I love the look of paper bag waist shorts, pants and skirts and my daughter loves dresses, so naturally I decided to combine the two :) I bought a couple of plain tanks (only $3 each!!) and knew that I wanted to fashion some sort of skirt to attach to the bottom of each one in order to make a simple dress. You may remember this circle skirt that I sewed to one of her old t-shirts?? Well, it is her absolute favorite dress....she wants to wear it nearly every day, without fail.....so I knew I had to make more! Oh....and her other absolute favorite thing at the moment? Yes, temporary tattoos :) Every night, we have to be SUPER careful to wash AROUND the tattoo.....and we can't declare it old (and ready to wash off completely) until there is only a flake or two left of the original tattoo....it's great.... :) I just love how the paper bag waist looks! It almost looks like a skirt and shirt separate, but the great thing about it, is that her shirt will never come untucked....because it's really a dress! :) So she can still be her crazy, grass-rolling, dog chasing, frisbee throwing self and not have to always be tugging, pulling or adjusting her clothes!! Ah, my baby is getting so big....I just love her!
I have been going through sewing withdrawals for the last few weeks.....Friday night, I couldn't take it any more! I made this hurried tank using an existing tank as my 'pattern' -- I felt a bit like Edward Scissorhands as I cut into the fabric, scraps flying and a devious twinkle in my eye....oh yes, I was back at it! The results are.....wearable. But what was even more satisfying than the end product, was the process -- that's what I love about sewing! It's a journey -- and (in my case) what you arrive at in the end is always a surprise.... I treated the hem much like a quilt binding...in fact, you may recognize the hem fabric from the binding of my last Queen size quilt!? And this is what happens when you ask your husband to take a picture... :)
Don't forget, you have one more day to enter my Moving Day GiveAway for a chance to win my Garden Party Quilt! See post below for more information on how to enter -- drawing closes tomorrow night and winner will be announced on Tuesday! Have a great weekend!
Yes, yes there is. Are you about ready to claw your eyes out? Have you sneezed so much that no one in your house bothers to say 'bless you' any more? Are you walking around in a fog because the only way you can somewhat breathe at night is if you sleep on your left side, with one elbow under your pillow and your head at a very uncomfortable 62 degree angle? Yeah....me too. I hate allergy season. But I may have managed to eek out something positive from all of the itching, scratching, sneezing and wheezing!? I have been working with a group of ladies to organize and host a spring party for over 100 military members and their families -- it's actually been a lot of fun, and thanks to everyone's creativity and hard work, not nearly as difficult as I thought it would be.....well, I guess that has yet to be seen, the party is not until tomorrow, so.....we'll see!? Anyway, a few weeks ago I was on my way out to the recycle can with an arm full of empty tissue boxes, with the spring party planning fresh on my mind, when I realized that I was holding perfectly good boxes that could be up-cycled into something for the party. What, you ask? Utensil holders of course :)
One of my biggest pet-peeves at large parties is when the utensils are just thrown on the table, or hidden under potluck dishes -- 9 times out of 10 I forget to grab my utensils and then I end up having to go back to the start of the line, disrupting everyone patiently waiting their turn so that I can reeeeeeeeach through the crowd and fumble around for anything with a pointy end -- I know I am not the only one, because I have been on the receiving end of the constant 'excuse me I forgot my fork' reach and grab more times than not....and as a result, I have narrowly avoided plenty of cascading chips, shifty salads and falling fruits. Well, this is NOT going to happen tomorrow! :) Thanks to these lovely up-cycled tissue boxes!
Here's what to do:
Gather empty Tissue Boxes
Cut off the top panel of each box
Wrap in Paper -- I used plain ole computer paper and used tape to hold in place
Then Cut 2 Strips of Burlap slightly narrower than the width of the box -- fold over the box and tape.
Wrap the entire thing in 2 strands of Raffia, then tie in a bow
Done!
