My very first skirt...and zipper!

I found a great material at Hancock Fabric and decided it would be great to make a skirt out of. So, I thought about it for a bit and decided to make a skirt that had a zipper on one hip. I had never done a zipper before...but really, how hard could it be? I measured my length of my fabric and made the appropriate cuts. I found a skirt in my closet that fit, so I laid it on my fabric, traced it out with a crayon (yes a black crayon...my new best friend!) and cut out the skirt, and then cut it in half. 

Then I finished the bottom edge of my both pieces of my skirt. Remember to fold over at least 1/4 of an inch once and then 4 inches up, iron and then sew to get a good hem. I put my pieces outside facing each other and sewed down one side all the way and finished it off. Then I sew from the bottom up to where I wanted my zipper to start and stopped. I had to change my foot to a zipper foot and then I placed my zipper where I wanted it in my skirt. Since I had folded over the edges and ironed, I had good overlap. Then I sewed up one side and then the other. Be sure to leave at least an inch of the zipper in the inside of the skirt at the bottom and where your fabric ends and the zipper begins, sew across the zipper there a few times to make sure the zipper cannot be unzipped completely. Here is my zipper...pretty hidden, huh?!

I wanted to have a built-in belt look, so I measured down the skirt from the top, 4 inches and tucked it under 1/2 an inch. I ironed that and sewed it all the way around my skirt. Below is my skirt :) Then came the test...did it fit good...

It was a success!! I can wear it with or without a belt. I like it better without since I did not include belt loops. I love this skirt and wear it to work often!

Happy Sewing :)

April

Christmas card holders

Here is another great Christmas project! Well, it can be done for any occasion, but most of us get cards at Christmas time :) I found this on Pinterest and pretty much copied it to a T! I found fabric I liked, got 11x14 foam boards at Hobby Lobby and found some straw and fabric glue. Here is what I came up with...

I covered the foam boards and glued the fabric to the back of the boards. Then, I cut a bunch of the straw together and made a bow and glued them to the back with fabric glue too. It was dried and done in about 15 minutes. :)  Once I got a card, I just tacked it up there! Below is my project hanging in my dining room!

This is a great project for you and your kids, or a group to do together!

Happy Crafting :)

April

My project for Khloe, The story of Jesus

I decided that I wanted Khloe to learn the story of Jesus through the month of December. I found a few leads that I liked on, once again...Pinterest. I finally decided that I wanted this to be a family project, so I got Scott to cut out a piece of wood that I would cover in fabric that Khloe picked out and he also made a frame for the piece. Here is how it began...

We decided that we wanted to put JESUS in the middle of the framed/fabric covered piece so Khloe could also learn how to spell Jesus. So, above is all of the frame pieces and the fabric covered wood. The final result includes 2 nails for the 25 cards that I made to split up the story of Jesus into the 25 days to Christmas. Here is the result...

Each day we would grab a number (she would tell me the number) then we would read the back of the card. I basically printed out numbers 1 through 25 and then printed the broken up story on the back of each number and laminated each card. Then just punch a hole in the top and voila :) It is still hanging in my house and it is about to be June! I figured Jesus is welcome to be on the wall all year 'round...even if it is decorated in Christmas fabric!

Happy crafting :)

April

And then there were wreaths

I decided at Christmas time that I wanted to make a wreath for the front door. Well, I went to Hobby Lobby and Michaels and found that there was a deficit of deco-mesh! I could not believe how little they really have. On a random trip to Party Universe, I found an entire aisle of deco-mesh and ribbon! It was AMAZING!

Check it out, a thing of beauty!! I will definitely be going back for my next wreath, which I think I will make out of burlap deco-mesh like I saw at Hobby Lobby! Anyway, on here I wanted to show the different holiday wreaths I have made thus far. So, here we go...

Here is my Christmas Wreath

Here is my Mardi Gras Wreath

Here is my Easter Wreath

This wreath is actually not complete. I added more eggs to make it uniform and had an Easter sign behind it that said Happy Easter. I will have to try and find a completed picture of this wreath. I added it to show the different styles of wreaths.

