Photo Friday! Where in the World Am I Today?

        

http://www.etsy.com/listing/93704901/yellow-daffodil-photography-yellow

http://www.etsy.com/listing/68102232/fancy-english-lavender-bouquet-with-hand



http://www.etsy.com/listing/28352784/a-secret-garden-8x10-photo-11x14-mat



www.etsy.com/listing/93147315/vintage-ellgreave-england-teapot-32-oz



http://www.etsy.com/listing/95683195/vintage-english-breakfast-tea-tin-brass

Yes, I am in England (in my imagination) and I am ready for a nice cup of English tea, some chocolate digestives and chat with my Mom, with daffodils on the table. It reminds me of Spring and brings back the hope that Winter really is gone for the year. I think that it will return and I am worried because all of the trees are in bloom and it IS only March in Iowa not May. People tell me that there is a chance of snow all the way to  Mother's Day. So we shall see, but I am pleased that today it is warm and the sun is out part way. It is Friday and we are all glad. It has been a busy week of school, cleaning (sometimes), Etsying, work and we are all ready for the weekend. We were extremely busy last weekend so this one will be a good chance to relax a bit and just do the regular weekend chores.  In addition to our other activities last week, the girls each got their own room. Since we live in a real world and have real messes, you know that it was just that, a mess that seemed to drag out all week! Finally, the youngest cleaned hers up yesterday for the final time and the oldest will do so soon. So progress has been made and they are both excited. I just have curtains to hang properly, a bed frame to put under the mattresses and a re-cleaning of the studio!  The joke is on me! After all of the cleaning of the studio two weeks ago, I now get to do it all over again. Such is life! Have a great Spring day, see you later,

Karen

 

ps. All of the photos come from Etsy shops, stop by and say hi!

 

Easter Watercolors by Kelly Bermudez

Kelly Bermudez started painting about a year ago. Her faith lead her to start painting faith based and inspirational artwork.



You can see her many beautiful watercolors in her shop http://www.Kellybermudez.etsy.com. She has a wide range of nature images and gorgeous portraiture.



Kelly  finds her inspiration mostly through prayer and the beauty around her. Stop by her shop and mention that you saw her work on Chocolate Dog Studio's blog. Her shop is under a year old and it is always encouraging to know people are seeing your work.

Talk to you later,

Karen

Quilts of Love

Nancy Henry started quilting when her oldeest son (now 30) was a year old.

"It got me out of the house for a class once a week. The one block I was supposed to make turned into 20 and became a whole quilt. Being in a community of crafters has saved my sanity more than once. I draw inspiration and wisdom from others in my quilt guild!



I fell into Etsy after I left a corporate accounting job over an ethical issue. I was so disillusioned that I just wanted to quilt and hide. And my husband let me!!! My best friend had heard of Etsy and suggested it. The people on Etsy and my teams in particular are wonderful and kind and we are our own crafting community.



In my shop I talk about tucking my boys in at night when they were little and putting on quilts and calling them "Layers of Love"...One layer of love, two layers of love, and on a REALLY cold night, three layers of love."



These are just a few of my favorites. Aren't they beautiful hand made layers of love? Which quilt of Nancy's is your favorite? Did your Mom do anything that spoke of her love for you? You can find Nancy and her quilts here at http://www.NHquiltarts.etsy.com.

See you later,

Karen

Treasury Giveaway!

And the Winner is.......

The winner is Sheila at SewFaithful.etsy.com. She guessed that my WIP project was a rug.



Here it is prior to completion.

Here it is finished....

  

It is about 20 inches across and is a perfect little rug. I had planned on making it much larger and for our daughter's room. That is why it is pastels. I created it as an excuse to use up left over yarn bits and simple crocheted a long strip which I then sewed around the filler. Finally, sewing it like a braided rug. It really didn't take much time to finish it. The family says that it is really soft and comfy under foot.

Sheila's cup cozy will be shipped out today. I really appreciate everyone participating in the contest.

Thanks,
Karen

Sunday

Hi all, It is my Birthday and as I promised last week. We do have a winner. Someone actually made a correct guess on the photo contest. I will post their name later this evening or first thing tomorrow.

Thanks, Karen

sorry, I am fighting a migraine today....headed to bed....

Daily Dose of Handmade

My Cozies are on special today over at the Daily Dose of Handmade. I am  offering a 35% off coupon code good for any cozy from coffee pot, mug cozy, and coffee cup cozy. This way you can choose your own cozy!

