YouTube: Copy Cat Club | Makeup Tutorial

We're having a snow day here in central Arkansas!  I love snow days!

If you're vegging out today, here's a little video to pass some time.  I got together with my friend Michelle, and she taught me how she puts on her makeup.  We talk about our love for blush and things like over-conturing and big eyebrows.  We pretty much just ramble.

Hope you have a great weekend.  I'm off to run through the snow!

Embroidered Stuffed Cottage Toy

I love being able to embroider clothes for Harlow, but I wanted to find ways to use my embroidery machine for more than just clothes.

I've come up with a few different projects, including this little stuffed cottage!

Harlow loves small things she can carry around.  Small stuffed animals, dolls, pieces of fabric, anything small!

I loved this cottage embroidery design from Lynnie Pinnie and knew it would make a fun stuffed toy for Harlow.

I embroidered the cottage and then cut the shape out.  I cut a piece of fabric in the same shape and sewed (top stitched) it to the embroidered fabric, leaving a small opening.  I stuffed the cottage with fiberfill and sewed the opening closed.

The cottage is just so cute!  It's adorable to see Harlow hold it in her tiny hands.

If you have an embroidery machine, what other fun projects (besides clothes) do you make?

Embroidered Christmas Ornament

I know, I know.  Christmas is over.  We won't discuss whether or not I still have a tree up.  Here's a little Christmas craft that fell in between the blogging cracks.

One thing Colin and I do each year is buy an ornament to celebrate one more Christmas together.  We find an ornament we both like and write the year on it.

This year I made our yearly ornament with my embroidery machine.

The nativity design is from Lynne Pinnie.  I embroidered it on muslin.  Then I embroidered Christmas 2015 on another piece of muslin.  I left the tear-away backing on each piece to keep it stiff. I cut the pieces into an oval and stitched them together on my sewing machine, sewing in a piece of yarn to hang it.

Thanks for excusing my late Christmas craft.  Maybe it will give someone an idea for next year. :)

Pics: The Day We Got the Beetle

I realized that when I originally posted about getting the Beetle, I didn't post many pictures of it.  Here are the pictures I snapped on my phone the day we picked it up!

We got the Bug from a family friend.  It was being stored under a carport.  Our friend's husband had been working on restoring it but had to stop for health reasons and it sat for awhile.  He has since passed away, and his wife (our friend) sold it to us.  It's pretty special that we can give it new life and that she'll be able to see it restored like her husband intended.

The bug was about an hour away from where my parents live.  We loaded the bug on a trailer and unloaded it at my dad's shop where he and my brother do restorations.

[Click photos to enlarge]

 

 

I think we've decided to clear coat the exterior to preserve the patina.  It's not for everyone, but I think it's pretty rad!

Check out previous posts about the Bug:

• http://www.marlagrace.com/2016/01/super-beetle-update.html
• http://www.marlagrace.com/2015/10/childhood-dream-come-true.html

Super Beetle Update

The Super Beetle is making some progress!  My dad has been doing the bulk of the remodel with help from my brother.  Colin and I have been down a couple times to help where we can.  Take a peek at a few of the photos I've snapped while we've been in town.

Click photos for them to be enlarged.

Pictures I got when we were in town for Thanksgiving:

This trip was spent sandblasting, replacing parts, cleaning parts, and for me-- cleaning the original upholstery and whatever I could clean!  Harlow even stopped by for a visit.

Pictures from Christmas:

If you've ever wondered why you don't see a lot of antique Beetle convertibles around, let me fill you in on a little secret. The restoration of the convertible top is not cheap.  We thankfully had the metal frame that the top goes on.  If we didn't, we probably would be stopping the restoration and selling the car.  It would be way beyond our budget.  Since we have the metal frame, we need the vinyl top, padding, cables, bows, etc.  It adds up.  But we think it's going to be worth it!

If you have restored a beetle, especially a convertible, I'd love to hear from you!

*Read my first post about the beetle here: Childhood Dream Come True