Yoga!! Bag and Eye Mask...

As you may have gathered from my post on the weekend, I have become a little obsessed with Yoga! I went 13 times in 15 days... everyday except Monday (and only because I curl on Monday's at the same time as Yoga practice!). Anyway... over the weekend I decided I needed to make myself a yoga bag and eye mask. I had this FABULOUS material I bought in Thailand in 2006 that I haven't found the 'right' project for...until now!

I didn't have a pattern, so I just decided to "wing it". The eye mask was perfect, so I made one for my sister-in-law-partner-in-yoga, Sonja. This is a VERY easy project and does not have to be exact!

Cut out a square of material (I used flannel). Sew three and a half sides closed and turn inside out. Fill with rice. Do not over fill, as you want it to lay flat across your eyes. Carefully sew the last half-side closed.

Now measure a piece of material (doubled-up long ways) about one inch wider and a few inches longer than your ricebag. Hem the ends. Sew the wrong side closed, with overlapping flaps. Turn right side out. Insert ricebag and head to yoga!

The mat-bag was even more spur of the moment... I laid out my rolled up mat and cut a piece of material a few inches wider than it needed to be to wrap around the mat. I sewed on a large pocket and strap, closed up the side seam, and then box-stitched the bottom of the bag into a square.

 I love the material and the mat fits fine, but there are a few changes I will make to the next model. First, I will add some dimension to the pocket. This one is flat against the bag and once the mat is in, it is pretty hard to fit anything into the pocket. I may try to sew a round bottom onto the next one, as well as maybe use a thicker canvas-like material for the body of the bag. We shall see! It turned out well and I am very excited to go to Yoga with my new goodies!!!!

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Scrappin'!

Norwegian Crafts (a little late!)

Wow! I cannot believe that it is February already! The winter months have been flying by and leaving my in the...snow. Since Christmas it seems like we just haven't been able to slow down. I had some big changes to my job, whihc have left me busier than ever, and Kurtis has been working out...basically all of January and February! I have been lucky to have a precious few days with him since Christmas! And, besides all that boring-busy stuff, I have found a new passion! Yoga.

I have taken up yoga with a vengeance. I have gone to a Yoga every day except Monday (because I curl that evening during Yoga!) for the last two weeks. I bought a membership and I am hooked! Obsessed might be a better way of putting it. I crave Yoga. But, better than that, I feel great! I am even craving healthy foods and lots of water! What a wonderful activity, that ANYONE can do! I would encourage everyone to try it, who knows, you may be like me and not know what you are missing out on!

Anyway... it is good to be back in the blogging world. I have a couple of crafts I need to show you (from months ago now!).

Back in November, my Husbands family has an annual get together called "Norwegian Weekend" in which we all get together, cook Norwegian food all day, and have a gift exchange of Norwegian-esk goodies. This year I decided to make our gifts... so... I made a pillow. My favourite kind of sewing is 'paper piecing' because you can make really neat/intricate designs fairly simply. I started bymapping out the letters "NORWAY": (*NOTE: if you are paper piecing letters, be sure to write them backwards!!)

 I meant to take pictures during the sewing process, but I got caught up in the moment... so here is the finished product. Back view with a large slit to insert the pillow and then a really fun large button to close the opening.

 Front view:

 I then had to make a late night trip to WalMart to find a pillow that would fit inside...and here you have it! A bright and fluffy NORWAY pillow! (PS: It was a hit!)

 I had to make a second gift...so with the scraps left from the pillow I made some crazy quilted pot holders! For a great tutorial on how to make pot holders, visit Hawadeare!... this is where I got hte idea, and man, is it easy and fast to do!

Uncle Chester, at 92 years young, he was the oldest Viking at our get together!

And here is Mia, our three year old baker... great Lefsa rolling skills start young!

The Viking men...

Me and my very own Viking...

Jody and her kids made an awesome Viking birthday cake for Elroy's 60th... you should have seen it all lit up!

Well, that's it for now. Welcome back to ScrapArt by Pris... I look forward to sharing the scraps of my life with you again!

Happy Scrappin'!

Name in the Sand Gift

When I returned back to the office yesterday morning, one of my lovely co-workers (who had also been away on vacation) had this wonderful name-tag waiting for me. She and her husband actually took the time to write each of our names (there are 10 of us!!) in the sand, take a picture, and buy these cute little holders! She is so thoughtful... I love it!!!What a fantastic and personal gift idea! Don't be surprised if you start receiving gifts like this from me...

Thanks Kimberli!!!

We are back from vacation!

We are back from vacation! Wow, what a trip! We had a wonderful time, put on over 7000 km and are exhausted! Isn't it funny how you are always more tired after returning from Vacation than before you go??

And it is only just beginning... there are berries to be picked, tomatoes and peaches to can, jam to be made, a house to clean, a yard and plants to be tended to, a fence to be built, two more weddings to attend... the list just goes on and on! And somewhere in there, I would like to take some time to craft... hmm.

Well... it is going to be very busy for me in the next little while, but I thought I would leave you with some momentos from our trip!

While on the Queen Charlotte Islands, it was very cold and windy and rainy on the Northern Island (where we went first). My sister happened to bring some wool, so we crocheted some toques. She made a normal-ish toque for her husband... and mine evolved from being for my hubby... to a very feminine, small-ish hat. Cute though! I really love it and will probably wear it quite a bit this winter. Unfortunately we really didn't get to wear them much as we soon had had enough of the cold and went to the Southern Island where it was very nice most of the time!

We ended up staying a day longer in Southern BC than we had originally planned... and had to whirlwind tour home. We arried home about 4pm on Wednesday, proceeded to cut, package and freeze all of the fish we caught, unpack the truck, pack the car, shower, eat supper, stop at WalMart and Staples, and be BACK on the road in about 2 1/2 hours... heading to Saskatchewan!

We arrived in MooseJaw about half an hour before the wedding rehersal and supper. The weekend was a flurry of activity and family gatherings. But what fun we had!

As you (hopefully) know... I (and my entire family) are HUGE fans of the Saskatchewan Roughriders. My Uncle managed to find us each a box of the sold out, limited time offer cereal... FANTUZ FLAKES! Thanks Uncle Ralph!!!! It is already displayed prominently in my scrapbook room!!

There are a MILLION other stories and pictures I would love to share... but unfortunately my peaches are going moldy as I speak. They must be tended to!

It is good to be home!