Friday, February 1, 2013

Christmas Presents 2012

I had a good ol' time making presents for the girls in my family this past Christmas. 

Here's a recap:

PHOTO TRANSFER TO WOOD.  Very fun & not too hard.
Here's the tutorials I used:
1. "DIY wooden picture" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NjYbAAQ4vw
2. "How to Transfer Prints to Wood: An Awesome Photography DIY Project" http://digital-photography-school.com/how-to-transfer-prints-to-wood-an-awesome-photography-diy-project

Granny Carter & her entire family 
Aaron's dad & uncle Mark
Aaron's dad & mom
Aaron's uncle Mark
Aaron's sisters: Stephanie & Adrienne
My uncle Holly & mom
My mom, sister & me

For Adrienne's (Aaron's sister) nursery
My Grandmother & me
1. Scan your picture
2. Flip it & print off in black/white or color: this must be printed on laser jet printer only. Color from an ink jet printer will just sit on top of the wood & not soak in properly.
3. Put the photo face down on your untreated piece of wood (already cut to size).
4. Cover with Gel Medium & let sit overnight.
5. Next morning, wet the paper with a sponge or washcloth. There's a balance between being too wet & too dry. You'll learn as you go.
6. Slowly start rubbing off the paper. It's exciting to reveal your masterpiece a little at a time.

7. Once all of the paper is completely rubbed off (this is the most time-consuming part), let it dry overnight.

8. Next morning, brush Mod Podge over the picture. You can do an additional coat or two, just let the picture dry approx. 30 min. between each coat.

9. Attach desired brackets on the back (or none at all)

**************************************************************************
And then there were 3 headbands for my little niece.
Unfortunately, I did NOT knit the pink flower on the far right.  I'm not quite there in my skills! It was a pin that I conveniently had hanging around.

Let's start planning for this year!!!!!


Tuesday, December 4, 2012

20 weeks!!!


HALF-WAY POINT!!

No fat jokes, please. ;-)

Thanksgiving 2012

What do you get when you make a trip to Arkansas with 2 pregnant women?  Lots of potty breaks, carsickness & snacks, snacks, snacks!!

We carpooled with Aaron's little sister (Adrienne), her husband (Kenny) & little brother (Trevor) to Russellville & Ozark, Arkansas for Thanksgiving.  Such a blast!

Adrienne is about 3 weeks behind me in her pregnancy, so we had lots of pregnancy jokes thrown at us.

Ah, familia!

                 Aaron & his (big) little bro, Trevor



                                         Janey (mom), Trevor & James (dad)

CARTER FAMILY!

HILBURN FAMILY!!
Grand-dad & Grandmother Hilburn had a fire destroy a lawn tractor, farm tractor & a few outbuildings this summer (presumably started by a lightening strike).  One of the outbuildings contained a few year's worth of split firewood. 
The Hilburn boys typically help Grand-dad split his firewood every Thanksgiving anyway, so, this year, they banded together again & went back to work.  
I could tell that they were all so happy to do this for Grand-dad & Grandmother, especially considering the circumstances.  

Uncle Mark

Grand-dad mans his new tractor
Adrienne (little sister), hubby Kenny & Trevor

Decorating Grandmother's Christmas tree has become tradition...
Grandmother Hilburn & James
18 weeks and ever-expanding!!!
The Hilburn Men

Friday, November 30, 2012

Flashback: Xmas Presents 2011

Here's a look at what I gave most of the gals in my family last Christmas.

I rummaged through my very large stash of bed sheets (see "Flashback: Xmas Presents 2010" for what else I did with bed sheets) & made braided rugs.

I cut the fabric into strips, using my rotary cutter (thanks, honey, for that Xmas gift!), braided the strips into one very long strip, and then sewed in a circular pattern on my sewing machine.  I used felt for the backing, which worked pretty well; however, if you're intending to put the rug on a wood floor, you may want to add a strip of rubber to the bottom (so nobody goes flying...and then falling).

It was fun!

Flashback: Xmas Presents 2010

Here are the Christmas presents I made for a few of the gals in my family.  It's always fun giving hand-made gifts, even though my sewing & knitting skills are super simple!!

A few knitted scarves & washclothes...




My mom was empyting her linen closet and needed to get rid of bed sheets she'd had for years.  Some of them had been my Great-Grandmother's.  I used these as well as my own extra bed-sheets to make cloth napkins for my sister & sister-in-law.  I washed all top sheets, cut & surged them.  I was pleased with how well they turned out...