Apps Apps Apps

The main reason I love my iphone is that the photo apps are oh so much fun!
Before I take in a few pages in bed at night, I like to fool around with the photos in my phone...
The main reason I hate my iphone is that the home button just refuses to work anymore.  I pretty much pound on it 17 times.. and I usually end up getting that blue screen with the japanese writing (not really sure) and the big cancel button on the bottom...


ANYWAY, that's besides the point...


I'm not a photographer, but I LOVE taking pictures.  And it's mostly pics of my daughter... who else.  The dogs are still in denial that they've been replaced but I'm sure one of these days they'll get over it...

So here are a few of my favorite iphone photo apps:


Photostudio:
*Lots of effects
*alter hue, brightness, gamma, crop
*Make your daughter look like she was born in the 1940s...  (shown below)

This one was an effect called color stroke. It lets you pick out one group of colors (red) to expose and keeps the rest black and white. It's an extra 99 cents for this effect but I think it's worth it.

You can also layer effects, I forget right now which other effects I have on there, but I'm pretty sure there a couple more..


And I have to add that I've printed a bunch of photos I took with my iphone and uploaded onto my computer, and they printed beautifully...  I may dedicate a scrapbook just to these altered pics alone...  FUN FUN FUN!

















Other apps I use on a regular basis include:
* Pic Grunger- self explanatory
* Photofunia - very cool,  put your photos in great situations!
And with one of the recent updates, you can use multiple photos.  (shown below)

* Photogene I use mostly to do quick things like crop or brighten... still useful
* Juxtaposer- Good for putting someone's head on a turtle body, or vice versa... (I used this app two years ago to make my christmas cards...)
* Typedrawing -  Word art!  Who couldn't love it!!

This photo is a combo of Juxtaposer and Typedrawing...
  heh...  that's another good thing about the apps:
- you alter a photo in one app, then you save it and open it in another app and keep altering!  It's like never ending possibilities!

And the updates just keep making the apps better!







Ok, I have some serious work to do!






Thank you and goodnight!


FITTYMAGEEHEADPANTS

Yo Gabba Gabba

Is it just me, or can you only buy Yo Gabba clothes in England?

So for reasons like:
 I won't be in England anytime soon...
 and those Gabba faces aren't too strewn with intricate features

Why can't we make our own Gabba inspired attire?!?

We can!

And we did...  in honor or Eleanor's 2nd birthday.

And we did it with:

Cotton fabric
Heatbond
Sewing machine
iron, ironing board
Coffee
Apple muffins


The gabba faces...  they're just shapes.  And not even complicated shapes.  No trapezoid's...  just your basic circles and triangles..  mostly circles...

To make a long story short... because this is not sewing .0167854 blog.  And I am not a black belt (yet) in sewing..  I will just highlight a few tips, and if you have further questions, please comment.

Anytime you are going to apply a decoration (applique) or a face in this case, Iron on some heatbond first to make sure the edges stay nice and it's a bit sturdier.
I did this with the pink face.  You could've also done it with the eyes and mouth but I figured it'd be ok without.  And it was, it went through the wash and came out in one piece.  Though the party stains remain...

Even before the heatbond though...  the fabric! It is so damn hard to find cool fabric around here!
The middle (base) fabric for this dress was from the collection my grandmother gave me.  The patterned pieces I bought from Etsy.  And they are gorgeous! Very vintagy... girly... yummy! So if you just accent something plain with some really cool scraps, you can still make it look expensive!  I thought using the vintage fabric for Foofa's flower made a huge difference than if I would've just left it pink.  I think it took it from "cheesy character" dress to "Shabamalama adorable" dress.  But that's just me. And at the same time, still
reminds you of the clothes you'd find the kids wearing on the show.

The belt:      Easiest way I know how to make a quick belt is the good ol' fold in half twice and top stitch method. Cut your length and then a 2-3 inch width.  Fold in half length-wise, then fold the sides in to meet the inside fold.  (ironing all the way) Then fold in half once more, iron, and top stitch all the way around.  You can either tuck the ends under or cut an angle and sew closed. 

well, some noodles are calling me... so I will hopefully return in a timely fashion... or a gabba fashion... probably neither... hopefully both.

                                  

Thanks... a lot.

I'm so appreciative for your thoughtfulness that I actually MADE you a card.  I cut down a tree in the yard,...  made paper...  and the rest is in my personal journal....