Here is my Wreath for Khloe's Birthday Party

I literally made this and hung it and then the first person walked up for the party! These deco-mesh wreaths are very easy to make. This last wreath and material came from Party Universe. These wreaths came with ties already on the wreath and I liked it better! It also came with a double ring for outer and inner tying. I also got the letter K from there and painted it with craft paint, it is made from thick cardboard.  I hope you enjoyed this wreath post!

Happy crafting :)

April

The Button Tree

Oh buttons. Who doesn't LOVE buttons! Since I decided to take on the infamous button tree of Pinterest past, I ended up with plenty of colors and sizes before this one simple tree was done. I decided to do just one canvas with a tree on it. After painting the background, then the tree, and then gluing multi-layers of buttons on as the leaves as seen below, I decided that just one canvas was not enough. So...

I added 3 more canvases to the mix. I extended my tree trunk and limbs and decided that I wanted a 4 piece art work to flank on the opposite side of my clock canvases. This is what happened...

Then, I hung it on the wall opposite the clock canvases and voila :) I have my kitchenette finished!

I love doing art work like this! It was a lot of fun gathering the colors and textures of buttons. I suggest this as a great older age girl project for a sleep over or gathering, like a church youth group!

Happy crafting :)

April

Clocks and more clocks, wall art

Pinterest sure can make one feel invincible in the craft world! After moving into our new home in October 2011, I decided to decorate the house with my artwork rather than buy it. Well, what should I do...I found several ideas on Pinterest, mainly dealing with vinyl on canvas. However, I could never seem to find a pattern I liked to put on the painted canvas. I did find a stencil I liked though...I know a stencil, how 5th grade! I decided to take 4 canvases and paint them, then hover the pattern of the clocks over all of them as if they were one piece, then separate them once hung on the wall.

Of course, after I did them and decided on where to hang them I realized I needed one more to round the corner and look right! So, the final product is below! This was an easy and fun project to do. It can get a bit tedious if you don't have the right paint brush for small spaces, but it was an accomplishment in the end! 

Happy crafting :)

April

Curtain to match the drapes

Well, I finally made the decision to make curtains to go over 2 windows in my living-room. I had already gotten drapes for our kitchenette area and found fabric to match, so I got a green to line the back with and went to sewing! 

I pressed the sides down to have a nice crease and sewed (along the long edge) the 2 fabrics together outside facing outside. Then, pull the fabric through and finish the top and bottom of the panels. Then, I measured down 3 inches and put another stitch across the top and bottom to have a slot to slip the rod through. I used spring rods (tension rods) from Target and once I put it in the window it made a natural gather. Below is the end product! Make sure you measure your window! Fabrics come in different width and so do windows. You want to be sure you have enough fabric to create a gather at the top and bottom and to cover the whole window.

This is a picture of the same panel, just once face on and once of the opposite side. They go great in our living-room and do a great job blocking the sun and heat. These are very easy to make and didn't take me long at all. 

Happy sewing :)

April

I got so excited, I decided to make another one...

After my first dress, which took me 2 hours to complete I decided to get a little more daring and take 2 fabrics and sew them together! Woooo...slow down now! :) I went for a basic look, meaning I went to my closet and found a style I liked and literally drew it on my fabric and cut it out! I allowed for a half of an inch of sewing room on all edges and then put outside to outside and sewed them together. I finished the edge around the neck area and under the arms and then added my black piece to the bottom of the dress. Below is my result!

I decided it would look good with my jean jacket and boots! I love this outfit and wear it to work often :) Sometimes it can be a bit challenging not working with a pattern, but I just used my measurements and went from there!

Happy sewing :)

April

Back to the basics, my first dress!

Ok, so here it is...my first dress I have ever sewn! I wasn't sure how I was going to do it, or how long it would take; but I knew I wanted to start making things for myself and my little girl :) I began by, once again you guessed it, Pinterest! I found a tutorial on there and the girl had great instructions, you can find her blog here. I followed her example as best I could and it took me 2 hours to make this dress. 

