SewSweetStitches

Rifle Paper Co Giveaway!

2013-05-08T13:33:00.003-04:00

Hi everyone! I have something extra special to share today. You may or may not be aware that I am absolutely obsessed with Rifle Paper Co. I want to cover every wall in my home with their art. And being the fabulous bunch of people they are, they are sponsoring this giveaway for a set of four floral notecards! ($18 value)

What's the special occasion? I'm launching a new line of hair accessories, all inspired by Rifle Paper Co. I just adore their color palettes and fresh floral shapes. So included in the giveaway is one of my new headbands! ($35 value) You get to pick which color:

I have many more headband designs and color combinations in the works, so keep an eye on my etsy shop!

To enter the giveaway, (open internationally!) please leave a comment letting me know which of the color combinations is your favorite. For extra entries, (separate comment for each please) you may tweet this giveaway and leave a link to your tweet in your comment. You may also comment on which of Rifle's products is your favorite, and comment on which of my products is your favorite. So that's a total of four ways to enter! Winner will be chosen randomly. Please leave your email in your comment so that I may contact you if you are the winner.

Last Chance Sale!

2013-05-01T15:59:00.005-04:00

Guess what! I'm having a little sale. A few of my items (even a couple new things) are moving to a new consignment location, so I'm offering them up on etsy for one last chance before they're gone. AND on sale! Up to 50% off too! For 24 hours only.

Creative Inspiration

2013-04-25T18:10:00.002-04:00

By Special Request

2013-04-24T18:59:00.001-04:00

This image is by my widdle brother aww. Isn't it fabulous? Ah if only I had inherited all the photo genius. My life would be SOOO much easier! Anyway he wanted to know why I wasn't inspired by HIS berry picture instead of the peach one. Well, here you go:

Creative Inspiration

2013-04-24T18:44:00.001-04:00

This pendant was inspired by these images from pinterest...

Creative Inspiration

2013-04-24T08:54:00.003-04:00

This brooch was inspired by this photo...

Visions of Mine by Carolyn Cochrane

Creative Inspiration

2013-04-23T08:47:00.002-04:00

Sometimes when I can't think of anything to make, I go to pinterest and type "color palette" or "color crush" in the search box with a color of a special button I want to use. This is what came up for yellow recently:

And this is what I was inspired to make:

I wish I was better at drawing and cutting because I'd love to make realistic (not cartoonish) embroidered felt birds. Maybe I'll find a die...

What's Been Goin On

2013-04-15T11:18:00.001-04:00

Not much. I've been trying to get my creativity back, but... I dunno, I'm just blah. I can't think of anything to make or do, which has never happened to me before and has sent me into a tizzy of panic. The vegan thing helps, it's something to focus on. I have a new vegan blog, Beta Vegan. That keeps me somewhat sane.

I am working on some bright, summery hair clips. Nothing very creative or artistic, just regular flowers with leaves. I'm disappointed because when the seasons change, I'm usually overflowing with new ideas and color combinations. My therapist says that dry spells are part of normal creative processes for people who are not manic, and that this is just a downtime when ideas are marinating and everything will be back to normal soon. I hope she's right!

Shop Update

2013-04-09T12:52:00.000-04:00

This is kind of old news, but I added some embroidered felt clutches to my shop:

Project Vegan

2013-03-29T20:50:00.001-04:00

Now before you roll your eyes, snort, and move on to the next blog on your list, hear me out. This isn't as weird as it sounds, I promise!

I like animals, but not enough to go on a crusade to save them from being bacon. Sorry, but seriously. I'm doing well just to get through the day here. This is all for my own selfish benefit. Since being diagnosed as bipolar, I've been doing all I reasonably can to try to dig myself out of this mental mess. It's a fact that deficiencies in vitamins and nutrients can affect our minds, so there's no telling what things like added chemicals and antibiotics in dairy and meat are doing. If that's not a big deal to you, or you don't totally buy it, that's really ok. I'm not trying to discourage or encourage anyone one either way. I'm just sayin, here's what is working for me.

