Sewing and Scrapping

One Year Birthday Card from Sketch

2011-09-11T14:21:00.000-07:00

I made today's card from a sketch from Unscripted Sketches. The final card didn't turn out quite as I wanted.

What am I saying? This was one of those don't-plan-just-design-as-you-cut-and-glue projects. It's not my favorite card, but it was too much fun to create. I was trying to make the balloons look like they were all floating at different heights, but the end result looks like I just didn't line one of them up quite right. Makes me chuckle. Anyway, less talking, more imaging:

A New Card Sketch Site

2011-09-10T15:44:00.000-07:00

I have recently discovered some new card sketch sites that I added to my blog reader. One of my favorites is Card Positioning Systems. After having received my new order of stamps in the mail, I quickly went to work using one of their sketches, CPS 234. I wasn't pleased with my first attempt, but I was somewhat satisfied with this one:

Happy crafting, everyone.

Summer Crafting Update

2011-09-09T19:11:00.000-07:00

I always expect to get more crafting done during the summers than I do. It's part of life, I guess. I have finally decided to table sewing as a hobby for a few years. When new hobbies come on board, something has to go. Let's face it: too many projects, too little time. I know this is the same for most people.

Nevertheless, I did have some creative fun this summer. Here is a sampling:

Roz and I made a seascape box for her dolls.

Roz designed a card for a friend. The top is the front; below is the inside. She even designed the dog. I love it!

I had fun playing with Elmer's glue to make a crackle paint background for this card.

Yummy margarita coconut cupcakes. Various cards below.

Some of the tie-dying we did. It was a fun afternoon, although I wouldn't recommend using a color remover for a reversal technique. Bleach would probably be better. The color remover creates fumes.

Loving the colors. Hope you have some creative play time soon.

More ICAD

2011-06-25T21:33:00.000-07:00

Well, I haven't been keeping up with the card-a-day, but I am not in the slightest bit concerned. I have enough on my plate. Still, I have been playing with the 3X5 cards, and the other night I gessoed up a bunch so they are ready to go. Here are some of the ones I did:

For the above card, I just wanted to play with my colored pencils. Nothing crazy. I was thinking about the woman who has taken care of our son for the last two years. We really appreciate the love and car she gave our little guy. They bonded, so the goodbye has been hard.

Playing with a new stamp and my new Stayz-On ink pad.

Just doodling.

Overwhelm

2011-06-07T22:25:00.000-07:00

I spent almost my entire day thinking about education - developing materials for my class, participating in a school improvement meeting, and meeting with Milton Chen. All of this, the evening meeting with the educational guru Chen especially, got me really excited about educational innovation and about my classroom next year. Although it is all very exciting, it is also overwhelming at the same time. Hence, today's card.

This card is definitely very cheesy, but it's art journaling at its journalingist. (Yes, it is a word now, thank you very much.) To me, art journaling is about the process, not the final product, although I often like my final products.

Hopeful for a Renewed Meditation Practice

2011-06-06T21:31:00.000-07:00

Tonight's card is about my desire to get back on track with meditating. There was a time when I dreaded meditating, and now I look forward to it. Despite this, I have been far too inconsistent with my practice. Our meditation at sangha tonight inspired this card:

An Index Card a Day

2011-06-05T13:41:00.000-07:00

So I have been playing in my studio quite a bit lately. I have discovered the world of art journaling, which is good for me in that it is helping me break away from my creative rut. I am a very left-brained person, and art journaling is very right-brained, which makes this a nice break from the structured, rule-oriented person I can be.

While exploring some art journaling web sites, I discovered an index-card-a-day challenge and decided to do it for a while. I am not committing to any length of time because that would be another rule for me to follow, but I really liked the idea of something small and playful to work with. So here is my first ICAD:

So go play!

Cake Pops

2011-04-21T20:02:00.000-07:00

Tonight I broke into this book to make some cake pops. I have always loved the way they looked, and after a friend bought me this book, I decided spring break provided a great opportunity to try the process out.

The process:

Bake a cake and let it cool completely
Mix in 3/4 of a container of frosting (This acts as the glue.)
Roll into balls
Freeze for about thirty minutes
Melt melting candy
Dip balls into candy

Here's what I learned:

Kids love the taste; adults don't. (Bleh!) Maybe they would be better with different mixes. I used chocolate and vanilla frosting. Mostly, I think it's just the texture. It's like when that kid at lunch time would roll up his bread roll into a hard, moist ball. Just thinking about it gives me the
We tried making egg shapes for Easter. This was definitely more difficult than just balls. They didn't come out right, and we ended up re-rolling them into balls.
It was fun, but a lot of work. It's more about enjoying the process and the family time, especially since I can't stomach eating them.
It helps having a friend there to keep you company and to speed up the process.

The best part of the evening was the sale on both limes and mint, which means a mojito awaits me. Yum!

Smash Book Droolings

2011-04-03T16:07:00.000-07:00

One more thing before I sign off completely. I am totally (read with a valley girl accent) drooling over these SMASH books. As soon as they are available, I am buying two - one for me and one for my daughter. Enjoy this happy little video.

