Thanks for stopping by! We're two cousins who love to craft on the cheap and share our ideas. We'd love for you to stay awhile, pull up your Pin it! button, sewing machine, and let us know what you think!

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Another Use for Bent-Tip Serging Tweezers

Have you entered the giveaway yet?!  No?!  Well, I'll wait here while you do.
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Back already?  Awesome!  I hope you win!  :)

Do you have any bent tip serging tweezers? 
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They come in handy with the sewing machine, too.
Well, I've recently come up with another use for these bad boys.
Monkey got one of these Legos stuck up his nose.
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Why?  Because he’s two.
The removal of this Lego was a team effort.  I held Monkey down (while we both cried…) The Hubsters performed the procedure, and the tweezers did an excellent job with the extraction.
We avoided a trip to the ER, and Monkey’s nose is now Lego free.
Thank Heaven.
I hope you never need this tutorial, but at least it makes a funny story--now that it’s over!  :)
Oh, and in case you were wondering, Monkey’s Lego was orange. 
:)
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Monday, July 30, 2012

They were cones!

So there’s something I’ve wanted for my sewing machine for a LONG time. Like, every birthday and Christmas I give the idea to my husband to see if this will be the year. So, this weekend, I just decided to take matters into my own hands. It’s not pretty, but it works. After I finished it, hubby said he would make me “a cool one.” and I said I didn’t care cuz I just wanted one that works. So what was it you ask? Well, let’s say you’re like me, and don’t want to buy little spools of white thread, so you get the serger cone. And this is how it sits on the machine.

Serger Cone DIY (2)

And let’s say you got lectured the last time you got your machine serviced by the guy who did it that it ruins tension, and doesn’t make a nice stitch.

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So, I made my serger cone holder thing. Technical term. Really, Google it. Anyway, I got me a wire hanger No more wire hangers! And I measured how tall I wanted it on my machine and snipped it with wire cutters.

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I did mine as tall as the spool holder there. Give or take. Then, cut it so you’ve got about 2 inches extra on the other end. Like so.

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And then form a loop shape. Like so.

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Then, get a piece of scrap wood. Mine was about 3/4” wide, and about 3”x4”. Drill some holes in it for your hanger and dowel.

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What’s that? You don’t have a dowel? I didn’t either. Ready for it?

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Oh, isn’t it pretty? Like I said, it’s totally utilitarian. I don’t care. I may paint it just because I can. It works.

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Totally awesome pencil sticking out.

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See? A lovely back shot of my machine.

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Oh, it works! Don’t mind my cluttered table. I’m working on 30 projects in my head, so I should have some cool stuff soon. I’ll be back Wednesday with a fun post! Want a sneak peek? Here ya go!

Serger Cone DIY (8)

Happy Monday.

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Saturday, July 28, 2012

What I Wore Sunday: Week 26

Hey, hey!  Happy Saturday!  Be sure you enter the giveaway while you’re here.  Tell your friends about it, too.  That way,  you’ll get more entries!  :)
frame to match teal and white
…52 weeks of shaking up the wardrobe…
The Rules:
  1. Wear a different outfit every Sunday.
  2. Incorporate at least one article of clothing or accessory that was either refashioned, sewn myself, or handmade.
  3. Outfits can be worn more than once; just not the same way.
Here’s what I wore:
week 26
I bought my tops off the clearance rack at Maurices’ and I made the skirt out of a mens XL tee shirt.  It was super easy and fun.  I’ll put up a tutorial for that soon.  I also made my watch.
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I got my super cute shoes off of Amazon.  I love them.  They’re so cute and so comfy!  :)
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So, I’ve got a problem.  My life is super crazy busy right now.  I mean insanely busy.  It’s been really hard to find time to blog with my kids on their summer vacation.  We’re replacing the fence.  The garden has started producing like crazy, and that means canning.  Lots of canning.  We have scout camps, piano lessons, and swimming lessons.  We have play dates.  We need to take hubby’s boat out fishing again.  We need to go camping again.  School starts in just over three weeks.  I’ve got to get ready for that.  This year I’ve got FOUR of my kids in school.  That’s a lot of school clothes to buy.  I need to play more with my kids while I have them home.  We have three family reunions and a wedding in those three weeks. 
Because of all this craziness, I’ve had to sacrifice all of my crafting and sewing.  I’ve had to sacrifice all the 5Ks I’ve wanted to run.  I haven’t had time to train.  I’ve also had to sacrifice my marathon that I was going to run in September. 
Where am I going with all of this?
I’ve got to sacrifice my blogging, too.  I’ll schedule as many posts as I can, but that also means that the What I Wore Sunday link parties are going to go on vacation, too.  I’ll blog and catch up with all of you when I can.  I hope that’s okay and that we can still be friends.  I promise I’ll come back when school starts!
See you soon!
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Friday, July 27, 2012

Fab 5 Friday

Feels like forever since I’ve done this! So here’s some awesome-sauce from around blogosphere this week.