If you've wanted to try being vegan but feel overwhelmed when faced with the misery of life without cheese, just wait a second. First off, there is vegan cheese. Second off, it's not as big of a deal as you would think. Listen, I LOVE cheese. And I've only been doing this for nearly three weeks, but I haven't had a single craving for it. Or sweets, for that matter. There's something about eating completely plant-based that gives your tastes a total makeover like THAT *snap*! Well, there was this one time early on that I was craving ice cream, but I got a pint of coconut cream ice cream and ooommmmggggg I was definitely not feeling deprived.

My point is, you're talking to junk food's number one fan. So if I can deal with this, so can you. Besides the lack of naughty cravings, I'm also on my way to having pretty skin. And that's only after two weeks! I know, I'm ridiculously excited about this, I can't help it.

On the down side, this stuff can be crazy expensive. Yes, tofu as your main entree ingredient is a quarter of the cost of chicken or beef, but so far that's about all I've saved on. And I've only used tofu once anyway, in a dessert! I think once I build up a stock of all the weirdo ingredients like... arrowroot powder (? what is that i dont even....?) it won't be as expensive to maintain as it is to start out.

Well, I could babble about this for pages but I'll shutup now. And I'm not turning my blog into a pro-vegan pulpit or anything, I just wanted to share what I've been doing for the past few weeks. NOT stitching, I know. :( Gotta get back to it!

Cloudy Days

2013-03-03T13:16:00.001-05:00

New in the shop!

My Creative Process

2013-03-01T14:13:00.004-05:00

Here's how I come up with new pieces.
I start with a pretty button and pick out a couple more that match...

...and I draw some shapes around the buttons and choose my felt colors:

Finally, the best part- stitching!

The end.

Things That Make Me Happy #14

2013-02-28T10:45:00.000-05:00

#14: My spindle collection. I only have a few, but I'm working on it! This is one I got from etsy and painted myself. It's so tiny, only six inches, it's so cute!

Making an Impression

2013-02-27T09:00:00.000-05:00

It's miiiiine all MIIIINE! This is my new favorite book, by Geninne Zlatikis. She has the most amazing prints in her shop, and someday those will be mine too. But for right now I'm happy to learn stamp making, -or block printing, whatever- from her. Because she's brilliant and all things lovely.

I've never really been interested in stamps until I stopped using scrapbook paper and switched to kraft paper for my stitched packages. I think they need a little jazzing up, so I've been searching for the perfect sewing-themed stamps. Then I saw this book and I was all, hey let's make my own!

Here are my very first stamps, carved from dollar store erasers for practice:

I know, they're kind of hilariously horrible. But just a few more minutes of practice....

And I was able to make this little gardening scrapbook for my sister-in-law. The directions for making it are in the book too, and they were really easy to follow. There's a brilliant project for making a wall stamp border that I want to use for my bathroom makeover. This book is so inspiring.

I even let Carly make a stamp (under close supervision, of course, those tools are sharp!) This is an airplane. D'awwwww!
So now I'm ready to make some stamps for my shop! I got the Speedball brand cutter kit at Michaels with a coupon, so it was about $7 and came with a piece of rubber to start with. Not bad for a new hobby!

Shop Update. Also, Pneumonia

2013-02-26T17:51:00.002-05:00

I know, I know, I haven't been posting enough lately. Ok, I haven't been posting at all. Things have been kind of yucky around here. I started a new medication that makes me sleepy until about three in the afternoon, so that kind of wipes out most of my day. And then last night I spent in the hospital because I have pneumonia! I mean, what?? This is 2013, I thought people only got that stuff in historical drama movies. Oh wait, that's consumption. Anyway I still don't know why I have it. At first I thought it was a pulled muscle (the myentiretorsomaximus) because I was playing Dance Central a wee bit too aggressively. But it got worse and worse until I couldn't breathe or move, so I went to the ER and they did a CAT scan. Turns out the entire left side of my chest cavity is full of fluid. EWWWW I know, right? I just couldn't believe how much pain could be caused by pneumonia- when the doctor touched my left ribs I blacked out from the pain! Highly embarrassing. But yay for narcotics!

