Vintage Typewriter to Vision Box

A few moths ago, I got an email from the fabulous Mark Montano asking if I would review a book he had coming out and write a blurb for it. I get fake-out emails frequently (I have a LOT of "friends" who get stranded overseas and need me to wire them cash) so I was a little skeptical but, sure enough, there was a scanned book attached. I read over it and, really and truly thought it was great so I wrote a little blurb I figured would never see the light of day. Well, guess what- Mark's book "Vision Box Idea Book" is now available at Amazon.com (and I assume your local bookstore, if those places are still in existence) and I'm positively giddy to see my name in such a great crafting book. Even better, I was quite seriously inspired by the message in the book [cue the revery music/ fade out]...

Somewhere in between seeing the sneak peek of Mark's book and getting a physical copy (and seeing that my endorsement made the final draft- have I mentioned that part?), I happened upon an old, out of shape typewriter at my local hipster second hand store. It was $9. I snatched it up and immediately became full blown psychosis paranoid that someone else in the store (empty) might catch wind of my unprecedented luck and wrench it right out of my mama bear-like embrace. It doesn't really type and some other mechanisms are out of wack but it had, as they say in real estate, good bones. Best of all, it's all mine.

DecoArts had just sent me a delicious little stash of Americana paint (thanks, guys!) and all I had to do was paint it my current favorite color, add some pink accent and be done. Right? No. Something wasn't quite "done" about it. So, my typewriter stayed that way until my copy of Vision Box Idea Book arrived. YES! The interior of a pretty out of shape typewriter is CLEARLY a Vision Box space for a little ballerina and cupcake fantasy scene. Even my 11 year-old son noticed this, without prompting, after spending a few mornings flipping through Mark's book (which I had coincedentally placed directly next to the painted but otherwise unadorned typewriter).

So here it is. A little Vision Box Idea Book inspired typewriter. I think it's adorable and I must admit I'm kind of proud of it even if (or maybe because) it really didn't take much time or effort on my part. And even if my 11 year-old would swear to you that he (with the help of Mark's book) thought up the whole idea all by himself. Either way, I feel like I've taken a wallflower of a typewriter and transformed it into a belle worthy of a ball. Now I have my eye on the gaping space (more of a large box really, when you think about it) that is our living room fireplace. You think Mr. Angela Daniels would notice if I... ?

Turn Your Swag into Something Fancy (dress to tote tutorial)

I go to crafting conventions. A LOT of them. And one thing I never, ever learn is to step away from the swag. If it's free, I'm like a moth to a flame. Because of that, I have collected a lot of corporate drawstring bags. When I get home and unpack, I am confronted with the reality that my greediness has materialized as bags I'll never use with corporate logos splashed all over them. And that's where the guilt comes in... 

And if you're still puzzling over what I did, it's as simple as taking a skirt or dress you no longer wear (or one you snuck from your kid's closet- and yes, my daughter was fine with this since I gave her the bag when she got home from school) and cutting it to the size of the bag and doing a simple stitch around the opening of the convention bag to attach the skirt or dress.

The first time I made one of these bags. I had bought the most DARLING dress on Ebay. From Korea. Um. Apparently my 5'10" self isn't exactly the same size small as what the size small women in Korea wear. To say the least. When I opened my box, it looked like I had purchased a Barbie dress. But it was SO cute, I just couldn't give it to Goodwill. So my first convention bag makeover dress was born. And a little disclaimer, I currently work as a Lead Fiskateer for Fiskars so this PARTICULAR bag in the photo below, well, I kind of love it because I designed it so I didn't sew down the bottom of the dress on this one- I wanted my fellow Fiskateers to see how I could add a cover to our Fiskateer bags but still represent =). Embellished with Prima flowers and a few other goodies from my papercrafting stash:

Low-sew, Dress to Apron Tutorial

After making the Guilty Crafter episode where I turned a dress that didn't look great on me into a very cute apron (complete with "bosom" pocket), I totally lost the apron. I hate it when I am disorganized like that! Well, luckily I found the apron this week and finished it up. I think it turned out cute, cute, cute!

