Summer Project Fun

"Craft week is fun. Why haven't we been doing this all summer?" - Michelle

On errand day this week, we stopped at the fabric store and Michelle had fun.

Then we came home and she had even more fun!

She wanted to make some fabric button earrings that she'd seen on Pinterest, so that was the first project. Don't believe them when they say, "Just twist to remove the shank." After mangling a couple of button forms, we raided the dad's tool chest for his wire cutters.  Even those needed great exertion, but we finally had success.  So, just for your reference, the hardest part of this little project is removing the "button" part of the button form. Michelle's excited to stock up on some more little buttons so she can make more earrings. She might even be open to taking orders!

Then it was time to sew a couple of skirts. The original plan was for Michelle to actually do the sewing on this first one. In theory it should have been quite simple - just gather the fabric to the elastic waistband. However, she chose slinky material that needed to be lined.  Gathering two pieces of slippery fabric to the elastic wasn't quite so simple, but it turned out beautifully.

While staring at the rows and rows of quilting fabric, Michelle wondered why they didn't have any "modern" designs, particularly chevrons. So, she picked something else she liked. Then as we made our way to the cutting counter, we found the display of chevron fabric! It was hard narrowing down her choice to just one. However, now that we know how cute the skirt turned out, maybe we should go back and make one in every color of the rainbow!

Stay tuned to see what her plans for the "bird" fabric are.  In the meantime, here are some of the other things she's done after being inspired by Pinterest and/or our craft cupboard.

Fourth of July treats:

Simple laminated family pictures to send to Wyatt to use as a matching game:

She completed a few "after Christmas clearance" kits, made a couple of beaded necklaces, prepared candy scripture treats for her Primary class, and designed a small backpack/bag to take to the gym:

A few months ago we had a Relief Society meeting where we learned how to make knitted helmet liners to send to our military. First I had to be reminded how to knit. (I still prefer crocheting.) Then I had to buy the proper-sized knitting needles and acceptable yarn. Then I needed to remember to actually sit down and knit. However, the stars aligned, and on our drive to Orlando last Saturday I made great progress. A couple of movies on the television later, and the "hat" is complete. Michelle wanted to model it for you all, and it was very difficult taking a picture because she was doubled over in laughter and tears, but we succeeded. And now I know how to use circular and double-pointed knitting needles!

Finally, this isn't really a project, but this series of pictures was taken just before Wayne and Michelle started sanding the boards for our closet shelves. As he was changing into work clothes, he noticed the turtle in our backyard, and decided it would be fun to go say hi.

So, after playing with the turtle for a few minutes, they were off to the garage/workshop to make progress on what definitely could be considered a project. We hope you're all having fun with your projects!