Pinterest Project: Concrete Planter

This Pinterest Project was messy, but quite fun!  Inspired by the many concrete planter tutorials on Pinterest, (including this one by radmegan) we made our own using recycled containers for molds.  I used a 2-liter pop bottle and a smaller water bottle.

Once the concrete had set for a day or two I pried off the plastic...

...and I had a rustic-looking plant pot!

It kinda reminds me of a molar... but I think it'll look pretty cool with a plant in it!

Rainbow Monsters!!

I am excited to introduce my newest paper-pieced creation:  Plurp!

Plurp is the first in a series of Rainbow Monsters designed by Elliot and myself.  Plurp is cheerful and bubbly and he's available on Craftsy!  I think he's super cute and would be great for a little kid quilt or pillow.

You can check out more of Elliot's graphic design work here.

Not All Who Wander Are Lost, Part 4

I know, I know... I'm behind with month four's blocks for the Fandom in Stitches "Not All Who Wander Are Lost" block-of-the-month quilt!  Life happens.  But now they are finished and here they are!

"Galadriel's Mirror" designed by Regina Grewe

I couldn't decide which background I liked best... or which one looked more "Lothlorien"...so I made two blocks!  I'm sure I'll find something to do with the extra one.

"Boromir"  designed by Michelle Thompson

"Crest of Rohan"  designed by Jennifer Ofenstein

Doom, Doom, Doomy-Doom, Doooooooom!

Today I mailed off some paper-pieced blocks that I finished for the Fandom in Stitches "Project of Doom Charity Quilt!"

The "Project of Doom" is a Harry Potter themed quilt that was designed by the extremely talented Jennifer Ofenstein.  It is made to look like a bookcase full of wizarding books and magical knick-knacks!

In order to support "The Linus Connection," a charity that makes and donates blankets to children in crisis, Jennifer asked everyone to make a block or two for a "Project of Doom" quilt.

Here are my blocks:

The first two go together to create the Sorting Hat next to a couple of books.

The last one shows Trevor the Toad and a couple more books.

Lots of other people have submitted blocks and posted pictures up on the Flickr group.  I'm excited to see what the final quilt looks like!

Pinterest Project: Magnet Board

This Pinterest Project is a combination of several very popular pins!

First, we made "Cookie-Sheet Magnet Boards" by spray-painting some cookie sheets with chalkboard paint and mod-podging some scrapbook paper onto them.  Chalkboard paint AND mod podge?!  That's right!  It is the ultimate Pinterest craft!

Then we dressed up some clothespins by mod-podging some small scraps of scrapbook paper onto them, much like Kierstie did here.  We took it a step further by adding magnets to the backs of our clothespins so that we could use them with our chalkboard/magnet boards.

The final result is a chic and versatile memo station that will be put to good use!

The Elder Sign Returns...

A while back I created some hand-stamped fabric for a gift I was making my brother-in-law.  I used elder signs and yellow signs to make a Cthulhu Mythos themed pattern.  You can read about it here.

Well, that particular post has been the most popular post on my blog to date.  So for all of you Cthulhu fans out there, I decided to make some more fabric... just for you!

Thanks to an awesome website called Spoonflower, you can now buy my elder sign fabric!  It's not tediously hand-stamped like my original fabric, but it is custom printed using actual images made by my stamps.  You can order as little as an 8"x8" square or as many yards as you want!  There are also a variety of fabrics to choose from: from your standard quilter's fabric, to a soft organic cotton knit, to luxurious silk crepe de chine.

My original design in color...

...in simple black and white...

...and in a more weathered gray.

Even if Cthulhu symbols aren't your thing, you should still check out Spoonflower as it has thousands of designs available from independent designers from all over the world!  And if you don't see anything you like, you can simply create and order your own designs!

Check out my fabric shop on Spoonflower here!

...it all started with a Big Bang!

I was a nerd in high school.  I really enjoyed math and science and was pretty good at solving physics equations and balancing chemical formulas.  I don't do too much of that nowadays as a stay-at-home mom...

But that doesn't mean that I can't appreciate the clever nerdiness of shows like The Big Bang Theory!  It's one of our favorite shows!  It inspired me to design a paper-pieced quilt block that celebrates science at the atomic level.

This atom has three electrons, which means that it's a lithium atom.  Now, a real lithium atom is 4.1 angstroms wide, but this pattern is precisely 619,512,195 times larger and measures 10 inches square.

And the best part?  This pattern is FREE!! You can download it from my Craftsy shop here.  It's also available on Fandom in Stitches.