Made it on Monday

Some Sewing Inspiration

2012-02-19T20:41:00.001-08:00

This little baby in me must be growing like crazy because my stomach has been feeling upside down. I want to be sewing. I actually need to be sewing (I am doing some exciting guest posts soon!). And I have plenty of fabric and inspiration. But every time I put Jace down for a nap, my body decides it’s time to just lay on the couch. So I’ve been getting caught up on watching Pan Am and Downton Abbey instead of creating new, fun things to show you.

I thought I little trip through my clothing inspiration board might help get me some motivation. And hey, maybe sharing it with you will help take these pieces from my computer screen to my closet.

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I love this jacket. I actually bought some red sweatshirt fabric and black knit to line it with already (I figured that was a much easier and cheaper route than going with wool), as well as some big, black buttons. I even have a pattern that should be easy to adjust for this look. Now just to cut and sew it…

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This dress is beautiful. I think it would make an amazing Easter dress and would use a pastel color for it. Yellow perhaps? Imagine it with a white cardigan. And since I’m guessing I might have a bit of a belly by then, I could just tie the belt higher. It’s decided. Easter 2012, here you go!

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I think this shirt is beautiful. I already have some gauzy white knit that would probably work perfectly for it. Just use a rolled hem foot, and it really shouldn’t be complicated.

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I love the simple and beautiful embellishment on this top. I should check out the clearance racks at Target, and then all it would take is some lace and beads.

Thanks for stopping by!

Make Ahead Meals -or- Cooking Once A Month

2012-02-14T00:17:00.001-08:00

I have ten meals sitting in my freezer right now, four more in a crock pot cooling in the fridge waiting to be packaged and frozen, and the meat for three more just needing to be prepared. It’s a pretty wonderful feeling.

Once I found out I was pregnant I knew I needed to get on making some freezer meals. Morning sickness hit me hard with Jace, and the yuckies didn’t go away until well into my second trimester. I honestly would rather go through labor than morning sickness. And I had a long, hard, 34 hour labor experience (19 of those hours being without an epidural). I figured I’d have until eight weeks along before this baby started making its presence known in the worst way possible (which I am very thankful for… after all, it means this little one inside of me is alive and growing). But this time around it hit at 6 weeks. And it hit hard. But purchased groceries sitting in my fridge not wanting to be spoiled were a great motivation to get off the couch.

All that to say, if I could pull off fourteen meals in one afternoon (with plenty of breaks throughout the cooking), I’d say this is a pretty manageable project to take on!

I did a lot of reading up prior to making my menu and shopping list. I found The Test Kitchen of Mellisa Fallis’ post about freezer crock pot meals to be the most helpful. Each meal I make is intended to feed three people for dinner (and we’re big eaters in the Nelson household) with leftovers for my husband’s lunch the next day. My plan was to make 2 each of: Healthy BBQ Chicken and Teriyaki Chicken. 1 of Honey Sauced Chicken. Each of these will be later thawed and then cooked in the crock pot. Also in the plan was soups in the crock pot that will just need to be thawed and reheated later on—three meals each of: Taco Soup and Chicken Vegetable Soup (recipes below). My last two meals were chicken enchiladas (although I actually made three, one was for dinner tonight).

I started by boiling chicken breasts in broth and seasonings to be shredded later for the enchiladas. Once I got that going on a back burner, I browned hamburger for the taco soup. While it was browning I started chopping all the fresh produce. (In the picture above you’ll see my final preparations of: red peppers, green peppers, zucchini, garlic, red onion, yellow onions, red potatoes, and chicken.) Once the hamburger was browned, I put the taco soup in one crock pot.

I then got all my zip lock bags labeled for what would go in them, the date and cooking instructions.

Then it was simply assembling the ingredients in each bag. I saved the chicken to be added last. Once these bags were in the freezer, I cut up the chicken for the vegetable soup and got it cooking in another crock pot.

And finally came the best part—the enchiladas! I love the sight and smell of simmering onions.

One pan of enchiladas went in the oven while the other two were put together in aluminum pans (I look forward to the lack of dishes the day we eat these!).

They were topped off with foil and the instructions written on them. The taco soup was done before the chicken and vegetable, so it was cooled by the time I headed to bed and I just spooned it into three zip locks and stuck them in the freezer. The chicken and vegetable went into the fridge and I’ll take care of it in the morning. I plan on making Cheez-it chicken strips to also freeze tomorrow.

And ah, the carnage. My sweet husband did the dishes for me, which was wonderful!

Jace was quite the audience in his jammies (yes, it’s 5 pm and he’s still in his jammies with crazy bed head and munching on crackers). Poor kid, he kept thinking the onions were apples and didn’t understand why I wouldn’t give him a slice.

Jeanette’s Taco Soup (I doubled this recipe to make as much as I did)

-1 lb Hamburger
-2 cans crushed tomatoes
-1 can tomato sauce
-1 can black beans (including sauce/juice stuff)
-1 can red kidney beans (including liquid)
-1 packet ranch dressing mix
-1 packet taco seasoning mix
-Olives
-Corn (I love it with corn, but didn’t have room in the crock pot this time)
-1 TBS onion powder
Brown hamburger, combine all ingredients in crock pot. Cook on low for 4-5 hours.

Aunt Cola’s Enchiladas (which I tripled to make as much as I did)

-2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
-1 onion
-1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
-1 cup sour cream
-1 cup cheddar cheese
-1 cup mozzarella cheese
-1 can crushed tomatoes with green chilies
-tortillas

Sautee onions (I used a little butter for this part) until tender. Turn off heat and stir in cream of chicken soup, sour cream and 3/4 cup cheddar and 3/4 cup mozzarella (I actually just used a pre-shredded pack of chedder/jack) and can of tomatoes (I was out of this and sometimes find the chilies too hot, so I just added a can of tomato sauce, which a whole can would probably only work with the tripling size, and a few splashes of hot sauce). Smear some of the sauce on the bottom of your pan, then put 3 TBSP of the sauce and 1/3 cup chicken in each tortilla, roll, and place in pan seam side down. Top with remaining sauce and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is starting to brown.

Chicken and Vegetable Soup (which I doubled)

-1 can tomato soup
-1 can tomato sauce
-Chicken broth
-2 zucchinis, diced
-small bag of frozen mixed veggies
-1 clove garlic
-2 chicken breasts, raw, cubed
-Onion powder
-Basil

Mix all ingredients in crock pot and add chicken broth until you get to the consistency of broth you like for your soup. I use about a TBSP onion powder and a lot of basil, but really, just add whichever spices you think sound good. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6-8 hours. If you don’t like your zucchini as well done, just add it for the last hour or so.

Cheez-It Chicken (My all time favorite dinner growing up.)

-4 chicken breasts
-1-2 cups Cheez-Its, crushed
-1 tsp Garlic Powder
-1 tsp Onion Powder
-Butter, melted

In a zip lock bag combine crackers and seasonings. Dip chicken in butter and then shake in cracker mixture until well coated. When cooking right away, top chicken in pan with remaining cracker mixture and bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes or until cooked through. If planning on freezing, slice chicken into 1 inch thick strips prior to coating. Flash freeze on parchment paper on cookie sheet and then combine in zip lock bag. Bake without thawing at 350 for 3o minutes or until cooked through.

*And, in case you’re wondering, I spent a little less than $140 between Walmart and Costco for all of the food to make 17 meals for 4 people and have lots of cheese, tortillas and sour cream left over.*

Thanks so much for stopping by and good luck with your freezer cooking!

Parties I like to link up at:

Hoo’s Got Talent, The Sunday Scoop, The Sunday Showcase Party, Made By You Monday, Market Yourself Monday, Making the World Cuter Monday, Weekend Wrap Up, Frugalicious Friday, Feature Yourself Friday, Just Something I Whipped Up, Mad Skills Party, Get Your Craft On, The Shabby Nest, Kojo Designs, Tea Rose Home, Whatever Goes Wednesday, Real Momma, Real Style, Creative-ly U, Tutorials and Tips Tuesday, Sew Cute Tuesday, Make it, Wear It, Show and Tell Saturday, Weekend Bloggy Reading, I’m Crafty Party, Transformation Thursday, Take a Look Tuesday, Simply Link Party

Polka-Dotted Tunic Top

2012-02-10T19:45:00.001-08:00

I think it’s safe to say that I’m on a quest for the perfect tunic top. And after this one, I think I’m just about there. I could have shown it to you a few days ago, but I just didn’t feel like making myself presentable and getting out the tripod.

