Ruffling and Rolling

I’m very technical here. I know you already know that by my use of such terms as “wonky” and “thingamabob” in each of my tutorials. I’ve come to find out that the foot I’ve so lovingly named my super foot is really called a rolled hem foot and not an 1/8” hemming foot. Doesn’t really matter to me, but to those of you trying to get your little sewing mitts on one it would probably help if I called it by the right name.

A few of you mentioned that you would like to see this little guy do it’s magic. I wanted to do a tutorial or video but then I found one. Perfect. Pretend this is me, without so much introduction. My foot even falls off the same in the beginning of loading the fabric ;).

A few of you asked for more info on my ruffler foot and I’ve got to be honest. I don’t know how to use mine. I just play with it. It’s a great foot but it’s more of a toy for me at this point than an actual working foot. Mine works, I just don’t make it work very hard. Here’s a good free pdf from You Can Make This By CarlaC Dolly Designs called the Ruffler Unruffled. Nice for those of us who’s feet didn’t come with instructions what so ever. I’ve browsed through it once but I’m a visual learner so I looked today and Carla made a video with her using it. I like seeing it run.

So hopefully that will give you guys something to brush up on this weekend. Ruffle and Roll to your hearts content. It’s really fun.

Before I jump off here and leave my blog for the weekend I wanted to let you know about Amanda of Ike and Ella. She just opened a shop called Ike and Ella and is celebrating the grand opening by donating 15% of all proceeds until the 14th to Autism Speaks in her sons name, as well as a giveaway on her blog. I love a good cause so if you’re thinking of picking up something new and cute for the little ones this week check out Ike and Ella.

Have a great weekend, mine is starting now with more cleaning and packing!

A little of this and a little of that.

I’m knee deep in mom stuff trying to get ready to leave this weekend and feeling a bit overwhelmed.  Really overwhelmed, so it was so nice to see that I got an award today from The Pine Cone Tea Cup .  Not just any award, the sunshine award!  I’m sure she awarded me for the yellow background and not my whining ;).  Thanks Heather!

It’s been a while (since the great computer crash of 2010) but I also got an award back in February from Rachel of Holy Craft. The Beautiful Blogger award!  Thanks so much Rachel and sorry I’m a loser and didn’t do this sooner.  Both of these bloggers are also awesome crafters so you need to go check them out.

One of the rules is to state 7 things about yourself. I love being random and I love talking about myself (totally kidding- kind of) so here goes-

1.  I don’t follow the “rules”, I make my own and stick with them.  Sewing, blogging, eating, fashion, monopoly- you name it and I have a different set of rules than what I’m sure is considered the norm.  I’ve always liked having things done my way, even if I’m the only one doing it that way, and tend to be called bossy.  I blame it on being the oldest.

2.  I like playing devils advocate even if I agree with what was originally said or done.  I just like looking at things from all points of view and enjoy an open conversation.  I don’t like hashing over things though and I hate real conflict. I know, you really can’t have both.

3.  I used to play M*A*S*H on a daily basis as a pre-teen.  Some of you won’t have any idea what I’m talking about but some of you will and I know you played it to, so don’t laugh.  I still have some of them from back in the day and I’m so happy that game did not really predict the future!

4.  I really can’t whistle. I have teeny tiny lips.  I don’t think that matters at all but to me that has to be the reason.

5.  I’ve become a coupon junky and can’t stop.  I love getting free stuff just by using coupons and pairing it with sales.  I think I embarrass Cody with it but I don’t even care.  I make him look at my receipts and savings because I’m so proud of myself.  I got 26 food items for free last week alone.  Nothing else to buy- just free.  It really is an adrenaline rush for me.

6.  I won’t swim.  I can, I just don’t like being in a warm pool of water with other people.  It’s like sharing a big bath tub with strangers- without soap mind you- yuck!  I’m also afraid someone will drown and I won’t know what to do.  Sprinklers are just as fun if you ask me.

