It's Sew Sweet

If Wishes Were Horses, Beggars Would Ride...

2011-02-13T08:24:00.006-07:00

If I were given three wishes, the first would be for extra time. There needs to be 28 hours in a day. That would give me 4 additional hours to get stuff done. What would I do with that extra time? Sew of course!

Life is keeping me very busy lately. Kids, work, school, husband, housework....all the typical things. Unfortunately, it hasn't left much time for sewing and creating.

But I still keep adding to my creative to-do list. I have a little notebook that I write things in and I have a bookmarks folder that I dump links into every time I stumbled onto something interesting.

Recently I've decided that I'm going to start scheduling time in

to my week to tackle some of the things on my wish list. If this means that the floor doesn't get mopped as often as I would like or the pile of papers on the counter sits for an extra day or two, then so be it. Sewing is like therapy, and my soul (and my sanity!) is in need of a little creative TLC.

So what's on my creative wish list? Well, I thought I'd share a few of the things I'm dying to tackle.

First off, there is the Amy Butler Blossom Handbag that I found posted over at SewMamaSew:

Isn't it divine? I've already purchased everything I need for this one and I'm hoping (crossing my fingers!) to get started on it today. I wanted fabrics that are funky and fun, and this is what I came up with:

The top fabric will be the outside, the bottom will be the inside.

Next on my list....skirts. I love to wear skirts. Last year I got Sew What! Skirts for Christmas and I have yet to make anything out of it.

The other day I was at JoAnn and stumbled across this fabric:

It has "me" written all over it. I picked up enough to make a skirt for me and a matching one for my daughter.

And speaking of my daughter....she's going to be 7 this summer (I can't believe it!), but she still loves to wear pretty dresses. In fact, she prefers dresses and skirts to shorts. Once again, I found a great tutorial on SewMamaSew (LOVE that site!).

The Leisurely Summer Dress

Isn't it cute? I wish my 36-year old self could wear something that cute and comfortable and not look ridiculous.

These are just three of the many, many projects I've got floating around in my brain. I'm hoping by putting my grand plans out in the universe will force me to actually make the time to do them!

What projects are you dying to take on?

Better Late Than Never!

2011-01-23T14:32:00.008-07:00

January is almost over....and I'm just now posting about my Christmas crafts. It was a slim year in Handmade Gift Land at my house. Unfortunately, my crafting/sewing time was very limited this year.

But there was one holiday item that I just had to make....the annual Christmas jammies. A lot of people have a tradition of new pajamas at Christmas and our family is no exception. My mom always made us new jammies at the holidays.

My sister and I in some of our Christmas nightgowns. Like the sleeping caps? My mom must have watched too many episodes of "Little House on the Prairie."

We always had the same Christmas Eve routine: church, drive around and look at lights, go home and open one gift. And the gift was always the same: the new jammies. But it didn't matter that we knew what it would be...we were always excited to open them and see what my mom had made that year.

I had to look really hard this year to find a fabric that both a 6-yr old "girly girl" and an almost 9-yr old boy would like. What I came up with was this holiday flannel:

This year I decided to go the easy route and make a simple elastic waist pull-on lounge pant.

For the tops, I purchase two t-shirts, one red and one green, and decided to applique their first initial on it. I drew a big "A" and a big "B," then traced them onto the back of some Heat-N-Bond and ironed the letters onto the t-shirts. Next, I went around the letters with a zig-zag stitch.

I think they turned out really cute!

And my kids LOVED them!

Happy Belated Holidays!

Coming Up for Air/Holiday Goodies

2010-12-21T10:17:00.002-07:00

So much for keeping up my blog! This past semester really kicked my "you know what!" In addition to teaching three math classes at a nearby high school, I was taking classes of my own, and trying to study for the "math test from hell," which would label me as "highly qualified" to teach secondary math in the state of AZ. Oh, and throw in the normal, everyday household and child-rearing stuff. And since I wasn't quite busy enough....I was training for a 1/2 marathon.

Sanity? Saaaaanityyyyyyyyyyyyy! Where aaaaaaaaaaarrrrreeee yoooooouuuuu?!?

Oh! There you are....buried in my ~~crap storage~~ sewing room!

Now here we are, on a two week winter break. The 1/2 marathon is run (2 hrs and 18 mins!), the monster test is taken (and passed....woo hoo!), and I'm not taking any classes at the moment. Time to catch up on some projects!

And the first one to tackle was teacher gifts. I pulled out two of my most fave tutorials.

First, the lanyard tutorial from my dear friend Tracey over at sew.simply.creative. I've used this one many times now, and it's always a crowd pleaser!

I let my kids go through my "stash" and choose the fabrics that they thought their teachers would like. This is what we ended up with:

Next, I pulled up my other favorite tute, the tea wallet from Is It Naptime Yet? I used the fabrics my kids chose, paired with coordinating fabrics. Then I filled them with a variety of teas.

And of course you need something to drink the tea out of! I just love these reusable mugs that have that coffee shop "paper cup" look with the convenience of a dishwasher-safe plastic!

And we all know one of the best (and most important!) parts of gift giving is the presentation. I found these adorable apple ornaments at JoAnn fabrics, so I added the teacher's names on the front and a message from my kids on the back and used them as the gift tag. The gift bags are just basic drawstring bags made from some cute Christmas fabrics.

I think they turned out quite nice and the teachers loved them!

Happy Holidays!

Where Oh Where Has My Little Blog Gone?/Chicken Little

2010-09-15T09:00:00.005-07:00

SOS!!!! My blog has been hijacked by life!!!

I know, I know. I said that when summer rolled around, I would get back to it. Well......

Summer was CRAZY busy around here. Camping trips, Disneyland, Las Vegas, swim team....it just flew by too quickly. My kids have been back in school for just over a month, and life doesn't seem to be slowing down. I'm still taking classes working toward my teaching certificate, and just last week I started teaching two math classes as a long-term substitute for the same school I subbed at in the spring. So once again, my plate is full.

But I have missed sewing and crafting, and I have really missed sharing it all here on this blog. So I am still going to try to keep it going. My projects may not be as big and my posts probably won't be weekly, but I'll still be around and I hope you will be too!

Chicken Little

My mother is an avid yard-saler/thrift-storer/antiquer (I think I just made up those words). She always finds the best things, and she has more stuff than she knows what to do with (I'm going to send American Pickers to her house one of these days....). So anytime I go to her house for a visit, I shop. And I always end up coming home with a box/car load of stuff (much to my husband's dismay).

This summer when I was there, I saw these chickens hanging out on the buffet table in her dining room.

And I suddenly had to have them. Don't know why...I don't collect chickens. I just really liked them. She picked these up at a yard sale. Someone, somewhere, sometime carefully hand-stitched these.

So I kidnapped these and brought them home. Now to display them. I started with a frame that I picked up for 1/2 price at JoAnn's.

Next I grabbed some burlap from my "stash" that I had left over from who knows what and my trusty glue pot.

I removed the matting from the frame, and then using hot glue, I covered the cardboard insert with the burlap.

Then I placed my chickens on the burlap, using a little piece of tape on the back to just hold them in place while I put the frame back together.

It took about 10 minutes from start to finish and I think it's quite a cute addition to my kitchen hanging above my baker's rack (another thrift store project!)

What do you think?

Missing In Action

2010-04-03T07:17:00.002-07:00

I know, I know. I've been Missing in Action....for about a month. So why I did I just drop off the grid? Well, where do I start?

A few months ago, I decided that I'm ready to re-enter the work force. Both of my kids are now in school all day, and although I have lots to do and can keep myself busy, I was feeling a little lost. So I took steps toward doing something that's always been in the back of my mind....get my teaching certificate. I have a B.S. degree (writing B.S degree always makes me giggle....so much of college really was BS!) in Civil Engineering, which means I have a bazillion math credits. One class shy of a Math minor. So what do I want to teach? High School math, of course.

First thing I did was obtain my Substitute Teaching Certificate, thinking I could sub a couple days a week to pay for my classes.

Well.....

A good friend of mine is head of the math department at a high school not too far from my house. They had a math position open up when the long-term sub in that class just didn't work out. Did I want the position? I would have been dumb to pass up the opportunity.

The long and short of it: I am now teaching 3 Geometry classes and 2 freshman Honors Algebra classes until the end of the year. It's hard...but rewarding. I'm their third or fourth teacher this semester, and they certainly have tried to get to me. I have one class full of ~~horribly behaved~~ challenging kids that might drive me to drink, but there are enough great kids that I'm really enjoying it. Plus I can count my hours in the classroom toward some of my coursework on my teaching certification.

So right now, I'm working full-time and taking classes. Doesn't leave much time for sewing. :( But when summer comes around, and the school year ends, I'll be back at it!

Wish me luck and Happy Sewing!

Wrap It Up! A Reusable Sandwich Wrap Tutorial

2010-02-22T12:54:00.012-07:00

This is only my second attempt at a tutorial (my first, a hooded towel tutorial, can be found here), so bear with me!

Today, we tackle what has become an invaluable item in our house: the reusable sandwich wrap. As I've written before, the idea behind these isn't new. Pioneers had to wrap their lunch in something. The beauty of the sandwich wrap is that not only do they cut down on the number of plastic baggies that you use, but they give you a nice, clean surface to eat on....a portable placemat! And they add some cuteness to the lunch box.

So here we go. The way I like to make my sandwich wraps.

You will need:

Fabric of your choice for the outside

Washable (or wipeable) moisture-resistant fabric of your choice for the inside [I use rip-stop nylon, but you can use laminated cotton, oilcloth, vinyl-coated fabrics, or PUL, just to name a few]

rotary cutter (or scissors) and ruler

velcro

thread (I always use white...you'll see why later!)

First, cut your two fabrics into 12" by 12" squares using your rotary cutter or scissors.

Why a 12" x 12" square? Because my engineer (in a former life) brain likes nice, neat, even numbers. And 12" goes so nicely into a yard, don't you think? It just maximizes my yardage. And I have found that unless you make giant "Dagwood-style" sandwiches, this size sandwich wrap works just fine.

Next, we need to cut your velcro. You need a 2" piece of the "fuzzy" side and about a 3/4" piece of the "rough" side.

Now it's time to attach the velcro pieces. Your 2" piece is going to go on the right side (printed side) of your outside fabric. Using a ruler, center the velcro along the diagonal, about 1-1/2" from the corner. Pin.

The 3/4" piece of velcro will be attached to the right side of the inside fabric. Again, using your ruler, center the velcro along the diagonal about 1-1/2" from the corner. Pin.

Now it's time to sew! Stitch around all four sides of the velcro. And this is why I use white thread....so it won't show on my white velcro.

Repeat for the inside fabric.

Place your two squares right sides together, making sure that the two velcro pieces are at opposite corners diagonally from each other.

Now, you can pin it into place. But depending on what fabric you've chosen for the inside, you may not want to prick holes in it with pins (some plastic type fabrics are not self-healing and you don't want holes showing later). So I use some alligator-type hair clips to hold my squares together while I sew.

Stitch around all four sides, leaving a 2" (or so) opening in the middle of one of the sides.

Clip your corners. Be careful not to cut across your stitching!

Turn the squares right side out through the 2" opening, using a bodkin, pencil end, crochet hook, or some other object to get the corners. Then press your sqaure on the outside fabric (if your inner fabric has any plastic in it, it will melt!)

Finally, the finishing touch. Topstitching! You could skip this step if you want, but I think topstitching just finishes it off. I so love topstitching.

Now you're ready to wrap something up! Just place your sandwich in the middle, fold in the two sides (the sides are the non-velcro corners),

Fold up the bottom,

Then fold down the top!

And there you go. A reusable sandwich wrap!

Now go start sewing!

Be Mine

2010-02-01T13:40:00.007-07:00

My poor, little neglected blog. I didn't mean to leave you unattended so long, but this darn thing called "life" keeps getting the way. Kids, housework, running a 1/2 marathon.....etc. etc.

I have been sewing, I just haven't had time to stop and write about it. What have I been working on? Valentine's Day.

Last summer I found this adorable Alexander Henry "For My Valentine" fabric on the clearance rack at the fabric store. I just love the vintage look of this fabric.

It was only a couple bucks a yard, so I bought the rest of the bolt, which ended up being about 5 yards. I had no idea what I would do with it at the time, but I knew it would make something cute.

First thing I whipped up was this little number for my daughter:

My daughter wasn't in the modeling mood, so I had to use my mannequin, who my daughter calls "Maggie." The skirt doesn't quite fit the mannequin as well as my daughter, but you get the idea.

It's a drop-waist, layered twirl skirt with a double ruffle trim. This has become my most favorite kind of skirt to make. It's fun to make and easy to adjust to fit different sizes.

I paired the Alexander Henry fabric with a solid red cotton and this red & white floral print:

I love how the "flowers" in the print are little hearts. Perfect touch for Valentine's Day!

The other item I made with this fabric is my pillowcase-style dress, which I wrote about in detail here.

I love these cute little dresses. They can be layered over shirts with tights or leggings or just worn on their own as sundresses.

I've sold a couple of the skirts and the pillowcase dresses for some special little girls. I still have enough fabric left for a few more projects, but with Valentine's fast approaching, I think it will just go back into the "stash" until next year.

What kind of Valentine's Day projects have you been working on?

Triple Word Score

2010-01-06T15:46:00.008-07:00

You know that feeling you get when you find THE perfect gift for someone? Something that you just know will take the cake? That's what happened with my mom's Christmas gift this year.

A few months ago, I stumbled upon this Scrabble Art idea posted on Crafster.org and I immediately knew that I had to recreate my own version for my mother.

