I Really Need to Stick to Painting...

Through my church I was asked to teach 11 year old girls about preparing to became a young woman which includes crafts, learning about life, religion, and homemaking!?!  It was my turn to teach them this last week and I did not have a clue about what to do.  Easter seemed to come so early this year and I had planned on teaching them how to sew on buttons to a little magnet bunny craft project.

Out came the sewing machine, the iron and board, the swear jar…you are getting the picture thus far, right?

I have a cute little bunny pattern that I bought years ago and have used it before.

So how bad could it be to sew up a few little bunnies. NO WHITE THREAD!

 It would either be military (husband) green or scout (son) brown. So they got the brown because it was already loaded-is that the word?

Sewed a few up-much less language then usual! SHOCK!

But still I had to go to the fabric store. The helpful clerk asked if I was looking for “flats” when I said I needed a yard of material. “Flats”?  So I told her I did not speak "fabric". She showed me around and at this point I am trying not to have a panic attack. I don’t do well in places I am not familiar with or know what I am looking for and it was a sea of material….

“Deep breath, be one with the air” as my husband says, ringing in my head.

Poor clerk! She took me by the hand and helped me find some material, white thread and a few buttons.

OK, all is well.

Ended up teaching the girls how to thread a needle and sew on three buttons, put a face on the bunny and color the inside of the ears! YEA! Done!

Homemaking???   My only two talents are painting and eating!

Poor girls. Talk about being out of your comfort zone!

So now I am offering you a “quickie” giveaway to whom ever leaves a comment (good or bad). Hoping to give a good home to these poor little magnet bunnies.

I will try that Random.org drawing thingy again and pick two “lucky” winners on Saturday morning!

I have to go clean the house which will take me until Saturday due to all the dust from pulling up the tiles in the entrance and hallway. At least I do know how to dust!

Remember to sign up for my “real” giveaway!

Enjoy your day and hopefully this post has not tramatized everyone!

Barb

I can not put this off any longer....

I have to get out the sewing machine.....The pile of clothes that needs repair is huge and the "Boy Scout" needs his patches sewn on before tonight.  I would make him do it but he is 12 years old, and emotionally, if I have to help him do it that would send me to the asylum!

So I am in the process of delay.  I have sprayed all the framed art, getting it ready for the show, priced everything that I can think of, blogging, Facebook, Pinterest, doing the laundry....I might as well just bite the bullet and GET THE SEWING MACHINE OUT. 
I guess I could look at it this way...at least I do not have to hand sew it all and I do HAVE a machine!?!.
OK, wish me luck!
On a brighter note, I will be selling my artwork at this fun show in Ogden, Utah.

Click on the link above for more information and a chance to win $$!

Well, I guess it is time for the sewing machine and me to do battle.  I better do it now before the "ears" come home and the "swear jar" comes out.

Enjoy your day,

Barb

Tutorial on a Painter who tried to Sew

Let’s start with the tragic back story (as my kids say to me):

It is not that I don’t know how to sew, it is just an anxiety provoking reflex.

I took sewing in 4-H for about 10 years. Learned allot but did not like it at all.

I had painted this bunny on a huge barn wood frame but the frame had cracked and after trying many different things to fix the frame I came to the realization the it could not be fixed to my satisfaction. Barn wood is like that. So instead of throwing the painting in the trash I had an idea to make it more of a material wall hanging.

Out came the sewing machine…

Out came the ironing board…

Out came the swear jar-compliments of my kids…

The hard part was to try to get the painting off the frame with out destroying the black screen. That was a challenge.

Found some quilt batting and some material that was the right size.  Easy part done.

Next I decided to make my own bias tape. Had done that before in 4-H. I was not going to spend any money on this just encase I decided to throw it away.

Started to sew.  Added a casing on the back so that it could be hung by a dowel.  It did not go on as straight as I thought it would have been once the whole thing was done.  I even measured!?! 

The black screen is really heavy and the green material was fairly light so the machine (or may be it was me) was having a bit of a struggle.

Had to cut some of it down. Next came the bias tape. I was not sure how to do the corners. Called some folks that tried to explain to me how to do it.  Thought I knew what I was doing. Had to redo it a couple of times at the corners because I was not to happy about how it was looking.

Finally gave up and put it together the best I could.

Now the look on my husband’s face when he got home from work was priceless, the swear jar did not get completely filled up and boy did I learn allot!

Finished product…

Now I will need to cut a dowel and I think I will PAINT the round knobs orange.

I might try this again but not in the near future!

Enjoy your day,

Barb