Owl Print Kindle Case for Hannah

My friend was in need of a cute case for her daughter's Kindle Fire.  By tweaking the dimensions of The Everything Pouch, and adding a strap and some fleece interfacing I came up with this:

Hannah loves owls, so I found this great print.

Full Disclosure:  This is not Hannah's actual Kindle Case.  Her's is in the mail.  This was an extra one I made for my own daughter who just fell head over heels for this fabric. (Too bad we don't own a Kindle!)  Hannah, your case is a bit bigger!  :)

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The Arts and Craftsy Owl

People often ask me what I "do". It's such a weird question to answer.  I usually just say that I own a business where I create handmade items and write for a blog that features those items (as well as some DIY, decor, and fashion stuff.)  That's usually where I lose them.  People will then ask, "What kind of handmade items?  Like arts and craftsy stuff?"  Bless their hearts...

Am I the only one who HATES the term "arts and crafts"?  It makes me feel like I'm putting together items with Elmer's Glue and construction paper.

Even so, I am crafty, and I like to think that what I do is some form of art, so I suppose "arts and crafts" isn't too far beyond what I "do".

Here is my newest work of arts and craft (warning: no fabric was cut in the creation of this piece!)

Owl Charm Fashion Necklace

I decided that as much as I love incorporating fabric into most of my pieces, there are times that I just want to wear something simple and understated.  This necklace is 18" long and features a 1" owl charm.  The perfect length for a scoop neck top or a button down blouse.

There will be more charm necklaces featured soon, so keep your eyes peeled my lovelies!

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DIY Art Fail?

I found a project in the newest edition of Do it Yourself Magazine that I thought my 8-year-old daughter and I could absolutely tackle.  The project was a DIY wall art project using gel medium, a photo printed on a transparency sheet and a blank canvas.

The basic idea was to spread a thin amount of gel medium onto a canvas, then place a printed transparency sheet ink down onto the canvas.  We were supposed to rub the back of the sheet with a spoon and voila, the photo would transfer onto the canvas with an "artsy, gritty quality", which looked oh-so-cool in the magazine.

I decided to buy my daughter the supplies as an Easter gift.  I picked up some canvases ($8) and gel medium ($15) at Michael's.  I didn't have time to get the transparencies for Easter, so she and I went to Staples today.  Lo and behold, those suckers were EX-PEN-SIVE!  $60 for 50 sheets!  If I hadn't already promised her that we'd do this, I would have stopped right there.

We browsed the 'net searching for some cool owl images (note: we just did the old 'right-click and save' to make some sample canvases. AquaSeventy6 always recommends that you get permission before using online images!)

After ruining our first canvas by using way too much gel medium, we ended up with these three sample canvases.  We still haven't decided if we like them or not, especially since the materials were not cheap.  Maybe they would turn out better if we used photos instead of clip art.  We'd like to hear what you think.  Was this a DIY fail or is it DIY fab?

Bird and Owl Hair Bow Holders

In an attempt to organize my daughter's bathroom, I realized that she really needed somewhere to keep her extensive collection of hair bows.  She is totally into birds and owls, and I found this great tutorial which I tweaked to suit her needs and my on-hand materials.

Turned out pretty cute if I do say so myself! ~~Y