Who doesnt need more pillows??

I am sneaking in my February craft project just before the month ends. Cutting in close as they say..

I decided to go with  Stencil 101 for my inspiration this month. I have been wanting to work on this one for awhile. I bought this book in October last year, so it is new to my collection! I took a class awhile back that taught me how to do linoleum prints which led to screen printing etc, etc.. They have a home decor stencil book too that I think I may have to get. I keep seeing hallways in magazines with crazy wall paper or stencils and I love it and want to add a little pizazz to my entry!

 SOOO who out there does not need more pillows?? I love pillows, I think if I add one more pillow to my bed the hubs might move out! Just a bit ago I made chase some new pillow cases( Here is the link to the past blog) and so I decided to make him another cause that is what he really needs!!??! This book is great, it comes with the already made stencil and a paper copy of it to use if you need to make more ( or screen prints)



I used a already made pillow case that I wasn't to worried about messing up for my first run at it..

Blue to go with chases room..

 A little green fabric paint dabbed on the stencil.. AND Voila..

After the paint dries you have to iron it to set it

And here is the finished product, I had a little paint boo boos but aye its all good!

Here is what I was thinking to take this to the next level... I have these doors in my house that I hate! They are an orangy woody color from the 60's and in some places the former owners kids carved names or left behind stickers that we haven't been able to get off. My idea is to stencil the head phones in a repetitive pattern on chases door? I am kinda really liking this idea, but I might chicken out, give me a minute to think about it and I will let you know, maybe there is a surprise in store!!

Till next time ~~ Bianca

Things that go bump in the night...

I am working on my February craft, I still have about one week to go in this month and cant let myself get behind schedule! No craftyness to report other than that. I just had to put in writing for memories sake the spookalicious happenings at my house last night.

When I was younger I had no problem watching the scariest of scary movies, but now that I am a bit older my imagination sure can take hold and put me in a sleep sitting up, eyes open watching the door listening to every creek and burp my 50 yr old house makes. A couple of days ago I wasn't feeling well, so I quarantined my self in my cozy bed. Late in the evening I started watching a show called " Ghost Adventures". I have watched shows like this before and not had issue but for some reason this one really resonated in my mind. I now have spent the last couple of days as stated before listening to every crick , creek, and eerk my house has made. On my way to bed last night I checked in on my daughter who was running a slight fever and had one of the top 3 spooks of my life. Do take into consideration that I  have a very over active imagination. Anyway I went in her room to check her , she was awake (so I thought) so I asked her how she was doing and with wide googly eyes she creepily chuckled at me and had the most insane smile on her face. In a voice resembling that of  yoda  she says" I am good now that you are here" followed by more  insane chuckles. This doesn't seem odd at first glance but you had to be there and see the look on her face. I asked her if she knew who I was in fear that her fever might be making her hallucinate ( her fever was not high only 101) and again with wide , wide open eyes she said " you are mom". I asked her what was my real name , and she answered with ease but her answers were always followed by her creepy laugh and insane smile. The hubs walked in and could probably tell I was freaking. I asked her who he was , and again she answered with more creepyness. His explanation... she is still asleep, she knows not what she says! OK I will take that! That is what I will tell myself to. Not that I believe she was possessed and needed to exercised, but I was completely creeped out! I had to spend the rest of the night checking on her temp and hoping she would not wake and spook me some more. I know its crazy, but sometimes I have to let the crazy out.  

Will have some craftyness and pictures for you soon. ~ Bianca


P.S  Just a little back story on my house...

1. The neighbors who used to live across the street and had lived here since these houses were built told me the man who owned this house died..OK, did he die in the house?? Never got that info out of him??!!

2. When we moved in My son was 2. One night he woke up screaming so I ran down the hallway and asked him what is problem was . He said there was a man in his room trying to take his toys.. I said where is the man and he pointed to the corner in his room.. I quickly scooped in up and ran to my room where he stayed the night!

3. Room that son used to occupy is now the girls room. My kids talk in their sleep ALOT.. It is quite annoying, but I do hear a large amount of "leave me alone" from the girls room?? Spooky nI tell ya?! I always run in and check and most of the time have no clue. BUT.....

