knock it off

Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, right? I've been a busy bee trying to replicate some wonderful things I've seen here on the good ol' internet. I love a good tutorial!

I saw this wreath on the cover of Readymade (and featured here on Design*Sponge) and have wanted to make one myself for such a long time! I didn't have rope, or buttons without holes in them, or those zigzag scissors...but I think it turned out alright. It's growing on me.


I saw some tiny elves that I fell in love with over at My Paper Crane (a blog/shop by Heidi Kenney - I've mentioned her before). Who knew tall pointy hats were so difficult to make?! Maybe I was just tired, which at that point I should have set them aside and finished them later. But I was so excited! Painting fine detail when you're tired is troublesome. They turned out cute, but they could have been much cuter! I think I am going to make another batch to redeem myself!


And finally, I saw the most amazing eyeglasses case in an embroidery Flickr pool that I am a part of. Aren't these completely awesome?! What a super fun gift to make! The case isn't completed in the picture below, but you get the idea!


There are still a few more projects I'm planning on trying very soon - I'm so excited to make these fake sugar cookie ornaments tonight! And these head wraps will not only keep my ears warm, but are very cute ways to hide the awkward phase I'm currently going through with growing out my hair!

snowflake garlands!

Waking up yesterday to the month of December and a little blanket of snow was the catalyst I needed to get into Christmas decorating mode! I am constantly inspired by all the decorations that fill up the house of Heidi Kenney (from My Paper Crane) every holiday. My collection is growing, but I really need to hit up some thrift stores for some vintage decorations!

I did stumble on these die-cut felt snowflakes at Target last night - $1 for three of them. I got some red, white and green ones...


I cut off the loops they were on and strung them together with a needle and some crochet thread. I was affirmed in the success of my snowflake garland when Jack woke up this morning, pointed at it as we came down the stairs, and exclaimed, "Woo-hoo!" We're off to a very fun holiday season here in the Kastner house. I think I'm going to go back and get more snowflakes!

progress progress progress

Hello! I'm here, just so very busy! I've been enjoying busy with three (yes, three!) Thanksgivings this year...and I made two of them! More on the details of that later!

I'm now in full on Christmas crafting mode. In retrospect, I think was a bad time of the year to launch my little etsy shop, because I haven't given as much time and love to it as I'd like. I'm juggling gifts for people, along with some amazing and very exciting things for my shop. Woo hoo! Hopefully I'll get some stuff up there in the next couple of weeks.

I have many fun things to share, but I thought I should show some fabric that just arrived on my doorstep! I designed it! I couldn't wait to take better pictures, so these will have to do for now. I'm debating what to make with them - the whole idea was some throw pillows for gifts. Can't have enough of those, right? I've got more fabric that I've created and will definitely share when it's here!

mon petit etsy boutique

FINALLY! My etsy shop is up and a-runnin'. There isn't a whole lot up yet, but you can keep checking to see what's new by following the link on the left side bar - "Other places for me." I will be adding new stuff pretty frequently! Hand drawn embroidery patterns, finger puppets, painted and embroidered stuff for your walls, jewelry, more stationary....AND MORE!

Why Pookaneeme, you ask? As a kid my dad called me Pookie, which at some point manifested into Pookaneeme. (Poo - ka- knee-me). It always seemed a fitting name for my shop.

Check it out here!

piles of unfinished projects...

I'm making way in organizing/decorating my crafting space in our spare bedroom upstairs. This is exciting! Especially since my parents' birthday/Christmas gift this year was replacing my broken sewing machine with a new amazing Singer sewing machine. I've already been using it every night working on new stuff that I'm pretty excited about, and to share with you!

So, as I am organizing and going through boxes of crafting stuff I began a little pile of works in progress (WIPs). The little pile grew to a big pile, and I have been feeling a tremendous wave of guilt. I imagine my little WIPs gathering together on a little island, much like the Island of Misfit Toys, all cutely animated in clay, lamenting to each other how close they each are to being completed projects...