Some Recent Creations

2011-04-03T15:50:00.000-07:00

I love card-making because you can create finished product in a relatively short period of time. I am not a fan of using sketches for scrapbook pages, but for some reason I enjoy using them for cards. This one was inspired by Tuesday Morning Sketches. Here's the sketch below.

Here are a few pages I have done recently:

I love the simplicity and the colors in this page. I am fond of blue and brown together and did my son's baby album in this color scheme.

I adore the little monster guy created with the Cricut. This page is a scraplift of a tutorial from Paper Clipping. I love Noell' approach - instead of providing you with a sketch, she teaches basic design concepts that can be applied to any layout. This summer, I plan on dishing out the money for her membership. In the meantime, if you are a scrapbooker, I highly recommend checking out her site and subscribing to the Paper Clipping Roundtable via iTunes.

At the retreat I went to a couple weekends ago, my friends and I all scraplifted the same page from a magazine. I don't have the issue, so I cannot properly give credit.

Because I am a fan of simple pages, this is one of my favorites. I also like that I combined photos from two different outings.

Happy crafting!

A Shift in Approach

2011-03-27T21:11:00.000-07:00

I have been contemplating my approach to scrapbooking for quite some time. The chronological approach has me frustrated and overwhelmed. There is a lot that plays into this - the fact that I printed over 700 photos from half of 2010, the fact that my scrapbooks are starting to feel repetitive, and the fact that I want my albums to be more meaningful for my children later in their lives. When one night I realized I felt stressed about how "behind" I was, I acknowledged the absurdity of that situation. My hobbies should not feel like chores. I also realized that same night that I have three pages in one album titled "Joy." Someone was getting stale.

Because I was ready to start thinking about things differently, I found the iScrap class I took from Stacy Julian at Big Picture Classes to be perfectly timed for me. I was ready to play with a different approach to scrapbooking. Within two weeks I completed an 8X8 album, which could be considered a 2010 introspective. What I liked about this approach is that you start with the story or the message and then find the photo to go with that message. What I also found interesting is that by connecting the photo to the statement I originally brainstormed, I learned something about myself. For example, one of my statements was I went on a lot of train rides. This sounds simple and frankly not very meaningful beyond reporting on an activity, but as I journaled using Stacy's technique, I discovered that the reason I love trains so much is because they allude to a simpler time, a time free of iPods, cell phones, video games, and email.

So while I am not ready to completely drop the chronological approach - I will still scrapbook major events - I am ready to branch out more into the other approach. When I have some sun light and some time, I will photograph and upload images from the project.

In the meantime, here are some other projects. This is a card I made. The flower is made from a scrap of black cotton quilting fabric.

These are hearts the kids and I made for Valentine's Day. Sawyer is clearly in love with scissors.

This page reflects my new approach in that its topic isn't event-centered, but rather relationship-centered.

Gearing Up for a Serious Weekend of Play

2011-03-03T20:15:00.000-08:00

I will be spending my weekend with other scrapbookers this weekend. I hope to have lots of pages to share with you next week. I am also taking my first online scrapbooking course through Big Picture Classes. Although they all sounded fun, I chose iScrap, a class in which you make a mini album using I-statements with prompts from the teacher. I can't wait to get going.

I haven't been very good about uploading pictures, so I thought I would share some of my recent creations. The first three are cards I made using sketches from Card Patterns. I rarely use sketches for scrapbook layouts, but love them for cards.

The next two are for my album I am making that is all about me. I want my children to some day know me as a person, not just as their mom.

This is my resolution page for 2011. My goal is to simplify my life. I haven't been too successful yet, but I am working on it. So far, I have cleaned about my email in boxes and started cutting down on methods of email input.

These two are not my favorite in terms of design, but I love the topic because it is about the relationship between my husband and and son. They play a game called "Break the Pickle," which makes my son crack up. I was glad I caught this moment on film.

Cards, Cards, Cards!

2011-01-14T18:15:00.000-08:00

One of the benefits of cardmaking is that - unlike sewing - you have a finished product in relatively short amount of time, which is why during the winter break, I enjoyed making lots of cards. Here are just a few.

Some of my favorites are the first two for which I made tags out of packaging left over from Christmas. . Plus I got some really cool Eastern stamps with a Buddha face and a meditator and whatnot. You don't see those kinds of products much in the paper-crafting world, so I was thrilled to use my Michael's coupon on them.

The one above is hands-down my favorite. I copied the overall design from a sketch in a magazine.

The one above is my least favorite.

Hi Card

2010-01-02T20:46:00.000-08:00

Just a note to say HI. Happy New Year to you all!

Everyone loves new PJs!

2009-12-07T08:59:00.000-08:00

So I'm on a fabric diet right now. The rule is that I cannot buy any fabric unless I am willing to get rid of the same yardage, which means I need to start digging through that stash and actually sewing from it. I found some flannel I bought three years ago at Joanne's Black Friday sale. The problem? I had one yard of the frog print and a yard and a half of the other print. Not enough to really make clothes with. I think I bought this fabric thinking I would make burp cloths that never materialized, so here I am with these small cuts of fabric.

