Crafting with Technology

Whew! I finally finished formatting family photos for two Christmas gifts that I'm working on. I am making a memory game following directions from Alicia Paulson's book, Stitched in Time. Here is an example of a finished set from the Stitched in Time Flickr Group. My nieces and nephews on Matt's side of the family all live very far away from us. We only see each other about once a year, twice if we're lucky. So, I thought it would be nice for two of the little ones in the family to have a memory game set with all of the Cost family members in it, so that our faces remain familiar, even though we do not see each other too often. I typed our names into each photo too, since they are each probably learning to read.

Once the photos were edited, I had to put all of them into one document, with specific spacing to create a border. Not gonna lie, it made my brain hurt a bit. Formatting is not my friend! But thank goodness the hard part is over and done with! Now I just have to buy a new ink cartridge so that I can actually print the photos out!

What are you working on these days?

Holiday Handmade Crusade :: November Theme!

Warm and Toasty!

Alright Holiday Crusaders, we are getting down to the line, and for many of us two things are becoming a precious commodity: TIME and WARMTH! Use this month to whip up some warmth inspiring gifts for those on your list. Think scarves, hats, mittens, blankets. All of these projects are quick and easy and will keep your friends and family warm and toasty!

Live in a warm climate? No worries...take some of these ideas and translate them into lighter, cooler fare. For example, instead of a wool knit scarf, make a silk dyed scarf.

And remember, my themes are just here for inspiration. Want to enter something else? Be my guest :)

Entries to be eligible for a raffle prize are due on November 30th by midnight EST

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This month I'm ahead of the game with a little hat I whipped up for my nephew. My favorite teddy bear, Pookie, was kind enough to model for me...

Tassels


Earflaps


Pom-pom!


Hat!


I can't *WAIT* to slip this on Aaron's cute head! I've never put a pom-pom on anything, and I think I might be in love with the cuteness!

Just for fun, how would you interpret the theme 'warm and toasty'?

**CHRISTMAS SPOILER - RENEE NO PEEKING!**

NO PEEKS RENNY - DO NOT READ BELOW!



My sister and I are avid, avid fans of a certain British sitcom.

In fact, my Craftster user handle is "StoliEdina" after one of my favorite scenes from Absolutely Fabulous, the series...



LOOK EDDY! STOLI EDDY - STOLI!

Once we graduated from calling each other "GEEK" and "NERD," (hence the name of this blog), and graduated to more grown-up past times, (drinking copious amounts of gin and red wine on my sister's porch), our new partner in crime nick names became "Pats" and "Eddy."



Who do you think is Pats? And who do you think is Eddy?



So, while I was on vacation, I employed my new found leather tooling skills to make special friendship bracelets for myself and and my sis...



They were so fun to make - I hope that she loves it!

THOM :: THIS IS A CHRISTMAS SPOILER :: DO NOT READ BELOW!!!

My brother Thom has really been riding the green wave so to speak, and seems more interested than ever in all things environmentally friendly. This melts my hippie chick sisterly heart! For his Christmas gift I wanted to do something that was up-cycled, preferably from something that he had owned before, into something useful.

I enlisted my mom to scour her attic for me and she brought me three of his old t-shirts, which I turned into...

re-usable shopping bags!



The idea popped into my head when I came across this listing in zJayne's Etsy shop. She makes re-usable bags by the dozen, if you don't have the time to make these and you'd like to purchase them instead. I, however, felt certain that I had access to a ready supply of t-shirts, so I chose to make them myself. I *did* add a nifty detail to make them look a little more finished.

*suh-weet wrapped handles*



The handles really ice the cake for me - I'm feeling complete nerdy happiness over how sturdy the handles are! And since both of my brothers are kinda lumberjacky, not only are these bags sturdy, they're HUGE! I could fit a load of laundry in one of these puppies. Hopefully they're a hit!

Cheers, S

Chipping away at the almighty gifts-to-make list...

Hello! Quickie post today - my latest finished object:



Aside from that, I've been busy with lots of lying on the beach with my hubby. Tough life, eh?

Hope everyone is enjoying the sunshine as much as I have been! Cheers!

Skully Fake Isle - Complete!

My skully fake isle is done!









What I learned:

* I hate circular needles, so I made the large size of this on double pointed needles. I don't recommend doing this! The tension caused the design to be difficult to block, and fit a little snugly across the forehead area.

* The large size is LARGE, if I were to make this again for myself I would probably make the regular size.

Hopefully my hubby likes it! I think it will be a good snow-boarding hat. What do you think?