I had ordered a few yards of a light weight, sheer polka-dotted knit for my shop a while back, and then thought I should use some for a top. It was just too cute to pass up. I lined with with a soft black jersey knit to keep it appropriate and wearable.

My original inspiration came from Quincee’s Boutique (as all my inspiration seems to these days). I loved this top instantly. My original plan was to do a draw string or elastic waist like in the inspiration. But then I saw this “My Favorite Tee Dress” from iCandy handmade.

I figured leaving the waist more adjustable would server me better as my size will be increasing.

I had already cut the dress/top as a sleeveless piece before seeing the iCandy tutorial, but now I wish I could have made it with the simple sleeves like she did. Oh well! If you’re wanting to make one, just follow iCandy’s tutorial… it’ll be a lot easier than my mismatched pictures (I was a hurry to finish this in time for an early Valentine’s date with Nolan).

I’m looking forward to playing around with more ways of styling it. I think I’d like it better with a colored cardi (a splash of color from the scarf worked well enough for now, though), and It might even work well with skinny jeans. We’ll just have to see. I will say that I love the way mixing brown and black is completely fashionably appropriate these days! Wearing my gray boots with this would have been way too monochromatic.

Thanks for stopping by!

This post is a part of my ongoing Top It Off Series. You can see previous posts HERE.

Parties I like to link up at:

Serger Tips & Tools: Part Two

2012-02-06T23:02:00.002-08:00

Go HERE for Serger Tips & Tools: Part One.

Last week we looked at whether or not you actually need a serger. Today we’ll look at how to choose one. (If you’re unsure about what exactly a serger does, check out THIS video that demonstrates a serger’s stitches.)

When I was shopping for a serger, I didn’t do anything more than read a few articles online and then read lots of Amazon reviews. Then I narrowed it down to a few and read all sorts of reviews from anywhere I could find them online. I finally chose mine.

I bought the Brother 1034 D from Amazon. My other machine was a Brother, so I knew I liked the brand. I was impressed by how people rated its ease of threading (which trust, me still isn’t all that easy). The only thing I wish I had taken into account was how local Brother repairmen were to me. I haven’t needed to look into servicing this machine yet, but I am finding that getting my regular machine serviced will mean an hour drive.

If you’re wanting to be more in depth about choosing the right serger for you, I found some great articles and blog posts online for selecting the best machine.

*Linda Lee Originals provides a great bullet point list about details to consider when choosing your machine and some suggestions regarding the experience you’ll find at different stores while shopping.

*Overstock.com provides three clear and concise, yet well encompassing, points to consider.

*eHow Style gives five easy steps to choosing a serger.

*Sewing Alterations & Patterns Blog helps you consider what functions you’ll need for the fabrics and projects you’ll be working with.

Updated: A reader, Allison, shared this great tip from when she bought her serger: When I was shopping for my serger, I went to a smaller quilting/fabric store which also sells an extensive line of good quality machines (Bernina, Janome, etc) and ended up getting a fantastic deal on an older, used Bernette serger. If someone is looking for a serger and the prices are out of her budget, I would suggest looking at smaller, privately owned stores to see what their used inventory is.
Thanks for the tip, Allison!

Next week we’ll look at how to actually use your serger. While I know that like sewing machines, sergers are very different from brand to brand, but there are some things I’ve been learning along the way that I hope will be helpful to you!

Thanks for stopping by!

Parties I like to link up at:

An Exciting On-Going Project

2012-02-05T22:25:00.001-08:00

In case you didn’t notice, Jace’s shirt says, “Hello, my name is Big Brother.” That’s right, I’m about six weeks into a project that should take about nine months to complete. I’m so excited to know our little family is expanding. In some ways it feels unreal. I’ve been hoping to get pregnant since last February. So when I took the test and a few days later the only things happening in my body seemed pregnancy related, I excitedly made a shirt for Jace to wear announcing our big news. The timing was amazing—my mom was flying in from Maryland for Jace’s birthday and we were able to see Nolan’s parents on our way to pick her up at the airport. The shirt was simple—I just used a fabric pen to draw the name tag design on an iron on patch.

Part of why this pregnancy seems unreal is that I made another announcement shirt back in August. We were six months into being hopeful about pregnancy, so when I took the test I was so excited to make a shirt for Jace. I cut out the “Big Brother” from some blue fabric and then used my free motion foot to roughly stitch it down in red, yellow and dark blue thread. The “I’m going to be a” part was made from patch material and a fabric pen then ironed and sewed on.

Jace and I had a blast doing a photo shoot in a nearby field, and then after Nolan came home we Skyped with our parents to share the news. That evening, though, I started spotting. After three days it was confirmed that I was no longer pregnant. While the news of the miscarriage/chemical pregnancy was sad, it wasn’t devastating to me. Aside from the fact that the possibility of it not lasting was evident so early on, there was some apprehension connected to it. I had shingles just two weeks before I took the positive test. And, according to the doctor I saw at the time, shingles can cause some pretty major birth defects if a baby is exposed to it in the first trimester of pregnancy. So while I would have loved for that baby to have developed and grown in me, I also saw it as a blessing to not have to worry about whether or not the shingles had affected things.

I didn’t tell many people about the miscarriage because I honestly didn’t need sympathy. I was sad over the loss, but I already had one very healthy baby. Some of my friends had recently gone through miscarriages and scares in their pregnancies, so I knew the reality of not every pregnancy resulting in a little one in your arms. I did, however, enjoy some sewing therapy and Dressin’ Up Week was born.

As the next five months progressed, though, I did start getting discouraged about whether we would ever get pregnant again. It’s amazing how quickly we can build up stories in our minds. Maybe Jace was a miracle pregnancy and having more children just wouldn’t be an option for me… or maybe his birth was too traumatic for my body… or what if we can’t get pregnant again… or if we do get pregnant and it miscarries as well?

I’m going through Beth Moore’s “Mercy Triumphs” Bible study at church right now and have been loving this time of study for myself. A few weeks ago we were looking at James 1 and the trials we’re facing and she asked, “So what are you going to do with all you’re going through?” Not being pregnant was my trial. Beth’s challenge was to obey James 1:2 and consider it joy as I persevere through this trial. Doing this section of the study felt like the last step of a turning in my heart to truly let go of my desire to be pregnant and trust God’s timing. I was honestly able to tell Him that as much as I desire to have another baby and see our family grow, I could trust that if we were to have one naturally—He would cause the right timing. And if a baby joining our family through adoption was His will, that child would be provided for us.

As I shared this with the ladies at my table a week and a half ago, part of me was hopeful I was pregnant, while the other part of me knew I shouldn’t get my hopes up. This month would be like every other month—more money wasted on negative pregnancy tests. But that afternoon, I couldn’t resist. And when I saw the “Pregnant” on the screen, I almost couldn’t believe it. After all, I had made up my mind that I just couldn’t get pregnant. And as the next few days passed, I kept expecting the spotting. After all, I had made up my mind that I couldn’t stay pregnant.

But here I am, at just about six weeks, and things are looking good. I know that pregnancy can change at any moment, but for now I’m going to celebrate this little life growing in me. And hopefully I’ll be able to just keep on celebrating this little life for eight more months and then years and years and years after that.

And there you have my fertility story. I’ve found that all of us women have one—some more difficult and exhausting than others. But whether it’s a story of being overly fertile and having babies at times you wouldn’t have described as perfect, going through years of testing and hoping only to have a monthly disappointment, or carrying a child only to loose it after it enters the world, your story is important. I can’t wait to find out if we’re having a boy or girl (I’m hoping for girl!) and when we do, I will love finding a name that gives meaning to the journey of welcoming this baby into our family. (You can read about how we chose Jace’s name HERE.)