Excuses, excuses. Maybe I'm just too busy with my shop, I just want to stitch and stitch! Here are a few new hair clips:

I also added some destash items- buttons that I will never get around to using, but maybe you could!

And even a set of stitch markers! I really hope people buy stitch markers online, because I love making them- just the perfect amount of attention span.

Things That Make Me Happy #13

2013-02-26T16:58:00.002-05:00

#13: Lists! And apparently having too many irons in the fire. You should see the list of things I want to make for my shop! And let's not even get started on pinterest to-do boards...

My First Weaving Project!

2013-02-06T13:27:00.000-05:00

I made this "loom" out of old chopsticks, cheap cotton yarn, and nail files.

And if you're wondering what that mangled strip of string is on the loom, it's supposed to be a bookmark. I used handspun thread for the warp and weft. I gave it to my mom as a present. I can only imagine the look of horror and/or humor on her face when she opened it!

But it was really fun to make, I can't wait to build a real loom and try out patterns!

New Needle Books!

2013-02-04T17:07:00.001-05:00

Shop Update

2013-01-16T14:08:00.005-05:00

Library Day- The Well Dressed Home and Fabricate

2013-01-07T08:00:00.000-05:00

I don't usually get excited about home decorating books, buuut this one is pretty lovely!

A prom dress as living room decor? YES PLEASE! Can you imagine growing up in a house like that? I want to be a cool parent and have dress-up clothes everywhere :)

I love so many different styles, so this book was really me. Look at that bedroom!

These kitchens are really close to what I want for mine. I love how the top photo has the open shelves above instead of bulky cabinets. Definitely on my to-do list! And that sink- swoon...

I'd love to have a copy of this book for my living room bookshelf, just to look through whenever I want to be inspired.

Next we have a craft book, Fabricate:

This one was not really a winner for me. I do love the clutch on the cover, though. I'd like to make one with the same technique, but a flower bunch just in one corner maybe?

This linen dress is gorgeous, and I love the technique for the bodice, but I know I'd never make it.

These potholders are cute, though! I love the crosshatch patchwork. I'd pick different colors for the fabric, but I love how it looks kind of crazy quilt-ish.

So I wouldn't buy this for my bookshelf, most of the projects were a little TOO artsy for me! But it was still inspiring.

Favorites Friday: Southern Twisted Soaps

2013-01-04T07:30:00.000-05:00

Last week I did a TREAT YO SELF day and splurged on the world's best hand lotion:

This is from Southern Twisted Soaps, and, you guys seriously. Get over there and get in on this. I got the Buttercream and Snickerdoodle scent, and Lumberjack for my husband. I HAVE to have hand lotion, especially in the winter. Previously I used some stuff from Avon but it smelled like medicine and it left my hands greasy for hours. This is completely not greasy, and very light so it goes on smoothly without having to rub it in for a million hours. I'm going to use this for the rest of my life, so ERIN you'd better not stop making it! hehe.
Next time I'm going to try the body lotion too. She has the usual favorites, plus some heavenly sounding scents like Teak and Cardamom, Egg Nog, Buttered Rum, and Monkey Farts (?!)

Oh oh oh AND I got to try some of this solid perfume- CHOCOLATE. CHIP. COOKIE. I mean come on, who does not want to smell like a giant cookie? Nobody, that's who.

So yeah, go try something. Erin is super sweet AND she has a sale right now, 20% off with coupon code NEWYEAR until January 12th!

Shop Update

2013-01-03T09:38:00.000-05:00

Two brooches, two rings, one hair pin set, and a new hair clip style now in my shop:

Things That Make Me Happy #12

2013-01-02T09:28:00.001-05:00

#12: Art

Well duh, right? Who doesn't love art? But I mean, just being surrounded by it. Which brings up the whole topic of what is art, really? But every mother knows that every scrap of paper their kids have ever taken a pencil to is real art.

