Cookie's Embroidery Creations:Fun Projects and Sewing Ideas

It's all in the wrap!

2012-01-24T19:43:00.000-05:00

In the Hoop Gift in this month's newsletter!

For those that kept up with this blog over the December holidays, you know by now that I love to personalize gift wrap for presents that I create. Of course, that also means, the wrapper becomes a project, too!

Loving scrap book tools, fabric, and ribbons the way I do, makes Valentine's Day a creative opportunity for fun in my project studio. The CookiesCreations.com newsletter was sent out earlier today. (You still have time to subscribe on our home page or directly in Facebook.) In reading the many responses to it, it is clear I am not alone with heart mania! Thank you for the cheerful emails regarding our featured gift this month. As a reminder, there are more Valentine designs on our Facebook page.

Towel design is featured this month on our FACEBOOK

Our Tags are great "accents" to dress up jars filled with hot chocolate, or to adorn other gifts like baskets, handbags, or perhaps to use half the design and put it on a mini quilt for your special Valentine's and more.

This week, I am in the midst of Valentine festivities, decorating towels and adding tag to gifts. I also purchased cute earring files from terradonembroidery.com for friends, and placed them in clear bags with confetti, and paper "from" tags, and filled a jar with confetti for a class at Ashby's Sewing for next month! Busy, Busy!

~ Cookie!

Paper Craft TIP: I had to make a run to Archiver's today, because I found all my markers in the colors I wanted were dry. Store your markers FLAT! I forgot that rule over the holidays.

A SHOPPING OPPORTUNITY: If you own no other punch tools, I would suggest purchasing two favorites that I use all the time for cards, pages, and sewing projects: one is a ribbon punch used to cut two slits for ribbons and the other is a tag punch for quick gift labeling. You can see them used in the above gift wrapped photo. Of course, you can always use this month's free embroidery newsletter design, but having one for paper comes in handy!

"Valentine's in Appliqué" is a Crafting Dream!

2012-01-22T15:53:00.002-05:00

January FB Design!

February 14, 2012!

Valentine's always turns my own creativity towards Appliqué sewing, and layered paper crafting projects with touches of photos.

January FB Design!

Valentine's is a personal favorite because of CHOCOLATE, sewing projects and the pretty cards one can make with various scrap book tools on the market. A few worth mentioning: the Cricut Machine, Sizzix Machines, stamps, punches all can be used with fabric projects as well as paper crafting. With an iron simply press fabric on to freezer paper, apply it to the cutting mat and cut out appliqués with the Cricut Machine using a fresh new blade or skip the Cricut and use some of your punches and die cuts. Are your punches getting dull? Punch through several layers of aluminum foil to sharpen them up! Ask me how I know!

Each month, new free designs are added to the CookiesCreationsWebsite Facebook page while taking the ones from the month before down. If you love sewing and crafting, consider sharing what you are working on, right there on our page. Uploading photos is easy and all of us can enjoy your creative work for INSPIRATION! Janet Bowman shared this on our Facebook page and she is quite Right! All of us, need inspiring project ideas!

To our subscribers receiving the newsletter, the next one is scheduled for tomorrow night! A free project and design of course is included. If you don't currently receive our newsletter, you can sign up on the home page of Cookiescreations or Join directly from our Facebook page as well.

Have a great day! Cookie

What was I thinking? Cake art?

2012-01-11T07:50:00.000-05:00

Excellent Book for the Beginner and Advanced baker!

People who love to create items, often find themselves attracted to creative projects outside of their main interests. This one caught my eye, while walking through a Target store.

Sewing and Embroidery Opportunity?

In my mind, I immediately saw the potential of creating fun table settings and coordinating napkins to compliment the wonderful Cake Pops found inside the pages of this book. It had all the elements that I love, cake, chocolate, owls and cupcakes!

The part I didn't factor in was how much time, planning and work these adorable cuties would take. I will share that the people who arrived at our home raved about how pretty the cake pops were and how great they tasted. Never did make those embroidered matching napkins for the party but somehow I think the desserts would have overshadowed any other craft project that night!

First, you have to bake the cake the night before and cool it over night. This was the easy part.

In the morning, it was time to crumble the cake up and add frosting to the crumbs. Great how to's throughout the pages of this book with wonderful clear photos.