Ok cards...  I don't make em' much.  I slapped these two together because I'm in the middle of a scrapathon...  So I decided while I had all my stamps and saucies out...  I would make a couple.

So, I just said I don't make cards a lot... but in my brain, I wish I did.  Because not only is it guaranteed to be original.. but it's nice to get a card for no reason at all... and an "original for no reason" card would be wonderful to receive!  So I'm gonna put that on my TADA! list.

I just made that up.  It was a to do list before 5 seconds ago.  BRB.
Ok, I just scratched out to do and wrote TADA.  Because the store is closed now, or else I would go get a new notebook that didn't already have in it's cell memory that it was previously called to do.

Because ya know what people.  Everything you do should be a TADA!  I mean, if it's paying the doctor bill, why not pay it and then call and check that they received the payment.  Or if it's cleaning the stove... why not lift up the hood and really make sure nothing is going to make your cooking dinner smell funny.
Or if your car needs a radiator flush... why not just get a new radiator...   OK FINE.  That TADA belonged to the mechanic, not me.  "TADA! I didn't need that extra money to pay for daycare!"


Why does this have nothing to do with thank you cards?

Ok, I have a stamp set all about thank you's... so I'm using them.
And these two card layouts above took less than 5 minutes to make.
Four easy steps!

1. STICK 2. STAMP 3. SEW 4. SIGN

And I guess there was a little "doodle" involved here too, but that's optional.
Stick the paper together whichever way you like best.
Pick the appropriate stamp or embellishment
Sew is also optional, but it's a staple in my scrapbooking tool kit these days...
* I collect scraps of material for stuff like this.  It adds so much to a card or scrapbook page... and it doesn't have to be all neat and perfect... bunch it up and sew it on!*
Sign your name and you are finished!


And it might be better if you didn't read this post and maybe just looked at the picture.  I mean, you're a visual learner right?  That's all you need to know...  Trust your lenses...

Aprons!

I don't know about you, but I feel the Apron gods asking me to update their look...
Ok, so maybe they're asking someone else but I def. get a scent of apron in the air lately...

Chicken Apron

So first of all, let me introduce Madeline.  I bought her for $7 at a yard sale, and the previous owners told me her name was Madeline.  And I'm not one to go changin' names... so Madeline it is.  Maybe I'll make her a balloon head...

So obviously, this apron is too small for Madeline.  But it's perfect for my almost 2 yr. old...
And little girls love to dress up.  What am I saying, my nephew would probably be more eager to wear this than my daughter...





















When I did get it on her, I guess she decided it was time to make coffee...

And since she did such a good job with that, I think she can handle the turkey this year...



I got this fabric at JoAnn's.  (sorry to say it's not from Grams collection)  It's got CHICKENS!  And I was brave enough to throw a fancy stitch on there..  I say brave coz my sewing machine is always jamming up... leaving big knots of thread ...  and it's hard to pick up a fancy stitch and still have it look nice after that...
But for some reason, it was behaving during this particular project.

And this little guy was just something I threw together for family picnics this summer.  Who couldn't use a cute little helper on the BBQ!

BBQ apron

Well, Speaking of BBQ's. It is July 4th, so I hope you're having one!  Should be a nicer day than yesterday...

My attendance record is Schmeeered

So my craft room is in a shambles...  which is why I haven't been around.  I'm in the middle of re-mapping the whole area to be a bit more ... user friendly.  So stand by... perhaps Roo and I will do a craft web show...  or not.
I have been working on some things... but most of which I cannot post because they are either gifts or secret secrets! AHHH

I'm still working on some templates...  it takes a lot of mistakes before you come up with a solid foundation.

But I kinda like this little chickadee I threw together over the weekend...  It's actually all hand-sewn.  It seems to stay together better that way...   Daryl named her Ginger... I think coz we just watched that episode of Glee...

and the following photos show her ability to cuddle and be creepy...  with humans and animals alike...

So perhaps I throw some more together... though the only big piece of felty material in my inheritance from GG was the whitey white Ginger is donning...  so I may have to go crayola and purchase some other varieties of skin tone..  

Though I think I will start a mission to use every single piece of material my grandmother gave me to make something!  It would seem that mission has already been started without my actually saying it to myself....   so let the interwebs be informed...  It is now official. 

