Lasso The Moon

In which I show you the finished hamsters and dream about having an apprentice

It has been a busy week!

Filling orders and sewing hamsters and, you know, all the stuff you're actually supposed to do as a stay-at-homer. (Donnie came home to a clean house more than twice this week.  Amen.)

Now that this busy week is over, it's on to the next one. 

I need an assistant.  Or an apprentice!  Do any of you know how to go about getting an apprentice?  Some one who would be willing to do some behind-the-scenes tasks in exchange for some behind-the-scenes training...I like this idea. 

How cute is this box stuffed with little woolly faces! 

This is the stack that I took to the post office yesterday. 

While carrying Esther. 

With Ethan in tow. 

That seems like something an apprentice would be able to help with, too.  Ah, daydreams.

Wait, who is this? Looks like somebody got left behind. I couldn't talk about hamsters all week, and then ship them all off without giving you a chance to get one for yourself!  Now we have a whole selection of fuzzy friends in the shop, waiting for you to take one home.

Find them here.

 

"New" Amoire for $23.04

I'm sure I'm not the only one with a tight budget when it comes to decorating the house.  So I thought some of you out there might be interested in how I took Esther's armoire from this:

to this:

for just $23.04.  Actually, it was less than that, but that's what the cost would have been without waiting for the right sales at hobby lobby!

Here's a list of supplies:

scissors, measuring tape, 12-15 sheets of 12x12 scrapbook paper (with no obvious border), 4 knobs, glue stick

ruler, pen, scotch tape

Step 1: measure area to be covered in paper.  This will tell you how many pieces of paper you'll need for each panel.

Mine were 13.75x31 and 13.75x12

Step 2: match up patterns in the paper to make one continuous sheet.  glue together with the glue stick.

a couple tips on this one: 

    a) line up an entire strip before gluing anything.  then hold in place while gluing a couple inches at a time.  this will keep you from having to readjust after the glue has started to adhere.

    b) glue all pages together in one row first, then the second row, and then put the two rows together.  the shorter the joining pieces, the fewer mistakes down the line.

Step 3: Flip the sheet over.  Mark panel measurements. Cut out. 

Step 4: On the back, place rolled tape around the edges.  You could make this more permanent by using wallpaper paste or mod podge, but I like to keep my options open.  Double stick tape might come in handy, too.

Step 5: fit paper to the inside of the armoire panel.

Step 6: Repeat for the rest of the panels and install new knobs.

That's all there is to it!

Cost breakdown:

12 sheets of paper @ $.59 each =  $7.08 (I got them for half price. $3.54)

4 knobs @ $3.99 each = $15.96 (Mine were actually $7.98)

Everything else = free from around the house

Total $23.04 (or on sale for $11.52)  You can't beat that!

Linked to:

craftskeepmesane, boogieboard, craftomaniac, embellishinglife, thriftydecorchick, shabbycreekcottage, somewhatsimple, aglimpseinside, momnivore'sdilemma, smallfineprint, findingfabulous, creationcorner, joyfulstamper, bluecricket, eisymorgan

 

 

String Cabin - the reveal

The quilt stayed finished around the house for a solid week after it was finished.  But this week, I decided to go ahead and cut the ties, and send it to its new home. But before we could do that, we thought we'd fit in just one more photo shoot.

 

Since we can't snuggle with Baby J in person, we'll send our love and snuggles through pictures.

 

 

And were you wondering what Emma was stitching in that last quilt post?

 

She stitched this sweet heart into the middle of one corner square.

 

Back:

 

Loopy quilting, done free-motion style.

 

Front:

 

 

Although we've never met you, Juliette, we love you as our own.  We love you because we know your parents, who are as dear to us as siblings.  We wish we could hold you and play with you and make you laugh, but until then, we send thi.  The fabrics were chosen for fun and their bright girly colors, but ask your mama to look at them and see if she can find the fabric that was also used for Emma's Easter dress, and her overalls, and how they combine with the fabric from your baby sling and diaper bag.  Each friendship is made the same way, with bits and pieces of each person, bound with love.  We love you, Baby J.  May this blanket wrap around you like a snuggly hug from all of us.

