Warm-Fuzzy "Cake"

The Farewell party was coming up quickly! Time was running out to whip up the perfect going-away/house-warming gift...  My dear friend's family is moving from Indianapolis to Minneapolis.  They will definitely enjoy the moderate temps and low humidity during the summer, but you gotta pay for the lovely weather sometime & that time is winter - OUCH!  They need to start channeling Nanook of the North and thicken that blood cuz Old Man Winter comes early and stays late!! 

I've been seeing the cloth diaper baby 'cakes' in stores and on blogs.  So, I decided I would make them a Minnesota Warm-Fuzzy Cake.  Leave it to me to work with fleece on the hottest week of the year *blistering*!!  I practically had to get naked just to touch the stuff!!  *TMI.sorry*  For some crazy reason I can't stop using the sewing machine.  Sheesh!  I'm drawn to it like a moth to a flame!!  ZAP!  sizzle, sizzle

I made each family member an Indianapolis Colts scarf to wear proudly when the Colts go to the Super Bowl again : )  The girls got flowers or ruffles on their scarves to feminize it and those 2 became the top layer of my cake.

The boys got fringe and their scarves became the bottom layer.

For the cake plate I went to Goodwill and found a faux marbled candlestick and a charger - $3 for both & cheaper than a gift bag.

I inverted the candlestick so the hole on the bottom is covered, and used E6000 epoxy to bond it to the charger.

A quick spray job and Voila! (I used appliance white Rustoleum epoxy because I already had it and also so I wouldn't have to seal it. Now it's washable and moisture resistant - I still wouldn't serve food directly on it though)

I draped tulle around the cake that they can use as mosquito netting if necessary haha!

I glued paperclips to skewers with a quick spray for picture holders.

I added some pictures on the top to remind them of their time here. *I even did a stalker drive-by and snapped a picture of their house*

Goodness!  I think it looks almost good enough to eat : P

 Now if only I could get a monster snow blower on top of there!!!

Blessings
MLE

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Daisy Dukes Transformation

For some reason I couldn't bring myself to do any crafts for July 4th.  Day after day I looked at all of the adorable & patriotic projects that everyone was kickin out to celebrate the day but I couldn't find the motivation to join in.  I've been flying the American flag since Memorial Day so I'm not un-American but when it came time to making something... Nothing!

And then on Sunday afternoon as the brownies were baking to take to our party it suddenly hit me!  I desperately needed to decorate my clothes in red, white & blue.  Sheeesh!  procrastination to the nth degree I'm telling ya! *I'd have some words for my kids about that kind of behavior*!!

I flew into action with super human speed and whipped out what I can only describe as my Daisy Duke shorts embellished with fabric rosette flowers.  I was in such a collosal rush that I hot glued them right to my shorts while I was still wearing them! : )  * I can't believe I'm posting my worn shorts!! Forgive me?*

Well, Ok! so now it's July 8th and I've had about all I can take of the Daisy Dukes.  I don't think I can put them through the wash since I hot glued them, can I?  I decided against it but I still wanted the rosettes.  I wanted to use them for my original idea...

Gosh! I love multi-purpose & versatility!!

Blessings!

MLE

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Miscellany Monday

{1}  Hope you all had a great 4th celebration!  it was hottern bejeezus outside but the fireworks were cool!!

{2}  Ya know, one of the things I really love about blogging is the terrific exchange and sharing of ideas.  It's where like-minded people gather to see what 's going on in blogland.  Not only is 'borrowing' perfectly acceptable, but with all the wonderful tutorials out there, strongly encouraged!  I love that!!  I really enjoy seeing what the hot trends are in blogging projects and also everyone's different spin in making a borrowed idea their own.  And almost everyone here is kind and encouraging and supportive of each others' efforts!

{3}  My friend's husband died last week the day before their anniversary!  So the day that marked the beginning of their life together was the first day she had to learn to live life without him!!  my heart aches for her...

{4}   I can peel an apple in one long continuous strand : )  I baked an apple pie this weekend.

{5}  Seinfeld is still hilarious!!!  we just saw the 'shrinkage', poached lobster, ugly baby episode-hahahaha

Share your Randoms!

Blessings!
MLE

Ruffles - Finally!

I have several different projects that are 'Under Construction' right now but haven't completed yet. So, today I decided to start another one : )

I've been thinking & thinking about what to do with my other $1 fabric samples. I know I said I wanted to make pouches out of them but I'm not quite ready to tackle another zipper *lol*. I've been pouring over all of the inspiring ideas you all have been putting out there and when I got to Ucreate's post Wednesday *check it out here* I knew it was finally time for me to board the Ruffle.Camera.Strap bandwagon!!  I'm sorta late to the party but now I had my mission.  I studied this great tutorial *here* and was anxious to get started right away... so I disregarded the step where I disassemble a strap, and the part where I use fusible interfacing *cuz I didn't have any* and decided to just sew it right on my existing strap instead.

I knew just the fabric I wanted to use!

Isn't it yummy?  It's linen and flocked or smocked or something - I call it fuzzy *somebody educate me here please!*.  Before it was discontinued, it retailed for $44.99/yd!!  I got the 17" X 17" sample PLUS 3 smaller color swatches for $1.  Well, I thought it was just perfect for this project!  And I was finally getting my ruffle, too : )  *contented sigh*

Since I only had a fabric sample I was going to have to sew some extra seams to achieve my lengths - I certainly did not have 46" to sew one continuous ruffle.  And upon sewing my first ruffle segment I realized I was losing all of the pattern.  What a shame!  At least I'll always have the before pictures : )  

I wanted to add a flower to my strap but this fabric was too heavy to make into a yo yo flower.  The black window sheer that I had used for my wristlet was too light.  I still had about 1/3 of the sample left so I did this instead:

Now I know that the center of this flower looks suspiciously similar to the one on the wristlet but I promise you it's actually this detail on the cream sample.  (the poofy looking thing)

Of course no one will ever know that but me *and now you* and that's enough for me!  I don't want to become known as the Fray Freak so I'm backing off fraying for a while after this. : )

My camera definitely deserves the ruffled treatment because she provides all the pretty pictures that hold your attention here at my little blog *the poor angles and lighting are all me, however*.  I love the way the linen feels on my neck. You can still see some of the lovely fabric detail if you look on the back.   And I finally have my ruffles; although I hadn't really envisioned that they would go around the BACK of my neck and not the front of my shirt or on a cute purse but hey! I'm good with that!!

One word of caution: if you get carried away thinking about what you're going to say in a post while you're supposed to be focusing on sewing, you're going to need the seam ripper A LOT!  One of these days it'll be just a bench warmer and not get sooooo much game time!!  Grrrrrrr

Well, I guess I can cross this project off my list 'cuz I actually completed it!!  So - Yay!  I also think I need to walk away from the sewing machine because it's driving me crazy!  I wish I was a better seamstress!  The weather has really cooled off here so I should probably take this opportunity to go outside and finish some of my paint projects...

I hope you all enjoy a wonderful *and safe* Fourth of July!!

Blessings!
MLE