Fabric Friday: Chapstick holder

I'm so excited to share this cute little project with you.  I haven't sewed anything interesting for awhile.  Then I stumbled onto this cutie thing that you can literally make in 15 minutes.  HERE is the tutorial.  I made a couple minor adjustments, but it doesn't take away from the tutorial at all.  It is essentially a long tube (2" x9") folded up.  What I love about this is, first, it's a quick project.  Second, it's so useful.  How often have you hunted down that chapstick in the abyss that is your purse?  Now you can clip it onto the side of your purse, and you'll have it at the ready.  Third, it uses up scraps!!!  For those of you that sew, go ahead, make a few of these for yourself and your friends and family.  They'll love you for it!

Fabric Friday!

I haven't done this in quite awhile, so I thought we should do this again.  I know Stampin' Up! has discontinued the awesome super fat quarters.  But I'd bet at least some of you have some stashed away, especially those scored from the Clearance Rack awhile ago for $0.99 a pack!  Anyhow, I had done a cell phone carrier thing last year.  But ever since I've had my new phone, I've been wanting to make another one that fits, plus a little pocket to fit a license and a $20, for when I'm running out the door as a chauffeur.  Let me show you what I made first, then I'll tell you a story.

Left: Front                                           Right: Back

The tutorial I started with is from HERE.  Of course, now with a year's sewing experience under my belt, I thought I can be more creative and make modifications with ease.  Boy, was I wrong.  Luckily, these things are quick projects, so it was easy to whip up another.  My phone has a super protector on it, so it's a little fat.  And the original tutorial didn't have a pocket that I wanted.  Then I remembered when I made this last year, with a layer of long batting, that you then fold over, the bottom was a bit thick.  I figured I'd make it as 2 separate pieces.  Long story shorter, here's some lessons I learned:

1. ALWAYS try to follow the tutorial as closely as possible.  I've mentioned this before, but why I don't listen to myself, I don't know.
2. Sew pocket onto back piece first.
3. Cut 2 pieces of batting, so that there's no batting towards the bottom (or middle, since you're folding it over).
4. Don't forget to pin your tab on, before starting to sew.
5. MEASURE!  I kinda eyeballed, and it's a bit tight.  But I guess it turned out alright, since the phone won't fall out, and the credit card/license won't fall out either, with the fabric stretched taut.

If you must know the size of fabric pieces I used, they're about 4" x 11", with 1/4" seam, topstitched as close to the edge as possible.

Springtime Skirts!

I have been wanting to learn how to make skirts for quite awhile.  In fact, I have pinned so many tutorials for adults and children on my Pinterest board, hoping that one day I would be brave enough to try.  Well, I finally got the push I needed.  I begged a friend to show me how to make the easiest skirt she can find.  I even brought my own sewing machine to her house to have my lesson.  Well, the time certainly was not wasted.  I learned some tips and I came home and gave it a try.  The first skirt I ever made actually didn't fit.  But that didn't deter me.  I tried it again.  This time I threw away the pattern and just tried to make something that would fit through my hips and sit at my waist.  It worked.  But it needed lining, as the material was a bit see-through.  So next I decided to get into my stash of SU fabrics that were on clearance awhile ago.  I know, my friend is cringing now, as she told me not to use 100% cotton.  Since I'm just a novice at this, this was a price point I can live with, if it didn't work out.  I pre-washed the fabric.  Trimmed off all the loose threads.  Ironed.  Cut the fat quarters in half, lengthwise.  And I went to the sewing machine.

For the first skirt above, I just put together the long pieces, sewed them into a tube.
For the bottom skirt here, I used the left overs and laid them horizontally.

Although I didn't exactly follow any tutorials, if you need one, HERE's a pretty good simple one.

Stylin' Stampin' Squad Blog Hop February 2013

Welcome to this month's Stylin' Stampin' Squad's Blog Hop! Our theme this month is all about FABRIC!  I'm so excited to show you what I've got, so let's dive right in, shall we?

I had this idea to try cutting fabric with framelits.  I think I've heard rumors that it's possible, but I don't recall any specific blogger's post about it.  So, I thought, what the heck, I will just try it for myself.  Well, what do you know?  They really DO cut fabric!  Awesome.  One caution... you should probably shim your Big Shot, as fabric is very thin compared to card stock.  Or, make sure you have really sharp fabric scissors around to help loosen the cut fabric.

