Mother's Day!

So for El Dia De Los Madres, I made cards! SHOCKER. Seriously, though, who doesn't like receiving cards in the mail? ;D

These are the cards I made, from top to bottom: my mom, my paternal grandmother, and my maternal grandmother. My favorite is the one for my mom, and while I like the idea behind the last one, I need to work it out better. Meh. Will continue to play with that one.

My mom loved her card, which made me happy, esp. because she's the one who got me started crafting cards! She does fantastic scrapbook pages, and she shows me all sorts of neat new techniques to try. We couldn't be together this past mother's day, but this upcoming weekend we'll be having a "crafty day" together to make up for it. Can't wait!

Homemade Xmas gifts - yay or nay?

Sorry for the radio silence; my current project was also my biggest project, and I've kind of been focusing my time to that. It's done now, though, and I can share.

Here's the thing, though - it's for a friend who is internet savvy, so rather than just go BLAM and post a picture, I'm going to link the pictures, and you can choose to look if you want. I will only say that it is crochet and it is wearable.

After Xmas, I'll post the pattern and such - I don't know where the pattern is from, because I saw a similar piece on a student while subbing, fell in love with it, and figured out the pattern myself from looking at how the piece was made. It's very simple, though, and I really like how it turned out; I just can't claim credit for it OR give proper credit - the original piece was a gift to the student! xD

Picture one

Picture two

Here's my fear, though - I love my friends and family, and I know they love me. But I worry that what I give them is crap. No matter how well it's made, I really fear that they'll think it's crap. Now, I'll admit part of this fear came about from an offhand crack someone I deeply care about made about a gift I made them last year (no specific pronouns to protect the innocence), calling it a "yarmulke" (apparently I made it too small - but the person is a tiny person and I wasn't sure!). To the point where I haven't made any of the gift I made last year for this year's round.

I like making the gifts, though, because I'm trying to make a gift that the person will love and want to wear/use on site. It's an extension of my joy of gift-giving in general; it's my goal to find something unique to the recipient that they'll also like AND be able to use. So I'm already disappointed if they don't like what I buy; it's even more heartbreaking if they don't like what I made just for them.

At the same time, I don't want to be treated like a charity case, either - feedback is helpful, always, but the joke hurt. I doubt the person meant to hurt, but it still hurt a LOT. (Not that I ever told the person... not to mention how lame am I that an offhand joke made A YEAR AGO is lingering over my head still?)

I guess this is where I am at a standstill - I still love to make things with my hands, but at the same time I don't want to bother if it's not going to be useful or appreciated by the person. If they aren't liking their gifts, then it becomes, to be blunt, creative masturbation - I'm making things for me but claiming they're "gifts". Meh.

Not that this ultimately matters - I mean, for Pete's sake, I've already made the majority of gifts this year, and this is one of the few years where it's been a NECESSITY due to financial issues. Ultimately I think the people I love take it as my slightly-better macaroni picture of love for them, like I did when I proudly gave my parents my class "artwork". So whether it's actually a good gift depends on the recipient, but ultimately it's received with the intention that I made it for them because I love them. =)

Aaaand on that note it just occurred to me yet another damn gift I'd like to make for people. God dammit. I'M ADDICTED TO GIFT MAKING, I CAN'T STOP.

Hallowe'en Craftiness

So, as I've mentioned before, I'm an unemployed teacher. Nothing I did, just the way the chips fell with the economy and the budget cuts statewide. Ugh.

I am working as a substitute teacher, and unemployment makes up the difference, so we're not broke, but we're trying to be cheap and frugal when need be.

One of those frugal choices was Halloween - we wanted to have fun costumes, but not spend a lot of money. We thrift-store hunted and modified as needed. I went as a Roller Derby girl, and I made my own shirt:

I was lucky - the trims were on sale for 50% off, so I spent about $3 for the trims. Paint cost about $3, and the shirt itself was a whole $2.

