Isn’t it lovely how you can create a perfect alter ego with one picture? This is my true self: organized with a whimsical flair. In other words “practically perfect in every way.”
THIS is my wicked twin, alternate life ego who broadly sweeps all the junk on the table away and pretends to create a warm inviting space instead of putting her toys where they belong.
Time to go clean up. 
Oh and by the way that trivet is inspired by the doily trivets in Applique Your Way.
My first Thing-a-Day submission; a day late, but hey here it is:
Chloe is eight and likes turtles and the color green. This is for her birthday. I used peridot beads, and Swarovski crystals.
It’s time for the thing-a-day project again. As the organizers describe it:
Thing-a-day is a yearly creative sprint that is held every February and brings together hundreds of creative minds. The idea is simple: sign up is open to anyone and participants commit to create one new thing a day every day for the entire month and post it on the collective blog.
Participants can work in any medium and are free to follow-up on their commitment or not.
Sign up closes today, February 1st, at midnight.
This year, as last year, I’m organizing a Thing-a-Day swap and here are the rules:
On March 1st you will send one thing you made during the month of February to your swap partner. This will be more like a Secret Santa type swap in that you won’t know who has your name. This swap is open to up to 24 people who have also signed up for Thing-a-Day 2010. If you want to participate, please send your Thing-a-day username and your mailing address, by February 10th to mycraftevolution(at)gmail(dot)com. If you sign up, PLEASE follow through with your commitment. It is extremely disappointing to put a great deal of effort and dedication into a thing only to receive nothing.
Oh, and my thing-a-day contributor name is Simone, my affiliated posterous site is groundsel.posterous.com, and here is a link to a collection of my thing-a-day posts from last year, and this is a collection of things swap participants made last year.
You probably have all heard of Kayte Terry, successful author of Complete Embellishing and Applique your Way. But have you heard of her brother Jesse? Last year Jesse Terry came out with his debut album, The Runner. It makes some wonderful music to craft to.
Jesse has been described as writing “intelligent songs that are thankfully devoid of any of that ludicrous “Look girls! I’m sensitive!” posturing” (C. Dixon - Melodic Sunburst) and his music has been characterized as a “mix of contemporary pop and blues rock with a country vibe (C. Hauff - Hardrock Haven). But judge for yourself; you can find his music on his web site, his myspace page, on Lala, and on itunes.
Two years ago, I made my mother a beaded watch. In September, she returned the beads and watch to me because one of the strings broke. Since my parents are visiting me this week, I thought I’d better start working on an improved version of the watchband. I found a design by Lilli Brennan in Making Bead and Wire Jewelry that I liked. Then I had the brilliant idea of enlisting my dad’s help in the project. I basically handed him the jig, wire, beads, and instructions and told him “Please make this.” As a former watchmaker and surgeon I thought he’d be uniquely qualified for such an undertaking. As you can see, he did not disappoint me. My mom has her watch back and maybe my dad will become interested in further projects along this line. If you’re interested in more information about making wire jewelry with jigs, check out the WigJig site.
Happy New Year! My parents just arrived for a two week stay, so there hasn’t been much crafting time, but for those of you looking for some projects, here is a roundup of ways to recycle pillowcases into something else.
This tutorial is by Max and Ellie and features detailed instructions.
This tutorial was designed by Lee-Ann from Whoopsie Daisies and featured on Vintage Indie. It’s made from two pillowcases and has those always important pockets.
I found this kid’s dress tutorial on Craftleftovers It was designed and written up by Australian blogger and author Alissa Devanny of Refashion.
Brandy of Minivan Life put together this tutorial. I think the dress and the bottoms together would make for a cute, complete set of pajamas.
Oh, and don’t forget that you can always cut up those pillows and sheets to make fabric yarn.
We recently had a family discussion whether to call the next year twenty-ten or two thousand ten. What is your preference? Whatever it is, here’s a quick roundup of a few calendar printouts and tutorials I found:
First, an oldie that is always amazing, the incredible Pocket Mod:
An 8.5 x11 sheet folds into a booklet chockfull of information including your personal calendar.
Next up is this cool pocket calendar by Sam and Cheryl of Creature Comforts
I love Jan Brett’s artwork, but never realized that she maintains a website filled with activities, games, and a 2010 Calendar that captures her whimsical work.
Here is a clever little calendar by Grafish Design
And finally, for those of us who have resolved to do a better job remembering birthdays, this is a tutorial by Becky as posted on Cut Out + Keep for a birthday calendar:
For me, this year has been the year of the rooster. Here are 3 renditions of the same design:
I love how the different colors and fabrics give each rooster a completely different personality. I think I’ll try a black, white, and red rooster next.
. . . as envisioned by my eight-year old. Wonder what she’s worried about?
Have a merry and crafty holiday. Thanks for hanging out with me this year.
Simone
This one is for my daughter’s buddy. A stocking made from a sweater his mom wore when she was pregnant.
His name is on top in Unown language.
His favorite childhood friends Pijon and Bunny are peeking out of a pocket. The only design flaw of this stocking is that the top doesn’t stretch out for those really big presents. Oh well, next year.
