Fun Tutorials I've tried!

Okay, so I've been so busy crafting I haven't been posting.

Can you tell we went to Walt Disney World? I sewed hair bands, using this lovely tutorial:
 http://www.redpoppyquilts.com/2011/03/loopy-flower-hair-bow-tutorial.html


And made the circle skirts, following this one: http://www.danamadeit.com/2008/07/tutorial-the-circle-skirt.html

Ok, well...I sorta followed that tutorial. But I didn't cut a pattern. I did the math, determined the measurements, folded the cloth into a forth, and measured from the corner on down. Then I tied some yarn to a pencil, and held one end at the corner (before cutting the corner out) and drew the quarter circle from one fold to the other. I have pictures. I made a new tutorial, but haven't finished writing it up yet. I sewed the elastic on differently too. So... ok, I got the math from this site, and then ran with it. I'll post mine once it's done.

I also sewed a Mickey/Minnie reversible camera strap cover with the extra material. And then I sewed shirts for the whole family! So I was a little "sewed out" by the time I was finished with the trip. But they all turned out nicely, and we got quite a few compliments while there... especially the princess Minnie shirts. Which surprised me, because I liked the pirate ones better. It took me a while to draw a decent tiara that wouldn't be too hard to sew on. And I used sparkly fabric for it too.

And recently, I sewed a ukulele leash. Basically, a uke strap, but designed differently. Like these: http://www.ukeleash.com/ Only I made mine with pretty ribbon, and with snaps. And it cost me less than three dollars. I don't think I'll write a tutorial for that. I doubt it would reach a lot of people. :P

So after all the sewing, I picked up on baking. A lot. I've been trying to saving money by trying some inexpensive recipes, and I must say that this blog is fabulous. http://penniesandpancakes.blogspot.com/

I haven't bought any pancake mix, cornbread mix, rolls, and I've been trying out dried beans (which are way cheaper than canned ones) and various other things that save money. And freezing my leftovers so we can eat them again one day. I just pulled out some frozen crockpot chili I made from her recipe, and it was delish. (If you try it, USE LESS SALT! Her recipe called for a lot of salt. I was surprised. I had to put it over a baked potato to mellow it out. Other than that, great!)


So the point of this post? Just showing what a terrible and infrequent blogger I am, and sharing some tutorials I've been testing out. I love trying other ideas, and even making them better.

Next on my crafting agenda? Painting. Craft show coming up, and I have four gourd birdhouses in the making, and many cute snowmen to make, as well as a few other things. Yikes, it's next month. I need to get to it!