Way too close

Christmas is WAY too close! How did it get here so quick? It was just thanksgiving!
Oh well. I've been pretty busy! I've made a bag or two... a table runner... jewelry bags... what else? Crayon wallets! I've made two so far and I've loving them!

And one of my other new favorite things - coasters!
I made 3 sets of Christmas ones! Each set has 2 patchwork ones and 2 of each of the other fabrics (stockings and trees). We've been using one set around the house and they're working really well!


Now I've got a list of other stuff to do:
2 more jewelry bags
a crayon roll for a 5 year old
a tie for a 7 year old
a fake beard for a 10 year old
something for my mom (which I know what it'll be)
something for my dad (which I don't know what it'll be)

Only got a couple days left! Ahhhh!

Bumblebee Bag

Wandering around a fabric store, some yellow and some black popped out at me. And red! Yellow, black, and red - I knew I had to make something using those colors. And this is the result:

I've been calling it the bublebee bag since I started planning it. It's got a magnetic clasp and some tubing in the handles to make them a little more sturdy feeling. I thought the handles wouldn't be long enough, but they definitely are!

And the inside has pockets all along one side and then a half-circle pocket (made out of the area I cut out for the handles) that's big enough for cell phone.

I've got similar (but still different) material sewn together for two more bags like it... I'm going to see what people think and then maybe make them and put them on etsy... I'll see how it goes!

And while I was waiting for some of the material to dry, I started working on some Christmas coasters. Yep -Christmas! I made some patchwork that I cut out to make the tops of some. I've got almost 3 set ready to sew! Hopefully I'll work on them more tomorrow!

Halloween!

I'm not hugely into Halloween. When I was really little my mom made me some really cute costumes - a kangaroo, a coke can, a pumpkin...
But this year I decided to make my own costume! And I decided to be a Monster!
Over a year ago, I saw some guy at Universal Studios wearing a monster hoodie and I thought it was pretty awesome! I decided then I wanted one right then and there. I looked online and I saw one place selling them for $100. Well I wasn't going to pay that. So I bought a hoodie at Old Navy for $15 and used material and buttons I had at home to create my own!

There's super cool teeth around the hood and I lined the inside with red - like it's a real mouth! Added some eyes and claws on and it was ready to go.

I also had a skirt that was really long and I shortened it. And I made a tulle thing to go under the skirt to make it kinda poofy. And I bought some awesome tights at wal-mart!

And now I've got a super cool monster hoodie!

Little Suckers!

I started making these awesome little guys last year and they are soooo fun to make! And since it's around Halloween, I figured I would put this pattern up here! Hopefully someone can make a Little Sucker or two for the holiday.

Hopefully you've got some felt around, or it'll just take 2 sheets of felt - one for the body and one for the wings.

They're really fun! Their feet are loops so they can be hung upside down. Or they sit up pretty well if that's how they want to. And they're wings can be opened or closed, all with a tiny button!

And this is a great way to practice a button hole! I know sometimes button holes can seem a little menacing, but they're really not too hard.

If you would like to save this pattern and try it out (You really should! It's fun and easy and super cute!), then you can click here to download the file and print out the directions!

This is the first download I've done, so if it doesn't work, please let me know and I'll try and fix it! Either comment on this post or e-mail me at anoddduckcreates @ gmail.com. Thanks!

getting better...

Oink, oink. yep - I had that ugly old swine flu last week. It totally knocked me down and out. And I'm just barely back into the land of the living. So while the project I'm working on was right on my computer, my mind just wasn't letting me work on it.
But... I'm getting better! So I'm hoping to finish it and have it up at the beginning on next week! I hope!

Coming soon to a blog near you...

Something cool is coming soon...

I'm working on it...

Here's a preview:

What I've been up to...

Here's a few things I've been up to lately:

I helped make a Super-Frog cape! With red eyes... which is a bit creepy-deep, but I'm always open to special requests! The munchkin said today he wants to be Super Frog for Halloween and wear his frog costume (yes - he already has one. Don't you?) and the cape. Of course he is 4 and there's 2 months until Halloween, so there's a high possibility he'll end up as something completely different.

A jewelry travel bag that has a big enough bottom to have bracelets inside. I hadn't even thought about bracelets, but it was easy to make it just a little bigger and the bracelets give it a bit of a base!

An "M" bag for my cousin's daughter! I need to send it on up to Tennessee!

This was a commissioned bag! A lady I know knows the mom of Matt Eller who plays for the University of Illinois (Go Fighting Illini!) and she wanted me to make a bag that she can take to games. This was a fun bag to make and I love the way the embroidery turned out! Since it would be going to football games and everything, there's a zipper closure on top. And the sides are triangular, just to be fun and different. I hadn't planned on it, but there's a washable base inside so that the shape keeps pretty well. I'm giving it to her tomorrow and I hope she loves it!

Then I made a bag for myself! I got the pattern from a blog called U-Handblog.com. I've learned a lot of stuff from her site - my favorite of which is to do zippers in the sides of bags. Her tutorial makes it SO Easy! I saw the pattern for this bag a while ago when she first put it on the site and I liked it, but just couldn't decide to buy it. Then I kept thinking about it. Then I finally just gave in and bought it!