I will still continue doing my Top It Off posts on Thursdays as I’m able and everything else crafty or creative I can think of in between, and then I’ll be throwing some maternity and baby posts in there as we go! I’m figuring that if this pregnancy goes at all like it did with Jace, I have two more good weeks and then life will get nasty. But at least this time around I’m not working and know what to expect.

Thanks so much for letting me share my story with you!

Things That Go Birthday Party

2012-02-04T13:05:00.001-08:00

My little boy turned two on Friday. It’s hard to believe that the little boy who took almost 34 hours to make his appearance is now a non stop moving and talking two-year-old. He loves anything with wheels—cars, trains, airplanes, trucks… so we decided to have a Things That Go party for him.

I designed his invitations in Publisher (had to make the tire treads myself using lots and lots of round-cornered rectangles) and then just had them printed as 4x6 photos at Costco.

My mom spent the weeks leading up to his birthday making all sorts of fun cut-outs on her Cricut. Since it was an evening party we served sandwiches and crock pot macaroni and cheese for dinner. The plates, napkins and cutlery were all bought at Walmart. I put some of my mom’s cut outs on the jars holding the forks and knives.

Jace’s Tonka truck was used to hold the napkins.

My mom made a super cute Happy Birthday garland out of a train. We hung it from the bar and then set up Jace’s wooden train around the table. The food later went inside the tracks.

Since Jace doesn’t like cake we had an ice cream sundae bar for dessert instead.

An old-fashioned soda shop was the look I was aiming for. We used parfait glasses and pretty plastic dishes I found at the Dollar Tree for the sundaes.

The toppings were a lot of fun to come up with. In addition to hot fudge, caramel and whipped cream, we also had sprinkles, gummy bears, crushed Oreos, crushed waffle cone and M&Ms.

Like the forks and knives, the spoons were in a jar with cuts outs on the front. The jars were just a little too deep for the silverware to stick out so I put some paper filler from the Dollar Tree in the bottom of them.

My sister-in-law and niece are gluten-free, so I also had salted brown butter rice crispy treats to eat. My mom had the clever idea of sticking the cut outs to little wooden cubes to made them stand up on their own. I loved being able to add such fun little touches of things that go all around the house.

I wanted Jace to have a special spot for opening his presents, so I brought in a chair from his table/chair set that we have outside and loved that it matched the color scheme.

Balloons and a “Jace” banner also made by mom my topped off the look. The balloons are just tied to a yellow grosgrain ribbon.

Jace thought his special spot was pretty great and I loved that we finally captured him with “Nowie” his stuffed cat that goes everywhere with him. The kitty got its name from the way Jace says meow. She was first called Now and then he made it more special by calling her Nowie.

I made his shirt without having to do any sewing! I used a Garanimals shirt from Walmart and then cut the train track pieces from black grosgrain ribbon. After melting the ends so they wouldn’t fray, I used Steam-A-Seam to bond them to the shirt. The “2” was cut out of felt and the pattern used the same font as the 2 on his party invitation.

Going back and sewing everything on would be cute, but I didn’t want to deal with my sewing machine at this time.

Party favors were two containers of homemade play dough each. I made red, yellow and blue to match the party. I used THIS recipe and loved the texture! The dough was then put in small Glad containers that come in an 8 pack.

Each cousin got a bag with their two play doughs. The bags were sealed with glue dots and a 2 cut-out my mom made, and then a train/car/dump truck/plane was stuck on as well.

During the party all the cousins played Pin the Wheel on the Car. My mom drew the car on a poster board and then cut the wheels out of scrapbook paper.

We also had fun flying paper airplanes. I found this site with all sorts of templates and instructions and just printed them off. Then the dads folded the planes and the kids had fun flying them.

When it was time for the birthday boy to have his sundae I just put a candle in it like it was a cupcake. The party was a lot of fun and we loved having so much family come celebrate with us. Jace loved being the center of attention and I can’t believe he’s two!

Thanks for stopping by!

Parties I like to link up at:

Serger Tips & Tools: Part One

2012-01-30T23:00:00.001-08:00

I fell in love with my serger the first time I used it. And I’ve fallen in love with it more and more each time I’ve used it. I actually use it more than I use my standard machine these days (part of that could be due to the standard machine needing servicing though).

A serger is fantastic for sewing with knits and finishing edges on all sorts of sewing projects. It can also help you get through a project faster since it can sew more stitches per minute than a standard machine. I have the Brother 1034 D (top left corner of image above) and bought it off Amazon for just less than $200 with free shipping. I was impressed by the reviews and it serves my needs wonderfully. I’ve had it for just over a year now and can’t complain.

I frequently get comments on my clothing posts or see captions on pins of my projects that my fellow sewers wish they had a serger. It’s led me to wonder how many of you aren’t actually making clothing for yourselves purely because you don’t have a serger?

Over the next few weeks I’ll be using my Tips & Tools Tuesday posts to cover some of the ins and outs of using a serger. Granted, I consider myself a novice in this area of sewing. But while I may not be an expert seamstress, I am a confident one who isn’t afraid to go looking for the answers on how to make something work.

To start this series out, I’m going to look at whether or not you actually need a serger to be happy with the clothing you make.

Clockwise from top right: Flutter Flower Shirt, Red Pleated Shirt, Simple Maxi Dress, Baby Peter Pan Costume, Gathered Dress, Maxi Dress with Braid Trim.

All of the projects pictured above were sewn using only my standard sewing machine. All that’s just to show you can still make great clothes that are completely wearable (and washable) for yourself without needing a serger. If sewing knits with a standard machine is intimidating to you, check out THIS tutorial on sewing with knits.

Left to right, top to bottom: Layered Strips Shell, Rounded Ruffles Shell, Little Boy Shorts, Delicately Ruffled Top, Skirt, Slubby Ruffles Shell, Polka Dotted Ruffled Top, Little Boy Shorts, Knit Striped Skirt

The above pictured projects were all sewn using both my standard machine and my serger. Here’s a run down for each project what my serger was used for versus what the standard machine was for:

-Layered Strips Shell: Standard machine sewed all the strips on while the serger sewed the side and shoulder seams.

-Rounded Ruffles Shell: Standard machine sewed the ruffles on while the serger sewed the side seams, shoulder seams and attached the neck and hem trims.

-Little Boy Shorts: Standard machine sewed all the seams, hems and the elastic casing at the waistband while the serger was used to finish all seams so there were no raw edges.

-Delicately Ruffled Top: Standard machine was used to lettuce edge the ruffles and sew the ruffles to the shirt while the serger was used to assemble the top.

-Slubby Ruffles Top: Standard machine was used to ruffle the strips directly to the shirt while the serger was used to assemple the top.

-Polka Dotted Ruffle Top: Standard machine used for ruffles, attaching bias tape and top stitching. Serger was used for finishing all raw edges to prevent ripping of fabric and for side and shoulder seams.

-Knit Striped Skirt: Standard machine was used for top stitching on the seams and the hem while the serger assembled the stripes and the skirt.

The only piece of clothing I have used only my serger for is my Softly Layered Shell. So you can see that I’ve used just my standard machine a lot more than I’ve used just the serger. (I will note, though, that I use just my serger on all the scarves you’ll find in my etsy shop.)

If you’re trying to figure out whether or not a serger is a worthwhile investment for you, here are a few questions to consider:

-How often do/will you sew? If you are regularly sewing and have the desire and time to do more, a serger could be well worth the investment. And by regularly I mean at least once a month, although I personally would want to be using it more than once a month to feel like it was worth the money. If you’re sewing less than that, you may not feel like you’re getting your money’s worth out of it.

-What do you sew? If you’re sewing a lot of clothing or using a lot of knit fabric, a serger would be a great way to go. If you’re mostly creating craft projects like sewing banners together, pillows for your couch, check book covers or small intricate crafts, your standard machine is really all you need and a serger really wouldn’t work for your projects.