I absolutely can't stand to see toys. Like, I don't want to even acknowledge their existence. Pink, plastic, sparkly, light-up, battery-operated. No. THAT does not make me happy. Stepping in a sticky wet plate of finger paints that someone carelessly left on the floor? Strangely, that does make me happy. Well, after I get done pseudo-swearing and hopping around on one foot of course!

I just love having jars of pens and markers and colored pencils sitting around. It would be difficult to find some surface in this house not home to a scrap of art or art supplies. It just makes me happy.

Now I know I've been kind of a turd this week/last week. Sorry. Super sad. I don't even know why. I mean, there's really no valid reason for it. I have more than anyone could ever need, materially, emotionally, spiritually. So why mope around the house refusing to get dressed? Why does nothing hold my interest, and even movies are excruciating to sit through? Maybe I'll never know. Maybe it's just chemicals, drifting around to the wrong spots up there. It's hard not to panic, thinking the medication is wrong and I'll never get it right. It's hard to remember this is only temporary, and it will go away. Some days I just accept it and lay in bed, but some days I try to fight it off and force myself to pick up that needle and thread. Some days that doesn't work. But I'm going to keep trying.

Library Day- Tiny Party Food and The Art Of Forgotten Things

2012-12-31T07:30:00.000-05:00

For today's cook book, we have Tiny Party Food.

In summary: ADORABLE!

Potato salad bites

Tiny chicken taquitos

Mini Philly cheesesteak sandwiches

Itty bitty eggs benedict

Honestly, I wasn't hugely impressed with the dessert section. Maybe I'm just used to seeing cute little desserts, so it really wasn't that much of a novelty. But everything else looks perfect for craft night, including several fabulous cocktails! I'd definitely buy this book.

Now for a craft book, we have The Art Of Forgotten Things: creating jewelry from objects with a past.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I'd never be able to pull off any of these projects, for one thing. I mean, I'm sure I could replicate what is there, but I don't think I have the creativity to make them my own, know what I mean? Like I just couldn't think of anything clever enough to substitute what they're using in the book.

It is a really beautiful book, though. I'd like to own a copy so that I can take my time with it. I think these kinds of projects are more like artwork that would take you days or weeks to complete because you've got these ideas marinating and you want to gather the perfect materials and be able to switch them around and think about it for a while before you make anything permanent. I think I'd like to try that, because I love making things up as I go along. So I'd definitely buy this book. (I know, I say that about all of them!)

I'd love to see how I can incorporate little embroidered bits and a lot more textile materials into these projectws! Very inspiring.

On Being Bipolar

2012-12-28T12:08:00.001-05:00

Being bipolar means living in 4D. Really more like 10D. It means seeing, hearing, and feeling in a dimension and on a level that mere words cannot express. An alternate language, another way separate from words would be needed to label and categorize the colors I see between the shades you do.

Being medicated means living in black and white. It means the reduction, and therefore the absence of, sensations. Everything is empty, open, clean. Too clean. Too quiet. I need my cluttered mind. I need to dig through my treasured collection of images, textures, and ideas until I find the piece that fits. I need that chaos.

Being bipolar means living in the most colorful, vivid, and beautifully varied junk shop you can't possibly even imagine. Being medicated means living in a minimalist Ikea showroom. A quiet, simple, sterile version of home. A house not really lived in. Everything in its own place, a nice and neat categorization of all the pieces of my life. All put away where I can't hear, feel, experience them all at the same time. I need to live the same way I make art- I need everything scattered around me, co-mingling, coming together and apart, getting lost and found again. I need that movement, that constant buzzing activity.

Being bipolar also means running until you puke because the emotional pain of anything sad is so excruciating that you have to physically move in the most destructive way your tortured brain can think of just to be able to cope. But isn't that a small price to pay for being myself? For being allowed to live in my own beautiful secret world? I can't even satisfactorily get across the idea of what you're trying to take away from me. You've never experienced it, so how can you know what it means to live without it?