This gift was perfect on so many levels: 1) She's a crafter and appreciates a great handmade gift; 2) she is a sucker for anything related to family history; and 3) she is a kick-ass Scrabble player. What could be better than a gift that combines three of her loves?

So I sat down with a piece of paper and figured out how many sets of letters I would need in order to spell all the names. I went with just my mom, dad, brother, sister, the four grandchildren, and myself. I did not include "in laws" because...well, they aren't blood related and we're all pretty sure one of them probably isn't permanent. Sounds awful, but hey...it's life.

I figured out that I would need two sets of letters, and the day after Thanksgiving I picked two Scrabble games at Target for $6 each. But they redid the board, and now it's these crazy purple, orange, and red colors....not anything that would fit with my mom's decor. So I hit ebay and found the older style board for $2.50 with $3 shipping. While I was on ebay, I also found that there are all kinds of sets of Scrabble tiles for sale, so that would be another resource for getting any extra letters you need for this project.

My parents' last name is in the wooden letter rack at the bottom. It took me about an hour to layout and connect all the names in a configuration that looked good on the board.

In the original picture on Crafster, they used a purchased, framed cork board to mount the Scrabble board. I couldn't find anything, so I had my husband build me a frame and cut me a piece of wood to the size I needed. Then I just stained everything in a color that I thought would look good in my mom's house. The entire thing is held together by massive amounts of hot glue.

When she opened it, she cried. And then my brother and sister promptly chimed in and told me that I suck and thanks for showing them up. I told them they just need to step up their game next year....

Joy to the World

2009-12-24T05:13:00.005-07:00

Joy is not in things; it is in us.

Merry Christmas!

Mark My Words

2009-12-18T12:44:00.004-07:00

I am very fortunate to have a great group of ladies that I run around with. Some I've met through my kids, some at the gym. But they are all so smart, funny, creative, motivating, and such a positive force in my life. I'm very fortunate!

Several of these fantastic ladies are part of a group that gets together and plays bunco once a month. Yes, bunco...that "housewife" game. Honestly, it's a chance to get together and complain about our kids/husbands/etc (all with love, of course!), drink a little, and eat good food. There is minimal skill involved (you do have to add your score, but that's what calculators are for, right?) and we always have a whole lot of laughs. Oh and we play for money too.

Almost all of us in this group are avid readers. Last year I made all the ladies fabric bookmarks and passed them out at our December bunco game. They were such a hit that I decided to do it again.

This year I wanted to make something a little different from last year. A few months ago, I stumbled upon the perfect thing: a corner bookmark. There are different versions out there, but I really liked this tutorial by KZJO's Studio.

I love how this cute bookmark just hugs the corner of the page:

I only made a couple of changes. Instead of heavyweight interfacing, I cut the interfacing pattern piece out of lightweight cardboard and slipped that in.

I also tweaked one of the assembly steps a little to accommodate my own laziness.

These bookmarks are just the perfect little gift. They are cute, different than your standard bookmark, and not to mention useful! I think the ladies liked them!

Bolero

2009-12-14T16:12:00.006-07:00

I've kind of been in Christmas project mode lately, mostly working on gifts. As usual, I think I've bitten off more than I can chew. I always have grand plans for all the great things I'm going to make for presents, but there are not enough hours in the day and days in the week to get everything done.

I've also had some custom orders lately. One of my favorite projects that I've completed recently was for my friend Nicole. She works at the school that my kids attend and wanted something cute to carry her things to and from work. Last year I had given Nicole a bookmark made from Alexander Henry's "Bolero" fabric. She loved the bold colors and print of this fabric and wanted it somehow incorporated into her bag.

The print is pretty "loud," so she didn't want it to be the main body of the bag. We decided to pair it with a khaki fabric and use the "Bolero" print for the interior. I used a basic tote bag pattern.....

....and then jazzed up the exterior a bit by making an applique out of one of the flowers in the fabric.

I also added an interior pocket for keys or a cell phone.

Then to complete the set, I made her a matching zippered pouch and a lanyard for her school ID badge.

I loved seeing her at the school today, wearing her lanyard! And she said she loved showing off her new tote to her coworkers. I told her to send them my way!

Make the Season Bright

2009-11-30T10:18:00.010-07:00

I love Christmas time. I love everything about it: the music, the decorations, the spirit of goodwill that seems to permeate the air. It's no great surprise that I love the Christmas Season....I was born on Christmas Day.

I wasn't actually due until the middle of January, but my mom woke up at 5am Christmas morning when her water broke. She told my dad that the baby was coming and his reply was, "That baby can't come today. It's the opening day of duck season and I'm going hunting." (I was born in Louisiana, Sportsman's Paradise).

Off to the the hospital they went and at 8pm Christmas Day I made my entrance. The doc held me up and said "This baby is no bigger than a 6 pound bass!" And I was exactly 6 pounds.

There were only two babies born that day, and instead of sending us home in the typical receiving blankets, the nurses wrapped us up and sent us home in red flannel stockings that they decorated with our names. My mom saved it and I have it in a box somewhere.

My favorite holiday activity by far is decorating the tree. My Christmas ornaments are some of my most prized possessions. If my house was on fire, I'd want to grab my photos and my ornaments (my family is a given).

Most of my ornaments are handmade or were given to us. All of them have special meaning or a story behind them.

I have several that were made by my mother, like this poinsettia made from wired ribbon....

.....or this angel made from a silk rose.

I have quite a few ornaments from my childhood that my mother passed down to me. Like this angel that my mom and I hand painted when I was a little girl:

Or this wreath I made when I was a Brownie in the Girl Scouts:

Some of my most prized ornaments are the ones that were made by my grandmother, who passed away when I was a teenager. I love this mouse tucked in his little walnut shell bed:

Most of the ornaments come from my family, but I do have a few from my husband's family, like these red bells that were knitted by his mother:

And of course, we have several ornaments made by our kids at school, like this bell made with baked spices and applesauce that smells wonderful:

Many of my favorite ornaments were given to me by my aunt and celebrate my Louisiana heritage. Like this shrimp:

And this flying alligator, which is a character from "The Cajun Night Before Christmas" by Trosclair:

My absolute favorite is this poinsettia made from crawfish claws and pieces of oyster shell:

My kids have their favorites too. One of the ones they can't wait to hang on the tree each year are their Santa's sleigh bells from the year we rode the Polar Express in Durango, CO.

Sometimes I do buy new ornaments. If I do, I like them to have that homemade look like this Christmas tree made from wooden spools....

.....or this knitted poinsettia.

Sometimes they catch my eye because they have some kind of meaning. This year I picked up this one:

My husband is British and it reminds me of our trips to England.

To finish off the tree, I have a garland of wooden beads and buttons....

....and a tree skirt quilted by my mother.

At the top of the tree is an angel that I made when my husband and I were first married. Yes, she has a chin like Jay Leno, but she's quirky and I like that.

She's not a big tree, she's not a fancy tree. There is no theme, no expensive decorations. But she's a good tree, full of love and special meaning.

What are some of your favorite ornaments?

Let's Hear It For the Boys!

2009-11-17T19:01:00.004-07:00

Everyone that knows me well knows that I prefer to sew clothing for girls. Who doesn't?! I mean, there's so many more choices of patterns, fabrics, etc for girls. And girls can wear ruffles....I ♥ ♥ ♥ ruffles!

So over the past year, I've focused on sewing for little girls. Time for a change! Little boys need cute, handmade outfits too, right? Right!

With the holiday season right around the corner, I decided to make something festive that a toddler boy could wear. I pulled out my favorite elastic-waist pants pattern and put on my thinking cap.

When I think of making little boys pants, I immediately think "corduroy." And luckily, I have some great, buttery soft corduroy in my "stash."

But the pants needed something more. I decided to add a wide cuff in a cute holiday fabric.

Then I took white, long-sleeved, cotton shirts (purchased on clearance from Target!) and made a coordinating applique.

And what do you know...a cute holiday outfit for a little boy!

And do you know what? I had fun making this outfit. Sure, there's no ruffles....but it's still cute!

I have two of these outfits available in my shop right now, Size 18 months and Size 24 months.

And while you're looking, check out my other holiday outfits here and here!

Hanging Around

2009-11-03T16:18:00.007-07:00

Okay, okay. I know....I've been a blogging slacker lately. But I've been busy! Really, really busy!

In my last post, I mentioned that I am participating in a craft fair at my kids' school. Well, I've been sewing my fingers to the bone trying to get ready for it. I've never done anything like this before, so I really have no clue what I'm doing. I'm totally flying without a net here. But the booth rental fee was only $30 and goes to the PTA, so I figure if nothing else, I'm being a good parent and making a donation.

But what to make? Like I mentioned before, I'm making some gift-type items (tis the holiday shopping season!) and some of my favorite styles of outfits. I'll also take a certain number of customs orders. I've tried to sew out of my stash as much as possible, so it has mostly been an investment of my time (a lot of time based on the "disaster area" status of my house right now) and not so much money.

Here's one the things I've been working on:

No, it's not fabric spaghetti. It's lanyards:

Lanyards? But I make children's items! Yes, I know. But since this is a school event, I thought cute lanyards would be a great, unique gift idea for people to pick up for their children's teacher.

A much more fashionable way to wear an ID badge or keep your keys close, don't you think? I have given one to my son's teachers, and it always makes me smile to see that they still wear them.

I dug in my "stash" and tried to pick a variety of fabrics. There's some fun bold and graphic prints....

And some great fall-inspired colors and prints.

How about Asian-inspired? (I think these are my faves)

Or maybe something a little more "teacher traditional." Apples and children....

I also made some using basic stripes....

...and some with pretty pink fabrics.

I've cranked out 2 dozen of these puppies. I sure hope they sell. If not, I'm set for teacher gifts for the rest of my kids' academic careers!

A Little Birdie Told Me....

2009-10-21T09:06:00.007-07:00

I've been a busy bee lately! My children's school is having a craft fair next month as a fundraiser for the PTA. For $30, you get a 6ft table and a chance to "sell your wares." I've never done any kind of craft fair before. Since this is a small one and a way to help out the school, I decided to give it a go.

But what to make?!? After much thought, I've decided to mainly make some gift-type items that people could pick up for the holidays. (More about those at a later date!)

But what I really enjoy sewing is clothes for little girls. So I'm going to make some different outfits in different sizes and have them available. I'm also going to have a "portfolio" of the different items I can/have created and take custom orders. Is this the best way to go about it? I don't know. But I'm going to give it a try and see how it goes.

So what am I making? Yesterdays project was all about rich colors and ruffles. I found this great fabric the other day and fell in love with the colors: purple, orange, green...all on a soft blue background. I'm also loving the sweet birdie print.

I decided to make a layered ruffle skirt with a long-sleeved, peasant-style blouse.

I love this skirt. It has an elastic, drop-waist and two gently-ruffled layers. It's simple to make and goes together quickly. And it would look adorable layered over some cute tights or leggings.

I decided to pair it with a loose-fitting, peasant-style blouse. I added a ruffle detail to the bottom and a "birdie" applique to the front.

I'm loving this outfit so much...I'm glad I made it in my daughter's size, just in case I decided to keep it!

Happy Sewing!!

Rah! Rah! Sis Boom Ba!

2009-10-05T15:28:00.006-07:00

It's October! Fall is in the air. For adults, that means leaves, pumpkins, and cool weather. For kids, it's all about Halloween and what they are going to wear for a costume. [I wrote about last year's costume adventures here and here]

I always tell people that my goal is for my kids to be "slightly nerdy." Not nerdy enough to be made fun of, but too nerdy to get invited to any of the "cool" parties. And I go on to say that knowing my daughter, she'll go on to be the stereotypical Captain of the cheerleading squad.

Funny.....My daughter wants to be a cheerleader for Halloween.

This really is ironic. I wanted to be a cheerleader once upon a time. I was a gymnast for several years and when I was in Jr. High, I decided I would try out for the cheerleading squad. I even went to a couple of days of the "camp." Then one of the older girls who was already on the squad told me that yes, I could really tumble, but I would never make it because I just wasn't pretty enough. So I quit before the tryouts were even over. Mean girls SUCK!

Anyway...

Since this is the kind of costume that she will probably enjoy playing dress up in long after Halloween is over, I wanted it to be something nice. The cheerleader costumes in the store are so thin and cheap, so I decided to make it.

I dug around for just the right pattern and came up with this, Simplicity 4040

She originally wanted blue & white, but after she saw the red & white one on the cover, that's what she had to have.

I used a polyester knit, which was actually quite easy to sew with. It irons nicely and didn't give me any problems. I used a flat, white, braided-cotton trim for the white stripes. The most time-consuming part of the entire thing was the front of the bodice. Here's a picture of it in progress:

I spent and hour and a half getting those stripes just right. T-E-D-I-O-U-S!

Once I got the bodice finished, I had to move on to the skirt. I'd never made a pleated skirt before. It wasn't that bad. The pattern instructions were pretty clear. I just did a lot of pinning, pressing, and basting to get them just right.

And one other stroke of luck with this project: the two zippers were easy. I never say that about zippers. I hate zippers and avoid them as much as possible. But these went in just right on the first try. Rarely does that happen.

Needless to say, she loves it! She wanted it sleeveless, and if it's cool on Halloween (it usually isn't here in AZ), she can always wear a long-sleeved white t-shirt underneath.

Here's a view of the back:

And let's talk again about that hair. I know she loves her long hair, but does she really appreciate how great her hair is? I mean, people pay good money to get that color and body! She didn't get it from me. I'm so jealous.....

Now I need to find her some red & white pompoms...she has some old blue ones right now.

As for my son, he wants to be Harry Potter. And after pricing out how much it would be to make a long, black Hogwart's robe, I found it more cost-effective to buy a costume off of ebay.