-Do you like to sew quickly? A serger sews fast. Obviously, you have speed control with your pedal still, but a serger is a quick-sewing machine. If a needle flying quickly through fabric scares you, I’d say you should get more comfortable with your standard machine first. If you find yourself putting the pedal to the metal sewing style, you’ll love a serger.

-Are you dependent on pins and can’t take them out as you sew? Then you’ll need to stick with a standard machine. Pins can’t run through your serger, especially if you’re using the blade to trim the fabric as you go. If you’re comfortable removing pins as you go, or even don’t want to deal with them at all, you’ll enjoy using a serger.

-Do you have patience? A standard machine can be annoying enough to thread sometimes, but a serger is like 100 times worse. Some machines are simpler than others to thread (I chose mine because it was well reviewed for simplicity of threading), but they are time consuming no matter what.

-Are you ok with either spending a lot of money on thread or not always having the thread match your fabric perfectly? You use four spools of thread at a time with a serger. The cheap serger thread at Joann’s is $1.99/each. Because of that, I don’t change my thread for each color of fabric I use. I have cream and black. I use whichever one coordinates best with the project I’m doing.

-Do you plan to sell the items you make? I think a high quality product is a must if you’re going to sell it, and that means finishing touches. I wouldn’t feel comfortable selling shorts made from woven cotton in my children’s shop if I didn’t finish the seams with a serger. I also wouldn’t feel like my scarves were worth the price if the were just sewn together with a zig zag or knit stitch. A serger was an investment for my business. If these items were just being used within my home, such finishing touches would be nice, but not necessary.

-Do you have $200 to spend? My husband and I are committed to paying cash for what we buy (our home is the only debt we carry), so to me, a serger is not worth the credit card debt or the interest you’ll pay on it. If you do have the money to spend, go for it! But don’t feel like you’re needing to spend more than that. From what I’ve read, the machine I bought is a great deal and a great product. If you’re wanting to spend more money on a serger, you’re probably already experienced with the machine and therefore aren’t really needing to follow this tutorial (insert smiley face here).

While that list of questions certainly isn’t exhaustive, it should help you start thinking clearly through whether or not you actually need a serger to be happy with what you sew. If all this is beyond even where you’re at in the quest for understanding this complex sewing machine, and you just want to know what the point of one is or even what they are, or if you’re ready to buy and looking for more machine-based tips, I found few links I’d love for you to check out:

--What To Look For In A Serger

--Serger FAQ’s and a Buying Guide

I’ll be back next week with part two of this serger series!

Thanks for stopping by!

Parties I like to link up at:

Confessions

2012-01-28T22:57:00.001-08:00

I just mopped my kitchen floor and I can’t remember the last time I did. In fact, it’s quite possible my mom was the last person to mop anything in my house. Or it was Nolan. Probably not me though. But as good as it felt to make my kitchen floor look so nice (but, in all honesty, we have some pretty great flooring that looks like stone and the coloring disguises dirt really well, so the difference isn’t all that noticeable… hence such irregular mopping), I seriously wavered on whether or not I should continue and take care of the entry way and bathrooms as well. But… I finally acted like the grown up I am and cleaned all the hard surface floors.

So for those of you who have ever asked how I do it all. That’s how. While I’m busy crafting and sewing and having a blast in my [very messy] craft room, I’m neglecting other things like clean floors.

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Nolan and I like to obsessively watch TV shows on Netflix. Two years ago, before Jace was born, we went through the first six seasons of LOST in just three weeks (season 7 hadn’t aired yet). Some evenings we’d stay up until 1 or 2 am because we had to watch “just one more.” It was a great way to spend Christmas Break. Only problem was that we were both working full time and not on Christmas Break. (As a side note, we watched the first episode of the last season in the labor and deliver room at the hospital. I didn’t get a lot out of it because I was in a lot of pain and irritated that the doctor on call didn’t believe me that I was in labor, but it was pretty fun to really prove our hard-core fan status in that way.)

A while back we watched all 26 episodes of Better Off Ted and LOVED it. We seriously mourned the fact that it was only two seasons long. And one of those was a short season. Right now we’re obsessing through How I Met Your Mother. It’s legendary.

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It’s 10:48 pm and my mom flies in in 14.5 hours. And I still have some more cleaning to do. But what am I doing? Writing this blog post after having just watched another episode of HIMYM. I justified it by saying I needed to rest from all that mopping, and how can I continue cleaning if the floors aren’t dry?

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I’m a slacker at replying to emails. You leave me some really great comments. And then I read them on my phone and tell myself I’ll reply when I get on the computer. But I’m easily sidetracked and forget. I really do appreciate your comments, read them and cherish them and then feel really bad for not responding. But some of you are “no-reply” bloggers, so I can’t really reply anyways, so at least I don’t have to feel guilty about those un-responded-to-comments.

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And, I think that’s all for tonight. Back to cleaning!

Neutral Winter Decor

2012-01-27T17:17:00.001-08:00

After Christmas I found myself craving a neutral, basic mantel that could really spread over any season. No winter snowflakes, no valentine red, and no overarching theme. Just nice, classy and neutral.

Of course I found my décor stash to be severely lacking when I went digging. But a gift card and some after Christmas sales at the Craft Warehouse in Salem cheered me right up.

The leafy stems are really pretty and iridescent. They’re new, but I put them in a glass pitcher filled with potpourri-like filler. The jar is filled with pin cones and cinnamon sticks, and the Scatter Joy sign has been hanging in my old office for the past six years. It was fun to incorporate it into my home.

The green lantern and tall clock were also some after Christmas sale finds and I LOVE them. The lantern is filled with sugared fruit and berries for now. It’ll be fun to come up with different fillers as the year goes on. I loved the clock when I saw it because I knew it would balance out the space beside our TV. As I explained in THIS post, the TV is off center for now, so I’m enjoying the creative challenge in decorating to make that fact less obvious.

On the other side of the living room, in the dining area, I added a touch of neutral with some burlap roses. I watched this tutorial from LaBelle Bride and then adapted it a bit. I felt like the burlap needed a little something to break up the brown, so I made a few from linen. All the roses are on bamboo skewers. And some pussy willow branches added the perfect touch for some height.

Now if I could just finish decorating the buffet in my living room (which should include taking down my ric-rac Christmas trees).

Thanks for stopping by!

Parties I like to link up at:

WIW: Pinterest Inspired

2012-01-24T21:02:00.001-08:00

I have a love/hate relationship with all the outfit inspiration on Pinterest. On the one hand, it has challenged me to think through my outfits a little more and I’ve seen combinations that I would have never thought of. On the other hand, I now look at my closet with more disdain and discontentment than ever before. If only I had ___. Or a ____ shirt. Or ____ jeans. I’m guessing I’m not the only one.

So for the past few months, I’ve been pinning inspiration while figuring out how to achieve a similar look with what I already have. And when I have some money to go shopping with, I make sure and look at my pinned inspiration for some ideas of what to look for. Here are a few examples of my attempts (and I’m noticing each one involves a scarf)…

Scarf: Ruffles ‘n Such. Sweater: Old Navy. Jeans: White House Black Market. Shoes: Sketchers.

I like the sweater/scarf combo, but I definitely think it would look better with some trouser cut jeans and dressier shoes (like the inspiration).

Scarf: Ruffles ‘n Such. Shirt: Ann Taylor (actually came in a pajama set). Vest: Maurices. Jeans: White House Black Market.

I ended up changing into skinny jeans and wearing this with brown boots instead. I liked that look better but forgot to get a picture.

Scarf: Ruffles ‘n Such. Shirt: Rue 21. Cami: Maurices. Skirt: Gap. Boots: Payless.

This outfit wasn’t so much a copy of the inspiration pieces as it was the color scheme. I love all the gray with just a pop of lavender.

Scarf: Ruffles ‘n Such. Shirt: Target. Cami: Maurices. Pants: Free Culture from Olive Boutique. Shoes: Toms.

I also wore my gray asymmetrical jacket with it, and chose to use the turquoise in a scarf instead of clutch.

Scarf: Ruffles ‘n Such (surprise, surprise). Shirt: Target. Cami: Maurices. Jeans: Free Culture from Olive Boutique. Boot Socks: Made from sleeves of a shirt. Boots: Payless.