You could do many variations of this: use colored or patterned paper, use fabric instead of burlap, use ribbon instead of raffia....the possibilities are endless! These are perfect for large parties, backyard BBQs, any gathering involving food and utensils :)
They are pretty light weight, so I am a little bit nervous about them blowing away should a gust of wind come along, but I plan to put a few rocks at the bottom to weigh them down -- you could also use a few metal washers, some marbles, a river rock, etc. I will try to remember to take a few pictures of them in action at the party tomorrow! Wish us luck! :)
I am very happy to announce that my queen quilt quest is complete! It was such a fun, adventurous and even nerve-wrecking journey -- I am so glad that this customer contacted me to make this quilt for her and even more glad that I decided to 'take the plunge!' Here are some pictures of the finished quilt -- it measures aprox. 86" X 105" -- I had to send it away to have the top stitched (or quilted) since I do not have a long arm sewing machine -- the craftsmanship of the stitching is out of this world! I am so happy with how it turned out.... I hope my customer, Ms. B, likes it!?
It has been a few months in the making, but it's now complete! This lovely hexagon quilt was commissioned by and even lovelier woman, who we will call 'Ms. B.' I was SO very hesitant to do this quilt for her -- I warned her that I had never made anything larger than a lap quilt and gave her plenty of opportunities to change her mind about hiring me....but lovely Ms. B never doubted once and, although she might not know it, her kindhearted and trusting emails gave me the confidence to conquer this quilt! Ms. B knew the design and fabrics she wanted, and after a few back and forth emails, I got started! When I sew a quilt with a detailed design, I often think that the back is just as fun to look at as the front... The next step is to send the quilt off to a lady here in town who owns a long arm sewing machine so that she can do the actual quilting...After spending so much time on it, and worrying that something was going to go wrong every step of the way, I think it will feel a bit like sending my kids off to their first day of school...I might be a nervous wreck until it returns to me!? :)
More pictures to come once it is completely complete!
I think I mentioned that one of my 2013 sewing resolutions is to learn how to make (simple) clothes!? Well, I have been very anxious to get going, and wanted to share with you my first attempt at making pajamas! :) It's sort of a long story....but this little shorts and long sleeve shirt set started as a nightgown....I have been using The Trendy Treehouse's tutorial to make my daughter a series of peasant dresses -- super cute! This tutorial is so easy and so versatile, you can make short, 3/4 or long sleeves -- a dress or a tunic top! I decided to change the fabric to a knit jersey and use the same techniques to make a nightgown. Only this time, feeling confident, I decided to 'get fancy' and taper the body of the gown to fit my duaghter's measurement more closely.....except that I made them a little too close! Not enough give around her ribcage :( and although this didn't seem to bother her (she still wanted to wear the 'super cozy jammies' every night), it pained me to see them so snug on her. So.....I decided to chop the gown in half, cut out two leg holes, sew an inseam, add some elastic around the waist to create a simple set of shorts that I thought she could pair with one of her already existing PJ tops.....but oh no, she still wanted the too snug top half....alas, we have ended up with this, not nearly perfect, but cozy and practical none the less! So, whether you're looking to make a peasant dress, a super cozy nightgown, a PJ short and shirt set, or some hybrid of the three, give this tutorial a look see! Luckily, I have another yardage of jersey knit sitting in my fabric stash...hopefully I can get the gown measurement right this next go 'round :)
2012 was quite a busy year! And what I find most interesting, as I look back at my sewing projects over the last 365 days, is that a large majority of my time was spent sewing key fobs rather than quilts...I made nearly 400 key fobs in 2012! Crazy!? I have enjoyed every moment of my sewing adventures this last year, and as I continue to watch my kids grow and become (a little) more independent, I too wonder how I can grow as a sewer....my sewing resolution for 2013 -- learning to make clothes! :)
I am thankful every day for the decision I made 2 years ago to start this blog, my Etsy store and my adventures in sewing -- I really, truly and honestly do not know where I would be without it! I encourage you all to branch out this year, find a hobby that interests, and even intimidates you, no matter how big or small, and go for it!
Here is a quick glimpse back at the quilts I made in 2012! I am hosting an End of The Year Sale until the 6th in my Etsy store! Take an additional 20% all quilts! Enter code: HAPPY2013 at checkout to receive your discount!
