I was inspired to do a bit of a popcorn party from one of Princess Lasertron‘s series – Mine was hardly as glorious, but it was a good start. Check out her post Have this party: popcorn bar and a movie!

I made parchment invites and left a bottle of Black Root Ale (root beer) for each of the guests on their doorstep.

To make the invites, I whipped out the invitation details for the front, and some Willow movie facts for the back. I printed onto parchment paper then cut them into ragged, bumpy squares. A few hits with a lighter later, and it had an old-timey effect.

“Kael”, “Sorsha”, “Madmaya”, and “Kaiya” were all in attendance. Unfortunately for the rest of us, our names didn’t mimic anyone from the movie. I also noted that the party was taking place at the “ruins of Tir Asleen” since our house was still under construction;)

To make the bottle stickers, I got some full sheet label paper. I designed the labels myself in Gimp, and I am pretty proud of how they turned out. I had Black Root Ale (the aforementioned root beer), Black Root Ale Light (yummy cream soda), and Madmartigan Party Juice (Izze sparkling juice in clementine, grapefruit, and blackberry).

The mega-awesome sketch of Madmartigan and the Eborsisk came from Joel Carroll. I got the parchment look from FantasyStock. Both are found at DeviantArt. Thank you both!!

Feel free to make your own Willow Theme party! Let me know if you do:D

Fun news: I am THRILLED that i won a Sew Mama Sew December Giveaway! I entered Made By Rae’s Falalalafabric Giveaway and scored the Pink Kelp! Yay! She was also kind enough to post all the winners photos up so you can see what we made with her patterns or inspirations.

Cat news: Although Sashas gingivitis is under control with the simple treatment of the rinse she completely detests, her front gum still looked really horrible and her top second incisor tooth was hanging out so she always walked around with her tongue out. She otherwise acted normal and ate fine but we finally decided to take her in. The doc said it was an absorptive lesion which is common for the front teeth and pulled it right out with barely a wince from her. (He let me keep it since i do love bones and teeth and it is so teeny weeny!) That evening we noticed the tooth next to the missing one now was crooked, as if the only thing that had kept it in place was being wedged by the missing tooth. About three days later, it looked horrible and moving all around and this time i could tell she was in a bit of pain (if not a whole heck of a lot of it). Boy and i held her down like the doc and his staff did and she didnt even flinch or nothing when we pulled it out (holiday time = no vet hours). Nothing at all! My fears of being a torturous cat mom was laid to rest. It was amazing. (And an even tinier tooth!) And just the next day, all the redness was gone and she is back to her old self. Happy cat!

Kitchen news: I dont really have much to say. All the electrical is finished and we have canned lighting now, yay! Boys dad and uncle did that for us on Christmas Eve, of all days. Boy and i just need to make sure all the nails are gone for the drywall people, get a few more rolls of insulation, and then get the stove and sink/dishwasher out of there again. We are dillydallying a bit on that last part. As much as we are sick of this whole process, going back to paper plates and microwaved food just isnt appetizing, but of course its also because last weekend and this weekend are holiday weekends. Even weekend warriors need a break. Oh, and i have made the executive decision to take out the “linen closet” around the bend from the wall we had the contractors work on because it really doesnt hold a folded towel well at all (its not deep enough). Instead, I am going to make it a built-in book case with cabinet storage on the bottom. Im pretty psyched about that idea. I dunno why.

I hope your holidays were/are fun and not met with busted technology!

As you may have guessed, all crafting has slowed to a stop lately here. My craft room was taken over by furniture and tools. I got the tools out at least so now there is room to craft again and i can access my supplies. Our kitchen has a microwave, stove, sink, dishwasher, one wall cabinet and a silverware cabinet. The rest of the kitchen finds itself in random places. Once we are done removing the drywall, lights, and ceiling, then its just a waiting game for when the contractor can fit us in. Not ideal living for one such as myself, but now I can lock myself away in the craft room at least:)

I made curtains today – they dont hold up under close inspection, but they do their jobs respectfully so I like them. I still would like to add ribbon to them like i mentioned here. Some day maybe.

My favorite scrapbooking store is going out of business. This really bums me out but they have *everything* on sale for 50% off so thats pretty spectacular, eh? Lets just say i brought home lots of goodies. Which means that I plan on returning to scrapping in the near future. Ooh la la!

I did start a project to test something I read on the internet, but I decided to postpone it for now so this is all i got. I dont recall where i heard it, but the idea was that you can use a lazer jet printer and an iron to make a transferable image. I would suggest only using the very basic images (more plain than what you see here on the carebear) but it turns out to be true!

For all you mac users, boy found me this sweet program that keeps any window you want to stay on top while you poke around other windows: Afloat.

Around this time of year, you may see lots of donation options. Theres a million, I know – how do you choose? I dunno myself, but here are some I know like:

http://ibol.wordpress.com/ <— Iraqi Bundles of Love

http://www.heifer.org/ <— Animals for families to sustain a future (I participate through the World Builders Team Page which matches my donation, the mastermind work of Patrick Rothfuss)

http://www.wikipedia.org/ <— Knowledge for all – read about it and donate here.

http://ww5.komen.org/ <— I add this one in memory of one of my undergraduate teachers who recently passed away from breast cancer. She worked with me to gain admittance for the bioarchaeological field school in Peru. She really showed me how to write at a more professional level in just a few days (i had it in me, but hadnt learned how to hone it yet), staying late after her class with me or being available on the phone – even though we had never met before then. Later, she taught me about forensic anthropology in an adult education class. She also was a very enthusiastic member of our Anthropology Club. I will always remember her.

