I won't Lie

Jessa looks amazing!!!

You need a set for your school? Leave me a comment with the size and school. I'll check my vendors and see if a jacket is available!!! :)

Another Jacket

The Katy Tigers are looking pretty good again this year!! Going to State? I hope so!!!
I made this little set for Jessa. Gona be a little chilly this weekend and I wanted her to be warm. The set includes a Custom Katy Tiger Denim Jacket which includes the Mascot in silver/black shimmer. A red Punk it UP denim tutu that she can also wear for Christmas and Valentine's Day and red/white striped leg warmers. Mom has promised me some pictures from the game!!!

Texas A & M Boutique Denim Jacket

I have not been very good at keeping up with blogging. Sorry. I seem to be apologizing a lot lately... LOL
My excuse?? Working, sewing, cleaning, kids, travel and my addiction to FaceBook. OUI!!!
Here is a little denim jacket for all you Aggie fans.



It is a Tommy Hilfiger unisex size 5. It should fit a 4/5, maybe with the sleeves rolled up, then to a 6/7. Lindsey, my model is a skinny 7/8, and it fits her well.
Trying to get it listed on my website, but it is not responding.... Rrrr
The price is $65, 70 with shipping. It is one of a kind. I *may* be able to make another in a different size, however finding denim jackets right now is tough. If you HAVE a jacket you would like designed for you custom, just leave me a message!! :0)

North Carolina Pic for My Patio!!

Keeley & Megs Wedding pics

Eight States in 20 hours!!!

Just pics for now!!
Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, So. Carolina, and finally, North Carolina!!

Drama, LOL

We have been hit by the H1N1 virus.
Lauren went down last week and I think I had it a couple weeks ago. I'm not sure, but I was sure sick ((and in denial!!)) Lauren, as of today, has been fever free for 36 hours now. Just waiting for the rest of the family to start dropping like flies..
On to sewing... creating... designing...

I realized I had not been keeping up with or listing anything on my website (or here, either!!) My bad! I have not been sewing for ME, only the occasional gift or request. So, officially, KraftyMommas Boutique is back in business after a ONE year hiatus. I had to find a way to retrieve my password to get into the admin part of my website. Tricky and it took me most of a day. I am a dork, yes.
Wanna know the WHY I decided to start sewing for kids again? All that CPSIA crap from months ago? Well, it seems that FINALLY textiles have become exempt!! Yes!! Yes!! After months of fighting, closing my shop, being depressed... EXEMPTED!!! WOOT!!
Bad thing: Matel, the stupid company that broke all the rules regarding lead in the first place, and knowingly brought toys to us from overseas laden with lead, well, they got a special exemption too!! BOYCOT MATEL PRODUCTS!! JMHO.
Anyhoo.. back to me... heh-heh
I am sewing and photographing and selling again!! Yea me!!




















Just take a look at this cute Giraffe Set modeled by my friends DD, Carlee. Carlee was doll... She has never ever modeled before and did a great job. The set is a 24 months to 4T. For reference, Carlee wears a 3t/4t.
I also took Penelope the Pirate to a different level. Showing her on a denim shirt with muted Fall colors. Would be nice on a brisk day over a tee or Turtle neck. Shown with a matching Back 2 Basics patchwork twirl skirt. Both are size 6-7-8. Shirt is a Medium. For reference, Lindsey wears a 7 slim.














Both outfits are for sale on my website .
There are a bunch of new there too. Onesies, skirts, Halloween, Christmas. I also take customs, so just ask!!
I am so glad y'all stopped by to check on me.
Life is a roller coaster, especially with the size and age of my family.
I am in for the ride, so sit back, seat belt on and hang on for your life!!!
*PEACE* :0)

Egg Toss, Jeopardy, Babin's Land

All Staff at Babin's this morning.
The pictures are more fun than talking about it.

Bruce sports his apron/team poster.















KRod cracks me up with her mouth wide open while she tosses!!



Nice catch Josh!!


Ewwwww...






Another one bites the dust












Josh caught the winning egg, thrown by Jeff Thompsen.



Da winners



Carnage.

GO!! Red Team

Tomorrow is one of Babin's biannual All Staff Meetings. The theme is Luau or Hawiian... Beach. Ummmm, my personal favorite. Right? I am on Bruce's team, again. I can't remember having any other team captain, it's been that many times Bruce has chosen me. :0)
Our team color is red. We are wearing red shirts... The team poster I made this time is actually an upcylcled apron from B's that I did a little applique and paint on.
I will *try* to remember to take my camera with me this time so I can share the fun and learning experience we have!