I thought I could make this with my fabric:
But alas, there wasn't enough of the green and white, so I had to patch-work the pants. They kind of look like she has leg warmers on.

Anyway, I am doing a review on Patternreview.com soon, but my overall impression is that the pattern is cute, but way too large.

Happy crafting, everyone.

2009-10-29T20:22:00.000-07:00

Got the dressed finished in time for the dress-up day at school. It was one of the most fun sewing projects I have taken on. The fabric was easy to work with, and the pattern alterations were just enough of a stretch for me that it was a challenge without being overwhelming.

Latest projects

2009-10-18T18:14:00.000-07:00

This picture is the model for my daughter's Halloween costume. It's progressing nicely. Need to attached the collar and hem it. Pictures and review to come.

Some recent scrapbook pages:

Suhweet!

2009-10-10T20:53:00.000-07:00

Let's just say I was more than a little excited when my daughter told me she wanted to be Annie for Halloween. So I went searching for patterns. With no actual costume pattern for Annie, I decided to shop my pattern stash and found this pattern:While the pattern isn't perfect, it certainly was a start.

I spent this evening almost complete redrawing most elements. Here are the changes I made:

I folded out the bodice pleats.
I took off inches in the sleeve in width so that there will not be so much gathered material in the armscye seam and at the bottom of the sleeve.
I widened the contrasting band on the sleeve by a couple inches.
I changed the collar to be pointed rather than curved.
I complete redrew the skirt portion so that it is an A-line cut rather than a gathered square-cut.
I will create a belt rather than ribbon for the waist detail.
I will also add black piping to the sleeve detail and the belt.

Wish me luck. I hope everything works with all these changes. I did wonder at one point why I just didn't start from scratch.

More Recycling

2009-08-18T19:26:00.000-07:00

I created a couple more cards using cardboard. I made this owl card. I think I liked the other one with the leaf-stamped background better.
I was disappointed at how this one came out. My friends are buying a new house, and I wanted a card to give them along with their housewarming gift. I'm not sure what I don't like about it. It just seems a little . . . flat, I guess. Still, I had fun playing with recycled materials and hope to do more in the future.

Owl Card

2009-08-11T18:35:00.001-07:00

I love all the new owl images on stamps and whatnot, but I have trouble justifying paying $20 for a stamp set with such a specific theme. I saw something like this in a Paper Crafting magazine and thought it was cute. Plus, I like the idea of recycling in my crafting. So I found some cardboard and went to work. It's a little silly, I know. But I like it.

I used an elm leave to stamp the background and found a stick in my backyard to use. The eyes are made from buttons on top of chipboard circles.

I already have another owl cut out that will go on orange card stock and read, "You're a HOOT!"

Dusting Off the Ole Sewing Machine

2009-08-10T18:25:00.001-07:00

Yay! I have finally gotten the sewing bug again. I needed a simple and fast project, and that's exactly what I got. I made this skirt for my daughter. She picked out the fabric first; we found the pattern later.

I cut a size 4 in width and 6 in length. It fits her well, I think.

We have a woven fabric for the top, which was largely why we picked this project. Now I'm not so sure I want to do the shirt. The fabric is striped, which I picture as being pretty busy with this skirt. Plus, a woven top like this just doesn't sound comfortable to me, and I'm not so sure I like the cut of that top. We'll see. Maybe I'll talk her into making PJ pants with it and finding a nice knit T to wear with the skirt.

With the way my schedule is so busy when I'm in school, I think it's important to stick to simple and relatively fast projects. The days of fitted jackets are going to have to wait until I'm not so busy.

Some recent projects

2009-08-08T21:27:00.000-07:00

I spent Friday night at County Purr Farm, our local scrapbooking store. I love it when my friends I get the opportunity to do this. We enjoy one another's company and get to work on our latest projects. We catch up on one another's lives, give scrapbooking advice, laugh and eat chocolate. Last night I was there for over four hours and somehow left with only two things: a single 12X12 layout and a card. So not the best use of time, but I was happy with what I brought home. Plus the store was having a clearance sale, so I spent time shopping and brought home some of my favorite Chatterbox papers.

I have been into two things lately: using grids for my photos and using tan colored cardstock as the background. I love how pretty much any color works with it and how, despite what I expected, it does not suck out the energy from the photos.

This page incorporates both elements. It's about what a great father my husband it. The journaling is behind the bamboo stamped cardstock and tells a couple stories that illustrate his love and devotion to our kids.
My cousin got married today, so I made this card for her. It took forever for something so simple. The inside has a quote stamped in it. My favorite part about this card are the tiny blue gemstones I placed in the center of some of the flowers. It adds dimension and sparkle. I didn't get to go to the wedding, since I have a sick kid, but I did send the card and a gift certificate with my parents.

Some more recent paper creations

2009-07-29T13:09:00.000-07:00

This is a birthday card I made for a friend. For her present, I gave her eight cards, two of each: masculine birthday, feminine birthday, hello, and congrats. It was a lot of fun making them. Too bad I forgot to include envelopes in the present, but I did finally get them to her.

This page I whipped out in minutes. It was one of those don't-think-just-create pages. It's not stellar, but it was fun to make.

