7 Layer Studio

The Last Piece

 

I used the last remnant of this incredibly fun green spotted Christmas fabric on Hazel's new Christmas skirt (gulp).

I have been hanging on to it for a few years now, waiting for just the right project to put it to good use.

I think this probably qualifies.

Hazel is very fond of her new twirly skirt - it made the extra labor that a double decker gathered skirt requires totally worth it.

All the fabric on the skirt is from Michael Miller, but like I said the circles print is no longer available (super big sigh).  I'm not sure if the other prints are available either - I've had them for awhile.

At any rate, here's to happy Christmas skirts...and to little girls who love to wear them.

 

I've been trying to dig myself out from the 15 or 16 boxes of Christmas decorations that have been hiding in the attic until this past week.  I have lots to show you, but I'm not finished yet!  I always forget what a huge effort it is to deck my house out in full Christmas glory, but it's always rewarding to sit back and enjoy it when it's all up.  My kids love it.  My husband just says, "Can't wait until January, when it's all back in the attic."  Actually, after that statement he was careful to compliment several things that were already up.  Apparently the doghouse isn't a very appealing place to him, nor was the stink eye I shot in his direction (wink).

How's this for a totally glamorous behind-the-scenes shot?  Careful - you're turning a little green.

I still have a mountain of Christmas projects and gifts to finish.  Don't believe me?  Check out the work table in my studio:

Breathtaking, I know.  If you can tell a lot about a woman by the contents of her purse, imagine what you can tell about the status of a person's work table...although I'm not sure I'm ready to hear anyone's interpretation of mine at this point!  It's mostly gifts for friends and family with a few extra ornaments in the mix.  And the tree topper stars I haven't made yet.  But I do have my booth all planned out for the International Quilt Market this spring!  I couldn't sleep for a couple of hours one night because I was so excited about how it was all coming together (in my head, anyway) and my mind was absolutely racing.  The price one pays for creative juices, I guess.

I'm going to have to work fast because I only have 1 relatively quiet (as in not completely, totally booked) week before Christmas left.  Next week I'm off to NYC again to do the final decisions on my colorways, then the day after I get back is my big annual Christmas Cookie exchange and from there it's one thing after another...sheeesh!  I've got to get more organized next year so December isn't such a hugely insane rush.  I was talking to a lady at church who mentioned that she gets all her Christmas gifts made and bought by July...for the following year's Christmas!  Wow.  I don't know if I could ever pull that off, but I know I could do better than I'm doing.

And no, in anticipation of your most oft-repeated question, I don't sleep.  Much.  Not as much as I should anyway (Mom, stop reading this - I know what you're going to say, and you're absolutely right).  I try hard not to push myself too much though - if I've had a day or two of less than ideal sleep hours, then I either squeeze in a nap somewhere or go to bed before midnight (otherwise known as early for Shelley) to catch up.  I turn into a very grumpy zombie if I'm sleep deprived consistently, so I know my limits.  Funny thing about getting older...those limits keep diminishing and I keep forgetting I'm not 25 anymore.  My body remembers, though, and reminds me to face reality more often than I care to admit.

It seems that there's always another big project coming down the tube (excuses, excuses) plus some surprise ones thrown in.  Like the wedding I just committed to photographing because they didn't have a professional photographer and the wedding is in 2 weeks.  I don't classify myself as a professional, but I'll be able to come up with photos better than no photographer at all!  :-)

Here's another impromptu project I got involved with at the last minute.  I had been asked to be the photographer for this big youth dance, including coming up with the photo backdrop.  The decoration committee wasn't sure where they were going with the decorations, so I suggested using the whole medieval castle idea since their theme title was "Royal Ball".

 

I got a bunch of flat cardboard and made the gold-painted throne backs for 2 big chairs, then made a bunch of shields and crowns for the photo area and the main dance room.  Because heck, if I'm going to go to the trouble of making a few, I might as well make enough for the dancing area, right?  Yeah, sure!

This is a terrible photo, but it gets the idea across.  The bunting is actually made from those inexpensive vinyl tablecloths.  In the dim light it (almost) looked like fabric.

I had made a giant stencil for the eagle image on the shields, and I used the positive image of the eagle on the red banners below and spray painted around it to accomplish the effect you see. 