Port O'Connor Mini Vacation

I have been in such a need to just get away, if even for just 2 days, and I finally did!!
YIPPEE!!
A friend of hubs has this *beach* house (not actually ON the beach, but 3 mins away) in Port O'Connor, Texas. He offered it to our family for any weekend we wanted. We planned it and got out of our Katy house without a hitch.... Almost.
So, we took two vehicles for comfort and so we could bring Rosie-Pants. :0)
I drove the Girlz car; Lauren, Lindsey, Rosie and I. Scott and Shane took the Dodge PU. Following the Boyz, about two hours into the drive, I realized I left the big black bag at home on my bed. It contained ALL of "Us Girlz" clothing, undies, swim suits....
AAARRRGGGGHHH!
I remembered all the food, batteries, dog food, trash bags.... You name it, I got it. But not MY stuff. LOL We only had the clothing on our backs. Flip flops.
First night there, Shane and I got out and about to find the pier, the beach... a STORE. We found it all. But trying to find the house was a joke. I got to a stop sign and was signaling to make a left, changed my mind, and flipped the signal to right. As I turned the wheel, the blinker must have clicked off, cuz a minute later, behind me in the darkness was police lights.
?????? What the....????
*wiped the sweat off my brow*
I played my tourist hand, 'cuz thats the truth and all I got. I drove away with a warning. And white knuckles. And I made sure to exaggerate my signals at every turn.
Saturday morning the girls and I rose early and set out around town to question the local gals about finding swim suits for ourselves. (The house is equipped with a washer and dryer.... I can deal with that!) We were pointed into the direction of Sisters Gift Shop. When we found it, I was worried. It looked too tiny to offer anything that would fit, much less afford.
Ahhhhhh. One should NEVER judge a book by its cover!!


LOVE-LOVE-LOVE the blue with yellow trim!!!


At 9:21 AM, Kathy Hoskins was outside, between the 2 buildings that makes the shop so unique. Realizing I was yet one more lost tourist, she offered help. Directions to the nearest Walmart, 60 miles away. She saw the terror on my face and invited us in to look around. 39 mins before opening time.
Kathy showed me three suits, but only one was my size. Pink. Ruffles. Bikini. Little. Never.
I tried it on. It fit PERFECT!! And, I think I looked FAB-U-LOUS!! LMAO
Lins got a cute little bikini, and Lauren decided on a pair of boys surf shorts with a tank. Ca-Ute!!
The best thing?? Kathy and her sister, Teresa Gonzales, own this incredible little Boutique and have created a place where EVERY girl NEEDS to shop. They get in new stuff every week and the prices are better than reasonable. I was afraid my cute little pink bikini was going to cost a fortune, but when I saw it was only $18, I was ready to buy the white one too!! (I'll be getting that suit when we go back!) Gonna sock away a few nights pay at Babin's for the next trip so I can go s.h.o.p.p.i.n.g!








The beach was fun. Not crowded. Dogs. Moms. Kids. Locals. I had a nice conversation with a woman from Sugarland. Sure makes me wish we could afford 2 homes. I could live in POC June through August. Easily. Honest. I really could. The people I met were more than nice. Like meeting a family I never knew I had.
I can't wait to go back.
So.... That's pretty much it. We BBQed some burgers and Shan''s 6 pack of Mangrove Snapper. Ate in style with lots of flavor.








Rose brought all the boy dogs in the neighborhood over to our yard, with her girly scent. THAT was interesting.
The drive home was interesting to say the least. Our previous drive to get there, was over 3 hours. Home? 2 hours, 25 mins. 75 all the way. I still have a cramp in my calf. LOL I put more highway miles in this weekend than I have in 3 years total. LOL I miss traveling.
Enjoy my photos. I'm smiling whilst I post them!

Hermit Crab Hnting






Lone Hermit Crab on the beach.









Mmmmm. Rock Crab.



Hee-hee. Pink Bikini. :0)















My real reason why I love POC so much?? They named a street after me.

I Gave Up Painting For Quilting ~ Part 2

While the quilt was getting quilted, I finished making the binding. Now, quilters, mind you, I don't traditionally bind my quilts. Hereis how I made this particular binding.
I started with more of the 5inch squares I had left over from the quilt. I decided on a pattern, and started sewing one long line of squares.
((Pardon the burnt starch on my ironing board. I know. It looks disgusting.))
The long strip of squares has to be ironed into the shape I need it in so it will fit as an easy casing over the edges of the now triple layer quilt.
First, I iron it in half. Then I go back to the beginning and open up the binding and then bring the edges to the inside. Iron firmly.

Fold over and match the edges. Iron. Starch, iron again.