So, this is what I made:

Originally I only had a flat piece of fabric for the bottom of the skirt, cut with framelit.  But it looked so... flat, as if it were paper.  I was worried you wouldn't be able to see the difference between my fabric version vs. a paper version.  So, I took another piece of fabric on the table, folded to make the skirt look fuller.  That was the look I wanted.  Now onto adhering.  I took out the old needle and thread, then didn't really know what I should do about it.  Haha.  Pulled the thread back out.  Decided to use fabric adhesive instead.  Ok, this was the liquid kind that I bought at the store.  But if I wasn't so lazy, and went to find my fabric adhesive roll, it would probably be better, without getting goo on my hands.  Anyways, in the end, that's what held my fabric top and skirt down, fabric adhesive.  I put it on the back of the ribbon, too, to make sure that stayed.  I cut off the prongs of the brad, so it could lay a little flatter.  Oh, lastly, the pearl strand was added, because, you know, every woman needs to have pearls. :)

My second project is a hand warmer.  Made with, what else?  Staying true to my obsession with using our Scalloped Square die to cut fabric.  This was originally something I saw on Pinterest.  You can do this with any size you want.  But I love using our Scalloped Square die, because you just sew up all sides, leaving a hole, big enough to fill with your rice/lavender mixture, then sew up the rest of the way.

This is how I sew up the opening.  I use pins to help the rice from moving too close to the sewing needle.  When it's ready to use, just microwave it for 30 seconds, and it will keep your hands warm during the cold days of winter.  If you make bigger ones, you just heat for longer.

Hope you liked these projects.  If you do, please kindly leave me some comments.  I love reading your notes.  Now, please hop on to the next stop with Nancy.

Blog Hop Participants:

1. Shellie G. of Craft Smashup
2. Annie L. of Love Me Cards
3. Nancy B. of Lady Stamps-A-Lot
4. Rose C. of Stamp with Rose
5. Tonya B. of Stampin' with Tonya
6. Dawn S. of Dawn's Creative Chalet
7. Pamela W. of Stinky Tofu
8. Kim R. of Stamping with Kim
9. Justin K of JK Cards
10. Heidi B of Stuck on Stampin'
11. Jennifer B of NW Stamper
12. Bree of Craft-somnia
13. Diana E of Stampin' Fun with Diana
14. Darcy J of Dj's Stampin Place

Fabric Friday - Tohoku Tote

It's finally time for another Fabric Friday!  Ever since I saw the 2011 Convention-exclusive Simply Scored tote, I wanted to make one.  However, my sewing skills wasn't quite up to snuff yet.  Then I saw THIS TUTORIAL on Pinterest, and saved it for that "one day."  Well, that "one day" came and I decided to try it.

I didn't follow the tutorial exactly.  I improvised and tried to make it easier on myself.  Above is the front.  Below is the backside.

Here is the closeup.

The front and back pieces are essentially two separate extra-long fat quarter pieces that come in the package.  So measuring there.  Then for the other pieces, I didn't bother to iron the fabric, I left it folded and just cut along the crease lines.  I'll try to make a pictorial when I make another one.  Anyway, this really wasn't all that hard to make and I am so pleased with the result.

Since Stampin' Up! is having a giant sale on some retired fabric right now for $0.99 a package (3 extra-long fat quarters per package), I'm getting a bunch of fabric and make some totes and bags to sell.  If you're interested, shoot me an email!

******DESIGNER FABRIC CLEARANCE*****

Stampin' Up! has on 4 retired Designer Fabric packs on sale.  They're on sale for only $0.99!!!  For a limited time and only while supplies last, the following discontinued Designer Fabrics from the 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalog (see p. 196 or here) will be available at the low, low price of just 99 cents on all order types—customer, workshop, and online!

Item	Description	Price
121716	Deck the Halls Designer Fabric	$0.99
121715	Candy Cane Christmas Designer Fabric	$0.99
121817	Springtime Vintage Designer Fabric	$0.99
121818	Sweet Stitches Designer Fabric	$0.99

This is your perfect opportunity to try Stampin’ Up!’s exclusive Designer Fabric for just 99 cents! These cotton fabrics come with 3 Extra-Long Fat Quarters (18" x 27") in each fabric package.  Stock up now for all your fabric needs.  You can use these fabric for all kinds of projects, crafts, sewing, quilting and anything you can think of.  But even if you don't sew at all, you can use fabric on your cards, tear off a strip to wrap presents, make bows, appliques, put through the Big Shot to make die cuts.  There are endless possibilities.  Pick up a few packages now, and I will show you what you can make on my blog. While you're at it, consider adding the Scallop Square Big Shot die (#115950, $21.95) that I use so frequently to cut my fabric with.  Also, you might want to pick up Fabric Adhesive Roll (#122194 $14.95) to adhere fabric to other fabric or clothing.