What are your kids going to be for Halloween?

"Summer Ends, and Autumn Comes...."

2009-09-22T20:32:00.010-07:00

It's officially fall. Even though it's still hovering around 100 degrees here. And that means time to break out fall fabrics in those great fall colors.

What's my favorite fall color? Why, that would be orange. Who am I kidding...I like orange anytime of year.

The other day I was at my local fabric store getting a few things I need for another upcoming project when I spied something that just screamed my name. It was cute. It was kind of "retro" looking. It was fall-ish, it had orange. I had to have it.

I carried it around in my cart for awhile trying to think of a way to justify buying it. What did I need it for? Hmmmm. Well, luckily my daughter has grown quite a bit over the past 6 months, so a lot of her stuff from last fall/winter are going to be too short. So I bought some, along with another cute coordination fabric, and brought it home to make something for her.

Luckily, she gave her "Princess Picky Stamp of Approval" when I showed it to her.

And here is the cuteness:

I just love it! The colors, the birds, all of it. Here it is with the other fabric I chose to go with it.

So what exactly am I making with these? Well, you'll just have to come back and find out!

UPDATE!!!! Here's the finished product! I picked up this cute Simplicity pattern awhile back when they had a 5 for $5 sale at my local fabric shop.

It came out a little big, but she's at an awkward inbetween size right now. Since I made this while she was at school, I didn't have her around to make any drastic alterations.

[Side note: this is her new favorite hairdo...she calls it her "hunny buns." ]

I just love the bodice and sleeves on this dress.

And then my kids wanted a picture together....and I was happy to oblige.

Do Your Best

2009-09-15T16:48:00.008-07:00

Boy, is this a long overdue blog entry! I'm sorry I've been a little M.I.A. lately.

My grandfather passed away very unexpectedly a couple of weeks ago, and I had to travel out of town for the funeral. I've lost two of my other grandparents in years past, but this one hit me much harder. Partly because he was healthy and his death was sudden, and partly because it made me realize just how much you miss out on when you don't live close to family. Needless to say, I wasn't feeling very inspired to sew. But I'm feeling much better now and seemed to have come out of my funk.

And now that I've completely depressed you (sorry), let's move on to what I'm up to now!

Once again, my husband volunteered me to make something. But this time the task wasn't too bad.

Our son is in his second year of Cub Scouts and is working on his Wolf badge. This year their uniforms include a vest that they can sew their patches on. There is a traditional red vest, but many Dens wear their own versions of the vest. The boys in our den wanted camouflage vests...desert camo to be exact. And my husband volunteered me to make them.

So I picked up several yards of desert camo in a nice, heavy weight cotton.

Using the Den Leader's older son's vest as a pattern, I got to work. After I cut them out, I just serged all the way around the edges. Then I just folded the edge under and top-stitched. This made things quick and easy, with no ironing involved.

And after just a couple of hours (with cutting and sewing time), I had seven vests!

Here's my son, showing off his new vest and his Cub Scout Salute:

Why do Cub Scouts wear uniforms? Equality, Identification, Achievement, and Commitment.

What is the Cub Scout Promise?

I, (name), promise to do my best
To do my duty to God and my country,
To help other people, and
To obey the Law of the Pack.

What's the "Law of the Pack?"

The Cub Scout follows Akela (their leader, whether its teachers, parents, etc).
The Cub Scout helps the pack go.
The pack helps the Cub Scout grow.
The Cub Scout gives goodwill.

Scouting is helping us teach our son about citizenship, character development, and personal fitness.

And one of the things I like most about Cub Scouts? Their motto: Do Your Best

Not bad words for all of us to live by!

Happy Sewing!

Goodnight stars, Goodnight Air, Goodnight Noises Everywhere....

2009-08-20T11:38:00.005-07:00

[Another edition of WIWOW...thanks to Cute2Carry!]

People will often ask me where I learned to sew. That's an easy one...my mother. She is the Sewing Queen. A lot of my memories of my mother involve her sitting at a sewing machine creating.

When we were young, she sewed almost all of our clothes....even our swimsuits. One of her favorite things to make for us was nightgowns. My sister and I always had drawers full of cute, girly nightgowns. In fact, one of my favorite family traditions is new pajamas on Christmas Eve. We always got to open one gift when we got home from church, and it was always some cute nightgown or pajamas that she had made....and of course, they were all matching. For example:

I think my mom was channeling "Little House on the Prairie." Love the sleeping caps. Just call us Mary and Laura.

I've written before about my daughter's love of dresses and how that preference even carries over to bedtime. Well, I've began to notice that a lot of the nightgowns I made for her last year are getting too small. Those darn kids...they just won't stop growing!

So my project for this week is to make that girl some nightgowns. I'm using my favorite nightgown pattern, New Look 6641, and some cute cotton fabrics I picked up for $2 a yard. The pattern calls for knits, but I just use regular cotton quilting fabrics or flannel and it works just fine. I do use a stretch tubular knit to make the collar.

I love this pattern. It's just so cute and easy. I can whip one of these out in about 45 minutes, from cutting to finishing. My favorite detail about this nightgown? The adorable flutter sleeves:

I only managed to get one finished and one partially done yesterday.

But I'm hoping to get the rest of them done today.

I think five new nightgowns will do for now!

Getting Back In The Swing of Things

2009-08-12T10:34:00.015-07:00

[Another WIWOW! Thanks Cute2Carry!]

What can I say? I'm a slacker. I didn't update my blog last week. I've had company for a couple of weeks, so my sewing productivity has been at a minimum. My sewing room (mom cave) doubles as our guest room, so getting in there and getting stuff done is a little difficult.

So what HAVE I been up to? Well, my sister and niece came in from TX and my mom and dad came in from NM. My sis and dad stayed for about 4 days, but my mom stayed on so that my husband and I could escape to Vegas last weekend while she watched our kids. We had a good time...stayed at MGM, ate way too much, and saw Cirque du Soleil's "Ka" (which I highly recommend).

Saturday night before the show, we had a nice Italian dinner. We went with another couple, and the other wife and I decided that we were going to "clean up" a little. No "Arizona uniforms" of t-shirts and flip-flops allowed. This called for a dress for us and button down shirts and slacks for the husbands.

So what did I wear? Something I made, of course! And what's better than that? It was something I made for less than $5!!! My Momma would be so proud!

A while back I wrote about this super cute, super easy dress that I made for myself. Well, I liked that pattern so much that I ended up making four of those dresses. One of them was a black satin-y fabric with a cute paisley print in reds and purples.

[As usual, picture taken by my 5 yr old in the backyard]

Here's a picture of us on Saturday night, all "gussied" up:

And to make it all better? I wore some cute, black strappy sandals that I picked up on clearance at Payless. Yes, my entire ensemble cost under $20. And I'm very proud of that fact! :)

Switching gears completely....

What's next on my plate? Well, yesterday my mom and I (she's still here) ventured over to the Hobby Lobby about 20 minutes from my house. It's been open for over a year now (I think), and this is the first time I've gone in there. And what do you know....they have fabric! Not a very big fabric dept, but they had some really cute stuff, with some of my favorite fabric designers: Michael Miller, Alexander Henry, Robert Kauffman.

I came out of there with some cute stuff like this:

And this:

All this fabric cuteness calls for a super fun project. So next week, when my mom is gone and my "guest room" is transformed back into my "sewing room," I'm going to use these for one of my most favorite projects: TWIRL SKIRTS!!!

Be sure to check back and see how they turn out!

Happy Sewing!

Let's Do Lunch!

2009-07-28T21:24:00.006-07:00

[What are YOU working on this week? Join us for "WIWOW," hosted by Cute2Carry!]

Not a lot of time to sew this week. I have company coming and I have to at least shoot for the "illusion of clean" around the house. It also means I have to clean up my disaster area of a sewing room, since that's where the futon that we use for company lives. When it's not being used by guests, I tend to cover it with fabric and projects in various stages of completion.

On the heels of last week's Back to School projects, I decided to make up a nice little lunch kit to add to my shop. I've had this great retro-inspired lunchbox fabric in my stash for awhile, so I pulled it out and got to work.

I made a 12" by 12" sandwich wrap along with a 5" by 6" snack bag.

The sandwich wrap has the Lunchbox print on the exterior and is lined with the ripstop nylon. Just place your sandwich in the center, fold the side corners in and tuck around your sandwich, then fold up the bottom, fold down the top, and secure with the velcro! It will keep your sandwich fresh and then give you the perfect little portable placemat to eat on.

The snack bag has a Velcro closure all the way across the top to keep your snacks secure, and it is lined with waterproof ripstop nylon. The wrap has the lunchbox print on the exterior and is also lined with the ripstop nylon.

The matching lunch sack measures about 10" x 11" x 3." I sandwiched (no pun intended!) Insul-Brite insulating batting between the exterior lunchbox fabric and the interior ripstop nylon to help keep any lunch items nice and cool. The top folds over and has a loop and button closure.

Worried about your lunch items ending up in the Lost & Found? Personalize them! I also included a tag for personalization on each item. Just write your name on it with a permanent fabric marker!

The two best things about this cute little lunch kit? It's washable and it's reusable!

This wonderful lunch kit is available for purchase at itssewsweet.etsy.com!

Something Old on Something New

2009-07-21T16:39:00.020-07:00

[Welcome to another addition of "What I'm Working on Wednesday" ---curteousy of Cute2Carry!]

School starts early here in our district....August 3rd, to be exact. And our household is ready. My kids love to play together, but I think we are reaching some kind of "maximum togetherness" threshold. They are starting to tattle on each other for things they "almost" did or that so-and-so was "thinking of doing." I mean, really. Regular tattling is annoying enough, but tattling in advance? That I can't have.

This is a big year in our house. This is the first year that both of our kids will be in elementary school. Our son will be in 2nd grade and our daughter is going to kindergarten. And even better: our district has free all-day kindergarten. So my children will be at school from 7:55 am until 2:40 pm Monday through Friday. What will I do with myself! :)

So far, I have one day planned. On Monday, August 3rd, I am going to sit on the couch at approximately 8:30am and not move until about 2:30 pm, and I am going to watch some uninterrupted television.

But before the first day gets here, we have to do all the usual back to school things, like shopping for school supplies. And you know me....I have to make something for them for school!

Last year I made some of these great reusable sandwich wraps. I decided to revisit them, making a few changes. First of all, I'm no longer using the vinyl tablecloth. Why? Simply because I found something that I think is easier to work with....ripstop nylon. It's waterproof, it's very easy to sew, and it comes it a ton of great colors.

The other change came from a recommendation of a friend: a name tag. I'm now including a fabric name tag so I can write the kids' names on them with a laundry pen. That way if the sandwich wrap makes it to the Lost & Found, hopefully it will make it back to my child.

But first I had to choose fabrics. And I managed to find two that my kids love.

For my animal-lover daughter:

And for my son, the Cub Scout:

In my quest to create less trash, I also thought they needed some kind of reusable snack bag....something to hold their carrots, pretzels, etc. So I whipped up a little snack bag to go along with the sandwich wrap.

The sandwich wraps are a 12" by 12" square, and the snack bags measure 5" wide and 6" deep. The snack bags have a Velcro closure all the way across the top and are lined with the waterproof ripstop nylon.

You can see on my son's set how I added the name tags to both the wrap and the bag. I used Heat N' Bond to put them in place, then stitched them down. I used a permanent marker for fabrics to write his name.

My favorite thing about this project: the name labels I used on my daughter's set. My mother-in-law had some old labels that my father-in-law's mother had used to label his things when he was a boy. Well, my father-in-law and my daughter have the same initials, so she gave them to me.

They are in the original box and came from J&J Cash Ltd. in Coventry, UK.

They are small, woven labels with "B. Coffey" printed on them. I have no idea how old they are, but I'm guessing they are probably over years old.

So of course I will be using these on everything I can! I just love that I am labeling her things with the same labels that her great-grandmother used to label her grandfather's things.

Now that their lunches are taken care of, they need something for school supplies. How about a pencil case?

For my daughter's case, I just happened to have some leftover "dog bone" fabric from another project that I could use for the lining.

For my son's, I used a nice royal blue that matched the blue Cub Scout emblem on the fabric.

These cases are big enough to hold quite a few pencils, as well as a pair of scissors and maybe an eraser or two. So much cuter than those cheap plastic pencil boxes.

I've still got some of the fabrics left, so I think I might make another wrap and one more snack bag. I hope my kids enjoy them as much as I enjoyed making them!

And if you like the pencil case, I have one for sale here!

Work In Progress....FINISHED!

2009-07-18T13:28:00.009-07:00

What!!?!?! TWO posts in one week?!? Yep!

Actually, it's just a quick update to Wednesdays "Work In Progress" posting.

It's finished!

This adorable, A-line shaped jumper is made using a soft, light-weight denim.

I used Alexander Henry's Swedish-inspired "Delarna Stripe" fabric to give the dress a pop of color with a cute applique....

....and double-ruffle trim along the pockets.....

.....and hem. As you can see, my ruffler attachment and I have managed to work out our differences.

I also topstitched along the hem, neckline, and pockets. I just love the finished look that topstitching gives.

One of the best things about jumpers is that they can easily make the transition from summer to fall to winter by layering them over tights or leggings and wearing it with short or long sleeves.

And a girl has just gotta have a matching purse and headband, right? What's an outfit without coordinating accessories?

Like this outfit? It's available for purchase right now in my shop! And while you're there, don't forget to check out my other items!

Just Be Patient, It's a Work In Progress!

2009-07-15T16:11:00.008-07:00

Here it is, Wednesday again. The day I've set aside to participate in cute2carry's "What I'm Working On Wednesday."