W.I.P's

Just a little kntting WIP ( work in progress) for a friend. I got the pattern for free in Ravelry. You can find it here if you are interested.. I am using Malabrigo worsted, and it is sooo soft..



 

I love this color purple!

Will update when I am done!

~ Bianca

~2/13/2011~

UPDATE ... ALL Done!!

Valentine Bouquet

No need for flowers this Valentines Day. I made my own, well they are not flowers with petals and blooms, but a bouquet of hearts instead.  I wont have to take care of them, because I am awful at taking care of plants and have no green thumb! I made a little tutorial of how I made them for those who may be interested..

OK here is what you will need:

• 18 gauge cloth stem wire ( found in the floral section of Michael's, Beverly's, Joann's)
• Scrapbook Paper in colors of your choosing
• Craft Glue
• Vase for Flowers
• Ribbon

I used my Cricut to cut out different size hearts, You will need 2 of the same size for each flower, You could make a template or stencil if you don't have the cheater machine..

I put a dab of glue on the corners and middle of the flower



Then I placed the cloth stem in the middle of the heart/flower

Then I placed the other heart on top and sandwiched the stem in between the two

I placed the heart flowers under a heavy book while they dried so they would stay flat.

And here ya go , this was a super easy way to make a nice bouquet that will last the whole month! I added a little sand in the vase to keep the flowers standing straight and some ribbon to make them  feel pretty ...

There are tons of Valentine crafts out there in blogger land, I spend,  ummm hours, I mean minutes a day checking them out. Here are a few that I tried and some  I thought were cute..

I love this one, well all of them.. But this one gave me a new must have crafting supply to add to the list.

Here is the Tutorial  @ How about Orange, You should so try this! Below is her version

and here is mine.. My fabric choices ..

• 

Cutting out hearts..Glad I had a stencil!

• 
  
  

Sewing hearts Together

Ta Dah..

Love these, I made my own but forgot to take a pic of them.. Here is the tutorial @ A Life of Perpetual Probability

• I made these for Lily's Slumber Party.. Here is the instructions @ That's my letter

All you need is love, Love IT! You can make this HERE  @ Primp

This is on my TO DO list!! Need to get done asap.. Here is the Link to the Tutorial @ Flamingo Toes

So much Love and Crafts to share,
Hope you all have a great Heart day with the one you love.

~ Bianca

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

A  little story about the scariest cooking  adventure I have had ..ever... Awhile back a friend asked me to donate 6 months of baked goods ( one per month)  for a charity event she was doing. I agreed, so off  I went and  made my  list of old favorites and some new recipes that I had been wanting to try.

The winner of the auction picked  from my list Snickerdoodle Cupcakes {of course one of the newer recipes I had not yet tried } for her first baked item. Now there was no more wanting to try this out.. now its your gonna make this and it better taste good!

I found this recipe in the Martha Stewart Cupcake book or Here is the recipe on her website.Cupcakes  to me are the new Cake , like purple is the new black. So easy to make and decorate.

 

Are you a batter licker? I am the worst batter licker, sometimes I make things just so I can eat the batter. This was not the scary part if this adventure.. Its coming up.

Cupcakes cooling.. On to the frosting.. Here is where things get scary. Have you ever heard of 7 minute frosting?  I had heard of it, but never tried to make it. If you take a look at he recipe you might get and idea of what was so freaky , but let me spell it out for you. Raw eggs, and hot liquids ..if not combined at the right speed equals scrambled egg frosting..yuck.. Also you have to let the egg and hot syrupy mixture mix for 7 minutes and if you let it go to long poof.. flat and if you don't let it go long enough.. runny ..

Here is my kitchenaid mixin' away. I tried to follow the instructions, but it got to the point where I knew if i didn't stop it, my frosting was going to die.

All done! Here they are, all sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. My stress level dropped  100% when I finally frosted the last one. I handed them off to my friend and crossed my fingers that whoever was receiving these would like them. I of course had a try, but I was on such a sugar rush from all my batter licking I was worried about my taste buds being fried.

So , if you are going to try this one have a friend there for help and support. I think that would have made my experience a little less freaky!

Have a great weekend! ~ Bianca