Quick Inspiration

When in doubt, CRAFT

Hey all! I'm back from Michigan and back to the grind!

My week off was WONDERFULLY FULL!

I started off with a little Happy Hour on Friday, then headed up to my parent's place on Saturday. Here's some pictures from the way up.

After some leaf hunting (for a super secret craft), we headed to the yacht club for a chili cook-off. My mom's white chili placed (of course!).

On Sunday, we headed to church in Manistee. Then we went on a little tour, including A&W rootbeer floats and watching the waves.

Then, it was some pumpkin picking and our daily hike. To finish up our first full day up north, we had a nice snuggly fire.

Then, Mosby decided he was a big boy and was going to sit right by the fire.

It took some getting used to...

And some encouragement...

But, he finally decided to relax at a safe distance.

Monday brought a busy day. My mom and I left for a quick trip to Traverse City to run some wedding errands. Eleven hours and seventeen stops later, we got everything we needed.

Some highlights were a HUGE pumpkin! 

Lunch and a beer at Northpeak Brewing.

 

 AND an early Christmas present!

My mom and I went into this little funky mall and my mom pointed out this table. It's so cute and just the perfect size for a sewing table (my current craft table won't support my sewing machine). I LOVED it, so my mom gave it to me as an early gift. HOORAY! Thanks Mom and Dad!

On Tuesday, we ran into Ludington for some errands and lunch with my mom's friend, April. Before they passed away, grandparents also used to live in Ludington. As a memorial to my grandpa, my grandma bought a brick by a little clock tower.

 

Tuesday night, we had Jeremy's folks over for 

dinner. As always, we had a great time with them. We all missed Jeremy though.


We started our Wednesday with a little hike with our friend, Karrie!

 

After our hike,Wednesday was full of wedding crafts. They are all top secret for the time being. I'll let you in on a few on Sunday, after the wedding!


Thursday and Friday were full of BABIES!!! I babysat for Sofia, then got to meet my friend, Lizzy's little girl, Audrey Helen. She was only a week old and so sweet & new!


Saturday was all about EMILY! We had her bachelorette party, which included mani/pedis, sushi, and lots of wine! It was so nice to see all of her friends!

I spent Sunday recovering from all the fun!

This week is equally as busy! We celebrated our friend Sean's birthday last night. I did have time for a quick craft.

Going back to school after a break is always tough, even if it's just a week. There are a lot of changes going on at my school right now. I decided that with all the changes, I am going to treat the quarter like it's a new year. I decided I needed a little something new for my desk to motivate me during my "new school year". 

I started with a piece of cardboard.

And painted it a pretty grey.

Then, after the paint was dry, I put the stickers over it.

Then, I painted pink over it and waited for it to dry. I peeled the stickers off. Here's the finished result. It's not perfect, but it will be a nice remind at work.

This weekend, we celebrate Emily and Tony! I couldn't bet more excited! Until next time, keep crafting!

SB 

Chilly Weather Headbands

Headbands Galore!

Hi Everyone! I'm a little late in my post this week. The funny thing is, I was a busy little bee this week, with lots of completed crafts. I had my final (we thought) knitting class, I completed 8 pairs of pants, and a new craft, all by Thursday night. But THEN, I came up to my parent's place, got completely distracted by the beautiful fall colors of Michigan and completely forgot to write my post.

So, let's go back to my knitting classes. I will confess, at first, they didn't go well. I want to give you my true impression, so I will leave off the name/website of the shop where I took the classes. The first class (and part of the second class) were very frustrating. Now, you should know, I don't like HATE when I am bad at things. During this first week of class this was coupled with my instructor yelling "NO" every time I made a mistake. I came home and told Jeremy I was not going back to class. He said OK, then reminded me that I told him the same thing after my first sewing class. 

I may be slightly dramatic.

It got better. I got better at knitting and not wincing when my instructor yelled "NO" at me.

Anyway, last week was our fourth and final class. I decided that I wanted to make a headband to wear in colder weather while running. I worked my little fingers off to make sure that my project was ready for finishing touches for that last class. I FINISHED all the knitting! When I got to class, my instructor helped me with binding the two ends together for a finished product. 

Here it is! My first knitting project!

It turned out WAY better than I had excepted! AND, I have another knitting class to learn how to do my next project. All of the lights went out on the block that the knitting store is on, so we get to take another class! I have a new special new project in mind. I can't wait to share it with you when it's done!

