Camera Strap

I made a camera strap for both my sister and Jackpot's birthdays, and they came out so cute! I loved that the tutorial I followed included a pocket for the lens cap. Unfortunately, my sister's lens cap did not fit in the pocket, so hers was a bust.

Since my sister's lens cap was too big, I decided to tweak the original tutorial a bit in order to eliminate the pocket altogether because I didn't want the strap to be any wider than it already was. My version came up a bit short (literally) but I think I know what to do for the next one. I decided to keep my "guinea pig" version, so now I feel ready to try my hand at yet one more for my sister.

Girls' Weekend in the Valley

Last Friday I headed out to the Shenandoah Valley with my sister-in-law, her twin, and two other women. The five of us spent the weekend in Bayse, Virginia, holed-up in a snug little time-share, crafting to our hearts' content. L and her sister spent their time making baby-shower invites, while I finished my digital scrapbook, Volume 1: 1980-1989 (yeah, I have so many kid photos I had to break it up by decade).

On day two we decided to take a break, so we drove towards the town of Mount something-or-other (hehe, I forgot its name already!). We saw Virginia's longest covered bridge. Why did they used to cover their bridges, you ask? To protect the floor boards from weather elements--it was much easier to replace roof boards than floor boards. See? And I bet you didn't expect to learn anything here, today.

The countryside was GOR-GEOUS. Just check out these photos.

Happy Fall!

Autumn Door Decor

Great success! I originally got this idea from an Etsy shop and pinned it on one of my boards. It was one of those "I could make that" moments... and so I did. I finished gluing the last felt rose on tonight, and couldn't help but run outside to hang it right away. I think it looks "awe-tumn."

Wordless Wednesday

My felt roses are done!

A little spot of sunshine

The late afternoon sun was streaming through my blinds and onto my crafting table. I couldn't help but snap a picture or two, in the hopes of capturing its beauty. Not sure how successful I was, but if nothing else, the picture gives you a sneak peak of my current crafting creation.

(You loved that alliteration, I know it).

Yarn Wreath - So Cute!

Cobble turned me on to this tutorial for a yarn wreath. I finally collected all the materials to make my Spring wreath, and I love the way it turned out! Check out S's on her blog, too.

Fun-filled Friday!

1] Today was a kid-free day at work. Went to a professional development meeting instead. And I kinda-sorta enjoyed it! We were given a long, 2-hour stretch to just explore and play with new websites. I loved Storybird. You should check it out. I mean it!

2] Met up with S for lunch afterwards. And she brought along her little cutie! So much fun, so many smiles.

3] The two of us chose yarn for the new wreaths we're going to make for our doors. Spring colors were in order. She chose a vibrant, multi-color yarn with greens and yellows. Very pretty. I couldn't wait to get started, so as soon as I got home (even though I was still wearing my work clothes) I sat down to start wrapping a bit. Can't wait to finish!

4] Going out tonight with friends for dinner and drinks. Really looking forward to this, too. Eizzil and her hubby will be there to meet B's Brazilian friend. Should be lots of fun!

I hope that your Friday--like mine--is setting the right tone for this weekend!

Family Heirlooms in the Making

Yeah, my family is kinda crazy about sentimental heirlooms. So believe me when I say that my mom, my sister, and I spent last Sunday crafting future family heirlooms. My good buddy Eizzil joined us for the fun, and together we sewed sequins onto felt cut-outs all day. Six hours later... we had beautiful holiday light-switch covers to show for all our efforts.

More crafty ideas

Wouldn't this tree collage be so fun to make?! I'm just not sure where I'd hang something like this... I'm gonna mull it over a bit. Well, that and finish the other projects I've already started. Speaking of which, I'm taking a quilting class next month. My mom is giving me an old sewing machine so that I can get started and see how I like it. Twenty years ago I did take a sewing machine class, after all! I'm sure all the tricks and techniques will come back to me. I can't wait to get started!

Craft time!

I spent Sunday at E's place "preparing" to make a craft. I put that in quotes because we had both expected to actually fully make something, but I guess we took a bit too long getting lunch, DQ blizzards, and of course the materials. Here are some photos of our progress:

Lepidoptera, baby!

So Sarah came over tonight and we crafted. For several hours. Let me just say, our work looks professional. Etsy... watch out!

PS: Thanks Sarah for a great start to a long weekend :)

National Scrapbook Day!

When B and I had our wedding reception in 2007, I had a scrapbook to explain how we met and dated long-distance, how B applied and was accepted to a Master's program here, and finally how we were married in July. My in-laws loved that scrapbook so much, that I wanted to make one for them to remind them of their first trip here to visit us.

So, yesterday was awesome because I was finally able to finish their book (almost). I hung out with 3 friends (and 10 other women) and worked on my scrapbooks all day. Now all I need to do is write the stories for each page. The thing is, I'm relying on B to help me with translating all that into Portuguese for them, so it makes it rather convenient for me to procrastinate! I love making the scrapbook pages... I just don't like writing on them.

The thing is, I can't procrastinate much. We just found out yesterday that they're going to buy tickets to come visit us in July. Yay! B is super excited because we weren't expecting to see them again until Christmas. That would have meant that they hadn't seen each other for over a year.

All in all a good day! (here's one of my favorite pages)