Been Busy Scrappin

2009-07-27T21:33:00.000-07:00

My images aren't that great, but I still thought I'd share. I had a lot of fun making these pages.

Before and After

2009-07-14T11:11:00.000-07:00

My crafting area went on a diet. I cleaned out a lot of stuff. What I have learned is that I need TO STOP BUYING STUFF. Since my son was born two and a half years ago, I have only sewn a few things. Still, I have not stopped buying patterns and fabric. I need to make before I buy. Anyway, I'm proud of the work I did, and I now have a space that inspires me to create. (I have no idea why this text is underlined, and I can't figure out how to make it go away. Blogger can be frustrating at times.)

Some Stats:

Gone: 2 1/2 garbage bags full of trash
Gone: 2 shopping bags full of patterns
Gone: 3 shopping bags of fabric and clothing items I had been saving for repurposing
Purchased: 2 cloth baskets
Purchased: 2 vases
Created: 1 altered clipboard as decoration
To be purchased: 12X12 vertical paper holders

Altered Clipboard

2009-07-11T14:56:00.001-07:00

This is the before picture. I got this from a colleague who left the profession. It was all tagged up and whatnot. I wanted some artwork to hang in my crafting area. I didn't want to buy anything, so I brought this home and altered it:
I first painted it green. Then I scrapbooked a piece of paper to fit. I didn't even glue the paper down, just clipped it to the clipboard. This is the first altered item I've ever done and found it very fun. The journaling is a Thich Nhat Hahn quote:

If we are not peaceful,
if we are not feeling well in our skin,
we cannot demonstrate real peace,
and we cannot raise our children well either.

The Current Project

2009-07-02T21:40:00.000-07:00

Right now, my current crafting project is to clean out my crafting space. I have been working on it little by little. Here are a couple "before" shots.

Looks cluttered and messy, doesn't it?

Some stats so far:

Gone: 2 garbage bags full of trash
Gone: 2 shopping bags full of patterns
Ready to be gone: 3 shopping bags of fabric and clothing items I saved for repurposing
Purchased: 2 cloth baskets
To be purchased: 12X12 vertical paper holders

I'm looking forward to posting the "after" pictures.

Brown and Blue

2009-06-29T12:22:00.000-07:00

I made some cards recently. I've mostly been working on cleaning out and organizing my crafting area. Once I'm done, I'll post before and after pictures. Meanwhile, I am not working on my large projects, just some cards here and there. Love summer, but I do wish I didn't save all these projects for summer when there isn't enough time to do them all.

I played with stitching this time. I liked the effect, but the light on light colors is very subtle. Next time, I'll stitch with contrasting thread.

July will be a low-impact month for me, which means I should do more scrapping and sewing, less shopping. I should probably load up on adhesives, however, as they're the one thing I tend to run out on.

Reengergized (Let's Hope It Lasts)

2009-04-18T08:25:00.000-07:00

I haven't sewn in a loooong while. Yesterday, after listening to Material Mama's podcast, cleaning all the scrapbooking stuff off my sewing work space, and going to Joann's, I was feeling inspired. I prefer Butterick's patterns, and behold! they were on sale. Here's what I bought:

Although I've made shopping bags by using a plastic store bag as a pattern, I thought I'd try a couple of these out.

I liked this pattern (above) because it looks like a pretty versatile dress pattern - one that can be worn to work or hanging around town during the summer.

I love the lines on this dress and have the perfect fabric for it already. I only hope it looks good on me with all these extra pounds I'm carrying around these days.

Butterick pants fit me the best. I actually bought this pattern just for the pants, but think the sleeveless top and skirt might be good choices for some of the fabric my mom bought me a couple years ago.

Although I have a ridiculous amount of patterns in my stash, I needed new patterns, as I've gone up a size, which has taken me from one pattern size block to another. (One great thing about McCall's is that they have more variation in their groupings: 8-10-12, 10-12-14, 12-14-16.)

My plan is to first finish a UFO I started last summer. It's a skirt with maroon pinstripe fabric my mom bought me. I lost interest because it didn't fit and isn't terribly flattering, but I'm thinking that once it's done, hem and all, it will look flattering with the proper blouse.

Happy creating to all.

Just uploading some pages

2009-03-15T21:41:00.000-07:00

I have done some scrapbooking lately.

Some Creative Play Today

2009-02-01T21:36:00.000-08:00

We had a couple friends over today, and since my sewing/craft area is in our TV room, I naturally had to clean it up. Doing so made feel the desire to actually be in that space and do some work. So after the Super Bowl, I decided to release some creative energy.

I've been the serious urge to clean out my stashes - fabric, paper, other crap. So I've been trying to cut down on my spending at the craft stores and use what I have. Cards are great for this: no need to worry about whether the paper looks good with a photo. As long as I like it, it works.

I made some cards, using scraps that I wanted to use from my stash.

Then I decided to start scrapping the pictures from my photo-a-day project. I am doing these pages digitally.

Been Busy

2009-01-02T17:59:00.000-08:00

I've been scrapbooking this holiday break. Done some digi and some traditional. These are the old-school pages I did. The birthday page took way too much time in comparison to the final product. It took hours, literally.

