Quick update and my first sewing project!

I have been busy lately! Here's an update on some of the projects in progress in the Honeybee House:

Hubby's Best Friend is getting married at the end of the month (Congrats Joe and Cin!) so I've been trying to get the creative juices flowing on some Steampunk attire to fit in with the theme of the wedding.  My mom has Hubs and I covered (you're amazing mommy!) so I have been working on Lady Bird's outfit. This is what I have so far....

The skirt and shoe cover/ruffly spats are almost done and then I just need to come up with some sort of shirt. Hmmm.......   But I can't wait to get her in it all. Gonna be Super Cute!    (Note the tool bag on the floor in the background of that last picture....evidence of another project in progress...)

I have also been crocheting like a crazy person working on a bunch of adorable photo props for my friends over at Stephanie Rose Photography. Here's a few things:

Hopefully I'll have pictures of all these worn by precious little models soon!

I'm still working on painting, DIY shelving and general decorating in the living room (as you can see from the disheveled background in most of these pictures)

I made a bunch of things for Lady Bird's Daisy Scout Ceremony, but unfortunately was so busy making them that I never got any pictures. :o(

And Finally (for now) today's project! My mom gave me her old sewing machine so I set out to try to re-teach myself the basics and learn all the new fun things I can!  For my very first project I re-purposed an old shirt of Hubs' into a summer dress for Lady Bird! It turned out super cute :o)

It's not perfect, but I'm pretty darn proud of myself! And she asked if she could wear it "all the rest of the day", so, guess she's proud of it too  :o)

I will keep you guys up on all the new progress and final pictures when they are all completed!  

What are you proud of today?

<3 Melissa

My Own Recycled Yarn!!!

I have been wanting to "make" some recycled yarn for some time now and last night I took the plunge.  I grabbed two sweaters I haven't worn in forever and went to work on them. Now, I have to say, I'm super glad I came across this blog post over at Laughing Purple Goldfish Designs. It has some great tips that made everything a little easier. (When she says "you don't want this tangled up"....TAKE HER SERIOUSLY. Yea, I'm being silly, but really! It's a real pain in the rear! I had to cut and tie a few times to get rid of tangles.....)

The yellow yarn is all from one sleeveless sweater..

The blue ball of yarn is half of one sleeveless sweater, the other half is in the photo so you can get a small taste of how it started out...

This project turned out to be even more satisfying than I thought it would be. I'm reusing material that would otherwise be wasted and saving a little money along the way (and seriously, who doesn't love that!). Not to mention these are colors that I would never find and they are nice and soft and comfy, no need to break in new scratchy processed yarn. I totally recommend trying this if you feel brave enough. It was super easy, thanks to the tips from Sharon over at Laughing Purple Goldfish. If I had tried it myself I would have just gone in scissors  flying, rules be damned. But her tips made the process much more trial and much less error.  

<3  Melissa

p.s. Anyone out there who has sweaters they are getting rid of, my arms are open!

My little crafter,,,,

Today I thought I'd share some thing made FOR my five year old daughter (that I forgot to put in the last post...oops) and some thing made BY her as well. She loves to make things...she is getting pretty "art smart" as they say at her Kindergarten :o)

Story: Lady Bird loves kitties. I had my husband choose and bring home some yarn for me one night (I needed inspiration- colors I didn't pick surely would spark creativity, right?) and when she saw it she begged me to make her a Kitty. Huh. How to make an orange, green, and blue kitty and still feel like I accomplished something nice? Here's what I came up with.......   A Kitty Scoodie!  (for those of you saying "a what?!" a scoodie is a scarf/hoodie....clever, no? lol)

picking her up from school... she was so excited about that silly straw she brought out of school with her.   ?!?   silly.....lol

*And this is HER latest project*

Story: This is a set of necklaces she made for her and her friend.  too cute..... :o)

Tomorrow's post, after i can get a picture of my son in the hat I made him (that I also forgot to put in my last post....i know, i know, I must try harder....) will be all about Mushroom!
                                                                                             
                                                                                                            <3 Melissa                                                                        

What I've been working on....

So, I have finished a few projects and I thought I'd share them with you!  One for me, One for the hubby, and one for the kids. I feel pretty accomplished :o)

This is the bag I made for myself :o) It turned out great, I love it <3

 It's crocheted with two strands ww yarn together - 1 peaches and creme Avocado, 1 red heart Thyme. The inside is fully lined (hand sewn) with some scrap fabric I had laying around.

