Posts Tagged ‘diy’

Crafting with Children

April 12th, 2012
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I’m watching my friend’s children today; they’re six, seven and eight. They’re also incredibly adorable how they dote on Felix and party with Penelope.

This morning was a tad more chaotic than normal as I was still tying to finish my first look for project run and play. They were really good at steering clear of the new machine, but still eager to try their hands at sewing. We had a little impromtu crafting session, where I helped them each make little totes. Penelope was more interested in running around with the kids than sewing, so she didn’t make one.

It makes me wonder, when will my kids become interested in sewing? Ever? My interest didn’t really start until I was in ninth grade, our school switched to uniforms and I wore pretty much the same thing every day.

Project Run and Play

March 13th, 2012
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I’m so very excited what next month will bring! The calligraphy course will be launching and I’m participating in Project Run and Play! Project Run and Play is much like Project Runway, but for crafty sewing bloggers. You can sew along, too. There are great prizes for the winners.

Follow my updates on the online calligraphy course and Project Run and Play over on ISLY’s facebook page! There you’ll get frequent sneak peeks of all the fun that goes on behind the scenes. Alternatively, you can sign up for the I Still Love Calligraphy online course newsletter here.

I Am A Giant Tag-alonger

September 22nd, 2011
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One thing I know for sure about myself is the fact that I have no motivation to do anything unless there’s a deadline. Like. . . What? we’ve got a wedding to go to in two hours & no clean clothes in the house? I guess I’ll do the laundry/ironing now. That’s just how I roll. Which is, of course, one of the reasons why I keep up this blog. It gives me the opportunity to make for myself deadlines so I actually get off my sorry butt & do something productive. Yesterday two of my favorite bloggers announced a little challenge that they’re doing (along with some other big-time bloggers – see below). Nicole & Emily are decorating doll houses & taking us along as they do it. Genius. They even invited anyone else interested to tag-along. Can I participate, can I, can I? I’m totally the un-cool little sister here. ;)

Well, hello there, hand-me-down dollhouse that I’ve been meaning to refurb for 3 years! Maybe you’ll actually get your time to shine now.

This challenge is the perfect opportunity for me to finally check this off my to-do list. I’m going to refurbish this darling little mushroom house, but I’m going to take the challenge one step further, though. I’ve not spent any money on this dollhouse (it was a hand-me-down) and I’m going to keep it that way. That’s going to be tough, but I think I have enough supplies on-hand to do something really fun.

Anyone going to tag-along with me?! Also, I’m so incredibly excited to see what the above uber-talented ladies come up with. They’re sure to be show-stoppers, for sure.

Catching Up

July 29th, 2011
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This week is my goal not to add any new projects to the docket, but to actually finish projects I’ve had in the queue for months. I just got around to lettering this quote for Danni:

and this sign for Angela:

I’ve been meaning to get around to both for some time (like several months). I’ve got a couple more calligraphy/lettering projects to finish this weekend. I can’t wait to show those to you, too! I’ve mostly been doing digital lettering these days, so it was fun to bust out the old pen & ink.
Speaking of calligraphy, who’s up for a class? For those of you who are local, I’m thinking about doing a class on the 17th of September from 1-3pm. Registration is limited & will go live next week. You’ll want to stay tuned. If you’re not local & looking to get in on all of our calligraphy fun, don’t despair! We will be filming the class in preparation for the online class I’ve been promising for nearly a year!

 

DIY Photography Backdrop

May 19th, 2011
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I’ve had a few people ask me where my photography backdrop is in relation to our house. Well, it’s in my little studio room. I got the idea when I realized I had a TON of curtains & curtain rods hanging around from our old place. I thought a great way to clean up the look of my non-maternity maternity shots would be to add a curtain over the closet doors. Then I added another curtain to the floor to cover up the ugly carpet. I’ve been using this system for a while now, but now I’m wanting an even cleaner look.

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I totally get washed out in white. PLUS a white backdrop is harder to expose for & get correct white balance for. I’m still a major rookie at the photography thing. In the back of my mind I’ve been thinking a middle-grey curtain would be so much better to shoot. Yesterday it clicked. I thought I’d go to Home Fabrics, a place that my friend had told me that offers discount home & upholstery fabrics, and see what they had. Despite their lack of grey fabrics (they mostly have tan & burgundy) I was able to find some printed grey cotton for $5 a yard. It was originally $10 a yard.

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I needed cloth that was 57 inches wide – which just so happen to be the exact width of this fabric! All I had to do was hem the two ends & I was ready to rock & roll. Did you know that if you rip fabric, it’ll rip in a straight line, exactly perpendicular to the selvage? That’s how I was able to get an even hem on both ends. Making this back drop took about 15 minutes & $22.

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I slide the fabric to the edge of the curtain rod & use bulldog clips to secure the extra off the ground when not in use. It’s a pretty slick system. Much better & cleaner than my last method.

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Backdrops are so yearbook/1990, but I love that I can focus on taking pictures of me & the kiddies without worrying about the background/ugly carpet/styling. What do you think? So, if you take outfit pictures or kiddie pictures, what kind(s) of backdrops do you use?

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