another crafty week~

Posted by Casey // dreams and bones. on Thursday, January 19, 2012. Filed under: , , ,
No Comments »

there's been this image floating in my mind 
for a couple of weeks now

I have this vision for a banner at our wedding
used in a few specific places
with my newest love..

scallops!

what's a scallop, you say?

scallop garland via Sew, Mama, Sew!

I would love to show you the scallop house trim I adore
the scallop side table that won awards at a design show recently
and the scalloped shoes I just saw

.. but Google Images and I just aren't getting along at the moment.
so the garland will have to do.

but man.. I just have this in my head
and yesterday I spent a long time trying to figure out 
how to make it come out.

Here are the results:


first I cut the flags (a few days ago), and sprayed them with fabric stiffener.
then i cut scallop shapes out of my yellow fabric.


then I laid my idea out.. but it didn't seem just right. so I grabbed my dark mustard colored fabric and laid the burlap on top of it. 

but it didn't seem just right -- BUT I wasn't scrap that idea just yet.


so then I just held my yellow scallops against the mustard fabric. I did like that.. but I wasn't ready to omit the burlap.

then earlier today, I saw on a wedding blog that a girl did burlap flags 
exactly how I have mine cut out (minus the scallops), so I feel less worried about that
and I'm excited to brainstorm the use of both mustard and burlap flags. :)


but in other news.. five of these little guys showed up.
and they are ready to be used in centerpieces!


coming soon.. i am really excited to announce a new project i'm working on.
simple for some, complicated for me!
i will be starting my own "real simple" food challenge!
gotta shake things up with the eating 
and get myself prepared to be a wife!
starting next week, i'll start my seven day challenge
 and bring you all along for the ride.
if you'd like to join in, comment with your blog link (or join in on twitter)
 and we'll have to do our own little blog party. :)


scenes from my craftosphere.

Posted by Casey // dreams and bones. on Friday, January 13, 2012. Filed under: , , ,
No Comments »



this week i met with a friend
who told me her husband gets the itch


if he doesn't create
if he isn't creative
he feels .. off.
it's not an unproductive feeling,
it's much more.


i told her i knew exactly what she meant.

if i'm not making.. 
it doesn't feel right.

time feels wasted.


so that's what i've been doing this week. 
holing up into my nest
comfy pants on
LOST on the television
and tons and tons and tons of projects.

the more completed in a night, the better.

and that friend?
well she started her own wedding planning business
launched it this week in fact!
and she writes this fantastic blog
where she teaches us not only about centerpieces and table numbers
but getting along,
staying in love,
she's not only teaching us how to plan our weddings,
she's teaching us how to build a strong marriage. 
{i can't help but think about how awesome it is that 
while i get my energy from hands on working, 
she gets hers from writing. kind of amazing how Gifts work.. right?}
if you're planning your own wedding.. be sure to visit her.

xo from henry
and me ;)


DIY: How To Transfer An Image To Canvas

Posted by Casey // dreams and bones. on Wednesday, January 11, 2012. Filed under: , ,
No Comments »

Remember that project I talked about earlier this week?
. . . . . 
It's HERE! And I'm going to show you how to do it!


Pin It

First.. go find yourself a photograph that you love. 







Recently, this image has been floating around Pinterest
and it makes me so dreeeeeamy.
So I printed it out and made this project!

Let's get started. First: go on Photoshop (or whatever image editing software you have) 
and reverse, reverse! 
No, only reverse one time. 
But make sure you do it, because I definitely 
did not the first time and it didn't work out. 
At all.


Now get a gel medium (I used Mod Podge. It's really inexpensive and you can use it for everything!) 
and a paint brush or a sponge brush. Paint the medium on thick - but not too thick!

Next: Lay your image face down on the canvas.


Now get yourself a spoon. or a butter knife. Or both, if you're me.
Do you see those air bubbles? 


Use the spoon and flatten out all of the bubbles.
When most of them are gone, leave the project to dry overnight.

Come back the next day, use a spray bottle and spray the entire piece until your image shows through. 
Now peel (very gently) from the edges or the corners. Be careful not to lift your image off of the page. The paper is layered, and you are peeling the initial layer off.

It looks a little like this! 
(sorry for the poopy picture but the cat was priceless)

You will need to let the image dry for a few hours, or if you're impatient, get a blow dryer. 
When you come back it's going to be almost completely white again. 
Spray it until it is completely wet, and continue to peel the layers away.
When you get to a stopping point, let it dry again. 
Then repeat!

For this project, it only took me 2 or 3 times to revisit before it was done.
Don't worry if you get cracks or rough spots. That adds to the rustic look.. it's good!

When you decide you are done, brush one more layer of Mod Podge
over the entire image to seal it. 
All done!


Friday Photos: wedding and home crafting.

Posted by Casey // dreams and bones. on Monday, January 9, 2012. Filed under: , ,
No Comments »

Nothing beats time to yourself used creatively..