Wrap the binding around the edge of the quilt and start sewing!! I am not a pin user.... But most people will pin the binding down before sewing. I find that step time consuming and the pins always get in the way. My machine likes to eat them.



I put *after market* loops on the back in case Allison wanted to hang the quilt in the baby's nursery. These have their own stitching, so they may be removed so the quilt may be used.






Mmmmmmmmmm.
Freestyle, stipple quilting.
Yummy enough to eat!



This is a great shot of the tuxedo pin tucks from Grammy's shirt.






My friend wanted a little dedication on the back.
She came up with, "Wrapped in Grammy's Arms".
I embroidered that phrase on one of the sleeves from the shirt.
Fitting, eh? Even though, once complete, you would never know. I do, my friend does and I am sure Allison's little man will grow up knowing it as well.


Welp, there it is.
I also made a smaller, crib sized quilt, but I tied it.













Extra fabric = Extra stuff









Hopefully, I will be getting some pictures from the baby shower and the new nursery.....
*HINT-HINT*

I Gave Up Painting For Quilting ~ Part 1

I have been sitting on this project for a while... Keeping quiet for a couple of months while I work on it in secret.
Now, that the quilt(s) are complete, I can share the story. Also, in the nine years I have been sewing, I have never documented a project from beginning to end. I tried to this time.... I got most of it. I did not get any pictures while the quilt was actually getting quilted at Quilt-N-Sew. Bad timing.
The story behind this Memory Quilt:
A good friend of mine has 2 daughters, Allison and Annie. Both girls and the Mom are attorneys. Allison married Shelby about 15 years ago. Shortly after that, Shelby's Mom passed away after a river rafting trip of an unknown disease. It was VERY unexpected and still undiagnosed. The day of her Memorial Service, Shelby's Dad dropped all of her clothing off at a second hand store.
Well.... My friend wanted a piece of her clothing to save... So one of HER friends spent a couple days going through all the stores merchandise until she finally came up with a baby blue shirt of Shelby's Mom!!!
This shirt was cleaned, pressed and then stored out of sight, out of mind for NINE years in the back of the bottom drawer....
Here is the shirt before I started cutting. I really liked the pin tucks down the front, kinda like a tuxedo shirt. When added to the quilt, it gives dimension and interest. You all know how I enjoy interest, texture and dimension in my work. LOL


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So now I kinda wanna share HOW I make quilts. Just keep in mind that I am self taught and I take or make shortcuts. I just wing it, I guess. If any of you reading this are REAL quilters, please do not discipline me. I do the best I can. :0)

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All the supplies and tools I would be working with. Including a published book of short stories and poems pulled together after being discovered on Grammy's computer.


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First, I had to carefully cut the main attraction of this quilt into perfect 5" X 5" squares. The buttons had to go, as well as the buttonholes.

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I use my straight edge and rotary cutter to get them perfect.


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After cutting a 5 inch strip of fabric, I then line that strip up and take off the selvage and cut at 5 inch intervals to make 5 inch squares. Just basic.


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I love my cutting mat, straight edge and rotary. I used to cut by hand and none of my squares would match. LOL Not only that, but it was very time consuming.

Once all my squares are cut and stacked, I can start making a pattern. I like to choose which fabrics compliment each other as well as those that conflict, or add depth. Making sure the balance of the finished product is right is almost as time consuming as making it.
Here is the grid system I use when doing my layout. It allows me to see which fabrics will touch and it looks like a mini version of the finished product.

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Once satisfied with the layout, I stack each row and then stack them. One little neat stack of 5 inch squares!!

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I love this pic.

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Starting with the first row, I sew one strip of squares together, always with right sides together. Sometimes I used my serger, but this time I wanted to be sure my seams were all exactly 1/4 inch, and durable. I don't always trust my serger for strength like I do my New Home digital machine. Everyone has their preferences.

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I line up my finished strips, or rows, as I call them. When all of the rows are complete, they will be stacked in opposite order with the bottom row on the top.
Don't forget to iron all seams flat, or the quilt will end up with puffy squares instead of flat ones.

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I lay the next row to be attached face down over the bottom row, lining up the center square, and stitch together using a 1/4 inch seam.
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Once all rows are together, I iron from the back to make the seams flat, then I trim away all the loose threads and strings to make the back pretty. :0)
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Almost done with the top!!! Can smell the finish line!!
Since you can never be perfect, the edges of the quilt need to be evened. Fold the top in half and trim the edges to match.
((The next step is not pictured))
To finish the top, I used a light weight denim that I bleached a light blue to match the shirt. I cut 4 - 3inch strips and attached them to the perimeter of the patchwork to frame up, or contain the inside design. I always feel that a quilt looks like it would just go on and on if it were not contained with that little piece of framing. So, you will find that all my quilts are framed in just a little bit, so they look finished.