You can remind yourself how I did this by watching the video tutorial here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWbq0sP0pSk&list=UUEl3EGFoDO0FLPfxcu54jYg&index=2&feature=plcp

Anthropologie Wannabe "Mr. Rogers" Skirt Guilty Crafter Video

I guess I'll just blast the internet with this video because, well, I think the skirt came out so cute, I'm excited!

Anatomy of an April Fools' Day Lunch

I know. I am a little obsessed but since April Fools' Day doesn't fall on a school day this year, I decided that I would do one extra day of pranking and I've already gotten my kids' lunches ready while they were outside playing today. So, I thought I would share in case you'd like to extend your April Fools' Day out until tomorrow too. You can always borrow ideas from my Anatomy of an April Fools' Day lunch from last year or take some tips from this year's lunch:

Cheetos: I am recycling the carrots in the Cheetos bag from last year because they need a little veg in their lunch and it's a good, easy trick. You simply open the bottom of the Cheetos bag carefully, eat all the Cheetos (duh) and then use a dry napkin to gently wipe the inside of the bag clean and then add a bunch of carrots and seal the bottom of the bag (simple scrapbooking tape runner does the trick).

Gatorade: The Gatorade won't fool them for long- my kids only get water in their lunch usually so they're going to be suspicious of this trick. I emptied out all the Gatorade and replaced the contents with Jello and let it set up overnight in the refrigerator. I used the leftover Jello from the oranges I made for breakfast this morning. I'll add a spoon at the bottom of their lunch so they can eat the Jello too- a great reason to use Gatorade bottles for this trick because they have a larger neck and opening than, say, water bottles.

Cheese Sandwich: The sandwich is a recycled classic. I made these "grilled cheese" for dinner a few years ago. All you need is one of those frozen Sara Lee poundcakes (makes it easier to cut into slices if it's frozen) and some dyed frosting. For tomorrow's school lunches, I'm not doing anything special to the bread but if you're serving this at home, I recommend browning the sides of the "bread" in a little butter- just liked real grilled cheese. You get a really authentic look that way.

Cat Treats: My wild card this year is the cat food. I know, it's weird but I couldn't help myself. The packaging was too purrfect. Plus, SO many cereals look suspiciously like cat and dog food. I made sure to buy a dried cat treat to make cleaning out the packaging easier. To clean it out, I dumped out the cat treats (yuck) and swirled white vinegar and warm water around in the packaging. I also did a few cycles of non-toxic dish soap and rinsed really well. I definitely didn't want a cat food smell messing up my treat! Once the package was thoroughly dried, I added in the "cat food" and completely sealed up the bottom (again, scrapbook tape runner works just fine). On first glance, it will look like this is a completely sealed bag from the manufacturer but I know my kids will catch on quickly and delight in grossing out their friends by eating their "cat treats" (Cracklin' Oat Bran cereal works well but Reeses Cereal Puffs, Coco Puffs, Chocolate Cheerios are all great too).

Anatomy of an April Fools' Day Breakfast

Jello in oranges? An April Fools' Day classic. I added my own twist to breakfast by carefully opening a yogurt, scooping it all out, washing and drying the container and then adding in dried cereal and carefully gluing the cap back on. And for the record, I wasn't sure the orange with jello would slice easily- it totally does and the jello stays in place really well. I didn't have to modify the classic jello recipe in any way.

Last year, I tried to take the idea to the next level and I very carefully scooped banana out of a peel and replaced it with lemon jello which I then tightly wrapped with saran wrap while it set. It worked but really, the oranges make more sense. You can see my banana trick here and you can also see my version of a classic April Fools' Day "fried egg" here- I was pretty pleased with my poppy seed addition. And of course, you still have time to duplicate my April Fools' Day LUNCH from last year too.

Happy April Fools' Day everyone!

