A Not-so-“egg”-cellent Wreath

A friend of mine discovered a really cute Easter wreath on a do-it-yourself craft blog, and since we have a reputation for making wreaths together, she thought it would be a fun project for us to whip together for our front doors.  Making the wreath involves wrapping many plastic Easter eggs with different pastel colored yarns, and with much help from the glue gun, you attach the yarns to the eggs, and ultimately, the eggs to the wreath.  The finished picture on the blog made it look to cute…

Until you start wrapping the eggs.  And wrapping…

And wrapping…

So in conclusion, it took a lot of time to wrap yarn on plastic eggs.  We certainly didn’t have enough eggs to cover one wreath, more or less one for each of us to hang on our doors.  This year, we have a bowl of yarn wrapped plastic Easter eggs.   Let’s just say, don’t try this at home if you want an Easter wreath for this year.

Clutch!

Trying to fight off the winter doldrums, it seems I’ve been spending too much time huddled in front of the stove and not enough by the warmth of my sewing machine light.  Apparently, it’s not a very warm light.  But prompted by the sale of a few Bean’s Clutches in my Etsy shop, I decided I better move away from the stove and make more before I’m all sold out.  So I turned up the heat (my creative juices and thermostat) and got to work!

In a matter of a few nights this week, I was able to crank out 10 clutches, managing to use up all the oil cloth in my stash!  Which probably means that there won’t be any more Bean’s Clutches for a while.  Not a big deal.  I’ve been putting so many projects on the backburner, and I’d like to push my shop aside for a little while to get them done.  I’ve cleared a lot of items out of my online inventory, and I keep my fingers crossed that my onesie don’t get discovered by more than the occasional trickle of buyers.  I packed up the remaining scraps from my Bean’s Clutches and some fabric I purchased for new products and they’re off to the closet!

Fire Department Bust

Happy December!  I’m almost ready to start wrapping up my Christmas shopping and am looking forward to decorating the house! (When I’ll find time to do both is another question.)  I haven’t made any sales on my Etsy site for 2 months! and have been just as lazy about blogging my craft and sewing projects!  It’s fun to have a break!

Yesterday, I set up a table at a local Fire Department’s craft fair.  I shared a table with a friend (she’s a Thirty-one consultant,) and marked down everything I had to rock bottom prices hoping for lots of sales.  She assured my that she’d seen the fair advertised everywhere.  Apparently, she was the only one.  I didn’t make a single sale, and it seemed that the vendors (about 50 of us) were the primary patrons to the other vendors.  Total bust.

The day wasn’t a total loss.  I made Smucker’s Jewel Box Cookies for dessert.  A simple butter cookie with jam will turn any frown upside down!

Gimme More Sugar

Yesterday, I enjoyed another journey to the Sugarloaf Craft Festival in Oaks, PA joined by MrBeans.  For those of you faithful Rotary Cutter followers, you may recall my post on last year’s finds.  This year, I remained focused on holiday gift giving, and didn’t actually buy anything for myself.  (Shocker!)  …Except this little guy:

MrBeans and I met in Southwestern Virginia.  While walking through a street festival one summer, we came up these hysterical mugs created at Tom Phelps Studio, a local pottery studio in Floyd, Virginia.  Since we were poor college students at the time, we didn’t buy one, but I did snag a picture of MrBeans holding two of these mugs while giving his best impersonation of them.  When we walked into TPS’s booth and saw those funny faces again, I was reminded of that beautiful day in the mountains of Virginia, and I knew we had to get one!  So meet Kirby, my new coffee pal.

Most Fun DIY Wreath Ever

 

This has to be the most fun fabric wreath to make!  Super easy, inexpensive, quick, stress relieving, and turns out handsomely…what more could you want in a craft project?!

