Today is the last day to vote for the 2014 Spring FDC

As the title says, today is the last day entry y to vote for The Doll Wardrobe's Spring Fashion Design Challenge. My entry is #31. Any and all votes are appreciated!

I'm back to sewing thanks to The Doll Wardrobe's contest

I can't believe that it has been close to a year since I updated this blog! Oh where to start....

Well, to explain my absence. I've been putting A LOT of work into my paper crafting. Specifically making card kits for Make and Takes at my LSS. My LSS closed in December, so we've been doing all of our regular activities in the massive studio of a friend. When I make a card kit, I make it suitable for Operation Write Home (check out the link). I am now the coordinator for my local OWH group, so I am in charge of getting donations, scheduling card drives, and shipping the cards to HQ. 

As far as fabric goes, I'm still working on transferring my fabric from boxes to filing cabinets. So far I have 3 filing cabinets full, but I still have a lot of boxes to empty. So far it looks like I will need about 3-4 more filing cabinets. As I am going through my fabric I am actually getting rid of some. Not a lot, but a few pieces here and there.  Hi, I'm Jenifer and I am a fabric addict.

So, now to what got me back into sewing.

I've participated in The Doll Wardrobe's Fashion Design Challenge a few times now, and when they posted the contests for this year, I knew I had to participate. The theme is Meet Outfit, and after some thought I opted to do a modern outfit instead of a historical. I was inspired by my 11 year old son and his favorite outfit. Check out the album here and then vote here.

My sewing machine has a permanent home on my desk, so I'm hoping if I stare at it enough I will be encouraged to sew more. I miss it, but I've been spoiled by card making since they go together quicker and I can take them to crops to work on them.

Until next time.....

Celebrating 100 posts and my new craft room!

I am sorry that it has been so long since I updated my blog. My craft room is all put back together now and is functioning perfectly! I've even made a couple of outfits and listed them in my Etsy shop. I didn't realize it until I logged in that my last post was #100. Where does the time go?!?!

So, here is my completed craft room:

It has been about 3 weeks, and it looks pretty much the same. Well, the layout is the same, but the mess is always changing since there is always a new project to do, fabric to sort, and paper to buy.

The first thing I made in my new craft room was a short sleeve Regency style dress.

Click here to see the listing in my Etsy shop.

Right after that I was inspired by an outfit I saw on Pinterest. (Here is my Pinterest page: http://pinterest.com/gomunk/)

1951 Silk Sailor Dress

And here is my final outfit:

Click here to see the listing in my Etsy shop.

I've also been working on some papercrafting projects, but I'm currently enjoying the wave of sewing mojo so my papercrafting has been put on the back burner. 

I am already working on another outfit. Since I was able to go through pretty much all of my fabric and craft supplies as I put my craft room together, I gathered up a box of unfinished projects and am trying to work from there right now. The dress I am working on right now is something I cut out almost 5 years ago!

The Great Fabric Sort is still going. It has been "sew" nice to go through all of my fabric and be reinspired. Thanks to that and Pinterest, my To Sew List is growing and growing and growing.... 

Until next time...

A progress picture as promised

So the kids were on spring break last week and I realized that was a bad time for me to try to get my room together and a video done during the day time. The kids went back to school today and it's already more quiet around the house.
Since I haven't had a chance to do a video of my room and it still needs more work, here's a sneak peek picture of my room so far. I want to call it an organized chaos but I will call it a semi organized chaos. :) It honestly looked a little better up until yesterday when I had to finish three projects at once and I managed to get my scrapbooking stuff spread out everywhere.
I will do my best to get it cleaned up and get a video out this week. I will also make sure that I do it in landscape mode instead of portrait mode like last time.  :)

Spring Break 2013

Yay, it's Spring Break!

April Fools!!!!

I'm a SAHM of three elementary school boys. Spring break now means a whole nother thing. Well, on the upside, I do get to sleep in past 7am. :)

My new craft room is coming along nicely. The wobbly bookshelf has been repaired, the boys' old dressers have been combined as a way to hold dolls and trims, and my dressform is set up and decked out in my GC apron and my Donna Downey Apronology Class apron..

I still have some shelves to hang, but am working around that for now. My sewing is still on hold for now, but I'm finally getting my sewing stuff unpacked. Most of my scrapbooking stuff is unpacked but the rest of the stuff is waiting for my hanging shelves. I have two sets of ATCs to work on (due the 7th and the 9th) and two sets of embellishments due on the 7th (I missed last month's swap). I also have a couple of card sets I want to do for our next Operation Write Home card drive next month. My LSS was closed for Good Friday, so I will be working my butt off at the Friday night crop there this week. Luckily most of what I take to crop stays packed up and ready to go, so I won't have to search for much before I head out the door.

For sewing, I have a set of Transformers curtains I want to make for my youngest son's room (I have had the fabric for at least a year and a half, maybe longer). I also have a custom Carvewright cover to make for my dad. After those, I have a list of doll sized things I want to work on, and Pinterest has been very inspiring. :) I also need to open the serger I got for Christmas and learn how to use it.

I intended to put up a video of how my craft room is doing today, but it's in a semi-organized chaos right now, and since it's late I won't have any natural light. I will get an updated video done and posted before the week is done.

Until next time!

Finally, a new house, and a new craft room.

Watch "New house, new craft room." on YouTube

After 4 years, I am finally back in a house after being in an apartment and I have an actual craft room again. Please excuse my nasally voice and my sniffles, my allergies are acting up since the pollen is our in full force.