7.  Here’s my original life plan from 17-  Go to college with my best friend and major in business.  Get married at exactly 24.  Live in California. Have my first child at 28.  Have only 2 children.  Birth those children under general anesthesia because only “dumb” people would volunteer to feel it.  Have a nice large chest thanks to those 2 kids I baked.

Here’s what really happened-  Graduated high school engaged.  Had my first baby at 18 5/6 ths years old.  Have not moved farther than 15 miles from my home town since being married and I’m pretty sure I’ve never been to California.  Had my 5th baby at 28.  Will eventually have more children.  Had a natural birth (not by choice).  Have absolutely the same little chest I had before, only not the same… sigh.  Love absolutely everything about how my life turned out and wouldn’t change a thing.  Except the general anesthesia part.

 

Thanks again Heather and Rachel!  Off to bed I go.  I have a long day ahead of mucking out bedrooms and taking Jeremy’s rotting finger in to get fixed- long story.  Have a great night!

My favorite things

Rain drops on roses and whiskers on kittens… just kidding, I know you all were thinking it though. I thought I’d share what some of my favorite tools are, just for kicks. Some are have to have that I use every time I sew and some are just to save my sanity occasionally. Here we go-

Ah, the high tech elastic insertion device. A must have. The bigger the better. I like diaper pins the best, they glide through easier.

This little baby is my favorite tool ever. Ever. How do you turn a loop without a loop turner? You don’t. You scream and yell and don’t make skinny straps. Bunnies will cry watching you try to turn a strap without one.
I use this to turn all my dress and shirt straps right side out. It turns a very tedious job into a 5 second one. If you make clothes this is a must have. For about $6 ($3 if you wait for a notions wall sale) it’s worth every cent and more. Plus it saves bunnies from dehydrating.*

Another favorite and a big splurge, my gingher scissors. I got mine for a steal but they hardly ever see the light of day. They are too sacred to use to snip threads. They stay in their little tin with the protective black thingy on them. I love them and when I find a project worthy of them I know they will cut like butter. They are that awesome. I have a pair of regular scissors to cut threads and another pair of regular scissors used solely to cut out fabric. My ginghers just look purty. I have a scissors problem but I’m not willing to deal with it yet.

Another basic favorite. My self healing mat, rotary cutter, and clear ruler. I pull these out every time I sew and I use my mat when I craft to. My set has lasted 8 years, I’m sure you can see how thrashed my mat is in all my tutorial pictures. I didn’t fully appreciate them until a few years ago and now I can’t live without them.

My ruffler foot. I bought a generic one for my machine and only pull it out a few times a year, but every time I do I remember how much I love it and think I should use more often. Much like my ginghers…

My 1/8” hemming foot, oh how I love thee. It saved my fancy Easter dresses a few years ago. It’s my super foot. I only use it on sheer or silky stuff since it’s so little. I only use it a few times a year but for only $4.99 regular price it’s worth it’s weight in gold. I’m on the look out for a 1/4” foot that I know will get used a ton.




These are just a few of my favorites. You don’t have to have some of these things but if you’re ever in the fabric store and see a great deal on them I suggest giving them a whirl.

*Just so you know, I have never been paid to do or say anything on my blog so these are just my humble little opinions of my favorite things that I use, and I can’t be sure that bunnies will cry and get dehydrated but you don’t want to risk it.

What are your favorites, must have or just like to have?

The lowdown on the duds

I was asked quite a while ago how my shirts hold up in the wash. Well I didn’t want to report until I did sufficient testing and I’m happy to say that they look just about the exact same as they did when I made them.

I’ve washed these shirts no less than half a dozen times and so far so good, even the glued on “S” looks just fine. I turn them inside out and wash them on a regular cycle with my regular wash loads. I don’t waste my time hanging them to dry either. Into the dryer they go (inside out) and so far so good.

Since the great computer crash my photoshop isn’t working right, can’t get it to stay open. Sorry for the cruddy pictures while I figure it out.