 

Fast, simple, and effective.  Okay, so the prep work wasn't all that fast, but it made the assembly line work go much better in the end. 

Anybody need a giant stencil of a medieval eagle that has multiple layers of spray paint all over it?  Don't everybody raise their hands at once, now.

 

My friend Keva was there to help chaperone, so I grabbed her for some goofball shots just for fun.  I think we accomplished our objective, don't you?  Don't answer that.  Okay, well, I've probably spilled enough "real-life Shelley" fodder for one night.  Time to go excavate through the Christmas stuff which has buried my dining room table for days.  I know it's under there somewhere.

Tutorial for Christmas Ornament spheres

 

I'm really proud of myself that I'm getting this out to you well before Thanksgiving, even!  I think this is the furthest in advance I've ever posted a tutorial for a holiday.  Doing the tree for the DC temple Visitor's Center has helped me get all my ducks in a row, although it feels pretty weird to be full-tilt into Christmas stuff before even planning our Thanksgiving feast.  I don't even have all my Halloween stuff put away yet!

 
These are the Baby Cousins to the Big Daddy-O ornaments that I made for the other tree, pictured below.  I figured that most of us without 15-foot ceilings and 12-foot trees would appreciate this smaller scale for our 6 or 7 foot trees, but if you want to go big, go for it!

 

To make ornaments 6" wide like these, you'll need to buy 6" styrofoam or, even better, Smoothfoam balls.  These can be quite pricey ($5 to $7 each).  I found some great Smoothfoam balls online at Plasteelcorp.com for $3 each.  Since I made 15, it made a big difference in the price, plus I got free shipping.

You'll also need to use 2 wordstrips instead of 1 per ornament. 

About the text...I used white wording for the large balls, which was not very legible once the glitter was applied.  For the small balls, I printed the wording in black, but I should have made the lettering thinner.  I went back and fixed that after my ornaments were completed, so yours will look better.  Everything's a learning process...

 
 


 Okay, enough chatting:  here's how to make these glittery musical spheres!

 
MATERIALS NEEDED:

3" or 3.5" styrofoam balls

Bamboo skewers

Music note napkins (I bought mine at PianoSupplies.com), cut into small squares.  The squares you see pictured here are too large for this size of ball.  After this picture was taken I cut them in half again once I started working.  Squares that are 1.5" would be ideal.

Modpodge (mat finish) and a chip brush or equivalent, plus a little container for the Modpodge. 

The wordstrips which you can click on and print out here:

"Forever and Ever....Hallelujah..."  wordstrip

"Peace, Good Will Toward Men" wordstrip

"For Unto Us a Child is Born..." wordstrip

 Cut them into the strips, taking care to preserve the black line which outlines the red.  A paper cutter or ruler+rotary cutter are recommended to keep the lines straight. 

NOTE:  many home printers have ink that smears when wet.  For best results, go to a commercial printer or make sure your printer ink doesn't smear.  If it does, just let ink dry at least 2 days before attempting this project.

Clear glitter and a tray/large sheet of paper to catch excess glitter

Ribbon:  skinny 1/8" for the hanger (9" length per ornament) and 1/4" for the bow (about 12" length per ornament). 

Glue gun or craft glue

 
1)  Insert 1 or 2 bamboo skewers into ball.  Brush a generous coat of Modpodge over ball and lay the pieces of napkin down one at a time, brushing a thin layer of Modpodge over top of napkin piece after each one is put down.  A little overlapping is necessary to ensure that none of the styrofoam is peeking through.

When ball is entirely coated, place bamboo skewer+ball into a heavy vase or jar so it can dry without touching anything.

 

2)  When ball has completely dried, brush a thick coat of Modpodge around the midsection of ball.  Wrap word strip all the way around --UPSIDE DOWN--, trimming ends if necessary so that only about 1/4" is overlapping.  Take care to center the strip around the "equator" of sphere in relation to where the skewers are so that the ball won't hang crooked like some of mine did.

 

3)  Carefully brush Modpodge over the strip, using the metal part of the brush to help press down any edges that don't want to conform to the curve of the ball.  If you have used a printer with smudgy ink, wipe away any pink-tinted Modpodge on the music part of the ball before it dries.  Otherwise you will have a pink ball.  Let dry.

