Sew.. what?

Don't worry, you read the title right! This past Christmas I received the most amazing gift from my parents.. my very own sewing machine! Now, if you know me you know what a klutz I am. This can mean only 2 things: One; I will be able to expand creatively and make lots of fun things and two; I will probably hurt myself or get into one hell-of-a mess at some point that we can all look back on and laugh at.
My first sewing adventure brought me to the far-too-long curtains in our "dining" area -- the part of the 'open concept' upstairs of our house that contains the table and chairs, ha. I figured these would be a good starting point, and I left a few inches of overhang just in case. Here's the finished product:

Regretfully I didn't take a picture of the curtains before I hemmed them, but if you can imagine floor length curtains on a non-floor length window you can pretty much grasp the idea.
So while that was fairly simple, I decided to reuse the mass amount of leftover curtain for the kitchen window. This took a couple tries to get the right length, I wasn't sure until I literally could hold it up to the window what I liked.
The result?

Not too shabby, right? Okay, maybe it's not perfect, but like I said before it seemed like the best place to start!
From there, I got even more creative. My first handbag! Well, purse, tote bag, whatever you want to call it. I didn't use a pattern either, I basically just sewed a couple 18"x24" pieces of fabric together and added a strap, haha.
Ta-daaa!

Okay, it looks a little, er, frumpy in that pic. I've been using it as a purse after all! So I emptied it and took a few more pics. First the front..

..and the back!

And one more, "in use"

I just adore the pattern, and I love the brown polka-dotted print on the back too. However I managed to forget to sew a liner into the purse. I realize I probably could have done it after the fact, but I figured it would be a real pain. I also only have black thread at the time, so it's pretty noticeable when you look up close. The good news is I learned from this purse, AND I've picked up new fabrics and threads, and I can't wait to show you the next creations (evil laugh)!

Paintings

Awhile back I started a project for my nephew's playroom; the Alphabet! I figured with him starting school (he's four) it would something he could recognize and maybe it might help him learn. Well, as I'm a slowpoke and get distracted easily they are STILL not finished, but I wanted to post what I've done so far. They still need some work though, keep that in mind!


And just picture, there are 26 of them in rotating colour schemes! I know my sister will just adore having to put 26 holes in her wall.. haha. I didn't think about that until after I'd started.
I also had the bright idea to use some extra canvasses from that project to create a three-tile painting. My painting skills are a tad rusty, so I felt like this would be a good exercise.


You can probably tell, but one picture is with flash and one without. I'm a really big fan of the green and blue, but I don't know just where this picture will fit in yet.
Well that's it for now. Next time I will show you my recent sewing adventures!

the heart of the home..

Yes yes, as you may recall we bought a house / moved in last July. There have been a lot of "work in progess" comments made over the last few months, but it finally seems as though we're getting closer to completing things! Like for example, our kitchen.

That was our kitchen before we moved in. As you can see, very retro (as was the theme with our house.. ha) and very.. full.
Now, fast-forward to today!

Isn't that a breath of fresh air? Now you'll have to excuse a few things.. such as the tin-foiled styrofoam on the counter (used for the Cake Pops in the previous post!), the beer bottles, and the couple empty spots where there ought to be false drawer covers.
Here are a few more views of the kitchen;



(Don't you love my cute little curtain? More on that in another post!)

So as you can see, we've made leaps and bounds. I must admit though that most of the work was done the week before we moved our stuff into the house. I spent an entire week (in between working full time) using wood filler, sanding, priming and painting. Unfortunately it was a project we had to scrap for awhile because it became apparent we wouldn't get it done before the move-in date we had set. And in all seriousness, after we DID move in I really wasn't in the mood for more painting. My lovely husband finished the cupboard doors for me for Christmas though, and then we were inspired to hurry up and put them on. If you've noticed, they are, in fact, not finished though. From the bumps and bangs and his.. er.. lack of patience with painting (hehe) they need another coat or two of paint -- which will be a lot easier now that they're up. They also still need door handles; which are a brushed nickle effect to match the hinges. As you can probably tell, I'm VERY excited. Here's a look at how I had to live for the last 6 months or so (who even knows any more!)

Yikes! A nice change to have doors, am I right? Not to mention I was able to sort out all the cupboards once I had drawers, therefore making for more space and organization! Hooray!!
But I digress. I really just wanted to show off all our hard work in the kitchen. One thing is for sure.. I would seriously reconsider ever re-finishing cupboards like that again! You have to understand that some of them aren't even in the greatest condition, but we really couldn't afford to replace them. So yes, the kitchen / bakeshop is almost complete!
Oh, and stay close by, I've got more posts to come in the next few days. I've been busy :)

Hungry? You will be!

So I've been dying to try out bakerella's cake pops, and FINALLY got a chance to try them! I have to admit, mine don't look as pretty as hers, and twice in the last few days I've made them but both times haven't quite got the cake to icing ratio correct.... but damn they're good!



I don't actually have any photos of the first batch I made, but they were pink cake with pink icing.. I decided with these ones to use two different colours and see how it turned out. I think next time though, I'll buy green melting chocolate -- this time I just coloured the white chocolate and it doesn't look as nice in my opinion.

I also had a little time and decided to make a sweet treat for my husband and my co-workers! They all enjoyed these sugar cookies, and I enjoyed making them! I can't wait for my next batch, I have some more ideas to help me practice piping designs. I was kind of rushed to finish these ones, it was late and I was tired. I'll probably make more this week though, I'm dying to decorate!






And that's why my kitchen has had an endless supply of dirty dishes for the last few days! Well that and cooking supper for my husband and his best friend.. both very hungry guys!
'Til next time!

Coming soon..

.. Hi folks!

Long time no see, friends! I must admit, things got pretty crazy last year with moving into our first house, getting married, and then Christmas.. oh my, it was hectic AND expensive. However, I have returned! And with paint brushes in hand, no less. Not to mention the new sewing machine! Oooh, I'm excited and ready to rock! So basically right now I'm working on a few paintings, some stuff for my nephew's playroom, beaded jewelry, knitting, and sewing various things! What it comes down to is that my good friend Culinary Countess and I are looking to start up an Etsy shop; so that leaves me with trying to stock up an inventory first! And to top it off I've already had friends making requests for different things, haha.
So, while this blog hasn't seen much activity lately I do promise it will pick up quickly. I'm back to part-time work and maybe this will help keep me on track with making all my goodies :D
Take care!