And since this is week THREE, you'd think I would have my act together. Nope. This stupid thing called "housework" keeps cutting into my sewing time....the nerve! And my kids are still home on summer vacation and wouldn't you know it...they want me to do stuff with them. Can you believe it? ;)

Anyway....

I've had this idea for a dress floating around in my head for a few days. It's a variation on another little dress I've made. So today I set aside time to get it done. Yeah right. After swimming lessons, the library, and lunch, time was short.

But I did get a start on it. In fact, I got some of the most time-consuming little details done. And I thought I could give a little sneak peek.

It involves some of this, Alexander Henry's "Delarna Stripe":

I love this print. I love the colors, I love the design...just everything about it. I bought a few yards on sale last year, not knowing what I was going to do with it, and I've used it in a few projects here and there.

And my work of progress also involves some of these:

Sigh....ruffles. Have I ever told you how much I love to make ruffles? Oh wait. Yes, I did proclaim my love for ruffles once before. I wrote about my ruffle-making weapon, the ruffler attachment.

Well, the ruffler and I had a bit of a falling out today (one of the reasons, the main reason, I'm not finished with this project), but we sought counseling and we're working out our differences. I think we have come to a place where we can work together peacefully. Either that or I will beat it into submission.

And finally, one last peek:

What's that!? An applique? Yep, I've dipped my toe in the applique pool.

So that's it for your sneak peek! You'll have to come back later this week to see how the whole project came together!

And don't forget to check out the links to other WIWOW projects over at cute2carry.com. There are some really talented people out there!

WIWOW - The Selfish Edition"

2009-07-08T17:09:00.007-07:00

It's time for another edition of "What I'm Working on Wednesday," courtesy of Cute2Carry!

This week was all about moi! As I've said before, I don't get to sew as much for myself as I would like, and when I do, it doesn't always turn out well.

But dammit, I wanted a dress. Something lose, comfortable, and somewhat trendy. My local JoAnn Fabrics had a sale last weekend that included McCall's patterns for 99 cents, so I went shopping.

And after scouring the pattern book and dismissing patterns for the usual reasons (too young, too old, too frumpy, too much work....), I came up with this:

Notice the words "contemporary" and "trendsetting." Not two words I would usually associate with my wardrobe. No, my wardrobe mainly consists of workout wear or t-shirts, tank tops, shorts and flip flops. In the winter months (winter being a relative term...it is AZ afterall), substitute jeans for shorts.

I love all these short, flirty dresses. I have skinny legs, so shorter usually works better for me. But...I have broad shoulders, so this type of top kind of scared me. I don't want to look like a linebacker. I was also scared by the fact that this was a Hillary Duff pattern. I mean really....I'm a 30-something mom, not a 15 yr old mall rat. And this "flowy and loose" style of dress....when you're in a certain age range, you have to be careful. If things are too loose, people start asking about due dates and stuff.

But hey, the pattern was 99 cents.

Not wanting to spend a lot on something that might not look good, I picked fabric (with help from my fellow fabric-aholic, Tracey) off the clearance rack. And wouldn't you know it....the clearance fabrics were an additional 50% off. Since the fabric was 60 inches wide, I only needed 1 1/2 yards. So at $5/yd + an additional 50% off, I only paid $3.75 for the fabric.

Grand Total for this project: less than $5. Can't beat that!

So how did it turn out? See for yourself!

[Disclaimer about this picture: I had just spent 2 hours at the pool in the hot sun, I have on no makeup, and I'm pretty sure I didn't even run a brush through my hair today. In other words, just a regular day! And my 7 yr old took the pic for me.]

I originally wanted to do the version of this dress that didn't include the ruffle on the bottom. I just feel a little too old for ruffles. But I did a major oops. The dress with the ruffle is View A and the dress without ruffles is View B. So the cutting line at the bottom of View A is shorter than View B, since you'll be adding the ruffle to the bottom. Well, I didn't pay attention to what I was doing and accidentally cut out View A. So I had to add the ruffle to make it long enough.

But instead of the three pieces you put together to make the ruffle, I only used two...making it more of a "flounce" and less of a "ruffle." For a $5 dress, it works.

I think I'll be making this pattern again, paying extra attention to my cutting lines this time!

Baby Love

2009-07-01T19:43:00.010-07:00

This post was inspired by my dear friend Tracey's "What I'm Working on Wednesday," launched today. Go on over to cute2carry.com/blog and join in on the fun!

Most of my friends know that I sew, so they'll often come to me with a picture, an idea, a website, and say "can you do something like this?" I love it! Some of these requests have turned into great ideas. And I like the challenge of trying to come up with my own way of making something or creating an entirely new design.

My friend Melanie recently approached me and asked if I had anything in stock for a baby gift. I didn't have anything "ready made," but I do have some "go-to" ideas I like to use for baby gifts.

One thing I like to give is hooded towels. [Check out my hooded towel tutorial here]

Another gift that always goes over well with new moms is a nursing cover. Melanie found out that the mother-to-be is going to be nursing, so we decided to go with that.

I've made a few nursing covers for friends, taking ideas from different tutorials I dug up and changing or adding things as needed. I like the idea of a reversible cover (a woman has just gotta have options), so the first thing I had to do was choose two coordinating fabrics. The directions I got from Melanie were as follows:

"She's having a girl"

"Nothing too girly"

"She's kind of contemporary/liberal"

That's it.

Well, I came up with two fabrics from Heidi Grace's "Reagan's Closet" collection.

The nursing cover measures about 24" by 36" with a curved neckline made of 18" of boning for "peeking in" on the little one.

I added a convenient pocket to both sides for storing nursing pads or even a small wash cloth while nursing. The neck strap is adjustable with "D" rings, and the straps are sewn into the seam of the cover.

Melanie also asked me if I could come up with some kind of coordinating diaper/wipes holder. So I did what I usually do...scoured the Internet and stores for inspiration. As I looked around at some of the different options I thought that's great, but where's the changing pad? So I decided to make something that holds the wipes, a few diapers, and a changing pad all in one convenient location...kind of a portable "changing station." There are tons of ideas out there for these types of things. Again, I took in all the different versions and just put things together in a way that worked for me.

I used the same main fabric that I used for the nursing cover, but then I chose a super soft white Minky fabric for the inside. I wanted something very cuddly for Baby to lie on. I also sandwiched a fusible fleece layer between the two fabrics to give it a little extra "cushiness."

When folded, the "changing station" measures about 13" x 9" with a thickness of about 1 1/2", and is held together by a tab with a velcro closure.

Unfolded, the changing pad is 13" wide and a generous 26" long.

The pocket at the end of the changing pad is 7" deep and can hold a portable wipes container and 2-3 diapers (I didn't have any diapers to put in the picture...no more babies in our house!).

I think it will be the perfect addition to any diaper bag. I hope the mommy-to-be enjoys this gift as much as I enjoyed making it!

As Time Goes By...

2009-06-25T15:48:00.024-07:00

[We are back from our wonderful vacation in beautiful Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. If you haven't been to that part of the world, GO....it's breathtaking and awe-inspiring!]

There are some things in life that just make you more aware of the passage of time and make you feel older...your high school reunion, your own kids starting school. But the thing that really marks time for me and makes me feel my age is my brother.

My brother is almost 12 years younger than me. To put that difference into perspective, he was in kindergarten when I graduated from high school.

I can clearly remember the night he was born...September 3, 1986 at 10:37 pm. There was a severe rainstorm that night (the kind my dad calls a "gully washer"), and I was a little irritated because my mom and dad had picked me up early from gymnastics when my mom's water broke. He was a month early (after almost being 3 months early) and only 5 lbs, 4 oz. I remember thinking he looked like some kind of reptile because he was long and skinny, his skin was all wrinkly, and he was severly jaundiced. He didn't have a name for 3 days...we were originally told he was a girl, and then..surprise! It's a boy.

Here we all are: me, my sister Kristine, and my brother Sam. I'm about 13, Kristine's about 9, Sam's about 18 mths.

[Don't you love my hair (just one in a 8-year series of bad hair-dos), my sweater (which I'm sure came from a yard sale), and my cheesy plastic pearls? I'm also about 90% sure this pic was taken at either K-Mart or JC Penney. ]

Anyway.....

Here's my brother now:

He is 22 (so young!), married, and has a baby, Jake. Without getting into a lot of details, my brother chose a much harder road to adulthood than my sister and I, but he is really working hard to remedy that and has turned out to be a great Daddy.

And little Jake....well, he is simply the sweetest, happiest baby I have ever met! Always smiles and rarely crying.

Jake turned one last week, and of course, I had to make him something. Back in December, I wrote about the Quiet Book I made for my niece for Christmas. My sister says she loves it and takes it everywhere. So I made one for Jake for his first birthday.

The outside cover:

The inside cover:

Try me on!

The one I made for my niece was more "girly" (lady bugs & flowers), so I had to make this one my "boyish" (cars & turtles).

Lift the clouds...

What's inside????

It's a baby turtle!

Once again, I "super" sewed everything down to make sure no little choking hazards would come off.

Count the buttons (or play "I Spy") and pat the caterpillar:

I tried to cover several different activities on my pages: textures, counting, zipping, buttoning, velcro, "peek-a-boo," and "I Spy" to name a few.

Velcro the shapes....

Who's at the door? (With an unbreakable mirror inside!)

I'm really happy with the final result and I hope Jake loves it.

Happy Birthday, big guy, from your Aunt Jenn!

"Focus on the Journey, not the Destination"

2009-06-04T08:11:00.004-07:00

My husband loves to travel. He's lived all over the world (England, the Middle East, the Caribbean...) and traveled to even more places. As for me, I didn't even see the ocean until I was 22, much less cross it. We never went on "vacation" growing up. We either drove 22 hours in our 1977 Chevy Impala ("The Boat") to Louisiana to visit our family or we went camping. And by camping I don't mean a nice RV in a campground. I mean middle-of-nowhere, sleep-in-a-tent (or on the ground), restroom-behind-a-tree camping.....my dad liked to really rough it.

But my husband really believes that a big part of who he is today he can attribute to having experienced so many different places in the world. It's important to him that we take our children places and let them experience different things. Unfortunately, like it is for most people, time and money are often roadblocks.

My husband is British, and although his immediate family lives here in the U.S., the rest of his family is still back in England. So we travel there every 2-3 years (depending on how long it takes us to save up!) for a visit. We try to go for at least 2 weeks and divide the time between visiting family and sightseeing. So far our sightseeing has been limited to the British Isles, but as our kids get older, we are hoping to use England as a jumping off point to see other sights in Europe. And my husband has a list of other places in the world he'd like to go, from South Africa to New Zealand and lots of places in between.

How is all this travel talk sewing/crafting related, you might ask? Well....what's the number one necessity when you travel out of the country? Your passport!!! When we travel, I usually carry some kind of backpack so that I can keep all the crap you need when you travel with kids at the ready, but still have my hands free for snapping photos...or herding my kids, whichever. And I carry all the travel documents.

A couple of months ago while ~~wasting time~~ surfing craft blogs, I stumbled across a cute tutorial for a passport cover over at bunnybum. And I thought to myself, what a great idea! That way when I pull out the passports at the airport, I can quickly identify which belongs to who with no effort. Plus, they just look cute!

We are getting ready to take a vacation to Banff in Canada this summer, so this week I took a little time to whip up some of these cute covers out of fabric scraps I had in my stash.

Mine is the one on the left, made with some Michael Miller "Peace Blossom" left over from a custom order; my daughter's is in the middle...Ariel, of course; and my son's on the left...using some of the "world traveler" fabric that I used when I redid his room (his room is decorated around maps and traveling).

I didn't make one for my husband....his passport is from the United Kingdom and is different from ours anyway.

This tutorial was really easy to follow and took no time at all. Two 6" by 12" scraps of fabric and about 10-15 minutes and you're done!

Bon Voyage!

Time Is Free, but It's Priceless!

2009-05-11T13:04:00.003-07:00

Yesterday was that great day known as Mother's Day. The day where all of us moms are supposed to be showered with presents, thanked endlessly for all we do, and treated like a Queen. We get to sleep in and get breakfast in bed. We don't have to cook, clean, or referee a fight. Our spouse arranges a Day of Beauty at a spa.... What? That didn't happen in your house? Ok....it didn't happen in mine either.

My Mother's Day started out pretty much like any other weekend morning....I get up with the kids between 6 and 6:30 (my kids are and always have been early birds) and my husband sleeps in. The day was quickly turning into just another weekend where I do what I do everyday, while my husband gets to putz around in the garage, tinker with one of his bikes, or run errands (without kids, of course). So I took the bull by the horns. I took charge of my own Mother's Day fate. I told my husband:

"I am going into my sewing room for the day. I am going to sew and watch movies. If the kids come to me with any of their typical drama, I am sending them to you. You have been warned."

And I locked myself in my "mom cave."

And what did I sew? Why, something for myself, of course! :)

We live in Arizona. In case you haven't heard...it's hot here. Very hot. Not that I'm complaining...I'll take the heat over cold, tornadoes, earthquakes, or hurricanes any day. But it does make you really think about your wardrobe choices. For me, it means cool cottons, no sleeves, and usually flip-flops.

This year I decided I needed to venture away from my typical summer "Mom wardrobe" of V-neck t-shirts and shorts. I decided to make myself some cotton dresses. I happened to have a pattern lying around that my mom had given me ages ago (Simplicity 9620), so I decided to go with that. It's a simple dress....no buttons or zippers. You had your choice of necklines and I went with the V-neck.

I managed to make two of them yesterday (while watching "Slumdog Millionaire" [LOVED it!] and "Twilight" [yet again!]), and I'm pretty happy with the results.

The pics aren't the best....my 4 yr old daughter took them for me. She was trying to get me to pose and do all the things I make her do when I use her for my sewing model.