I found the stencils at Michaels in a set for $5. I painted the fire first, then layered the skull on top once the painted fire was dry.

My "derby name" and number - hey, if I'm hell on wheels, I should have an appropriately demonic number! (The derby name is a play on our last name, hence the double n.)

Aaaand me in full costume. Helmet is thrifted, found the skirt at a thrift store and cut it WAAAY short (esp. in back - oops), and found the knee socks at a thrift store, too. The fishnets are tights that I cut the crotch out of and cut the feet - the "crotch hole" went around my shoulders, and I owned the black tights already. So basically I made my costume for about $25! I had skates, too, but I didn't get a chance to practice in them before we went to my cousin's house - and I didn't want to get an RUI, or fall on my butt, frankly. Hehe.

Most people got it immediately, and I was told the shirt was the best part. It's my favorite part, too - I'm glad I found those stencils to make the "logo" of the team!

Just 'cuz I can crochet doesn't mean I should, probably... ;D

Xmas '09 gift for Joey 2
Originally uploaded by mantequilla81

WUT UP.

Ok, I love this photo, hahaha. But that's because I'm a dork.

So the sad thing about this project is that the gloves are for my friend Joey... who is very much a dude. Yet you can see that these fingerless gloves fit me well. *sigh* I have man hands. I'm a 5'10" Amazonian woman that desperately wishes I was 5'2" and dainty. It's like a St. Bernard trying to be a lap dog. xD

BUT I like how the gloves turned out. I think Joey will, too. They're simple and WARM, and they'll go with a cool leather jacket or a pea coat (as Joey is a fashionable sort). And if he doesn't like them, well... then hopefully he'll lie and tell me he does. Good thing I'm working on a stationary set for him, too. Speaking of, I'll have to show that set when it's done - it's probably one of the cooler card sets I've ever made. Which reminds me, I need to get back to work on those, I still have 4-6 of those to make...

Anyway, this is the second to last crochet project for the holidays, but the last one will be a looooong one. It's a scarf, and it's a scarf I'm trying to figure out from only looking at it. Oy. We'll see how it goes!

See? I make stuff.

I do make things, I don't just point out other people's awesome stuff.

The only problem is I don't make anything mind-blowingly original. I'm aware that there's nothing new under the sun, but man I sure wish I could come up with something awesome that takes off and everyone wants to make themselves... like marble magnets. (Not that I don't make marble magnets, haha, I freakin' LOVE making marble magnets!)

One area where I'm not that creative but I'm capable is crochet. I enjoy the simple patterns, as I'm still new at it, plus the repetition is soothing to me (same with knitting, but knitting takes longer so I tend to fall back to crochet). I accept that I'm not making anything mind-blowing, but I really wish I had the brain to create patterns. Too much math for my simple literature-minded brain; it's a miracle I've trained enough in sewing to look at a sewing pattern and (mostly) figure it out! They used to look like complicated 1000+ piece puzzles when I glanced at them. xD

Anyway. Xmas is coming, and it's my favorite time of year. Unfortunately, this year is going to have to be thriftier than previous years due to my technical "unemployment", so I'm starting early and crafting the hell out of everything. xD The first two completed projects: Neckwarmers! My grandmas are both in Chicago, which gets fa-REEZING in January and February, and as they're not as young and spry as they used to be, I'm afraid they're always going to freeze outside. Last year was hats and pocket-warmers (ceramic pie weights in a nice blue fabric), this year is neckwarmers and hot cocoa mixes! (I haven't tried the recipe yet for m'self - if I try it and like it, I'll definitely share!)
The pattern is by Stephanie Gage, and can be found here on Crochet Me. The idea is that they wrap around the neck, and can fold over or stay up as the wearer sees fit.

I'm crocheting 2-3 more gifts this year. After that... actually, I'm not sure! Hahaha. Gotta review my xmas list again. I LOOOOVE xmas, and I'm very fortunate that I have friends and family that humor me and pretend to like their homemade gifts. =)