Egg free Easter

So even though dying eggs is not an option this year for Easter... I think painting wooden ones was even more fun!
And we haven't even made a dent in the pile of wooden eggs we got.  Which is why we started so early.  So if we do some each weekend, we should be able to get through em all...
Though really, a little nest of these suckers would look really cute on your dining room table any time of year... the wheels are def. turning...

So there's actually a lot you can do besides just paint...  we did some crackle... some modge podge with other papers...  some glitter of course... and even some stamping!
 I'll let ya know if we come up with anything else...

So I doubt she'll even care to dye an egg... anything paint involved, she's usually up for.
And then I realized I should really make her an art smock...

And here's Roo's egg painting vid  in case anyone needs a moving visual...  

Bag

I'm hoping on slowly but seriously compiling a folder of templates from which to make a reservoir of items to showcase on etsy.  This may take some time.  But I've come up with a weekly schedule that allows for specific time for each thing I'd like to accomplish.
And of course I don't know who I'm kidding when I think that's actually gonna happen and I'll be all productive and ongoing...  but nevertheless...  we just keep movin' however fast or slow we go... don't we!


So anyway, for now, I've made a few of these...
I think this might be a keeper template...

So next I've gotta get to some scrapbooking!  

I've started working on some digital pages, and it's just as addicting as the 3D stuff...

Here's a WIP so far...  

HAPPY HUMP DAY!

springtime springtime

Wall Pockets!

 So there's the mail basket on the kitchen table...
always overflowing...  always hard to find particular items of correspondence.
So here's my solution.

I actually meant to make this a wall organizer for crafts... but then for some reason it took a turn toward the kitchen...

I thought we could use a little more organization for our mail...  and other stuff we need to keep handy.

Yes. It's messy.  But messy is a style I think.  And I incorporated a big stick...  my personal favorite decoration for houses and... cars... and desks... and life in general! If my ear lobes didn't puff up at the sound of the word "earring", I'd probably wear sticks in them.

One other thing I never did before was stamp on material.  I just didn't feel like sewing those words on...  so I figured maybe I could stamp on some letters and ...  a bird.
And I think it's safe to say it works.
Though now I'm tied to putting certain things in certain pockets....   Why do I make commitments I can't keep!

And it you're cold, you could take it off the wall and drape it over yourself.  

Hearts Hearts Hearts

Yes, it's mush month.
These were some of my entries I threw together this evening for a crop who's challenges were due 7 minutes ago.

 So after a rough "getting to bed" evening for my little girl, who's now in my bed with Cliff...  I was determined to get involved at least a little this month...
This scrap group I became a part of in November has proved to be some of the sweetest women I associate with.
And they have online crops every month... and I can never seem to get my act together enough to participate.

But this month, there are 2 mini crops due to superbowl.. and other goings on...

So...  It's love month, so I decided to add some hearts and flowers...  Ok, flowers are a big part of my usual routine... I know.  But hearts, not so much.   The first thing I got pictured up there is an ATC card. Then we have a 12x12 layout featuring my friend Mo's lovely daughter Brielyn.

And here we have a pocket card.  A nice little nook for your love note to go...

Well, hopefully I can host a cropping soon...  I hear the darling stirring so I will catch up with you folks later!  Enjoy your Sunday and your football.  I will be enjoying my Sunday by unplugging the TV.

Couple Stamp Ideas

Stamps, can't get enough.  It's funny because I really never got the whole "stamp" thing ten years ago...  I just used stickers.  I have to say that now I rarely use stickers.  I love stickers, but not for scrapbooking... unless they are really exceptional and can pass a short quiz before being considered for my art.  As far as decorating my calendar and planner and notebooks... stickers are key! Because you may not want Spongebob next to your nephew at his Christening, but you may want him reminding you to go to the dentist.

So anyway, here's a couple things you can do with stamps.

1. Color em in!

The lighthouse was nice looking all in black and white...  but I decided to grab my colored pencils and give it a little color. And then with a felt tip pen, I accented some edges and added some shadow....
 And you thought you'd never color again!

( also, stamping an image a few times on the same page without re-inking it creates a nice effect. You have lighter versions of the same image.... kinda makes a nice background...  ex. the sand dollar and shell images lining the bottom)


2. Cut em out!

The flower shown in the pic on the right was stamped with a couple different colors. (this can be done a few different ways... one being brushing the ink onto the stamp instead of dabbing the stamp onto an ink pad), and then cut out using micro-tip scissors. I know you're saying "WHO THE HECK HAS TIME TO CUT OUT A STAMP WITH MICRO-TIP SCISSORS!"
and my answer to that is, if you want to do something, and you want that something to look as nice as it possibly can in your eyes, you will take one further step in assuring that will happen. If you don't need your project done by tomorrow, then why not do a little tonight and a little tomorrow.  I find sometimes if you leave it unfinished and come back to it the next day, it comes out better because you end up seeing it the next day with fresh eyes and you'll have a better idea of what will make it work.