The quick overview but definitely not the full details you need for success as only the author can tell you best: Take the cake mixture and roll it into balls, freeze and dip into candy melts, sprinkles and place the sticks into position, quickly! You better be organized. For me, this is a two person job! The book has many good tips to prevent failure and definitely worth the purchase. Read the HOW TO steps PRIOR to baking!

If you really plan ahead, you could stitch up some great party linens to showcase any of the cake pops in the book. The photos, colors and layouts throughout the book are inspirational for just about anyone who enjoys making their own items.

Mini Madness for Christmas!

2011-12-23T13:13:00.000-05:00

Sometimes we forget that mini designs have many applications. At Cookiescreations.com, we are known for making adorable socks using the Sock Easy Deluxe. But at Christmas, and throughout the year, there is a wide variety of uses for both our mini designs uploaded to the website and for the Sock Easy tool.

Designs from Mini 2 and Mini 3

Sure we make it look easy, and yes, I make many sewing mistakes at midnight. But with sleep and a clear mindset, none of these ideas are difficult.

Enjoy our photo of samples and you will see some other ideas, besides socks like adorable cocktail napkins, mittens and mittens into ornaments for hanging on the tree or tying on to gifts! Consider the design. With just a few changes of thread colors, you can go from Merry Christmas, to Happy Birthday. Subscribe from the website home page or on Cookie's Creations Facebook Fan Page.

If you don't know how to do a baby shirt or leggings see my previous post for tips. Need to embroider ribbon onto gloves and mittens? Check out the Sock Easy free videos for help.

Enjoy and use your products from Cookiescreations.com. Need ready made cocktail napkins? Remember to check out products at allaboutblanks.com/

As a reminder: Our newsletter contains designs and projects each month, but remember the design links, if not downloaded, do expire when the next one comes out. We do not resend newsletters due to the Best Practices for Compliance Agreement, with regard to spam.

Week Four: Challenging Baby Items to embroider!

2011-12-14T15:18:00.000-05:00

We have been stitching up a storm this month and sharing ideas here, on Facebook, and in the CookiesCreations Newsletter. If you love this little outfit and want the designs, they are yours free for being our newsletter subscriber! Sign up is available through our main website and Facebook Page. We use the Sock Easy for cuffs on shirts, pant cuffs, gloves and mittens. Anytime we have a small stretchy circular band to embroider, this little gadget is often the best solution as it keeps your fingers out of harms way. Not everything is Sock Easy friendly. An example is the front of this Baby shirt. But the long sleeves would be Sock Easy friendly.

Those Challenging Tight Spaces with Baby Clothes - tips for embroidering!

Cuff pants may not have enough stretch in them even in the baby sizes so here is the cheat: If the pants have enough stretch, then it will stay on the Sock Easy without any fear of slippage but if not, pay attention to step 2.

Step 1 - Mark the pants where you wish to add the design. The top of the pin is the top of the design!

If the cuffs are not snug to the Sock Easy, pin the area by the blue tips of the Sock Easy closed, hoop as shown and place on sticky paper as usual! So instead of the single pin for design placement, there are three. Two of which are forming "prong" pockets to keep the fabric spread apart. The Sock Easy on baby leggings works great as those stretch and you typically do not need pins! Use the adult size unit when doing baby leggings. Stitch as usual.

For a baby Tee, turn the shirt inside out and stitch as shown below. Slow the machine down so that you can manipulate the fabric as needed. Tip: Be sure the weave of the shirt is straight as you press it on to the sticky paper. If you need more stability, consider aqua mesh water soluble, and at the end of the project, use Cloud Cover to keep the scratchy threads away from baby's sensitive skin. I get mine at TerradonEmbroidery.com

If you have the Quattro or Ellisimo machine, you can use the camera on the machine for exact placement. It was easy to see how much space I needed for the neckline using the camera. These machines let you float your design to where you want it stitched. Definitely worth a visit to your dealer to see how this is accomplished.

Week 3: Need more time? The value of "ready to embroider"!

2011-12-06T15:13:00.000-05:00

This free gift design on the coaster is one of my favorites for turning out fast holiday presents and is in the CookiesCreations.com newsletter going out today.

Quick to stitch and therefore it is great for last minute gifts. Not all of us use stemmed glasses and these ready made coasters from allaboutblanks.com fit the bill. And the design fits the center nicely. I did a few in Red & Green for gifts but I didn't photograph them, just my luck!

