Ruffled Canvas Totes

I made these for teacher appreciation day. I love how the turned out, the pictures don't really show just how cute they are! Comes in sizes small (11x13), medium (14x17), and large (15x18).

Cloth Napkins

I whipped these up the other day and forgot to share. We recently ran out of paper towls in our home and being the frugal type person that I am decided to invest in some cloth napkins.. however the ones I found locally are either ugly or overpriced! So I went to the local thrift store (we only have Walmart, boooo) and purchased some discounted quilters fabric for $2 a yard! (quilters fabric is so much softer than regular cotton). I made 6 cloth napkins out of 1 yard!

A Little Something Green- Ruffled Pillow

Since St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner I thought it was due time to update those Valentine's Day pillows I had made a month ago. While I am not Irish (I am in fact British), I do appreciate the Saint who dedicated his life to serving those in Ireland during his time.

Jewelry Frame

I saw this idea and was really excited about organizing some of my jewelry! I usually have knotted up necklaces or I can't find the other matching earing.. but here it's all sweet and simple and easy to find! 

Here is a link to Centsational Girl who inspired me to make this, you can make one too!

Valentine's Day Pillow

I saw this cute idea of creating an interchangeable pillow simply by changing out a sash for each season. So I found some pink ribbon and hot glued velcro to the back sides of the ribbon and cut out hearts out of felt, viola!

Fabric Rosette Necklaces

 I made these for my teenage child care givers... aka babysitters, but absolutely loath that word as they don't sit on babies and my children are no longer babies.. waaaa!!!!

Here is the link of where I got this idea and bonus! It's a tutorial! http://www.youcanmakethis.com/blog/880/frayed-rosette-bib-necklace-tutorial.html

Burlap & Rosette Christmas Wreath

 I was inspired by a few fellow bloggers that made up their holiday wreaths using all different types of materials.

{yes that's my daughter peeking through the door to see what I'm up to, and yes they did lock me out!}

Here's a few links to inspire you!

http://www.lisaleonardonline.com/blog/2010/11/25/handmade-project-vintage-ornament-wreath/

http://tatertotsandjello.blogspot.com/2010/11/great-ideas-holiday-wreaths.html

http://tatertotsandjello.blogspot.com/2010/11/little-project-to-do-this-weekend-make.html

Cream & Paisley Nursing Cover

Love this cream with blue, green & tan paisley nursing cover, it's so cute!

With this one I had a fear of the cream being too "light" or see-through, so I backed it with cream muslin. It does make it a heavier nursing cover but still adorable and fun while maintaining the point of wearing a nursing cover - privacy!

Sedena Nursing Cover & Tote

From the Brothers and Sisters Collection -Sedena fabric in bright dots on chocolate brown background. I love this nursing cover & tote for how fun and spunky it is!

Brown & Blue Paisley Tote & Nursing Cover

I have been working on a tote for a nursing cover. My good friend just had her second child and really wanted a nursing cover. She picked out her fabric and bought 1/2 a yard more than I needed. So I told her I would come up with something to go with it. Well I found this free tutorial for a tote that I found really cute, but a lot of extra work! Phew!

I did have to adjust the pattern to fit what I had leftover for fabric and then I also had to buy coordinating fabric for the liner. I really love the look of the tote and hope to make more..  but I just don't think for the work and extra cost it is worth it to sell as a set unless requested that way.

Cost $18-25 (depending on cost of fabric)

Pillow Slipcovers

I wanted to give my bedroom pillows something new, and other than replacing the ones I have I just thought I would make new slipcovers for them! I have had this fear of zippers for the longest time, till I found the  tutorial for making a wristlet & it had perfect instructions!

I could have gone all fancy with making pillows that have ruffles and lace, but I think my husband would have thought it was too femnine, so I choose to keep it simple. I bought a cotton fabric in a light green damask pattern & two invisible zippers. It took all of one hour to complete both pillow slipcovers & they turned out just perfect for what I was wanting... but I do want to add more pillows.. I don't think there's anything wrong with that!?!

Here is a link showing you step by step instructions on how to make a Throw Pillow Case Cover.

Butterfly Wristlet

My Grandmother's birthday is coming up and I really wanted to sew something for her. I debated between sewing up an apron, a fun bag, cosmetic bag, a tea cozy... but then I found this tutorial and thought it would be perfect since it's something everyone could find use for and love!

Thanks Javajem for the tutorial, it's the best one I've ever followed, it even helped my understanding with adding zippers (before I've always been "ahhh I'm not doing it right!?!?!")!

I haven't sewn anything in 2 months, I'm so happy to have been able to have made something finally!! To me it's très magnifique!