Favorite Stuffed Animal Craft

 This is probably the most personal crafting item I have ever made and I just love it (if i do say so myself). Do you have a little one who is SUPER attached to a particular stuffed animal or (*shudder*) doll? When I was little it was my Eeyore. I loved his whole mane and tail off and I still have him. For my little girl, it's her stuffed bunny, Bun-Bun. I think I found the perfect crafty tribute to Bun-Bun and my project is a featured post at FedEx Out of Office this week. You can check out the step-by-step and the finished project here: http://www.outofoffice.fedex.mediacdt.com/blog/making-art-come-alive-3d-touches. I'd love if you'd share this- FedEx is most excellent to work with and I'd love them to keep asking me to guest! =)

Hunger Games Crafts

During winter break, my son kept insisting that I read The Hunger Games trilogy. He had just finished it and really, really wanted me to read it too. I kept putting it off until one morning, he brought me breakfast in bed WITH my Kindle- all cued up to the first book in the series. By the time the weekend was over, he had brought me breakfast in bed TWICE, entertained his sister and made sure I had enough alone time to finish all three books. As he knew I would, I loved the series and we were both excited to have someone in the house to talk about the characters with. This week, I'm taking him to the midnight opening show of the movie (which he thinks is extra amazing because it's on a school night).

 

AND since I love a theme, it seems only fitting that my kiddo and I wear something Hunger Games related to the show, right? He already has a Hunger Games District 12 shirt he got for Christmas so that just leaves me. My brilliant plan was to ask my most talented crafter friends to make Hunger Games accessories to inspire me. You can see each individual blog post I wrote for their projects at www.fiskateers.com or you can just click on the projects photos above to go directly to their blogs. Hunger Games crafting inspiration for DAYS! I'm thinking I was pretty smart to think of this although if I had been smarter, I would have gotten them to send me these great accessories so I didn't have  to make my own. Next time!

Running with Scissors Wine with Upcycled Sweater Gift Bag

Remember that episode of "The Guilty Crafter" I did before Christmas (video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G01ZGKUA0E0)? Well, sometimes I make a craft just to try it and then NEVER make it again. Ever. I'm trying to change that. So, recently when I found the most PERFECT wine EVER for the VPs I do work for at Fiskars (you know the company I'm talking about, they're famous for their iconic orange-handled scissors), I HAD to get a few bottles to send them. I mean, really. The bottles have scissors all over them which is perfect for any crafter (or VP of a big company of with a crafting manufacturing line) and, by all accounts, is really good wine too.

To jazz up my gift, I used one orange thrift store wool sweater (Fiskars corporate colors are orange to match their famous scissors, naturally). Just like in my video, I simply cut of a portion of the sleeve and my craft was practically done. To add more interest, I cut a slit in the back of the sleeve to thread a piece of coordinating ribbon through, added a custom tag and button and... done! So easy and so perfect. The only extra bit of crafting advice I have is that using wool sweaters is ideal- no matter how wide the sleeve is, you can wash and dry the sleeves to tighten the fibers to make a more snug fit for your wine bottle.

If you are looking for a good hostess gift for a crafting party, you can find Running with Scissors wine online through a Google search HERE. When I last checked the offical website at http://runningwithscissorswine.com/ was under construction but when it's back up and running, you may be able to order directly from their too. I am on the hunt for more of the wine- sending it to a few more co-workers and I want to try it too! Have you tried it? Did you love it?

DIY Barbie Headband

To know me is to know that I'm freaked out by dolls. I always have been. My fear probably traces back to watching doll-centric episodes of The Twilight Zone when I was a little girl but whatever the reason, I don't like having them around and yet I'm fascinated by them all at the same time. People send me creepy doll photos all the time to torture me- I seem to be a magnet for such things. So it was with a little trepidation this morning that I violently ripped the legs off a Tinkerbell Barbie so I could hot glue her torso to a tiara headband for my daughter to wear to "Crazy Hair Day" at school. I'm going to have to sleep with one eye open until I make amends with Tinkerbell Barbie. I just hope I can get her legs back on....