fabric and tied it around the rolled up diapers and tied a bow. Simple. Easy. Pink. Perfect.
I found these letters at Joann's and covered them with Mod Podge and then this cute pink paper. Her room will be pink and green so I added a little green bow to the "I".
I found these vintage tea tins on Ebay and put fresh flowers in them. I made chicken salad sandwiches, cucumber sandwiches, and cheese/olive/pickle kabobs. Since we don't drink tea, I served different flavors of the Archer Farms Italian Sodas from Target. I had a lot of help from some other women- one friend brought adorable mini cupcakes with pink swirly frosting and another brought a fruit bowl with a fruit dip. I took these pictures before the food was on the table- once the food goes on the table, things get crazy.
I got these tea pots at Goodwill and just put the leftover fresh flowers in them and put them on the coffee table.

It was fun to put everything together. Who else wants to get pregnant so I can do another baby shower?

Happy Easter (and Spring)

2009-04-04T18:09:00.000-07:00

This is the Easter set from last year "A Good Egg" with the Sell-a-Bration designer paper and the new corduroy buttons that I heart. These chicks are hot and sassy (and topless I'm afraid), don't you think?

These are the spring blocks that I made for this year. Julie, as I take my blocks out of storage for each holiday, I'll try to remember to take pictures of them. My Easter ones from last year are less than cute so these spring blocks will have to do. It's hard to tell how big they are, but the "S" is about 5 1/2" by 4 1/2". I painted the blocks that my crafty husband cut for me, then covered them with paper, letters (cut out of paper) and embellished them. My crafty friend Megan came over and made them with me and we shared our creative juices.

Rub-Ons

2009-03-14T09:17:00.000-07:00

These cards were all made with zero stamping. Although I love stamping, sometimes it's nice to not have to get all the ink and stamps out. These rub-ons work much like vinyl lettering on the walls. You put the rub-on on the paper and use a craft stick to rub the entire image onto the paper. It's quick, easy, and you can find all kinds of colors that work together, especially from Stampin' Up!

Valentine Stamp-a-Stack

2009-02-20T10:57:00.000-08:00

For our February Card Party (aka Stamp-a-Stack), we made 10 cards- 2 each of 5 designs. It was a lot of fun to have all the girls over to hang out and be crafty.

The Bedtime Crafter's Crafty Hubby

2009-01-31T18:34:00.000-08:00

For my birthday, my crafty hubby made me something to hold all of my jewelry on. I saw something I loved online and he went to Michael's, got some supplies, and made it for me. Actually, two of them.

These wiry trees were made with green 16 gauge wire, twisted and curled, and then painted black with spray paint. The pictures just don't do them justice, but this isn't a photography blog and I have no photography skill (or a great camera) so just come over and I'll show you them on my bedroom wall on either side of my dresser mirror. I love them. Here is one of them decorated with jewelry:
Shadows in pictures are lame. Sorry.

Is It Spring Yet?

2009-01-30T16:48:00.000-08:00

When I sat down to let off some steam (it's been a rough week, okay?) I was feeling like it should be spring already. It's been winter for way too long. These colors made me feel a little brighter and flowers always do the trick.

Just a note: I am not a perfectionist and I am completely okay with that. You will most likely always be able to find a flaw on my work. It makes it personal, right?

My First Zipper!

2009-01-25T18:12:00.001-08:00

I always have a hard time finding skirts that I like because I get a picture in my head of what I want before I go shopping and then of course I can never find it. This week I decided to try to make a skirt so I could design it and pick out the material. I didn't want an elastic waist so I also decided to try out sewing a zipper on for the first time. It was way easier than I thought and I love the way my skirt turned out!

I had some extra fabric so I am going to make my niece a matching skirt. More pictures to come!

Also, I have found a new love of accessorizing and making my look unique. I had these little felt flowers in my stamping stuff and decided to try them out on my shoes to match my top!

Girl's Night Cards

2009-01-12T17:50:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday night, I had some friends over so we could crank out some cards that were desperately needed for birthdays, thank yous, etc. We had a great time- I wish I had taken pictures of all of us crammed into my tiny craft room laughing and making cards. These are two of the cards I made.

Sweet Always Designer Paper

2009-01-12T17:46:00.000-08:00

I love this Sweet Always designer paper! It is from Stampin' Up, as most of the stuff I use is, and it is fun and bright and, well, sweet! I have had a lot of fun playing around with this paper.