Books! Also 100th post!

A few months before I got married I took a bookbinding class with my Dad, my friend Amy, and some of my siblings. It was super fun and just the kind of thing we enjoy.

I am so glad that I learned this art and while I am far from proficient I can still throw together a pretty cool book.

I sewed all of my kids baby books. I have made several photo albums and all of my journals since I learned how. There is something really special about having those personal memories in a book that you made.

I made Liam a book for Christmas in which to write his stories. Ever since then he has been asking to learn how to make a book.

So I put it on our list of projects for summer.

 Here is Austin with his book that we made covered with the paste paper we had made a few days earlier.

 Liam with his book that we made. Also bound using the paste paper that we had made.

It turned out really neat. I am thinking that I need to get an inside shot of the book, this could be any old book!
It has been ages since I have made any books, so I was really glad that Liam pushed me into it. Now I have several projects that I am excited about that include bookbinding.

Paste paper!

 This is one of my favorite projects that always ends up with such beautiful decorative paper. Simple enough that anyone (except two year olds :) can help.
This paste is a mixture of 2 1/4 C. water combined with 1/3 C. white flour. Mix and let sit on the counter for a couple hours. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly for ten minutes. You want it to end up the consistancy of heavy unwhipped cream. Let it cool completely. Strain. Add paint.
We used cheap acrylic and it worked out just fine. I let each of the kids choose their own colors, then we all shared. The paint lightens a little as it dries, so make it good and bright!

The next part is the fun part. You can fingerpaint the goo all over the paper, experimenting with amounts, textures, designs, and patterns. You can get some really fun results. Some of our favorites included making designs with a serrated knife, my wedding ring, a clothes pin, and then sticking two pieces of different colored paint together then pulling apart.

 This is Austin making some artsy paste paper which he later used for the cover of his book.

Beautiful results. Next I will share some things we make out of them!

Shirt Applique

I saw this tutorial ages ago and thought it was so cute! I have wanted to make it. I haven't ever done applique like this before, so I was excited to try. I let Lydia pick out the hair colors, button eyes, and fabrics for the dresses, from scraps I had around.  

We were both pretty happy about how it turned out.

hair clips

Crochet Larry

Felix is rather obsessed with Veggietales these days. I hadn't really found him anything that I thought would be of interest to him. Zoe mentioned making a Larry. At first I thought I would make one out of felt like the ornament that I made for him for Christmas. But then I was looking at this crocheted robot that I had made and I thought how easy it would be to crochet a Larry.
I crocheted the Larry. About halfway down I hand sewed on a felt face. I made a flat bottom so he could stand. I put some heavy cardboard in, also, to reinforce it.
Felix loves it. He calls it "Wiwi".

Birthday Banner

Using scraps I had on hand and some fat quarters I purchased I made this birthday pennant. The letters are felt, and machine stitched on. The string at the top is double fold bias tape. It really was pretty straight forward and didn't take too long.
I want to make one in pinks and reds too for the girls birthdays, when they roll around. Maybe I will do a tutorial.

Reupholstered Chair! Finally!

Before: After:

Thank goodness for photographs being so forgiving (at least photos of furniture).There are definatly some major issues with this chair, but it looks great here.

I had a lot of help from my friend Jen who finished her chair a little while ago.

I figured out some of the reasons I ran into trouble and am excited to do it right the second time. I have another chair that is a twin to this. I am excited to try again. Hopefully with less trouble this time.