Snip and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

I have a confession to make.  I am probably the world's worst seamstress.  Wait, no probably about it - I'm pretty sure I am the world's worst!  I'm not the least bit precise, I hate all the pinning and measuring....it's just too much fussing for me.  I could never be a quilter!  But the biggest reason I can't sew?  I don't use a sewing machine, I fight with it.  I think the machine just completely protests being used by somebody who doesn't know what she's doing.

It started in high school.  My mom never taught me to sew, and I never really had the desire to learn.  Therefore, I never touched a machine until Home Ec class in school.  Every time I tried to use the machine, it broke.  I'm not kidding!  The teacher would watch me set up the machine closely, make sure I was doing everything right, but I don't think I ever completed a project in that class.  She could sit down and use the machine first, and it would be working wonderfully.  I'd take her place, not change anything (not even switch out the fabric), and the machine would burst into flames.  Ok, that's an exaggeration, but it wouldn't have surprised anyone.  Luckily, the Home Ec teacher had a sense of humor.  I'd never have passed the class if she didn't!

So, a couple years ago I thought I'd tempt fate, and I asked my husband for a sewing machine for Christmas.  I told him nothing expensive or fancy, since chances are it wouldn't survive the first use.  Well, it's still alive, but only because i haven't thrown it out the window yet.  I still can't sew.  The machine still fights me.  Every now and then I can coax it to cooperate with me, as long as I'm not sewing anything more difficult than a square or rectangle.

I currently know a few preggies, and they all happen to be due around the same time this summer.  Miss I'd-Rather-Make-A-Gift-Than-Buy-One (a.k.a. Me), decided she was going to make all her prego friends "designer" flannel burp cloths.  But this means I had to get out Mr. I-Hate-Jenny's-Guts (a.k.a. My Sewing Machine).

It actually went surprisingly well, I'm happy to report!  I promised that I was only sewing straight lines and rectangles, and the machine went easy on me.  I managed to whip out about 10 cloths in an afternoon.  I was pretty proud of myself!

First, I went to JoAnn's and picked out my flannel.  I chose quilter's flannel - it seemed softer and there was a good selection of patterns.  I prefer to make rather everyday, mundane things more unique and unexpected, so I picked out patterns that one might not normally see burp cloths made from (hence, the skulls).  All my friends right now are having boys, so I went with more "boyish" stuff.  I like these three patterns in coordinating colors.  I grabbed some matching chenille, too.

I cut my flannel and chenille into 9"x14" rectangles (I measured one of my son's burp cloths and added an inch to each side).  I got 6 cloths out of 1/2 yard of flannel.  I put a piece of flannel and a piece of chenille right sides together and, believe it or not, sewed them together, leaving a small opening to turn it right side out.  Then I turned them and hand-sewed the opening shut.

And ta-da!!!  Finished burp cloths!  I know, I can hardly believe it, either.  But now what?  I couldn't just throw them in a gift bag and head off to a baby shower - no way!  There's nothing wrong with that, but that'd be too easy.  I always have to make things more difficult for myself.  I considered folding them in nice squares and stacking them up, then tying them with a ribbon, but I wanted to do something different.

So, I folded them in half twice, lengthwise.  Then starting with the short side, I rolled them as evenly and as tightly as I could.

I secured the rolls with rubber bands.

Then I covered the rubber bands with ribbon.

I was originally going to make them look like flowers - put them on sticks, cover the sticks with green pipe cleaners or floral tape, put a bunch in a terracotta pot with some diapers, but I couldn't decide how I was going to get them on the sticks.  While I was messing around with them, my 7-year-old commented that they looked like snail shells.  BING!  Light bulb went off.

I got two pairs of infant socks that (sort of) matched the flannel, and stole some poly-fil from an unfinished craft project.  I stuffed the socks, then tied them shut.

I drew eyes and a mouth on the toes with a sharpie, and I added some black wire antennae - just poked the wire right through and then curled the ends.  Then, using double-sided tape, I stuck the snail sock body to the burp cloth shell.

I decorated a box I had on hand with the saying, "snips and snails and puppy dog tails, that's what boys are made of."  I filled the box with diapers, then perched my little burp snails on top.  I didn't bother to wrap it - I thought it looked pretty cute just the way it was.  You could wrap it in tulle tied with a bow, or one of the large cellophane bags, though.

And there you have it.  If I can do it, you can do it.  Seriously.  I'll bet your sewing machine doesn't even hate you.