So what was my Mother's Day gift? Well, my kids got me a card and some tulips, and they both made some really cute crafts at school. But the BEST gift I got yesterday was time, uninterrupted (pretty much!) time, to sew for myself!

Hope you all had a Happy Mother's Day!!!

Unsung Heroes

2009-05-06T13:57:00.008-07:00

This week (May 3rd - 9th) is National Teacher Appreciation Week. My son's school sent home a note from the PTA last week reminding everyone to take the time to show thanks and appreciation to their child's teachers. The note had some suggestions for things to do each day: bring an apple on Monday, have the child write a note on Tuesday, bring a flower on Wednesday, have the parent write a note on Thursday, and a "spirit" day where each grade wears a different color on Friday.

Well, I had already planned on making something for my son to bring in at the end of the week, but my son, being the black-and-white, walk-the-line, rule-follower he is, insisted that he had to do what the note said...if it is written and came from school, it must be.

I could have sent an apple, but what is his teacher going to do with 25 apples? And I'm SURE she has plenty of apple magnets/pictures/pencil cups/mugs/dust collectors and would probably thank me for not giving her another one. I told him we'd pass on that one. The note from my son was easy. (Give my son blank paper and office supplies and you won't see him for an entire day.) He made cards for his regular teacher and his reading teacher.

Then there was the flower day. I think buying cut flowers is a big waste of money. Potted plants I can go for. But cut flowers just wilt and die and you're left with nothing but a dirty vase. So instead I had my son make bookmarks...I printed them out with a cute little poem I found about teachers and he drew flowers on them and added his name and the date. I laminated them, added a ribbon, and voila! We fulfilled the flower requirement to his satisfaction.

Tomorrow is the day I'm supposed to send in a note from me. I've got a couple of thank you cards to fill out and I'm going to send the gifts I made for them. Last year I made tote bags for the kids' teachers, and they were such a hit that I decided to do it again.

My son's main teacher collects all things ladybug, so I chose a cute ladybug print for the lining and accents and paired it with a nice denim for her bag.

The bag is a nice size for books, papers, etc and has an outside pocket and a tie closure. I also used my dear friend Tracey's great lanyard tutorial to make a matching lanyard for her school identification:

For my son's reading teacher, I had no idea if she collected anything or what types of things she's into. But I know she's young, so I picked something I liked and thought was a little "retro chic."

I used Robert Kaufman's "Fruit Basket" in the brown colorway, paired with a nice bright green for the lining and accent. (For some reason, my greens look a little "off" in this picture...but in person the green pears and the green lining fabric are very close).

I also made her a matching lanyard out of the "Fruit Basket" fabric. I hope they enjoy these totes as much as I enjoyed making them.

And I hope they know how much I appreciate all the guidance, support, knowledge, and fun they have given my son this year.

Don't forget to take a moment and thank all the teachers in your child's life this week!

When Life Hands You Lemons....

2009-04-14T16:23:00.004-07:00

When life hands you lemons....break out the tequila and salt!

Unless it's Alexander Henry's "Juicy" lemons, then you make a sundress!

This dress is basically a "pillowcase" style dress (you can find many excellent tutorials for pillowcase dresses...here's a link to my fave)....except I've made a few modifications. One change I made was to give it more of an "A-line" shape. It's 2-inches narrower at the top than the bottom. The A-line is just such a flattering shape and works well on my skinny-mini daughter (she's a couple months shy of 5 and only 33 pounds sopping wet and in her clothes).

SIDENOTE: Can I just take a minute and talk about how ~~jealous~~ proud I am of my daughter's hair? It's just the right thickness, just the right mix of blonds, slightly wavy, and a nice soft texture. Mine is ultra thick (a blessing and a curse) and a coarse texture that frizzes unless laden with product. So not fair.

The other modification was to add pockets. My daughter LOVES pockets. She's always carrying "treasures" in her pockets...it makes laundry time interesting.

Another change I made from the tutorials I looked at was to cut the neckline at a slight "scoop," making it a little bit lower in the front than in the back. The front has the illusion of a drawstring, but is gathered by making a casing and then threading through a piece of elastic that is an inch or so shorter than the casing.

Like most of the tutorials, I used binding for the armholes and ties. I tried sewing a casing at the armholes then using ribbon for the ties, but I found that with the curve of the armholes, I had a hard time making nice-looking casings...I was never satisfied with the result. I cut 2 1/2 inch strips of my fabric to make a 1/2 inch binding. The binding was really easy, and you could always use pre-made binding.

I added some ribbon detailing to the pockets and along the hem just to give the dress a little bit of added charm. I happened to find this cute gingham check ribbon that was the same shade of green as the stems of the lemons. I think it adds a nice touch.

When all is said and done, I'm happy with the result. I will make a few "tweaks" to the next one (I think I'm going to change the pocket placement slightly). I hope to have one of these cute dresses up soon in my shop!

They Say It's Your Birthday...

2009-04-05T09:33:00.002-07:00

Back in December, my dear friend and Handbag Goddess, Tracey, invited me to appear as a guest on Artiste, a conglomeration of artisans on Hyenacart.com.

Well, Artiste is celebrating their first birthday this month, and they have graciously invited myself and others who appeared as guests over the past year to once again guest for the big event. In addition to the guest artists, there are wonderful items being offered by the Artiste "regulars," as well as giveaways, lotteries, and a scavenger hunt!

Cruise on over to Artiste and check it out! The celebration begins at 9pm EST April 5th!

Not Without My Handbag

2009-03-19T15:29:00.007-07:00

One of the best perks to both of my children being over the age of three is that there is NO MORE DIAPER BAG!!! I can once again carry a cute handbag. And although I wouldn't consider myself a "bagoholic," I do like to change it up every once in awhile and switch handbags or even pick up a new one.

Since I've become friends with Tracey, handbag expert extrodinaire, I've gotten into making my own handbag. In the fall, I made myself this bag from the Amy Butler "Frenchy Bag" pattern. I LOVE this pattern, and actually made a couple of other versions of that bag for gifts.

Well, it's spring now. And we all know that you just can't carry the same bag in the spring as you did in the fall....that violates one of the sacred rules of accessorizing. {{rolling my eyes}} So I wanted to make myself a cute bag for spring. Since I had such great luck with the Frenchy Bag, I was planning on making another one of those, but with some cute spring fabrics.

Then one day while surfing some of my favorite craft blogs, I stumbled upon the blog of U*Handbag, a small, handbag supply business out of the UK, run by Lisa, a self-professed "bagoholic." On the U*Handbag blog, there are several great tutorials for different bags, purses, pouches, etc. But the one thing that really caught my eye was her new pattern for purchase: The Highbrow Hobo.

I had to have it! I purchased the pattern and then started the search for the perfect fabrics. I really liked the look of the bag on the front of the pattern....the contrast between the black & white fabric and the bold solid. At my local fabric store I came across this black & white print:

I really like the kind of "vintage" feel of it. I decided that nothing says spring more than pink, so I went with a nice, bright pink solid for the straps and the lining. After a few hours over the course of four days (having both kids home for spring break has cut into my sewing time), I managed to finish my Highbrow Hobo.

I love how nice and roomy this bag is. The darts on the bottom give it a good width (about 3 inches).

And I love all the nice little touches she has given this bag....the exterior pocket with the contrasting edging, the illusion of piping around the top, the use of O-rings on the straps....it just makes for a great looking handbag.

This pattern was fantastic. It was clear, concise, and had great pictures. I only made one change to the bag...I added a couple of really basic interior pockets. Just somewhere to put small items like my cell phone and keys.

I am very happy with my new handbag and can't wait to load it up with all my junk!

Happy Sewing!

In Like a Lion....

2009-03-09T12:48:00.005-07:00

March is here! And here in Arizona, that means it's the beginning of a new season: the warm one. We basically have two seasons here: "cool" and "warm," with varying degrees of "coolness" and "warmness."

With all the trees and shrubs beginning to bloom and the explosion of the "unofficial Arizona flower", the weed, I'm beginning to work on warm weather projects. Out come the capris, sundresses, shorts, and summer-y skirts....my favorite things to sew! Right now, I'm in love with this great, retro-inspired round neck dress.

The dress and matching headband in this photo was made using two coordinating fabrics from the "Midnight Kisses" collection by Heidi Grace.

This dress has a rounded yoke at the neck, button shoulders and a contrast band at hem. It can be layered over a short or long sleeve shirt........

....or worn alone as a sundress!

This dress was made using the "Daisy Dot" fabric from Jackie Shapiro's "Sweetpea" line, paired with a light-weight denim.

One of the many great things about this dress design is that it can also be made into a cute top.

This outfit was created with the popular Alexander Henry "Kleo" print and coordinating "Bangle Dot" in the very Spring-like pink and green colorway.

I paired the round neck top with khaki, wide-leg capris with an elastic waist and a single ruffle trim in the "Bangle Dot" fabric.

This outfit, with matching headband, is available now in my Etsy shop!

And other round neck items will be available over the next few days, so check back often!

Now time to go and tackle those weeds!

Creative Minds are Rarely Tidy

2009-02-05T11:46:00.008-07:00

One of my favorite blogs to check in with is Sew, Mama, Sew. The February 4th posting was all about fabric stashes, and they asked readers to write about their own stashes by answering a set of questions that they posted. I am really enjoying looking at everyone's stashes and seeing how they like to organize them, so I thought I would write about my own stash.

And it just so happens that my sewing room is clean right now. (Trust me, it's usually a minor disaster area!) It is also used as the guest room, and since we have company coming in this evening, I had to get in there and pick up my mess.

This is where I like to hole up and hang out. My "Mom Cave." I even have a TV in here so I can sew and watch my favorite shows. And my "sewing table?" A heavy, wooden desk from a yard sale for $15 put back-to-back with a small shelving unit which I got free from my inlaws. Works for me!

My sewing room motto:

Now, onto the "stash" questions!

What do you usually sew?

I mostly sew children's clothing and I sew a lot of gifts for people. I also sew a lot of my own home decor items like bedding and curtains.

When you shop for fabric, what size cuts do you usually buy? (i.e. If you see something beautiful, but you don’t have a use for it right away, how much do you buy?)

If I'm buying for a specific project, I'll just buy what I need. If it's something for my Etsy shop, and I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with it, I'll buy 1 to 2 yards. A lot of times I'll have a specific pattern in mind and I'll buy enough to make 2 or 3 of them in different sizes.

Do you buy on impulse or do you go out looking for something you need?

A little of both. But I rarely buy something that isn't on some kind of sale! Oh, and my mom is the Queen of Second Hand...she's always picking up fabric at yard sales and estate sales. Usually some of it ends up at my house!

Are you a pre-washer? If you are, do you wash your fabric before you need it, or only when you’re ready to use it?

I am definitely a pre-washer, especially because I mostly sew clothing and I almost always use 100% cottons. I would hate to put something together, wash it, then it shrinks and doesn't look right. Plus, my Momma would die if she found out I didn't wash my fabrics!

Do you iron it?

Yep, as soon as it comes out of the dryer, before I fold it and put it on the shelf. That way when I pull it out to use it, it's ready to go!

How do you sort it? (color, print size, collection, etc.)

There is no real method to my madness. I do put all my Christmas fabrics together and keep most of my novelty or children's fabrics together. All my fleece is in a box, and all my heavier fabrics (like denims, bottom-weight twills, etc) are on the bottom shelf.

The shelf behind where I sit usually holds things I'm currently working on or things that are upcoming.

Do you have any special folding techniques?

Nope, just flat and as neatly as I can.

How do you store your fabric?

I used to have all of my fabric in bins. I hated it. I couldn't see everything, and I would forget what I had in there. Now that I have it all out on shelves, it is so much nicer. I can scan it and make a quick inventory of what I have and what I need to get. I do keep my small scraps in a box and my fleece in a box.

What tips do you have for building up a well-rounded stash?

No real tips!

When do you say enough is enough?

Can you ever have enough?

What are some of your favorite stash-busting projects?

Nightgowns and skirts for my daughter. And anytime I'm making a gift for someone, I try to use out of my stash first.

Do you have a current favorite print in your stash? Let’s see it!

I just picked these up at my local JoAnn Fabrics....I love them! They look like the kind of print my mom would have used in the 70's to make our clothes. I can't wait to make some spring outfits out of these.

What’s your definition of the perfect stash?

Something well-stocked and well-organized. I don't think mine is perfect, but it's working for me!

"A Government That Is Big Enough to Give You All You Want Is Big Enough to Take It All Away"

2009-01-26T14:04:00.003-07:00

Once again, the federal government, in all their infinite wisdom, has had a knee-jerk reaction to something. Have you heard of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA)? The CPSIA was passed in 2008 in reaction to the thousands of unsafe toys from China and other countries making their way to shelves in American stores. In a nutshell (a small nutshell), the CPSIA requires any product for children under 12 be tested and certified by an independent 3rd party laboratory that it meets the new levels for lead and phthalates. That’s any product: toys, clothes, books, school supplies, sports equipment, etc. etc.

We all remember the many toy recalls over the past few years…I spent lots of time inspecting all the lot numbers on my son’s numerous Thomas the Tank Engine toys and my daughter’s Dora the Explorer toys when they were recalled for possible lead-based paint contamination. So the CPSIA is a good thing, right? It will help keep our children safe right? Well, it’s not exactly that black & white.

You see, all the toys, clothes and other great handmade products made by myself and other artisans on ebay, Etsy, and other websites would also fall under CPSIA.

