Foxy iPhone Tote

Since I was attending the Craft and Hobby Association trade show, I needed a simple way to carry my iPhone so that it didn't get lost with the bags of giveaways that one tends to gather at these shows.

I decided that I needed a simple pouch that I could clip to my ID lanyard. To keep it simple, I made it out of thrifted felt and my Fox die.

The dark pink pouch is a piece of felt cut to 4" x 12". The scalloped, light pink edge was die cut using the Scallops On the Edge die.

Counting My Blessings, Enjoying My Life

I needed a little time to stop and count my blessings. I realized that I am blessed with so much right now and sometimes I need to slow down and enjoy my life.

A week ago I went to the Carson Rubber Stamp Convention. It is about a 45 minute drive via the freeway so I kind of take it for granted that I can always attend it when it comes to town.

But what I am truly blessed with is that I had the opportunity to spend some time with Tim Holtz. Back in August, Tim sent me a box full of goodies to play with. Oh the joy! But then I began to stress about what I could possibly do to thank him for his thoughtfulness and generosity.

Designers Craft Connection - Blog Hop June

Welcome to the Designers Craft Connection Blog Hop for the month of June. This month's theme is Happiness is Handmade. I decided to make something special to celebrate Father's Day and of course it was handmade.

My project is a party banner made from neckties and dress shirts. I happened to find some nice neckties in a gray/blue theme so I went to my Goodwill and bought two blue men's dress shirts {half-price day!}.

I cut 7 inches off both ends of the neckties to use as parts of this banner. I cut the pockets off of the dress shirts and 7 inches of the shirt cuffs to include as flags. This would be extra cute if you had a large selection of inexpensive neckties but I only had three so I had to be thrifty.

I used thrifted bias tape as the string, folded about an inch of each item over the string and attached by sewing. It would also be cute to place Father's Day cards or maybe a gift card for dad in the pockets.

There is still plenty of time to gather up lots of inexpensive neckties and shirts at garage sales to make your own banners.

Hope you enjoyed this Handmade Happiness idea for fathers everywhere. Please use the DCC button on the right column to continue through the Blog Hop and enjoy the amazing talents of the many creative designers that are part of this group.

Designers Craft Connection Blog Hop - January

Welcome to the January issue of the Designers Craft Connection Blog Hop. I know that many of the participating Designers will be traveling to the Craft & Hobby Association trade show this coming weekend. I hope to have the opportunity to meet some of them in person. This is such a creative group!

The theme for this month's blog hop is "Handmade Home Décor". I chose to do something practical but a bit unique. My project is a pillow using an old Japanese technique.

The uniqueness of this pillow is that it is neither square nor round. It has eight corners so is similar to a cube but it isn't a cube. And it is made from four pieces of fabric.

I once made this as a child and thought it would make a unique, if not hard to describe, home décor project. Here is another view.

The complex shape makes this an interesting pillow. I used two different fabrics but it could be even more interesting if it had four various fabrics. I plan to experiment with other combinations and maybe make it a little smaller the next time.

Please use the Designers Craft Connection {DCC} button on the right to hop through more Handmade Home Décor inspiration ideas.

Designers Craft Connection Blog Hop - September

Welcome to the Designers Craft Connection Blog Hop for September. "Vintage Showcase" is the theme this month with the idea to create something that celebrates all things vintage. Normally I would select something vintage and create something from it or repurpose it into something else. But I thought I would do something totally different this time.

I created a purse {above} that was inspired by an old radiator water bag I found at a garage sale. Below is the inspiration piece.

12 Tags of 2012 - May...

I really enjoyed working on this tag for the 12 Tags of 2012 challenge for May. I found so many ways to combine thrifted, vintage and repurposed items to complete this project.

Autumn Crafting - Pumpkins

It feels so good to have some time again to do some crafting. Even better is that it is just in time for Halloween.

I sewed up a batch of fabric pumpkins in various sizes.

I have been adding new vintage items to my Stuff to Treasure Store recently. Please stop by and visit there often to see what's new.

Honored to be featured at:

Bless My Nest

This is linked to:
504 Main, Between Naps on the Porch, Blue Cricket Designs, Brambleberry Cottage, Coastal Charm, Common Ground, Home Savvy A to Z, Homemaker on a Dime, I'm Topsy Turvy, Keeping it Simple, Life Made Lovely, Making the World Cuter, Marvelously Messy, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Passionately Artistic, Rook No. 17,  Running With Glitter, Savvy Southern Style, Sew Can Do,  Singing Three Little Birds, Sugar Bee Crafts, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, The DIY Home Sweet Home Project, The DIY Showoff, The Girl Creative, The Southern Institute, Thrifty Decorating, Type A, Very Merry Vintage Style, Vintage Wannabee and What Allie's Making Now

Designers Craft Connection Blog Hop - My Favorite Technique

Welcome to the Designers Craft Connection Blog Hop for the month of August. This month's theme is "Your Favorite Craft Technique". I enjoy so many different techniques but I had to choose only one.