How awesome is this zipper bag? It’s over here at Everywhere Orange. Seriously think I may raid my zipper stash (I kid you not, TONS of zippers!) to make one of these!

These fun bangles are made from oven bake clay. What a fun last hurrah of summer with the girls! Over at Eighteen 25

Ikat is so huge right now, and this awesome table is hand painted! What? Beth at Sawdust and Embryos swears it’s easy!

I think this is pretty awesome-sauce, but I can pretty much guarantee my hubby would not get on board with it. Like at all. But it’s cool over at Kammy’s Korner!

I wanna try this. I have a weak space for mac and cheese, and this is supposed to be amazing. Over at Martha Stewart.

Finally I could wax poetic about all the amazing things I’ve made at Mel's Kitchen Café. Seriously. I love this blog. When she posted this homemade ranch dressing, I might have drooled a little. Maybe.

Happy Friday!

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Thursday, July 26, 2012

Ruffle Apron GIVEAWAY!!

Hey there!  I hope you are all having a fantastic Thursday!  I sure am!
Have any of you noticed how close we are to having 200 followers?
It’s crazy close. 
Ashlee and I thought that if we could get 100 followers this year, it would be awesome.  Well, it’s only July, and we’re almost at 200!  Wahoo!
We think you guys are fandibulous, and because of you, we keep on craftin’!
Thanks.  We {heart} you guys!  :)
So, let’s celebrate, yeah?!
See this super cute apron?
Ruffle Apron Giveaway check it out at www.crafting-cousins
Well, I’ve got a tutorial for that coming soon.  Very soon.  Patience, young padawan.
While you’re patiently waiting for this tutorial, how about we do a giveaway?
Once we hit 200 followers, I’ll give away said apron.  Oh yeah.  With the Linky Followers, we have over 200 followers!  So hooray!!  Let’s have a giveaway!!
Ruffle Apron Giveaway at Crafty Cousins
Who wants it?!
You have four chances to win it.  Here’s how:
  1. Follow Crafty Cousins via Google Friend Connect or Linky Followers
  2. Follow us on Pinterest, too!  We love our friends!  :)
  3. Blog about this giveaway and tell your friends to follow Crafty Cousins, too!  Be sure to link back to us!  :)
  4. Give us a shout out on Facebook, Twitter or Google Plus
Leave us a comment for each separate entry.  The Giveaway will close next Thursday(August 2nd--my pa’s birthday) at 11:59 p.m.  The winner will be announced on Saturday morning.  See you soon!  :)
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Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Uintah’s Backpacking

So, here is our trip in cell phone pictures. We met up with our friends at the Smith & Morehouse Trailhead outside of Oakley on Thursday morning.

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Look at the poor saps. Thinking they were all ready, not realizing the full depth of what they’re getting into.

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And our friends, the evil masterminds themselves. Ha ha. Unfortunately, the road to the trailhead was locked, so we had to walk the extra 3/4 (my guess) mile to get there. Not a lot in the long run, but more than expected…

The way up was mostly uneventful. I had a hard time with elevation at times, and had a bit of a panic attack when we went over the “next ridge” and still couldn’t see the end. I kid you not. I was hyperventilating. The hike up was fairly steep in parts. It was only 5-ish miles, but not easy. We stopped multiple times for lunch and breaks, and a little bit of stream fishing. Finally, about 4:00 in the afternoon, we made it to Erickson Lake. The North one, as it turned out.

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Pretty, huh? We ended up setting camp up at this lake. I inadvertently found the camp area when the hubsters came over to see why I was wading in the shallow freezing lake (my line had gotten stuck on a rock while fishing so I was trying to loose it, and sorta fell in…)

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There were pretty lily pads and flowers all over the lake, but over the 3 days, not one of us caught a fish. So, I’m fairly certain there are no fish in that lake. We had dinner that night of beef tacos.

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Then, decided to hike over to South Erickson and see if there were any fish there with the remaining sunlight.