And if you have those foam stickies, that makes it pop off the page a little ...

Looking forward to some sweet dreams!

G'night all.

New stuffies

Ok...
these are my first crack at stuffed animals so be kind.... ha

I will attempt some more this weekend probably...  but they do have a certain charm...
The elephant (yes, it's an elephant) is a bit awkward...
and the owl (YES, THE OWL)  is kinda....  just a pillow with a face.
but hey, it's great how honest babies/toddlers are.  They just accept things for what they are.  I don't think my daughter has met a stuffed animal yet that she didn't like. So she gladly adopted them into her stuffy family!

I do have some scrappy stuff to post...
just haven't gotten around to the picture taking yet...


So that'll happen once I take a break from sewing machine land.  Who knew it could be so addicting!  And a great activity for insomniacs.
I think I've mentioned this before, but the juices def. flow better when you're tired and inspired.

Nighty!

Blurb.com=LOVE

Here's an idea.
Blurb.com
I was looking for something a bit more special for this Christmas present and I came across Blurb.com on livejournal actually a long time ago.  And it took me a while to actually make a book...  but ya know how the holidays creep up and you get ideas and...  I still have some other projects in the works for them.  But as far as photo books go, I have never had a book come out as excellent as this one.  The pictures just printed so perfect.  Even the digital collages I threw together came out just as they looked on my computer.

This book is 11x 13.  So it's a good size book.  And it's just like a book you'd buy at Barnes and Noble. Hardcover, dust jacket, thick paper....   (there are other options on the site.)

But it was the best money I spent this year. 

 And I'm sure my daughter will enjoy it when she's older too.

So I can't say enough about Blurb.  Love em'.  I even wrote em a thank you note because I was so impressed with the book.  And they wrote a thank you back.. ha...  

Anyway... tis bedtime...

Goodnight friends.

So lame... I am.

So I never got around to posting the banner...  I did finish it a few days later...  
but here I am, posting it now...

I'm actually really happy with the way it came out.  It really just adds exactly what her room needed.
I'm working on another sewy project for her now.  I'll let ya know how that turns out.

I will be catching up on my scrapbook posting.  I've been scrapbooking, just have been shoving it off to the recipients without any photo taking!  The holidays were so crammed my projects were very time sensitive. But now that things have calmed down, I'll be able to post some more...

Sewing itch

I've had a sewing machine... for maybe 4 years now.  But I rarely ever used it.
For some reason lately I can't seem to get enough of it.  And I've started using it a lot in my scrapbooking as well.  Really, that was all I used it for before.  So the occassional straight line stitch across some paper was the extent.

Having said that, I probably don't need to go into the fact that I have little to no sewing experience.
But I decided in my little noggin that I really wanted to make a tote bag for Eleanor.
Ya know how you go to the stores... and you never really find exactly what you're looking for.  There are so many cute bags... but none that scream "I was made for your baby!"
So my mission I set forth upon myself was to make such a bag! One exactly for Eleanor. But really, exactly for me because she really doesn't seem to care what kind of bag I put her stuffed piggy and crocheted vampire from Aunt Shirley in.  She just cares that she can carry it around and take em' out... and put em' back in...  etc...

So I did end up with two bags because the first...  didn't quite come out the way I liked... plus, I was using some scraps of material I had handy instead of looking for something special.  But it's still cute...  just too crooked... and too blue.

But the second bag, I went out and got some canvas and some of those $1 scraps from walmart and I think it came out a lot better.

It's still kinda stringy at spots...  and maybe next time, (if I try for #3) I'll put all three initials, since it now says ED.  hahaha....

I'm also working on a name banner for Eleanor's room.   (once I get all the Eleanor projects out of my system, I'll start expanding a bit...  )

I never really decorated her room with wall stuff, so I thought a sewn banner would look cute.  I'm two letters in, I'll post a pic once it's finished.  But I think it'll be nice... in a sloppy kinda little girl way.  Just wish I named her something shorter!