I finally chose a sewing project using thrifted threads. I had thrifted so many plastic spools of thread and didn't want to waste them. I created a reusable cup holder using only thread and felt.

This project uses a lot of thread and a lot of patience. The colors I chose created a sunset sky look when I started creating stripes of colors. You can keep sewing until you cannot see any felt background. 

To begin, I used a cup holder from the local coffee house as a template. I opened it flat and cut a piece of felt to match. I later discovered that the sewing tends to shrink the felt. My suggestion would be to cut a piece that was about twice as long as the finished size. 

Next, I started sewing back and forth. I started with a medium color (in this case, orange) as a background. The medium color would end up being covered but it created an overall background. Adding light and dark colors later created the visual color bands.

Feel free to experiment. You can sew vertical as well as horizontal rows to create unique patterns. I sewed in a wave pattern. You can also use zigzag stitches. And you don't have to make a cup holder. Sew squares together to make a purse or use a strip as a headband. Remember that the inside of the cupholder will also be seen so sew on both sides of the piece with a variety of colors. This is a celebration of color and upcycling.

Please use the Designers Craft Connection Blog Hop button on the right column to continue through the hop. Aren't you curious to see what favorite techniques other designers enjoy?

I am honored to be featured at:

Sew Can Do

This is linked to:
All Thingz Related, Between Naps on the Porch, Cherished Treasures, FaveCrafts, Homemaker on a Dime, I'm Topsy Turvy, It's a Very Cherry World, Keeping It Simple, Making the World Cuter, Marvelously Messy, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Rook No. 17, Running With Glitter, Sew Can Do, Singing Three Little Birds, Skip to My Lou, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, The DIY Home Sweet Home Project,  The DIY Showoff, The Girl Creative and The Trendy Treehouse

No-Calorie Birthday Cake

My birthday is coming up so I decided to make a no-calorie birthday cake.

Of course the cake is made of fabric and bits of lace so besides being no-calorie it also has no-taste.

My self-challenge was to use only thrifted items but it still needed to look like a piece of cake. The "icing" is made from satin ribbon and trim so it appears smooth and creamy. The "white cake" is lace so it has a porous cake texture. The "filling" is pink trim so it appears more dense.

This was a fun, simple project using all thrifted items including tatted, handmade lace. I plan to use this as a pin cushion.

This is linked to:
504 Main, A Little Knick Knack, Between Naps on the Porch, Blue Creek Home, Blue Cricket Designs, Brambleberry Cottage,  Cherished Treasures, Chic on a Shoestring, Coastal Charm, Common Ground, Creating a House of Grace, Creative Everyday, FaveCrafts, French Country Cottage,  I'm Topsy Turvy, Inspiring Creations,  It's a Very Cherry World, Keeping It Simple, Making the World Cuter, Marvelously Messy, My Backyard Eden, My Romantic Home, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Paisley Passions,  Passionately Artistic,  Running With Glitter, Savvy Southern Style, Sew Can Do, Simply Designing, Singing three Little Birds, Skip to My Lou, Someday Crafts, Somewhat Simple, Sunburnt Cow, Tales from Bloggeritaville, The Girl Creative, The Shabby Chic Cottage, The Shabby Nest, The Thrifty Home, The Trendy Treehouse, Very Merry Vintage Style and What Allie's Making Now

Designer Crafts Connection Blog Hop - Mother's Day

Welcome to the Designer Crafts Connection Blog Hop for the month of May. This month we are celebrating Mother's Day (or Birthdays.)

My mother was an excellent seamstress and taught me to sew at a young age. Thank you mom! So to celebrate Mother's Day, my project is a wreath made up of various, vintage sewing notions.

On this wreath are vintage button cards, spools, tomato pincushions, strawberry needle cleaners, snaps, sewing needle cards and two measuring tapes. Everything used to create this wreath has been thrifted. Here are some detailed images.

If you looked real closely you might have noticed that the filler material between all of the vintage notions is actually die cut pieces of a sewing pattern. The following is a tutorial to make the basic wreath.

To make the wreath, I used the Sizzix Frame, Circle Scallop die and cut scallop circles out of a sewing pattern. 

Using thrifted straight pins, I pinned scallop circles around the wreath form.

I used about 1 1/2 sewing patterns to create enough scallop circles to cover this wreath. Once the basic wreath is created then you can decorate it any way you like. Some other decorating ideas might be large buttons, lace or ribbon. If you want to make the wreath permanent then I suggest hot gluing all of the parts. I chose to pin my vintage pieces onto the wreath.

Happy Mother's Day to all of the wonderful moms out there. Please continue to hop through the Designer Crafts Connection Blog Hop using the button on the right.

Proud to be Featured at:

Maybe Matilda's

Cherished Treasures

SNAP!