A friend of mine found this project on the blog, The DIY Show Off, and after trying it herself, insisted that I make one.  What a great friend!  I love admiring how beautifully this wreath came out and dreaming of what fabrics to make the next out of.   I finished this first wreath in about an hour.  It’s as simple as pinking some fabric squares then jabbing them into a straw wreath form with a screw driver.  (That’s the stress relieving part of it!) 

The vine pattern batik I picked out at Joann Fabric (and purchased with a 50% off coupon!) was perfect for this project.  With the pinked edges, the wreath has a very organic texture.  I didn’t use any glue, and the fabric used totals a yard and a third.   My wreath didn’t have any bare spots, but there were plenty of places I could have added more fabric if I had it.

I tied it with some grosgrain ribbon, and hung it from my old porch door.  Love it!  I can’t wait to make the next!

Love Garland

 

I broke down and finally unraveled a collection of brown fat quarters I bought in Lancaster a few years ago. 

 

I needed a few of these fabrics to become backgrounds for name garland: my genius idea to decorate an empty window frame hanging in my living room.  MrBeans and I hung the old window pane over our couch a few weeks ago.  He really likes the reflection it produces, but it was a little bare.

I love making the name garland in Winsome Baby by Art to Heart.  Since I’ve never has the opportunity to make any person’s name with this garland, I’ve found other opportunities to have fun with this pattern.  I teetered between the words “love” and “home,” but the greatest of these is love, so it won.  I spent about an hour cutting and sewing together this quick project this afternoon.  Very sweet!

Junk Drawer No More

With summer over, Indian Summer wanes on, and I spent most of September fully well knowing where my rotary cutter has been: in the drawer unused.  Today, I’m back faithful bleaders!  (Short for “blog readers.”  I’m halfway through Julie & Julia and couldn’t resist the reference.)  I just finished another project from One-Yard Wonders and it’s already been put to good use!

My kitchen drawer this morning.	My kitchen drawer now!

Yet another project I started *mumble mumble* months ago, I am more proud that I’m finished and organized then I am annoyed at the pattern. 

The first step in the Origami Organizer pattern requires a lot of measuring and marking on a 30”x30” square of interfacing.  Unable to purchase a wide enough piece, I opted to overlap two pieces and pin them together.  So this afternoon, I sprawled out on my living room floor and measured and marked a piece of interfacing that was resistant to being measuring and marked.  I originally abandoned the project on this step, but determination to organize my junk drawer prevailed.

Once I got past the initial disgust of the interfacing, my first fabric origami project started to take shape.

The too quick folding and sewing steps were fun and gratifying, but soon, a slower paced hand stitch lead me to a grumpy finish.  The bottom piece, described in the book as “slightly smaller than the box,” was (big surprise) not quite big enough.  For the benefit of my junk drawer, I stitched it on anyway.  I suppose this project wouldn’t have made the book if you needed a “yard of fabric plus and inch.” 

 

In the end, it may not fit this perfectionist’s high standards, but boy does it organize junk!

4 Bean’s Clutches

It’s been a busy, yet productive evening!  I finished up four Bean’s Clutches which have been cut and ready for production for at least two months.  Now it’s time to get them into my shop before I’m off to dreamland!

St. Thomas

is the Patron Saint of Architects…or it it beaches?  In either case, he’s the guy for me!

I recently spent a week hiding out from my everyday life on the beautiful islands of St. Thomas and St. John in the US Virgin Islands.  (And yes, I brought my beach bag.)  They are supremely gorgeous.  White sandy beaches, blue-blue water and uber friendly natives - this beach girl’s dreams come true.

If you know anything more about St. Thomas, than you know it’s a shopping haven.  Practically duty-free and no taxes, you can get some great deals.  But I made sure to take some time away from the tourist malls and checked out some shops with items produced by local crafters.   Here’s a couple of items you won’t find on Etsy, yet.