The end of the break approaches, which means I'm back to small bits of time here and there to play. I'll post digital pages later.

Holiday Card

2008-11-16T19:16:00.001-08:00

I cheated a little on this card. I used a pre-made template from 2 Peas. I tweaked some of the colors a little and added the message at the bottom. I'll post pics from the photoshoot I did the other day. There was one - ONE - useable picture. My daughter was cooperative, but my 2 y/o boy was definitely not into sitting to have his picture taken. It was a nice cloudy day, which made for good colors and no heavy shadows under the eyes.

Back to sewing and scrappin'

2008-11-02T19:23:00.000-08:00

This has been a productive weekend in terms of hobbies (now grading is another story). I spent four hours at the scrapbooking store with friends on Friday and got a total 5 12X12 pages done. Last night I finally got my first digi pages sent of to be printed. It's been over a year since I started. I need to see what they're going to look like. I also finished a couple pages that are posted above. They were quick and dirty, but I still like them.

I also worked on a skirt I cut out a while back. It's Vogue 8461. I has taken me a long time to get this project going. It's made from $2 a yard teal poly gorgette-like fabric from Joann's. I decided to serge the edges before sewing the skirt together, which might have been a mistake. I think it stretched one of my side panel pieces out of shape on the curve b/c the top of the two seams didn't line up. It's all good, though. I can straighten it out.

The instructions said to clip the seams on the front, but I didn't need to do that. Don't know why. Once I'm done w/the skirt, I may decide that the seams are not flat and clip. In the meantime, I don't want to mess with my serging.

Halloween Costume

2008-10-15T20:17:00.000-07:00

I'll be making this for my Halloween Costume. I'm making it out of felt, not fleece, though, which saved me lots of money, but will affect the quality of the project. I have cut out the yellow and hope to do the black and lining this weekend. I'm skipping the hood; I plan on buying some of those headband antenna.

Some old pages

2008-07-05T10:13:00.000-07:00

These are some of my first digital pages. They're a little crudy, but I like their simplicity. They're for the Disney album I'm making my parents.

Disney Book Rejuvenated

2008-07-02T22:37:00.000-07:00

It's been a year since my parents took us to Disneyland. I need to get the book finished so that I can get it to my parents. Here's a page I put together today. I'm trying to keep the book simple - mostly blacks or whites and not overly bejeweled. This was a fun page to put together. The images are all brushes from the free "Proud to Be Digital" kit from twopeas. TFL!

Beading Digi Page

2008-07-01T08:41:00.000-07:00

I created this this morning. I used the Martha Stewart freebie kit from twopeasinabucket.com. I was following their digital weekly challenge, which was to play with the paint brushes. I used the paint brushes a lot, but I wanted to use one I hadn't used before. The green circles underneath the title is a paint brush stroke that I think simulates the bead effect. TFL!

A bag and a new hobby

2008-06-30T21:51:00.000-07:00

This is the bag I made using the tutorial I found online for the grocery bag pattern. You basically use a plastic bag as your pattern. I used a pair of DH's pants that had a tear in the tush area too large to patch. I thought he'd like the bag for shopping, but after he scoffed at the idea, I decided to girly the bag up by using a butterfly fabric for the lining, then fussy cutting some butterflies and embroidering a swirly design. I like it. So does DD who has inherited the bag.

As it turned out, the pants legs were not wide enough to use the pattern in full, so it's not really as big as it could be.

More pics:

I plan on making some more of these this month.

Now, I need a new hobby like a need a tall glass of acid, but here it is. I made my first piece of jewelry. Long story short: It's a very simple bracelet made to go with the blue top I made. I want to make some earrings to go with it. I'm hooked, though. I want to make more.

And here is DD making her anklet at the bead store.

Finally, A Finished Project

2008-06-30T18:29:00.001-07:00

I finished my Simplicity 4076 top. I LOVED this pattern. It was easy and fast to put together. Plus, it looks nice. I used a soft rayon knit I found at Joann's for $2 a yard. I couldn't believe I found something that wasn't polyester and at such a great price. I made a size 14 in the shoulders and tapered up to a 16 in the hips. I added 1 inch for length because I wanted a longer style, and because of that addition, I add a quarter inch to the bottom width. It fits great and feels nice.

The one mistake I made was not basting the back neck area, as the instructions directed. As you can see in the pic below, I stretched out the neckline, but at least my hair hides it, and I'll be more careful with the next top.

This is the "right" side of the fabric, which I used as the wrong side. It has a bit of glitter in it which, believe it or not, actually detracted from the vibrance of the rich blue color. Fortunately, it doesn't itch at all.

A simple page redux

2008-06-22T17:46:00.000-07:00

I reformatted the text in this version of the page I posted last. I can't figure out how to get Photoshop to both right and left justify text, so I did it on my own with spaces and font sizes. I think it looks a lot better than the previous. I'm not sure I like the fuzzy picture border, since the rest of the page is clean-lined. Comments are welcome.