I wish you all a very happy and healthy 2013!
This past weekend, a friend and I drove to a holiday boutique craft fair -- we intended it to just be a girls' day out, a chance to get away from the kids for a few hours and recharge....we had no intentions of buying anything....that was until we walked in the door :) Some homemade lip balms, bar soaps, a few jars of hand raised honey, 2 handmade journals made from old library books, a customized wooden sign, some children's books and this lovely vintage tablecloth later, we left fully recharged and ready to take on motherhood once again! :) This was actually the very first table we stopped at after arriving to the fair, a woman was selling loads and loads of GORGEOUS vintage table cloths, one prettier than the next! But, this one in particular caught my eye from the get-go! I didn't bite just then, but decided to look around the rest of the room to make sure that I wasn't getting swept away by the excitement of seeing all of this gorgeous lace and needlepoint work :) We made it all the way around the fair....and this cloth was still calling my name! Only, when I saw this lovely piece of fabric, I didn't think table cloth at all....I thought, 'Man! That would make one beautiful QUILT!' So, my plan is to transform this vintage table cloth into an amazing quilt :) It seems simple in my head: line the table cloth with a neutral cotton, add batting and backing fabric, and viola! a quilt! ...But we shall see?? The part I am having the most trouble figuring out, is how I am going to bind/finish the quilt since the table cloth has these lovely scalloped edges??? Any and all suggestions on how to accomplish this would be greatly appreciated! I would hate to trim the scallops off, since they are one of my favorite parts of the cloth....but it just might come to that? Of course, I will be sure to keep you all updated on my progress! In the mean time, if you're needing a little pick me up today, take advantage of Starbucks' buy one get one FREE on all holiday beverages!! Dec 13 -16 from 2-5!!! Yay! You know where I will be this afternoon! :) ...and please, any suggestions on how to finish the edges would be GREATLY appreciated!!! :) Have a great weekend!
I finally finished it! I couldn't be happier with how it turned out Please visit my Etsy Store if you would like to learn more about this quilt!
Last night I got a wild hair. And as a result have opened, what I think is going to be, a HUGE can of worms :) I finally decided to take the plunge....I made a dress for my daughter! I've always dreamed of being able to sew her (and my) wardrobe from top to bottom -- how fun would that be!? But of course I was always limited by my own inexperience in sewing and the seemingly daunting task of teaching myself the basics in clothes making....which, if you play by the rules, means following patterns....and I hate patterns.
So, I decided to search the web using 'easy tutorials for girls clothing' as my guide and stumbled onto a TON of helpful tutorials on making anything from leggings to capes to skirts, tops and dresses! This, is where the wild hair comes in.....it was 8:30 PM, motivated and excited by the tutorials I found online, I decided 'I'm going to make a dress!' And off I went to the sewing closet to pick fabrics and begin my project.....I wasn't confident it would turn out very well, but wanted to get my feathers wet.....
To my surprise, it worked! I used two wonderful tutorials from CraftyCuboard and from DanaMadeIt to make this awesomely easy dress....It is essentially a circle skirt attached to a t shirt! A great project for beginners and one that is so versatile! The tutorial called for a sash around the waist, but I decided to use the leftover fabric that I cut out to make the radius of the circle skirt as an embellishment for the top of the dress. You could also layer the skirt with different fabrics or add a contrasting hem to the bottom of the skirt....or even shorten the skirt length and turn it into a tunic top -- really you could make so many different looks with these tutorials!
It took me about an hour from start to finish. I could hardly sleep last night thinking about how my daughter was going to react to seeing her dress in the morning! She took one open-mouthed look at it and proclaimed 'I love it! Can I please wear it today!?' So....now I am hooked :) So much so, that I spent this morning (the one day a week I have 'off' when all of the kids are in school) at Joann's buying yards and yards and yards of fabric to make more dresses! ....Next up, a peasant style dress.... Stay Tuned...If all goes well, you might be seeing a dress or two available in my store in the near future :)
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