Idea TIPS: I went the extra step and added a small monogram in the center. You can easily accomplish the same thing with the built in fonts in your embroidery machine or software. Or if you have our Mini 2 designs, you can fit the poinsettia in the center as well, and perhaps put the same matching motif on cocktail napkins! Or do them in blue and use the Star of David or Snowflake in the center.

How do you get your free design?

I am sending out the design today to all the subscribers on the newsletter. If you are not a subscriber you can join easily from the CookiesCreationsWebsite Fan Page and Join the list, or from CookiesCreations.com in the upper right corner.

And what about the fan page? Yes, new projects are being added there as well. Tis the season of Joy! "EnJOY" ~ Cookie

Week 2: Making your gift memorable, more free project ideas...

2011-12-03T13:52:00.001-05:00

In taking a break from working on the newsletter, I shared my first gift wrap of the season with my friends on Facebook and realized this would be a good topic to explore for gift ideas. Keeping this short because I have the newsletter to finish with more gift ideas and a free design for our subscribers to go out tomorrow night.

Whether you sew, knit, scrap book or make cards, think of ways to incorporate a part of who you are into the gift wrapping process.

This embroidered poinsettia design is the one we sell on the website for napkin rings but it does make a lovely substitute for bows, tree ornaments and pins.

Other ideas include covering chinese takeout boxes with fabric or fancy papers. Tying lace ornaments to your packages, or perhaps picking up those little silver frames at Big Lots and putting a favorite photo and mounting it to a bow.

It's the presentation of your creativity all wrapped up, so to speak! A gift of yourself to a dear friend which sets it apart for years to come.

Like us on Facebook and get your directions for making mitered napkins under Projects. The Wine Bag project is also there. If you would like to subscribe to our newsletter you can do so from our website in the upper right corner, or directly from our Facebook Fan Page.

Have fun today, as I plan to do a little decorating myself with company coming for dinner tonight!
~ Cookie

Holiday Ideas continued...

2011-11-24T00:16:00.000-05:00

Go Make Something: Week 1 Holiday Gift Ideas

2011-11-21T23:13:00.002-05:00

What are you going to bring for the hostess of your next holiday party? Planning ahead can help tremendously.

Get your free sewing instructions on making beautifully lined wine gift bags, like us on Facebook , good through November 30th

Other fun gifts on the same theme include hand painted wine glasses. With special paints and the use of your oven, you can make a gift that will make any hostess smile. Or on the same idea, a hand painted vase with fresh flowers.

Cocktail napkins with monograms or one of our mini designs on the website.

Wrapped candlesticks in newspaper tied with raffia and dried flowers makes a pretty presentation.

Gift soaps with embroidered flowers: Embroider flowers on nettings and trim them up once the stitching is complete. Dampen the back of the embroidered flower appliqué with water, and adhere to soap. Add a matching hand towel.

Stitched by our customer Wanda L.

A fun journal for the inner child in all of us. Directions in a video for making the journal are on the CookiesCreationsWebsite along with the design.

Perhaps some pretty luggage tags might put a smile into the evening.

Feeling Twisted? Tis the season for fun gatherings and you need to travel light...

2011-11-06T21:42:00.000-05:00

Do your friends comment on your clear commitment to the color black! It's not that you lack a fondness for bright colors but basic black simply travels and works well for most working women. If you travel for business, even more so! Black shoes, Black dress, Black Jacket, Black Skirt and some great tank tops or solid silky Tees just right for a little splash of color, right?

The next two projects of our newsletter for Cookiescreations.com is dedicated to you. The current issue being sent has a great twisted scarf project and included with it is one of our new favorite designs. Your scarf project design is free by being a newsletter subscriber: Join our newsletter list!

In less than 5 minutes the design will stitch out and you can create a fabric that will wow your friends, whether you use it for the scarf, shawl or for a dress! The design set is from the Ornamental Medallion Embroidery Collection which has 12 designs in a 4x4 size, see several views and learn more...

The best thing about the scarf is that there is nothing to tie. It is one circular constructed scarf. One scarf with several looks. This is our current project which will change after November 15, 2011, so don't miss out.

Accessories are key to any wardrobe. With the basics covered, you can add dressy accessories and go from the board room to an evening celebration. And these same accessories make wonderful gifts for friends and take no time to make.

I am so glad I made my body double because she has become my "free model". And unlike my other model, Stella, she does not complain. It's hard to believe that underneath that black dress and twisted scarf is a duct tape body. If she can look good, I know that we can, too!

