Minky Blanket

I pulled out my sewing machine today for the first time in months. I made the first handmade item for the baby, a minky blanket.

 

I think it turned out pretty cute!

Bee Burlap

I got an email from Joann Fabrics today with this beauty featured: Bee Burlap!

 

I am in love! I need to run to Joann tomorrow to grab a couple of yards. What should I make? Maybe a new pillow for the guest room?

Infinity Scarf DIY

I love the look of inifinity scarves, but the cost so much. I decided to try to make some for the girls I work with for Christmas and fumbled my way through making them. They turned out the be really long, like three wraps long, and where I attached the ends ended up really bulky. I found this tutorial through Pinterest that really simplified the process and makes the seams very smooth.

Here is one that I made for myself using a breezy chiffon fabric.

Another Baby Blanket

My friend, Jen, had her baby shower today. I made another faux chenille baby blanket. Here is my original post on how to make this type of blanket.

Jen's baby's nursery is polka dots in blue, brown, and touches of green.

 

31 Days Challenge - Day 9 - Wreath Redo

A couple of months ago, I posted photos of my Burlap Flower Embellished Wreath. I got some advice from my mom (who used to teach floral design classes) that I really needed more "stuff" on the wreath to have better proportion since the wreath is so big to start out with. I added a bunch more flowers and I have to agree, it looks much better now.

 

 

 

Funny story about these photos...

 

I wanted to get new photos of the wreath, so I stepped outside the front door yesterday morning and pulled the door shut behind me so the photos would not show an open door. Big mistake...I forgot (again!) that the front door locks behind itself. The side door was also locked, and all of the windows were closed. Oh and it was raining, and I didn't have any shoes on. I checked all of the windows and luckily...there was one window unlocked...the upstairs bathroom window. I had to climb up on top of the BBQ grill, jiggle out the screen and pull myself up through the window. I was not in a laughing mood at the time, but I have to admit it was funny to see Diesel's face when he watched me coming through the window. I'm glad I can laugh at myself now.

Burlap Flower Embellished Wreath

I saw this photo on Pinterest, and started making my own at the Pinterest party. I finally finished it this morning. Here is my verstion...



Kindle Clutch

Last week I went to a Pinterest Party. The idea was for everyone to bring a food item from a Pinterest recipe and supplies to make a craft from Pinterest.

I had to work late and didn't have time to buy the supplies for what I wanted to make, but I had a yard of beautiful velveteen fabric in my stash that I've been wanting to use.

Since I didn't have a project in mind, I searched "sewing velveteen" I found this photo on Pinterest and headed for the party.

This is what I ended up with.





I think it turned out pretty nice!

When I got home, I checked out the link for that pinterest photo, and it turns out that I followed the tutorial pretty closely for just looking at the photo once. Here it is for anyone that wants to see how she did it.

Cupboard Door Sign

I found an old, thick, solid wood cupboard door at The Barn and right away I knew it would make a cool sign. I started to sand it to prep it to be spray painted, then decided I liked the way it look all roughed up, so I left it with the old chippy paint. I got a vinyl "Home Sweet Home" saying for free with a Stampin' Up order, and luckily it fits perfectly!



It's pretty heavy, so I'm waiting for Jake to get home to help me hang it.

Chalkboard

When I found this at the thrift store, I wasn't immediately impressed. It was dirty, painted ugly brown, and instead of glass, it had this grimey plastic covering. What made me take a second look was the fact that the frame is solid wood and has an interesting home carved look.

Once I took off the plastic, I found that the painting is actually pretty nice. On the back is a nice plaque that says it was painted in Havre, MT in 1972, and has the artists name. I think I might try to track her down on craigslist to see if she wants it.

I cleaned the wood, spray painted it white, and distressed it. Then I bought a piece of MDF at Home Depot. It was only $3.95 and they cut it to size for me. I sprayed two coats of chalkboard paint, then attached it to the back of the frame.

 Now I have a big chalk board to play with!

Button Earrings

A few months ago, I found a photo of button earrings on Pinterest. It turns out they were being sold on Etsy. They were only about $5, but I have so many buttons that I figured I could just make them myself. I bought a bag of earring posts and backs, and a bottle of super glue. I use the brush on kind because it doesn't get clogged.



 Probably the hardest part of this project was finding two buttons in my entire stash that matched. I flipped them both upside down and brushed on a layer of super glue.

Then I stuck one of the posts in the glue and let it sit for a few minutes. Once it dried and seemed sturdy, I brushed another layer of glue around the post just to keep it more secure, then let it dry again.

I think I'll wear the white ones today!

Burlap Greeting Card

I mentioned in my last post that I was inspired by all the projects in the new Stampin' Up catalog that featured the use of burlap. I got right down to it last night an made this cutie.

 I did this project to experiment with the burlap, so I kept it pretty simple, and I love how it turned out. I used regular ol' Tombow runner tape to stick on the burlap. I had to run it on the card, then place the burlap on top of the tape because the tape would not run a solid line on the burlap.

To keep the burlap from fraying, I sewed a straight line all the way around the card. See the white stitching?

Stampin' Up

The new Stampin' Up catalog came out today, and I really like the new look of the catalog, and lots of the ideas for inspiration. I only found a few new items that I want to buy...but I'm pretty excited about those few items!

This paper pack is called Comfort Cafe and I just love the patterns!

 This paper pack is called International Bazaar and I love the rich colors!

This is a large background stamp...I've been drawn to poppies lately. It's called Pleasant Poppies.