So I should just make sure that I purchase all my supplies from companies that test everything for lead, right? No. As it stands now, the law requires each component of every end product to be tested. So if I make a dress out of cotton fabric with a zipper and two buttons, I have to test the fabric, the thread, the buttons, and the zipper. And if I buy enough of those supplies to make 5 dresses, I can’t just test them once. I have to test them 5 different times because I have 5 separate end products. And the testing cost could be upwards of hundreds of dollars per item. My $35 sundress just got REALLY pricey! Not to mention that the wet chemistry tests performed by labs destroys the product. So much for my one-of-kind item handmade with love.

Starting February 10, 2009, the Consumer Products Safety Commission will start enforcing the CPSIA. Does that mean that they are going to throw Granny in jail for selling those little baby booties that she so carefully knitted? Not likely. But remember when they started to really crack down on people who were pirating music? You would see newscasts of normal everyday people who “shared” their music with three friends and got busted by the feds….they were “made an example.” Do I want to risk it? Not really. For me, this is something I love to do that lets me make some extra money to pay for my kids’ extra curricular activities and my hobbies. But for others, this is their livelihood.

And the other thing that I find tragic is that if left as is, this law is another nail in the coffin for handmade. In a world where everything is so cookie-cutter and manufactured, handmade items are a breath of fresh air. Not to mention that some skills, like sewing, are becoming lost art forms.

And let’s face it: you and I (and the people in Congress) know that handmade toys, clothing and other items are not what are posing a threat to our children. It’s the tons of plastic crap that comes in from countries where testing requirements for dangerous chemicals are minimal, if not non-existent. In fact, many people like to buy handmade because they know that it is almost always safer than buying something that was imported from overseas. So although I think the intent behind this law was good, I believe minimal thought was put into how this law would be implemented and what a wide-reaching negative effect it could have on some small businesses. Right now, there are a lot of letters being written and petitions being signed, and with any luck, our voices will be heard.

As for me, right now I’m going to lay low and try to come up with product ideas that are not necessarily marketed towards kids. (If you buy them and give them to your kids, that’s your prerogative.) And my friends know that they can contact me for custom requests. I am very optimistic that this will get sorted out, and then I will be back to making the children’s items that I love. I cannot believe that they will let the handmade community die on the vine.

More info on the CPSIA:

The actual public law (this will make your eyes cross) http://www.cpsc.gov/cpsia.Pdf

An excellent Forbes commentary on CPSIA: http://www.forbes.com/2009/01/16/cpsia-safety-toys-oped-cx_wo_0116olson.html

You Don't Have to Brush Your Teeth - Just the Ones You Want to Keep

2009-01-07T20:16:00.004-07:00

Before the holidays, a friend of mine asked me if I could make a tooth fairy pillow for her daughter, who was just about to lose her first tooth. Well, in the rush of the holidays, I didn't get it finished before Christmas. So this week I tackled the project.

My friend had sent me a link to a basic tutorial and pattern for a pillow with the directions "something like this." After looking at the link, I thought I could come up with something with a little more "oomph." A little bigger, a little cuter, a little more personal.

And then I remembered the tooth fairy pillow that my mom made for me when I was a little girl. It was shaped like a tooth and pink, with a star-shaped pocket that she had stitched my name onto. I sketched up a quick pattern based on my Swiss-cheese "Mommy memory" and dug into my scrap pile.

This is what I came up with:

The picture doesn't really show it too well, but the tooth is a nice white satin with silver "sparkles." To create the pocket, I sandwiched interfacing between two pieces of cotton fabric, drew a heart, satin stitched around it like it was an applique, then carefully cut it out, cutting as close as I could to the stitching. I used fray check (the BEST invention ever!) on the edges to prevent any fraying. Then I wrote her name in cursive with a fabric pin and used cross-stitch thread and a backstitch to embroider her name. I dressed it up with a cute ribbon, sewed on the heart, leaving the top edge open to form a pocket, then assembled the pillow. I think it came out really cute and I hope she likes it!

I am probably going to offer these in my shop (girl and boy versions!)...when I do, I'll be sure to let you know!

Happy Sewing!

Holiday Wishes....

2008-12-20T08:20:00.005-07:00

Crafty Christmas, Part Deux

2008-12-12T15:32:00.006-07:00

In my quest to make as many gifts as I have time for, I have relied on the wealth of knowledge of other crafters and artisans through the many great tutorials on the web. Having written one tutorial myself, I can truly appreciate the time and effort that is put into writing something with clear, easy-to-follow instructions and good quality photos.

You can find tutorials for just about anything on the web. Want a tutorial for a drawstring backpack? Just type "drawstring backpack tutorial" into your favorite search engine and voila! A whole list of them will appear.

One of my gifts makes use of two great tutorials.

Having school age children, there is always the dilemma of what to do for the teachers. My son is in 1st grade and just has one teacher. My daughter is in preschool and has three teachers. I'm sure every teacher has more "#1 Teacher" tchotchkes than they know what to do with, so I try to come up with something useful....or at the very least, a creative and different tchotchke.

This year I decided to do mugs and tea wallets. First of all, the mug. During the month of November, one of my favorite blogs, Sew, Mama, Sew, did their second annual "Handmade Holidays," where they posted gift ideas and links to tutorials daily, with each day having a different theme.

The November 8th entry featured gifts for teachers, and it was there that I found the link to the tutorial for the cute "Quilty Mug." And I just have to add, this tutorial was not only great from an instructional perspective...it was funny. This blog, Lady Harvatine, has become one of my regular blog stops.

I dug through my scraps, picked out some cute calico fabrics, and string pieced it together onto a piece of muslin. Slide it into the customizable mug (which ended up being the toughest part of the whole project) and there you go....a quilty mug!

Next was the tea wallet. This was another tutorial I came across from SMS's Handmade Holidays, under "gifts for a gift exchange." My original idea for this cute tea wallet was to make one for my mother-in-law, who is English and an avid tea drinker. The one I made for her turned out so cute, and they are so quick and easy to make that I'm giving them as stocking stuffers for several people, as well as giving them to my kids' teachers.

I used some of the same calico fabrics that I used in the mug to create the tea wallet. It has room for four tea bags and has a button closure. I have no idea if any of the teachers drink tea, but oh well....if they don't, I'm sure they can find another use for it. And of course, I will be sewing some of my cute little fabric gift bags to put them in!

Overall, I'm very pleased with the teacher gifts, and I hope that they are pleased too. My children are fortunate to have wonderful teachers this year, and I just want them to know that they are very much appreciated.

Crafty Christmas, Part 1

2008-12-08T13:50:00.005-07:00

One of my goals this Christmas was to try and make a lot of our gifts. I'm actually making about half of them, and a few others I'm picking up from other artists on Etsy. The one gift I've spent the most time on is the one I've made for my niece.

When my son was about one, my sister-in-law made him a Quiet Book. It was such a great gift, that I decided I would come up with my own. So I took the one she made, plus a lot of examples I found online from googling "Quiet Book," and came up with my own set of pages.

This gift was truly a labor of love. I had no pattern, no instructions for putting it together. Just pictures and my son's book (which was put together differently than what I ended up doing). I sketched stuff up on paper and did a "mock up" to figure out how I was going to assemble it all. I know there are people who make and sell these, and my hat is off to you. I just don't know that I could do it and make it profitable....I'd have to charge $35 + a kidney to account for the housework that didn't get done while working on this!

I "super" sewed everything down to make sure no little choking hazards would come off...even used heavy-duty upholstery thread to secure the buttons. I tried to cover several different activities on my pages: textures, counting, zipping, buttoning, velcro, "peek-a-boo," and "I Spy" to name a few. I hope she likes it. I will be making one for my nephew too when he gets old enough to play with it (hmmm....first birthday gift.)

I also picked up a few injuries on this project: I sewed my finger (not the first time I've done this. Once, the needle went through my finger and stopped....and I had to turn the hand wheel to get it out), I cut myself with the rotary cutter, and I stuck a pin into the heel of my hand. Guess I shouldn't sew while ~~drinking~~ tired.

They Say It's Your Birthday...

2008-12-03T21:00:00.007-07:00

Some things in life make me feel old. I'm not old (I will only be 34 this month), but some things in life definitely make me feel that way. Like the fact that both of my siblings now have children. Even my little brother, who is 12 years younger than me (I can still clearly remember the night that he was born) has a baby boy.

I have to brag a little here: I have the cutest niece, Kaitlyn. She's adorable....like a little doll. Here she is:

Now tell me that is not cute! That's not even a decent quality picture (my sister is not known for being quick with the picture distribution) and she's still cute. The thing is, she looks so much like my sister (on the right, as if that's not obvious):

This was our annual Easter picture....circa 1982. (For those of you who know me in real life: yes, I had enough hair for 4 people even at the age of 7....it's a blessing and a curse.)

Kaitlyn is going to celebrate the big one next week: ONE YEAR OLD

My sister is having the typical big First Birthday Party. And since this is their first First Birthday Party, I'm sure it will be quite the affair. Since I am also Kaitlyn's Godmother, I wanted to make something special for her. So I asked my sister if I could make her an outfit for her first birthday party. My sister's one request: please make it very girly-girl.

Now that's a request I can oblige!

I thought it would be cute to try and follow whatever theme she was having with the fabric choices. She is using a Lil' Cupcake 1st Birthday theme:

So I started looking around, and I came across the perfect fabric online at J & O Fabric Center. It's called "My Little Cupcake"

After I had the fabric, I found the perfect "girly-girl" pattern: The Peasant Dress by Dainty Designs. I paired it with an all-purpose bloomer pattern that I happened to have, and the final result is just too cute!

Completely useless sidenote: Notice I didn't tie a bow with the sash, just a nice knot. That's because I am "bow challenged." I cannot, to save my life, tie a decent looking bow. That's because I have a really bizarre way of tying....I taught myself how to tie shoes when I was four from watching people tie my shoes. Since I was looking down watching them from a backwards angle, I now tie completely backwards....the result: ugly bows and my shoes never stay tied. Oh well....

Happy Birthday, Kaitlyn. Nanny loves you.

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like....Well, You Know....

2008-11-25T12:48:00.010-07:00

I LOVE Christmas time. The decorations, the music, the cards, the food, the goodwill and cheer...everything. I guess it was inevitable that I would, since I was actually born on Christmas Day. Yep, three weeks early, right smack on December 25th. The reaction I usually get from people is "Aww....that sucks." And maybe sometimes growing up I thought it did. But overall, I think it's pretty special and the older I get, the more I appreciate it. And my parents made a point of separating it the best they could....they never combined presents, they made sure I always had a birthday cake, and my birthday presents were never wrapped in Christmas paper.

But the best thing about the holiday season in MY book is the crafting opportunities! This year, I have a list a mile long of gifts I'm planning on making. I'm going to try to post some of the best ones here as I finish them.

This week, my good friend Tracey (the handbag genius!) has invited me to be her guest over on Artiste, a conglomeration of artisans on Hyenacart.com.

I have a couple of great holiday items that will be available, starting with the Merry Snowman jumper and matching accessories.

This cute jumper is made using an adorable Debbie Mum snowman fabric along with a buttery soft, 21-wale red corduroy. It can be layered over tights or leggings and worn with short or long sleeves. The dress has a slight A-line shape with button closures at the shoulders. The bodice of the jumper is lined with a soft cotton broadcloth. Cute white rick-rack and topstitching add just the right amount of charm.

And what little girl wouldn’t like to be perfectly accessorized with a matching tote and reversible headband?

This dress and accessory set will be “made-to-order,” and is offered for $35 in the following sizes:

Size 2: Chest size 13" , Length 19"

Size 3/4: Chest 14" , Length 21"

Size 5/6: Chest 14.5", Length 23"

The second holiday item I am featuring this week is the wonderful Christmas Stars Layered Twirl Skirt.

This fantastic twirl skirt features adorable coordinating holiday fabrics and would be perfect with a favorite holiday shirt or sweater layered over leggings or tights.

The skirt has an elastic drop waist and two tiers, each with a double-ruffle bottom, separated by two layers of gold tulle.

This skirt is offered for $35, and will be made to order based on your desired waist and length measurements.

These items (and many others I'm listing, like my cute coloring totes) will be available on Artiste beginning at 9pm (EST) November 25 until December 5. Scroll down to "Cute2Carry" and there I'll be! And be sure to check out all the items from the other artisans. There are some really talented ladies out there!

Color Me Happy

2008-11-18T16:46:00.007-07:00

First off, let’s talk about my “sewing challenge.” I won’t twist the facts: I bailed. I was good for 4 days, but then we went on a Cub Scout camping trip for my son’s Cub Scout Den and I didn’t get anything made for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. But I don’t consider the challenge a complete failure…I did manage to get some projects done that were sitting around for awhile. I may revisit the “sewing challenge” at a later date.

Moving on…..

I’ve talked before about how I have a fondness for sewing little girl items….face it, they’re just more fun! But I have been toying with the idea of “non-gender” specific items for my Etsy shop. I wanted something quick and easy that would make a good gift for the holidays.

So I decided to whip up some of these great little coloring totes. I’ve seen lots of different versions of these, so I took all the ideas I liked best and put them together.

fully lined little tote measures 10” by 12,” and has two reinforced handles with a 10” drop. It has room for two regular or one jumbo-sized coloring book and slots for up to 20 crayons.

Top-stitching and decorative trim add just the amount of charm. Each tote comes with a sewn-in “It’sSewSweet” label for a professional look. These would be great for Christmas or birthday gifts for the budding artist. And the best part: they are completely washable!

These totes will be available for $15 in my Etsy shop and will come “ready-to-give” with a coloring book and 16 crayons.

I will be offering several different fabrics, depending on what’s in “my stash,” but if you have a specific color or theme in mind, shoot me an email….I may already have the perfect fabric and if not, I can probably get it!