 

4)  When ball has dried, coat entire ball again with Modpodge and sprinkle clear glitter over entire sphere.  Don't worry about how cloudy it looks here - it will become clear and legible when it dries.

 

5)  When completely dry, remove bamboo skewer(s) and use the tip of skewer to push the raw ends of skinny ribbon into hole.  Squirt glue into hole to secure skinny ribbon.

Tie a little bow with the 1/4" ribbon.  Using another dap of glue, attach bow to ball right at the base of the skinny ribbon.

ps.  I am NOT moulting, nor is the skin on my fingers peeling off.  It is merely the stubborn remnants of dried Modpodge which had not been scrubbed off yet.  Lovely, I know.

 

And there you have it!  Your very first music sphere ornament (insert Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus" here).  Enjoy!

 

Is it too early to post about Christmas?

 

I know it's only the beginning of November, but I've already decorated a Christmas tree.  Oh, happy happy joy!  My favorite time of year, my favorite thing to decorate for.

 
Can you guess the theme?  I've been planning this tree for an entire year, ever since I was asked to redo all the ornaments for one of the trees in the Visitor's Center of the Washington DC temple.  It has been a very time-consuming yet extremely fun project, and I'm honored to have been chosen to do it.

 

Yes, the tree is crooked (I didn't notice until it was all done and I stepped back to look at it) but I'm told that will be fixed.  In the meantime, it adds character, right?  Each Christmas the Visitor's Center hosts a myriad of free concerts and has a gorgeous display of Christmas trees that congregations in the Maryland/Virginia area are in charge of decorating.  They also have a beautiful collection of Nativity Scenes from around the world on display and thousands of colored Christmas lights adorn the trees outside, much like the lights at Temple Square in Salt Lake City.  If you live in the DC area, I would really encourage you to look up the schedule of events and make an evening of it - besides, then you could go and see my tree in person!  The Festival of Lights, as it is called, starts in December but you can go to the Visitor's Center anytime.

 
In case you haven't caught the theme yet, I based it on Handel's "Messiah".  Hence the Biblical phrases and the musical references.  It is my personal opinion that Christmas has been largely stripped of its original meaning and purpose, and I wanted to bring the Christ back in Christmas in a very visual way.  I made some of the ornaments from scratch, like these phrase boards, and I added personal touches to many of the store-bought ones.  I bought all the musical instruments and the silvery spangle balls from a delightful Christmas shop in Virginia Beach that I serendipitously found while on vacation this summer.  It's called The Christmas Mouse, and it's wonderful.  There is also a store in Williamsburg, which I didn't know until looking at their website.

 

The large round (not spherical) red ornaments from IKEA were spruced up with a few layers of circles cut from sheet music (from the "Messiah", of course) and ribbon.

I hot-glued the ribbon to the back of the circles, then hot-glued the whole thing to the flat part of the ornament.  I bought a bunch of red and silver ornaments when they were half off last year at IKEA.  I wish I had purchased some of these flat ones for myself - I really like how they turned out.  Hopefully they'll have those ornaments again this year and I can make some for my own house!  They'd be great gifts too - very easy and quick, but lovely.

 
I'm planning on doing a tutorial for the phrase boards, but these particular ones are too large for the typical 6 or 7 foot high tree.  I worked up some smaller phrases on Illustrator in the same style as these were done and will post links to the PDF files so you can recreate the exact look that I have done here.  If you want PDF's for these large word phrases (they're about 10 inches wide) just let me know and I'll email them to you.  But wait for my tutorial so you know how to make them.  :-)

 

I had been planning these musical orbs for a year, but just last month I noticed a tutorial for a similar one on FaveCrafts.  Just wanted to let you know I didn't copy, I promise!  Mine is different due to the paper wordstrip decoupaged around the center and it's very large = 6" across.  I decoupaged paper napkins printed with music to create the musical background, and coated the whole thing in clear glitter.

 

I'm planning a tutorial for this one as well, but for the tut I'll use smaller styrofoam balls to make them more suitable for a standard-sized tree.  As with the phrase boards, I'll have the PDF file linked up so you can print out your own word strips.