I really like the navy and gray combo and have tried it with a few other pieces. I think I would also like this look with my Down East Basics jeans and gray flats, more like the inspiration piece.

How about you? Is Pinterest helping or hurting your satisfaction with your wardrobe?

Thanks for stopping by!

Fleece Pillows & Serger Questions

2012-01-23T18:23:00.001-08:00

I’ve mentioned before that I LOVE my hairdresser and I get my hair cut in exchange for homemade items. She’s creative, artistic and a lot of fun, and enjoying decorating her family’s new house. She has used a lot of bright colors—even a dark turquoise music room. I thought her family could enjoy some comfy pillows that would also make a fun statement.

I used fleece for both pillows.

I followed V & Co’s Shag Pillow tutorial for the turquoise one. It would have been fairly simple and quick if my machine hadn’t kept jamming on me.

For the red pillow I modified Living Savvy’s Textured Felt Pillow. Instead of overlapping the strips where they were sewed down after each twist, I just sewed them side by side. My hair dresser loved the pillows. And I love my hair cut. So it’s a great deal all around!

In other news… I’ve had quite a few people mention in comments that they aren’t sure where to start in looking for a serger, or that they don’t know how to use the one they have. Or even saying they wish they had a serger. If I were to do a Tips & Tools post about sergers, what information would you want me to cover?

Thanks for stopping by!

Knit Striped Skirt {Tutorial}

2012-01-19T19:05:00.001-08:00

I’ve mentioned quite a few times lately how much I’ve fallen in love with Quincee’s Boutique, and I’ve never set foot in their store. They regularly post new items and outfit inspiration on their facebook page, and I recently fell in love with this ensemble.

The skirt looked easy enough to remake, and I had some golden yellow knit on hand that I thought would make a great cardigan. But, two sets of too-small sleeves later and I was out of the needed fabric to finish my sweater. And, of course, my Joann’s is out of that color and won’t have more for a few weeks. And my surrounding towns are flooding, so just heading over a half hour to get more is out of the question. So what’s a girl to do?

Use accessories to bring in the yellow! Scarf: Ruffles ‘n Such. Tank: Slubby Ruffles made by me. Cardigan: Vera Wang from Kohls. Leggings and boots: Maurices.

The beauty of this skirt is that it took about an hour (could have been faster if my regular sewing machine wasn’t being cranky), used less than a yard of fabric and didn’t require any notions, and is super comfortable to wear. Want to make one yourself? All you’ll need is a half a yard each in contrasting fabrics. I used a Ponte Roma Solid Knit from Joann’s in dark gray and black. It has very teeny tiny ribs in it, a nice amount of stretch and is really soft. It’s normally $12.99/yard, but I had a 50% off coupon, so this skirt cost me $6.50.

I started by cutting my material from selvedge to selvedge so that the stretch would go the width of my skirt (that way I could pull it up over my hips without needing elastic or a zipper). I made my strips 6” wide, so there were only three stripes and them my waist band on the skirt. If you wanted to do thinner stripes like the inspiration, I’d say to make them 3 or 4 inches wide. I also cut out an 8” strip for the waist band.

To sum that up: I cut out two 6” strips in the gray and one 6” and one 8” in black.

With right sides together, sew your skirt body strips together. I just did the full length of the material and treated it like a piece of fabric later to cut the skirt pieces out of. I used my serger, but you can also use your regular machine and still have your skirt turn out nicely. If you aren’t familiar with sewing with knits, or were planning on using a straight stitch, please read THIS post about how to sew with knits. If you use a basic straight stitch you’ll risk breaking your thread when you pull your skirt on or while walking.

I then top stitched along one side of each seam. When I looked closely at the photo of the inspiration skirt, it looked like the fabric slightly layered on the strip below it, and it was all because of top stitching. By just stitching along one side of each seam (make sure you do it along the same side on each seam), you give it that finished layered look. I used a knit stitch on my regular machine to do this.

Using a skirt that I like the shape of as a pattern, I cut out my skirt. Keep in mind while doing this that you’ll still be adding a 3.5” waist band to your skirt.

After cutting out one piece, I used it as the patter for the back of the skirt. Make sure that your skirt will fight you somewhat tightly at the hips at this point. If it will be large, make it smaller or else you’ll risk your skirt falling off.

Once your skirt is sized pretty closely to what you’re wanting, fold your waistband strip in half length wise so it’s only 4” wide (or tall at this point, depending on how you’re looking at it) and line it up with the skirt, fold lining up with fold, and cut it continuing the curve you started with the skirt. Then use it as a pattern to cut another one. Unfold it and sew the pieces together, right sides together. Note, at this point you won’t be sewing a straight line—it’ll curve into the middle and then curve back out. Then sew the two end pieces together the same way you just did, so you’ll have one continuous loop. Try the waist band on. If it doesn’t have to stretch to get over your hips and sits loosely where the waist of your skirt will sit, take it in. This will be what holds your skirt up. Once you have it sized right, make sure that your skirt matches it in width. If it doesn’t trim off however much you need to.

Sew the skirt at the side seams. Then sew your waistband on by folding it in half horizontally so the seams from sewing it together fold over themselves and you don’t see the stitching and sew it to the top edge of the skirt. Check out THIS tutorial for a more in depth tutorial of what you’re doing. Then just add a hem and you’re finished!

(The skirt doesn’t actually pull funny to make the bunching… I just forgot to straighten it after setting up the tripod, picking up my toddler, putting him back down, getting the camera set up, and then taking pictures. Oops!)

I’m really happy with how the skirt turned out and you can’t beat the $6.50 price! I’ll have a lot of fun playing with different outfit combos for it, and once my Joann’s gets more yellow knit it, I’ll finish the cardigan and share it with you!

Thanks for stopping by!

This post is a part of my Top it Off series where I’m making one new piece of clothing or accessory to top off an outfit each week in 2012.

Parties I like to link up at:

Well… it’s raining?

2012-01-18T11:55:00.001-08:00

I haven’t had much to say in the past few days. I do have things to show you, but that’s going to require taking pictures, and it would be really helpful if the sun would come out for that. But, I live in the northwest. And if you haven’t heard, we’re in a bit of a winter storm. Scratch that. I should say almost all of the northwest is in a winter storm. I, however, live in what should be considered the hot spot in this neck of the woods. We’ve had rain. Lots of hard, heavy, cold, wet rain. And wind. But beyond a very slight dusting that was gone in a few hours, no snow. Snow makes the world bright even if the skies are fairly dark. Rain, however, does not. So, no pictures.

Want to know what I would show you? My mantel that is mostly season-neutral and makes me happy. And a pretty bouquet of burlap roses. On stems. In a white pitcher. Please imagine something pretty, because they are truly lovely.

I’m going to sew too. Want to know what I’m planning on?

This whole outfit from Quincee’s Boutique made me smile. So I’m going to make it. But I’ll be making a yellow cardigan and match the skirt and sweater with a black top instead. It should be simple. I’ll have tutorials. Maybe I should get off the computer to go do it?

If you’re feeling in the mood to go do some clicking and voting, go check out this round of So You Think You Can Sew. This week’s theme is apparel. I think all the projects are beautiful, but Kirstin’s Ballerina Dress is my favorite.

My husband turned 30 on Monday. Wasn’t it nice of the government to give schools, banks and public employees the day off in honor of him? (It was my dad’s birthday too… so maybe the celebration of two great guys just couldn’t be passed up.) We had a reverse surprise party for him. Some of our closest friends had us over for dinner, and then at 7, more friends started showing up. It was great, because any thought of there being a surprise party left Nolan’s mind when we got to dinner and it was just the friends we expected to see. So the doorbell ringing after dinner really surprised him.

I found an Andes Mint cake recipe from Bird on a Cake through Pinterest. I may have used a bit too much green food coloring, and my ganache may have been a bit lumpy, but the cake was amazing!

The birthday boy with his cake, wearing one of the shirts I made him for Christmas.

