More Japan and Changing the blog

First of all, thank you. Thank you for your words of support in my last post. I keep thinking of how I can help people in Japan. I don't want just to talk about it, I want to do something about it. Until I can think of something better, I'll keep linking to places and organizations that are helping out. 

So, if you are looking for handmade goods, supplies, or art related products, here are a few places you might want to check out who are donating part or all of their proceeds to helping Japan:

This and That From Japan (etsy shop with lots of cute things)

Pikaland (art/illustration blog and shop)

A Bit o This and That (blog from a British mom living in Japan - she's having an auction)

As for this blog, well... I've been trying different things when it comes to its look and the content. 

• Tutorials page added - it's still a work-in-progress. It'll look better soon, I hope.
• New background and header - designed by yours truly, as I am trying to get better at creating all my own elements.
• Upcoming bookshelf page - I'll be adding a page where I list books related to art, crafting, crafting with kids, and others that I find helpful

Speaking of tutorials, I'll share what I did for my background. You are welcome to download and use/modify this pattern if you want. If you're not a big fan of the colors, flowers, or anything really, you can use the tutorial as a basis to make your own.

Here's what I did:

1. Using red ink and watercolor paper, I inked the tip of my little finger as a "petal" stamp and made several flowers around the paper.
2. Using a sharpie, I made small centers for each flower. 
3. Scanned the picture and opened it in Photoshop Elements
4. Adjusted the levels and color curves until the flowers had the shading I wanted
5. Added a layer with some scratchy texture that I got TTV. If you're not familiar with TTV textures, or don't like them, you can always do a search for a free texture online or not use a texture at all.
6. Adjusted the opacity of the texture layer to about 20% for a subtle effect.
7. Saved as a jpg paying attention to the size of the file, since Blogger only accepts up to 300K.
8. Uploaded it as my background.

There are many, many ways to do something like this. You can make just a few flowers and clone them through the picture, or create a brush with the pattern. Also, depending on the pattern, you need to pay attention to the size of your canvas, otherwise it might come out weird looking when Blogger repeats the background. 

I also made the header using the magic wand tool and I'll have a tutorial on that later.

Is anyone interested in PS Element tutorials using pictures and step-by-step instructions? Would you like me to continue or stop with PS Element tutorials?

Homemade Valentines Part I

This is the first in a two part installment series... Really I just haven't finished all the projects, but I figured I'd share what I have.

I'm not a fan of the commercialism of Valentine's day, but I do appreciate the sentiment of showing your loved ones some extra tenderness. So I usually go for handmade gifts, of course.

I made these drawstring bags to fill with homemade chocolate lollipops etc (will share those soon) and give to N.'s daycare teachers. They are wonderful. It's a sanity saver being able to trust and like the people you leave your baby with when you have to go to work. So, yes, they get homemade valentines.

Here's the pattern for a finished size of 4x6 bags:

1) Cut your choice of fabric 5' w x 8' h - I used white muslin.

2) Wrong side - Fold and iron 1/2 in on each side and keep folded. Fold and iron the top 1/4 in, then 1/2 in keeping the original 1/4 in folded. Pin the top.

3) Wrong side - Sew the top using a decorative stitch, leaving as much as you can of the 1/2 fold opened to pull the string through.

4) Wrong side - Cut a very small slit where the top fold meets the side seams. Fold and iron the fabric width-wise.

5) Wrong side - Sew the bottom (1/2 in) and the opened side (1/2 in) all the way to where the opening for the string meets the seam.

6) Turn the bag right side out. Pull a ribbon through the opening.

7) Add embellishments to the front of the bag. I cut a fabric and (smaller) felt heart and hand stitched to the front of one bag, then cut felt flowers and hands stitched it to the other.

details: 1) you can use smaller seam allowances; 2) these bags only have one string coming out of one side, while lots of drawstring bags have strings coming out of both sides that you pull at the same time. I wanted to try something different for these.

Do you celebrate Valentine's day? How? 

More projects finished

I finally finished the scarf and hat I wanted to send to my niece. I kept getting involved in a thousand other things, but I finally got to it. My daughter's little buddy is modeling the two pieces.

(yep, picture is blown)

I also decided to make a little gift bag to send the hat and scarf in. It took me all of one hour! I love these quick projects. All I did was sew the bag and the lining with scraps of fabric I have around. Here are some rough general (and maybe confusing?) directions:

1. Cut four rectangular or square pieces of two fabrics (2 x 2). The lining pieces should be about one inch shorter then the outside.
2. Line the matching pieces (RS) and pin. Sew leaving a little opening on one side. Repeat with the other two pieces (lining) but leave a 10 cm opening on the back seam.
3. Put the outer bag (RS out) completely inside the lining (WS out), line the top edges and seams, pin the tops and sew them together (I used a zigzag stitch on the machine).
4. Push the bag through the gap in the back seam of the lining, pull it out, turning the lining RS out at the same time.
5. Using a ladder stitch, close the gap, leaving just a small opening to pull the ribbon/cord through. 
6. Take a ribbon and push/pull through the gap between the lining and outer bag.
7. I left the edges of this section raw, but you can certainly finish it for a more professional look.

I hope my little niece likes it! I love making stuff for the little ones in our family.

Oh yeah!

Stay tuned for a home decor/cooking related giveaway later this week