Randi's Shower Invite

Still playing catch up. I am not sure how many invites I will be doing now that we have moved... I guess I will have to figure out other reasons to water color? This was my second watercolor- I think.... I've lost track a bit.

Everything on this invite was created in pieces and then scanned in and moved around to create the invite. Which is really fun and forgiving. The elephant now hangs in our living room... cause he is so cute! 

The invite was printed onto watercolor paper.

The gift is up next!

Going away gifts ... Part 3

Mom asked for me to do something with water colors and the phrase 'and they all lived happily ever after' so I made this for her and gave it to her before we left. Actually I had Bella give it to her so she would have an easier time with it. Kids are good for that! 

At some point I will get a good scan of it and print one for myself!

 P.S. Corinnea here.... Making it easier on me by having Bella give it to me actually means, Mom wouldn't dissolve into hysterical crying in front of Bella there by making it easier on her... It worked, for the most part. 

Skirt

Oh look! I made something for me, had my guy take my picture and I'm actually blogging about it within the same week. Will wonders never cease.

Confession time: I'm not the same person I was a few years ago. I've grown, and I'm not talking about my state of mind..... This fact has been a bit hard to come to terms with and made it hard for me to make things for myself. This skirt started out as a dress and it was tragic. I cried and threw it in a corner for a year. I mean that literally, my room is a mess. Sad part is, the fabric was beautiful.

 I read an article over on Melly Sews and it struck a cord with me. Yes, I have been sewing upwards of forty years, but I learned old school sewing (where each garment was made to last through the generations, whether the new generation wanted them or not), and I still beat myself up when I make mistakes. Funny thing is, when I was teaching, I would always tell my students, there are no mistakes, only opportunities. Why I cannot seem to apply that to myself I don't know. 

Coming across that wad of fabric the other day I knew it was time to do something with it or throw it out. 

Wanting to be done in one afternoon, this was not the time for me to get caught up in making the inside look as good as the outside. There is no lining or hong-kong finish on this skirt. I just needed something to wear and the pile-o-guilt to be gone from my room. 

I choose to try an exposed zipper because I happened to find a cool metal zip in my stash and it's quicker than doing a back seam and applying a invisible zip. Have I done one before? No..... because I have always been afraid of ruining my fabric. Am I happy with the results. Yes! I'll do better next time. Or maybe I'll mess it up.

I really went out on a limb here showing you both shirt tucked in and out. One is way out of my comfort zone...... 

Pattern used for general shape : Simplicity 8664
Fabric: Beautiful wool, bought so long ago from I forgot where

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Superhero bags

 I've seen some really fun Superhero projects on pinterest but so far we aren't really into super heros and Matt has no special interest in any of them. So, when I wanted to make something for some of my young cousins and I found out they do like super heroes it seemed like a good time to pull one of those pins out. (specific one here)

 I apologize for the absolutely awful pictures. But I forgot to photograph them at all so last minute pictures are all I have. 

They are both paper pieced ... Paper piecing is a really cool way to do complicated images  but not something I would really want to do a lot of... ever...

Hulk actually looks quite different then the original. I thought he needed an actual nose and eyes. 

I put them onto drawstring bags... I wanted the gifts to be useful... possibly not the most appropriate place to put something that took so much time to create but hopefully it means they will get a lot of use out of them!