My recipe for seeing the world differently and enjoying life...

2011-11-01T12:11:00.004-04:00

Sometimes the holidays rush in so fast we can get lost in the mayhem and fail to give thanks and appreciate the beauty around us or the people who make life worthwhile.

I always carry a camera! I snap photos of friends, our surroundings and the activities we are up to. Whenever I look at the photos later, I am thankful to have taken them. Often I note things I didn't fully notice at the time the photo was snapped. From my photos, I extract colors for embroidery designs, sewing, scrapbooks, create themes and get inspired about life overall.
Holidays can be challenging at times. Consider taking pictures in the course of your daily activities. Soon you may find yourself giving thanks and enjoying a sense of inspiration in all that you do.

I am always reminded as the leaves change colors that autumn is as season of change.

Wishing you a fun November as we plan our holiday season centered on the people and events that inspire us.

Fun on Halloween - sewing perfection not needed!

2011-10-31T01:05:00.000-04:00

Wishing everyone a Happy Halloween! Stella has three bags of goodies and she will be roaming the neighborhood with the other trick or treaters this evening.

Halloween for me has magical memories filled with friends, candy and mom telling me I had to wear a coat (which I ditched 2 blocks away, because who would see my costume through that?) It was cold in New Jersey at that time of year for most of my Halloween years! Of course, I don't remember having to do it with snow on the ground like many kids will be experiencing that today in NJ.

First Costume

I remember my kids growing up and all the costumes I stitched up for them: clowns, dragons, robotic ninja, lightening bugs, casper, Dorothy, pumpkins, hobos, witches and more. I almost knocked off my head working that dragon's tail about the sewing machine to stitch it in place. The first costume I sewed for the kids was a clown, and it was the hardest because it was my first long zipper. I must have put that thing in half a dozen times till I got it to be "passable". So long ago, but I remember it well. Both kids wore it for several years.

I should take a moment and thank my sister in law, Donna, who loaned me her machine to make that first clown costume. BTW, Donna does not sew to this day - but look what a gift she gave me by her encouragment.

For those on Facebook, I do hope you are participating in our giveaway opportunity on Facebook. Details are on CookiesCreationsWebsite Facebook Page.

Have a Happy Halloween!

Desperate House Wife Turns into Baby Cakes!

2011-10-29T18:52:00.000-04:00

Baby Cakes Stella!

Stella did her first runway walk and she was so ready to strut her stuff as a Desperate Housewife. The back of her outfit says Stella. And in the time it took us to sprint out of the car and into the store, she had removed her curlers! I couldn't believe it! All that work, and I really thought I had those things anchored in there with a "safety net " of styling gel. She was quite proud of herself, prancing down the Halloween Runway because of her victory. She left with lovely cookies and suddenly I was possessed by Toddlers and Tiaras. I made a firm resolve to train her to wear curlers over the course of the next week. I don't recall this "model" problem on Project Runway.

In my mind I kept thinking, resistance is futile! However, it became quite apparent that the model was very unhappy with her designer and alas I had to come to terms with the situation at hand. Early today, I made a bow and bunny slippers and brought them with us just incase she held a tantrum. This time she wouldn't stand still for the first curler. So we negotiated, I played the role of Dance Mom and Stella wore the bunny slippers and a bow and was a much happier as Baby Cakes! (I had treats in my pocket and must have given her a half dozen to convince her to wear it and be cute!

Side note: Bentley, thought the curlers were delicious and thanks Stella for todays additional treats.

If I know nothing else, I definitely know how to make SOCKS look creative. Most of us don't need to make pet shoes with socks, but if you have a little girl in your life, it is very easy to add ribbons to socks. You can learn more here. See the third video in the list on this linked page to see how easy it is.

A short break from Halloween to share a winning idea!

2011-10-26T11:09:00.000-04:00

Upload your project photos made with our products to the "CookiesCreationsWebsite Facebook Page" and your name will be entered into a drawing for an opportunity to win a choice of a Cookies Creations design set or our favorite Sock Easy Deluxe Set.

Each photo of a new project enters your name into the drawing. The more project photos submitted, the greater your chances of winning. One name per project. Project Photos uploaded from October 26, 2011, through November 15, 2011, are eligible.

Check out Cookiescreations.com for the design sets currently available. New ones are being added this week!

Socks Made with the Sock Easy

Join our website newsletter featuring a new project idea with a free design plus embroidery and sewing tips. Signup is on the upper right corner of the CookiesCreations.com website.