 The Flower is two shades of pink - sorry, no idea what they are, the paper is long gone, but they are pretty!  ;O)

My 7 and 5 year olds have a stuffed dragon collection that my husband started with them... now they have one made by Mommy!

This was the first attempt at eyes, I guess they came out OK.  He is quite cute and the kids and his new dragon friends love him bunches :o)

My third project turned out super cute! This one is for my husband, A Big Ol' Star Wars fan... (it doesn't hurt that this is my favorite character from the films ;O) )          

I bought safety eyes to try next time...




I'd love to hear your comments or suggestions!  NOW.... what to try next......

                                                                            <3 Melissa

sitting here waiting....

I realized as I was running out the door to pick the kiddieos up from school that it's been awhile since our last "talk". So here I am, blogging from my phone in the car while I wait for the school bell to  ring.  I haven't had much of a chance to go exploring lately (haven't even been on pinterest...*gasp!*) so I'll just share with you the cute little project I finished today.


Its a pixie/elf  hat :0). These are so cute! This one will fit a 6-12 month old, made of Peaches and Creme - avocado and Red Heart - soft pink.  


Let me know what you think!

Picnik, you will be missed....and new stuff in the shop

I am soooo sad to see that Picnik is shutting down!  I have been looking for a very long time to find a photo editing software the does more than simply crop and rotate, that also doesn't cost a months salary. (OK, that may be a bit exaggerated, but it sure feels like it!) I finally came across this wonderful online site called Picnik that has just about everything I could ask for, and now it's shutting down. I say Booooo! and Hissss! to that. I'm sure they have a good reason to be shutting down such a wonderful, helpful service and I wish them the best, but man! I'm bummed.  


Well, I guess onto what prompted this little pity me party.


 Here are some pic's of some of the new things being added to Honeybee Boutique. Hope you like them, and go by the Etsy shop and check them out :o)  (you can just click on the mini etsy shop on the right hand side of the blog page and it'll take you right there!)
                                                                                     


                                       <3 Melissa

                              

                   








              

This weeks shout out!

Today's shout out is to Sharon at Laughing Purple Goldfish Designs.


 I came across her blog post when I was wandering around looking for new and interesting things to crochet. And I have to say, Sharon, You're a genius!!! 

This was my very first yarn stash :o)

 This technique for making a yarn ball is the simplest and best thing I think I've learned in my crochet adventures to date. (Well, besides actually learning TO crochet...lol) I love my yarn balls, they look so pretty and organized, almost like decor :o) 


But, what I don't love quite as much is watching my cat chase my yarn across the room as it slips out of my hands in the process of rolling. Let me tell you...darn cute the first time. ONLY the first time. 

Not only does this technique eliminate the dropping, but you need nothing other than something EVERYONE has in their house right now. 


 Check this out, I promise, if you like yarn balls, but find it frustrating to make them, reading Sharon's blog post (found here laughing purple goldfish designs: winding yarn) will be the best spent 5 minutes of your week!


                     Thanks soooo much Sharon!

                                                              
                                              <3 Melissa


p.s. If anyone tries this let me know what you think! 

how to make pom poms- the easy way!

I just wanted to share this quick tutorial I found this morning...  I have found a lot of instructions on how to make a pom pom, but some you need to purchase a pom pom maker for, some tell you to get a piece of cardboard, etc.  But the tutorial found here at crochetspot.com is the easiest by far! You don't need a single material more than your yarn and scissors. Check it out!    
                                              <3 Melissa

Eureka! My furry, fuzzy crochet bootie

I am so very excited about this one! 

I have been swooning over pictures of similar baby booties thinking these would be perfect for my 5 year old, they are so HER. But I had some major obsticles. 


1) All the patterns that are for sale are for babies


2) Because of #1 they are entirely yarn, 'cause, well, babies are adorable in slippers.    :0)       I want my daughters to be real shoes. ones she can wear outside, out and about. They are just TOO ADORABLE to spend their entire lives in the house, hidden away.
and lastly,


3) did I really want to spend money on a pattern that was not what I really wanted?


So, to work I went. It took some time, and a few do overs, but I think I got it pretty well!  I only have one done so far and she wants to wear it. No cares about not having one for the other foot.... silly lady.  
I would love to start selling these in the shop, but it's going to take creating a pattern and alot more practice so I can figure out the best, fastest way to work these out. But once I get the kinks out it's on!  

ok, ok, enough jabber, to the pictures!

So Thanks for taking a look and let me know what you think!

 Any comments or suggestions are more than welcome!    

  Hope to talk to you soon!    

 <3 Melissa