Please Don't Feed the Animals/The Gift(bag) That Keeps on Giving.....

2008-11-06T18:59:00.006-07:00

I didn't get my posting done yesterday for this week's sewing challenge. I ended up going to bed really early last night with a major sinus headache. But I did finish my DAY THREE PROJECT. So today's post will be a joint DAY THREE/DAY FOUR post.

Please Don't Feed the Animals

For Wednesday's project, I choose to finish something else that's been hanging around for awhile....another item for my daughter. The weather is changing here (finally), and it's cool in the mornings and evenings and only in the 70s during the day. So it's time to put away the summer clothes. Since my daughter wears dresses or skirts 99% of the time, I usually try to make things for her that can be worn with long sleeve shirts and tights. This is one of my favorite patterns to make:

I couldn't get her to model it for me, so I just had to lay it out on the floor. It looks much cuter when it's actually on. This fabric is so adorable. It's a nice, soft corduroy with cute little forest animals on it. Perfect for my little animal lover!

The Gift(bag) That Keeps on Giving.....

Today's project was ~~stolen from~~ inspired by my friend Tracey. Tracey usually makes her gift bags. So I thought I'd follow her example this year and make my own too. They are reusable, but don't get torn and wrinkled like store bought gift bags....plus they are much cuter!

I just made simple, unlined drawstring bags. I made five today in a variety of sizes, mostly from fabrics I had laying around.

On two of them I used ribbon for the drawstring.

The drawstrings are long enough that you can tie them in a bow at the top.

For the others, I made a drawstring out of coordinating fabric. I think these will look great under the tree!

Well, that's the first four days done! Tune in tomorrow!!!

I Wear My Pink Pajamas in the Summer When It's Hot...

2008-11-04T16:10:00.008-07:00

DAY TWO of the sewing challenge.....

For today, I thought I would tackle something that's been sitting around in my sewing room for awhile.....a nightgown for my daughter.

She doesn't discriminate in her dislike of pants/shorts. It carries over into what she'll wear to bed. She has a few pajamas that she'll wear occasionally, but her preference is for nightgowns. And the more girly the better.

Nightgowns in the store are often upwards of $15 or more, and I am far too ~~cheap~~ frugal to pay that for them. Most nightgown patterns for little girls take a yard of fabric or less. So if you're willing to take the hour or so to do it (often less time than that), and if you look for a good fabric deal, you can make a nightgown for under $5.

I usually let my daughter choose her own fabrics (from what's on sale). And OF COURSE she chose a "satin-y" fabric. I hate satin-y fabrics. They slip, slide, move, stretch and are just a pain in the you know what to sew. But she likes it, so hey.....

I used the "cannibalized pattern" method....take the bits and pieces from patterns I like and put them together to make a garment. I used the body from one pattern and the sleeves from another.

And here is the finished result:

All snug and ready for bed! Goodnight, Peanut!

Check back tomorrow for DAY THREE!

Because I'm Just Not Busy Enough.....

2008-11-03T17:03:00.007-07:00

My friend Tracey (who creates wonderful handbags, totes, and other accessories) decided that she needed a little extra motivation to get some projects finished....both personal projects and items for her website. So she issued herself a public "Bag-a-day" Challenge....she is going to create something new each day this week and post it on her blog. And she challenged her readers to do the same.

And because I have tons of free time (insert sarcastic eye-rolling here), I thought what the hell...I join her. Besides, we can commiserate together as we frantically scramble to finish something each day.

So each day this week I will be making and posting something new. It may be something for my shop, or it may just be an unfinished project that is lingering in my sewing room (and trust me, there are many!).

Today, Monday November 3, is DAY ONE, and this is what I made today:

This adorable little tote and matching headband is made with the Alexander Henry "Apples & Pears" print, along with a cute pink courduroy and a brown twill. The opposite side of the bag has the print with the brown, divided again by the red satin ribbon. The interior is lined with white cotton broadcloth.

I actually made this accessory set to go with this, which I made last Friday:

This set is available now in my Etsy shop in sizes 2, 3/4, or 5/6.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW LISTING!

Check back tomorrow to see what I manage to finish!

We're knights of the Round Table, we dance whene'er we're able.

2008-10-28T12:56:00.007-07:00

Ok, ok, I'm sorry. I couldn't resist the Monty Python clip. I'm married to an Englishman, and I guess after almost 10 years, his offbeat British humor has rubbed off on me! :)

So last week I wrote about my daughter's doggie costume. This week it's my son's turn. He doesn't go for the traditional scary costumes or the trendy Star Wars/Spiderman/etc. In the past he's been things like a dragon, a dinosaur, and last year, a police officer. This year, he chose to be a knight. Without further delay, here's presenting Sir Aidan:

To create this costume, I used Simplicity 5520. I only paid $0.99 for it on sale at my local fabric store. It was an easy pattern to put together. One thing, though....it has a lot of pieces. So although it wasn't hard, it was a little time-consuming. But once he put it on, it was definitely worth all the time....he looked so cute, um excuse me, handsome, and he really loves it.

We borrowed the sword and shield from a friend, and he's ready to do battle with the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog......

Happy Halloween!!!!

Going to the Dogs....

2008-10-22T16:12:00.007-07:00

It's that time of year again....the time to come up with the perfect Halloween costume.

Because I can sew, everyone always assumes that I will create wonderful handmade costumes for my kids.....that's not always the case. The truth is, with all the sales, online stores, etc., sometimes it just isn't cost-effective to make their costumes. It just depends on what they want to be and whether I can find it for a steal.

My daughter is a total animal lover and her two favorite movies are 101 Dalmations and the Aristocats. So this year she wants to be a Dalmation.

Now, one thing about my daughter....she doesn't wear pants. Ever. Well, hardly ever. I can probably count on one hand the number of times that she has worn pants. She wears dresses and skirts, and when it gets "cold" (cold in Central Arizona terms is almost comical), she wears tights or leggings. And of course all the standard "doggy" costumes are pants.

But then I came across a costume on some random costume website that was a little dalmation dress. It was cute, but at only $10.99, I was very skeptical about the quality. Besides, it's a dress.....if there is one thing I can sew, it's little girls' dresses. So I decided that I would make it.

First things first: the fabric. I knew I didn't want an obnoxious print, and a quick search on the internet turned up the perfect find.......Michael Miller "Spot the Dog"

Next up: the pattern. I wanted something easy and something that I would use again. So I went with this one....Simplicity 2825

I'll definitely be making her more dresses with this pattern. When they say "It's So Easy," they mean it. This pattern was very easy to follow and went together quickly. It runs large, so next time I'll make some adjustments.

To give the dress some fullness and make it a little special (it is a Halloween costume, after all), I made a petticoat-like slip with some lining fabric and about 8 yards of tulle. It gives it just the right "girly-girl" touch.

Next, I made some doggy ears with a black headband and some faux fur. Add some black tights and black shoes and there you go! A dalmation.

On Halloween we are going to paint a little black nose on her. She also wants me to make her a red "collar" to wear, so I'll be pulling out the red satin ribbon. I'm very happy with the results and think it fits her personality perfectly.

Here she is practicing her "doggy-ness!"

That's one costume down....next up, tackling my son's knight costume!

By Popular Demand....a Hooded Towel Tutorial

2008-10-09T13:11:00.033-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I received an email from Joy, asking if I would share the pattern for the hooded towels I wrote about here.

Well, I don't really have a pattern, but I told her I would be happy to type up some instructions and send them her way. When I sat down to write, I found that some things just didn't make sense without photographs. So I decided to write a tutorial for hooded towels. I'm sure there are many hooded towel tutorials out there, but sometimes a different person will have a different technique/perspective/explanation.

Now, this is my very first tutorial, so please bear with me!

Supplies Needed:

One full size bath towel

One hand towel (this will be cut in half, so one hand towel will make two hooded towels)

Approx. 1/2 yd of ribbon of your choice for trim

Thread to match the towels

1. Cut hand towel in half and serge or zig-zag the raw edge.

2. Fold the finished edge over until it covers the textured border of the towel, about 2 inches.

3. Stitch. Use whatever seam allowance you're comfortable with. I use 3/8" a lot because it's an easy one to measure on my machine....it falls right at the edge of my presser foot.

4. Pin the ribbon along the finished edge that you folded over.

5. Stitch ribbon in place by sewing along both edges of the ribbon.

6. Fold the hand towel in half, inside out (ribbon to the inside), matching finished edges.

7. Stitch along serged (zig-zagged) edge, starting from open, finished side and stopping about 2/3 of the way to the folded edge.

8. Open the hole along the edge you just stitched and flatten perpendicular to the seam.

9. Stitch.

10. Turn right side out, and there's the hood!

11. Find the center of the large bath towel, mark with a pin. Make two wide, flat pleats, each about 2 inches wide and 2.5 inches from the center. (I never measure these, just "guesstimate")See pics.

12. Pin the hood to the bath towel along the finished edges of the hood, right sides together, matching the center seam of the hood to the center of the bath towel. (It will be finished edges that are being stitched together.) Stitch, making sure to go slowly over the pleats (they will be bulky). I like to stitch this seam twice, just to give it some extra strength.

(View of inside of hooded towel after hood is stitched to bath towel)

13. If desired, zig-zag over your stitched seams on the inside (where the hood and towel were attached) to flatten them. Be careful not to zig-zag over your ribbon trim because it would show on the other side!

14. And now your hooded towel is finished!

I always like to fold them up nicely and tie with the same ribbon I used for the trim.....

Happy Sewing!!!!

MINE....all MINE!!!

2008-09-24T10:06:00.007-07:00

One of the downfalls of this little sewing venture I've gotten myself into is that I'm often so busy sewing for other people that I don't have much time to sew for myself. Well, this Monday I decided to take a couple hours in the afternoon and remedy that....I made something for myself.

Since it's now fall, I decided that I needed a new bag. I've been carrying all my "mom junk" in my great Mama Backpack, but I decided that I'm ready for something more "cute" and less "utilitarian."

I was discussing what I wanted in my new bag with my friend Tracey, the Queen of all things handbag related. I mentioned that I really liked the Amy Butler Frenchy Bags....and wouldn't you know it, Tracey had the pattern in her stash!

Next I had to choose fabrics. I wanted something fall-ish that reflected my personality. I love browns, reds, greens and golds. I'm also kind of a mix between "sporty" and "girly." I found these great fall floral patterns with a little bit of a retro feel to them at my local fabric store. I think they have "Jenn" written all over them!

On the whole, I'm thrilled with this pattern. I was easy to follow and I finished it in a couple of hours. One change I am going to make: I don't particularly like how she designed the interior pockets....when I get a chance, I'm going to take it apart and redo them to make them more "user friendly."

Can't wait to show off my new bag!!!

That's a Wrap!!!

2008-09-04T16:36:00.011-07:00

A friend of mine contacted me a couple of weeks ago, sent me a link to an item and said “can you make these?” The “these” that she was referring to are reusable sandwich wraps.

The idea behind these isn’t new. People back in the “olden days” had to have wrapped up their food in something. But I’ve decided these are genius. Not only do these cut down on the number of plastic baggies you use, but they give you a nice, clean surface to eat on….kind of a portable place mat. And you can just wipe off the inside surface and use them again. Less waste!

After scouring the internet looking at all the different ways people have put these things together, I just sat down and tried a few things out….different shapes, sizes, types of closure, etc. My friend Tracey joined in and tried a few prototypes of her own. Our conclusion: a 12 inch by 12 inch square and a Velcro closure are the perfect combination.

Next was the dilemma of what material to use for the inside. It needs to be something moisture-resistant, so your sandwich won’t leak (think of sticky jelly….yuck!), and it needs to keep your sandwich from going stale by keeping a lot of the air out. My first thought was laminated cotton, which is pricey. Then I found out that you can laminate your own cotton fabric with an iron-on vinyl. Again, that is not a very cost- (or time) efficient option.

And then one day in my local craft shop I had an epiphany. Why not use a flannel-backed vinyl tablecloth? They sell it on big bolts by the yard…cheap! And I love the look the gingham check gives….kind of nostalgic. Takes me back to grandma’s house and neighborhood picnics and potlucks.

So here's how they work. You just place your sandwich in the center like so:

Then fold in the sides around your sandwich like this: Fold up the bottom: And VOILA!!!! Your sandwich is wrapped!

But….as if I don’t have enough guilt as a mother….there is the whole “vinyl controversy.” I have read all the concerns people have about their food coming into contact with vinyl, and I totally understand. I get it, and I’m not even rolling my eyes at their choice. There are products available out there that are believed by many to be safer than vinyl.

I have read all kinds of information about the potential toxicity of vinyl from the off-gassing of chemicals (particularly volatile organic compounds [VOCs]). Now, I would never dump my kids in a vat of chemicals or have them inhale fumes right from the gas pump at the gas station, but you can drive yourself absolutely crazy trying to eliminate your exposure to chemicals.

The fact is, all plastics contain petroleum products, and VOCs are found practically everywhere…paints, permanent markers, cleaning supplies, adhesives, even some deodorants. I know from working several years in the environmental consulting world that toxicity has a lot to do with dosage and exposure. I feel quite confident that the level of exposure my kids will get from eating off the vinyl table cloth a few times a week is probably well within acceptable limits. I’m by no means an expert, but I feel comfortable with my choice.

If you’d like some reusable sandwich wraps, I’d be glad to whip some up for you! I’m going to sell them at the following prices:

$6 each
3 for $16
5 for $25
7 for $32

Fabrics will be based on what I have available, but you can request if you want something more boy, girl, or unisex.

Contact me if you’re interested! itssewsweet@gmail.com

Soft and Cuddly

2008-08-20T08:39:00.007-07:00

My cousin Amy has been in the process of adopting a little girl for three years. Well, about a week ago, their prayers were answered and little Molly joined their family. That means I get to make my favorite baby gift....hooded towels!