"All I need is a few more stitches," says the embroidery stitch sampler I started a year ago.

"You think that's bad, all she did was draw me on the fabric, I feel naked!" replies the Christmas ornament regaling 'Jack's 1st Christmas'.

"We all need to be crocheted together!" weep the many granny squares that will some day be a blanket for Jack.

You get the point. I am in the process of saving these little WIPs from that sad little island of being unfinished for eternity. I feel like I have crafting ADD. So, I've documented all unfinished projects, have prioritized them in alignment with holiday projects, and will feel quite accomplished once (if ever?!) that little WIP island isn't so crowded! Anyone else have a WIP island like me?

give peas a chance

For the past two days I've been on a kick with stuffing sewn goodies with a nice combination of dried split peas and black-eyed peas. It all started with my feet cold as I stood at the stove making breakfast the other morning. Darn drafty doors! Seeing how I just got a new fancy wonderful sewing machine for my birthday I had a quick solution - door draft stoppers! Easiest thing to make ever - big tubes stuffed with lots and lots and lots of dried peas. (Probably made them a bit too wide, but they work well!)


And then I was working on an ornament I drew up last year to embroider, "Jackson's 1st Christmas 2009." Yeah, procrastination is a serious issue I'm dealing with on the regular. As I was sewing it to some super cute green and white striped fabric Dan suggested to stuff that with the peas too. Oh man, that husband of mine is full of bright ideas! I immediately fell in love and will be whipping up some more of these this holiday season! I'm even taking this one to the masses and putting it out there for custom orders for people! Let me know if you want one, think I'll be putting it up on Etsy!



Last but not least in my pea stuffing endeavors, I made some bean bags for Jack. I guess they're not technically BEAN bags, as they are stuffed with peas...but "pea bags" doesn't quick have a playful ring to it. I've had this pirate fabric for awhile now, and since Jack fell in love with the dried peas, I thought this would be a quick project that would get some serious love from the little guy. He spent the afternoon putting them in baskets, bowls, on his head, and anywhere else they'd fit. It was pretty cute to watch. I'm going to make a pirate game to go along with them! Keep your eyes peeled for that!



It's official. I'm obsessed. I'm now brainstorming more projects that involve dried peas.

easy peasy spidey

I made Jack's costume while he was napping today. His naps are just hour (he sleeps 14+ hours at night these days!), so I had to be quick and efficient! I gathered up a black sweatshirt, two pairs of girls' thick black tights, some bubble wrap, yarn, scissors and thread.



I cut off the legs of the tights, being sure to save one of the tops for later. I decided on stuffing the legs with bubble wrap because a.) it's light, b.) it makes fun noises when the legs move, and c.) that's what we had lying around the basement.



I used the tops of the tights for the spider head/hat. I gathered the top and tied it with some yarn. I cut out some round pieces of white felt and sewed on some black buttons for the eyes. The eyes were then hot-glued to the hat.



I tucked in the ends and used a needle and thread to stitch them to the seam of the sweatshirt that he'll be wearing inside-out. (There's a T-Rex on the other side)




My little spider loved all of his arms! I was thinking about attaching the arms to each other, but as it turns out I like the way they all kind of flop around as he walks.

He'll be wearing some warm black fleece plants for his first real round of Trick-or-Treating, just had to have him try it on for size! This was so easy to make and would totally work for any age!




and one from Dan's moped photo studio... (don't mind the dirty socks!)

costumes! costumes! costumes!

My sister's Halloween costume party was last night, so I can finally unveil the costumes I was working on for the past few weeks! I should apologize for the pics - low lighting is not conducive to iPhone pics!

My sister was Lady Gaga. She started the night out in a shiny silver dress, a curly wig, and a mask. Very Gaga-esque! THEN, she changed into Lady Gaga's meat dress that she wore for the MTV VMA Awards.


