Just sewed up this Halloween pillow for my front porch. I LOVE chevron print for Halloween. I appliqued the letters out of orange spiderweb fabric – took about 15 minutes to make! Can’t wait to make more Halloween pillows!
New Couch, New Pillows
August 28, 2012 by 1 Comment
I bought a new couch! It’s pretty exciting because the one it replaced was 15 years old. I don’t get new furniture very often – unless I can paint it or fix it up somehow, I love the couch – it’s a Broyhill and super comfy. I came with these pillows which don’t really match what’s going on in the room
So I sewed new ones! They are really big – much larger than a throw pillow. I essentially made a mini quilt and put 2 flaps on the back to make an envelope. This one is a Moda print and all I did was quilt it – swirls in the circles and then just 1/8 inch from the lines straight stitching.
This one is from the Vintage Modern Moda line. I sewed different strips together and straight line quilted it. Then sewed the binding on
Sew Happy!
Girl’s Camp
August 2, 2012 by 2 Comments
I had a lot of fun getting ready for Girl’s Camp. I made these little first-aid zipper pouches for the girls to put their first-aid kits.
I made these bookmarks for them to have during their scripture reading each day.
Arise and Shine laynards. To make the lanyard, I just used 2 1/2″ strip of fabric. Press it in half then press the sides in & fold over (like double fold bias tape.) Top stitch and put a clasp on the end. They were fun to make!
I made little “hooties” for each of the girls. They were part of a devotional about being a daughter of God. Every owl is different, just like each of the girls. They also have a sunshine on their tummy because they are letting their light shine!
The girls LOVED their owls! They were so cute when they were choosing the one they wanted. They slept with them and kept them on their beds. During the week everyone would write little notes and tuck them into the owls wings.
“Got my Shiny On” bottlecap necklaces
On of our girls had her birthday at camp. I made this little birthday badge for her to wear all day so everyone would say happy birthday to her!
I made these flower headbands for the girls. It looked cute when we all had them in our hair.
There were a few other things I made that I forgot to take pictures of. Each day we gave the girls candy in their mail boxes: DOTS disciples of the Savior, You’re a Sweet Heart sweetarts, and Saver Life Life Savers.
Blow Fish Tutorial at Riley Blake
July 17, 2012 by Leave a Comment
I haven’t been able to post any new projects but I did find this darling fish tutorial. It’s from Riley Blake Designs and I can’t wait to make a school of them!!
4th of July Ruffle Shirt Tutorial
June 19, 2012 by Leave a Comment
I had fun making these patriotiec ruffle t-shirts. They sew up really quick & don’t they look festive!
First you need to rummage through everyone’s closet or a garage sale and find red, white, and blue old t-shirts.
Next, using your rotary cutter, cut the shirts into 1 1/4″ strips.
I used my Bernina foot #16 – the “Ruffle” foot. I LOVE this foot! It is so much fun to use. Set the tension on 10 and bump the stitch length all the way up. Then hit the gas & it ruffles for you! If you don’t have a ruffle foot, just ruffle the strips by sewing gathering stitches.
Once you have all your ruffles made, lay them on your shirt and pin in place. WARNING: You might want to try the shirt on at this point. I did not try the shirt on and just sewed the ruffles. I found they hit my chest in a weird place – so I UN-STITCHED them & made them shorter. Uggggh
Sew the ruffles on following the stitching on the ruffle. I used matching thread so the stitches wouldn’t stand out so much.
And now you are ready for a picnic, a parade, or a party!!
4th of July t-Shirts
June 19, 2012 by 4 Comments
While my sister was here visiting we made nine 4th of July T-shirts. We decided to go with gray T-shirts so the Red, White & Blue would all stand out.
The USA shirts are for the boys age 3 and 8. I painted the fireworks on using THIS technique – it involves stamping with pipecleaners! Then I appliqued the USA letters on the shirts. We wanted it to look very “boy” – it’s challenging to make boy shirts without getting too cutesie! I think they worked!
The Star shirts are for the girls age 12 & 11.
I love the “necklace” shirt. These are for the girls age 4 and 7. I secretly want one for me!!
The cupcake shirt is for Hallie who is almost 1.
The mommies needed shirts too. I decided to go with a ruffle shirt instead of applique. I have been saving old T-shirts like crazy to use for ruffles – so it was time I actually used some. Click HERE for the tutorial on how to make this fun, festive, ruffle shirt.
Petal Placemats
June 16, 2012 by 5 Comments
I am submitting this in Ellison Lane Quilts’ Summer Sewing Contest!
I just finished these placemats! I have been looking for new placemats for a long time now. It’s either I can’t find the right color/pattern or they are too expensive. I found this pattern in “Quilt Almanac 2012” and I knew these were the placemats for me! It’s such a fun project – you only need small pieces of fabric for each petal so it’s a great “stash” project. It is also perfect to use up all those small pieces of batting I save!!
