Feeling a little crafty

Maybe it's the hormones or something, but I've been feeling very crafty lately. Usually, that just ends up getting me into all sorts of trouble. :)

My first project was these cute pottery-barn-looking balls.

I am quite proud of how they turned out, though I must warn you that if you are going to make these, be prepared to burn your fingers with the hot glue at least 47 times per ball (unless you are better at hot gluing things than I am, which wouldn't really take much.) In the tutorial, she painted the twine before gluing. I thought it would be faster to paint after, so that is my plan...someday.

My second great project was this:

Now, I'm not sure what I was thinking when I decided to try this. I'd seen lots of tutorials all over about appliquing on different things, and had been wanting to try it. Still, the fact that I don't sew and that I have never done anything this complicated should probably have been a major red flag. I'm not very good at paying attention to red flags. Apparently. We were having a baby shower for my friend, Brittany, and these little trucks match the crib set that she wants for her nursery. I found pictures of the set on her registry at Target. Then I used Photoshop to enlarge the images to the size that I wanted them. I then printed several copies of the image and used them as patterns to cut out the different pieces from fabric. After that it was just a matter of piecing it together and sewing it on the onsie. It was actually a perfect project for the week, since I was spending so much time just sitting on the couch anyway. I was happy with how they turned out, and Brittany even seemed to like them :). Of course, I prefer to think the uneven, crooked stitches add whimsy and character to the outfit. All you master seamstresses out there are not allowed to look at the following pictures :) Alas, I would never have made it as a Jane Austen heroine!