I must say this is the coolest looking thing I have ever made! I wanted to be close to the construction of the real dress, while actually using real cuts of meat throughout the one I was making.



I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out! The T-bone headpiece and the boots are my favorite!


Going along with my sister's pop star theme, I went as Katy Perry. I also had two looks. I recreated the dress she wore in her controversial Sesame Street appearance, that was cut from the show as she was showing too much cleavage in the opinion of many parents.


Mine was far less controversial, but pretty funny, nonetheless. I did have to explain it to some people who were not completely up to par on pop culture news... They thought I was Katy Perry on her wedding day.


I also had to pay homage to her blue wig that she donned a few times, so my second look was more comfortable and a nod to my days as a California Gurl.


I also whipped up some salt and pepper costumes for my parents. Easiest costumes to make EVER! I dyed some chef hats gray, and hot glued some black dots on them, as they were the lids to the shakers. I bought some clear plastic "fabric," cut holes for their heads, and then hot glued some sparkly white and black felt pieces I cut out for the salt and pepper. Add and 'S' and a 'P' and VOILA!


Yay! Halloween is so much fun! Still not nailed down on what I'm doing for Jack's costume! haha I have a week left!

getting spooky!

It's crunch time! Halloween is just around the corner! I am working on top secret costumes for my sister and Jack! I want to share NOW! I am terrible at keeping trivial secrets! AH! It's killing me! I am still trying to figure out what Dan and I will be for my sister's annual costume party...hmm...

We've been Fred Flintstone and Betty Rubble having an affair


Our friends from another moped gang


A lobster and a fisherman


I had a few really great ideas that were themed for Dan, Jack and myself, but Dan and I won't be around for Halloween, and Jack won't be going to the Halloween party. Bummer!

I will share some masks I painted. I got them for less than a dollar at JoAnn's and used acrylic paint for them. I am using them for something SUPER cute! Can't share that quite yet either! Ooohh, so many secrets! Let's just say they'll make for cute greetings to friends far away!

sneak peek

The hardest thing about starting an Etsy store is choosing what exactly to sell. I have so many ideas floating around, so I've decided to stick with just 5 or 6 things to start off with. I know I've been talking about this forever, but the time is now! I am planning to officially begin my shop on October 1st. I'm very excited!

Here is a little sneak peek of one of the items! A DIY kit that comes fully loaded to create a greeting card for your pals - comes with simple instructions, floss, a needle, the card (with the printed design, of course!) and an envelope. There will be many designs to choose from!



Woo hoo!

worth the wait!

Which is worse - sending out CUTE invites a month after a party OR sending out mediocre invites in a timely manner? I'm going with the former, of course!

I wanted to send out simple notes of thanks for Jack's birthday party. (Of course they had to match the color scheme from his party.) I wanted to put my own spin on it, so I got to work in Photoshop!

I set out with a plan to make Jack his own stationary with a little 'J' on the top of the thank you card...but then I created a little cartoon graphic of my little man! Things started moving fast from there! Next came the words, and then I realized I had to go with the literal meaning on "a little thank you" put this on tiny little cards for a true little thank you.


I wasn't sure exactly how I was going to put my design on the cards. After a little googling, I decided to get a stamp made! I went with RubberStampChamp.com. I am not getting anything from them by any means, but their site was super easy to navigate, so I recommend going with them.


I opened the package and got to work. I suggest practicing with a new stamp, and playing around with colors. This stamp got a million times cuter when I stamped in black ink! (Oh, and I made a stamp for Dan too, as you can see with the orange "1977 mopeds" stamp.)


Now I just have to fill out the notes...


I am excited to have made it a stamp that we can use over and over again! I am making more now!

we all have our weaknesses

We have been such busy travelers as of late! Haven't had much time to be crafty or update the blog much. The next four weekends are booked too - Lady Gaga with my sis, Labor Day parade festivities, family trip to Mackinac Island to run the 8-mile race, a little road trip through the U.P. and back to Kalamazoo, Oktoberfest back home...I'll squeeze in some fun projects and such here though!