It was a pretty easy pattern to follow. I feel like every step was described perfectly. There wasn't any part where I was really confused. I had already done the zipper in the side of the bag before, so it might have been a little harder if I hadn't done it before. And I used grommets for the first time, which turned out to be pretty easy. And the handles - she had a cool idea which was to put some tubing in the handle. There was a place to order it from her, I guess a special purse kind. But I just went to the pet store and got some tubing that goes in fish tanks!

I knew it would be big (the drawstrings can be untied and it expands out), so I didn't know how often I would get to use it... but this morning as I was looking for something to carry stuff to the Post Office, I was so glad I had the bag!

And I also made two hooded towels (a hippo and a monkey) which are on their way down South to sweet little Sophie (the daughter of a friend of mine from high school)! They're pretty darn cute, and I'll try to get some pictures of them up pretty soon!

Meanwhile - I got 5 really cute fat quarters and I'm going to try and write up a tutorial for my Five Fat Quarter Reversible Bag! I want to take pictures as I go along to try and make it a little easier to understand. So hopefully I'll get that up pretty soon...

I really need to update more...

I really need to update more! I haven't made too much lately... but I did make one thing - a superhero outfit!!! Which brings me to a question I've had lately - why do I not wear a cape ALL the time? It's way more fun than I was thinking it would be.

We had superhero bowling night at the youth group I volunteer with and I decided to go with my own superhero - CraftGirl! I had a shirt with a hole in the front on it, so putting a shield on the front worked perfectly. And stenciling on the scissors worked great! Then I made a cape out of a bed sheet I had bought a long time ago. At the bottom of the cape, I put ric-rac and buttons, just to make it a little more crafty.

Here's a picture - taken on my cell phone so it's a little blurry-ish.

If you haven't worn a cape lately, you really should give it a try!

On my way out of town again!

I'm about to be off again for another week! But this week has been crazy busy! I've made quite a bit (onesies, started baby blankets, etc), unfortunately my camera's memory card decided it no longer wished to work, so I don't have many pictures of what I did. I did get some pictures of 2 bags I made - one of which was my first sale on Etsy!

I made this firetruck bag which can be reversible. It's a good bag just to tote around some smaller stuff. It's made from my pattern which I like to call my "Fantastic Five Fat Quarter Reversible Bag." This version doesn't use fat quarters, but it's the same measurements and everything. It's actually version 2.0 of the firetruck bag, but I think I like this version better - the black looks really nice with it!

Then the next bag is my first Etsy sale! It's currently on it's way to Seattle, WA to my fabulous cousin Mary! It's a custom bag. She requested some things (pockets on the side, messenger style, bird embroidery) and this is what I came up with. I kept wearing it around my house - that's how I know I really like how a bag turned out - I wear it around my house for no reason. It has an adjustable strap and lots of pockets!

I also made a drawstring bag which I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE and plan on wearing lots this week. I'll try to get a picture of it sometime. Because I LOVE it!

I'll be back in a week!

Swimsuit Cover Up!

I saw on one of my favorite blogs, Craftzine, that they were having a contest for making a swimsuit cover-up. First place is a sewing machine and three runner-ups get dress forms. I would LOVE a dress form! Especially after having made this swimsuit cover-up!

My idea for the cover-up was to use a Hawaiian shirt and make it into a fitted cover up. And that's what I did! I went to Wal-mart to get a 2 XL Hawaiian shirt, which I thought was going to be $13... but it rang up for $3! And I bought some ribbon (you'll see what for later) so this whole thing costs $5!!! And I love how it ended up! I will be wearing it for the rest of the summer!

My mom came up with the suggestion of moving the pocket from the left chest down lower. It's a great place to put a cell phone or keys or whatever I'm carrying down to the beach.

I ended up just cutting the sleeves off - they were huge! Then I sewed up the arm hole along the edge. For the shoulders, they're actually adjustable! There's ribbons that you can pull the material up on to gather and tie or let loose if I want a little more coverage.

I really wanted to give the whole thing some shape and emphasize the waist, so I fitted it. It was my first time doing something like this and it took some thought, but it worked! I took it in along the sides and placed the pleats so the material would flow out. And I took it in on the back as well. And I did some darts in the bust area (though there aren't any pictures of that - it was strange enough for me to put pictures of me in a bathing suit online... we don't need any close-ups of that area).

I am sooooo happy with how it ended up! And I would love to win the contest, but even if I don't - I've got a super cute bathing suit cover up!

I've added a picture to the flickr group with the rest of the entries... Wish me luck!

On my way out of town...

I'm heading out tomorrow to spend the week on a Middle School Mission Trip! It should be fun! Interesting, but fun!

But I wanted to show a little bit of stuff I've made lately...

First - Coasters as an anniversary gift to an awesome couple I know! (Who also have a super cute kid!)