Great Sewn Potholder Swap 2010

Did you happen to hear about the potholder swap going on over at Stitch in Dye?  Malka, the author of that blog and this book,  set up a great, simple swap for sewn potholders.  This was my first swap, so I was a little nervous.  I try to avoid anything with a deadline, because it brings out the most rebellious, I-don't-wanna side in me.  I managed to push through for this one, and here are the results.

 

We were required to use heat-resistant batting, which I happened to have on hand, and otherwise we were given the freedom of design.  Most of the potholders I've seen from the swap were detailed, perfect patchwork, but I wanted to make something that was inspired by this photo:

 

From this book:

 

Really a great book.  (Find the link to in on the right column on this page so you can get one for yourself!)

 

All in all, it was very fun.  I'll definitely try another one sometime.  Until then, I've got projects of my own that need workin' on.

Just For You

Thanks to those of you who have stuck by me these last couple weeks as I was getting over a stomach bug.  Yuck.  And a couple of you even remembered that it was by birthday!  Thanks so much for the well-wishes and sweet encouragement. 

On top of those distractions, my lovely laptop decided it was a good time to completely fritz out, so I'm currently typing on my old faithful Dell.  I was in the middle of a project when that happened, so all of those pictures are trapped inside the sick laptop.  I'm hoping I can get them out a couple at a time and share them with you! 

But here is what I have for you, my loyal friends, I have just added some funny little critters to my shop:

 

 

They were made from felted yellow wool, and have hand-sewn features.  Their little top-knots are made from vintage seam binding.  Each one has been named after one of my favorite spring things.  They have a nice weight to them, since they are partially stuffed with rice. 

$8 each, but if you put "lassofriend" in the note-to-seller box during check out, I'll refund 25% of the price.  (That would make them $6 each!  Or buy four, and it's like you got one free!)  Hurry, though.  The sale ends at midnight Easter day (April 4th), or until they've all been found homes.

Find them all here.

Completion

It feels so good to finish a project.  And this feeling is multiplied when the end result is a gift for someone you cherish.  My friend Andrea is one of those friends.  She is as close as a sister and loves my children like they were her own.  On the night before we left Indy for good, she sat me down and told me that she was pregnant with her first child.  I wish I could have been there through the pregnancy and birth of my sweet friend's baby girl, but since the Lord had other plans, I decided to be supportive in another way.  This is the project I've been working on:

 

Not a sling, not a fanny pack (!)  This gorgeous, giant diaper bag is from Amy Butler's book Little Stitches for Little Ones.  The pattern says it is for an experienced seamstress, and that is no exaggeration!  It is super-interfaced, fully-lined, has bottle pockets and cell phone pockets...the pockets are even interface and lined!  I haven't used a commercial pattern in a long time, so it was fun to let someone else tell me what to do.

The rolled up changing pad in the bag is also in the book.  And did I mention this bag is huge?  Andrea could easily tote the baby herself inside for at least 6 months.  Donnie said she could use it as a duffel when she leaves for college!  Yeah, it's big.

This little diaper stacker also went along in the package to Indy.  The main fabric is one of the sheets that Andrea chose for the bedding.  The dots were left over from the changing pad.  She chose this soothing color palette because she did not find out the gender of the baby before the birth.  That might be exciting for Mama, but it was infuriating for friends and family.  The baby was a girl (I KNEW it!) and they named her Juliette Rose--probably the most romantic name possible.  So after working so long with soothing colors I decided to make her something a little more vibrant...

I'll show a progress shot later.  But here's a peek at the raw materials.

Definitely not gender neutral.

Sleepless

It's about 1:35 am here at the Lasso house, and I cannot get to sleep!  So I thought I'd let you in on some of the things that have been going on around here. 

This is a project I've had under wraps for a couple weeks.  I haven't sent it to its new owner yet, so I'll just share a peek or two:

 

It has a handle.

And a cell-phone pocket.  Any guesses? 