Here is the link! http://dailydoseofhandmade.blogspot.com/2012/03/daily-dose-of-handmade-deals-for.html

Stop by and say hi!

Karen

 

Still Cleaning

Here is the next step in cleaning off one of the work tables. I had fabric stacked up in piles for different Chocolate Dog Studio projects, dresses for the girls, and some pieces for quilts.



In the process of cleaning, I found these and since they are so pretty I am sharing them with you. These are in good condition but the crocheted lace is coming apart on some of them. So they will go into some cozies. A friend shared them with me for that purpose, so I am not cutting up any family linens.



Aren't they beautiful? What about this one?



I also found a couple of these owls.  I have been carrying the little one in my purse. The bigger ones joined and they became purse organizers.



They are all different sizes and perfect for all the loose items running around in my purse. At one time I was going to offer them in Chocolate Dog Studio but decided that I do NOT like putting zippers in little bags. Here is the top of my table.



I think I am almost finished with this work table. Now I just need to focus on the other. You have to trust me that the other end is just as clean as the one above.



I think this will be my focus today. I have a cup cozy to ship and then I will be ready to get to work. Now that the work space is clean I have a ton of ideas running through my head. I will finish cleaning before I start sewing or creating anything.

Do you ever find treasures when you clean or organize you craft items?

Talk to you later,

Karen

Deconstruction, Re-use, Re-cycle

Deconstruction: what I term taking apart clothing to in order to use for another purpose ie: re-purposing, re-cycling, up-cycling or re-using. I have had several pieces of clothing scattered around waiting for the deconstruction  so that I can use the fabric for another purpose. Why not donate it to Goodwill or some other charity? Well, these particular pieces had issues. One top had a snap front and a snap in a vital position was gone. Well, anyway you get the idea. Here is the stack of tops waiting for the deconstruction to begin. They have been washed and dried and are ready for a new life.



Sorry, I am still getting used to the new camera and I know that this is a bit blurry.



I cut the seams off. So then you are left with little skinny strings of seams. This is the underarm seam from the hem to the wrist.



Here are the seams from this shirt.

Then I cut the cuffs off of the sleeve.





 

This is called the placket and I cut it off and toss it in the trash. Sometimes these plackets have little buttons and I cut those off and add them to the button box.



 

I also cut off the button band and then the buttonhole band as well.



Here is shirt number one, as deconstructed as I like it. I keep the buttons and the fabric.

See the rest of the tops all ready for new life.



See the seam strings to the right of the stack of tops. I also had a nice pile of buttons that I  put away in the button box. The cuffs I am sending to a friend.



So that is one way to deconstruct a shirt.

What would you do with all of the cuffs and seam strings?

I have had some thoughts but would love more input!

Karen

 

 

Woo Hoo, Half done....maybe.

The before shot once again.



Here are the latest photos of the GREAT cleaning and throwing out. My Mom would be proud of me! In fact, I know she is as she inspired me to get started. She cleaned our her closet of hidden treasures last week. She kept  calling me to ask me if I wanted this, that or the other. What do you think I said? Anyway, here is the next installment of the photos.



Unfortunately, this also happened at the same time.



 



I have to decide what I am going to do with my paper items, keep, toss or sell. Do I keep my Paper Train shop open or just move on with life? It is a question that I have been wrestling with since last year. This must get better quickly....back to work.

 

 

WIPs continued, Dog Beds

Yes, I have put this project off. I know that it will only take 20 minutes tops to redo the dog's beds. There have just been so many other more important things to do. However, the day has come and since the bed fell apart in the last run through the disinfecting cycle of the washer I feel like I can use the fluff from the old bed to create one of them and then use a couple of old pillows for the fluff in the other dog bed.  We have two dogs, an older arthritic lab and a spoiled hound dog. Neither share the dog beds and unless we want to put up with barking I am forced to create two dog beds.

Here is the final product to refresh our memories.



 

Luckily when I go to check out my resources I find two large remnant pieces of fabric that I bought when the kids were small enough to use. This translates into the fact that I have been hoarding fabric and not sewing it after I buy it. :0)

You never do this....right?

Ok well here is the first picture in this tutorial.



This is the clean dog bed fluff. You can see that it totally turned inside out when washed. The zipper is done for. The green bag also has holes in it. Here is the fabric I am using for the first dog bed. It is a Dark grey sweatshirt fleece.



Please bear with the  unfocused state of this photo. I was in a hurry to get this WIP off my list.

I turned the fabric inside out.



