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Classy Valentines for Kids

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Last weekend at the grocery store I zipped down the “seasonal”aisle because for some reason it’s across from the cheese aisle (Mr. SuzerSpace is a firm believer that you can never have enough cheese). And I was kind of surprised to see the boxes of Valentine cards kids give out at school. Seems like just yesterday the aisle was full of Christmas candy, and then it was the sad remnants of the clearance holiday gift basket (although I did score a neat set of mugs and hot chocolate for $3.00 that week, so that was awesome!).

But the thing is, I wasn’t surprised they were there. It’s the beginning of February and it’s time for the store to update that aisle. What surprised me is how little they’ve changed since I was in school. Same box, same sentiments, same cartoon/candy characters. And seriously, it’s been a minute since I was a kid, carefully addressing envelopes with everyone’s name, hoping that I’d get a few back in return in my carefully crafted Kleenex-box-turned-Valentine’s-Mailbox on my desk.

I should have realized that the standard store offerings weren’t that great, because year after year at my day job, a loyal crew of the moms turn to me, their resident pre-press tech, to turn their Pinterest dreams into reality by making them swoon-worthy cards for their kids. They don’t want the same-old cards that everyone has. But calling on a graphic designer to produce your cards is not an option for everyone.

February 3, 2019 by suzer Holidays I made this In the Craft Room To Celebrate

Hello February!

Crafting for the Super Bowl? Pro-tip - regulation NFL footballs don't have the white stripes on the side. Those are for college | suzerspace.com

January can be a long, dragged out affair of gray weather in Kansas City, and the sudden halt to all the holiday fun coupled with those dreary skies can be a definite mood killer.

I set up myself up for success this year by taking all the Monday’s off from my day job. I have been there long enough to earn an extra week of vacation, and setting up 5 three day weekends sounded much more fun than a week off with no real plan.

I also was super nice to myself and made a hard and fast rule to NOT schedule any adult tasks for those Mondays off – so no doctor appointments!

Three things we’ve really been into in January at SuzerSpace:

1. This recipe . I’ve linked it before, but every time I make it, I cannot believe how great it tastes compared to the simple, inexpensive ingredients and easy steps. I sub standard white beans for the gigantic ones listed in the recipe.

2. This knife . A Christmas present to ourselves, this has turned out to be the perfect kitchen knife for someone who has never had good knives. Also handy – this series of videos for improving your knife skills.

3. This sewing hack . I’m short, so I hem a lot. And I’ve thought about buying those pre-made hem gauges, but I never do. If you’ve read this blog, you know I love cardboard and have lots of access to it, so this has been a game changer.

Coming up in February:

1. A new cardboard door decoration, with a twist! This one will span more than one holiday/event/season.

2. Racing season starts (well, actually it started last weekend with the 24 hours at Rolex, but NASCAR kicks of their season at Daytona, and then it’s 43 weekends of Mr. SuzerSpace being glued to the TV on Sundays, which means more crafting time for me!

3. I hear there is some sort of football game on this weekend? I’m not all that into the Super Bowl this weekend, partly because I’m really tired of the Patriots, and even more so because the KC Chiefs got themselves so close to getting in that I wore myself out. But here’s a pro-tip if you are crafting for the event – NFL footballs do NOT have that white stripe on the edges. That’s for college only.

February 1, 2019 by suzer Now

The T-Shirt Sleeve Hem

The short story on too long t-shirt arms is that a quick t-shirt sleeve hem is all you need to make a cast-off item wearable again | suzerspace.com

I’ve been a pretty small sized person my whole life. That’s not a humble brag, it’s just the truth. I’ve topped at at just a little over 5’2″, and I have a slim build, and that means I know the wonders of hemming pants.

But you know what never occurred to me? All those ill fitting shirts I own? I can fix those, too. Just by changing the t-shirt sleeve hem.

To be really honest, this is started of those procraftinating projects. You know, where you are supposed to be doing something real and serious, and somehow your mind wanders and you find something much more fun to do instead.

In this case, I was supposed to be purging my closet of things I don’t wear. This wasn’t some New Year’s resolution to be more Marie Kondo style. No – it’s more like I live in a house built in 1950, and shelves and closet space are at a premium.

So I came across my shelf of long sleeve T-shirts, the ones I never wear. I’ve tried to get rid of them before, but some hold memories in their artwork, and yes, I know you can make pillows or quilts with them, but I didn’t. So I decided this was going to be the year I let go, and I put them in the donation box.

Aaaaaaand then I pulled one out and tried it on. And the lightbulb went off. The reason why I don’t wear it is because it has those cuffed sleeves, and because the sleeves are way too long, the cuff causes the arm to pouf out and I look and feel ridiculous.

What if I hemmed the sleeves? Is a t-shirt sleeve hem a thing?

Turns out it’s thing. Click here to read more

January 21, 2019 by suzer By Upcycling I made this In the Craft Room In the Sewing Room

Painted Monster Rocks

Turn rocks into fun monsters with just a little paint and a lot of imagination | suzerspace.com

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Welcome to the third Tuesday of the month (What? How is that possible?), which means it is Pinterest Challenge Blog Hop Time hosted by My Pinterventures.

The purpose of the Pinterest Challenge is to motivate all the participants of this hop (and you too) to not just pin, but to make it happen!

Sometimes I like to work on really intricate crafts with lots of pieces, measuring and patience. And other times, I really just want to do something that looks to be really easy and fun.

Enter this month’s pin –

I’ve had it on my board for a while, with a bunch of other painted rock pins.

Side story – Mr. SuzerSpace and I like to walk to a neighborhood grocery store on Saturday mornings. The route takes us past some of those Little Free Libraries and a super cute little stand that is called “The Art Tree” which operates on the take-a-penny leave-a-penny principle in that you are supposed to leave an object of art if you make one, and take one when you need one.

Conveniently, the stand is near a schoolyard full of rocks.

I think you can guess where this is going.

January 15, 2019 by suzer By Upcycling From a Tutorial I made this In the Craft Room

Happy Snowman Door Hanger

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If you haven’t noticed, I have a thing for door decorations. Pick your season or holiday – I bet I have a sign for it. In fact, I have made so many signs and door hangers that I need to come up with some sort of system for displaying and storing them off season, but that will need to be a subject for a different post (mostly because right now I don’t have a good solution).

After I took the Christmas wreath off the front door, I realized that I had an opportunity for a new look, and my thoughts turned to a happy snowman.

Like most of my door hangers, this one is crafted from lightweight cardboard, which I like to use for two reasons – it’s really, really inexpensive (for me, it’s free because I get it from the recycling bin at work) and because it is so light, hanging it isn’t a big deal.

Click here to keep crafting!

January 7, 2019 by suzer By Upcycling I made this In the Craft Room