Narwhal!

Improvised pattern & thrift store sweater

Toadstools

I went on vacation and got swept away doing summer things, but I wanted to post another craft from the archives to get back into the swing of things. I'm putting some finishing touches on some other things this weekend and posts should be more regular again now.

I made these little toadstools a couple of years ago from sort of faux velvet fabric scraps a friend gave me. I did all of the sewing by hand and placed the finished product in tiny terra cotta pots with some pebbles for stability. Simple but really fun!

Another Oldie But Goodie

I have some weekend projects in the works, but I feel like I've gone too long without a post. So I thought I'd share another from the archives.

Owl tesselations! A really time consuming craft, but worth it. (I did not create the original tesselation just used it as a template.) They're fun.

Vintage Woodblock Display

I found these vintage woodblock printing letters about six months ago at an antique store and was able to pick out the letters for my last name (Forbes) and my companion's (Langer).  I stashed them away for our anniversary in the beginning of June and got around to assembling them into a shadow box display for our tiny entry hall today.

I like the quirkiness of the letters that face backwards mixed with ones that I was able to place facing forward. (Since the woodblocks are stamps, the letters are mirror imaged.) I didn't actually do a lot of the making here technically, although I did use antiquing techniques on the newspaper and create an artistic arrangement for the shadow box.

Accessories for a Pair of Dapper Gents

So we saw some crafts I did for a baby shower. That friend had a baby girl in the wee hours of May 29th. I have another friend who is 7 months along with a baby boy and I started some crafts for him this weekend. I did a freehand template of a neck tie and used some iron-on double stick fusible web to applique some onesies.

 I also made a little clip on bow tie for him. I'll probably make him the real thing when he's old enough. I figured a clip on would be no fuss to take off at feeding or nap time and be more comfortable for a newborn just adapting to restrictive clothing. Ok so I *may* have gotten a little carried away, but I also found a baby fedora on sale, so I ordered it too.

http://www.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=65278&vid=1&pid=827616

I also know a very distinguished cat who is fond of capes, bandannas, painted nails etc. I've had it in my mind to make him a little how tie for quite some time. I made the same clip on bow tie in the adjusted baby size and clipped it to a matching red safety release collar. Of course I couldn't resist making my own anguished cat model the finished product (the photography proved rather challenging).

I've been gathering up more patterns and ideas; more to come!

Nessie

I have made a great deal of crafty items before starting to blog about them, but I wanted to share my very favorite creation. It's Nessie. She is hand crafted out of baked clay and set in florists water in a vintage tea cup.  I made a narwahl swimming in a tea cup for a friend of mine as well, I'll have to dig into my photo archives to find that one. They turned out so cute; I hope to do more of them!

Owl

Yesterday  morning my  manager brought fresh home made strawberry shortcakes for everyone. After such an inspiring breakfast, I spent my lunch break getting a head start on a furniture refinishing project and making her this thank you card. The tree is made of a recycled manila folder, the eyes are plastic binder divider tabs to give them a glowing effect. The paper is layered, folded, and rolled to give a slight 3 dimensional effect.

I was inspired by this craft project

http://www.skiptomylou.org/2010/06/20/3d-paper-owl-from-mmmcrafts/ 

Baby Shower

So I'm basically going to just dive right into this blogging thing. I have been planning it for a while as a way to share my projects with my many crafty friends and as a way to exhibit my varied creative abilities to tie to my little Esty shop. As of yet the shop is very new and tiny, containing only vintage books. But someday I might like to do some custom creating there.  http://www.etsy.com/shop/jennyforbes?ref=ss_profile

Recently I've been doing a lot of baby crafting for my bestie. Her baby shower was a couple of weeks ago, and I'm going to start there since none of my other baby projects are done yet. I really enjoy making tiny things as well as wrapping presents so  I was happy to be in charge of party favors. I had LOTS of ideas and inspiration for the task and after several months of refining these were the final results.

I digitally designed  labels with the baby's name (Lbby) and printed them onto address labels. After cutting them out I rubbed some beeswax onto each one to give a vintage effect and help protect from spills. These were then applied front and back to vintage medicine bottles filled with bubble solution.  Vance handmade each little copper bubble wand.

I wanted something really simple and whimsical for gift presentation, so I got tiny brown paper bags and stamped them with shells and coral in white ink (mother to be, Rachel and I share a love of the beach and sea creatures). In addition to the bubbles, each person received tea (packaged in a complimentary green) and raspberry dark chocolates.






















I knew the hostess was planning to use a lot of pink for decorations, so I wanted my part to bring a little contrast. I had some tiffany green matte finish paint from another project and an old bulletin board my mom had given me. I cleaned it up and painted the frame. I used wooden pushpins to string some jute twine accross and clothespins painted to match to hang the little baggies.

Everything came together so nicely; the hostess has a really great shabby chic vibe in her home decor and provided us with delicious treats.  We also decorated onesies for the baby; I made a dinosaur.

More baby crafts to follow!