Flirty Ruffled Apron

I made this apron for a good friend as a Christmas present. She loves to bake & cook in the kitchen and I wanted to add a little fun/flirtyness to her good cooking. Guess what? She loved it! Who wouldn't!

You can see a close up of the machine embroidery done here :) I also added this to the ends of the ties. 

Tooth Fairy Pillow & Hot Pads

Since the weather has us stuck inside and not much to do.. I became bored and decided to be productive in creative ways.. 

The tooth fairy pillow has a little pocket to put some money or toothes [tooth-ez] (that's how my daughter says it!)

I needed some new hot pads anyways, plus these are a litle festive without being really festive.

Boy PJ's with Applique'

I have had this flannel since last year. I was planning to make a blanket with it, but never did. So I made some Pj pants for Ethan and then bought a white t-shirt & appliqued a truck pattern using the leftover flannel fabric.

Cars Quilt

This is for a good friends' son who just turned ONE! They are really into the Cars theme and so voila'! Cotton fabrics on the front, backed with minky fabric I put this baby quilt together & used satin binding.

Buttercup Bag & Cosmetic Bag

If you are still following along with me *I am still here*, I've just been in a sewing rut. Well, a little project has completely broken that free and now I am hooked again!

Here are two peices I have just completed. One is the Buttercup Bag from Made by Rae, love this bag! It took me a trial bag to get it just right, I will be working on that first one to fix what went wrong and will repost later. But for now~~~ Taa daa~~~

The other is just a cosmetic type bag that I have been promising someone for quite some time now. I hated {HATED} the pattern I originally had and gave up on it. So this was the result which took away hours of painstaking annoyance from the last one. I threw in some fun sea mist green liner to add some WOW to it! I am debating about cutting the tabs off.. they stick out rather than fall down, which is due to making the tabs too thick! or perhaps I will just let the reciever decide to cut them off or not.. hmm..

Pillow Sham

I have been working on redecorating Caity's room. Nothing big and fancy, just a little here and a little there. I started with purchasing a comforter; one that was suitable for her age but also something she could grow into, not an easy task when all she wants is Princess. However, Walmart has a new line of Princess inspired bedding decor. The comforter has a quilt look without the quilting and has just enough blocks to make it little girl princess like, but not too much. You can see what we picked HERE. It's also reversible, showing a bright pink and hot pink damask, very nice. I was a bit mixed about this comforter, as it's from Walmart.. not the best quality, but I also figure that IF it lasts more than 2 years that's good enough. Plus Caity wouldn't let me remove it..

So now onto the reason why I am posting in the first place.. I made a sham to go with the new colors. Nothing fancy, just a simple pink & white polka dotted sham. It really adds to her room though & she loves it! I got this pattern from HERE.

Ariel Dress

This was one of those pre-made dresses where all you have to do is sew up the sides and add straps if wanted. I had some unused lace edging leftover and used that up for the straps. Caity loves it of course and it only took me 10 minutes to measure and sew. Plus the fabric was on sale!

Sewing Tips and Information

There is so much information on the internet now and I am personally so thankful for all the people who have been willing to share their knowledge. I have recently come across someone who wasn't willing to share any information, probably because she didn't think it would benefit her (that's my guess), but by not helping me out it has made me aware to not trust or go through this person again.

Most of what I have learned is through the YouTube videos, or countless other tutorials online. Sometimes if I have a question and I'm in Joann's or Hobby Lobby I have been able to ask the ladies a question and get a really great answer.. not always mind you! Some women just don't like to share! Since I like to share I thought I would share a few simple tips and techniques that I have learned over the past 6 months.

• French Seams- it's sewing WRONG sides together and then RIGHT sides. Why use it? Because you will get a cleaner inside seam and it will be stronger! Forget about serging try a french seam instead.

• Sewing Vinyl- use the paper wrap that comes with it so it does get stuck in the feed. If it didn't come with the paper, then use tissue paper. Just cut it to the size of what you are sewing and cover both sides of the vinyl, then when your project is done tear the tissue paper off and voila!

• Do you iron? I didn't at first, but it makes a BIG difference! Ironing and using premium starch can make all the difference in making a project look more proffessional like.

• Iron on Vinyl- it exists, but it's not all that great. I used it for a project and got the job done fine but there were some problems. First of all, I had to turn the project inside and out a lot in order to get all the linings and pockets etc into it.. that caused the vinyl to "break", it looked aweful! Thankfully you can just iron those spots out, but it was a very tiring project.

That's about it for now. I know I learned a lot more, but can't think of anymore at this point. I will more than likely just write up several different "tips and information" when needed or can be done. If you have any questions I am always willing to try my best to answer, if I don't know I will tell you and try to find the information somewhere else. Thanks!