Crafting is good for the soul

We'll just ignore that once again I have seriously neglected this blog. I'll say that life has been consumed by many things. I'm running for an office on the international board of SLA, serving my regional SLA chapter as president,  planning some trips to conferences, and crafting away. I've been working on a really large project that I'll be able to share soon (but not yet) and some smaller projects in between.

Last weekend, I facilitated a Bible study for my church's women's retreat. We evaluated our thought closets, considering how it is that we as women talk to ourselves, what takes up the most space in our thoughts, and how God would actually like us to talk to ourselves and prioritize our thoughts. I had my doubts about the format (we watched several videos in the Jennifer Rothschild study Me, Myself, and Lies: A Thought Closet Makeover) since we were trying to cram the lessons of a 6 week study into a weekend, but I think it went well. Our church is planning on doing the rest of the study this summer, and I really can't wait.

So, what does this have to do with crafting? Crafty woman that I am, I couldn't miss out on an opportunity to make a little something for the ladies that attended the event. A few months ago, I saw a blog post about making journal jars, and I stuck it on the back burner of my mind. When I started studying for this event, I realized that this was the perfect opportunity.

Step one: gather jars of all shapes and sizes. Why buy jars when we empty jars all the time? The size of the jars ranged from a small jam jar up to a spaghetti sauce jar. It really made no difference, but I think I liked the odd shaped jelly jars the best. Make sure the lids fit snugly on the jars. I found metal worked better than plastic in terms of holding the paint. I did use one canning jar, and I just glued the two pieces of the lid together with tacky glue.

Step two: make sure the jars and lids are nice and clean, clear of all labels and glue, and don't smell funny (like one pickle jar I wanted to use). A nice long soak in warm soapy water worked well for most, but you may need to pull out the Goo-gone on the tougher labels.

Step three: I painted the jar lids to make them look less like discarded food jars and more like a crafty item. I painted both the outside and inside of the lids to give them a more finished look. This was the part that took the longest since you need to let the paint dry completely between coats. The outside of the lids took about three coats, depending on the lid material (plastic, metal, shiny metal). The insides only took about two (mostly because I was lazy).

Step four: jazz them up! I found a super cute dress form graphic over at the Graphics Fairy, my go-to site for license free graphics. Book mark it. Now. After some consultation with my DH, we agreed that I should color them to match the lids. I think that it added a very nice touch. I used my Crayola True to Life crayons that have complimenting colors mixed into one crayon (they are my most favorite crayons which is why it is so sad they were discontinued). For the inside of the lid, I made a little reminder of the Bible verse that was the focus of our study.

Step five: I attached the graphics to the lids using Mod Podge which is always super fun to use. It took about two coats to cover the graphics and make it smooth enough. I am also hoping that this step will help protect the paint from chipping. Let the lids dry completely before placing them back onto the jars (the point is to be able to reopen them after all).

Step six: fill the jars with journal prompts. I used a bunch of thoughts from our study and then when I gave the jars to the ladies, I encouraged them to continue filling them with favorite Bible verses and other prompts that will remind them of God's will for their lives. I colored the back of the paper to match the lids and dress forms.

If you had a journal jar, what would you put in it?

Time to put the crafty in the catalog

Well, I think it's about time that I actually post on something crafty since I've billed myself as such. Background: my mom and I recently attended the Original Sewing & Quilt Expo in Lakeland, FL (which btw, will be happening next Feb. 23-25). I attended the Expo in Tampa couple years ago and was super excited that I would be able to go this year. One of the funnest parts of the expo are the various Make and Take crafts that they have sponsored by various booths. My mom humored me as I eagerly picked three projects:

Disclaimer: For this particular post, I'm not going to go into much detail on the patterns since these were not my own design. I will say they are all super easy, and those that are really crafty can probably figure them out.

Project number one (actually purchased the kit at the Expo and just finally finished it this morning): Reusable snack pack and sandwich sack.
First let me start by saying that I have wanted to make these for many months. I saw them posted on a blog a while ago and tried, without success, to find the fabric needed (granted, I didn't try very hard). I was happy to see that this was one of the Make & Takes at the Expo.

The lining of these two items is PUL fabric, also used many times in lining for cloth diapers. The outside is a laminate fabric as well, but could be simple cotton. The bag is made out of two simple rectangles folded in half. Use French Seams on the sides so that crumbs won't get stuck in the fabric (how gross would that be?). The sandwich keeper has the same lining as the bag. As you sew around the edges (fabrics right sides together) just be sure to leave an opening for turning. The Velcro on both items was sewn on before doing any seams. I can't wait to try them out!