A simple page

2008-06-21T12:59:00.000-07:00

This is a digi page I made this afternoon. I wanted something clean, where the focus is on the content, although I am thinking I might want to add an embellishment like a ribbon between the journaling panel and the picture/title panel. Suggestions are welcome.

New Sewing Projects

2008-06-19T06:44:00.000-07:00

Finally, school is pretty much over for me, with the exception of some projects here and there. That means I can start thinking about sewing. I haven't been able to do much for months and am looking forward to playing in my sewing area again. So this morning, I cleaned up my sewing area and made a list of some projects I'd like to complete:

Curtains for the bedroom (Had the fabric for 2 years, time to get on it)
A couple shirts for me
Another Ottobre outfit for DD
Barbie clothes for DD
A dress for me

The list was longer, but I edited for a reality check.
What's up first? Barbie clothes for DD. She wants to help. I'm not sure what to do with her at this point. She's five and is getting to where she can do some things, but Barbie clothes require some precision. Yesterday, my friend cut out a couple items with DD and they "sewed" one of the pieces with fabric glue. Much to my surprise, it worked quite well. I may just do some gluing myself, and then DD can help with that.

For me, I am going to make one of the following two tops:

Both tops have gotten great reviews on patternreview.com. For the McCall's 5586, I plan to make make view A, the read shirt. I love how they embellished. Fun, but not too over the top. For Simplicity 4076, I plan to make the short sleeved version with the gathered neckline. I'll probably lengthen it a little, since the reviews indicate that it runs short, at least according to current styles.

Birthday Page

2008-06-14T16:54:00.000-07:00

This is a page I made for my DD's birthday party. It was very quick and easy to put together. I used paper from 2 Peas and a Photoshop Elements template.

Picnic LO

2008-06-11T19:36:00.000-07:00

I whipped out another page. This one was created with nothing but photos and the Two Peas overlay from the fall botanicals kit. Simple and a little more time efficient. I think I'm going to reorganize my layers so that the photos in the upper right hand corner are under the overlay.

Graduation 2008

2008-06-10T18:54:00.000-07:00

Here's a layout I did with my pictures from graduation this year. I'm trying to work on making pages that I like but that also have more than two pictures on them. Our school colors are blue and white. It wasn't easy finding a background that I liked that had the right colors.

The photo of the students grouped together melts my heart! Their joy and beauty is indescribable.

I'm thinking that I need to add more of the painted border around the smaller pictures. Comments, anyone?

Back to Digi Scrapping

2008-06-08T21:36:00.000-07:00

Here's the first digi page I have done in literally months. I thought digital scrapbooking would take less time than traditional scrapbooking. It takes at least as long to do digital pages. This one shown here is all made from Shappy Princess Sun Porch free downloadable kit. I still have yet to print any of my digital pages. I want to discuss it first with someone who has used a couple different companies. I want to make sure I'm getting my money's worth and that a half inch of my page won't be cropped out. Anyway, this page is simple, yet still took some time. I wanted to do it in blue and white, since it consists of pictures from graduation, but I am cheap and didn't want to buy any more kits right now.

Ottobre outfit

2008-06-07T20:59:00.000-07:00

Within the next week, I hope to writing my review for patternreview.com, but here is belated pic of the full Ottobre outfit I made. My daughter insisted that her friend be in the picture with her.

Invitations

2008-05-30T20:42:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd share the party invites I made for the birthday party for my daughter and her friend. (We did a shared party at the park, since their birthdays are two days apart and since we share the same group of friends.) I had fun creating it. My one problem was that the text in the circle looked readable on screen, but when printed was tiny and too faint. One of those things you get better at the more you do.

I needed the invitations to work for my 5 y/o girly girl as well as a quiet, shy 3 y/o boy whose parents are very earthy and not into licensed characters. The boy wears a lot of orange, so I went with an orange and purple basic color scheme.

Up and Coming

2008-04-09T19:56:00.000-07:00

As soon as I have the time, I'll post pics of the completed Ottobre outfit I made my daughter and the corduroy tote I'm making for me out my husband's old pants. In the meantime, here's what I plan on making next with a stretchy, cheap knit I bought off the clearance rack at Joann's a month or so ago. It's simplicity 3775. According to patternreview reviewers, it's both easy and flattering.

Next up: grocery bag

2008-03-29T20:53:00.001-07:00

Forgot to mention my next project. I'm going to make a grocery bag using a pair of DH's old corduroy pants and this tutorial: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=177482.0. I may choose to use a cuter fabric later, but it seems too timely that DH's pants ripped, I did my consumerism talk, and I found this pattern.

Sometimes projects just hit you in the face.

Been doing some sewin'

2008-03-29T20:33:00.001-07:00

Sew happy to be sewing again! I forgot how much I enjoy it. I spent a great deal of my spring break sewing. I made DD's Ottobre "Hug" T-shirt and am still working on the coordinating skirt. I posted the pattern in my last blog.

Right now I'm working on the skirt from the Ottobre pattern I posted earlier. Here is a close-up of the front skirt pieced together. It's been a lot of fun putting this together. I'm hoping to finish it sometime in the next couple days. I'm a very slo-o-o-w seamstress, so I won't hold my breath. Here's a close up of the shirt binding.