 

Now, about the star:  Yes, I made it, and no, it wasn't the easiest thing to do...but well worth it!  I took 2 large metal stars (about 12" across) and glued them together with epoxy glue, inserting a 2-ply roll of cardstock at the base to create the tube.  Then I decoupaged white paper over all of it, let it dry, and freaked out about all the rust that bled through the paper.  I gave it a double coat of white Ceramcoat paint, which hid most of the rust spots, and decoupaged the music napkins over all.  After giving it a couple more coats of Modpodge, I sprinkled clear glitter over the wet Modpodge.  When completely dry, I hot-glued the wired ribbon in place and then the center "Gloria" emblem which I created in Illustrator.  C'est finis! 

Not sure if I'm going to get a tut done for this one or not.  I need to find some smaller metal stars so I can do a smaller one for my own tree...I've looked for years for a tree star that I loved, to no avail.  Guess I'll just have to make my own.  If I do I'll try and get a tut up and running before December.  Lots to do, lots to do...

 

Here's Eliza, my sweet little helper for the tree decorating project.  She was a trooper - from fluffing the tree to decorating to taking photos, it was a 4 hour event, and she didn't complain a bit.  We had some good mommy-daughter bonding time.

 

 

 ...so here's the next question:  am I allowed to switch my music list over to Christmas songs yet?  I don't think I can hold off until after Thanksgiving.....

It's a Wrap

Well, I'm still in denial about it but Christmas is over. (sigh)  I'm always so involved with all the getting-ready-for-Christmas and all the events and parties over the Holidays that I don't take enough time to live in the moment about it.  And when it's over, I feel like, "wait, it can't be OVER yet - I'm finally done with everything so I can finally slow down enough to appreciate it!"  Guess I need to scale things down and/or start in July.  I'm hoping that next year will be easier because (hopefully) by then the house will be mostly fixed up and I can concentrate on making gifts and such things instead of ripping out bathrooms.  Still not totally done with those, by the way...soon enough, soon enough.  

 Hazel's got the right idea about all of this.  "Just sit back and relax Mom!  Have a creamsicle - they're delicious!"

Okay, so she didn't exactly say that.  It was more like, "I wan' posil"  (translation:  "I want a popsicle"). 

I made the mistake of buying a huge box of creamsicles at Eliza's request and as soon as Hazel found them in the freezer she was begging us night and day to eat them.  She'd leave the freezer door open and go find one of us, dragging us to the open freezer and demanding a creamsicle.  Sometimes the door would stay open for 10 minutes or longer if we refused to be dragged around just then.  That's always a nice surprise, to walk into the kitchen while the freezer is blasting cold air into the house as fast as it can!

We finally decided to let her eat them at a rapid rate just so they'd be out of the freezer and our electric bill wouldn't be through the roof!  :-)  Sorry, Eliza, but no more big boxes of creamsicles for awhile.  Either that or we've got to find a way to lock the fridge/freezer doors.

Every Christmas the Washington DC temple decorates their outdoor area with lots and lots of lights on the trees and a big Christmas display inside their Visitor's Center, much like Temple Square in Salt Lake City.  We braved the cold weather along with some friends of ours to go see the lights.

I didn't get very many shots of the lovely lights - we were too busy chasing after Hazel! 

Hyrum was very impressed with the big camel that was watching over the outdoor Nativity Scene.

Inside the Visitor's Center there was a huge display of Nativities from around the world, which was really neat to see.

This one is from China.  The carefully carved figurines and red lacquer box were beautiful.

This little set is made entirely from shells and pearls.  Very cute.

My very favorite one was from Switzerland.  I absolutely LOVE this hand-carved scene.

The warmth and rustic beauty of these figures is so appealing to me.  Just look at that sweet dog and the Alpine instrument (anybody know what it's called?  I used to know, but forgot.  Edith will have the answer, right dear friend?)

The gestures of these humble old folks are so convincingly real.  Their personalities just shine through, don't you think?  And can you imagine carting that huge basket of sticks on your back?  Wow.

Here is the sweet little Baby Jesus in the manger.  So precious.

Back outside, we had a hasty (because it was FREEZING outside!  Below freezing, to be precise) little tailgate hot chocolate party before heading home.  Eliza had just discovered that the hot chocolate was all gone.  The thermos I used did a great job keeping the cocoa piping hot, but it wasn't big enough! 

