The Mysterious Case of the Absentee Blogger: Part 1

Hmmmm....it seems our esteemed blogger has gone missing. Not a blog post for a whole month! Where could she be?

How about buried deep inside this?:


And this?:


And learning all about this?:


Yes, school has officially started for me and, while I cannot be more excited about it, I'm having a little difficulty prioritizing my To-Do list. So, poor Adelaide's blog has been neglected. However, I have finished a few gifts - from birthdays to Father's Day - that I'll tell you all about over the next few days.

First up:
Happy Father's Day to the best dad in the whole world! Seriously. Those of you out there who know him can vouch for me when I say, "My dad is wicked awesome!" He's sweet and kind and funny and I am so lucky that I'm his favorite child :) One thing about my dad, though, he's impossible to get a gift for. He has everything he wants and a lot of things he doesn't want. So I had to get a little creative.

He is a HUGE Oregon Ducks fan (I mean HEEE-YOOOOOU-GE). And this is what I came up with:



Yep, that's a U of O tie. So he only wears a tie maybe once a year.....details, details....

For something that would seem to be so easy, it was surprisingly difficult to make. I followed an old pattern that I had bought at Goodwill awhile back (I love me some Goodwill!):



And everything was going smoothly until it came time to create the point in the tie. Damn you, Point In Tie! (Shakes fist in air)



I had some issues with the point. Clearly. It's a little wonky. But, then, so is my dad...

I found the U of O fabric of Joann's and added a dark green lining to the inside:


You can see I also added a little loopy thing for the inside part of the tie to sit inside. I think that's the technical term, "little loopy thing".



Not too bad, I would say. Next time I make one, I'll have to figure out how to get the point, well, more pointy but I like it. And I think my dad liked it too:



I love you, Dad!!




****Note: the above picture was not taken at time of gift giving****

Happy Birthday, Big Daddy Part Two

Big Daddy is a golf freak. He golfs about twice a week and goes on an annual golf trip with his friends every year. He even has his own golf blog called Breaking 80!....I guess that's a golf reference? Anyhoo, so, of course I wanted to make something golf related for his birthday present.

Several months ago I found this tutorial on sewing a golf towel here. Perfect! The tutorial was super easy to follow and Big Daddy loved this gift! Here's the inside of the towel:



The bottom corner is folded up and then sewn on one side to created a pocket to make it easier to clean golf balls and clubs. Of course, I had to personalize his towel:



And here's an action shot of the towel:



Excuse the messy garage. I also wanted to make him a matching bag for his golf shoes. I found a tutorial online (I forget where) that I tried out and it just wasn't working. I think it was designed for Women's Size 5 shoes, not freakishly large Big Daddy size 12. When I finished it, I realized that he could maybe fit his hand into the bag but definitely not a shoe, let alone both shoes. So I started all over and made it up as I went along. And this is what I came up with:



I also wanted to line it on the inside with the same towel-type material that I used on the towel. I added a couple of large snaps on top so it would be able to close:



After Big Daddy opened it, he asked if I could add some handles to it, to make it easier to carry. Done!



And another action shot (minus the shoes):



Um, yeah, it kind of looks like a man-purse. I'm sure it will look much more manly once there's golf shoes inside of it. Hopefully.

Happy Valentine's Day!

A little late...yes, I know. The problem with blogging about the gifts you make is that you can't talk about them on said blog until that gift is given. Oh well.

So the Big Daddy and I usually don't do anything huge for Valentine's Day, usually just a card (I know, we're such romantics). This year, though, I wanted to do something a little special for him and what better way to say "I love you" than with something sweet? Or how about several somethings sweet? And that's why Big Daddy got this:


Ooooh yeah....a whole year of desserts!



I created 12 coupons for Big Daddy to redeem throughout the year for some of his favorite desserts. The fine print on them reads: "These vouchers entitle the bearer to one dessert of his choice per month. Vouchers must be presented upon redemption and must give at least 24 hours notice for preparation". I had to give myself some leeway, ya know?

Then, I had to make a voucher envelope for the coupons. I found a pattern at www.myrtleandeunice.com that fit the bill perfectly. I bought some kinda/sorta-manly-not-too-feminine fabric. This is the back of the envelope:



This is the front of the envelope:



Note the cutesy cupcake appliques that totally negates the attempt at manly fabric. I then added a little ribbon to tie it closed and voila! Dessert of the Month Club with awesome coupon envelope. Plus a gift that will last all year long!

Hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day!