KeepsakeSewing

Step Stool

2011-09-15T14:30:00.000-05:00

My husband and I made step stools for all the nieces and nephews one year for Christmas. Each one was individually painted with something unique. He cut out and assembled the stools and I painted them.

* I am hoping to find the original blue prints my husband created so we can upload the plans for others to use. The inspiration for the painting was taken from a piece of wrapping paper.

A matching pillowcase

2011-06-20T16:52:00.000-05:00

Over the last few years I have taught a number of 4-H youth and my art students how to make their own pillowcases using this pattern I found on the internet.

http://www.mormonchic.com/crafty/pillowcases.asp

Most recently I made a pillowcase to match one of the Graduation T-shirt quilts.

Graduation T-shirt Quilt

2011-06-01T16:44:00.000-05:00

A Graduation T-shirt quilt made for a young man from 18 t-shirt pieces.

Graduation T-shirt Quilt

2011-05-29T16:39:00.000-05:00

Another Graduation Quilt made from 18 t-shirt pieces.

Homemade rosettes for a strap

2011-05-20T16:34:00.000-05:00

This bride wanted a single shoulder strap added to her strapless wedding gown. She wanted it made of rosettes. I used left over fabric from the dress that was altered and a sash that she was not going to use. The end result.

1 Wedding Gown = A 1st Eucharist Dress

2011-05-01T16:24:00.001-05:00

Our daughter Callista celebrated her 1st Eucharist this April. Three years ago I approached our oldest daughter to see if she would like me to create a First Communion dress for her from my wedding gown. She did not want any lace and so I waited till this year when our youngest celebrated her Sacrament and embraced the idea.

I started with sketches and then disassembled the original wedding gown that I designed and created 19 years ago. I found a basic dress pattern and then sloped my design from the basic pattern. I made the sleeves fuller, added darts and ribbon accents to the bodice, pleated the skirt and lined it.

The finished dress is more beautiful then I could have imagined. If you attend the Iowa State Fair visit the Fabric and Threads exhibits to see the dress on display.

Homemade Tatoo Paint

2011-03-19T21:16:00.000-05:00

As a coordinator to help with crafts at our local Mom's group one year we decide the ladies would make children friendly recipe scrapbooks. Each meeting the Mom's came together and created 2-3 4"x6" pages that would be placed in a small photo-album. Once the year was over I continued to add more pages and create books for gifts.

Sparkly Scented Play-dough

2011-02-06T18:15:00.000-06:00

Prayer Bears

2011-01-15T14:49:00.007-06:00

For Christmas one year I made Prayer Bear gift sets for our nieces and nephews. Each kit included laminated homemade prayer cards, a large stuffed bear and a video title Prayer Bear. I typed the cards up in fun fonts and used clip art from Microsoft's website.

Each child received a card with a Saint having their namesake as well as a 4x6 card with the following prayers:

The Lord's Prayer

The Hail Mary

Grace Before Dinner Prayer

Serenity Prayer

Grace After Dinner Prayer

The Glory Be

Before Bed Prayer

Daily Prayer to Guardian Angel

Below are few pictures of the cards and some snapshot of the kiddos receiving their bears.

A Bustle of Layers

2011-01-12T14:03:00.002-06:00

A taffeta dress with layers and layers. To bustle this dress I used the French Under Bustle method with color coded ribbons. When the dress was bustled you didn't even notice all the extra layers. The layers seamlessly blended so nicely.

A Barbie Bookcase/Doll-house

2011-01-05T15:10:00.000-06:00

My husband built a book shelf for our daughter when she was two. When she was 4 she begged for a Barbie dollhouse. We painted the inside of the walls to look like rooms and purchased Barbie furniture to fill the house as her Christmas gift this year.

Shrink Art

2011-01-03T14:14:00.000-06:00

Salt Water Taffy

2010-12-15T09:35:00.002-06:00

Homemade Popsicles

2010-12-05T14:13:00.000-06:00

Homemade Playdough

2010-11-28T14:12:00.000-06:00

Peanutty Playdough

2010-11-26T10:11:00.000-06:00

A "Hand" Bag

2010-11-21T14:08:00.000-06:00

I work at the local community art center teaching youth how to do various art techniques. The art instructors were challenged to come up with a hand bag entry for the local bag auction to raise money for the Pella Public Library. A student from every class was asked to trace their hand print and cut it out. The hands were then sewn to a large tote bag.

Pudding Paint

2010-11-15T08:33:00.001-06:00

Oz costumes

2010-11-10T14:20:00.002-06:00

I helped coordinate over 50 Munchkin costumes for our local High school production this fall. I hand created a hat from craft foam, trims and silk flowers to coordinate with each costume and helped sew over 50 pairs of elf looking shoes we created from bright colored felt.

Net Molds

2010-10-26T02:10:00.000-05:00

Invisible Ink

2010-10-15T21:32:00.002-05:00

Ice Cream Kids Can Make

2010-09-26T18:08:00.000-05:00

Glossy Paint Recipe

2010-09-15T12:31:00.001-05:00

BBQ Bulletin Board

2010-09-01T10:28:00.003-05:00

This bulletin board I created for a Church BBQ held in 2008. A large invitation was designed with all the important information. This bulletin board happened to be in a high traffic area so all Parishioners were well informed of their invitation. Colorful napkins and grilling tools were added to bring color and interest to the board.

Finger Paint

2010-08-26T16:07:00.000-05:00