PJ's for Stella

The drawing will be held on November 16, 2011. The winner will be announced on Facebook at "CookiesCreationsWebsite and here on this blog. Join in the fun, don't miss out. I share my projects all the time and I really would love to see what you are working on. ~Cookie

Useful tip for making a muslin when pattern fitting...

2011-10-23T10:58:00.000-04:00

In the past, I have always made my muslin for pattern fitting out of plain cottons. A dear set of sewing friends kept arriving to ASG meetings with nice outfits for show and tell saying this was their muslin! And then they would show the planned fashion fabric. What? Are you telling me that your show and tell is not the finished product? You used that fabric because you just wanted to test the fit? Really?

So I gave it a try, for Stella. Before making the actual costume for my furry baby, I made a muslin with the fabric I had left over from bedding. Stella, like so many of my girlfriends, is long waisted. Most dog clothes are not tailored to fit her. To speed things along, once fitted, I used a serger to assemble it quick.

Cons of using printed fabric:

If you need a plain surface for alterations, a print can be annoying. This was a simple drafted pattern so it was not a problem.

Pros of using less expensive fashion fabric:

Great way to use up old fabric
It does provide another opportunity to purchase inexpensive new fabric
It gives you permission to use that fabric of "undetermined content" you purchased by the bolt!

And guess what, if you take your time and finish it up nicely, you just might be able to use it in your wardrobe. In this case, Stella now has pajamas that fit her, and she can move about with comfort and warmth. Now I need to get to the real fabric and costume!

Finding your own Project Runway!

2011-10-17T10:58:00.001-04:00

Not all of us sew and design at a level to make it to Project Runway, but we watch the show feeling a sense of camaraderie and gain inspiration from the designers. The numerous designing challenges to make dresses out of random items, to create fabric with an HP printer, to appreciate the flair of design versus the "everyday street wear" and more!

I love Anya from Project Runway. She was able to achieve designer fame overcoming her minimal sewing skills. Anya's sense of style, willingness to challenge herself, and innovative sewing techniques makes her a shining star in my eyes.

I have learned much from Project Runway:

The outfit must flatter the shape,
The outfit should be a bit edgy,
It should appeal to the target audience,
The garment should compliment the personality & style of the model!

And now I am putting this information to use and have found my own "project" runway and so can you:

Thanks to Halloween!

October 23, is Costume day at a chain pet store in my area. I can hear your peals of laughter now! One of the stores, I contract with, shares a parking lot with a pet store. Those in my personal circle know quite well my enthusiasm and love for my poodles, Bentley and Stella. Friends and business associates were not surprised to see me sprinting across the lot, with Stella in her stroller, to enter her in the Costume Contest. Stella is entry # 1 on their Costume Contest list.

Clue to the costume: Yes, Stella, has her own style & personal flair. Stella is flirty, and her loyalty is questionable at times, but she always comes back to me at the end! I have the design sketched out and it is kept under wraps shared with just a few sewing friends for feedback.

I have thrown out my store purchased pattern. I am taking a tape measurer to that 8 lb. wonder girl. Stella made it clear that she will not be duct taped up for a body double. However, I will make a quick muslin for the initial fit.

Lastly, I learned that being on a time crunch pushes creativity. So I am typing this on a plane headed to NYC and will return with 48 hours to “Make it Work” with fabric or not!

(Stella has already been stylishly groomed in preparation prior to leaving for NYC. No time to waste! I will make a quick stop at her groomers for their accessory wall to complete her look.) Are you styling a costume for a favorite child, adult or pooch? ~ Cookie

ASG is Sew Incredibly Fun... if you sew, you should join!

2011-10-14T10:06:00.000-04:00

My Bubble Time Project Finished

The American Sewing Guild is one of the best investment of time and money, if you love to sew. The membership fee is minimal and in exchange you get: discounts at many sewing retailers, monthly meetings around the country, fun events and most importantly instant friends!

As busy as I am, you can find me showing up at two meetings per month because the people are nice, the sewing inspiration is incredible, the talents of so many members are outstanding, and those that are 'just learning sewing techniques' are nurtured! It is the chapters inspiration of dying fabrics that made pushed me to try Paintstiks and "colorization" in a less messy fashion. I love dyed fabrics. It inspired some to dye yarns - so although we are a sewing guild, it promotes creativity in all different directions.