This is a diecut for the Sizzix called Apothecary Accents Framelits. I want to get this and then label everything in my house!

 I noticed a few projects in the catalog that featured burlap. This one in particular caught my eye.

Jake is on a backpacking trip in Glacier this weekend, so I get the house all to myself! I think I might try a variation of the burlap card tonight :)

Faux Chenille Baby Blankets

I have a new go to baby shower gift. I've given 3 now, and so far it seems like a hit!

I remember years ago, probably the late 90's, my mom started making "faux chenille" blankets. Well my mom was ahead of the game, because now they are starting to get more popular. I came across this tutorial from the Aesthetic Nest, and have followed it pretty closely. So, I'm not going to create a whole tutorial, but I will add in my own tips. (PS...I really want to try her chevron version!)

The first change I made, I only bought 1 yard of each fabric. I just buy 1 printed flannel and 4 solids. You will also need 2 spools of thread and 2 packs of seam binding . You DEFINITLY need the chenille cutter! I couldn't find it at Joann, so I had to order it online, but Joann does have replacement blades. The only other change I made, once all 5 pieces were sewn together, I only cut through the top 3. I do this because the printed fabric is usually not printed on the back, so if you leave the 4th solid flat, you won't see the backside of the printed fabric. Other than those few tweeks, I followed her tutorial. A quick tip...I can't keep my sewing straight, so it helped alot to buy fabric with diagonal lines already in the design :)

So here they are!

The first one I gifted, I made for Baby Quandrud, a girl. I could kick myself...I didn't get any close up photos! But I do have this one of Mama Quandrud opening the gift. The printed fabric was a beautiful Shabby Chic floral with mostly mint green, and some yellow and pink.

Next, I made one for Baby Beene, a boy. They chose a very neutral teddy bear bedding. (photo from Amazon - Eddie Bauer)

I kept the base brown and tan to match, but I wanted to add in some pops of green and yellow on the chenille side.

 The order of layering here is: print, tan, yellow, white, green.

I love that you can fold it up so the chenille is hidden, so it's quite a surprise when they open it up!

 Her shower is a "build his library" shower, so we are all bringing our favorite children's story. I knew I had to get "The Velveteen Rabbit" but I couldn't help myself when I saw "Cars and Trucks and Things that Go" and "The Monster at the End of this Book" so I grabbed those too!

The blanket I just finished is for Baby England, another boy. They are doing his nursery in Star Wars, and have this bedding. (photo from Target - Dwell Studio)

I used the green, light blue, and darker blue for his blanket. I layered them: print, light blue, white, darker blue, green.

I have it folded here, so you can see the printed side, binding, and chenille side.

.

I'm going to another shower in a few weeks, and another in June. I already bought the fabic (when Joann had them on sale for $2.99 a yard!) so the next few weekends will be spent at my new sewing machine!

Singer 4423

After months of frustration and hair-pulling-out, I finally bit the bullet and bought a new sewing machine. I got my first sewing machine a few years ago, and it was a good little machine. It was super cheap and was great for a beginner sewer, but I'll admit that now that I am more comfortable at sewing, I pushed that little machine too hard.

Like most other machines, it would jam every once in awhile, but after some cleaning and time to cool down it would work fine. Yesterday, after running it on full speed for over 4 hours, it really jammed and I couldn't get it to loosen at all. Today, Jake took the whole thing apart (it's handy having a mechanic around) but in the end we decided I have probably worn out the motor. I plan to take it to a sew and vac store here in town to get an idea how much it will cost to fix, and I may either give it away or get it fixed then try to sell it, but either way, I think I've outgrown this machine and it's time for an upgrade.

With the heavy projects that I've been making lately, and my tendency to run it with the pedal to the floor, I decided to use some of my state tax return to treat myself to this beauty:

This is a Singer 4423 Heavy Duty. Youtube videos show it sewing through 16 layers of denim and it boasts 1100 stitches per minute. It has limited stitch designs, but I honestly don't remember ever using anything besides the straight stitch...so I don't think I'm missing out. I used it for a few hours this afternoon, and so far so good. I'll admit that the drop in bobbin was a bit confusing and I got it tangled quite a few times, but I finally figured it out and it worked great to finish up gifts that I needed to finish for 2 baby showers this weekend.

I can't wait to share the baby gifts, but I don't want to risk one of the moms checking my blog and seeing the gift before her shower, so here is a little sneak peak...

I'll be sure to do a full post about this gift next week.

Dress Shirt to Wine Bag

On pinterest, I saw this photo from thenshemade on the instructables website.

She used the leg of a pair of jeans to make a bag, which got me thinking that maybe a pant leg would make a great wine bag! I pulled out a pair of jeans from the yard sale pile to try it out, but it turns out adult pant legs are too big (if you have some child size jeans laying around, that might work) This made me think that a jean jacket would probably be perfect. I have a jean jacket, but I still wear it, so no way am I going to cut it up! Instead, I picked a dress shirt from my yard sale pile.

I used a woman's dress shirt, but I don't think a men's shirt would be much larger in the wrist area, so it should work also.

I used a standard wine bottle to eyeball the length I would need. I left about an inch at the bottom of the bottle to allow for the seam.

Then I turned the arm inside out, and sewed a few rows to close the bottom of the bag.

Turn it inside out and you're done!

What do you think...is it cuter with the cuff rolled down...

Or all buttoned up?

Including time to let the iron heat up, this project took less than 5 minutes!