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Oh, yeah, I caught the first fish there. Woohoo! I kinda went wading there too. After that dip, I gave up trying to save my lure and just cut my line. Smile The next morning, my hubby left saying he was going to try fishing. He ditched me, thinking I might sleep more. Yeah right. Our friends were already gone fishing, and I couldn’t find anyone. They had talked about another lake, so I wasn’t sure where to look for them, so I just sat at camp. But I had a visitor.

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I think our campground was this deer’s house. It came by a ton. That yellow is our little 2 man tent. So that was fun. When they all finally came back, we ate breakfast and got ready to go find another lake.

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This is North Erickson. But you see that rocky ridge across? Not the full mountain, but the ridge? That’s where we went over to get to Big Elk Lake. We had heard the fishing was great there. It was about 1-1 1/2 miles there. Here we are on top of a ridge, overlooking the lake basin with it.

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And a geeky picture of meSmile

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So we fished the day there, and were having fairly decent luck. Hubby caught 7, I caught 5, and our friends got 3 each, I think.

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Some were decent sized, but this was a lil one. Around 3 that afternoon, some darker clouds rolled in. We just kept fishing around till we started hearing thunder. Then we decided to start heading back to camp. We got back around 5, and took care of putting some things away, then it started a rainstorm. We went in our tents to wait it out, and it was crazy loud thunder and flashes of lightning. Kind of crazy! Just after 6 it cleared out, so we had our meal of chicken alfredo with breadsticks (dehydrated stuff, pretty good!) Hung out for a bit, then went to bed.

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Next morning, we tore down camp, and got a picture just before the hike down. You can barely see the lake through the trees. All the way down, the boys kept stopping to see if the stream looked good enough to fish:

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While we girls hung out and rested a bit.

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Then we finally reached the bottom trailhead.

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I had moleskin on the back of my heels the entire time after I felt like I might get blisters.

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This is in the car at the end. When I finally got them off, I had a ton of blisters.

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I promised my feet the whole hike down that I’d sell those *$#&# shoes. Anyone want to buy them?

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We had a late lunch at this crazy diner in Oakley. It was fun, hard, and draining, so I’m still trying to recuperate. See you next time with something fun!

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Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Ways To Bring Art Into The Home

If you want to add a touch of art to your home, it doesn’t have to be difficult. Art can be found just about anywhere; you can incorporate it into your decor subtly, or you can call out your love for artistic creations loudly and proudly. Below, tips on how to turn your home into a space that seems fun, tasteful and creative.

Printed Quilts
PrintedQuilt
Image by Sally

Some people believe that quilts work best for older people, but this doesn’t have to be the case. If you want art in your home, you can’t go wrong with a quilt. It’s traditional for a quilt to feature colorful, intricate designs. You can find a quilt in just about any color or size. Think about what you like, and you may find a quilt that fits your needs. You can buy a quilt at a craft store, an antique store, or you can make one yourself, or with the help of a few friends. e My mother-in-law made us a beautiful quilt for our wedding.  It’s too pretty to use, but just imagine what that could do to a boring wall!  I may have found my next home décor project!  :)

Art Hangings
If quilts do not match your personality, it’s an obvious but nonetheless brilliant idea to consider framed art. People love a piece of artwork that they can hang in a living room or a bedroom. Hanging art in your living room can start a conversation; it can even liven up an otherwise dull space. Get artwork from a local art event! If this isn’t an option, create something with items that you have around the home. You can also purchase something at prints and poster stores. Some art hangings can be purchased for a remarkably low price, which is helpful if you’re on a tight budget.

Coffee Table Books
CoffeeTable
Image by Richard Masoner
Coffee table books are large books meant to sit on a table to arouse curiosity. There are coffee table books on just about any subject, whether you are interested in a historical period or nature, you can definitely find something. These books can be used to start a conversation, and guests can flip through a book when they are left alone for a moment. Coffee table books are a powerful way to make your home feel comfortable. You or a guest can discover a piece of artwork easily and with little effort.

Postcards
When you’re on vacation, chances are high that you think about sending postcards to loved ones. Postcards showcase where you are; people can see a hotel, pool, or other destination. If you go to a museum or art gallery, it is also possible to buy a postcard featuring an art reprint. Postcards do not cost a lot of money; you can purchase more than one if you wish. Make it fun; buy several postcards and create a collage to place on a wall. People may ask you about the artwork, and you can enlighten them.

Figurines
Statuettes
Image by Eden
Figurines are statuettes: you can purchase a representation of a larger sculpture. Place a figurine on a table; put one outside of your front door if it is large enough. Do not be afraid to try something different. Your house will be the talk of the area if you choose something exciting.


Whether you like photography or a painted masterpiece, you can incorporate it into the home. The tips above may help.
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