It's been a long time...

It's been a long time since my last post. Many, many things have happened and I've still been crafting my heart away! Some things have fallen by the wayside, some new things have come to fruition, and some are still bubbling away in my consciousness. This is a pretty picture heavy post, so be prepared! Also, many of these things are available in my etsy shop, so hop on over if you're interested. Otherwise, please let me know if you've gotten any inspiration!

What do you do to help you keep on crafting track? What have you done while I've been gone?

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I just updated my list of projects, and here are some pics (some that are not a part of my list!).

The spice rack (Item 12 from my current crafting list) and also one of the decoupaged light switch covers  (Item 9 from my current crafting list) I did:

DIY Spice Rack and Decoupage Light Switch Cover

This was a lot of fun to do. The frame came from my grandmother, and although the blue looks like a neon, it's more like a Caribbean blue. There's a mirror in the back which I normally wouldn't love, but it helps the room have a little more light. The light switch cover was done with scrapbook paper and the always favorite Mod Podge. I've got these switch covers all over my house, some with birds, some with fruits (only in the kitchen), and some still in desperate need of some help! You can also see some Barbie arms up in the right corner that are from my Barbie mobile... slightly changed for my Creepy Doll Halloween Party last year.

My front porch flower box: (not on my list!):

Striped Flower Box

This extra large flower box was given to me by my mother because my front porch needed some pizzazz. I painted it blue (the color in my back room) and used acrylics with a mix of KILLZ to make sherbet-y colors that I put in a stripe pattern, then finished with polyurethane. The other side of the flower box is just the blue with no stripes so I can change it around for a different look if I want to. Unfortunately, the recent rains around here made it so heavy that the brackets bent, so it's down on the front porch, ready for some new brackets. I've got pictures of the creation of this, so maybe I'll do a tutorial.

Felt Play Sets (Item 13):

These patterns were created by "Big Little Felt Universe: Sew It, Stuff It, Squeeze It, Fun!" by Jeanette Lim. The actual toys were created by me for Lady Gertrude's shops (my ETSY shop), and are mostly hand sewn, with the exception of the medical bag. It was done by machine to save time and cost in creation.

Medical Kit w/out the prescription bottle. You wouldn't believe how many parents get offended by those.

Medical Kit by Lady Gertrude's (http://www.etsy.com/listing/154558977/felt-medical-bag-imagination-toy)

Campfire Set w/out the Army Knife. Wow, I need to take some new pictures of this set!

Campfire Set by Lady Gertrude's (https://www.etsy.com/listing/120201655/camping-imagination-toy-set)

Tool Set

Tool Set by Lady Gertrude's (https://www.etsy.com/listing/120210210/tool-set-imagination-toy)

That's enough updates for the time being. I'm going to try to make time at least one time a week to get on here and blog. This blog's purpose was to keep me organized and together, and to help me complete some projects! It was doing a pretty good job, too!

Felt Flower pins:
Here are a couple of my favorite pins, created for Lady Gertrude's.

Pink Felt Flower Pin

Hot Pink Felt and Fabric Flower Pin

Felt Flower Rings:
I added some rings to my repertoire.

Peach ring with vintage button center.

Pink felt ring with vintage button center.

Poppy Red felt ring with vintage button center.

Barbie Case update

I've come across a slight design flaw in my carrying case. The drawers are much flimsier than I would like. If this is truly going to be played with, they need to be sturdy. It was also brought to my attention that sometimes felt pills, and with daily play this could be a problem. I hadn't thought about that, but Barbie girl isn't here enough for that to be a HUGE issue, I don't think. However, it does pose another problem. I think I'll post the felt version and supplement after the fact a cotton fabric. That means I'll get to pull out the sewing machine and maybe do some embroidery on regular fabric which I haven't done before.