And finally, in other news, Jace and I have both become HUGE fans of being home full time. He LOVES playing with his train set and I love to watch him play contentedly. Our entire downstairs has finally become clean and is staying that way! I don’t know about you, but mundane chores become a lot more interesting when you think about how you could blog about them. So I’m thinking I might tackle organizing one spot in my house each week and sharing it with you. Maybe it’ll inspire you, maybe it’ll bore you. Either way, it will probably help me get my house in order, so it’s worth it to me.

Also, this makes me really excited. Reaching 1000 followers seemed so far off and unattainable. And then all of a sudden it happened. Thank you so much for being such incredible followers. I appreciate you all so much!

Hope you’re having a great week! I’ll be back later with some tutorials for you!

Speaking of yummy recipes…

2012-01-14T00:18:00.001-08:00

I have another recipe to add to the several I shared with you the other day that turned out to actually be good (you can check them out HERE).

(Image via Smitten Kitchen)

Salted. Brown. Butter. Crispy. Treats.

Just made them. Ah-mazing. That’s all I can say.

A Softly Layered Shell {Tutorial}

2012-01-12T19:57:00.001-08:00

As I explained in this post, I’ve set a goal for myself to sew or make a new top or accessory each week in the year of 2012. I’m giving myself permission to miss a week here or there, but wouldn’t it be cool if I really followed through on this and ended up with 40 new shirts/jackets/cardigans/vests/belts/necklaces/headbands/clips… anything that tops a look off by the end of the year?

This top was a lot of fun to make because it only took an hour, and I didn’t have to spend time fixing it or revising my original plan.

I bought this fabric quite a while ago on the clearance rack at Joann’s. It was during one of those 50% off already red-tagged sales. It is a soft, silky, thin, and I don’t think I’d be going too far if I called it luxurious, jersey knit fabric. I couldn’t resist it at only $2 a yard. I bought what was left on the bolt, which was about a yard and a half.

I originally planned on making it long sleeved so I could wear it under a pretty, gray, flowy vest I bought after Christmas. But I couldn’t settle on any sleeves that I liked the idea of, and ended up making it double layered so it wouldn’t be too thin to actually keep some body heat in, and just didn’t have enough fabric for sleeves at that point.

I like how the two angled layers gather a bit under the cardigan. Want to make one yourself?

I started by laying out a shirt I like the fit of on my material, center folds lining up. I cut the neckline a little bit lower than my pattern shirt. I cut two of the front and two of the back in order to make it thicker and double layered.

Then, using one of my front pieces as a guide…

I cut around the piece and then cut it on a curve from about and inch and a half under the arm of one side to the middle of the shoulder on the other side.

I then repeated that with another one, this time going about 5 inches below to the edge of the shoulder on the opposite side (so it was the same length as the original front shoulder).

I felt like keeping it simple and just ran my raw edges that would stay exposed through my serger. I like the somewhat lacy affect the serging stitches gave. If you don’t have a serger, I would suggest using a rolled hem, or maybe just leaving it raw. I’m afraid a zig zag stitch just wouldn’t have the same affect.

I then lined up/stacked all my layers. Starting with the inner front, then the outer front, the longer accent layer and then the shorter accent layer, all right sides up. I topped those with the outer back and then the inner back pieces, both right sides down. I carefully lined them up at the shoulders and then serged them all together. If you are using a regular sewing machine, I’d suggest checking out this tutorial on sewing with knits so you don’t end up frustrated, or ripping your stitches as you put your shirt on someday down the road.

At this point I stopped taking pictures because I really wanted to finish in less than an hour (for those of you who have never made a tutorial before, the time it takes to photograph along the way can seriously lengthen a project sometimes). I sewed the side seams together, again being careful to make sure everything lined up. I liked the way the serged edges looked on the layers, so I thought I’d mimic that with the neckline, hemline and arms, plus that was WAY faster than pinning and hemming. In the end, that ended up being one of my favorite features of the top. And then it was done!

I love the way it turned out and it was so comfortable to wear today! Plus I had a lot of fun playing with one of my Christmas presents from Nolan—a wireless remote for my camera!

In case you were wondering where the pieces of my outfit are from:

Cardigan: Target . Jeans: Free Culture. Boots: Maurices. Boot Socks: made by me from a shirt. Necklace: The Bird’s Papaya.

Thanks for stopping by!

I like to party at…

Some Pinned Yumminess!

2012-01-11T10:05:00.001-08:00

Thank you so much for all your feedback on the top I’m working on! I’m excited to go find some gray leggings and get to work on finishing it!

Are you on Pinterest? (You can find me HERE.) I enjoy it in moderation—meaning I regularly check out what my friends are pinning, but I don’t necessarily go searching and browsing in the wider world of inspiration it holds. My two favorite types of pins are outfit inspiration and recipes. But sometimes the recipes make me hesitant. Because some of the recipes I’ve tried really aren’t that great. Have you had that same problem? So I thought I’d share with you some of the recipes I’ve found either on Pinterest or while I was visiting blogs, and actually tried and found them wonderful.

Thrifty Décor Chic shared three of her favorite crock pot recipes. I’ve made the Chicken and Dumplings and Chicken and Wild Rice and enjoyed both of them, but the Chicken and Dumplings is my favorite. We’ve had it several times and I’m making it for a friend who just had a baby. It’s delicious.

Readable Eatables shared her Olive Garden Breadsticks and they are delicious! The only suggestion I would make is to not restrict yourself to the time suggested for allowing your yeast to sit. Mine wasn’t all that frothy at that point, but I figured maybe that was how this recipe should go. I would suggest letting your yeast increase by at least half, however long that takes. Otherwise, wonderful!

Jamie Cooks It Up has a delicious Crispy Chicken with Creamy Italian Sauce recipe. The sauce is really where it’s at. She introduced me to Philadelphia Cooking Crème and I’m in love. I have used the crème a few times since, with varying amounts of chicken broth and cream of chicken added, and loved it every time.

Candace’s Calling shared this recipe for Carmelitas a while back and I finally got to making them Friday night. Delicious!!!!

Baby Jaynes shared a delicious looking whole wheat bread recipe. I haven’t made this one yet but I plan on doing it soon. I even feel the itch to just make bread weekly. We’ll see if that pans out though…

Enjoy!

An Attempted Knock Off—It’ll be Pretty With Your Help!

2012-01-09T22:36:00.001-08:00

Thanks to Tam over a Sew Dang Cute Crafts I have fallen in love with the shop Quincee’s Boutique, and I haven’t even set foot in their store. If only I could justify a trip to Utah for shopping, oh, and suddenly have lots of money to spend. But since that isn’t a realistic option, I’ll settle for drooling over the pictures they post on their Facebook page and try the occasional knock off. Try being the word of emphasis there. I thought this top was adorable, and when I got the urge to sew something new on Saturday, I was delighted to find that I had some good fabric on hand to give it a try.

Right now it reminds me of the long-johns the mean guy in The Fox and the Hound wears. Crazy thing is, I haven’t seen that movie in YEARS. Why is it that I can’t get his image out of my head when I look at this top? Aside from that, the obvious flaws in my mind are the sleeves (thinking maybe they should just go? The inspiration piece is sleeveless) and the bottom buttons not being evenly spaced. I didn’t have any lace on hand (now kicking myself for passing on buying some the other day), but I really like how I used the accenting pink fabric. Perhaps it isn’t enough of a contrast though?

(Oh, and ignore the messy room around me. Sadly enough, this is the cleaned up version.)

I’m also not so sure of how I feel about the hemline. Should it stay or should it go?

I’m thinking pockets like the inspiration piece would be helpful.

I’ll wear it with leggings (as seen in the pictures), boots and boot socks (like the inspiration outfit). Is it perhaps too long and there’s just too much material below the waistline?

I’m not thrilled with the belted look either. I think a longer cardigan would help over all. Is the neckline too high and not v’d enough?

I would LOVE your help with the creative process here. I really want to see this top work. Not only do I love the inspiration piece, but I have a lot of nice fabric being used here and want to see the top be a success. You know what I consider the questionable aspects. What do you think needs help/what would help?

