Moms got a glue gun

Today....

Today, I feel like I'm still dreaming. 

Today, I woke up in a new world for me, where I have a brother and a sister that I've not yet met, but my heart is bursting with love for them already. Their faces are so familiar and full of smiles, and it's going to be OK.

I know where my father is and might know him before he's gone, and it's going to be OK. 

This is so big, so heavy....and it's going to be OK.   Their have been many happy tears, and the release of a boulder off my chest that I didn't even know was there.  I heard a smile in my brother's voice as he told me how awesome they are, a smile that I have not heard in a long time.  I so wish I could have been there, but I might have fainted from the excitement.  It's going to be OK.

I don't have much experience with everything being OK, but I like it so far.

Pretty up your dryer sheets.....

 
 How many hours do we spend doing laundry, taking care of our families clothing looking at boring packaging of our various laundry products?  (I hear a very loud groan in the background)  I say it's time to pretty things up a bit and make laundry more fun and convenient at the same time by adding this little fabric dryer sheet holder.

Can I get a little too excited about these little projects....yes.  Do I think I have plenty of company....yes.  So I put together a little tut for y'all if you want to give this a try.  I am by no means a pro sewer, so feel free to add your own touches here and  there as you like.

These are a few of the items needed to get started with.   I think picking out the fabric is the hardest part for me, there are so many options.  Of course I changed the fabric after the first picture, and changed the ribbon well into the project. 

 

 

 

 
Cut two pieces of fabric 9" x 11 3/4".  One side will be seen inside and can be contrasting or both the same pattern.

At this stage, you can lay out your ribbon before putting right sides together so they can be sewn in.

Also cut 2 pieces of interfacing (or cardboard) 7" x 2" and 2 pieces at 4" x 2".  Then cut one piece 7" x 4 1/4".

 

 
Then find an object that is round such as a lid or plate and use it to make a rounded edge on the fabric pieces at all four edges.  You can use a pencil to mark and make you cut.

Then put both side right sides together and sew a 1/4" seam all around, leaving a 2" or 3" gap on one side.

After turning inside out, lightly press with an iron to give straight edges.  Fold in unfinished edge first.

 

 

Then use the opening to insert your pieces of cardboard or interfacing.  Line them up and push as close as you can to the edges.  If you choose interfacing, you can use an iron to adhere at this step.  After ironing, I made a finishing stitch all around which closed the open  spot left on the side.

Then use a fabric pencil or chalk to drawn where the edges are.  This will be you sewing line.  Take your piece to your machine and sew down those lines.  At this point I realized my ribbons were not at the correct location and snipped them off.  Your ribbon should be sewn where the lines go to the edge of the fabric.

 
Then pull your ribbon and tie in a bow at all four sides.  I decided to attach strips of fabric for my ties with unfinished edges.  I like the look of a fuller bow.

 

 

 

 

 And here is the before and after shot.  I think we all love Bounce and other great dryer sheets out there, but the flimsy packaging...not so much. 

The added benefit is the ease in reaching your dryer sheets and not fussing with the lid of the box, and it adds that fabulous smell to your whole laundry area.  Some of us have rooms, some closets and some a corner of a bathroom.  Well, they will all look more fabulous!

And if your curious, the picture at the top includes my big ball jar of homemade laundry soap.  I have my recipe here.  There are other great recipes out there as well that I've seen.  Its a great way to save money on laundry and something you might want to consider trying as well.

Have fun and please let me know if you like these kind of ideas.  Hugs....

A new purse with a little ruffle....

What do you do when you want a new colorful purse, but can't find what you like?  Why not make one? 

 I thought I would share my new little creation to inspire, and to give me a reason to finish it too, ha ha.  I can sometimes loose track of time and not finish all of my little projects....please tell me I'm not alone with this! The little bloggity blog helps me because if you have an actual picture to prove you have been doing something...your husband doesn't think you have spent all your time on more "research" (aka surfing the net).  Just kidding...

 
And here it is, a little pink, a little yellow a few ruffles....perfect for me.  I did not use a pattern for this one, it's my own design.  I just like to make some things up as I go along and see what I can come up with.  A pattern would have been easier I guess...  The outside is an Amy Butler fabric and the inside is a found fabric with a tiny yellow check pattern.

And, what doesn't look better with a few ruffles? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
On the inside of the bag, i made some pockets on one side for my cell phone and other little bits.  It's a really easy thing to add and makes a small purse hold a lot.