I took a red shirt from Target and cut the bottom off. I then flipped it upside down and put it in the fabric I bought for my skirt. I used elastic (I used white 3/4 inch, I recommend clear or a softer elastic) and sewed all three together on a zig-zag stitch to create a slight stretch at the waist. I also created pockets for this skirt. Again, I followed her tutorial on  making the pockets. I didn't, however, follow her recommendation on the distance from the top of the skirt to the top of the pocket and I ended up with lower pockets than I wanted. Below is a picture of my pocket.

I also added a lining to this dress, which I forgot to finish at the bottom; but I have learned a lot since this first dress! The belt I had from another dress, but I am sure that you can put any belt with it to dress it up or down! I don't have much more on this tutorial, but please go check out the blog above for instruction on this and many other great easy dresses!

Happy sewing :)

April

The Pallet Chair

Well, I know I have done several other projects before this one, but I have had increasing interest in how I completed my pallet chair that I thought I would start with it :) 
 

This chair and the table beside it was a project I decided to do from a video I saw on, you guessed it, pinterest! You can view the video here. We were working in our flowerbeds and already had a good pallet from Lowes at the house, so I scrounged around work and found a stack of pallets to choose from...so I found a few to bring home. 

To begin with, I will break down the cost of the project:
Pallets                                free :)
Black paint                       $40 a gallon 
[I used a satin finish, which is not too glossy and not too flat and got the Valspar duramax, which costs a bit more but holds up better. I can definitely attest to that since it down-poured just 2 days after I finished painting it and had not put polyurethane on it yet and it did not fade or run.]
Box of 4'' wood screws  $8.00 for a box of about 50
4x4 posts                           $7.19 for an 8 foot piece of treated lumber 
[I got it at Home Depot (Lowes saw was broken). I got them to cut me 4 18 inch pieces for my legs. I know that that adds up to 72 inches, but just a tid bit on lumber, it is never exactly the length and width it says, so I got a 8 foot piece instead of a 6 foot piece to have wiggle room]
Foam                                   $33.64 for a 48'' x 22'' x 3'' piece 
[I ordered this piece from cushionsXpress.com. I got a 3115 foam compression, the 34 stands for the firmness and the 15 stands for the density of the foam. It was their best selling foam and good for the project I did. You can watch their explaination of the foam types here.]
Fabirc                                 $89.35 1 yd of green, 3.5 yd of sunset coral, & 1 yd of flower print
[I also ordered other fabrics with this order and got a great discount from an online coupon that I used. They have great prices and fabric at fabric.com. I also ordered too much of the green and flower print. I got a yard of each and should have only gotten a half of a yard each. Needless to say, I have plenty for pillows!!]
Pillows                                $16 for 2 18'' x 18'' pillows
[ I wanted 12'' x 12'' pillows but Hobby Lobby was out. I am glad, because after I finished the 18'' x 18'' pillows, I wish I would have done the 20'' x 20''!]
Table                                   $12 for the basket and we $16 for the stones.
[We were going to use the stones for around the palm trees and decided not to. So, since I already had them I decided to re-purpose and when I found the basket at Michaels I went ahead and had it the table top. I painted the basket to match the chair and flipped it upside down and put it over the stones!]

I also purchased a hand-held electric saw and crow bar, but I do not completely attribute them to this project cost because I can use them over and over. 

With that said, my total cost for this chair and table is $222.18. It has definitely given me an appreciation for the cost of items like this. Especially since it took me about 5 and a half hours total to paint...and the back of the "back" pallet is not even painted! I figured no one could see it so it didn't matter! Anyway, think about someone taking that time to paint and the materials for a project like this...you could easily sell this item for $300 or more! 

Making the Chair

I began with my 2 pallets. I wanted to do as little cutting and screwing together as possible so I decided to not cut the pallet that I was using as my back piece and only cut out one area of the seat pallet. Once I made the cut out, I slid the back pallet in the hole and let it lean naturally. It also helps with support for the chair. The length of this part of the pallet will matter because it is what I used to get the length of my 4 leg posts. The first picture is my "back" pallet and the second is a picture of my "seat" pallet. I cut the ends of this piece and then used the crow bar to finish getting it up from the center. Remember not to break this piece, I used it later to finish off the front of the chair. I then cut the 2 piece in the cent of the "hole" to make a complete hole for "back" pallet. 