I love that the placemats are more like fabric chargers and really set off the dishes. Yes – I really like polka-dots!! And I think I am a colorful person 🙂
Thanks for stopping by! Want to join me for lunch? The table is all set 🙂
Matching Skirts
June 16, 2012 by 10 Comments
Ellison Lane Quilts (super fun & cute quilting & sewing website) is having a Summer Sewing Contest. This is my entry in the “Clothing” category:
I love matching with my girls – I know it’s kind of nerdy. I must get it from my mom. When I was a child she would sew coordinating outfits for myself, my little brother, and little sister. For these skirts, I choose fabric that would all coordinate and then choose a style of skirt that reflects each of us. My skirt (below) has a waist band, zipper and pleats. I love that it lays nice and flat and as a bit of structure.
Ella’s skirt (below) looks more like a 12 year old. It has an elastic waist band for an easy fit, and two longer ruffles on the bottom. It is the perfect length for a 12 year old – not too short and hits just below the knee. I love that it has lots of flow.
Sally’s skirt is the perfect skirt for an energetic yet fancy 4 year old! I originally wanted it to have two layers of ruffles. When I had sewn the first two I realized that it was way too short. So, another hour later, it had another ruffle. This skirt has an elastic waist band and I covered it with 2 belt loops and a fabric sash. Each layer of ruffle is separate from the others and has ric rac trim.
I decided we ALL needed to match – so the guys got coordinating ties. Ties are interesting in their construction – I had never sewn one before. I took apart an old tie and just used it as the pattern. Ties are mostly pressing and hand sewing.
Thanks for stopping by! Let me know what you think!!
Ruffled Bag Tutorial is Here!
June 6, 2012 by 6 Comments
I am linking this post up to Family Ever After’s “Pinspired…Rewired” Link Party. I had seen ruffled tote bags all over on Pinterest. Here is the bag that was my inspiration. There wasn’t a pattern or tutorial so I came up with this one on my own.
What you need:
1 tote bag
6 strips of fabric 3.5″xWOF. 4 strips are for the ruffles, 1 strip for the trim, and 1 strip is for the flower. You can use ribbon instead of making the top trim.
1 button (I made a covered button)
Here is my lovely denim blag. It measures about 12″ x 12″ not including the handles.
Cut your fabric into strips 3.5″ – this is a great Stash Buster project!!
Here are my fabrics
Do a narrow rolled hem along the 2 short sides of the 4 strips and the bottom of the strip.
So the top of the strip is a raw edge.
Turn your stitch length up to the maximum and sew 1/4″ gathering stitch along the raw edge of all 4 ruffle strips. Then pull strings and gather each ruffle like this:
Take your tote bag and mark a line 3″ from the bottom.
Then mark 2″ from your first line. Repeat every 2″ until you have 4 total lines drawn.
Pin your bottom ruffle to the tote bag matching the raw edge of the fabric to your first marked line. You kind of have to scrunch the bag to get it pinned. This one is the hardest. It SOOO doesn’t have to be perfect!
Sew along your gathering stitch. Again, this one is the hardest, the rest get easier. You have to bunch it around your machine – but it will work!
Then go over your seam with a zig zag stitch to keep it all from fraying.
Repeat this process with each ruffle matching the raw edge of the ruffle with your marked line. Stitch along your gathering stitches and then zig zag to finish. You don’t have to zig zag the last ruffle because we will cover it.
Take your “trim” piece of fabric and cut it so it is just slightly longer than your bag.
Press this piece in half
Then open it and press the two sides into the center fold. Then bring these two sides together to make a trim piece with no raw edges.
Fold one end in and pin in place. Adjust the length and trim if necessary. Fold the other end in and pin in place. Top stitch all the way around the trim piece. You can totally use pre-made trim, double-fold bias tape, or ribbon. Your bag is almost done!! Just the flower is left!
To make the flower, take your last 3.5″xWOF piece and fold in half – don’t press in half – you want it to puff a little. Use your gathering stitch again and run it 1/4″ along the raw edge.
Pull up the threads to ruffle – you want it as ruffled as possible – careful not to break the thread. Since the fabric is double thickness, it needs a little extra care.
Then tuck the end of the fabric under so you can’t see it and start to twirl it around. You can play around to get the look you want. Here is where I got the hot glue gun out. I added glue each time I turned. You can sew it too. I was just in a hurry:) Once the flower is done I hot glued a fabric covered button in the center. You can use any button that you like. Then I hot glued it to the bag.
Thanks for stopping by! Hope you get the chance to make one!
Princess Draw-String Bag
June 4, 2012 by Leave a Comment
We were invited to a princess birthday party. I sewed this princess draw-string bag using this amazing tutorial again. I am telling you – you gotta make one! They are so much fun! I thought it would be the perfect birthday gift for a 4 year old. We included inside Bath & Body Works body spray & lotion and some princess sunglasses. We were so excited for the party! That’s my little Rapunzel!!!