This is one large piece big enough to fold in half lengthwise and sew from the folded edge to the cut edge. Like this.



I did that on both sides leaving the front open. Here you can see that I didn't even take time to cut off the selvage of the fabric. It will be on the inside and no one except the dog will ever know. Dusty won't care as he will just use his teeth on it and think I have done an exceptional job on his chew toy. I then turned it right side out.

I then stuffed the old (Clean) fluff inside the new dog bed cover.  Like this.



You can see that I have left a bunch of room to be able to sew this last seam on the sewing machine. The fluff had started to come out of the old inner covering of the dog bed.

Then I turned the edge under and sewed across the dog bed from side to side.



Here you can see me living dangerously. I didn't even pin it. I couldn't find the pins in all the clutter so I did this part pinless. It would help if my sewing table were longer as it would support the heavy dog bed a little better. I wooled it around until I sewed the whole seam and tucked the edges under as I sewed so that the outside seam would be finished.

Voila! The finished product!



I made a second dog bed much like the first and filled it with three old (clean) pillows for the stuffing. I have now finished two WIPS and the dogs are happy. How do I know that the dogs are happy? Well, instead of waking up at the unbearable hour of 4:30 a.m. they waited until almost 6 am. I am happy, the dogs are happy, my husband is happy, my work table is getting cleaned off. A total win/win situation for everyone involved.  Did I tell you that they howl when they wake up in the morning...like wolves. Mournful and really LOUD, right under our bedroom. So I am thrilled and much more rested!

Talk to you later,

Karen

P.S. It did really only take about 20 minutes to make both of the dog beds. This is a great beginning to sew project as dogs don't really care about appearances. Just be sure to remove ALL of the pins if you use them. You will want to measure and then double and add six inches to the measurement of the pillows so that you have enough fabric.  Unless you are like me and have a huge stash of stuff you will never use.

 

Another WIP

This WIP or Work In Progress is at least five years old. If not older. I hesitate to show it to you as it is so incredibly old. It might be even 7 years old. Sometimes our best ideas are just not GOOD ideas. I can even see how bad this idea is... well, now I can. Ok here it is. Let's see if you can guess what it is. A contest.  Woohoo a contest in honor of my Birthday week.



See the fuzzy pink/purple mass of stuff with the whiteish snake looking thing. Not the dark fabric or the lime green fabric in the back. By the way, no fair voting if you are my Mom or any one of BFF's, you know who you are. OK, contest starts today and ends on Friday at 9 p.m.

Leave a comment here and on my face book page if you can. First right answer wins a free cup sleeve or cozy.

So between today (Tuesday) March 6 2:28 pm and Sunday March 11 at 4 p.m.  comment on my blog and let me know what it is going to be. No fair writing any comments like a knitting thing gone BAD. In case no one can guess where this creativity gone wrong is going I will just pick someone randomly.

It is my birthday week and I can party if I want to!

Talk to you later,

Karen

 

 

 

 

Wips and Pigs

What are WIPS and PIGS you ask? Some sort of new political designation....nope. WIPS are works in progress and PIGS are Projects in grocery sacks. Which explains why my work tables look like this.



and this...



and then also this. Have I no shame?



Well, Yes, I do have shame and this is really bad. So I went to work on it.  How do you get started and what do you do first? This time I started with a list. I usually start with a list and then get side tracked. Today was no different. Our internet was down which was a really good thing. So I finished several WIPs and finished up some deconstruction that needed to happen, cut out some cozies and put a bunch of fabric away. I am going to show you bits and pieces over the next few days. So bear with me as I get started on all this mess.

Here is the first WIP project; dog beds. Our friendly four footed friends love to use their teeth on their soft plush dog beds and I refuse to spend $20 on  new ones when they finally demolish their current beds. Here is the finished products being tested by the dogs.

Stay tuned as tomorrow, I will do my best to show you how I up cycled the old fluff (clean, very clean fluff from their dog beds) into new dog beds.

Talk to you later,

Karen



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The French Press Cozies are Here!

Here are a few of the new French Press Coffee Pot cozies now available on the ChocolateDogStudio facebook page. I am starting to list them in the Etsy shop but it will take me a week or so to get them all listed!  So until then you can shop via the facebook page if you absolutely, positively need a coffee press cozy.  https://www.facebook.com/Chocolatedogstudio

Just message me on the photo. So here is a sneak peek!







 

Ok, look around on the facebook page and the Etsy page to get a glance at some of the other pretty coffee press cozies!

Talk to you later,

Karen