Green Bean Machine

I’m really excited about making gifts this year or buying handmade yummies from etsy. I took the handmade pledge so we’ll see how good I am about following through with it! It takes some of the materialism out of the occasion, I think, and makes the gift-giving experience a lot more personal. 

Mr Dukes and I splurged a few weeks ago (guilty!) and bought a Wii as an early Christmas present to ourselves. The conditions were that we couldn’t spend any money on each other for the rest of the holidays. I have grand plans on gifts I can make him with what we have in-house (crocheted Wiimote cozy?), but I can’t share them on the blog because he reads it. 

Ok, enough talk. I’d better get started!

It has been almost a month since graduation, and it is OH SO great being done. Done done done. Now that the lingering anxiety of homework and two hour commutes (bleh) is gone, I have some free time in my evenings and weekends for the projects I’ve been wanting to tackle. Here’s my crafty to do list, pared down:

1. Little zippered fabric purses from The Purl Bee

2. Initial Appliqué Pillows from Design*Sponge

3. Tiny pincushions from How About Orange

4. Doorstop from Lotta Jansdotter’s book, Simple Sewing, a Christmas present from Mr. Dukes

Photojojo has a sweet journal-making tutorial by Judy Lee of Five and a Half. I’ve never tried perfect binding by hand, but after seeing this, I definitely know what my next project will be!

My sister is expecting her first wee one, and I’m having the most fun planning her baby shower. Here are the invitations and subsequently, my first try with zee Gocco. White ink is kind of tricky, I discovered, as it begins to significantly fade within minutes of printing.