There are a few loose strands of fabric where I left the edges raw on the background squares but I knew that would happen. The only thing that isn’t holding up as well as the others would be the green twill tape “E”, but I saw that one coming. I thought the black ric rac would bleed since I didn’t pre wash anything but nope.

The candy jar shirts look same, no threads or anything. I would show you Kaci’s shirt but she stuck a sticker to the plastic part. It needs a good goo gone session. These have to be dried inside out, unless you want plastic candy jar stuck to your dryer. Another handy tip: if you want your jar to look like a jar and not a crumpled piece of plastic (like mine right now) you have to take it out of the dryer while the plastic is still warm and smooth it out. I’ve tried ironing it out (from the inside) to straighten it when I forgot to get it from the dryer right away and it didn’t work. It left button imprints on the plastic and that’s not good, but one wash later it went back to normal.

I crossed my fingers for the black ric rac, but everything else I knew would wash okay because of this little secret and I zig zagged the crud out of my seams on the socks so they wouldn’t unravel.

To make this post the longest one I’ve ever written I thought I should add, I’m leaving town this weekend by myself! It’s going to be so fun but I’m more excited about the next weekend. Cody is surprising me for our Anniversary (Feb. 5th) with a weekend away. 2 weekends kid free! He won’t tell me where we are going or what we’ll be doing but it’s the first time we’ll both be away from the kids at the same time -together- ever. I KNOW! I hate to admit this but I’ve never hired a babysitter that wasn’t family. Ever. Jeremy is 10 and has no idea what a real baby sitter is. I know they’ll be in great hands this time but I’m still kind of freaking out. I’m also a really bad sport when it comes to surprises so I’m really preoccupied right now.

So here’s what I’m trying to say I guess, I’m not meshing with the apron top pattern remake at the moment. I think it’s just because my brain is fuzzy and thinking about everything but sewing right now. I think it’s best to put the pattern on hold until I come back. I don’t want it to come out all wonky because I was trying to force it. I’m going to let it come to me when it comes. I do have another fun tutorial that’s already done and I did while my computer was down so I’ll share that in the mean time. No thinking involved ;). Think boy.

Have a fantastic Tuesday!

Button, Button, Who’s got the button?

I have them and my gosh, I could die and go to heaven. Well maybe not because you can’t take things with you when you go and I would want to take these-

“Color Crazy” Buttons from Tessa Ann

The minute I saw these buttons I new she made them just for me. I know she did, she just didn’t know it yet ;).

Today is my Creative Team Spotlight over on Tessa Ann’s The Button Shop Blog. I shared a little about myself, which is very hard to do by the way when you don’t want to sound like a dork, and shared my project using her super fun handmade buttons.

Ashlyn found a shirt at the store that was *sigh* another character shirt. That girl just might kill me. I thought the design was cute, the colors were fun, the character junk not at all. We fixed it up using fabric and tulle flowers and polished it off with the color crazy buttons. I love it and she adores it.

These are my favorite part of the entire outfit.

I made the knit fabric pom poms and glued the buttons on. I love the little black and white hearts against the pink poms.

Thanks again Tessa Ann! I can’t wait to get busy on next months project… it’s going to be so darn cute I can hardly stand it.

Did you just double dip?

You dipped…

and you dipped again!

Jeremy has been know to double dip more than just giveaway winners, but that’s an entirely different post. He was going to draw a few more times and I’m sure he would have picked everyone if I would have let him, but I had to stop him somewhere. Congrats Amy and Katherine- not one but two winners today. I’ll be emailing later!

To those of you who weren’t so lucky this time I do have great news. The apron top pattern will be back, it’s just going to undergo some back surgery first and it will have a buddy soon as well! Things are working out great, I just need to take some time to get it all together. So hang in there and I’ll let you know when it’s back (with a back) and other great stuff.

Have a great weekend, I know Amy and Katherine are going to have a much brighter one at least ;).