Two friends and I participated in Iraqi Bundles of Love this year, otherwise known as IBOL. To sum it up, a military man who grew up in a family of quilters and married a quilter, and therefore always surrounded by crafting, was stationed in Iraq when he saw a desperate need for sewing supplies. As we all know, Iraq has been through so much strife for such a long time that it doesnt take much imagination to see how sewing fell to the bottom of the economic priorities. While there are many other kinds of donations that could be done, this one really felt right with me because I feel it symbolizes a desire for unity, one crafter to another, no matter where in the world we live.

The three of us were really excited about it and by using our coupon clipping skills, were able to send a bundle worth over 100$ by only spending just about 20$ each. I had heard about IBOL through an article at Sew Mama Sew (the same place I participated in the May Day Giveaway earlier this year). It sounded like supplies other than fabric were needed so that was our focus.

Kinda wishing i had taken photos of our goodies, but this is what will be received by one of our neighbors in Iraq:

• 8 pounds of fabric
• 2  embroidery hoops
• buttons and fasteners
• sewing needles and straight pins
• magnetic pin cushion
• seam ripper
• curved safety pins
• fabric marker and measuring tape
• 2 sewing scissors
• craft ribbon
• thread and thimble
• bobbins and handi-bobs

The time period for this round of  IBOL is over, due to the fact that its volunteer based and difficult to coordinate long term processing and delivery. But do check out the website (the military man does have a great sense of humor;) and read the story behind it, see the pictures of the families accepting bundles, and wait for the next round to be announced. It will make you feel good, and some Iraqis feel even better :D

PS The cause for my delay would be my kitchen remodel. Not a single crafty project is getting worked on during this mess. Good news is our kitchen floor has now been fully replaced (still without the kitchen basics – no stove, sink, counters, etc). BUT I promised you something and I intend to (eventually) deliver! Im just sorry you are having to wait so long:(

Evidence A, Original vs Lovely:

I currently use a Nikon Coolpix P50 (point-and-click) and lack interest in using a DSLR, though if I ever did feel like it, I could use Boys Nikon D70. He has several lenses and filters and know-how but for some reason Im more of a Snap! kind of girl. Personally, I feel like if i sit there trying to get one good photo by taking a bunch of time prepping and adjusting the camera, then Im missing out on *being* there. (But I do love how Boy doesnt agree, so that we can have awesome pictures;)

Anywho, this skill is obviously a work in progress. Plus, i will have to plan for the resizing involved in uploading since some distortion happened. But fear not, I will pursue lovely photos in lieue of boring ones. I touched up a little spot above the boathouse, straightened the pic a wee bit, and of course gave it some color (what do you guys think? do you like the hyper-realism or is it too much?). In fact, if you are pretty snazzy taking pics or editing them, what tools do you use? What are your must-have items or steps you take? Any tips you want to share? I know Im not the only photo newb around so giveth your advice in plenty, por favor!:)

And remember: I am a mere 2 posts away from sharing something extra special for my 100th post:D Yay!

Anywho, i have a few of these canvas boxes for storage in my Ikea cubbies and they all look the same. I have been meaning to label them somehow, so when I came across some high quality clothing tags that I had hoarded in order to pleasure my inner packrat, I had the answer.

I ran them through my Xyron 250 using the permanent adhesive.

Then i stuck them to the wrong side of the paper and cut them out with an exacto knife.

Then i ran them through the Xyron 250 again and repeated the sticking and cutting for the other side.

Then i punched a hole where the original hole was in the tag, and looped some twine through it.

I rummaged around and found some sticker letters, labeled them all, and voila! Basket tags!

]]> http://www.thecrafties.com/2010/06/basket-tags/feed/ 1 http://www.thecrafties.com/2010/04/it-has-arrived/ http://www.thecrafties.com/2010/04/it-has-arrived/#comments Fri, 23 Apr 2010 17:43:02 +0000 CaLynn http://www.thecrafties.com/?p=1285

And the finale from the last postings…

Project G: Bottled Stars

When Snapple first came out, i loved the shape of the bottle. I was also into making oragami stars at one of my other sit-around-and-do-nothing-but-get-paid jobs. I simply painted the bottle and filled it to the brim. Don’t ask me why.

Project H: Link, our favorite hero!

A gift to my boyfriend. I used an image from the manual of a Zelda game. I think with this one, I had done the grid enlargement technique (draw a grid on the original, and a grid on your canvas, and focus on each square individually to enlarge the image). I painted it with whatever paints i had. Not too shabby.

Project I: A sweet baby dragon

I used clay and finished it off with glaze. I copied the shape from somewhere but I have not a clue where.

Project J: Sweet gifts

So i have a romantic side, and what? I made the box from scratch – cut the wood, nailed it together, stained it, added the hinged and metal details. I found a cool jar somewhere with a wooden lid. Each of those oragami stars I think said “i love you” and every note in the box was burnt around the edges, tied with a little string, and said something about him that I loved.

Project K: Sheepcake and Sushi rolls

For my boyfriends birthday, his sister and I made a sheep cake out of marshmallows, and sushi rolls out of rice crispy treats and fruit rollups. Quite the combination.

Thats it for now! Yay!