Thanks so much! You guys have always been amazing at helping me through a creative block!

A Sweet Crocheted Hat

2012-01-09T20:57:00.001-08:00

We were excited to welcome our newest niece, Hailey, to the family at the beginning of December. I wanted to take a little gift when we met her for the first time. And since she’s been welcomed to the world in December, her little head is going to need to be kept warm!

I followed THIS pattern from Maybe Matilda's etsy shop for the hat base (I just kept off the bear ears and ear flaps).

For the flower I followed THIS tutorial. I love how sweet it is! My sister-in-law was excited that I made it small enough to fit Hailey now since most of her other hats are too big.

Here I am with the sweet new baby! I fell in love with her right away. These baby hats are so quick to make and use very little yarn, so I think I need to make quite a few to keep on hand for when friends have babies.

Thanks for stopping by!

Goals for 2012—You Can Help!

2012-01-07T12:51:00.001-08:00

Now that I’m home full time I’m really feeling the need to get our home and life more organized. I don’t want to waste this incredible opportunity I’ve been given. Plus, I find myself dreaming of way more projects than I ever even try to start. So in the spirit of starting fresh, I thought I’d set some goals rather than resolutions for the year of 2012. I’m hoping most will be accomplished, while others I might hold more loosely to as you never know what the year will bring. I could also use some help from you in this goal setting process! Since I like things nicely organized, I thought I’d categorize my goals.

I want to establish an actual schedule for what happens on the blog throughout the week. I think this would help me stay motivated and consistent in my crafting, rather than the current sporadic and obsessive pattern I have going right now.

-One thing I’d like to add is a goal of a weekly Top it Off Thursday post in which I share a new piece of something to be worn on top. This means I’m giving myself a challenge of making a new top of some sort (shirt/jacket/headband/belt… oh the possibilities!) each week. I think it’ll be fun!

-I would also like to increase the number of sponsors I have. If you’re interested, send me an email!

-I am toying with the idea of hosting a sewing competition that’s entirely for sewn clothing. Kind of like all the others currently going on, for just clothing, but that can be worn for any age. Don’t know if there are too many competitions going on right now or not. What do you think?

I’ve been really pleased with the growth of Ruffles ‘n Such over the Christmas season. I like being an Etsy shop owner!

-I’d like to develop a spring line of scarves. Something light weight and sheer probably and maybe with a slightly different look than what I already have in the shop.

-Add two additional lines of items to the shop as well. I need to find something that will sell well and be popular through the warmer season when scarves aren’t as appealing. Right now I’m thinking some fabric belts like this one that I made for my little brother’s girlfriend for Christmas. The flowers are three different clips for her to add.

Any suggestions for another product to add?

-I’d also like to get my Jilly Bean’s Babies shop going again. I had told myself in the fall not to worry about it until February in order to not add undue stress. I have a ton of fabric already purchased for little girl dresses, and several Ants in My Pants shirts started. I just need to get going on it. But not for another month.

-My last business goal is to get ahead and actually be able to participate in successful craft shows again. I have to work ahead to build an inventory in order to do it again. No more crazy week before crafting to make it happen.

I’m excited to make my home something I love.

-My biggest goal for the year is to add the new craft room/guest room onto our house, but quitting my job earlier than we’d originally planned threw off the timing. Hopefully we’ll be able to do it at the end of this summer. We really won’t need the space until we add another baby to our family, and since that doesn’t seem to be happening, we really don’t need to rush.

-In the mean time, we’d love to paint our kitchen cabinets white and re-do our counter tops to look like black granite. I’ve found THIS tutorial and my sister-in-law used another technique:

Either way, I’d love to see it happen.

-I think THIS would be pretty to do under our bar:

The whole kitchen re-do would go along with new paint for our entire downstairs and new flooring. Right now our carpet looks terrible.

-My final goal for our home is one I actually had as part of my 12 by 2012. I got nine of the twelve done, so not bad. But this one I already have all the materials for, just need to find the garage to make it. So I guess cleaning the garage is another goal!

A cupboard door sofa table.

-My first goal for myself is to get organized and structured. That means establishing and following a schedule for me and Jace (I have a fun project in the works for this. I’ll share it with you once it’s done), being consistent with getting dinner started earlier and maintaining and clean house.

-My second goal is basically some projects I’d like to make for myself. These will fall in my Top it Off Thursday posts. Most of my inspiration comes from the pictures Quincee’s Boutique posts on Facebook.

And the rest are saved on Pinterest (click on the picture to go to the pin):

Two simple goals:

-Give more birthday gifts to friends. Keeping handmade gifts on hand will help with this.

-Start making Christmas gifts ahead of time, as in, this summer.

I’m excited to share my progress with you! Thanks for stopping by and making it through this post!

Gifts for Guys: 3 Takes on Beanies

2012-01-06T22:54:00.001-08:00

The guys in our families received crocheted beanies from us for Christmas this year. The basic beanie seemed a little dull, though, so I had fun choosing something unique to each brother.

In my family we drew names and Nolan got one of my younger brothers. For Mike I made the beanie from a wool/synthetic blend yarn that was really soft and warm, in a gray and black blend. It turned out so nice and thick, and just a little big for him, so he had fun playing with different ways of rolling up the brim.

Nolan’s sister’s husband is a HUGE Oregon State Beavers fan, so his beanie was made in black and orange. I did the first third in orange, then a single double stitch row in black, followed by two rows in orange, two in black, one in orange, and then four or five in black. Until I added the final row of single stitched orange, it looked a little Charlie Brown to me. He enjoyed wearing it while holding our newest niece who was fast asleep.

One of Nolan’s brothers is really into the mustache trend. I’m sure he’d like to think he helped start it considering he’s had a mustache for some ten years or more. I followed THIS tutorial for crocheting a handlebar mustache and then sewed it onto the hat. This one was the gift I was most excited to give. I knew my bother-in-law would love it. But, of course, it somehow missed the bag of gifts and we didn’t realize it until we were handing out gifts at Nolan’s parents’, an hour and a half away from the beanie. I had Nolan model it for me (he’s a reluctant model).

I love how I was able to make unique gifts for these guys in a very inexpensive way. I’m loving crocheting!

Thanks for stopping by!

Parties I Like to Link Up With:

Tutorial: It Is Well With My Soul

2012-01-04T10:09:00.001-08:00

This sign is my entry for SYTYCS, and voting is open now! I’d love your help in continuing on to the next round. You can go HERE to vote!

Making the sign started very simple and then got a whole lot more complicated! If you’d like to make a lettered sign out of fabric, here’s how:

I started with a large canvas painting I had once made to hang over my mantle. It doesn’t really fit with my style anymore, I couldn’t bring myself to paint over it yet. So a fabric cover sounded like the perfect option.

I measured the canvas and figured out how wide I’d need my strips of contrasting fabric to be.

I cut 3 strips of the green at 6” wide (so they’d be 5” after taking seam allowances into account), 2 strips of green at 10” wide (for the ends to allow extra material to staple around the canvas), and 4 strips of white at 2” wide (so they’d be 1” after seam allowances).

Sew all your strips together using a 1/2” seam allowance.

Press your seams open.

Top stitch 1/8” in from the seams on either side of the white strips.

I then laid out my material on the canvas, made sure it was centered, and then pinned a heavy piece of fusible interfacing to the material. I didn’t want the fabric to look stretched or saggy when hanging on the sign, so this step was essential to the stability of the material. Then iron it on.

Figure out how large you want the lettering to be, and cut your burlap and muslin accordingly.

Sew the muslin to the burlap and then sketch out the lettering.

I used twill tape for the lettering. It had a little flexibility to it, but the best looks to the letters came when I flipped/folded it under or over to create the turns in the letters. This also gave it a some what calligraphy look. Use A TON of pins to hold everything in place.

I then used my free motion foot to sew the letters on. Don’t know what a free motion foot is? You can read more about it HERE, but the simple explanation is it allows you to use your machine like a drawing tool. Quilters use it to finish off their quilts. You turn off your feed dogs and then just guide your fabric in whatever direction you want. There really is no foot to it, just a plastic circle the needle goes through that’s used as a guide. Because of this, you can end up jumping the material all over and have uneven stitches very easily. But with a steady hand and some practice, it’s a lot of fun!