 
 
 
  
 
 

Hazel, who had discovered my sunglasses in the van, looks like she belongs on the slopes of Colorado where the Hollywood stars are.  She is sneaking the last remnants of the DELICIOUS snickerdoodle cookies that my friend made and everyone gobbled up faster than fast.

Hazel, you're busted!

Now that it's January I suppose I'd better think about taking down the Christmas decorations.  It's such a huge job and always a sad thing to pack it all away for another year, and I'm trying to avoid it.  I'm in denial about the whole thing.

Good thing Valentine's Day is in February - that gives me a deadline!  :-)

Christmas Card Portrait Day, AKA Mom's Self-Inflicted Stress Out Session

We're really late with our Christmas cards this year.  Part of it was because I didn't get our clothes made until a little over a week ago.  It wasn't because of Child #1, who has (thankfully) become an extremely cooperative little poser.  Which is why I have so many great shots of Eliza, and so many not-so-great shots of Child #3...

My sweet little whirlwind Hazel.  I didn't dare make everyone get dressed up until yesterday, when we had to get dressed up to go to church anyway.  Even so, it took quite a bit of wrestling to get Hazel (and Hyrum) dressed in their new Christmas clothes in preparation for the photo session and church.

Hazel. just. didn't. want. to. hold. still.  Can you tell?

 
 Here's my little headbanger, who ripped out the cute hairbows I made for her so she could swing her untamed mane around freely.

Yes, Hazel is a free spirit.

We tried squeaky toys, we tried coaxing, we even tried bribing her with chocolate.  Not a chance.  She wouldn't even take it! 

She WAS interested in the bright pink and yellow purse you see on the edge of this photo.  But since that was obviously not part of the color scheme and as such would have been the only thing anyone noticed in the picture, the purse was nixed by mean ol' mom (just for a few minutes!)

Meanwhile, Eliza very kindly posed for photo after photo.  She was pretty happy with her new skirt.  I used some dupioni silk that I had bought on clearance last year, when I thought I was going to need to make a formal gown for the occasional black tie affairs I had heard that  Steve and I would probably be attending due to his job in the DC area. 

Well, so far no black tie events for us, but the girls are sure enjoying twirling around in their fancy clothes.

Are ya dizzy yet?  I took no fewer than 50 shots of Hazel when she was dancing around, hoping that eventually she would slow down and I could get a non-blurry version of my little girl.  My camera doesn't have a wide enough aperature to get good, non-flash shots at a shutter speed that will arrest motion a little better.  I have absolutely no idea how parents got their children to hold still for portraits back in the early days of photography, when subjects would have to hold still for minutes rather than a fraction of a second.  Kudos to them!

Oh look - she stopped spinning long enough to pick up some pennies that had spilled out of her beloved pink and yellow purse.  Couldn't get her to look at me and smile, but I'll take what I can get. 

Eliza was finally able to convince Hazel to come and sit with her for a Cheese Session.  Hurray for big sisters!

Big sister was also able to work her influential magic on Hyrum for a couple of shots.  Poor Hyrum doesn't last very long in front of the camera before having a bit of a meltdown, so I was grateful for this shot, blurry though it is.  Hazel was supposed to be sitting down in front of them, but she would have nothing to do that.

Why sit down when you can spin?  It's so much more fun.

Hazel's dress is an adaptation of the little girl's sundress/romper tutorial that you can click on in my sidebar.  Since this silk was wider than quilting cotton, and since I discovered that dupioni silk doesn't bunch up as tightly as cotton does in the back where it is shirred, I added the pleats in the front to take up the extra fabric.  I'm really happy with the result - it has all the fancy looks of a fitted party dress, but it's still comfy to wear because of the elastic shirring in back.  I doubt I'd be able to convince Hazel to wear a traditional party dress with a zipper and fitted sleeves = too restrictive.

I made all the silk flowers that are on the girl's outfits as well, but I just pinned them on with little safety pins because I don't want them to get all messed up when the clothes are washed.