On to the pants! I FINALLY got all of the fabric in for the pants. They all turned out really well! A shout out to the top salesperson for SB's Sweatshop of Love, my husband, Jeremy! He sold 5 pairs of pants! And when he brought the finished product in, he got 2 more orders!

Also, thanks to my most loyal customer, Michelle! She bought 2 pairs for her dad and cousin, and just put in another order for a pair for her brother. (Part of my project this week was a "loyal customer gift" to her!)

And finally, onto my project for the week. As I was sewing, staring at, and surrounded by fleece this week, I started to form an idea for the scraps.

Apparently head wear has been on my mind this week, because I thought to make a warm headband for the cooler, outdoor tailgating and games.

I started with a scrap of fabric.

Then, I cut it so it was about 5.5 inches wide and about 20 inches long.

Next, I folded one side of width in on itself and sewed. This gave me a clean line. (Make sure you are working with the "wrong side" up for this step.)

After that is completed, fold your fabric hotdog style (long ways), and sew into a tube.

Flip it so the "right side" shows.

Then, make the fabric into a circle. Insert the side that was not sew into the side that was sewn.

Sew the opening closed.

And TADA! It's ready to warm your ears!

Now, you may have noticed that the fabric magically changed when I put it on my head.

The Cubs fabric is Michelle's "loyal customer gift". She purchased a pair of Cubs pants for her dad. They like to go to games together, so I sewed her up a headband to wear during the home openers and playoff games (if the Cubs can ever get there).

The BEAUTIFUL Michigan State headband is a gift for my parent's friend, Ann. She and her husband, Craig, are loyal MSU fans with season passes. Ann also helped out with some of our wedding plans, and I thought this would be a nice little thank you.

I have TONS to tell you guys about my days up in Michigan. There are lots of beautiful colors, cute little towns, pumpkins, seeing friends and meeting new ones, and crafts going on up here! BUT, that's a post for next week! I'll leave you with a sneak preview of the beautiful colors I am seeing!

Don't worry, I pulled over to take this!

Until next time, keep crafting!

SB

 

"American Apparel" Headband

Rip-Off American Apparel Headband

Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you are right.

This quote was a thought that came to me this week while I was running (YUP! Still running, up to 17 minutes at a time!).

At first, I thought this was a great thought to share with my students. Then, after thinking about how I felt while writing last week's post, I realized this thought was a good thought for me. 

And, with that thought, I had a much better week.

On Monday, I saw my crafty friend, Cathryn, and her daughter, Emma. I hadn't seen them in MONTHS (since I was a Ms. instead of a Mrs.). Emma is now 10 months old, barking at passing dogs and waves at unfriendly strangers. In short, she's adorable!

On Tuesday, I spent time with little Miss Sofia. Look how big she's getting! Here's her 2 month picture, with the iron ons I mentioned in this post.

On Wednesday and Thursday, I was busy with work, home visits, knitting, and making a delicious lasagna.

Friday I went to (an extended) Happy Hour.

Saturday was a busy but successful day. I went to a couple home visits (yes, it's what it sounds like. I visit my students' homes twice a year.) Then, it was a day of football, catching up with friends, and crafting. I worked on my knitting, my craft for the week, and my  football pants (all of the fabric FINALLY came in). Mosby was a BIG help.

Saturday night, Jeremy and I had a date night that included a pre-dinner drink at The Whistler and dinner at The Real Tencochtitlan. It was nice to have a night out just by ourselves.

When I woke up this morning, I wanted to get started on finishing up my craft. Then, it didn't look right. It didn't turn out at all. I won't go into the details. BUT I remembered by saying for the week. And then I KNEW I could make something else, something better.

I used the a scrap from the week's project. I started with a scrap about 20 inches long and 5 inches wide.

Then I cut it length-wise into three strips.

 I sewed a line width-wise about an inch in from one side.

Then, I braided it until it wrapped tightly around my head while it was stretched out (this material is part cotton, part elastic, so it has nice stretch). I sewed another width-wise line and cut off the excess, so I was left with another inch or so.

Then, I sewed the two excess inches together.

When they were secure, I cut off the excess inches.

And, it was ready to wear.

Now, here's the coolest part. I got a 3 pack of these type of headbands from American Apparel for about $10. I made this one from the scraps of an $5 piece of fabric (bought with a coupon, of course).

You can see mine is wider, but all I'd have to do to make in more narrow is cut thinner strips!

Now, I off to watch the Lions with my boys.

Mosby's new jersey

Then, later we are off to the Zac Brown Band concert with friends! HOORAY! Happy Sunday, everyone!

Until next time, keep crafting!

SB