Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Up in the air

Last week, Ronny had the opportunity to fly with one of his customers/friends to Kansas to look at some heifers. His friend, Jon (pictured below), owns and flies a 1968  Skyhawk 4-seater plane that they were able to fly right out of Seward.

Ronny wanted me to blog this, mostly because he was so excited for this new experience, but also to brag to me about his “flying experience”. With all of my travels for work, I have to drive an hour and a half, check in my bags, go through security, and wait an hour for my plane to take-off. Ronny left our house at 9:45 am, got to the Seward airport at 9:50 a.m., found Jon and the plane, and took off a little after 10:00 a.m. Jealous. Even better was that he was at his destination in 45 minutes! (Probably not as fancy or fast as your jet ride, Mom & Dad!)

Jon did a swoop through Seward to fly over our neighborhood to get the bird’s eye view.
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Jon was even brave enough to let Ronny fly solo for a few minutes.

Ronny says thanks, Jon, for the opportunity, I say thanks for being safe, Jon!

Monday, December 26, 2011

DIY | Sewing small, drawstring bags

To add a lil’ something something to a few Christmas gifts this year, I threw together some small bags that I made out of some extra fabric pieces I had.

These gifts for the gals had jewelry in them, so they would make perfect jewelry bags, but they could be used for just about anything and made to any size.

DIY Small, Drawstring Bag
Cut two pieces of fabric to 6” x 10” (or whatever size you need for the sides of your bag). Then press the long side seams in 1/4-inch.
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Fold over end 2-inches and press.
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Sew 1/4-inch above the bottom of the folded over seam.DSC00754

Measure up 1/2-inch and sew across again. This will make the channel for the drawstring.
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Next, cut two strips of fabric 2-inches wide for the drawstring. Sew ends together to make one long piece (length is up to you).
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Fold the long end in 1/2-inch and press. Do the same with the other side – fold in and press. You should have about an 1-inch wide piece.
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Next, fold the narrow end in about 1/4-inch, then fold the entire piece inwards length-wise to create a 1/2-inch drawstring.
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Sew as close to the open end as possible the length of the drawstring.
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Use a safety pin and thread the drawstring through both sides of the bag before sewing each side together. I found that it was easier to lineup and sew if I put the drawstring in before sewing. Pin both sides together, front side facing each other. Be sure to tuck in the drawstring before sewing sides together. Sew the length and bottom of the bag in 1/4-inch, Then tack the small area above the drawstring to hold in place.
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Turn inside out and use a pencil to pop out the corners.I decided to personalize my bags with a monogram (which I put on before sewing both sides together).
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I simply cut the letter out and used a zig-zag stitch to hold in place.DSC00767

Thursday, December 22, 2011

My First Quilt

I finished my first quilt.

It’s not my first quilting project…you may remember my very first quilting project, a runner that my grandma helped me with. I hand-quilted that – never again after machine quilting!

But it is my first quilt that I cut all the pieces out, pieced them together and quilted it by machine all by myself. I made this quilt, “Theta Sisterhood Kites”, for my sister for Christmas. I was able to give it to her early because I really wanted to see her open it.

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I did hand-sew the binding, but I think it makes for a prettier, clean, finished look.DSC00797

I used a diamond/lattice design to symbolize kites – which are a symbol of the sorority that we are both in – Kappa Alpha Theta. I got the pattern from this baby quilt book, but scaled it to be a larger, lap quilt. 
Keepsake Baby Quilts from Scraps: 9 Baby Quilts to Lovingly Stitch for Your Baby or Grandbaby DSC00804

Our colors are Gold & Black, hence the color scheme.
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Here are some other close-ups:
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Being able to give this to my sister was such a gift in itself. She is one of my very best friends and making something special for her to keep was a joy.

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I love you Miss Em!

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Saturday, December 17, 2011

Christmas Card

imageMerry Christmas from our family to yours! Feel free to read about our year in our Christmas letter….just click on Christmas Card above.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Pallet Shelves

I found these super-cute shelves on Pinterest made out of pallets.

While we were in Colorado for Thanksgiving, I decided to get a little crafty and use some of Dad’s old pallets (thanks, Dad!).

It was a very cold day, but Ronny helped me and we cut off the two ends of the pallets.
Pallet Shelves (2 of 5)

Then we cut out the center pieces from the middle of the pallet to use as the bottom of the shelf. (Thanks, Em, for supervising!)
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We adjusted the right height for the base of the shelf, then nailed it in from the back side.
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All done!
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We decided to brand a couple of pieces of old pallet wood to use as decoration in our house also.
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When we got them home, I put felt on the back side of the shelves to prevent scratching the wall. I haven’t hung them all yet, but I did use one on the top of  my photo shelf.
Pallet Shelves (2 of 4)
Pallet Shelves (4 of 4)

Anyone else used pallets for new, creative things?

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Christmas Card Holder

I was inspired by Pinterest (again!) and decided to get a little crafty with a Christmas card holder.

When I saw this on Pinterest…

 

…I immediately thought of using Hank’s paw prints.

And he didn’t mind taking part in this Christmas craft. I started with a plain, white canvas. I used a square, but you could use any size.
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I made sure to use washable paint that wouldn’t harm him. Smile
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Almost done!Christmas card holder (6 of 12)Christmas card holder (7 of 12)

Phew! We made it with no green paw prints across the house either.

To make the trunk, I just used a little brown paint and dabbed it to add texture.
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In order to make this a card holder, I used a glue gun and clothes pins and glued 11 pins to the back after the front was dry. They may be too close together, but I wanted to have options in holding a lot of cards. (After making this…I decided it might look better to paint the pins white, but that’s always something I could do next year…I like the natural look of the wood though.)
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To make the top of the tree, I had some gold fabric, so after cutting out a star, I used Mod Podge to make the star stiff and stuck to the canvas.Christmas card holder (10 of 12)Christmas card holder (11 of 12)

To hold the canvas, I bought a silver picture frame easel. Craft complete…and thanks Hank for the help!Christmas card holder (12 of 12)