                                                            

All Thumbs Crafts/Sunburnt Cow

Marvelously Messy

Rook #17

                                                    

A Girl and a Glue Gun

The 36th Avenue

This is linked to:

4Rs, A Little Knick Knack, All Thingz Related, Between Naps on the Porch, Blue Creek Home, Blue Cricket Designs, Brambleberry Cottage, Cherished Treasures, Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, Coastal Charm,  Common Ground, Craft Envy, Creating a House of Grace, FaveCrafts, Finding Fabulous,  French Country Cottage, Homemaker on a Dime,  I {heart} Naptime,  Inspiring Creations, It's a Very Cherry World,  Keeping It Simple, Krafty Kat,  LollyJane, Lovely Crafty Home, Making the World Cuter, Marvelously Messy,  My Romantic Home, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Paisley Passions, Passionately Artistic, Rook No. 17, Running With Glitter, Savvy Southern Style, Sew Can Do, Simply Designing,  Singing Three Little Birds, Skip to My Lou, Someday Crafts, Somewhat Simple, Sunburnt Cow, Tales from Bloggeritaville, Tatertots and Jello, The Colorado Lady, The DIY Home Sweet Home Project, The Girl Creative,  The Shabby Chic Cottage, The Shabby Nest, The Thrifty Groove, The Thrifty Home, The Trendy Treehouse, Thirty Sixth Avenue, Truly Lovely, Under the Table and Dreaming, What Allie's Making Now and Wildflowers and Whimsy 

Easter Fabric Tote

I had some fun sewing and created this simple fabric tote. It is the perfect size to hold over a dozen Easter Eggs or a few paperback books or even to pack a lunch. {To see how you can win this tote, click here.}

I wanted it to be a neutral color and sturdy cotton fabric so I used all new fabric. I also kept the decorative accent (flower) a neutral, soft gray so that the color of whatever is inside of the bag would not clash. But the flower can be removed and other accents added later if I change my mind.

The felt for the flower and leaves are thrifted as well as the vintage pink millinery stamens in the flower. I also added some vintage lace around the top of the bag.

The bag measures 6"w x 5"h x 4"d not counting the strap.

This is linked to:
All Thingz Related, Between Naps on the Porch, Beyond the Picket Fence, Coastal Charm, I {heart} Naptime, I'm Topsy Turvy, Keeping it Simple, Krafty Kat, Making the World Cuter, Marvelously Messy, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Passionately Artistic, Rook No. 17, Running With Glitter, Savvy Southern Style, Skip to My Lou, Someday Crafts, Somewhat Simple, The DIY Home Sweet Home Project, The Girl Creative, The Shabby Chic Cottage, The Thrifty Home, The Trendy Treehouse, Under the Table and Dreaming, Very Merry Vintage Style and Wildflowers & Whimsy

Blog Hop #3 - Flower Pillow

Welcome to the third week of the Triple Play Blog Hop. This week's featured die is the Sizzix Originals Die - Flower, Beauty Bloom by Brenda Pinnick.

This was an interesting personal challenge because I didn't want to create a typical flower with this die. I had cut a few test pieces out of paper to see if I could find any inspiration. As I moved the flower bits around I suddenly saw a pattern appear. Being a graphic designer I tend to think in ways of how to organize bits to create a pleasing visual.

Once I had an idea of a pattern, I then had to decide on a technique to best showcase the pattern. Since this was Brenda's die and she also designs fabrics, I decided to try fabric applique and create a pillow.

The image above is of the finished pillow on my vintage, garage sale desk chair and below is a detailed image of the machine applique. I had never machine appliqued before so this was a new experience. I used an old wooden button from my mother's collection for the center detail.

I hope you enjoy my use of the Flower, Beauty Bloom die. Please continue through the Blog Hop by clicking on the Forward or Back button on the Triple Play Blog Hop blinkie to the right.

This project is linked to The Girl Creative.

Spooky Halloween Banner

Today I Created | A Spooky Halloween Banner

I am in the Halloween spirit and wanted to create a Halloween decoration. I found some wonderful skeleton images from the GraphicsFairy.

First I printed the skeletons on cardstock. I trimmed them to size along with pieces of plain orange cardstock. For the skeleton banners, I sprayed them with Periwinkle Glimmer Mist and while they were still wet, I sprinkled copper Perfect Pearls to make them appears rusted.

Next I ran the orange banners through the Cobwebs Texture Fades. I edged everything with black Distress Inks. I then sewed all of the banners onto a piece of ribbon.

I created the black and orange Paper Rosettes and attached them to the front of the orange banners. Finally, I attached the bit of bling to the bottom of the skeleton banners just to add a bit of sparkle.

Felt Christmas Ornament

Today I Created | A die cut felt ornament.

I used the Sizzix Pumpkin 3-D die by Karen Burniston and cut 20 felt pieces. I cut off all of the little tabs that are needed to assemble the paper version of this design.

I first sewed all of the pieces together in the center flat side of the shapes and tied it together to create a loose ball shape. I then stitched all of the tops together and then all of the bottoms together to create the ball shape. It needed a bit of fluffing to make the ball look round.

I sewed the ribbon to the top and an acrylic charm to the bottom. I colored the charm with alcohol ink and then stamped a pattern and lifted the ink in that area.

My sister and I exchange homemade Christmas ornaments each year so this is for her.