Second - five pouches for some girls I've never met... It's a long story, but to put it shortly: I've been writing notes to a friend of mine at a camp and the girls who pick up and deliver the mail have noticed that I send lots of stuff. So I figured they should get some stuff too!

Third - A purse for my cousin who is currently on her way to Israel! She wanted a purse with a strap that was long and would go over her shoulder. It's a dark tan linen so it shouldn't get too messy as she travels. And it's got some green and brown fabric that I'd seen at Joann's and kept thinking about getting but couldn't decide what for. I finally had a reason! This purse is a lot like the other one I did - with a zipper in the back side and reverse applique on the front.

Fourth - A pillow cover using my cousin's son's handprint. She had a towel that his handprint was on for mother's day, but she wanted it made into a pillow case! It was fun!

Fifth - the picture does not do this justice! It's a pillowcase dress - my cousin gave me the pillowcase and asked if I could make it into a dress and I'd seen directions online so I figured I'd give it a try. It was pretty easy and that pillowcase was adorable! Really though - I think it'll be way cuter on an actual cute little girl...

Sixth - a bathing suit cover! It turned out really cute, but I just can't seem to get a picture that makes it seem as cute as it is in person. It's for a contest - first place gets a sewing machine but I'm going for 2nd, 3rd, or 4th - which get a dressform!

Alright - that's it for now. I'll be back in a week!

A Throw for Minnesota

An awesome friend of mine is going to be moving to Minnesota pretty soon because she got a really cool intership with Mayo! It's very excited and I'll miss her - but she'll only be gone 8 months and we'll always have facebook!

But to keep her warm, I decided to make her a granny square throw. She's been known to crochet a bit, so I knew she would appreciate it!

It started out with these:

And ended up with this:

I used mostly yarn I already had. And used black to sew it all together and for the border. It looks a little 70's-ish, but I love all the bright colors!

I think it'll keep her warm enough... :)

Travel Jewelry Case

A couple of weeks ago I was shown a cool little jewelry travel case by this lady I met named Catherine (great name by the way, though I am partial to the K spelling). I saw it and sketched it out - which was really just me drawing a big circle with a little circle in side of it. I knew it would be easy but i kept putting it off and putting it off. Then about a week ago I got a plate and a bowl and made a template and it was made in about an hour!

There's 6 pockets inside - you can see 3 with some random jewelry inside.

There are definitely some things I would do differently - I would move the seam I have for the string a little further away from the inside pocket (to give it a little more room inside and less ruffles on the top) and I would redo the string (which I strung wrong).

I'll definitely be making more of these!

Munchkin... being eaten by a frog

For the munchkin's birthday back in November, I made him a frog jacket. Complete with frog eyes. And the other day, he fell asleep in the backseat, and this was the image I had to capture forever.

Man, I love hanging out with that little guy on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

A Just the Right Size Purse!

It's not too big... it's not too small... It's just right!

I am having lots of fun with this pattern!

It's an adjustable strap...

(It can be really long, but the picture I took with it long turned out unsatisfactorily)

there's pockets,

there's a zipper in the back,

there's a magnetic closure, there's reverse applique...

There's just so much to like about this bag!

I made one for myself, then I was commissioned to make another. This is the commissioned one - I always forget to take pictures of the things I make for myself. I always forget to take pictures... I need to write notes to myself that say, "Take Pictures!" and put them on the sewing machine and the scissors and the cutting board and every other place in the sewing room. But back to this bag - this one had a kinda darker outside so that it won't get dirty to easily.

I really liked the material for the reverse applique! As soon as I saw it in the store, I thought the tree would be perfect to sew around. I love how it turned out! And I love all the greens!

I'm really happy with how it turned out and might make a few more... maybe... if I finish some other projects that are floating around my head

(drawstring circle jewelry bag, star trek bag, baby blankets, more appliqued stuff).

And I really need to start writing official patterns for these purses!

More Bags to Etsy

I just uploaded a couple more bags to Etsy!

There's 2 I finished recently and another that I finished a while ago but never uploaded.

First is one that is Black White and Red All Over!

Then there's the Patchwork and Polka Dot.

And last but not least is the Perfect Summer Beach Bag.

You can check them out at anoddduck.etsy.com

An Altered Hoodie

I love love love short sleeve zip up hoodies! I have a blue one which I wear tons and a maroon one I also wear a lot. I was at target and I saw some long sleeve black and white hoodies in the clearance section for $9. I decided I'd go ahead and buy a black one. It looked like this (apparently like a scary person when I tried to hang it up):

Then... I started to make some changes... First I decided to make it short sleeved! I practiced a little bit with part of the sleeve I cut off, including putting the ribbing back on. It stretched a little bit, but overall it worked.

Then I did a little bit of reverse applique in the shape of a heart with some other fabrics sewed together.

I LOVE IT SOOOOOO MUCH! I've already worn it a couple days. And so far it hasn't been way too hot for it.

And it was way easier than I thought it would be. I went back to Target and bought another black one (which I have no idea what I'm going to do with it yet) and a white one (which I know what I'm going to do and it should be pretty cute).