Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it. I've been busy with school, work and a holiday swap I'm participating in this month. Finals are coming up quick. I managed to finish all the stockings for my family for Christmas. I used my Cricut to make freezer paper stencils for the names. They were pretty easy to make once I figured out exactly how I wanted to do them.

Vanilla

Way back in May I made some vanilla extract. Several months later I have the final product.



It was very difficult to photograph, but you can really see how dark the vodka got. I haven't tried to use it yet, but will very soon.

Here is a link to the tutorial I used: Bethany Actually - make your own vanilla extract

Free Pumpkin File and A Card

Long time no update. I've been busy with work and school. Most of my crafting time has been spent making Christmas gifts. I did manage to make this card for my boyfriend for our 13 month anniversary. He loves Halloween so I thought it was appropriate. I purchased the smaller Cricut Expressions a few months ago along with the Make-the-Cut software. I haven't done too much with it yet, so I'm pleased with how the card turned out.



I created the pumpkin file below, modified it with a font from dafont.com and grunged up the plain orange paper with a black ink pad. I wrote on the inside with a silver Sharpie.



Pumpkin.mtc

Chunky Bracelet

This bracelet was inspired by the glass leaf charms I found at a craft store.

Pottery

There is a shop near by where you can go in and paint your own pottery using various glazes. I enjoy going there with a friend or two occasionally. This first piece is a large cappuccino mug that I made on my first visit. It's currently holding M&Ms until the weather cools down and I can use it for hot chocolate.



I think this bowl was the second piece I made at another time. It's currently near my craft table holding random odds and ends. I think that's the way it goes with most of the things I've made. I do have another bowl I recently emptied and am using it as a cereal bowl. Everything else I've made ends up holding random stuff, even if it's meant for something else.

Messenger Bag

This is a messenger bag I made from a Simplicity pattern (I think). It's made out of denim with cotton lining. I really like the lining. The photos don't show it but the lining is actually a pale blue with dark blue and green rings.



The inside

Carved stamps

A while back I participated in a book swap on Craftster. One of the items I sent along was a bookplate stamp shown below for Molly. It's the first and only time I've ever done stamp carving. It wasn't too difficult, but I found it frustrating because it wasn't easy to cover up mistakes. I'm still pleased with how it turned out. The image was stamped onto a piece of foam board then glued to the opposite side.

My Favorite Blogs

I have several blogs that I read regularly or go to when I need some inspiration. Here are three of them.

Mod Podge Rocks - She posts a lot of links to projects that use Mod Podge. I had no idea that there were so many different types of this glue out there. My local craft stores only carry the matte and gloss types. This years she's having a contest about once a week to win a little trial pack of Mod Podge.

Not Martha - Megan posts a variety of links like food, electronics, games, and of course crafts.

Oops, I Craft My Pants - I love her style and use of bright colors. I know I have at least two of her ATCs up on my ATC wall.

Early ATCs

Something that I love to make are ATCs.  These are a couple that I made when I first started out. They both went to fellow Craftsters in monthly ATC swaps.

This was is embroidered on felt with a few beads. I was trying out some new stitches.





This one is a watercolor anglerfish with a wire and bead 'lure'.


The top one is embroidered on stamped cardstock. The bottom is various stamps on cardstock.

Welcome

Welcome to Dolphin In The Sky - a craft blog to share and inspire others. I'm hoping to post my own crafts as well as  links, the occasional tutorial, freebie, and maybe even a giveaway or two.  I tend to dabble in a lot of crafts including sewing, paper crafts, jewelry, embroidery and more.