Hello Again. Let's make a pincushion!

Hello there! So it would appear that I have fallen off the blog bandwagon. Pretty much I'm just lazy! But I just read Sharon's blog and feel motivated to do a post! Ha ha!

Around mother's day I was shopping online at etsy.com and found these cute little pin cushions made from vintage ceramic planters...but they were like $35.oo each...yeah, ouch! I have been checking the second hand stores everytime I go to see if I could find a little planter to make my own, well last week I found two! And I paid only $1.5o total for them.

My very own versions:

This is such a unique gift for you or someone else, and they are really just sweet. The project takes less than 15 minutes from start to finish. Truly the hardest part is choosing your fabric (which is actually quite difficult for me because I'm such a perfectionist and am SO indecisive!)

Here is my tutorial.

1.) Select a vintage ceramic planter from a thrift shop or garage sale, or etsy.com, or wherever! Clean it.

2.) Choose a scrap of fabric that will cover the planter opening. Depending on the piece you have chosen your fabric may need to be anywhere from 3" on up.

3.) You don't need to much polyfill, just enough to stuff the cavity of the planter well and give a little tuft of fluff up top. I didn't even have any polyfill handy, so I just used some scraps of batting and that worked pretty well.

4.) Gently tuck your fabric into the cavity so that all of the filling and the hole is covered, and apply a mid-moderate amount of FABRITAC around the edge of the cavity to the fabric.

5.) Embellish as desired and let dry. Voila! Enjoy!

6.) Snap, it's just that SIMPLE!

People DO read my blog! YES!

So awhile back I installed google analytics on my blog and my etsy shop. It shows me how many people visit those pages, well it says NO ONE visits my blog...so I just stopped blogging...but lo, I came to visit my lowly blog and my dear friends HAVE been reading! I love you guys! I must've installed the app wrong...so it wasn't reporting correctly on this site...lame! I guess I can start blogging again : ) Now I just have to figure out what to blog about!

E.L.F. Cosmetics

I just found out about this great cosmetics company called Eyes Lips Face (E.L.F.). They are awesome. Most items on their website are only $1.oo each. I just got my order from them in the mail on Friday, and I love it! I definitely recommend their mineral make-up, their eyeshadows, their concealer stick and their lip gloss. The only thing I don't really recommend is their eyeliner...it doesn't go on very easily. I just thought others might enjoy a good deal too, happy shopping! There are lots of promotional codes floating around out there for this company, I have several myself, so if you are interested in those just leave me a comment and I will get them to you! : )

Spring Fever

Spring is SOOO here! I feel refreshed and invigorated! I loveLoveLOVE having the sunshine back! My messy house is actually starting to feel somewhat clean...I know that is just the sunshine talking :o). So I've been drawing during the evenings after everyone else is asleep. It has been great! I have such negative feelings about drawing because I tend to get writers' block for the artist...and I stare at my page quite literally for hours, and then end up throwing away my drawings in the end because I'm dissatisfied...Well here is to springtime resolutions! I, Corinne Frank, resolve to do three construction drawings every evening, and one painting per week. Okay, now go forth and conquer! I've also kind of started singing again...when I know that my neighbors aren't home (oh, the joys of apartment living!)

Take spring fever for what its worth and make it brighten your little world!

So my kids have been sick for about a month straight, Asher even had to be hospitalized overnight for dehydration...Yuck! But, because of our stay at the hospital I discovered this AWESOME service group called Project Linus, www.projectlinus.com . They make/collect and distribute blankets to babies and children at local hospitals to give them a bit of security. We received one of these blankets and even though I had brought a couple of blankets of our own, the gesture was really appreciated and it was nice to have a backup blanket...sick babies tend to soil blankets quickly (if you know what I mean :o) ). I checked out the website to see how I can get involved and there are tons of chapters to join, and they even tell you how to set up a chapter in your area if there isn't one already in place! I say CHEERS to becoming a "Blanketeer!" And if sewing is your thing...totally check it out!

Domestic Experiments

My latest adventure in all things domestic is quilting. Aside from ragquilts I have been a little intimated by that pile of charm packs sitting on my dresser begging to be quilted. Being the perfectionist that I am, I feel like I have to find just the PERFECT quilt pattern before I can start. I'm excited to do this though. What is more traditional than quilting? I feel like I am doing something that generations of women have done before me and that somehow we are connected...I know how cheesy that sounds, I mean its like extra cheddar right? But really, I think that this quilting thing is going to be totally awesome.

In the mean time I have been busy with my new preschool. I am teaching 9 kids once a week during which time they get to make a craft...it is so fun to watch them create little projects that they are so proud of. I am indeed a perfectionist, but I have no problems letting them make their own ragged projects and I LOVE seeing the joy on their faces when they look at that end product...you know the paperplate cut into whatever shape and decorated with cotton balls and glitter, that is just awesome!

So far we have built paper snowman with felt accessories, made a book about the 5 senses (complete with pixie sticks, crinkley plastic, a picture, lemon scent, and a chenille circle,) and a valentines day card pouch. We will be frosting and decorating sugar cookies this week and soon will be making little snow globes out of baby food jars---that will be flippin' awesome! If anyone knows of any good craft activities for 3-5 year olds...let me know!

Okay,

So, I finally took and uploaded some pictures onto my computer, but alas all the presents I made I gave away...so I couldn't take pictures of them! Brilliant, I know.

Here a few...