This new project sat eagerly in the corner all night waiting for me to start on it.
{here's a secret.. I messed up.. more on that later}


I quickly finished the lingering project I had been finishing all week long: 
The cover for my late grandmother's bible, which we'll be using to hold our rings at the ceremony.

I attached the yellow fabric to the burlap earlier this week, but the ends of the burlap got rough pretty quickly and began to come apart. DUH. Why didn't I think of that in the first place? I went back last night to sew seams along the edges so the piece holds together.

"with this ring
i thee wed"

so excited for the moment those words actually come out of my mouth. :)


Once I was finished, it was time to work on my new project. 
I began a project called "Transfer your photo to canvas"..

it occurred to me this would be a beautiful way to make prints out of images I love. 
The results look like a distressed image on canvas.

Except I messed up because I didn't think about the "mirror image" - you have to reverse your image before printing in order to transfer it correctly. And I don't have a printer at home.

So up to Fed Ex Office I go.. and I will show you the results soon. :)
(*update* The second try was so successful!! I can't wait to show you! Come back tomorrow for a peak!)

Here's a sneak peek at our guest book quilt pieces.
 I did a little work on those as well. :)

I recently rearranged my living room wall with a pretty arrangement of art. 
I'm hoping to add to the opposite side of the wall with the new prints I will be making this week. 



I'm also hoping to frame those little prints.. but I love the layout for now.

What have you done creatively this week?

A New Tradition: Potato Soup

Posted by Casey // dreams and bones. on Tuesday, January 3, 2012. Filed under: , , , , , ,
2 Comments

Happy new year, all my friends! I hope your holiday season was great. I have a tale to tell you, so pour yourself a glass of leftover eggnog and stay a while.

The night before Christmas, when all through the city, not many a creature were stirring.. not even the rats. But my dear had to work late, so met up we did, at an old fashioned bar with plenty of goods. Stone Pale Ale I had and something fancier had he.. and by the end of the night we were giggly with glee. A Christmas Eve date was had, what a merry night.

We enjoy Hopleaf bar because our beer taste buds are expanding,  and our fascination for craft beer is growing. The best part about it is, very rare beers are available and at inexpensive prices. The bartenders are friendly and the food is delicious too.

B asked me every day for an entire week for potato soup like he had growing up. I thought it would be a fun to incorporate this into our first Christmas together. Unfortunately, Chicago's grocery stores played a funny little trick on me. I thought I saw a sign at our nearest store that stated they'd be open for the holiday (they are for most others). The hustle and bustle of the holidays got the best of me, so I planned to go pick up our ingredients Christmas morning. We were so sad when the stores were closed, as were the other four nearby. So instead, we opted for Chinese. It felt good to know we were part of that "club."


We even found a couple of Christmas movies: National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation, the original Grinch, and Jim Carrey's The Grinch.

Round 1: the Chinese food..


Round 2: the dessert, and the beers. Several of our friends are bakers and gave us delicious baked goods for Christmas. We feasted on these all afternoon long, paired with Bell's Christmas Ale and Half Acre's Big Hugs (which is also made with Dark Matter Coffee).


Also, I taught myself how to crochet! Using this pattern for a crochet beard, I looked up each step on YouTube and went with it. The beard isn't done yet because, well, I'm still learning!



Are you ready for the potato soup action? Here goes.
My mom sent me over this little recipe.

Creamy Potato Soup
Prep: 15 mins Cook: 30 mins Ready: 45 mins

2 tbsp margarine or butter
4 green onions sliced (about 1/2 cup)
1 stalk celery sliced (about 1/2 cup) **we left this out because neither of us are big fans. 
1 can (14 oz) chicken broth **I used organic vegetable broth from Trader Joe's.
1/8 tsp black pepper
3 medium potatoes (about 1 lb) sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 1/2 cups milk

*additions: I grated half of 1 clove of garlic and a small carrot into the soup


Step 1. Add the butter, green onions and celery into the saucepan over medium heat. Cook until tender.

Step two: Chop those potatoes! Maybe this should be step one. I turned the heat off of my saucepan during this step.


Step three: measure out your broth and add it to the saucepan





Step four: add broth, pepper and potatoes to the saucepan. Heat to a boil. Reduce heat to a low, cover and cook for 15 minutes (I had to cook about 20 minutes and next time I'll do 25, but I'll explain later). 


Step five: This is my added step. Grate bits of carrot and garlic into the soup. This is completely optional but resulted in deliciousness. :)




Step six: In a blender or food processor, place half the broth mixture and 3/4 cup milk. Cover and blend until smooth. Repeat with remaining broth mixture and milk. Return to pan. Over medium heat, heat through. Garnish with a small bit of green onion. Note: Since I don't have  a blender or food processor, I had to use a mixer. This is why next time I make the soup, I will cook the potatoes a bit longer. It was very difficult and resulted in a bit chunkier of soup than desired.

Et voila! Delicious potato soup.

No, I don't have any pictures of the soup in the bowl. It was just too delicious, and too quickly eaten. I quickly see this becoming our new Christmas tradition. :)

Happy New Year to you and yours, from us!