Pretty Custom Silhouette Pillow

Looky, looky! I'm so happy with how this wedding gift turned out!

I made a custom stencil from a photo of the couple and painted it on with fabric paint.  The big challenges were finding a plain white pillow and figuring out how to wrap it. I ended up using a meter of tulle and a big ribbon.

Festival of The Arts and a New Friend

Turner Valley sure has great support for artists, artisans and crafters. I was really impressed with the organization and the turnout. Making it all better was the fact that Sarah of Bubblegum Sass (from the Etsy Alberta Street Team) was right there, with her helpful hubby to keep me company.

In other news, I was lucky enough to finagle a trade, which scored me this perfect bag for all my crochet gear! It reminds me of Gumpy Bears cute little Care Bear belly!

DIY Labels!

I finally started making my own labels. There are so many methods, but I finally chose to use iron on transfer paper and ribbon or twill tape.

First, I made a sheet of labels in Keynote (PC users can use Powepoint). I added and re sized my logo to fit on the 1 inch ribbon, then copied and pasted as many times as it would fit on a sheet of paper. You must flip your logo so that it's a mirror image.

Next I cut the labels out of the transfer paper, cut strips of ribbon to size and ironed very thoroughly.

Most of them I made as pictured to fold into a loop and sew into seams, but I also made some with my logo horizontal, tucked the ends in and zigzag stitched straight onto a flat surface.

Easy-peasy and no turnover time!

Patchwork Market Bag

Look what I made! I wanted to try my hand at incorporating simple patchwork into a non-quilt project. Turned out to be a lovely gift for a lovely girlfriend!

I used Hilda's technique for stamping with fabric paint to add a personal touch. Adorable from the back and front!

Daniel's 4th Birthday Carnival!

Some photos from Daniel's party. Such fun! My favorite touches are the popcorn boxes, the prize table and the ridiculous attempt I made at turning our shed into a big top with vinyl tablecloths.

We had face painting, tattoos, a prize table, cupcakes, and carnival music. A friend of our juggled for us (so grateful for you Rochelle, Ben, Mom, Natasha and Anna!) and played juggling games with the kids.

Game Ideas:

Squirt n' Win: Set 3 gold tees up on a foam block and top with ping pong balls. Squirt off with water guns (or in our case, squirt animals!)

Bowling: We set one of my mini bowling sets up on a long desk top (removed from the base) and let the kids go nuts.

Fishing: I bought a plastic fishing set from the dollar store (I wanted to make a felt or wooden one, but I'm not Martha...) and put them in a bucket of water.

Beanbag Toss: Always a favorite!

We gave out one ticket for trying and two for winning. The prizes ranged from 1-6 tickets.

I wanted to play a a basketball game (since we already have a little hoop) and a sidewalk chalk target with wet sponge type game, but it was SO busy! The biggest hit of all was definitely the prize table though! It was packed with all kinds of prizes (shopping for a few weeks in clearance sections made for a fun selection of great toys).

Adorable No-Sew Felt Box

Check this template out!

Adorable! I used very stiff felt and embellished it with sequin trim. Perfect wrap for little gifts.