4th of July Bunting

Banners and buntings seem to be all over the crafty blogging world.  The one's I usually see are for baby and kids rooms, and I don't have any children.  But when I saw this tutorial, I was in love and wanted to get sewing right away!  The only thing I changed on mine was that I used a pinking shears to cut the fabric so the edges won't fray.  I also used some jute string that I had instead of the yarn.  Oh! And I used a compass to trace a half circle on the fabric to cut out.  I have to say, it worked well except that my fabric marker did not fit in the pencil holder side of the compass.  But the pencil worked just as well.  I will definitely be using the compass in the future!

I really like how this bunting/banner came out.  It was a quick project and not much fabric is needed (1/3 yard of each).  Now time to start working on these for all holidays!  And this is my Day 7 of the 30 Days of Creativity.  I'm getting caught up!  I also linked up to Craft-o-Maniac Monday Link Party!

Business Card/Gift Card Holders

Last year, I sewed up a few of these card holders for my aunt.  She gave them as end-of-the-year gifts to her classroom assistants.  She asked me again this year to make them for her.  So I followed this tutorial, but instead of adding the button and elastic, I added a cute little flower.  These were super simple to make and I really liked how they came out.  Each one is for sale in my etsy shop.

Classy Camouflage

My uncle recently married on March 19th.  A week before the wedding he asked if I could make something camo for him and his groomsmen.  I thought a camouflage pocket square would be perfect.  It's just a touch of camo without it being over the top. 

And here is what I came up with:

They were super easy to make.  I cut two 9-inch by 9-inch squares, sewed right sides together leaving about two inch opening, turned right side out, ironed, and sewed up the opening.  I looked online to find an easy fold for a pocket square.  To keep the fold, I sprayed spray starch then ironed the folds.  They held up really nice!

So I had some extra fabric left over and wanted to make something girly for my uncle's wife.  And this what I came up with:

I don't have specific instructions on how to make this, but you can go here to find a tutorial.  I added a sparkly button to the center of the flower.  To make it a hair clip, I hot glued an alligator clip to the back.  My cousin (my uncle's daughter) ended up wearing the flower in her hair, and I think it looked great with her bridesmaids dress.

And here is the happy couple after they said "I do".  Notice the camo pocket square in my uncle's pocket!

Congratulations to the happy couple!

Hand Warmers

I don't know about you, but my hands are always cold.  Especially at work.  I did a little searching online and found that it was pretty easy to make some.  I looked at several different tutorials and came up with my own. 

First, I cut four pieces of fabric (I used flannel) in 5-inch by 5-inch squares.  

With wrong sides together, I stitched all the around, leaving a little opening one side.  I clipped the corners, turned the squares inside out and poked the corners with a crochet hook (it was the only thing I could find!). 

 

I filled each hand warmer with about 2/3 cup of rice.  This seemed to be just the right amount for a 5-inch by 5-inch hand warmer.  I sewed the little opening closed and was ready to heat them up in the microwave!  I tried a few different times to see what worked best and found that 45 seconds in the microwave was perfect.  

I actually used these at work today.  Our office is quite chilly and my hands are always cold.  I'm also going to be giving these as some Christmas gifts as well.  I just need to make up a little tag with instructions on how to use.  These little hand warmers are great way to use up scrap pieces of fabric and super easy to make.  I know I'll be using them a lot this winter!

What I've Been Up To

I've been slowly starting some Christmas gifts.  I actually finished one project!  Right before our trip to the Jersey shore, I made some headbands following this tutorial.  The only thing I changed up was instead of using elastic, I used 2 hair elastics.  The hair elastics didn't pull my hair and kept the headband in place.  I also wore the headband during the 5K I wogged (walk/jog, I decided what I really did was not running at all, so I can't call it wunning...so it's now known as wogging) last Saturday. 

The one Christmas gift I finished was for our nephew.  After looking around on some blogs and websites, I came up with a fishing set.  I sewed up some fish.  Added button for eyes and sewed in some washers for the mouth.  I then made a fishing hook out of felt and put a strong magnet inside the hook.  I made the pole out of a wooden dowel and string.  I wrapped felt around the handle to give a good grip.  I really like how it came out! Check out my model... ;-)

The other project I've been working on, but haven't finished, is some felt food for our 4-year old niece.  She is always playing her in kitchen and 'cooking' up some meals for everyone.  As of right now, I made about a dozen raviolis, four strawberries, two carrots and one bean.  I want to make a few more beans and then some more fruits and veggies.  I love making the felt food!  It's so easy to make and everything is super cute. 

And that's what I've been up to for the past few weeks!  Hopefully I will finish up a few more things this week to post soon. 

As for my cooking...not too much going on with that.  But I am planning on making some pot roast this week!

