Bulletin Board

Here is a bulletin board that I made for my office over the summer. I hate clutter on my desk, so I think it's better to have the chaos on my wall! At least it's organized chaos. I took a simple cork message board and covered it in some Amy Butler fabric and glued some trim on it to give it some extra oomph (and cover up the fabric's raw edges!). I also made some fabric covered push pins. I love how it adds some color to this very beiege room and helps keep me organized!

Totes

I checked out a few sewing books from the library over the summer, and this looked like a fun and easy project. It's a tote bag made out of - placemats! I found 3 place mats that I liked, sewed a strap, and voila! Then, I put it in my hall closet where it stayed, unused, for months. When my mom came to visit, I gave it to her as a tote bag I had made her when I started to sew 2 years ago was looking a little beat up. I think I'll move into make something with a flatter, reinforced bottom. But this is definitely a great, sturdy bag!

Applique

I recently updated Anthony's room to a "big boy" room. I found an awesome bedding set that features vintage airplanes. I attempted to make a fun little decorative pillow, but I don't think I'm a big fan of the red stitching around the plane. I didn't realize it would look so...Russian military? That needs to be updated ASAP....or in a few days...or month...or....when I get around to it.

I love pillows!

I FINALLY made some new pillow covers for my couches. I found some awesome fabric while I was out shopping and decided it was time for an update. I love the nautical print as it adds a lot of color to my very beige sofa, very beige carpet and very beige walls. The soft corduroy on the back is a nice soft place to lay your head when you are catching up on all your reality...err, the news. Also, this was my first attempt at inserting a zipper. I had made envelope pillows before, but I really wanted to be able to use both side of the pillows - especially since I loved both of the fabrics. A friend of mine had me so freaked out about zippers for so long that I was afraid to even try. But thanks to YouTube (the greatest sewing teacher ever), I succeeded :) I certainly bought way more fabric than I needed for these, so if anyone is in the market for a nautical pillowcover (come on, I know you all are) let me know!

My attempt at card making

Because my neighbor has inspired me so much with her creations, I decided to try coming up with things myself. My designs are certainly very simple, but with practice I know I will get better. I have really gotten into embossing cards. I think it adds a certain richness to the card. Also, I really love to stitch in paper. It's something that's very unexpected, so I tooled around with some card stock, embossing powder and my sewing machine today. Here is what I came up with :)

Christmas Card Stamp Camp

I recently went to a Stampin' Up stamp camp that my neighbor held on a recent Saturday. She is so talented and I am truly amazed at some of her creations. These are the Christmas cards that we made that day. They were super easy and it was fun to hang out with a bunch of other ladies and enjoy some good food and good conversation. These make perfect Thank You Cards, or even mini-Christmas Cards. They measure about 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 inches. I have even consulted with Melissa in coming up with a personalized photo card to send out to all of my family and friends. I look forward to what we come up with! If you are interested in any of these, please let me know. And please check out Melissa's blog at http://melissaspad.blogspot.com/ for some of her awesome creations!

Candles...finally!

So, I finally got up the guts to create my own soy candles. I have a candle burning somewhere in my house about 99% of the time. I used to buy these awesome soy candles from a friend at a previous duty station, but alas, we have since parted ways as we both live in different states now. I decided it was time to to finally start making my own. I picked up just a few supplies at the local hobby shop to see if it were something that I could do somewhat successfully - and I can't believe how easy it was! The best part is picking out the scents as well as finding some fun containers to put them in. If anyone is interested in treating themselves or a friend to an awesome little gift, I'd be happy to oblige. Above are some of the containers that I have for future skills, but the sky is pretty much the limit on this one! Also, I will be tracking down the awesome Christmas Tree scent that my friend used in order to get some great smelling Christmas candles :)

P.S. You can see how thrilled Anthony gets when I am on a crafting binge...

Today was a busy day...

Thank goodness I finally broke down and just got my own craft table. This sure beats working on the counter or kitchen table! Anthony still gets "handsy" but at least I have my own space. My own craft table in my own office. Ahh...now that's heaven.

Welcome to my blog!

At the urging of a friend on Facebook, and to better be able to show things that I am working on, I decided to start a crafting blog.  I started to get into sewing back in the fall of 2008.  I really love to create things and to teach myself how to do new things.  Thanks to the advent of things like the internet, youtube, etc. you really have a limitless world in gathering skills, ideas, etc.  (I had to use youtube to show me how to thread my sewing machine when I first got it).  I started with a few sewing projects, which I will showcase, and have moved on to different things.  I set up a store in Etsy and was even successful in selling a few things!  I'm hoping that by getting my blog out there, I can be successful in selling more and ultimately fund my "habit."  And truthfully, there are only so many candles and pillow covers that I can make for myself!  So, I'd love to make things for other people, if given the chance.

My husband has been deployed for the past month and it has certainly given me some time to dust off that sewing machine and get back into business.  So here is my attempt to show what I am working on.  If you are interested in any of these items, please contact me and I will let you know what I can do for you  :)

Thanks for visiting.