The Great and Random Ramblings of Cannwin

 Alright... I finally made the tutorial, so... no more hassling me about it. Okay? Whew. ::wink:: Add caption Voila! Enjoy the praise of your genius... and be sure to tell them all it's really my genius that you're just borrowing. 

As my last obligation to So You Think You're Crafty I participated in a nice little interview . Well, it probably was supposed to be a little interview, but it is me we're talking about. I have a tendency to go overboard with words. Anywho... go check it out  and be sure to comment so I feel loved. Now, as for how my day is going to go. We shall see. I haven't packed a box in several days and I'm starting to feel that shut down that comes when I'm overwhelmed. On top of everything that is planned for the last few days of living in South Dakota, I've also been asked to speak in church. I seriously considered saying no. Actually, I did say no... as it was my husband who asked me, but then, not to be deterred, the powers that be went around my husband and asked me AGAIN through another person who I just couldn't refuse and save face with. Motherhood So now, on the weekend that Ralexwin will be gone to play Army and I will have 2 days left to pac...

 Baby gates and blankets, two of the most common items any young mother has in her house. Also two of the most worn out items in that same house. Before you decide to toss out that broken old baby-gate and soiled, torn up blanket why don't you consider upcycling them into the easiest pup-tent in existence. The Baby-Gate Tent. This project only required 4 screws and can be created using the most basic sewing (straight lines anyone?) As for how much the kids will like it? Well, I'll tell you... it took some real finesse on my part to get the tent away long enough to photograph it. Psst-- It's also super easy to move around.

30 votes just wasn't enough I suppose I'm required at this point to feel some sort of sorrow and regret for the way things turned out at SYTYC . Tradition states that when someone is rejected, in any manner, they should go back through what they have done and list all the ways they could have changed things to attain that which was denied. Well, I'm not feeling it. Is it cheesy to say that I had so much fun and I'm okay with not winning? I know you probably don't believe me, but it's true. I signed up for So You Think You're Crafty on a whim. I said to myself, "I bet I can hold on for a while in a competition like that. I bet I'm that good." This process has been a way for me to prove to MYSELF that I was good at what I did. And I totally feel that. My biggest fear had been to lose in the auditions or in the first two weeks. I told myself if I could get past those periods I'd be okay. Then as the competition went on and I saw ...

Did anyone guess which project was mine? I'm sure my super secret model didn't give any clues at all. Once again I was smack dab in the middle of the pack. Neither the best nor the worst. I'm wondering how long a person can hang on this way? This weeks and next weeks projects I'm nervous about. Not because they are bad crafts. I think both of them are excellent ideas, I just can't deliver well. If I had the camera, the energy and the brain cells with which to advertise my product I am confident they would be fantastic. But I am a woman of limited means. :) Anywho. Go over and vote.... see if you can spot which one is mine. Here's the link-- SYTYC . My model was fantastic last week! I got some awesome pictures of her dramatic littleness that I just couldn't wait to show on my blog. Isn't she just fabulous?! Okay, so my brain cell shortage has made me exceptionally tired the last few days, so I am going to go zone out on my bed or something....

This was my week two craft for So You Think You're Crafty. I placed third that week for this one. I thought you might enjoy finding out how I made it. I tried about a million different decorations before settling on one that didn't drown out my rings. I wanted them to the focal point. This is also why I went with black fabric and not something more vivid. Don't be intimidated by the lack of 101 I'm giving you. It really is a straight forward sort of project. If you know how to use a glue gun without burning yourself you can do this. Just be sure to dust off your imaginative brain space first. :) The one important thing you might be wondering is how I got the pink fabric to stick to the shoe. I really just Mod Podged it on. There are several different ways to make ring tubes that you can find online. One I saw used that colored foam paper stuff that you find in the kids craft section. I thought that might have been easier, but I had scraps o...

Okay, so I did pretty well last week with my altered shoe, but my roommate 'M' thinks I got shafted and should have taken it. She's nice. Then, after I took all the pictures and sent my submission in, I finished decorating the other shoe and wished I'd submitted that one as well (sorry no pictures of that one). I gave it to a friend as a gift, though, and she seems pretty darn happy. As for this pink lady... she's already packed for the move. That's how it's working around here. Not only am I challenged by the themes, I have an added personal challenge of coming up with things that I'll actually want to pack and move across the country. Ha. I'm insane. So this week on So You Think You're Crafty  the theme is ' Knock Off' , and I'm really not confident in my craft. NOT because I don't think it's a good job, but I had a bunch of crafting failures on this one and that takes a toll on a persons confidence. Anyhow... ...

Well, Week One at So You Think You're Crafty is finally over and I'm not going to tell you which craft was mine. It did terribly and if you are really that interested you can take the time to go poke around and find it... but I think I'll focus on this week instead. Which is ' Thrift Store Find,' and boy is this right up my lane. I can do thrift store finds. Junk is my medium of choice and this project was by far my favorite craft I've ever done. I hope it does well this time, because if it doesn't I'm not sure I'll care anymore. :) Of course that could just be the exhaustion talking. The mom who has a mob of angry, nasty germs camped out in her home. This weekend was the worst. I had some kids on the mend (and exhausted) and some kids heading on in (and exhausted.) I was very nearly ready to run out my front door screaming and tearing out my hair like some maniac. Shall I list some of the insane, not thinking it through, decisions my kids...

Today the crafts for week one at So You Think You're Crafty go up and I'm in there somewhere. Sadly I can't tell you which one is mine. A lot of you have been giving me grief about this. "Come on, no one will know. It's just me." Sorry, rules are rules and I'm the one in the card game that closes my eyes and announces when I can see your hand. My profile is up, though, and I love a good profile. I don't know if you guys have ever noticed this about me, but I'm terribly picky about how I write a bio. It's so common for a persons bio to say "I'm a mom of _____. I married my best friend. We live in _____." Etc, etc, etc. So I do my darndest to not have any generic bio's of myself. So You Think You're Crafty was a little trickier because the readers are probably looking for something fairly specific. I tried to add a little Cannwin personality into it though. Tell me what you think! As for everything else in my lif...

NOTE: There is now a full tutorial for how to make these. Just go here. I've been waiting to post this blog today for Missy at So You Think You're Crafty to post hers. I gotta tell you guys.... YOU WERE ALL WRONG! I couldn't believe my eyes when that book lamp starting getting all these votes and you guys kept telling me how you were just soooo sure it was mine. Even my own sister's! I know, I know, it was all done out of love. So now that you realize the book lamp wasn't mine, I suppose I'll have to tell you which one was. These little shiny's are all mine. Each of my kids has a set... with my actual phone number on it. Not 867-5309. Did anyone catch that little wittiness of mine? Hahaha, I'm so funny. I really wasn't expecting my craft to do so well. I mean I spent a lot of time considering changing which craft I submitted and then, there I was at the top of the rankings. I couldn't believe it! All I wanted out of this w...