The reason I started the project was I wanted to learn how to sew in a zipper.  Once I did that I couldn't stop until I had a nice bag finished.  Isn't it funny how projects evolve from one thing to another? 

I had made another bag last fall that did not have a zipper and found sometimes it was a challenge to keep little things from escaping.  Then, I replaced my cell phone with a larger, heavier one and found it liked to take a flying leap from the bag while traveling in the car.  That was just a tragedy in the making, hence the new zipper.

I'm sharing today with Tea Rose Home.  Check out the blog and the link party for some more inspiration.

Mixed media fun....

I have always been fascinated by people with a serious talent for drawing like my brother.  I have always wished I could draw as well as him and some others in my family.  So, I was excited to see the mixed media pieces done by Christy Tomlinson from Scarlet Lime.  She is offering a 3 week e-course starting on Feb 28th that I would love to take, but first I thought I would try a little piece myself to compare the before and after....

 
I was a little scared to throw this out there since it's just my drawing and some rub-ons and such.  But, here it is...I think I like it.  The base paper is a thick linen canvas paper I found at Michael's.  I used gesso, some paint, and colored pencils.  Over top is also some water color paint.  I also used a little piece of cardboard to stamp a little.  I just played and played until I stopped.

 It's safer to work with items that are manufactured...partially done for you.   

I would like to learn how to add my own touches to some of those projects too.  That seems to be the point of scrapbooking and other things we do to keep our memories for ourselves and our families. 

So I guess I'll take the course and see what I can add to my little doodles and dots.  I'm sure this will add a lot to the creative process and just be fun. 

Since I'm not working again, I'd like to spend a lot more time being creative and seeing what new things I can learn...that makes me happy.

ttfn...

It's been too long....

I've have sorely neglected my little bloggity blog during this last month.  It was a whirlwind of Holiday fun and travels and my poor little hands were full of handmade projects for family and just couldn't write.  I thought I would share a little late some of the fun projects I tried and give some inspiration for this new year.

One of the new things I tried was jewelry making.  This is a little necklace that I made for my daughter that turned out pretty well.  I guess I should take a class to learn how to attach beads to those little pieces jump rings...maybe I'll put that on my list for this year.  I was inspired by a picture in a magazine that I had seen and just played around trying to duplicate the general look.  To me, that's the fun of any kind of crafting...just playing around until you get what you like.  I tend to do that first, then look for the instructions.
 
 The other necklace I made started with a cute photo my daughter had taken of her new stuffed Fiffel.  "An American Tail" was one of her favorite movies when she was young, so when she spied a stuffed Fiffel at a yard sale, he promptly ended up in her back seat.  I printed the image on a piece of linen and frayed out the edges.  Then covered over top with a piece of mica.  It seemed to float a little too much so I backed it with a little piece of fabric for stability.  I then packaged in a little bag I had made from a sleeve of an old t-shirt.  I put a little free form stitch design on the front and put a ribbon around for a drawstring.

 I tried to make all of the packaging this year too...another reason for time slipping away.  I'm sure I'll try to start a lot earlier next year...but that's what I said last year. But I had a lot of fun and hope to do a lot more jewelry projects this year. 

I also had a full time job these last few months and that sure made it more challenging to keep up with projects.  Things have changed and I am once again a free agent so I plan on getting back to crafting, blogging and doing what I love best, being creative. 

Hugs
 

 

When you have a blank canvas...

I love, love, love working with fabrics of any kind and canvas is one of them.  I used some plain gray colored canvas and made my own min album recently and thought this idea would make a great gift.

 I made these pages by sewing the edges right sides together first, then flipping and putting a finish edge around them.  On some pages I edged with a ruffle, some plain.

The front is decorated with a pretty blue flower I made with some silk ribbon with a big pearl in the middle.  I then made a bow with some lace and added some black feathers and dark leaves.
 
I love the combination of black/gray/blue in this little piece.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
I mixed in some card tock pages, blank tags and some cardstock covered with old text paper.  The inside pages can be painted, or just have photos and patterned paper added. 

 

 

 

 

The collage pages have some great "dripage" added for some color.  I love these types of pages, they add a lot of  fun to any project.
I think a lot of us love these types of projects, but don't always have the time to make them.  Think about making up some for friends and family and I'm sure they will appreciate it.

Last year my little family decided to get a lot more personal with our gift giving by adding a lot more handmade items.  I have to say that I have looked forward to this year a lot more because of this.  It brings so much more to gift giving when the receiver knows you spent so much time and consideration in what they are receiving. 

Some holiday inspiration....