 

As you can see from the picture to the first picture below, I have the posts painted and the seat pallet painted. Remember to paint the tops of your posts, they will be seen through the slats in the seat pallet!



The picture above shows the hole and the posts attached. I used 4 inch screws to make sure they went through the pallet and that the posts would be held in place good. It was tough for me to get them all to go in completely. I used 3 screws for each leg. I think Scott will have to come behind me and finish screwing in some of them, but I got them in far enough that the legs are good and firm. Notice the front of the pallet is not finished, that is where that extra piece will go. I used 2 inch nails, 2 on each middle brace to nail that extra piece in place. Notice the finished product from the pictures below. You will also notice in the second picture that the screws are still sticking out a bit! Now, the height of the back of the chair is how I determined the height of the posts. 

      

Adding the pillows and foam seat

I bought the pillows from Hobby Lobby and the fabric from fabric.com. The pillows were very easy, just cut out your pieces, go slightly smaller than the size of your pillows; you want your pillow to be tight inside the fabric. Place the fabric outside to outside like the picture below. Then sew around 3 and a half of the sides. Next, turn your fabric right side out and  stuff the pillow into the case. 

Then, pin up the last bit of the case and either hand sew it, or be careful and mush the pillow and put that sucker on the machine to finish the job!

I will say one thing, remember to pay attention to your pattern if you have one. I didn't realize I started at the bottom of the pillow instead of the top and on one pillow I have my finished edge at the top instead of the bottom out of sight! You can see that above on my finished pillows. Khloe did a great job being my model for this chair! Below is a picture of her and on the chair with the pillows. At this point by foam was not in yet!

Lastly, I got my foam and did my sewing around it! I wanted to do as little work as possible, so I only had to sew 3 sides because I got fabric that was wide enough to accommodate my foam piece. I had to order my foam, but some places have store in town that can cut them for you, try that before ordering! Below is my finished piece. Wow, this picture makes my walls look blue!! They are not blue!

You can see to the right that the edge is very rough and hard. I got assistance from my friend and mushed that sucker as best as possible and put her on the machine until about the last 5 inches! I sewed that by hand! I didn't want to sew 22 inches by hand if I didn't have to. I did iron the material and have my friend help me put the material over the piece with the seams in the center as best we could. I measured the fabric pretty exact so there was not a lot of wiggle room. I think it turned out pretty good! And alas, we have the finished product of the pallet chair! If you have any questions from this post, please don't hesitate to ask! I had a blast doing it and will be making another one soon for the other side of my porch :) 

Happy sewing :)

April

Welcome to my Sewing Blog

Hello There! :)

I had decided awhile back that I wanted to blog about the crafts I have been completing lately. Then I would forget to take appropriate pictures of what I was doing, or I would have pictures, but not at the right stages of the project! So, my goal here is to show everyone what I can do. 

I am a working mother of one sweet little girl named Khloe. She loves to help me with EVERYTHING, and the older she gets I do try to let her get involved with my crafts so that we can spend time together. She may not do anything more than "hold the fabric in place" or hand me some fabric," but to her that is everything! 

I am not a sewing expert. I love to make things and take quite a different view of how to accomplish my goals than the "normal" sewing person. For starters, I DO NOT use patterns! They are complicated to me! I do, however, watch tutorials or look at pictures of something someone has done. My process is simply this, I think of something I want to wear or use. I think of how the lines would be sewn together, or how to make a seam disappear and look nice. That is it. Once I have thought about a project for a few days I get to it. I do learn quite a bit from a project, usually how not to do something! But, I am ok with learning this way. I have made 3 dresses for me, 2 dresses for Khloe, 1 skirt, 2 blankets, and 2 bags. I have the makings of a shirt, but it is not complete. I also have fabric for about 4 more dresses and several shirts and bags. 

With all that said, I think I am going to begin this blog by showing what I have done before. I would love to make things for other people, but with my skills being that of a very beginning beginner; I wouldn't know where to start with pricing! For now, if someone confronts me (and they have) I will take it one garment at a time and decide then if I can and will do it for them. 

I hope you enjoy my blog and I look forward to feed back!! Thanks for reading :)

April