We got the keys to and a half weeks ago, and this is the last, and hardest room to unpack. When we started moving this was the first room I pack there was so much stuff. I still have so much more to be moved in here, let alone unpacked. So much stuff and so little time and space.

Hi, my name is Jenifer and I'm addicted to dolls,fabric, frogs, and scrapbook stuff. Lol! Luckily, my frogs are not displayed in my craft room, they are displayed throughout the house.

Cards for Operation Write Home

I am a veteran.

I am the wife of a veteran.

I am the daughter of two veterans.

I am the granddaughter of three veterans.

I am the niece of five veterans.

My husband and I both come from a family full of veterans. One thing you know as military member is that you are going to spend time away from your family. Whether it's for training, TDY, deployment, or a unaccompanied/remote tour.
Thankfully means of communication between military members and the family they are away from has been made easier and more frequent with the advances in technology. When I was overseas, I was so glad that I was not only able to call home, but I was able to webcam with my son even though he was too young to know what was going on the webcam quality then was no where near the quality it is now.
In these days of technologies like webcams and e-mails, we often forget how wonderful it is to see a handwritten letter or card. It's easier to scrapbook handwritten letters instead of e-mails. Sometimes seeing somebody handwriting on a letter means so much more than just the words that are written.
A few months ago one of my scrapbook buddies introduced me to the organization Operation Write Home. I love it! I wish this would have been around when I was overseas. Check it out!

So, while I've been away from my blog for the past couple of months, I've been focusing on my cards for Operation Write Home (OWH) and my Artist Trading Cards (ATCs).
Here are the cards I've been doing:

 

 

So, sorry for the long post, the long absence, and the tons of pictures. I am working on sorting my fabric stash right now as a way to neaten it and a way to get my sewing mojo up and running again. I found the idea on Pinterest and fell in love with the idea. Pictures to follow, I promise.

Until next time......

Happy (belated) Halloween!

Happy Belated Halloween!

Three costume swaps and a night of trick-or-treating sure have made October pretty fun. The costume sewing swaps are always my favorite swaps of the year because there is so much variety when it comes to costumes. Just like I did last year, I participated in three costume sewing swaps this year: AG Playthings, AG Dollhouse, and AG Over 18.

AG Over 18 swapped first:

Steampunk Dorothy (also my 1st entry for the Doll Wardroobe Fasion Design Challenge)

From me to LizzieBees

Firefly's Jayne Cobb and Doctor Who's TARDIS

From BeanBunny to me

Then AG Playthings swapped:

Pumpkin

From me to Kizzie

The 11th Doctor (Matt Smith) from Doctor Who

From LissaRae to me

And then finally AG Dollhouse swapped:

An 1820's N'Awlins dress for Cecile

From me to Amy

A blue princess dress for Molly

From Kizzie to me.

You can see my album here for my pictures of all of these outfits.

Kizzie and I have swapped back and forth before, so I thought it was funny that we were swapping yet again. Check out her blog!

Check out Liz's cute Etsy shop!

BeanBunny's blog and website is full of crafts and tutorials!

And finally, check out Amy's Esty shop too!

Vote for me!

Steampunk Dorothy

Check out my entry to the Doll Wardrobe Blog's Fashion Design Challenge:
http://dwfashiondesignchallenge.blogspot.com/2012/10/blog-post_3150.html


I sent this outfit out as my costume swap for my AG Over 18 LiveJournal group. I included a basket and a dog too, but they didn't make it to the pictures. 

To vote, you can either e-mail them at the bottom of the outfit post, or you can comment on the outfit post itself.

Outfit #2 is going on right now, and I just submitted my design idea to them on Friday. The second outfit is coming along nicely, and I'm super excited to see my vision come together.

So, vote for me please! Voting ends November 9th!

Knock knock! Who's there?

Boo!

It's that time of year again! It's Fall which means Halloween and costume/fall sewing swaps!
This year it also brings the Doll Wardrobe Blog's Inaugural Fashion Design Challenge Contest. There are two outfits and three rounds for each outfit: Design, In Process, Complete.
The first outfit is done, and since I used it as a Costume Swap outfit, it shipped out last week. I'm looking forward to the recipient getting it and I hope they like it as much as I enjoyed making it. I'll post pictures once the contest entries are posted and/or the recipients posts pictures of it.

Last month my machine crashed. After talking to Brother Customer Service we determined it was probably the motherboard. I was sad that my machine was out of commission, but since it's prime sewing season for me, I did not have the time nor the patience to have it repaired. So, I sat it to the side and called my dear hubby while he was at work. We looked online and before the day was done, a new and improved machine was ordered. Since I was in the middle of a project and even though it would only be a couple of days before my new one arrived, my mom loaned me her sewing machine. I was able to get a piece done for my outfit while waiting for my new machine, and once my new machine arrived I was in heaven!

While playing with my new machine and trying out all of the new stitches, I also played with my new alphanumeric font. Check it out!

Oh, and speaking on costume swaps, here's the first of three swaps I received.
Firefly's Jayne and Doctor Who's TARDIS:

For reference, here's Jayne:

and info on the Blue Sun Corp. 

Next Monday I'll be shipping out the outfits for the second and third swaps. The one for the third swap is already done, but the second one is still on the sewing table. I need to hurry up and finish it this week since I have a Scrapbooking Crop for a Cure this weekend. 

Sew, until next time....