Craft Hope Project 9

I came across Craft Hope about a year ago, but never helped with any of the projects.  The most recent project, project 8, was to make towels and washcloths to send down to the Gulf Coast to help clean the oil off of animals.  It felt really good to help out in some way.

Craft Hope just announced project 9, which is to make colorful pillowcases for the organization ConKerr Cancer.  The pillowcases are given to kids in the hospital, to help make their room more cheery and to help make the kids smile.  

I can't wait to get to pick out some bright and colorful fabrics!  I know what I'll be doing this weekend.

Strawberries and Watermelons

I finally got around to making some more bowl fillers.  I wanted to make some summery decorations to have around our apartment and to sell at my etsy shop.  For the strawberries, I just followed the basic felt food pattern of sewing up the sides of a half circle, stuffing it, then stitching it closed.  For the watermelons, I looked online for some ideas and came up with my own pattern.  I did both slices and wedges for the watermelons.  Everything is made out of muslin and then hand painted.  I'm really happy with how these came out!

What I've Been Up To...

I haven't wrote a post in a while, so I will just post some pictures of what I've been up to.  I'm trying to increase the numbers of meals I actually prepare and cook, and I've been sewing like crazy, along with some projects that will remain a secret since they are gifts.  So here are some pictures.  Hopefully I will have some time this week to explain what each thing is and provide a recipe or explanation on how I made some of the items.

Roasted Red Pepper and Mozzarella Panini 

And I actually make my own roasted red peppers....  To make these, I cut a large red pepper in half, and place it, skin side up, directly on the oven rack and turn the broiler on.  Once the skin is blackened, I flip them over and let the other side cook a little.  After they are done in the oven, I place the peppers in a plastic container and put the lid on the container.  Then let the pepper sit for about 15 minutes, or even longer.  This makes the skin super easy to peel off.  And then you have fresh roasted red peppers that are super yummy and sweet!

And now on to some the things I've been sewing.  I don't have pictures of the rag quilt that I made for a friend's mom.  I will try to get pictures and post those eventually.  Below are some pictures of a credit card/business card holder.  But I think it would also make a great way to give a gift card.  I used some scrap pieces of fabric and came up with these.

And here is a sneak peak of something that I recently started...

Baby Bag

A co-worker of mine is pregnant with her second child and is due at the beginning of March.  I wanted to make her something and was searching the internet, looking for an idea on what to make.  I came across Sew Much Ado and found an awesome baby bag pattern.  I even loved the colors and knew my co-worker would too!

So off to Joann's I went to find some fabric.  The pattern suggested home decor weight fabric, so that's I what I got.  I'm glad I did, because the bag was much more stable and durable.

This is one gift that I made for someone that I'm pleased with how it came out (as you can tell, I'm very hard on myself when it comes to being crafty!).

Here are some pictures of the finished product.

Conversation Hearts

When I first started working on these, I wasn't super happy with how they were turning out.  I'm a beginner when it comes to sewing and still have trouble with certain things.  But after I painted the hearts, I was really liking them.

First, I cut out heart shapes out of some muslin I had left over from another project.  I then sewed the hearts, leaving a two-inch opening on the side so I can stuff them.  Then I hand sewed the opening.

After I finished sewing everything, I used some bright colored paints and painted the muslin.  I only did one coat, but I think two coats would have been a lot better.

For some final touches and to give them that conversation candy heart look, I used a white paint marker to write the words on each of the hearts.  And has anyone noticed some of the new sayings on those hearts??  "Sweet Pea", "Love Bug", and "Text Me" are some of the new sayings for 2010.  These traditional Valentine's Day candies date back to 1902!

Some of my creations

This was my first big project.  The rag quilt on the back of our living room couch.  I also made the three throw pillows in the middle.

Here are some strawberry bowl fillers, inspired by my cousin.  She called me up one night going on and on about these bowl fillers she bought online.  When I went to the site, I thought to myself, hey I can't make those.  So this what I came up with.  Since the creation of these, I have come up with a much cuter and much easier way to make them!

Here is a tote bag that I made for my cousin's high school graduation.  She loved the colors!  And I loved how it came out.  The inside is a blue paisley sort of design.

This is the very girly rag quilt I made for my cousin.  She had her second child, a girl, in August.  And I wanted to make her something.  I had a lot of fabric left over, I made her tons of burp cloths as well.

My sister-in-law put together a benefit for her mother-in-law, who has been battling lung cancer for several years now.  Shed asked if I put together a basket for a silent auction.  I came up with doing a kitchen goodies basket and made this table runner and four placemats.  I also included some Tastefully Simple products (which I sell) and some candles.  It was quite a successful night and I'm glad I was able to help make something to raise money for her mother-in-law.