Now, you can buy hooded towels in the store, but they are either those thin, oddly-shaped things, or they are relatively expensive without a lot of character.

These are big and soft, made from a full-sized bath towel and a handtowel cut in half for the hood. There are lots of tutorials on line about making hooded towels....I use a method given to me by my sister-in-law.

Ribbon trim sewn across the hood gives them that right amount of character and cuteness, and I try to pick out the perfect combination of towel color and ribbon for each gift. Anytime I can give these as a gift, I do...and they are always a hit. I even whipped up a couple for my kids to use at the pool this summer out of nice oversized towels.

When I give them as gifts, I like to roll them up nice and neat and tie them with a matching ribbon. These are going out in the mail today....I hope little Molly enjoys them!

And Now for Something Completely Different….

2008-08-05T10:56:00.013-07:00

Let’s face it: sewing little girl’s clothing is infinitely more fun than little boy stuff. Before I had my daughter, I did sew for my son….I made him jumpers, overalls, pajamas, etc. But now that he’s a big first grader, his taste in clothes have moved beyond “cute handmade.” And he isn’t even really wearing pajamas anymore…he mostly just sleeps in boxers. Sigh. So now I mainly sew things for little girls.

But I have had a few people say to me, “Let me know if you do something for boys,” or “you should do something non-gender specific.” Well, I haven’t been inspired to do any little boy clothes (although my new little nephew will probably be getting some things from me!), but I did create something that will be perfect for a little girl OR a little boy.

With back-to-school on the mind (my son already started yesterday!), I thought I’d create some kind of backpack, targeted for the preschooler. I wrote before about how much I love the drawstring backpack I made for myself from a great online tutorial, but it’s a little large for the preschool set. My friend Tracey showed me an adorable quilted drawstring backpack in a sewing magazine, but there were a few things about the construction of it that I didn’t quite like. So I thought: why not combine what I like about the two of them? And that’s what I did! I’m very pleased with the results.

This bag is just the right size for a preschooler (11 inches by 15 inches), and the outer cotton denim fabric will withstand a school year's worth of use. Plus, it's completely washable!

There is plenty of room for all the preschool "necessities," like a change of clothes, and the drawstring opening is easy enough for a little one to open...

The outer pockets are perfect for a large sippy cup and even a little friend!

The interior fabric coordinates perfectly with the fabric on the outside pocket....

And the quilting on this bag gives it such a cute look and plenty of charm! I will be offering this bag on my etsy site! http://www.itssewsweet.etsy.com/

If you like this bag, but would like different fabrics, contact me, and we can work together to come up with the perfect bag for your preschooler!

You Spin Me Right Round, Baby

2008-07-28T08:48:00.009-07:00

A universal fact about little girls: they love to spin and twirl. And what's better than spinning and twirling in a skirt that moves and spreads out all around you?

I am just thrilled with the layered twirl skirt pattern that I've been working with. And even though I wrote about the skirt on here before, the pictures I had just didn't do it justice. So I took some pictures of my daughter in her skirt so you can see the skirt in action:

As you can see, this skirt is becoming one of her favorites too!

The Fabric of Our Lives

2008-07-23T09:24:00.020-07:00

I’ve decided I’m in love with fabrics. I could spend hours browsing for fabrics online. (Thank you, Tracey, for introducing me to that guilty pleasure!) I love walking through my local fabric store and seeing what great prints and textures jump out at me. Monday morning I dropped my kids at Tracey’s for a bit and went off to the fabric store to see what I could find.

Living in a place where it feels like summer for about 8 months of the year, it’s hard to start thinking about fall. Especially today, when the high temperature will be 106 with 47% humidity. (What happened to that “dry heat?” Ah, yes...monsoon) But with the kids going back to school in a couple of weeks, fall is just around the corner. So I’ve started thinking about transitioning to fall projects and fabrics. With back-to-school and cooler weather (for the rest of the Earth!) in mind, I went hunting. And here is what I ended up with:
What am I going to do with all this, you might ask? Well, I have plans....GRAND plans! :)

Let's start with these. The print on the top is the Michael Miller "Roller Coaster" print, given to me by Tracey (who picked it up as a remnant for a steal). It might seem summery, but when I look at it I see "fun at the county fair," which in my New Mexico hometown coincides with August and back to school. I'm going to pair it up with the blue "Afternoon Tea Leaf" by Legacy Studio and the "Dalarna Stripe" by Alexander Henry to create one of these adorable layered twirl skirts.

Next in my new stash are these. I was immediately drawn to the far right fabric, which is the Alexander Henry "Sedona Square Bandana." I grabbed it and then hunted around for some other prints that I felt would coordinate well in another layered twirl skirt. The gingham on the left will become the double ruffle trim and I couldn't decide which of the other two would become the bottom tier...so I came home with both!

Next up are these too-cute coordinating prints from MBT. Pink and green are my daughters favorite colors, so I made sure to get enough of these fabrics to make her a layered twirl skirt out of them too! The black with the small pink, green, and white dots will be the double ruffle trim, and the other two fabrics will be the top and bottom tiers.

The other item I've been making lately is this great tiered skirt and shirt outfit (I have one for sale right now in my etsy shop!) I'm going to use these coordinating fabrics by MBT to make some tiered skirt sets. The green will be the shirt, the stripe will be the middle tier as well as the double ruffle trim on the bottom of the skirt and shirt, and the other two fabrics will be the other tiers. I love the combination of these colors, with the greens, browns, yellows, and oranges.

And what usually happens when I go to a fabric store is that I will see at least one fabric that I don't have any immediate plans for, but I like too much to pass up. That is what happened with these two fabrics:

I'm thinking that I will use these to make some kind of jumper for the fall....something that could be worn with a short or long sleeve shirt underneath. We'll see!

Oh, and I picked up one more, the Alexander Henry "Koto" fabric. This one is all for me! My goal is to make a skirt for myself. Things I make for myself don't always turn out that well, so I'll let you know how it goes.

It looks like I'm going to be busy! I'll be sure to post pictures of the finished projects.

Say Hello to My Little Friend

2008-07-12T15:01:00.006-07:00

Two topic post today.

First thing to talk about: my latest acquisition! My good friend Carmen went to her local Disney Store a couple of weeks ago. They were going out of business and selling everything....even the store mannequins. She called me to see if I wanted one. They were asking $40 each for them, and I told her, "see if they'll take $25." And they did! So the next time Carmen came over, she brought it to me. And here she is!

This will come in handy when the things I make are too big/small for my daughter to model, or when she is just being uncooperative (the most likely scenario!) The funniest thing about this: my daughter calls it her "friend" and has named her Maggie (as in "Maggie and the Ferocious Beast"). She'll come in my sewing room and talk to it, bring it toys, put her dress-up clothes and jewelry on it...it's like the embodiment of her imaginary friend.

Topic 2:

I finished my first "real" project with the ruffler attachment. My latest venture is into the world of twirl skirts. There are many, many, many versions of the twirl skirt out there with various combinations of ruffles, tulle, and the like. I found one that I really like and one that allows me to play around with fabric combinations. This one has an elastic drop waist and two tiers, each with a double-ruffle bottom, separated by layers of tulle.

Of course the first one I made was for my daughter and she wore it for her birthday party. One of the girls at the party saw it and had to have one. I had just gotten these great coordinating fabrics in a pretty blue/brown combination with checks, dots, and daisies. Here's the finished project....

These skirts are so cute and fun to make. I have enough of these fabrics to make one more just like this one, and then I'm looking forward to experimenting with other fun fabrics for more skirts for my etsy shop!

Oh, and one more thing: I am offering free shipping on all my items on etsy through the month of July!

Ruffle My Feathers

2008-07-03T08:11:00.005-07:00

I’m addicted. To ruffles. I love ruffles. I add them to a lot of the things I make. But if you do them by hand (the ol’ “run-a-basting-stitch-and-pull-the-thread-to-gather” method) like I’ve been doing, they can be tedious, frustrating, and just a regular pain the ass. Since I’ve got a couple of projects in the works (more on that next posting!) that require an insane amount of ruffling, I decided to invest in a ruffler attachment for my sewing machine. What is a ruffler attachment, you may ask? Here:

Looks intimidating, doesn’t it? Basically, it replaces the regular foot on your sewing machine and allows you to create beautiful, uniformly-spaced ruffles in a flash, saving you a lot of time and headache. You can create tight and short ruffles, long and loose ruffles, and even pleats. There is some set-up and optimization involved, but I found this fantastic (free!) ebook online that I highly recommend.

But first things first…I have to figure out how to attach it to my machine. Caught up with my housework and anything else I might need to do, I holed up in my sewing room Sunday afternoon, ready to figure this thing out. Now, the ebook walks you through examples of everything, but sometimes reading something and then actually implementing it can be tricky.

I fooled with it….and fiddled with it….and cussed at it. (Should I mention that I have an engineering degree? Which would make one think that I could figure something like this out.) My husband offered to help me (which resulted in a dirty look from me...what? does he think he knows more about a sewing machine than I do? The nerve!)

And finally, FINALLY, I managed to get the attachment on the machine. It wasn’t difficult…it was just a matter of seeing how it went on. Now that I’ve figured it out, the next time it will probably take all of 30 seconds. Then I grabbed some scrap pieces of fabric and took the time to work through the ebook’s optimization worksheets (which will save me beaucoup time later) and Voila! Ruffles!

Next it was time to apply it to an actual project. I picked something simple…a little ruffled purse. And I decided that it needed a matching headband to go with it.

I think it came out great. And the ruffling was so incredibly easy! This little accessory set is available right now in my etsy shop! http://www.itssewsweet.etsy.com/

Back to Reality

2008-06-17T12:51:00.010-07:00

Well, we survived our Disneyland vacation. My kids are tired, but happy. They are now in the midst of “Disney Detox.” Back to picking up after themselves (in theory, of course), eating decent food, and entertaining themselves when mom needs to get things done.

Disneyland is magical, no matter what your age. I couldn’t help but get excited seeing my kids caught up in all the magic and wonder of the place. And another thing I like about Disneyland….I do believe it is the cleanest public place on Earth. I never saw a piece of trash sit on the ground for longer than a second before someone came along and casually swept it up. The bathrooms were immaculate, and I could take my kids in there without wanting to run them through a complete decontamination afterward. Everything runs like a well-oiled machine at Disneyland, with everyone having their specific job and doing it without any inconvenience to the people enjoying the park.

We tried to save money on this trip, and figured the best and easiest way was by being smart our meals. We stayed at an off-site hotel with free breakfast every morning, hauled our own snacks and water into the park, and then ate a late lunch/early dinner at nearby restaurants. Bringing in food meant I needed something handy to carry it in….which leads me to another recent sewing project!

I’ve been keeping my eye out for something cute but practical to lug stuff around in. I prefer a backpack because it leaves my hands free, but I don’t want to look like a student or backwoods hiker. So while digging around on the internet one day, I found this great tutorial for a backpack. I got some nice, medium-weight, cotton decorator fabrics in fun summer colors and went to work. This pattern was so easy and it turned out great.

I added two pockets to the inside, which were perfect for carrying my phone and camera. I was able to carry everything we could possibly need during the day, from snacks to first-aid kit, as well as my usual wallet and other everyday items. Here’s a picture of the backpack being put to use in California Adventure:

My kids see how much I love my new backpack, and they have started to pester me about making one for them. I think I’m going to take the pattern and adapt it to something just right for them….a little smaller, more pockets, etc. I’ll let you know how that turns out!

The Happiest Place on Earth

2008-06-10T11:57:00.005-07:00

This year we will be joining thousands (millions, maybe?) of other middle class American families and spending our economic stimulus check on a Disneyland vacation. We're just doing our part to help fuel the economy, right? That's what we're telling ourselves anyway.

We have taken our kids to Disneyland once before, when my son was 3 1/2 and my daughter was barely 1. Last time they were too young to really want to spend time stalking all the characters for autographs. Well, this time they are 6 1/2 and almost four, and want to do it.

I thought it would be nice to have autograph books before we get there, that way we are ready to collect signatures as soon as we hit the park without having to purchase a book first. After looking around on the Internet, I found that different books were available anywhere from $10 to $20, depending on how nice of a book you wanted. Being the ~~cheap~~ crafty mom that I am, I thought: "I can make them!"

I hit the craft store, and after picking up two small artist sketchbooks, some ribbon, and a few stickers, this is what I managed to come up with:

I think they turned out great! They are the perfect size, they are one-of-a-kind, and best of all, they only ended up costing about $6 each!

Hopefully my kids will enjoy filling them with autographs....I know I will enjoy all the great memories that go along with each one!

Jumping in Head First

2008-06-05T13:50:00.009-07:00

Well, here it is. My first blog post. My friend Tracey (who totally rocks, by the way) has been not-so-gently nudging me about starting this for awhile now. What will I be writing about? My plan is to use this as a way to document my sewing and crafting projects. And whatever else may strike my fancy.

I've started my own "shop" on Etsy: http://www.itssewsweet.etsy.com/ It's been a few months now, and I've made some sales, mainly to friends and family. But yesterday I receive my first "stranger" order! Excitement! She is ordering one of my custom "4th of July Picnic" dresses, shown here on my daughter:

It is a great halter-style dress and has a cute, vintage-inspired "4th of July Picnic" print as accents. And an outfit is just not complete without matching accessories:

The other bonus about this order...she has twin girls, so she is ordering two dresses! Since she doesn't like to dress them identically, the main fabric of the other dress will be a light-weight denim, with the 4th of July Picnic fabric accents. This will be too cute!