Cheap (I mean, Inexpensive) Father's Day Gift

So, I thought Father's Day would be a good excuse to 1) flex some creative muscles and make something, and 2) start blogging for real! Holidays like Mother's Day, Father's Day, Grandparent's Day, and birthdays are, to me, the best excuse to go to your studio and make stuff. Or to your kitchen table that's been taken over by craft supplies if your anything like me.

And if you are anything like me, you wait until the last minute to do things and your wallet is home to moths instead of moola, so you need something fast and cheap! Wait, I got yelled at the other day by a furniture salesman for using the word "cheap." His couches aren't cheap, they're inexpensive!!!!

So, anyway, this is what my kids and I decided to make for Dad this year, now that he has his own office and a desk. It's not an original idea - I first saw something like it on the HowDoesShe ladies' blog. (Go to www.howdoesshe.com and check it out!) This is just my cheaper (I mean, more inexpensive) version.

First, I used my computer's word processing program and chose a font that I liked. I actually liked the default Times New Roman for this project - a first! In hindsight, however, I should have stayed away from letters with the little "tails."  They were a pain to cut out neatly.  Anyhoo, I typed a bold capital letter D, then I blew it up as much as I could and still have the whole letter fit on a piece of 8.5x11 paper (ended up being about 750 pt). Then I printed out two Ds, erased the D, and typed a bold capital A and printed it.

I took my three letters and taped them on a piece of foam core.

 Then, using the sharpest blade on my exacto knife I (carefully!) cut them out.

 Seriously, be careful! My husband actually asks me not to use my exactos when he's not home because I am one of the least careful people alive when it comes to using sharp objects. Just two weeks ago I stabbed my foot with my knife while cutting a very thin piece of plywood and bled all over the place. Luckily, I didn't ruin the beautiful papers I was using for the same project!

Once the letters were cut out, they looked pretty rough. Tip - the less of a sawing motion you use while cutting, the cleaner your edges will be. But as you can see by the picture, I had to saw through my foam core.

I used a piece of very fine grit sandpaper and smoothed out the edges of my letters. It worked beautifully. A nail file probably would have worked, too. The edges weren't perfectly smooth, but they were fine for my purposes.

Since I'm a part-time photographer, I already knew in my head what I wanted the resulting pics to look like. I knew I wanted black and white, so I dressed the kids in white and pulled out my black backdrop. I handed each kid a letter, then snapped happily away. Luckily I got a couple good ones of our 8-month-old before his slobber and two little teeth ruined his D!

I picked the 3 poses I liked, converted them to black and white and edited them in Photoshop Elements, then sent them off to my photo website (http://jrmark.smugmug.com). I ordered my 5x7s and had them in about 3 days. I popped them in the frame I picked up on sale at Michael's, and voila! A Father's Day gift I know my husband will be proud to show off at work! And it was all easy and super cheap - dang it! I mean inexpensive!

Yes, I could of used wooden letters that you can get at craft stores. Michael's even has them already painted white. I considered that, but we live in a tiny house in which I already don't have enough room to store my stuff. The foam core cost me next to nothing, so when the letters got ruined immediately after the photo shoot, it was no big deal. Plus, there was no incriminating evidence left behind for my hubby to find when he got home from work to give him any clue what we were up to!

I think we may do a version of this every year for Father's Day now. It will be neat to see how the kids grow year after year. I know he's gonna love it!  Hope you do, too!

So What's in a Name?

I figured my first post should be about the method to my madness. So why, exactly, did I choose the name Teddy Bear Pancakes? Well, my mom was my first creative influence. She could draw and paint, and she was a great crafter. One of the things I remember about our first home was the mural she painted on the stairwell wall. I often wonder if it's still there - the painting, I mean, not the house. I know the house is still there - I have to admit my sister and I have driven back that road more than once, and have sat outside of the house, afraid to get out of the car, but dying to knock on the door and ask if we can tour the old abode.

Anyway, where was I? Oh right, why pancakes? Another of my fondest childhood memories is of weekend breakfasts consisting of warm, golden-brown, teddy bear pancakes. Mom would make us kids pancakes in all sorts of animal shapes, using only a spoon and our collective imaginations. Elephants, Mickey Mouse, dinosaurs... but teddy bears were, by far, my favorite! Those syrupy mornings taught me that creativity doesn't have to be limited to paint and paper, and that even the ordinary can be made extraordinary.

Mom died in a car accident in 2001. Since then, guess what we've discovered several of our childhood friends remember most about her... That's right! Her teddy bear pancakes!

Now the tradition continues at my house. I make my kids teddy bear pancakes. I hope that someday, they'll remember these times and smile. I know I will!