I found this cute magnet outside of Iggies at Bolongo Bay.  Wednesday nights are Carnival Nights at Iggies.  Along with a show and all you can eat feast, they feature local artisans displaying and selling their handicrafts.  Being a residential designer, I loved this beachy cottage.  A must-have since I saw the sunset in the “window” just that evening!  It was created on St. Thomas by Bridgette Julius of Kallaloo Cards & Gifts.

At Jans Creations by the Sea, an adorable little window shop in Coral Bay, St. John, I snatched up these  beautiful wire and crystal earrings.   I had so much fun chatting with Jan about the island, and even wore the earrings the next night!   You’ve got to check out her website to see just how cute her shop is!

So now that I am full speed ahead back into my everyday life, I think I’ll still dream about relocating myself and my sewing machine to a tropical paradise like these “smart” St. Thomas and St. John crafters; I’ll just have to keep telling myself that sand and sewing machines don’t mix.

Goodbye to June

My favorite month is nearing the end.  June is the best for many reasons.  It’s the beginning of Summer (this beach girl’s favorite season,) birthdays, anniversaries, and it’s flanked by two three day weekends, Memorial Day and July 4th…What’s not to love??  It’s sad to see another June ending.  At least there’s still two more months left of summery weather!

 

Speaking of summery weather, for Christmas last year, I received Amy Butler’s Barcelona Skirt pattern, and while exploring some quilt shops on my birthday, I picked up this damask fabric (from the House collection by Annette Tatum for Westminster) to make one out of.  I’m very excited...I just hope I can find the time to make it this summer while I still have a chance to wear it!

That’s clutch!

Hooray!  I’m finished sewing 7 custom embroidered Bean’s Clutches!  

Not that they weren’t fun, but I can’t wait to get back to some projects for myself!

And here’s a sneak peak from yesterday’s shopping trip:

A Bean’s Clutch for Bean

I just finished making myself a new Bean’s Clutch.  Not because I needed one, but because someone asked me if I could custom embroider monograms on clutches for her bridesmaids.   I hate to say “no” and also don’t like saying “yes” to something I’ve never done, so…I made a trial clutch.

First, I made sure I could embroider on oilcloth.   Turns out, not only can I embroider on it, but it pops up off the fabric and looks very classy!   (Just be careful, you can’t iron oilcloth or get it wet, so I’ve heard.  Just like mogwais…)

The other tricky part was getting that monogram centered.   I felt that I was somewhat lucky with this clutch…but I’m not so sure I will be lucky if I have to do this 7 more times. 
Note the painter’s tape!  Since it was a clutch for myself, I sewed together scraps to make a big enough piece of fabric for a clutch.  The juxtaposed fabrics definitely gives my clutch some character!  This could possibly be a new look for Bean’s Clutches.

I really enjoy how my new clutch turned out, and can’t wait to replace it with the one I have in my purse!  However, monogramming adds some significant cost and time to making Bean’s Clutches; maybe I won’t agree to it next time.

Crazy Pipe Cleaner Lady

And no, I’m not talking about myself…

Yesterday, my friend posted a link on Facebook to a pipe cleaner flower ring on Martha Stewart’s website.  Well, since it’s MS, I had to click!

Best decision I made all day!

This crazy Pipe Cleaner Lady, Wendy Baner, makes everything out of pipe cleaners.  I think she even throws pipe cleaner parties!  Well, on the Martha Stewart Show, she shows Martha how to make rose pipe cleaner rings.  Since there wasn’t any good pictures of them, and I had pipe cleaners laying around, I made one!  It was super, super easy, took me about three minutes and comes out beautifully!  Don’t think, just follow the links and make one for yourself!

Spring Cleaning

Over the weekend, I cleaned and organized my sewing space.  Previously, it looked as if a tornado of thread, fabric and stabilizer tore through my spare bedroom, but now it’s nice and neat!    Everything is back in it’s place, for now.

I managed to find enough time to make one small project Sunday evening.  After selling all my fabric bowls last weekend, I thought I deserved the opportunity to make a new one.  I forgot how much fun they were to make!