By Lisa Gutierrez on 05/12/2010
Yesterday, I made a big dent in sorting/packing/purging. The best part about it isn’t that I’m that much closer to being done. No. It’s that I’ve been able to unearth a few projects that just got lost in the shuffle. One of them was my English paper-piecing project. I originally intended this to be blanket-sized, but when I saw it yesterday, I thought it would look great on a canvas, as a wall decoration. When I picked it up this morning, though, I wanted a pillow. I wanted to be able to cuddle it. So, I got to work. I finished up the corner hexes and then I quilted it to a piece of cotton batting (with embroidery floss). I used some cloth napkins to make an envelope back and sewed it up, early this afternoon. It’s pretty.
By Lisa Gutierrez on 04/10/2010 First things first. If you have a button that you would like to put in my sidebar, please tell me in the comments! I have decided to post little buttons in my sidebar to my blog friends. I put up the code to two different ones that link here/my shop. Feel free to snag one, if you’d like! Also, if you’re viewing this in a reader, come check out the blog! I put up a new header.
Now that blog business is out of the way, let’s talk about these other types of buttons:
button bokeh. It’s awesome, no? That was probably one of my favorite buttons in a jar I bought at an antique store, a few weekends ago. Andrew helped me sort them (and taste them! yum!) and I ended up with a nice amount of lovely white and ivory colored buttons. I have found myself heading to that jar before my others. They’re just so….charming. Know what I mean?
Here’s a shot I took of my small to medium jar-
I shot it through my Duaflex. I’m now totally caught up on my TtV project (and my self-portrait/week project!) and that makes me giddy! I need to find more interesting things to shoot through the viewfinder and think of more clever ways to photograph myself. Any tips? Suggestions?
Tomorrow we’re headed to a “junk shop” downtown and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping to find more jars full of buttons. I’ve had to restrain myself from walking to the antique store closest to me to snatch up the other jars I saw there. I wasn’t a button collector before I saw them sitting on a shelf at the Antique Junction, I SWEAR. They just called to me! Do you collect anything? Show me your collections!
Man, I’m a bucket of questions, tonight. This is what some moms do at 10pm on Saturday nights.
oh! One last question: have you ever regretted not buying something at a thrift store? GOODNESS! I saw the prettiest chair at one, today, but because of a lack of space and vehicle for transport, I said goodbye to it. I want it. I want it bad. And they’re closed on Sundays, so I can’t just buy it and throw out my rocking chair to make room for it. But I really wanna.
By Lisa Gutierrez on 04/09/2010
Inspired by the wonderful wooden wall plaque photo display tutorial on One Pearl Button, I made a photo hoop! I did things a bit differently, but it was still a quick and easy project.
I used fabric, an embroidery hoop, and hot glue.
First, I stretched the fabric and glued it to the inside hoop.
Then, I took off the outside hoop, wrapped the yarn where I wanted it and glued the ends to the inside hoop.
Next, I replaced the outside and glued on a backing.
Easy peasy! I’ve always loved the look of hanging embroidery hoops. Next time I think I’ll paint it prior to assembly.
By Lisa Gutierrez on 02/18/2010 
I’m really diggin’ the Lensbaby.This is a fabric silhouette I made of Nathan’s cute little head, right before Andy was born. I’ve been thinking I need to make one of Andrew soon. I really want an orange one to go with my lime one. Perhaps facing the opposite direction. I’m just torn on whether I should do it soon or wait a year until Andrew is the same age Nate was when I made his. That would be cute, no? Their 3-year old heads forever silhouetted and lovingly placed on my wall. I just know I WILL make one. Maybe I’ll prep a canvas with fabric soon. That way, when the time comes and I finally get the profile photo I love, I’ll just need to stencil it and paint.
In other news, here’s a scary number: 14697. that’s how many images I’ve snapped in the past 14 months (I got my camera Christmas ’08). I had a dream my shutter died. It was more like a nightmare.
By Lisa Gutierrez on 12/14/2009  On Saturday evening, Nathan I put together two dozen candy-cane Rudolphs. I remember my mom making these when I was little, so I thought it’d be a cute little party favor for his class.
His teacher bought stockings and asked for stocking stuffers, so I bought some stickers, pencils, erasers, and we put these together. I think I might buy some individually-wrapped fruit leather, as well. Other parents will be contributing as well, so these kids are going to get a stocking stuffed with goodies a whole week before Christmas!
I’m so excited about his first school party! Being in the AM class at his school means this is going to be a breakfast party. He goes in at 7:50 and I’ll be joining him a little after. Party ends at 9:25 (early dismissal)!
It will also be the last day of his first semester of school. I’m so proud of him! He got a report card a few weeks ago and he had met all of the goals that the district (school? teacher? someone?) set for pre-kindergarteners. He knows his ABC’s (what they look like, and the sounds they make), many different shapes & colors, can count, and is “very nice and extremely helpful” amongst other awesome things. So, while he is the one person in the world who knows how to push the exact buttons to make me spontaneously combust in sheer rage, he also makes me laugh the hardest and my heart beat the fastest. School has been a wonderful step in his life. He’s made friends and is starting to become more and more independent. I can’t believe he turns FIVE in 6 short months! That’s half a decade, man! I should start planning a big birthday party. It’s not too early, is it?
Anywho, these candy cane reindeer are supremely easy to make. I didn’t take any photos during the process, but here are some pithy directions, including a materials list.
Materials:
candy canes
pipe cleaners
jiggly eyes
pom poms
little bells
glue
Directions:
1. Thread bells onto pipe cleaner and shift to center. Twist pipe cleaner once, to secure bell in center.
2. Attach to candy cane at the top of the arch and twist a few times to secure.
3. Wrap antlers around a pencil or knitting needle to make a coil. Remove pencil and shape antlers.
4. Attach pom pom noses and eyes and let dry.
5. there is no 5. you are DONE.
super easy, no? Nathan helped by attaching all the bells and pulling them to the centers (I had already bent all the pipe cleaners in half). He also would pull out the knitting needle after I coiled the antlers.
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![rudolph candy cane [3]](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2520/4185708776_ec457d813c.jpg)
![rudolph candy cane [4]](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2587/4184948597_1035792577.jpg)
