Posts Tagged: handmade

Books / Etsy — No Comments
15
Jan 13

New Bookshelf (of shame)

My awesome little desktop bookshelf from Ecolok arrived yesterday! It’s EXACTLY what I was looking for! and well within my price-range! I’ve already spotted at least three other places around the house where we can nestle more of these — heaven knows we could use the extra book storage.

Ecolok desktop booshelf + Pile of Shame

I instantly filled it with (half) my “Pile of Shame” — lonely books, sitting around waiting to be read. I am way, way behind on my book-reading, and don’t know if I’ll ever catch up! Also nestled in there is my ColorCross Crosswords mag (I flippin’ love those things). I’m finishing up my Library of America “H.P. Lovecraft: Tales” that I received for Christmas two years ago; and next on the docket is “The Hangman’s Daughter” by Oliver Pötzsch, received just this last Christmas (thanks, John!)

The Pile of Shame, Part 1 (as pictured above)

The Pile of Shame, Extended (not pictured)

Crafts — No Comments
10
Jan 13

More Adventure Time Love

Adventure Time Needlecraft

Adventure Time Needlecraft details Adventure Time Needlecraft details Adventure Time Needlecraft details

Adventure Time Tableau

Events / Kids — No Comments
30
Dec 12

Handmade Christmas 2012

I made blankets for the kids this year for Christmas, and gave them on Christmas Eve. They both look exhausted in this photo because it was 9:30 at night and we had just gotten back from a long night of dinner and festivities with family.

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Gunner made the cutest paper penguin ornament for the tree. He even stamped the date and signed his name on the back (you can kind of see through it in the picture).

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Nola’s favorite movie currently is Coraline, and as a result, she asked Santa for a “little Nola” for Christmas (because Coraline has a Coraline doll in the movie). It took some scouring on Etsy to find a doll that was within our price range, looked (somewhat) like Nola, and was appropriate for a toddler. Finally found an absolutely adorable “little Nola” from TashiBear — all the way from Australia!

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I could have done without the kids’ waking up at 6:30am after I had stayed up until 3am wrapping presents (the sun wasn’t even up yet), but other than that, it was a wonderful couple of days. We all ended up taking naps on Christmas day, anyway. Can’t go wrong with holiday naps; with bellies full of cookies and pie and good food, and brains full of excitement and fun and love! Magnificently exhausting!

Crafts / Events / Kids — No Comments
31
Oct 12

Halloween 2012: Finn saves Frog Princess with Lady Rainicorn!

We had a great Halloween! Nola as Frog Princess, Gunner as Finn the Human, and me as (at least half of) Lady Rainicorn!

Nola kept the glitter-tulle dress on for all of 10 minutes; long enough to get her pictures taken. Then it was jacket and trick-or-treating time! The grandparents’ house got a good dusting of glitter — you’re welcome, mom & dad!

Nola was a total trooper, and made it around about 10 blocks (up and down the massive hills of my hometown) before asking to be carried the last block back to Grandma’s house. It was such a beautiful fall evening! The fresh air and the fun walk with the kids, everybody all dressed up, it was wonderful.

We decided to skip the local costume contest this year; Gunner said he didn’t really want to go, and I wasn’t going to argue. Halloween on a Wednesday is exhausting!

I found a tutorial online for making the backpack, so I didn’t even have to sweat over the pattern or sizing or anything, and it has a functional zipper! We (I) totally nerded-out, and filled it with episode-accurate items from the Prisoners of Love episode, where Finn just happens to list off all the stuff in his backpack as he’s digging through it; yellow sweater (came in handy), flashlight, water bottle, flute, trail mix, binoculars, and I even got him a “Ninja manual” (a-la the Chamber of Frozen Blades episode). He also found our copy of the Enchiridion (Epictetus’ version, that is) on the bookshelf and stuffed that in there. Maybe he’ll actually READ IT!

I made Nola’s sparkly “gown”; my mom found the long-sleeved, long-leg unitard at Goodwill in a total stroke of luck; and we already had the crown from the dollar section of Jo-Ann’s. The mask and hands are from Etsy shop Mahalo, and they are SO CUTE! The set included some adorable little frog-feet shoe covers that you can’t really see, but it was so wonderful to find a frog mask that wasn’t terrifying and it came as a whole set! Thanks Mahalo!

Here you can see how my knees bend backwards. Don’t worry, it’s just a connective-tissue disorder. But handy for freaking people out.

Now its time to deconstruct my costume back to a plain-old pink hoodie. Not sure what to do with the ginormous rainbow scarf, but it is super-warm! Maybe save it for next year, and Nola can be a rainbow!

Crafts — 1 Comment
26
Jul 12

My Own Blanket

I finally made a blanket for me.

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The fabric is from the “Fandango” line by Kate Spain for Moda, and is now out-of-print (that’s how long I’ve had this project shelved), and the backing is a wonderfully-soft ecru flannel. I stitched in the ditch, because that’s how I like it. The finished size is about 58 x 72 inches.