I have been a bad little blogger lately...MIA as it were.  I am going to remedy that by filling up these pages with a lot of inspiration for my favorite holiday season of Christmas.  My goal is to give some great links to some talented folks who have some great ideas for gifts, decorations, gift wrapping and such.  I'll try to link up at least twice a week to keep you going.

One thing that blows my mind are some of the free E-zines that I have seen around lately.  The latest one I found has tons of Holiday inspiration and I wanted to share the links.  This one is by Inspire Co. and is full of ideas to get you started.

 
These are just a few of the projects in the E-zine and there are a ton more.  You can find it here so go have fun browsing these pages and get crackin on your holiday projects.  

More to come.   
 
 

 

Dressing up a plain hoodie....

So I found this cute hoodie that was pretty plain and gray and decided to play around with some cool fabric scraps that my lovely daughter had just given me.  I love mixing up old and new and thought these little mixes of fabrics would add a little hint of vintage.  Yes this was for her...again...I think my son is feeling a little left out.  I need to do some guy altering soon. I do love my boy (and hubby) too.

  

Most of the pieces have ripped edges, but some don't.  I just layered and moved the pieces around then sewed, then added another layer on top and sewed it down.  I also added a little ruffle because....well, what doesn't look better with a little ruffle action?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then I thought, why not put a peace sign on it.  Why not....  he he.  I did line this with some double sided iron on adhesive and ironed it down before sewing.  Then I added a little reinforcement stitch at the bottom which evolved into a big criss cross.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And some little buttons on the sleeve seemed like a cool thing too.

 
It's a little random, just like me.

So take some time to look at some of those simple, or plain pieces in your wardrobe and have at it.  I wish she was here to model it for me..maybe later.

I think I'll link up again today to the link party at Tea Rose Home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mom's got a new bag...or how to make a bag with upcycled materials....

 
What do you do with a pile of thrifted men's clothes and some canvas?  Why, you make a cool messenger bag for your daughter who can't find a bag she likes.  Now smile and nod with me....sure, that's what I would have done too.

I saw a picture in a sewing book of a basic pattern for this bag and started with that.  I cut out all the pieces needed from canvas, then cut the pieces of the shirts and pants just where I wanted them to lay on top.  Some of the pockets were sewn down to the canvas first, and the outside edges were sewn down with the canvas when I put the big pieces together.  The strap of the bag is large, the same size as the side pieces.

 
I used the back pockets from some pants for small pockets in the front attached to a larger pocket.  Then I made small pockets on the side from the bottom of the pants.  They were nice and rugged from being walked on.  I also wrapped the shirt cuffs around the big strap of the bag to add another touch of where the fabric came from.

 

I was so happy with how it turned out, I made a second bag for my daughter's best friend recently too.

 
This one turned out a little more feminine.  I used some grey fabric from some sleep pants to make a flower silhouette, with some messy stitches.  And I added a little ruffle on the side too.  I really like how this one turned out.  And yes, the girls loved them too.

I really love this process so much, I think I'll be making more of these. 

I'll be linking up today with Tea Rose Home.

Are you feeling a chill in the air?

In most parts of the country, it's getting a little chilly.  Time to think about bundling up a little more each morning with a jacket or a scarf.  Oh I do love fall time.  I was thinking of fall when I decided to brush up on some crochet skills this summer. 

 
 I found a great book that had some examples of scarf projects and found a technique I didn't know about called free form crochet. 

It's so easy, great for those of us that can't keep count of the stitches because you don't keep a straight pattern.  With this technique, you just mix up single and double, even triple crochet as you go with your project.  Messy and perfect.  So, I started with some fabric yarn I made and used a really large crochet hook and went at it.

While out thrifting, I found some super thick place mats.  I've seen these before at places like Pier 1 (sorry I didn't get a picture).  They looked as though they were made of fabric bits, so I took them apart and unwound the pieces.  I discovered they were made from bits of fabric and went about soaking them in a hot bath to clean and hand sewed all the ends together.  Yes, that took quite a while but I ended up with 3 giant balls of fabric yarn to work with.

I have seen fabric yarn at a specialty store for as much as $30.00 per skein. I paid less than $2.00 for my place mats.

Then I just used my giant crochet hook and started making the scarf.  It's super chunky and perfect for a different look. 

 
Wait, it looks better on a model.  Here is our cousin dog Sierra modeling the scarf for me.  Perfect color for a red head don't you think?

I don't think she'll be needing a scarf this season so my daughter will be wrestling her for it. 

So break out those crochet hooks and see how fun it can be.