Here is a glimpse of a meeting I attended last night, and you can see by the smiles, how much fun there is to be had at a meeting. I personally learned so many things about selecting liners and underlining fabrics from June last night. As she listed common mistakes made with fabric selections, I have to admit, I have made them all at some point. Just knowing she is sparing others from costly mistakes was worth the price of admission! Website resources on where each of us could learn more were provided: Threads Magazine and the University of Kentucky made it to the top of the list.

Colorize your word easily! (Part II) The Video tells the story...

2011-09-15T17:09:00.001-04:00

I have really come to enjoy using Paintstiks. I love that they don't dry out, and that you can blend them so easily for shading. The fact that the finished project is machine washable once it is heat set, is a big bonus to fabric artists and quilters alike. Hopefully, I will be able to instill this new addiction to people signing up for my class in October, here in Atlanta. We will be coloring in 6-10 designs, and then I will provide directions in making a fun display. Some may opt to do 10 designs for the quilt similar to the one on our home page. It's an experiment in art!

Go Social with us!

I started a Fan Page to keep up with our customers on a more personal level. It is fun to see what people are working on, and I really would love to see how you use our products and suggestions on the Fan Page so check it out and Like Us! at the top, if you haven't done so already. I certainly appreciate the support.

The last cookiescreations.com newsletter featured the free design in this video to use with Paintstiks. If you haven't become a subscriber, it is free and easily accomplished on the main website: Cookiescreations.com. You will find the subscription box on the top right corner of our home page. You may have missed this project, but we have a new one coming out on Sept. 17th.

Let's take out our Painstiks and get to work! Hope you enjoy the video from our FB page:

Finding Your Center-a tool for sewers, card makers, quilters & more...

2011-09-12T12:50:00.000-04:00

Do Not Disturb - I'm Sewing Design ITH by Cookie

Realization: Finding the center point of anything I am working on whether it be sewing, scrapbook or card making is so easy with the right tool. Last weekend, I taught an In-The-Hoop class for my Do Not Disturb Pillow and afterwards someone asked, how do you get your designs so centered. Many times I simply eyeball the design with the use the grid in the software, however, there are times when space is a commodity and I need to fit several elements into a design area. Precision will matter and that is when I use my Brother Centering Ruler.

Now I didn't always use it. I discovered the virtues of owning it from store customers. I was working on the floor, "borrowing a machine" and sewing on my break. Yes, I like sewing that much, that even on my break I will snack and stitch! In the course of my break, I saw four of these Brother Centering Rulers fly out the door. You can see the spot where they hang easily from where I was seated. There is a picture and suggested uses on the Ashby Fan Page.

The next week, I was teaching the "Brother What's Next Software" club. On a short break, I was helping the gals answer the phones and fielding questions as the store was jumping with shoppers. I got two questions about whether or not we had the Centering Ruler in stock... I went to the wall, and the spot was empty. I put all the facts together, this is one great tool to own.

At that point, I found the order form showing a new shipment coming in and a list of customers waiting to own them. BTW, this Centering Ruler is a long time product that I had somehow missed. The staff at Ashby's explained to me the different ways to use it. I quickly realized it would work with all of my crafting hobbies. And it is cheap! As of this morning, another order is in stock. I called the store to ensure it before posting for my GA friends. It is clear and flexible which I also love for marking on crafty objects.

And why blog about it today? It keeps cropping into my life weekly.On the our site's Fan Page, a friend asked how to find the center of her Fast Frames and I realized besides the eyeball method, use the Brother Centering Ruler while lining it on the embroidery machine. Jot down the vertical and horizontal positions on the machine. Use the label maker and adhere it to the frame, repeat for each of the remaining 6 frames. Now the Brother Label Maker idea was shown to me by my dear friend Kim a few years ago. Up until then I had an index card with the center points listed. I've come full circle. If you play with paper - you will love it, too. My quilting friends were laughing when I shared my fine as all them had one. Here I am, one of the last to know but putting here on my blog incase you missed it, too! ~ Cookie

Colorize Your World Easily!

2011-09-09T13:45:00.001-04:00

Free Design in Sept 1-14th Newsletter Subscription

With fabric markers/Paintstiks, I can turn out embroidery design quilts and gifts in a fraction of the time they would normally take with great results. And the best news is that they are washable.

For years I have digitized outline designs. Many of my own attendees (students) and friends sew quilts for children and charities. Time is critical and these do save time.