Apron top sticky note

If you’re wondering what happened to my Apron top tutorial, I pulled it down for now.  It was brought to my attention yesterday that my top and another top pattern sold on Etsy are too close for comfort, and I don’t feel good about it. 

I work really hard to draft my patterns and make each tutorial from scratch, I measure my kids and go from there without any patterns what so ever.  I also search Etsy to make sure no one else has an item exactly like the items I make tutorials for and have not done a tutorial before because I found that the original idea I thought was all mine was someone else's great idea to.  The searches I did didn’t pull up a top like mine so I did the tutorial, but there is a similar one my search didn’t catch.  I’m ironing out the details and might tweak it or put it back as is, I’m not sure yet.  Just don’t want to be the bad guy ya know so until I’m comfy with everything it’s on hold.

I’m still doing the giveaway so don’t forget you have until midnight tonight to enter!

Can’t let this get me down so here’s what I’m up to today-

Have a fantastic Wednesday and good luck to you giveaway enterers,  I’m getting my drawing hat ready for tomorrow!

One lucky little someone will get…

**The giveaway is closed**

A new apron top. I tease you not it’s giveaway time! I know, it’s about time right. Well better late than never. I absolutely love sewing these and it’s a good thing because I was going to give away the top Kaci modeled but she “really really really” wanted to wear it for the rest of the day. She wouldn’t take it off and it looks like her so it’s hers.

So how about a custom apron top in your choice of size from 2 to 10? I don’t have any wildwood fabric left so the winner will get to choose from either the Amy Butler black (olive technically) combo on the left or the Amy Butler pink combo on the right.

So here’s the low down-

*Anyone can enter just leave a comment on this post with your email address if it’s not in your profile to be entered to win. Unless you are that yucky \/iagra person who keeps leaving gross comments, you sir/madam cannot enter and will not be counted ;).

*One comment per person please.

*If you are a follower of this blog you get one extra entry. Just include “I’m a follower” or something like that so I can count you twice. For example If you are a follower you could leave something like this-

Even though you never learned how to whistle and that’s weird I want to win and I’m a follower so I want to win twice.

I’ll shut this puppy down in one week so you have until Wednesday night to enter. Good luck and if you’re as lucky as I am don’t worry. I’m almost finished with the tutorial so you can make one if you don’t win.

Have a fantastic Thursday!

She’s out of the ICU!

 

 

5 weeks later I finally have my very own computer back!  I can’t even begin to tell you the amount of hair I’ve pulled out and how much I’ve missed out on in 5 weeks.  It’s not just the internet I missed, I missed my pictures, I missed my digital cutter (a ton!), I missed coupons, I missed word documents and recipes- even the calculator was missed.  The first thing I did was play a game of solitaire, because I could!

While I was away I made a bunch of stuff so I’ll show it off little bit by little bit.  I need to take a bunch of pictures now that my camera is finally unloaded but I do have some pictures of journaling pads I made a couple weeks ago.  I needed 12 journals for 8-11 year olds and wanted something cheap and easy.

My awesome sister in-law gave me stack of plain chipboard so I just folded them up and glued a paper pad to the inside and added a matching pen.  Simple little things but they made me happy.  I don’t know what it is about the cardboard look and the bright papers but I love it and the kids did to.  At least they didn’t deface them so I think they liked them enough not to.

 

I’m off to take a massive amount of pictures and finish a tutorial or two.  Good things are coming!  Have a fantastic Monday.

Just popping in for a second, I'm still in the land of the crashed computer and it's getting really old! The giveaway I had planned will have to be postponed but that's okay, I'll just make more stuff to add to it. If my computer stays dead long enough it should be a pretty good haul, I'm getting bored ;).

I have some super exciting news to share so I had to hijack my in laws internet. I'm on the design team for Tessa Ann! I'm so stinking excited!! She makes the most amazing handmade buttons for paper crafts and sewing projects in her cute shop. I have so many ideas to share, this is going to be so fun. So be on the lookout and until then stop by her blog to check out the other design team members.

Have a great weekend!