For today, I'll just speak on impending projects. Do you have a weakness? You hear about something, read about it, come across that something - and it must be yours? Some ladies love shoes, some love purses, some love baseball cards. For me, I love craft books. Hardcover, preferably. Spiral binding, nice! Ooohh, you have patterns and/or stencils in a cute little back pocket? - You were meant for me!

I recently looked down at the bookstore and saw this...


So hard to decide! I sat on the ground, flipping through the sturdy pages of each, marveling at all the projects I would love to make for this person or that person, thumbing through the patterns and stencils packed neatly away in the back of each...For a split second I picked them all up and headed off into the direction of the register. The logical part of my brain stepped up, and I figured since my sewing machine is in pieces, and some of those pieces are floating around somewhere at the repair shop of Sear's in South San Francisco, I should go for the ones that don't require a sewing machine...(for now!)

Stencil 101 Decor and Printing by Hand are mine! Oh yes, a houndstooth wall in the queue of projects for the ol' house! Look out!

come together, right now!

Slowly, but surely, things are coming together. Everything - daily routines, house stuff, re-acclimating to Michigan-living - it's all coming together.

As far as house stuff goes, I feel like most of my energy goes into Jack's room. Having never decorated a kid's room before, I've been having so much fun. While I was very excited when the shower curtains came in the mail, I find myself very excited finding things for Jack's room. I found a ceramic semi-truck planter that I fell in love with. I smiled the whole way home after having successfully bartered with the woman at the antique shop.

Baby/kid things are cute, bright and adorable. I really don't think things like a painted alphabet or adorable wooden trucks would be appropriate decor for the living room or the bathroom. That being said, I've had certain things in mind that I've wanted (this goes for the whole house, not just Jack's room!). I spend an embarassing amount of time in the late hours of the evening perusing Etsy and other design blogs and sites for things like beautiful screen printed aplhabets, cute framed sayings like "Let's be adventurers" and kid-friendly wallpaper. Seriously. Hours of clicking through framed alphabets, just not wanting to fork over $50 for the perfect one.

Since I knew what I wanted, I figured I should just make my own. After spending time actually thinking about the design of his room, I decided on a more subtle theme - a nod to Jack's place of birth that will certainly turn into bragging rights on the playground some day. "I used to live in San Francisco, California!" then a few years later he'll be claiming, "I grew up in San Francisco," which will inevitably grow into "Oh yeah, I used to play on the Golden Gate bridge every day."

Here is a sneak peek into his room. The walls have yet to be painted the chosen color of the San Francisco fog, but I am excited about the new art on the walls.

Good Morning, Golden Gate Bridge!


and now I know my A-B-C's




To be continued...hopefully sooner than later!

a day in the life

Coffee and internetting during Jack's morning nap is one of my favorite times of the day. Finding solo time is quite important and necessary.


Between naps we do things like:

head over to the Nature center


eat Popsicles


hang out at the library


Then we eat dinner, often outside on the deck


Once the little dude is asleep, I work on things. I drew up an alphabet chart and I'm painting it on canvas for Jack's room.


I have nothing to complain about.

*Of course, my day also consists of changing diapers, consoling a fussy little dude on occasion, cleaning toilets, laundry, dishes, etc. I just thought I'd share photos of the highlights. Who wants to see a dirty diaper, even if it is captured on a cool iPhone camera app? Not me!

how do you spell silhouette?

I have been wanting to do some silhouette project of some kind for awhile now. Hmmm...I am seeking inpiration with So September's post, as well as this one from Inchmark.

I was thinking about mixing it up by using a color, like teal.


I'm not so sure, the black looks so classic!


And I would love to stumble upon a picture of me with long hair in a bun, I think it looks amazing. Not sure I have a picture in profile view of myself with a bun just lying around though...

The goal would be something lovely for the currently bare walls of our bedroom. By the end of the week, I will have something to show!