Paper Crafting Time Out

I've had a Cricut machine (electronic paper cutter) since 2010, and have had a lot of fun with it. I have a tendency to go through phases of using it a lot, then forgetting about it for awhile. Right now I'm on a kick with it, specifically the use of vinyl.

Here are some of my projects:

Invites to my Sister-in-Law's Bridal Shower

Gift Bags for my Sister-in-Law's Bridal Shower 

Vinyl on a shadowbox frame for a "Vacation Fund Bank"

27 Paper Flowers for my Sister-in-Law's Wedding

A Magnetic Menu Board to help with meal planning

This is a roundup of the last several months worth of paper crafting projects. While most of my "free" time is spent sewing, I do like to sneak a few of these projects in! Hopefully I can add some more in the near future!

Ready. Set. SEW!

I have two new goals:

1: Finally add items to the HascherMade Etsy site.
2: Actually update the blog with the wonderful things I have been making.

So here is my last few month sewing roundup.... (I will have a separate paper crafting roundup)

T-shirt quilt made for a friend of a friend

The last few are all baby blankets that I put together in order to sell. The tops are made, but the fleece needs added to the back. My favorite part of these blankets is that I did not use a pattern on most of them. I just laid out the fabric, cut where it felt right, and saw where the blanket went from there! (I did use a pattern I found on Pinterest for the "vintage" baby quilt)

I have been very busy this summer with travels, but my goal is to hunker down on get moving on some of these projects to sell.

It's time for me to get ready, get set, and SEW!

Long Time, No See

For the month of June, I took my little family up north to visit family in Ohio. It was a wonderful trip! Although I didn't create nearly as much as I would've liked, I did the the chance to finish a few projects I had going on!

First is a birthday banner I made for my girls. I've been working on this awhile, but with Reagan's first birthday coming up I had motivation to get it done. I'm pretty proud of how it turned out!

I was also able to deliver a baby blanket to a little man whose mom is a dear friend of mine. His dad is currently serving on a deployment to Afghanistan, so I wanted to put an extra special touch to remind him know how loved he is from afar…

Now that we're back in Oklahoma I've been working hard on my first true paper crafting project, invites to my Sister-in-Law's Bridal Shower! I'll updated with pictures once they have been mailed. I'd hate to ruin the surprise for Emily!

My next few projects will hopefully be underway soon as well.

So until next time… Happy Crafting!

Baby Fever

Not for me. For everyone else. It seems as though most of my Ohio friends are pregnant, or just had a baby. Same thing goes for here in Oklahoma. It seems like everyone is pregnant.

Naturally I am excited for all of the babies.

And excited for many more reasons to create and sew custom gifts for the people I care about. 

I hope the babies enjoy their blankets as much as I enjoy making them!

Here are my most recent, and also a taste of the type of things I plan on selling once I am able to get the Etsy shop up and running.

Enjoy!

Queen Elsa and a Frozen Obsession

To say that my daughter loves the movie Frozen is an understatement. 

She is obsessed! 

We watch it every other day. Every morning she insists I do her hair as either Anna or Elsa. She plays with the toys. She reads the books. She has the decals on the wall. 

It is a good thing I enjoy the movie as well, or I would be driven insane every time we get in the car and she insists we listen to "Frozen music."

So imagine my joy when I found this project on www.makeit-loveit.com.

And here is my little queen Elsa.

(please note the single "Queen Elsa" braid…)

I have some more sewing projects to add, but as they are gifts I have to wait a few weeks to add them. Hopefully I'll have some other sewing projects to add before then!

Until next time!

-Olivia

Quilting for a Cause

Although I live far away, my family is still very close. When my aunt was diagnosed with breast cancer in the fall of 2013, it hurt not to be in Cincinnati. I felt like there was nothing I could do.

Except pray.

And quilt.

This is the quilt I made her. I surprised her with it in September of 2013, while she was still in the diagnosis phase of her battle.

I love making quilts for specific people and for specific occasions. While I make it I am able to think about the person, reminisce on favorite times, and say a few prayers for what is going on in their life. While I prefer not to have a reason like cancer, it helps me to be able to do something for that person. It also helps to think that maybe my quilt is able to bring some comfort in a very difficult time.

I am happy to say that my aunt loved the quilt.

I am even happier to say that she kicked cancer right in the butt and has been in remission since October.

I love you Aunt Amy!

Papercrafting: A Hobby Too Many

I have fallen in love with paper crafting! I've technically been doing it for awhile, as I've been working on Abigail's "First Year" scrapbook for three and a half years now. When the new Cricut Explore came out, I had to have it. I first wanted it to make patterns for appliqué, which was my main use for the old Cricut. 

Ever since the new machine came in the mail I have been obsessed! I even went as far as to decorate my machine with the vinyl that comes with it.

It started as a desire to help my sister-in-law, Emily, with the paper flowers for her wedding:

(Not her wedding colors, just a practice rose)

The obsession became a desire to make a bouquet for the nook in our house. Can you believe all these little pieces are cut by a machine, then easily assembled into something so pretty?

Here are my finished roses. I am waiting to put the stems on and assemble them until I find the perfect vase! While this was time consuming, it was not difficult, and I love how they turned out!

And of course, I had to make a sparkly pink one for my princess!

I need to stop trying new crafting hobbies! I have yet to find a craft I don't enjoy! The more I do, the less time I have for other things, like quilting. Time to get back to basics and pull the out sewing machine again, especially with trying to open a new Etsy shop, and the millions of babies my friends and family seem to be having in June!

Baby items, here I come!

…and we'll have to see how I can work the new Cricut into the mix…