Because of all the fun getting the kids ready before church, and then I spent so much time trying to capture Hazel on film, we ran out of time to do any family shots before leaving for church.  After all we had gone through I was pretty bummed about that, since this is the picture I always like to use for our Christmas cards.  Everyone was a good sport after coming home from church and stayed dressed up long enough to get a few shots of the entire family together.  I used a tripod and a self timer, so I unfortunately didn't notice that poor Hyrum was stuck back there in the corner and our heads were all at the same level (a family portrait no-no) but hey - at least everyone is smiling! 

I hope everyone has a wonderful (and safe) New Year's Eve celebration!  Happy New Year!

  
  
 

Christmas Goodies

This year, instead of passing out edible treats, I made little ribbon ornaments for my friends.

Do they look familiar?  I posted a tutorial in October for Halloween ornaments, and these are basically the same thing.  I glued the paper circles on these instead of using the double-sided tape, and cut the angles on the ends of some of the ribbon differently, but they are made with the same construction techniques.

On the backs of them I glued a circle of cardstock and wrote a little personal greeting and the year on each one.  Not as yummy for the tummy, but hopefully a little eye candy is just as nice.

There's something so irresistably festive about stripes and polka-dots.  Love it.

I told my Facebook friends I'd post a picture of the PJs I made for the kids this year, so here it is!  They're a little big, but my kids grow so fast I have to make them that way.  Every year on Christmas Eve the kids get to open one present, and it's almost always Christmas pajamas.  I usually buy them, but since I had this cute penguin flannel on hand I really wanted to make matching pants this year.  Things have been so crazy busy I didn't have a chance to make them until the night before Christmas Eve.  Since Hazel's been staying up so late this past week, I wasn't able to start sewing until after she went to bed, and after I wrapped all the kid's presents.  Needless to say, it was an extremely late night ( I almost saw the sunrise) but hey - gotta do whatcha gotta do, right?  Luckily Steve was home on Christmas Eve so I got to sleep in bigtime.  Hurray for that!  
 
Our Christmas Eve and Day were very low-key and quiet (as quiet as one can expect with three little ones hopping about!) which was nice.  I've been rush-rushing so much this month it was a relief to have some relatively calm family time.  I made a traditional ham dinner tonight with all the "fixins" which Steve was delighted about but my kids described with words such as "Disgusting!" and "Gross!" and "You expect me to eat that?!"  I felt like Calvin's mom (from Calvin and Hobbes, the best comic strip ever written, by the way) times 3 (sigh).  My kids are hopelessly picky, despite our requirements to have them take a "courtesy bite" of everything on their plate.  Now I know how my mom used to feel - I used to do the same thing to her.  Hmmm...maybe this has something to do with the "curse" she placed on me when I was naughty about how my children were going to be just as bad or worse when I grew up, so I'd better improve my behavior! Of course I just laughed it off as a child, but I wonder.... :-)

Anyway, I hope everyone has had a wonderful Christmas Day, wherever in the world you are.  May the peace and goodwill of Christmas time last throughout the year in your hearts.

Once There Was A Snowman

This is dedicated to all my friends still living in Hawaii...I'm not trying to rub it in, honest!  I remember how homesick I got during the Holiday season when we lived in the land of eternal sunshine.  It just didn't seem like Christmas when I was sweating while putting up the outdoor decorations. 

I even made 2 giant fabric snowmen to put out on our front lanai when we lived in Hawaii.  Now we can build the real thing!  The kids and I had a great time building our snowman today.

We had to enlist the help of Steve to lift the middle snowball onto the bottom one.  It was too heavy for Eliza and I to heft by ourselves!  He stayed out long enough to help us put the all-important features on Mr. Frosty.

It took quite a few tries to make those little rocks stick into the packed snow face.  We tried cranberries for the mouth first, but all they did was squish and squirt when they were pressed into the snow.  Rocks worked a little better, but Mr. Frosty had lost an eye even before we were done taking pictures.  Poor guy.

 

Hazel didn't seem to mind - she was having a great time outside today.  Must have been the mittens - she decided it was a good idea to wear them this time.  Hazel was cracking up because we were saying CHEEEEEESE for the camera.

For some reason she thought this was about the funniest thing on the planet, and the rest of us were laughing because SHE was laughing so hard.  It was the cutest thing.  Kid's laughter is a very magical sound - I love it.

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas, and don't forget the cheese!