And here's a picture of the finished shirt. DD loves it and wore it two days in a row, which is nice, considering that she doesn't always like what I sew for her.

Up Next

2008-03-25T20:53:00.000-07:00

I got tired of waiting to finish the skirt that isn't working out so well. So, today, I cut out the pattern for the outfit on the right. The top will be a pink interlock purchased at Joann's with a black and white gingham binding. The skirt will be various black and white prints. I only had to purchase the binding for the top. Everything else was in the stash.

I have to admit that so far I'm not that impressed with Ottobre. It took me forever to figure out what to trace, where to add and where not to add, and to actually trace and then cut the pattern. The fabric is still in folds. I'm sure next time it will be faster, and I've promised myself that if I like these two patterns, I'll sew them as much as I can until DD outgrows them.

Now, that Butterick skirt . . . it's a dud. It isn't pulling together. I ended up taking four total inches off the circumference. And, as it turns out, it isn't a very good marriage of fabric to pattern. The skirt just shoots off at my hips and continues to shoot out . I look like I'm part bell. Not flattering. I do still plan on finishing it. You know how sometimes things just pull together once they're hemmed? I'm holding out for that.

Haircut page

2008-03-22T00:07:00.000-07:00

This is a page I worked on tonight. It completely transformed from its original layout and color scheme. Not sure what I think. I'm open for suggetions.

More Traditional pages

2008-03-17T21:54:00.001-07:00

Scrapbooked a week or so ago at the school for a fundraiser for the culinary program. It was four hours with lunch in the middle. Seems like a lot of time, but it only meant a few pages when all was said and done. I got some pages for my son's 1st year album done.

Light Parade Part II

2008-02-24T11:10:00.000-08:00

I think I finally got this page done. The pictures don't seem to want to look nice in a layout. I played with this for hours and finally decided on this version. I'm looking forward to moving on to more fun layouts. Sometimes they just don't seem to come together well.

Hopefully, I'll get this Disney album done soon so that I can give it to my mom for her birthday or mother's day.

Play House 12X12

2008-02-23T20:39:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure how much I like this layout. I changed the background about five times, changed the layout, changed the embellishments. Something isn't quite working, but I'm not sure what it is. The paper and embellishments are from Sande Krieger from 2 Peas.

Baby Shower Invitation

2008-02-22T23:04:00.000-08:00

This is a baby shower invitation I made for my friend's shower. The funky pregnant chick and the snowflake overlay all came from 2 peas. It was fun to make.

Snow Day

2008-02-17T20:58:00.000-08:00

This is a digital page I made recently. I used a hodge-podge of kits, all from 2 Peas. I'm not sure if I like the font choices. Feedback would be appreciated. The page was fun to make, but it took longer than you'd think.

Friday Night Crop

2008-02-11T08:52:00.000-08:00

Friday night, I had a crop-night with my girlfriends. We went to dinner and to the scrapbooking store in town. If you're ever in Carson City, check out County Purr Farm. It's a great store and a ton of fun hang out place.

I got very little accomplished - two single-page spreads and two cards, a veteran's Valentine's day card and this simple, thrown together card. The veteran's card will be mailed to a veteran. Thanks to County Purr Farm for giving us that opportunity.

The pages are for my son's first year album. They're of his 1 year birthday party.

Wish I had gotten more accomplished, but - hey - something's better than nothing.

2008-02-02T12:00:00.000-08:00

This is a page I made this morning. I had a lit of trouble with it, trying to figure out what looked best. I started with a black background, and the pics looked really flat. So I played around and finally decided to use the a bit of one of the pictures as the background. I just now realized I need to fix the edges of the lower left hand picture. It has only partially been softned to blur into the background. The l/o will hopefully look a little more cohesive when that's done. All in all, I don't really like this page, but until I think of something better, it will have to do. I am open for suggestions.

Another Disney Page

2008-01-31T19:46:00.000-08:00

I am enjoying posting to my blog every day, even though I'm the only one who reads it. Maybe some day someone will go back and read these posts. In the meantime, it's like my online journal, only with more moderating whining.

This is one of the pages I made for the Disney album.. I like the way it came out. I had forgotten I was doing an 12 X 12 album and did some 8X10 layouts. Oh, well. I can print them as 12X12. For some reason I think the 8X10 is more aesthetically pleasing.

Digi scrapping = fun

Disney Black and White Page

2008-01-30T21:21:00.001-08:00

These are the pages I've recently created for our Disneyland scrapbook. My parents took us to Disneyland, so I thought it would be nice to give them an album, too. Digital pages seemed the best possibility, as I can scrap once and print twice - once for me and once for them. I have a number of pages done for this album, but got these finished tonight and wanted to post them.

I am trying to keep the Disney album pretty simple - black, white and red for the most part with just a couple embellishments per page.

Digital Scrapbooking

2008-01-27T20:14:00.001-08:00

This was one of my first digital pages. I started a scrapbook about me so that my children will know something about me. All of our scrapbook pages are about the kids, and my husband has one for his plays. This way, my kids can one day read a little about their mother. I love digital scrapbooking, but still love the paper and scissors scapbooking (which is good, considering the amount of money I've invested in traditional scrapbooking supplies).

