Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Propping up the Fire

Yes, I now can peel carrots while watching the 4th season of "Mad Men."


Santa brought Jeff and I a Kindle Fire for Christmas and even though I have a pool of the Kindle Cozies that I've made to store it in, I also wanted a case that when opened, would hold the Fire in place and prop it up at an angle for viewing while doing something else (idle hands, eh?)

It wasn't too difficult to design, since I had made a custom iPad cover for our Pastor Sandi a few months ago. This one just needed an extra flap with an extra button so I could close it.

I used a piece of "Lexus" (really nice) vinyl that I got at the store and some black corduroy. Jeff will be using it too, you know, so I couldn't go girlie on this one!

I'm thinking about marketing a few of them on my Etsy page - what do you think?
  

Saturday, December 10, 2011

For Those Quick Gifts

The "Make It and Take It" at the store today was inspiring!

Even though our Jo-Ann's is not an education store, we do participate in the company's "Make It and Take It" demos, and most of the time, I get to lead them.  Today's offering involved making spiral paper ornaments, using one of the holiday Martha "You-Know-Who's" paper cutting template and cutter.

If you remember cutting out paper snowflakes as a child, then you'll understand...the template is triangular in shape, a top and bottom to it with a hinge, and it has all these grooves in it to accomodate the little hand held cutter.  You just guide the cutter through the grooves, open it up and take the paper out.  You then fold the opposite edges together and glue each one.  Open it up and you're done! Hmmm...

Since I'm more of a fabric then paper gal, I started thinking that if I took one of the completed paper ones home, I could make them out of fabric.  Hmmm...

Using Christmas prints, heavy duty Wonder Under and some two-sided fabric tape, this is what I came up with - so, when I hear "Dear, do you have any little artsy/crafty things I can give as gifts? I forgot I need a little something for so-and-so and that other person." "Yes, my love. It will cost you a kiss, and a promise to do some laundry (or other fun chore).