My crafting style is a bit all-over-the-place.  Figuratively and literally.  Ahem.  Anyway, I like to have something simple and mindless to work on while I give my brain a break from a detailed project like this one.  Sometimes the simple project is dishes, but not if I can help it.  This time it was these:

 

These are little poppy pins that I'm adding to the shop as another Susan G. Komen fundraiser.  I get that not everyone can throw down $20 for a pin cushion, so this is for everyone else.  They are $6 apiece, and I'm donating a whopping $5 from each to the cause.  Wouldn't this make a sweet gift for Mom this mother's day?  I think so.

Now before I give sleep another try, I have to share this gift I got recently. 

 

My friend Amy moved into a new house with every original retro detail still intact, including the crazy-cool shelf paper.  I told her to save me a little piece if she replaced it, but she did me one way better.  She found an entire roll of it in her garage!  With the original price tag still on!  Part of me really wanted to cherish the packaging and keep it in its perfect roll, but that part of me lost.

 

I love 60s graphic design!  They hadn't started putting adhesive backing on in the 60's yet, so this paper makes great gift wrap. 

Thank you, Amy!  What a delicious surprise!

And in case you have hung around through this never-ending post (I hope you have!) I thought I'd let you know that since it is March, I have officially begun my annual month of no spending.  I love how this challenge seems to reboot my system and remind me to use what I have.  You can read more about past challenges  here and here.

Goodnight! ~Anna

Valentine Banquet

Every year our church youth group holds a Valentine banquet as a fundraiser for future youth activities.  Everything is done by the students in junior and senior high.  They help decorate, serve the food, clean up, and provide entertainment.  Each year they also chose a theme, and stick as closely as possible to that theme.  This year the theme was "My Funny Valentine" so they focused on the funny things about love.

I had been involved before as a student, singing in the show part of the evening, and I had also taken on the talent part as a whole several years as a college student.  But those roles were already taken when I was asked to help out this year.  And when they mentioned that no one had yet volunteered to decorate the tables, I thought that would be a nice fit.  The event was a great success, even though it had to be postponed due to huge snowfall.  Here are some highlights:

 

Unlike the hand-cut circles in the original tutorial, we opted to use a flower-like punch since we had a large number of tables (24+) to accommodate. We then folded them into 8ths to give the petals their shape.

 

An army of paper flowers.  We used paper that I already had on hand, since the plan was to sell the centerpieces as part of the fundraiser.  Along with this grid vellum, we used pages from an old German novel I had, and pages from a 2007 road atlas.

 

Since I estimated that we needed more than 400 flowers for all the tables, I enlisted the help of my friends, Carisa and Lauren.  They assembled almost every flower at the banquet.  Thanks, ladies!

 

Instead of vases, we used cylindrical drinking glasses, which we found for a steal, and wrapped them in patterned paper and twine.

 

Each place had a place card with the name of the banquet on the top and a surprise inside.

We folded 200 of those origami hearts from the Martha Stewart website.  I was really disappointed in the instructions on the site, since there were only verbal steps included.  I might have to do a visual tutorial since I pretty much have it down now.

The only photo of the room that turned out since it was so dark with mood lighting.  Overall, it was a huge success. We raised almost $2700, which was amazing with the postponement.  The bottom line is, our church loves its youth ministry.

And I'm already getting ideas together for next year's tables.

Cowboy Day

With all the Christmas mayhem this year, this is the only picture I took of any of the gifts I made.  Oops.  I'll get back into it--I promise.

 

Cowboy Day, acrylic on canvas

It's a painting of my two kids based on a photo I took of them the summer of 2008.  Emma was 3 and Ethan was 1, and they were walking next door to church for Vacation Bible School.  I gave it to Donnie on Christmas morning.  A bittersweet reminder of how fast they are growing up, and the great life we had in Indiana.

The background was done with the help of both kids.  The foreground was done with the help of freezer paper.

Pirates!

I hinted about this yesterday...a new design that I just sent off to a couple of birthday boys in Indiana.

The overalls are for the 2-year-old.

The polo shirt is for the 5-yr-old.

Front:

Back:

And just to be true to the theme, and because we miss Baylor and Cooper and wish we could be at their party, I added a small bit of "treasure" to one of the pockets.

I would love to offer finger puppets in the shop someday, but I cannot find a process that would make them affordable.  I put too many details in them, or something.  So for now, they are just for giving.

Happy birthday, boys!