I then pinned my burlap pieces where I wanted and sewed them on. The sign seemed to be still missing something, though, so I cut out a bunch of flowers on my Big Shot and appliqued them on.

I thought they added the perfect finishing touch.

I then stapled the sign onto the canvas as though I was wrapping a present, put it on a shelf and stood back to admire it.

I love that I was able to finish this wall of my living room and take care of an entry for SYTYCS. And don’t forget to vote!

It Is Well Sign

2012-01-03T08:51:00.000-08:00

I’ve had an empty space on a wall in my living room for quite some time now. I wanted a sign with a significant verse or quote on it. I loved the idea of putting a different spin on the typical lettered sign—using fabric instead of wood. The background is simply quilted strips of two beautiful fabrics. Top stitching in green thread on the thin white strips added a lovely finishing touch.

The real complexity came with the lettering. I used black twill tape and then used the Free Motion Foot to stitch the letters down. The lettering is on a neutral muslin and mounted on burlap. Uneven stitch lines in green and black were used to attach the words to the quilting, as well as added to the rustic and rough look of the project.

After adding the words, it still needed something, so I cut flowers from all the materials used in the sign as well as some cream felt and appliqued them on, again with the free motion foot.

Then entire sewn piece was then stapled to a canvas I no longer was using.

I love that we’ll now have a constant reminder in our home that no matter what happens, we can say “It is well with my soul.”

I’ll have a full tutorial to share with you tomorrow (***UPDATED: GO HERE FOR THE TUTORIAL***) (adding it here would make this a VERY long post), but here are some highlights of the process:

Sewing each strip together…

…Adding top stitching (I love finishing details!)…

…pinning, pinning, pinning the lettering down…

…carefully free styling with the sewing machine to secure the words.

Thanks for stopping by!

For the tutorial, go HERE.

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So You Think You Can Sew

2012-01-02T22:43:00.001-08:00

I’m in another competition! This one really excites me because it’s entirely based on sewing. Hence the name: So You Think You Can Sew. It’ll be a four week contest, and three people will be eliminated each week. But you want to know the best part? It isn’t anonymous. So I can make each project for my home or myself and not have to worry about disguising things! My competition is pretty incredible; I’m up against some amazing seamstresses. I’m excited for the challenge, though, and eager to make sure each project I make is useful to me now, doesn’t consume my life and doesn’t require me to dip into our general budget.

As I said, this competition works differently than the ones I’ve been in before. Because it isn’t anonymous, I actually get to share the details of my project with you here on my blog. These posts will go up each Tuesday for as long as I’m in the competition. Then, the next day, you get to vote for your favorite project over at Mommy By Day, Crafter By Night where Ashley will post highlights of each competitor’s projects. Voting is only open for a few days, so you’ll want to be sure and head over quickly. I’ll be sure and remind you when voting is open as well.

I’m excited to be challenged creatively in this way again. I love that it’s an all sewing contest. And because we can’t use patterns or follow tutorials, it’s not just a test of sewing skills, but of conceptualizing and implementing those ideas as well. And if you want to visit the blogs of the other ladies I’m up against, their entry projects are all linked up HERE.

I’ll be posting my project in just a few hours, and I can’t wait to show you! But for now, here’s a glimpse at a part of the process:

2011 in Review

2011-12-29T22:24:00.000-08:00

I like seeing all of the bloggers' top ten lists these days. It’s fun to see them remember their “best of.” I thought of doing one of those posts as well, but a few of my most viewed posts from this year aren’t actually my favorite projects. They’re just the ones that happened to get featured on the bigger websites were exposed to more viewers. So instead, I’m going to look back over the year and show you my favorite project/post from each month. Thanks for helping make this year great by inspiring me to create!

A Tale of Three Tops

I used my Christmas money to buy a serger and have loved that decision ever since. My first project was to make three different tops using the same pattern. I’ve loved each of these tops and have worn them so many times!

The World Traveler

February brought the Crafting With The Stars competition… a fun challenge in which I was in way over my head. I do love how I made over this old trunk though! It now stands in my craft room and is used to store supplies.

Thread and Button Storage

While not something I actually made, but something I utilized! I turned a two sided jewelry holder into a great storage solution for my thread and buttons. I love having it and it’s one of my favorite elements of my craft room.

Pottery Barn Blue Gate Knock Off

This is probably one of my all time favorite projects. It was for So You Think You’re Crafty… the competition that I felt challenged and pushed my creativity in a way that I now miss.

How to Sew a Rolled Hem

I introduced you to my all time favorite presser foot for my sewing machine—the Rolled Hem Foot. Used in so many of my projects, it’s the best time saver for sewing I’ve ever seen.

Ants In My Pants

I love this project because it’s for a boy! There are so many adorable clothes for little girls, it was fun to make something for my Jace. And he loved it too!

I’d say my all time favorite post of the year was when Nolan hijacked my blog and gave me my camera. But my favorite project in July was another sewing tips post on Sewing With Knits.

I see so many people who are nervous about sewing with knits. Or I’ll read through a tutorial where a blogger instructs to sew a knit fabric in a way that will just cause all the stitches to rip under normal wear. Knits are great if it’s understood how to sew with them. For that reason, I love being able to refer people back to this tutorial.

My Living Room: A Work in Progress

One of my favorite projects from around our house this year was when we rearranged our living room in August. It still makes me smile to walk in and see it set up that way.

And with our rearrange came the purchase and slight modifications to this antique radio cabinet. I love this cabinet!

Polka-Dotted Ruffled Top

I still love this shirt. I really made it in August, but the tutorial went up in September, so I’m glad I can put it on this list. I actually used this top as my audition piece for the upcoming competition, So You Think You Can Sew and made it! It’ll be starting in January. I know, I’m a glutton for competitions.

Star Wars & Disney Princess Finger Puppets

I had so much fun making these for my nephews and niece!

Lacy Cowls

November was a bit of a dry creative month for me, but I do love this project!

Living Room Gallery Wall

I love this project because it took us one step closer to a completed living room. Funny story for you—I meant to make a cute Christmas tree banner for the chicken wire frame, but thanks to one sick bug after the next, I just didn’t get it done. My dad is in town for the holidays and asked, “So, what’s the significance of the chicken wire?” Oops! Guess I should get something up there!

Thanks for being a part of 2011 for me, I’m excited and looking forward to 2012!

Gifts for a Guy: T-shirts!

2011-12-28T21:32:00.001-08:00

My husband is very difficult to shop for. He either wants something electronic and expensive, or is completely content and makes no requests. This year he wanted half of his Christmas money to go toward buying a tablet later on, and the only suggestion he made for what I do with the other half was a water bottle. Whoop-de-do… that’s my idea of exciting, I bet it’s yours too, right? Well, about a week or so before Christmas he and I were browsing through Etsy and saw several t-shirts that he thought were awesome. Too late for me to order any, plus they were more than I could justify spending. But not too late for me to make something!

He loves this one. Sorry to those of you vegetarian and vegans out there. But I’m guessing from this post, you already know we’re pretty big meat eaters around here (it’s in my blood—my grandpa was a cattle and pig farmer in addition to lots of other crops).

This one was inspired by a shirt I saw online way early in the Christmas season, but they were sold out and didn’t have an expected date of having more. I used my silhouette for designing all of them, then cut the images out of freezer paper (I LOVE this stuff!!!) and followed Sheri’s tutorial from I am Momma, Hear Me Roar.

The fork shirt ended up being his favorite. He liked the subtle contrast. He’s a t-shirt lover, but very particular, so I’d say I did pretty well. The shirts were on sale at Target for $4 each, and the freezer paper cost $8 but will last me FOREVER. I found it at my grocer store, but Sheri also suggests Walmart. Target doesn’t have the stuff. I also had the paint on hand, so this became a really inexpensive way to give Nolan three gifts! And it makes me so proud when I see him wearing them.

Thanks for stopping by!

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