For another update, I believe I'm well on my way to a pretty good method of organizing all of my craft materials. I have another couple of ideas rolling around in my head, but I'm going to get some pictures of what I'm using for embroidery floss and my felt/fabrics. I did also get a rolling drawer unit from Joann's the other day for projects in progress. Since I do all of my crafting in one of my main visitor areas, I feel it's important to be able to craft and still have some semblance of order for both my guests (I hate a cluttered house) and myself when I get back to crafting after I've had to put things up for awhile. We'll see how it works out. It will be nice to have the attic for a craft room for both my husband and I when it gets vacated. That means an upstairs heater and A/C, but I think it will be extremely helpful.

I'm a little excited...

This is a random post, and I shouldn't necessarily be excited, but when I got married, I made pomander balls. Lots and Lots of pomander balls. Big ones. Little ones. In between ones. Today I  had a request for an estimate on some pomanders. I was looking for flower ideas online, and came across this:

http://withoutahitchweddings.blogspot.com/2011/05/seasonal-blooms-flower-of-month.html#comment-form

Some of you may notice this from my wedding (not that this is an excellent picture, but WAY OVER on the left side of the fountain, you can see it...

After catching that post, and freaking out a bit, I decided that maybe I would do a tutorial on how to do the larger pomanders like these from my wedding:

Or these:

So keep on the lookout for another tutorial which will be coming soon. The barbie case is almost done!

Update on the Barbie Carrying case

This is turning out much cooler than I thought it would. I can't wait to share with everyone! I've got one side completed, and the other side is at least attached. I have to add the drawers, and I think I'll figure out some separators for one side, and how to hang clothes on the other. Maybe I'll attempt some baby clothes hangers while I'm at it.

Front of Barbie Carrying Case as it currently is.

Inside of carrying case as it currently is.

When does crafting become an obsession over a hobby?

As I'm attempting to finish up my Barbie carrying case, I realize how crazed my crafting area is. As hard as I try to stay organized, I constantly loose space. There's never enough room. At what point does the interruption of my crafting due to my crafting become crazy instead of relaxing?

Barbie Dollhouse on a dime

I was just saying that I'd like to do something fun for Barbie (outside of the carrying case I'm making right now) and for the young lady who comes and visits us from time to time. We'll call her "Barbie Girl" for this post. It may change from post-to-post, but for this one, it's going to fit.

Barbie Girl got TONS of barbie's for her birthday and Christmas. The challenge is what to do with the clothes, dolls, etc that come along with Barbie. That's where the carrying case came from. None of the new carrying cases are anything like the ones I had growing up. A place for Barbie, a place for her clothes, and a handle. That's all. Not 20 barbies but no clothes, or clothes and no barbies. A little of both. So, I decided to make one. In the process of looking for a tutorial (which I didn't find), I thought of how fun it would be to do a Barbie house. I didn't mean to come across this tutorial while I was looking for DIY barbie hangers, but there it is. Here's the next project I think might get tossed to Barbie Girl since she's been dying to craft with me:

Blog: Southern Disposition

Where in the world...

I may be showing my age, but does anyone remember "Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?" Is that still a thing? ANYWAY, with the holidays in process, I'm sure I'm not the only one who hasn't had an opportunity to breathe, let alone blog. With that, I'll say I received a new refrigerator for Christmas. That is where I've been.

The new fridge was 1/2" too big for the previous space, so I got some new cabinets. In the process of taking out the old cabinets, I decided to take down old tile. The wall came down with the tile. It's been a rough couple of weeks, but it's been well worth it. The new fridge looks fabulous, and the new bit of cabinet and wall looks pretty good, too.

Above: The space after we took out the cabinets. The previous owner just decided to add a new subfloor instead of doing anything else. It made for an interesting leveling process.

Above: After the tile came off. Those dark spots? That's cement board, after the upper-coat of plaster came off. We did get to see the colors the kitchen was before we moved in though...

Above: The new beadboard, the side of the new fridge, and the top of our stove. We painted the beadboard white, and the upper portion is gray. When the side of the cabinet is in, I'll post finished pictures. 

I also decided to decoupage some outlet covers which I've not done before. I think I'll also make some curtains, since I figured out that I can use a pressure rod in the windows (huh... wish I would've figured that out a long time ago...). SO I have a couple more projects to add to the list.

The Question:

How was your holiday? Did you add anything to your crafting list?