Outlined Color Me Quilt Designs are also wonderful for mother/grandmother and child activity time.

If you are a perfectionist and outside the lines is more than you can stand: color the blocks prior to assembly so you can pick and choose. For me, seeing a child color outside the lines in a quilt makes me smile. I hate to color inside the lines myself. I like less conformity and more creativity which is why I enjoy Project Runway so much. I need that T-shirt for my dress form Make it Work! I may order it.

I find that coloring in these outline designs with shading and blending colors meets that creative need. It certainly speeds up the time it takes to turn out a lovely or whimsical quilt depending on the design pack I use. If you need a little help with getting started, there is a video on our FaceBook page that goes with the free design.

A little segue into self help, yours and mine:

Become fan of Cookies Creations FaceBook and watch it and interact with other fans. By all means, share your projects that use our products. If you have not joined the cookiescreations.com newsletter you can do so at the top right hand corner of our home page. Each free newsletter has a design and project idea/directions and the cherub faced bubble time baby above is the selected design for the current one.

For those who find a video is not enough, if you live in the Atlanta area, I am doing a doing a class at Atlanta Sewing on October 14th. Since some have asked on FB, I thought I should post it here, just in case because some prefer blog posts and our newsletter.

Now back to our blog: I'm running a "Tape In"!

So glad to have finished my dress form project (see previous posts) so I can begin sewing some clothes with darts in the back leaving out the guess work! The American Embroidery Conference, in April, has picked up on this thread. Apparently, I will be overseeing a "Tape IN" while people wrap themselves in duct tape and then get cut out by their trusted partners. I think Ron and I made every mistake along the way. We also have developed some improved modifications in the process. I will be giving constant tips along the way so that all the dress forms look sharp and accurate once finished. This should be fun! Come join me. The supply list is easy: duct tape, measuring tape, (oh... just look at the Sept 5th, post, third paragraph from the bottom :) I will bring the spray foam for those who plan to "fill her up there" since you can't carry an aerosol can on the plane, right?

Gee, maybe some of you will let me snap a photo and then Flip Pal you into stitches for my other class offering - I couldn't resist mentioning this idea! Oh, and the walk down the runway of the AEC fashion show - so many ideas, I will stop here before you beat me up! ~Cookie

The Evil Twin who can wear my clothes!

2011-09-09T00:05:00.004-04:00

I finished the dress form and then rethought the process and outcome! After stuffing the dress form with batting and sealing it up (after"trial and error), I decided that the duct tape did not make an ideal surface to work on. A friend reminded me that a pin-pinable knitted surface was an advantage found on many manufactured dress forms. So into my stash I went and I found, much to my delight, a ribbed knit fabric in black.

I put pictures on Facebook of the steps used but you can see the final results right here. The knitted fabric not only has the advantage of being pin-nable, it also is a non slip surface. I kept a tape measure handy as I adjusted things to ensure the measurements remained accurate with batting and knitted fabric added.

I made a lot of unpleasant discoveries while making this project, and one thing is for certain: I will no longer carry a shoulder bag on my right shoulder.

The circular wrap is a pattern I found in THREADS. It fits her just the way it fits me. Now I need to go back to my Skirts book and see what I can whip up. After all, it was that book 3 posts ago that started me on this dress form project.

Overall, I am quite pleased with my project and now my evil twin will have to earn her keep.

The newsletter went out for the first half of this month. We have gone social and hope you will join us as we send out a free design in our newsletter from now through the 14th of this month, plus a how to video on using the design on our Facebook. If you are not a subscriber to the newsletter, you can join on our cookiescreations.com home page (top right corner). Have a great time designing your day! ~Cookie

Progress Report: Duct tape + Man to create Dress Form = Adventure...

2011-09-05T22:10:00.002-04:00

It really does take an hour and a half to get taped up as shown in the previous blog post from yesterday. The picture shows "my dummy" sleeping face first from exhaustion of the "tape in!"

Understand that when you do get taped up, that you have restricted movement, it's a bit of a challenge on the comfort zone - stay focused on your goal.

For the T-shirt, I picked one that was not as baggy as the one shown in the video posted yesterday. Less wrinkles in the T-shirt just made it easier for many reasons. The original selected shirt was a little shy of fabric in length, as a result: *I did end up cutting into a 2nd T-shirt for more fabric hem length which I quickly stitched to the bottom of the original t-shirt. I used the remaining extra fabric from the 2nd T-shirt to wrap around the neck area rather than plastic wrap as shown in the video, (again posted yesterday).