The second project is a fabric cover for those little mini-packs of tissues. I always thought these things were super complicated. Turns out, they are super simple. The key is to cut the lining (the pink fabric) slightly longer than the outside fabric. Doing that gives you the nice little border that looks like bias tape. Use French Seams on the inside of this one as well to give it a nice finished look.

The last kit that I did is a little zippered bag. The clever thing about this one, is that the zipper is only half of a zipper (bizarre to grasp, but true). If I make any more of these (which I will, since I bought a ton of zippers), I'll use whole zippers. It will just require one more seam that way. The assembly of this particular one starts with one half of the zipper, no pull attached. Sew the zipper half to the top, sew the bottom seam, than attach the pull to the zipper (which the lady at the expo did with her teeth... a little gross). Sew the last side seam and voila! A cute little bag for all those little things in our lives.

I love little crafts like this because they make great gifts. What crafty things to you like to give or get?

Uses for the library

ALA (American Library Association for those outside the field) just announced it's Library of the Future award winner: Orange County Library System. That's Orange County Florida, thank you very much. Somewhat prophetically, the award was given because of the OCs plethora of technology classes offered each month. That made me think of why I go to my local library.

1. To check out craft books. If you haven't noticed, craft books can be quite expensive. I do not have the money to feed my crafting book addictions, so to the library I go. The last time I was there, I was actually a bit disappointed with the selection (I was looking for cross stitch books). I think I concluded that the reason that they didn't have any new cross stitch books is because the craft isn't as popular as it once was. They had plenty of new quilting books... which I also checked out. I like to dream about crafts I will never start.

2. To attend programs given by the Children's Department. Ironic, right, since I don't have any children. It's true, though, because whenever my sister comes to visit, we check out what's going on at the library. We get movies, find books to read, and go to the summer movie program the library offers. When my niece stayed with us last summer, we did the same thing. I even attended a story time with a former co-worker to get some ideas for the story time I used to lead (we called ahead first to make sure it was ok that two women with no children showed up). I strongly believe that allowing children to have fun times at the library will help assure the presence of libraries into the future. And yes, I also strongly believe that libraries will transition to find a place in the future. Doctor Who even says so:


3. To check out audio books. I have a long commute now. I wanted something to keep my mind busy while in the car. I was a bit disappointed to discover that our library does not actively purchase new audiobooks. I was forced to check out the Young Adult audiobook collection to find something I would enjoy.

Why do you go to your library? Or why don't you go to your library?

Crafting Notions and Office Supplies

Part of the curse of crafting and cataloging is a strong connection with notions and office supplies. With all of the crafts that I do, I often count down the days until Joann Fabric and Craft Stores has their half off notions wall sales. And who can catalog items without processing them and that requires all sorts of labels and tape and scissors and pencils... I love it.

So, some of you may be wondering what a "notion" actually is. You could head over to Wikipedia for a quick definition (I knew Wikipedia would be useful). Basically, a notion is anything that helps make your crafting job a little easier or more interesting. This can include things like buttons, threads, scissors, and snaps (although Joann has separate sales for the first three). And now for a list of a few of my favorite notions:

• Dritz Super Seamer Ruler - This little gem is a life saver for hems and checking seams. And even after all the times I've accidentally ironed over the thing, it's never melted!
• Gingher 4 inch featherweight thread snips - Gingher scissors are worth every penny, and these are fantastic. I keep them right next to my machine (unless I'm working on a cross stitch) so I'm ready whenever I need to snip some threads or small pieces of fabric.
• Pattern weights - This link isn't to the specific weights that I have, but I really like Sewing with Nancy, so you can explore her site while you're there. I picked mine up in a thrift store; the workers didn't even know what a gem they had! I hate, hate, hate pinning patterns. These make cutting patterns so much more enjoyable. A quick Google search shows a bunch of different ideas for making your own.

On to office supplies... I recently won a $100 gift certificate to Gaylord, one of the library supply vendors in existence. First off, I would like to say how surprised I was that I even won. I stuck my business card in a bucket at a vendor show, and then I got the marvelous email. I never win anything! I was overwhelmed with the possibilities that the Gaylor catalog held for shopping. Should I be practical and buy paper? Should I be completely impractical and buy myself a small book cart? I think I got a little of both.

• Swingline SmartCut Pro Rotary Trimmer - This was my practical choice. I no longer had access to my super cool paper cutter at work, so we bought one for our home. It's awesome.
• Crayola Crayons 96 count - Oh yes, I ordered the giant box with the built in sharpener.
• Post-It 3-in-1 Flag Pen & Highlighter - Um, how cool?

And my all time most favorite work tool? A bone folder. These wonderful little tools are great for pressing on labels and making a permanent crease in paper. This is also a great tool for crafting. You can use it when you're using a hot glue gun and irons to avoid burns.

If you had a $100 to spend, what notions and or office supplies would you buy?