I haven’t posted for a while because I’m busy with tedious little projects around the house, mostly painting.  With limited time, I’m working bit by bit and there isn’t much to share.  So I thought I’d leave you something pretty to look at — glowing dewdrops collected by a crafty little spider on my back porch.

She can do magic with her “use what you have” lifestyle, can’t she?

Soothing gray Kona cottons (Ash, Charcoal and Medium Grey with Coal spread out underneath), a bright, spicy binding fabric and loads of tasty little picture windows to applique … this one’s going to be sweet!  Even though I pre-cut the circles, this project will probably be tucked away for a while.  It looks like it will be a lot of fun though, so I’m looking forward to being able to get back to it.  I love the quiet grays mixed with bright colors.

And just because he’s cute, here’s my cat stalking my coffee:

Have a great weekend!

A hexie pillow:

An owl family tree banner, with a little egg in the nest for the owlet on the way:

A bottle cover ( fabric cut 6″x15″, sewn with a 1/4″ seam will fit an American Honey bottle perfectly!):

A wordy book cover:

And a handsome door greeter:

If you want more details on any of these,  let me know.  I guess any of these actually could be a blog post, I’ve just neglected them!

Many keep it simple, like this sample living room set up in a furniture store window.  After walking for hours, that couch looked good.

Some go BIG, like this gigantic Dior purse.  There’s no way you can walk by without knowing what’s inside the store.  When you realize this is how they chose to cover up construction, you’ll be impressed with their attention to every detail.

This clever storefront brings the people right into the advertising with a live shot of Times Square displayed on a billboard.

(My husband and I are seated at the little red table at the bottom middle of the sign.)

Every time we went by, we saw people stopped in their tracks, staring at the sign.  It certainly attracted attention, but I wonder how many of those people fought traffic to cross the street and shop?  Or did they just stare at themselves for a while and then continue walking?

The Lego store shows just a peek of a color to draw you in.  Is that a snake?  A dragon?

Go in the store and follow the trail, you’ll be rewarded with a big smile.  And an awesome Lego replica of Rockefeller Center.

But my favorite may have been at Diesel.

I managed to resist.

I didn’t spend any money, but I did laugh.

Update: The BLAH fabric became an iPad cover. If you’d like to buy it, it’s available for sale in my Etsy shop!

Wouldn’t Mojo look great on a T-shirt?

Original phone pic:

And altered to give the look I’d want printed on a T-shirt:

Isn’t he a handsome goofball?

If I try it, I’ll post the results.  I’d love to see your shirt if you make one!

Sadly, we are unable to attend the Wilson 1st Annual Wold Cup Beer Pong Tournament.  The “Uniforms Welcome” added to the bottom of the invitation sounded like a challenge though, so I made these for the hosts. (Forgive me, crafty Meghan, I appliqued with fleece instead of the cotton you recommended.  I know you were right, but I just couldn’t resist a plush red Solo cup!)

I hope everyone has a great time and GO TEAM WILSON!!!

We’ve scheduled a family vacation for June and I’m already working on details.  (I love having something to plan!)  My daughters are still using little-girl-going-to-Grandma’s style luggage that they outgrew years ago.  It’s time for them to have some real luggage to take on this trip and into adulthood.

I’ll buy them some nice roller suitcases, but for carry-ons I wanted to upcycle some vintage luggage.  I asked what they might want painted on their luggage and earned a couple eye rolls.  “Mom’s crafting at us again!” But then I said the magic words, “Would you like a horde logo?” OH. YES. THEY. WOULD.  In their spare time, my sweet little girls are hardcore World of Warcraft gamers.

If you want to personalize some luggage, you can create a stencil for yourself using Contact paper.  Draw or trace on the paper side, keeping in mind that you’ll need to reverse your design.  Cut out carefully and apply to your luggage.  Smooth down all around the edges, but if your suitcase is textured you may want to paint carefully from the stencil toward the middle of your design.  This helps keep paint from being pushed underneath the stencil into the little surface grooves.

I use fabric paint because it’s meant to be flexible when dry.  I was told the horde logo should be red, but my red paint looked really pink.  I’m not into World of Warcraft myself, but I’m guessing pink horde logos just won’t do.  I started with a little metallic black around the edges, then mixed the black and red together to fill in.  Carefully peel off the stencil while the paint is still wet.  (Waiting until it dries may cause some of the paint to dry on the stencil and peel up right along with it.)  After it’s dry, you may want to apply a few coats of varnish to protect the paint against scuffs.

Hooray for second chances!

I hope they’ll approve!  (You can see my own Twitter luggage here.)

This has nothing to do with crafting (other than the urge I have to use these vivid colors in SOMETHING) but I felt a need to share it anyway.  This is a little leaf I found in the road on my morning walk.   It looked like Mother Nature had just blotted her lipstick before the start of another busy day, and it make me smile.

Have a great day and stay aware – it’s a beautiful world!