No coffee, or tea prior to the taping session, as you will be trapped inside your mummy dress for a short while. If your hips, or shoulders are a little sore, this will add to the discomfort for a bit but my mom always said, "Beauty has no pain" so persevere while your assistant works at taping you up.

Pick an assistant who takes thoughtful care while wielding scissors. My assistant was very careful laying each piece of tape but the removal of my mummification was less than patient so my wonderful black leggings got a small hole in them :( They cost more than the supplies for the project!) Also important, be sure that your arms are covered where needed by the T-shirt while being taped in. Having the tape ripped off your arms is not fun. Right Mr. Cookie? The welt went away 4 hours later.

Speaking of cost: 2 extra large rolls of Scotch duct tape in white $5.99each, 2 bags of batting $5.99each, 1 Can of Foam $3.99. In the picture, that marshmallow stuff is the foam expanding out of the arms, and neck. Trimming it and sanding it is the chore for tomorrow. Wear gloves when shooting the foam product into the dress form mold. Don't ask!

Very excited to be completing this so I can test it out. I will say that I did take a few measurements of the "new girl" in town, and she does measure up.

Hope your Labor Day weekend was a blast! Sending out the newsletter tomorrow to our subscriber friends tomorrow night. Keep up with all the inside tips and videos on our fan page, like us now!
I always appreciate your support ;)

Duct tape + Man = Dress Form

2011-09-04T12:11:00.001-04:00

In testing out a book that I recently purchased "Sew What Skirts!", I discovered how important a dress form can be for those back end darts. Not a brand new book on the market but it is one that has received many nice reviews. It was midnight and I was surfing the "buy ways"of the internet when I remembered this book. It was one of those impulsive moments that just happens - Add to My Cart! So glad that I did.

The measurements and method worked perfectly in the drafting of the patterns but the final fit without a dress form and no assistant was challenging and took longer than necessary. (Note to self: research dress forms.)

I have been spoiled for years with having my own sloper, thanks to the folks at Wild Ginger and their Pattern Master Software. However, it really would be nice to have a stand up model to embellish the garments created. I considered making another sloper dress to wrap up in duct tape. I couldn't possibly consider wrapping up my original memento of the training weekend at Wild Ginger.

After much research (Sunday morning), I decided it would be fun to make my own dress form. I realize that making a dress form out of duct tape is not new, but there are new sewers emerging everyday. And my husband loves duct tape, and could certainly help with this. I just showed him the dress form project and asked if he thought he could do this? (Tip for getting an assistant: challenge questions work best.) So now I have a one time assistant. My thoughts are, if I find myself using the soon to be created dress form on a regular basis then I will invest in a custom professionally made form at PGM or perhaps somewhere else that gets high ratings. Right now 3 rolls of duct tape sounds easy and quite cost effective.

There are many great videos on how to make a custom dress form. But this one caught my eye as being clear and concise. I never considered the duct tape method, but that little skirt book has made me rethink how handy it would be. I think mine will just be plain old silver duct tape, but JoAnn Fabrics does have fancy tapes as well. I might have a pin-able dress form in my future, if this homemade version proves useful . Good luck to all those who try it and if you have made one, any pointers are always appreciated! ~ Cookie (cookiescreations.com)

Loving Dilemmas! Still Flipping for Flip Pal!

2011-08-29T21:23:00.001-04:00

So what do you do if the window of your mobile scanner is smaller than the object you actually want to scan?

I faced that challenge a few weeks ago while working on two projects: a creative fabric pillow and a scrap book page. It turns out that the software included with the Flip Pal scanner I purchased at my local Brother dealer made it easy. I shared this on our Facebook Page within 24 hours of completing the initial project. However, this weekend I realized that several of our blogging friends enjoy card making & photography and might not catch it on our embroidery FB page. So here is how I went about solving the challenge. It was really quite simple as you will soon see:

I think the next project will have to be a fun case to hold my Flip Pal Scanner. It's great to be back in the studio with no connectivity issues! Cookie at Cookiescreations.com

The dilemna

2011-08-13T14:22:00.000-04:00

Here I am sitting in a gorgeous park and I have taken several fun photos to show rafting fashions. I was given a quick IPad lesson and then abandoned. I just realized that I cannot upload the photos. So stay tuned,and stop laughing