Adventures in sewing

Ever since I took a sewing class over 5 years ago, I've been buying fabric and have accumulated a good stash!  In that class, I made the black bag below. I'm so proud of it and carry it to work everyday!  Of course after this class, I was like, I'm going to buy a sewing machine and make more of these bags!  Well, I did buy a sewing machine but I haven't made another of these bags yet.  This ever happen to you with a project?  LOL!  But, I have been getting some use out of the sewing machine, thank goodness!  I've made an apron and a few pillowcases.  The pillowcases are really fun!  A couple of years ago, the local fabric store had a sewing event where individuals were provided fabric and taught how to sew a pillowcase and then the pillowcases were donated to a charity.  When I wanted to make one for my son (finished pic below) I had to do a search on YouTube because I forgot a few steps and thankfully I found a few videos using the same technique taught at the fabric store.  This is the video I like best (and they have some other great videos too!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrYWCma9wgM .  But most recently, I made a zippered case and a mini four patch bag which didn't turn out too bad.  I'm keeping the projects small for now but hope to work my way up to a larger project such as a quilt.  Happy Crafting!

Craft Fair

Back in April, I participated in a 4 hour craft fair at an elementary school.  I have a variety of projects just sitting around, so I thought I'd try to my hand at selling.  I was a bit nervous at first but I felt at ease after the first hour!  There weren't too many customers (I'll blame it on the beautiful Spring weather that day! :) but I did make a few sales! I sold 3 cards, 2 beaded pens, 1 bracelet and 1 post-it-note w/mini beaded pen packaged gift!  I also met a few other crafty people and I learned of an art group in the area.  Here are some pictures  of my setup.

Thanks So Much

Here is a Thank You card I designed to make duplicates and donate to Operation Write Home.  I'm glad to find this great organization to help support the troops!

The sentiment is from the Thanks with Style stamp set by Kitchen Sink Stamps.  I used Stampin Up's blush blossom cardstock and ink.

JustRite Friday challenge 048

I made this card for the JustRite Friday challenge #048.  The floral image is from JustRite's The Greatest Joy stamp set.  I stamped it on watercolor paper and heat embossed it with black embossing powder.  I used Spellbinders' labels 8 die to cut out the image and I sponged the edges with tea dye distress ink.  I colored the image using Marvy LePlume markers and a water brush.  The patterned paper is by My Mind's Eye and the card base is Papertrey Ink's craft card stock.  I added a Basic Grey button, mesh ribbon and a ribbon bow embellishment.

Bundle of Joy

Happy New Year all!  Hope everyone had a nice holiday!

For the past several years I always plan to create more scrapbook pages to get those photos out of boxes.  It was perfect timing this year because JustRite Stampers introduced some new stamps recently and I just had to get The Greatest Joy Borders and Centers stamp set.  The sentiment in this stamp set fit perfectly for this layout I created.  The photos are from 1990 when my son was born but hey, it's better late than never, LOL!  Other supplies I used:  patterned paper by Frances Meyer, ballet blue ink by Stampin Up, alphabet tiles from Hot Off the Press' for Boys to Men scrapper's paper pack, Spellbinder's oval dies and heart paper punch.

Treat holders

This month's theme for Verve Stamps' winter release project parade is "Triple Play"; create a trio of projects. There are such a wide variety of tutorials available online and I got a chance to use 3 of them to make these treat holders. Christmas is fast approaching and I thought these would be great to fill with something sweet.

Up first is the box in a bag.  There is a tutorial here.  I used Die Cuts with a View card stock from the Christmas Stack.  I used a Cuttlebug die to make the "present" tag.  The sentiment is an image from Papertrey Ink's mixed messages stamp set.

Next is the window treat box.  I used the video found here.  I used more card stock from the DCWV Christmas stack and this sheet has bits of silver glitter.  For the window, I used Spellbinders' Nestabilities labels 8 die and backed the opening with a piece of transparency.  The poinsettia is from GKD's AYear of Flowers stamp set.  I stamped and heat embossed it with silver embossing powder, sponged some color on it with Versamagic pixie dust ink and added rhinestones for the center.  I finished the box with silver metallic ribbon, curling the ends to resemble curling ribbon.

This last holder is a gable box.  I used the tutorial found here.  I used another piece of DCWV card stock that also has some bits of silver glitter.  I used a Cuttlebug die for the tiny tag and I adhered a piece of silver metallic ribbon behind it.  I also added a glittered brad I had in my stash.  The sentiment is a Dawn Bibby outline sticker.  For the closure, I punched two holes in the handles and tied with ribbon.  I added a Basic Grey button threaded with DMC floss to finish the look.

Mojo 163

A Thanksgiving Day card. I used Mojo Monday sketch 163.

Supplies:
My Mind's Eye patterned paper
Stampin Up cs (riding hood red, mellow moss)
GKD cs (ivory)
Studio G stamps (November and turkey image)
Inque Boutique stamp (turkey day sentiment)
American Crafts ribbon
Spellbinders label 8