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These strips were originally intended to be the rest of Nola’s crib bumpers, but then I lost the motivation to complete such an ambitious project. I decided instead to sew them into a blanket. There were actually enough for TWO of these blankets, so I’ve got another one in the works that will be listed in my Etsy shop sometime in the next couple months!

Crafts / Internet — No Comments
9
Jul 12

Handmade Flickr Moved

I’ve moved all of my handmade stuff onto a separate Flickr account. I spent a good few hours last night uploading and labeling and organizing, and this morning I rejoined groups and transferred all my favorites. Now it’s all up and running — stop over and have a look!

Handmade @ flickr.com/photos/adelzeller

Moth Taxonomy @ flickr.com/photos/grungezombie

Crafts / Kids — Comments Off
9
May 12

KCWC Spring 2012 Results

So, yeah, I’m a bit late in posting this. HA-HA! Go figure!

I applied myself to the Elsie Marley Kids Clothing Week Challenge Spring 2012 with blazing ferocity, and the result is a cute little Southerny apron-style sundress! Even I was not expecting it to turn out so “country”, but that’s where the fabric led me. Seems appropriate, since we live in the country, after all.

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This is the first actual article of clothing that I’ve ever made! I started with vintage handmade curtains, acquired from a friend whose grandmother had moved into a retirement home, and who graciously allowed me to ransack her attic and basement for fabrics and other lovelies. I was thinking about actually using the curtains; they were so pretty, but totally not my style. She already had the lace trimmed and the tie-backs ruffled, so I decided to hack them up and sew them back together in a new configuration, like the Frankenstein that I am.

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I used one tie-back and half of one curtain panel, and lined it with muslin for modesty’s sake. I didn’t use a pattern, as they terrify me and my mother has yet to instruct me on the ins-and-outs of such exotic things. I took some measurements, made some plans and adjustments and poorly-drawn diagrams, and used a cereal bowl to cut out the curvatures of the armpits — because that’s how we do things around here.

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I love it, it’s adorable and precious — but Nola is less than thrilled. The whole week while I was working on it, she would ask, “Mommy workin’ on my dress?” Yet every time I try to put it on her, she says “No! No! I don’t want to wear it!” Freakin’ 2-year-olds, I swear. We’ll see how much actual wear it will get before she grows out of it. Glad I didn’t spend the extra time installing those pockets I was contemplating.

Maybe I’ll bust out another panel and make her something a little less “contemporary” and a little more “active”, so she can do all those things that her impulsive two-year-old brain compels her to do — i.e. chasing the dogs, rolling in the grass, jumping in mud puddles, throwing rocks at *whatever*, kicking her brother, etc.

Oh, but definitely with pockets this time.

Crafts / Events / Kids — Comments Off
14
Feb 12

B-MO Valentine! (with Printable PDF)

If you haven’t already guessed, we love Adventure Time! So, (like the crazy person I am) I suggested to Gunner that we use the papercraft Beemo from the Cartoon Network website that he loves so much. He said, “Yeah! And we can make him red!” … and it all spiraled from there.

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I adapted the pattern so there would be a box-style flap opening at the top, made Beemo red, put a “to” and “from” on the back in a readily-available area, added some hearts where Gunner wanted them, and the Adventure Time logo on the lid for good measure.

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Last night was spent cutting and folding Valentine’s-themed BMO boxes and filling them with candy.

Twenty-four of them.

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I now have blisters and papercuts. Worth it. Gunner is happy and my A.D.D. hyperfocus has been satiated for another day. Grabbed some quick photos of them this morning (I actually remembered to photograph one of the cool porjects I finished!) and packed them up and off to school.

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I hope they are received well! Gunner has one of his own, too, of course — to add to his three other Beemo papercrafts of varying sizes. They’re like a little family now.

I know this is a really last-minute Valentine’s post, but if you’re looking for a quick and fun Valentine for the Adventure Time fan(s) in your life, you can download a pritable PDF of the box by clicking the image below!

B-MO Valentine PDF

Hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine’s Day!

Crafts / Projects — Comments Off
27
Jan 12

Update: Made Things

I’ve added a bunch of stuff to the “Made Things” album on my Facebook page, and I wanted to post them here in the blog, too.

Scandinavian-print Tote Bag

Scandinavian-print Tote Bag, made for my mom

Scandinavian-print Tote Bag

Scandinavian-print Tote Bag, detail

Deluxe Marker Roll

Deluxe Marker Roll with Velcro closure

Deluxe Marker Roll

Deluxe Marker Roll, detail rolled

Superhero Mask

Superhero Mask, felt

Impromptu Dog Toys

Impromptu Dog Toys, flannel and fleece

Crafts / Kids / Projects — 1 Comment
27
Jan 12

Adventure Time!

I made a 4-foot Finn doll for Gunner! This was my first attempt at a real “plush” sewing project, and it turned out pretty darn good (and big)! I call him Proto-Finn; I’ve made some planned adjustments to the pattern so I can make another and fix some of the wonkiness. He’ll still have the same noodle’y limbs, though — that’s the best part!!

Gunner & Finn

He’s got magnets in his mouth and buttons for eyes, so we can make some other facial expressions for him, too! He still needs a backpack, and Jake the Dog will be made sometime in the future. Mathematical!

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