Yay, I got another set of blocks done tonight. Not counting cutting (which I did separately), it takes me about 2 hours to sew a set of 8 blocks.

This is Arizona! Excuse the cruddy photo, I was too lazy to use my real camera.



states still to do: oregon, missouri, colorado;
done: az, wy, nd

I'll claim the knitted headband!!

Claims Allowed (Outstanding): 3
Claims made so far: This is my third
Sendouts Not Sent: 0
Sendouts Sent:2
Sendouts Received:0



An over-the-shoulder bag (fully reversible) made from a pillowcase. Made by me. More photos here.




A pendant made from a Japanese Menko card (made by me).

Or:
*20 new clear lip balm tubes (no photo)


*10 new 4 oz frosted jars (for lotions, bath & body, etc)






Take both of these:
Tiger Snack Cups w/spoon
Japanese jello molds

Take 1:
Domo scarf (handmade by me, not used, but it's been around for a couple years - his teeth look slightly yellow)
Lot of 6 craft zines (including the awesome MixTape & an issue of my own zine CROQ)
Lot of 4 craft magazines/patterns: Crafts 'n Things (2 issues), Bottle Snowmen pattern, Stargazing Santa applique pattern
Lot of 20 various zippers

I would like to claim some patterns - the costume ones (I think I counted 3 or 4).

Claims Allowed (Outstanding): 3
Claims made so far: This is my second
Sendouts Not Sent: 1
Sendouts Sent:0
Sendouts Received:0



An over-the-shoulder bag (fully reversible) made from a pillowcase. Made by me. More photos here.




A pendant made from a Japanese Menko card (made by me).



Another "junk jewelry" necklace made from disassembled jewelry and other found stuff. Made by me.

Or:
*20 new clear lip balm tubes (no photo)


*10 new 4 oz frosted jars (for lotions, bath & body, etc)






Take both of these:
Tiger Snack Cups w/spoon
Japanese jello molds

Take 1:
Domo scarf (handmade by me, not used, but it's been around for a couple years - his teeth look slightly yellow)
Lot of 6 craft zines (including the awesome MixTape & an issue of my own zine CROQ)
Lot of 4 craft magazines/patterns: Crafts 'n Things (2 issues), Bottle Snowmen pattern, Stargazing Santa applique pattern
Lot of 20 various zippers

I'll take the Suitcases. So cute!

Claims Allowed (Outstanding): 3
Claims made so far: This is my first
Sendouts Not Sent: 0
Sendouts Sent:0
Sendouts Received:0



A purse I made from a placemat.



An over-the-shoulder bag (fully reversible) made from a pillowcase. More photos here.




A pendant made from a Japanese Menko card




A "junk jewelry" heart necklace made from disassembled jewelry and buttons.



Another "junk jewelry" necklace made from disassembled jewelry and other found stuff.

Or:
*20 new clear lip balm tubes (no photo)


*10 new 4 oz frosted jars (for lotions, bath & body, etc)

The finger puppets I made got posted on the Official Star Wars blog!

Thanks! I spent this afternoon working on Wyoming:



This is a cruddy pic I took on my video camera, but you get the idea. I LOVE how it turned out!!!

I'm really glad I joined this swap. I wasn't sure if I would be biting off more than I could chew, but I'm enjoying myself a lot! I think I made the right decision.

I have some fabrics and I've gotten one batch of blocks done (yes, that's all so far!)



This is the North Dakota block. I'm hoping my flying geese technique will improve with the next set of blocks...



Here are my Wyoming fabrics, all cut out.



And I love this main Arizona fabric (no accompanying fabrics purchased yet - I was kind of in a hurry when I chose this).

Ever have small pieces of fabric that aren’t big enough to make what you want, but you can’t bear to throw away? There are lots of projects that make use of scraps to make little things, but you can also use scraps to make larger things! How? By sewing scraps together patchwork-style to create a new, larger piece of fabric.

I recently made a few Star Wars-y items for a craft swap, and I was WISHING for a Star Wars sheet (in fact, I asked if they had any in stock at my favorite craft thrift store – yes, there is such a thing! If you’re ever in Portland, OR, you MUST visit Knittn Kitten), but I know that you never find something like that at thrift stores when you really NEED it. And then I was rummaging around in my garage and FOUND ONE!! I had one in my stash of scrap fabric dedicated to making Morsbags (reusable grocery bags). I had no idea it was in there, but I was so excited when it surfaced!

So, in order to squeeze every precious drop of Star Wars goodness from the sheet, I used a scrap of it that I had off-cut when making another project to make a scrappy bib. This is a very simple project that you can use up all your lovely scraps on! You can also use this technique to make nearly anything else you can think of!

Click here for the tutorial at Dollar Store Crafts

I made some simple Star Wars finger puppets from craft felt (one of the best crafty bargains around – at about a quarter a sheet!).

You can make finger puppets in any shape or theme you want to. You can construct them from simple shapes, you can add googly eyes (or not), or button eyes. You can basically embellish them any way you want to. Great summer craft for kids!

Tips: If you have specific characters in mind (like these Star Wars guys), I recommend doing a quick sketch in your sketchbook so you know what pieces to cut out. I glued additional pieces to the backs of the heads to reinforce the puppets, since regular craft felt is not very stiff.



Check out more at Dollar Store Crafts.

While I was working on my Star Wars 3 swap crafts, I came up with this idea, using a green fleece blanket from the dollar store that I found in my arsenal of dollar store crafting supplies. The Yoda hat is a quick and easy project, and you can make three or four of them from one dollar store blanket, making them quite the bargain!

Project Estimate:

    * Fleece blanket, $1
    * Buttons, on hand
    * Sewing machine, thread, etc., on hand

Total: $1

I posted the full tutorial at Dollar Store Crafts.