Buckets of Blue gets a Logo

Welcome to the unveiling of my new Buckets of Blue logo! I got the cute little bird that's at the top of my webpage onto my cozies. It will be on one side of each coffee cozy I make.

Also, here is my new laced method to close up my coffee cozies. I really love them. The pretty brown cord sparkles just a tiny bit and adds a teeny bit of pizzazz. This also makes the cozy better for being reversible because it lays just as flat no matter what side you have it on. With the button & elastic coffee cozies you get a lump when you reverse it. I don't mind that so much myself, but some might. I put together these coffee cozy/coaster gifts sets this last week for party prizes at a lovely baby shower we had at my house. The prizes were a hit. I made three reversible cozies and three reversible coasters. I wanted to show both sides of each, which is why there are so many pictures. I plan to make more to sell this summer when I'm done homeschooling my kiddo for the school year. Then I'll finally get to open my etsy shop!

We Call Them Pirates

Here's my oldest enjoying the snow. He looks so great in this fair isle beanie I made him a couple years ago. He just started wearing it this winter. It finally doesn't look too big on him, although it's an adult pattern, so there is plenty of growing room still. It's super cozy and made out of wool yarn. I used a free pattern from Hello Yarn. The pattern is We Call Them Pirates. I think I just followed the pattern exactly, but it's been so long and I don't really remember. I probably should block the beanie to make it lay flat on the bottom and prevent the rolling up. Especially since there is a cute detail there lost in the rolling...but...I don't really mind the rolling so much and it's easier not to.

Happy Valentine's Day Refashion for Me

My endeavor was to make myself a new outfit for Valentine's Day. My budget...$0. And I did it! Yay!

The Before Picture

The Fabric Stash

Now I have a cardigan, of sorts, that I will likely wear, instead of a turtleneck I won't. It made me a little nervous to think of cutting up a wonderfully cozy and soft Express sweater, but I live in Southern California and we just don't get many chances to wear heavy turtleneck sweaters. Besides, I have the same sweater in blue. They were hand me downs from a friend. So, after searching the Internet, I found my inspiration from anemone on livejournal. All I did was cut up the sweater to the neck and then cut off the turtleneck. Next, I cut a strip of the jersey fabric leftover from my skirt. Finally, I sewed the jersey on like you would bias tape. I added some hooks on the inside of the jersey to be able to close the cardigan. The new neckline lays better on me than it does on the flat table. I'm excited to wear it on Sunday.

Technically I paid less than $3 for this jersey fabric at a fabric discount store, but I did that months ago. So this skirt cost me nothing today, which is what matters, because it is today that I don't have extra money. This skirt tutorial from Altered Cloth was super easy to follow and it sewed up very quickly (even for me and I'm usually really slow). I've had plans to make this skirt forever and just hadn't gotten around to it until now. Yay! I'm very excited to have an outfit I made to wear on Valentine's Day. I've never made myself a whole outfit.

Magnets

Last Christmas I made these little assorted magnets for gifts. They are so cute and I packaged them in a variety of fun metal tins. They're about the size of a penny and they brighten up my fridge. I just love them. Here is the tutorial from Knitting Betty.

Colored Pencil Rolls

This Christmas I made these adorable colored pencil rolls for for my two boys and my niece. They all love drawing and I thought how perfect this gift would be for them all. They have already come in handy on our road trip to Texas. I hope they'll be a favorite for years to come. I used the cut dimensions from You Go Girl's colored pencil roll tutorial. I did my interfacing different, replaced the button/elastic closure with ties, and added top stitching instead of binding. I'm very pleased with the results. I bought the kids each a drawing book that just gives you the beginning of a picture and prompts you to add something imaginative, The Boys Doodle Book by Andrew Pinder, Do You Doodle by Nikalas Catlow, and Squiggles by La Zoo.

Outside

Inside

Matching Pencil Sharpener Drawstring Bag

I made one set of the Ninja Turtle rolls for each of my boys.

Butterfly Skirt and Reversible Toddler Purse

I'm thrilled with the way this little set turned out for my niece. I hope she has fun stuffing her little girl treasures in the purse. I used a sheet I bought at a thrift store for the skirt and scraps I had for the purse.

4T Butterfly Skirt and one side of purse

Reversible side of purse

Christmas Coffee Cozies

A selection of coffee cozies I made for gifts this year. They are insulated, adjustable, reversible (with a different pattern on the other side), and save waste. A few friends have encouraged me to make more to sell. Feedback...what do you think? Would you use them, buy them, or forget them?