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Done for the day!!!
I gathered up my quilt top, my batting and the backing to get over to the quilt shop. They will layer all three parts and use a large machine to sew all three together, making this quilt an indestructible piece. It will last forever, through wash after wash and can be handed down through many generations in its new family.

Work in Progress

I may never finish this project, LOL But I figured I could share where it is now.
The kids room.
Not a huge room, so organization and *housekeeping* is a must.
First the theme. Surfing. The beach. California. All things warm and sandy. The kids and I all share the same kinship with salt water and sunburns, so the choice of theme was unanimous.


I started with the walls. Palm trees, shades of blue... I had one obstacle.. a wall with tons of "graffiti" type paint done with enamel paint pens. I had to cover with a dark gloss (kids wanted black, I chose a nice dark chocolate). This wall is free to them to decorate with posters, signs, junk, art. The TV is on this wall too, on a dresser I just recently moved in. It still needs a paint job, along with the other dresser.



My next venture was the closet. I gutted it and painted it a light lime green. Added white wire shelving and some bins on rollers. Everyone has their own space and places to keep their favorite things. The curtains to cover the closet are from a flat sheet I got at Ross. I like that they are white so they add a lightness to the room. And the surfboards, of course, compliment the decor.




I used another for the 2/3 curtain on the window and topped that off with a grass hula skirt. (Garden Ridge Pottery was having a 50% off sale on all party stuff!! So I got a bunch of cool little things like the skirt for pennies!!)




The rest of the surfboard sheet was cut up and I used it in the two queen sized quilts I made the girls and the matching pillow shams. I am happy that the sheets I paid like $25 for, have gone so far in this decor. If I had actually fond a fabric I liked, I wold probably spent $200-300 on it to get enough, and there wold have been lots of seams.




So, anyhow, the paint on the furniture is fun and colorful. Each part is painted a different color, kind of like inside Babin's. (Babin's has a bunch of wood inside that was salvaged from New Orleans, and it is painted fun bright colors and adds personality.) I still have to finish the two dressers, like I said before, and I still have parts of the kids beds to touch up.
I forgot to mention, I ripped up the carpet and painted the concrete a fabulous cerelian blue to mimic water from the prettiest beaches.


Hows THAT for Krafty? :0)

I know, I know.....

I have abandoned my post as Blogger for over a month now... Geeeeeezzz
Here is my excuse:
I got nothin'.
Nada.
Zip - Zilch. LOL
Update on me: After a bout of walking pneumonia and yet another round of antibiotics, I am FINALLY beginning to feel more like Trevor again. (Yea!)
Since closing the Pink Zebra, I have not been creating. I have been avoiding the sewing machines staring at me from my dining room table. Except for the curtains and quilts I made for the girls bedroom, I have made nothing. The CPSIA crap just totally did me in. It killed my spirit and my *want* to make anything for the little ones. And I hate it (actually, I hate the thoughtless authors of the darned law!)
I have been given a quest!! I have a secret project to make for a friend.... She saved some things and I have been given the job to create something new from something blue... I can hardly wait to share, but I have to keep the secret for a bit longer.
As so many of my friends on Facebook reminded me last week, I have celebrated yet another birthday. Woot!! Thanks for all the shout outs from friends past and present. I had a fabulous lunch at SaltGrass with my dear friend, Marsha. MMmmmmm... with a slice of cheesecake for desert. Yummy!!
Other than that, my friends, work, clean the house, hang with the dog. I have just been laying low. Hangin' tight and working at Babin's pretty much every night.
I do try to be home on Modays for Dancing with the stars and Thursdays for SurvivorNight.
Here is a shout out to all my old PZB customers: I jst dropped off all my left over stock at the very same address and old house on First Street, but theres a new owner in town: Kathryn of the Childrens Carrosel. She sells some consignment clothing (new and used) hnadmade cloth diapers and tons of toys. Shes even got strollers, highchairs, carseats. You name it. She is so packed in there she will be moving to a much larger location in a month. I will keep you notified as she will have a special KraftyMommas section jst for them new babies!! Ye-ah!!
Yes, KMB will be making a new baby line that is completely CPSIA compliant.
You are welcome to leave me any ideas you have for the new line!! I.E. some colors, appliques or themes you would like to see!! I am happy yo ablige!\
So, my friends and followers, thanks for taking time ot of your day to catch up with me today. I look forward to getting my blogging back on and getting my crazy world back to a normal pace.
Cheers!!
:0) Trevor