This particular page was inspired by a twopeas challenge to scrap your wish list. It was intended to be about Christmas wish lists, but that's the great thing about challenges: anything can come of them. TFL!

Sizing . . . Grrr

2008-01-27T16:38:00.001-08:00

Why, I ask, do pattern company measurements not work? I sewed the front gores of the Butterick skirt together and the back gores. All seemed fine until I put the invisible zipper in and realized the skirt was going to fall right off my hips if I didn't take it in.

I have gained weight and no longer fit into the size 14 that I had made for years. Because of this, I have been procrastinating making anything vaguely fitted. So I took the plunge and cut a size 20, per the envelope sizing guide. Now I get to go back and sew the side seams at a very large seam. Hopefully the skirt will look properly proportioned, as I don't want to go back and rip the seams on all the other seams and restitch.

I'm frustrated and wish that I could rely on the pattern sizing measurements of accurate sizing. Soon, I'll hopefully either lose weight or have my new size down pat. We'll see.

Pinstriped skirt

2008-01-26T07:47:00.001-08:00

Well, my USB port is down, so I can't upload pics at the moment. I have a new project. The fabric is a maroon rayon pants-weight with gray and black pinstripes that my mother picked up in San Diego last year. It was supposed to be pants (I was going to use the Sandra Betzina pattern that was fitted to me at her workshop), but the rayon fabric shrank too much.

So I decided to make a skirt using the Butterick 4620 pattern. I think it will work nicely.

Today I spent time threading the machine, marking fabric and testing stitches. All that not-so-fun-but-necessary stuff. I decided to serge all the edges now so that I can press the seams open. The seams look much better that way. Hopefully, I get this project done soon. My mom bought the fabric a year ago. I'd like to show her that it's actually being made. Plus, research papers come in in a couple weeks, at which point life as I know it comes to a halt.

An Old Project

2007-07-07T08:53:00.000-07:00

Since I'm still working on the Butterick pants and since they are rather dull and boring and provide little fodder for discussion, I thought I'd share an old project. I made this dress for my daughter after she asked that I make her a Madeline dress. For those who don't know, Madeline is a children's character - a little French orphan who solves mysteries and gives to the poor.

One day, Rosalind asked me if I would make her a Madeline dress. As she has never before asked me to make her something, I jumped at the chance. Within a day, I had researched Madeline attire and picked out a pattern and was waiting for it to go on sale. I was thrilled that my lovely, then three-year-old daughter was taking interest in having me make things for her. I later discovered that her daddy, wanting his daughter to wear something other than satin princess dress-up clothes, had suggested the idea to her. Nevertheless, I was still excited that she was excited.

I went looking for some dark blue and white fabric. I found some linen at Joann's that was on sale, so I went for that. The dress does need to be ironed everytime it comes out of the dryer. (I have to be more careful about the fabrics I choose for DD's clothes. I'm not used to having to iron her laundry.) Anyway, this is the final product. I cut a size two and lengthened it, as DD is thin and a bit tall for her age. I'll post a pic of the pattern later. One thing I like about the pattern is that the sleeves are pleated instead of eased, so they are very quick to put together.

Next up?

2007-07-03T21:55:00.000-07:00

My next project will be a Butterick pants pattern: 5044. I bought a polyester blend (the bolt didn't say what the other fabric is). It's a black linen-look fabric with a great drape. I have a couple of concerns about this project: A) Will it fit? I'm making a medium, even though my measurements tell me to make a large, because it looks very loose fitting (and because I didn't buy the envelope with a large in it (and because I can't handle the thought of making a large)). B) Will it be too bulky in the waist area? The problem with elastic waist pants is that the waist has to be large enough to fit over the hips, and for a pear like me, that can mean a lot of fabric in the stomach area. C) Will my serger work? My daughter was playing around on my sewing table and knocked my serger off the table. Parts fell off. I cried. It was ugly. I haven't mustered up enough nerve to check it out yet. This project will force me into it.

Anyway, I cut the fabric with the only change being extending the back crotch curve by about 3/4 inch. More to come on that project as it progresses.

Quilt Finally Done

2007-07-03T12:23:00.001-07:00

The quilt I made my MIL is finally finished, and I can now move on to another project guilt-free. I make about one quilt a year, and I guess this quilt is 2007's. It's a pattern called Japanese moons. I made the half circles at The Sewing Studio in one of Jean's classes. I enjoyed spending the day in her workshop, and she even let us come back the next day to work some more, which was a bonus for me with two little ones at home.

My MIL loves her Koi like most people love their dogs. When I saw this pattern, I wasn't sure what I would do with it, but after some thought on my part, it occured tome that a Koi fabric would work well. I couldn't find any Koi-only fabric, but I found this fabric with a pagoda/Koi pond scene that I liked. That was the insipiration fabric. The back is a a patchwork of some Asian-themed fabrics I had in my stash.

First Post

2007-06-30T16:34:00.000-07:00

This is my first post for my new sewing blog. I hope to keep track of my sewing here and to share news and information with fellow sewers. More to come later.