There is no limit to the quantity of these Designer Fabrics that you can purchase; however, this offer is only good while supplies last.

Contact me TODAY or go to MY WEBSITE to place your order.

Stylin' Stampin' Squad Blog Hop July 2012

Hello and welcome to this month's installment of the Stylin' Stampin' Squad Blog Hop.  If you came from Shellie's Creative Electica blog, thank you for visiting me!  This month's themes are America/Canada Birthday.  I hope you'll like what I have for you.  And please, give my blogpost some love with your kind comments!


I have made a gift set this time.  It consist of a card, a post-it note holder (or snack-size chocolate holder), and a bookmark.  All packaged together and housed inside a card holder.  The whole thing is held closed with a piece of Designer Fabric.

These gift items are all made with Comfort Cafe DSP and Make a Cake and Itty Bitty Banners sets.  I did a fair amount of paper piecing this time, just because I wanted the cakes to be "decorated."  The embossing folder is a new one from the Annual Catalog, called Argyle.  The scallop square mat you see behind the cake is a cut out from the Perfect Pennants Big Shot die.  The sentiment is cut using the Banners Framelit.

You can find the tutorial for this Post-It Note Holder HERE.  My dimensions are a bit different than in the tutorial.  My finished size is 3 1/4 x 3 1/4.  I started with a piece that is 3 1/4" x 7 1/2".  Using Simply Scored board, I scored at 1/2", 4", 4 1/2".

This bookmark is cut using one of my all-time favorite Big Shot dies, Two Tags die.  If you don't have it, you should seriously consider getting it.  It's a very versatile die.  I apologize that in this photo the bookmark looks a bit wonky.  I don't know why, I'm really sorry about that.

There you have it.  My submission for this month's blog hop.  I hope you liked what you saw here.  Oh!  I didn't get a chance to do a tutorial on the card holder here.  I will get to it, I promise.  When I was putting it together, I had to figure out the dimensions myself.  I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for in cyberspace.  So I will share those with you very shortly.  Really, I promise.

Thank you for stopping by.  Please visit Pam at the next stop to see what super awesome projects she's got this month!

My Supplies List (all supplies and images by Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):

Stamp Set(s): Make a Cake, Itty Bitty Banners

Ink: Soft Suede, Cajun Craze

Papers: Baja Breeze, Soft Suede, Summer Starfruit, Cajun Craze, Comfort Cafe DSP

Accessories: Perfect Pennants Big Shot die, Banners Framelits, Circles #2 Big Shot die, Argyle embossing folder, Scallop Circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, Scallop Edge Border punch, Two Tags Big Shot die, Comfort Cafe Designer Fabric, corner rounder

Blog Hop Participants:

1. Shellie G. of Creative Electica
2. Annie L. of Love Me Cards
3. Pam S. of Stampin' in the Sun!
4. Nancy B. of Lady Stamps a Lot
5. Rose C. of Stamp with Rose
6. Tonya B. of Stampin' with Tonya
7. Dawn S. of Dawn's Creative Chalet
8. Patricia T. of Sunnyone Stampin'
9. Heather W. of Heather's Stampin' Blog
10. Marla R. of Marla's Stampin' Spot
11. Darcy J. of DJ's Stampin' Place
12. Kim R. of Stamping with Kim

Fabric Friday - Rag Bag

Welcome to another Fabric Friday!  I've been wanting to do a rag bag for awhile.  Especially after seeing my friend Anji of Altered Scraps make her rag bags.  Anji and I had inspired each other to sew when I first started using my sewing machine.  It's been fun seeing what projects we come up with.

For this project, I pretty much followed the video instructions from Angie.  Here is the finished bag.

I made side pockets!  For the pocket, I just folded the top scallops down and sewed across.  The inner piece uses the same technique I shared with my last Fabric Friday, where you fold the piece of fabric on the Scallop Square Big Shot die, to create a rectangular piece, rather than square.

 I love this nice touch with the strap and button.

I didn't snip the edges of this bag, because I thought this actually looks kinda nice. :)  As soon as I started using this bag, I got 3 compliments within the first 2 hours.  Makes me very proud.  Go ahead, pick up some fabric and especially the Big Shot Scallop Square die (#115950) from MY STORE, and make this adorable bag!

Fabric Friday - Card Tote

I would like to share a super cute Card Tote today.

I saw this on LeeAnn's blog.  Isn't she so smart?  This is taking my favorite, Scallop Square die, and make the fabric cuts into rectangles!  How brilliant is this???  Just a caution, make sure you note where you wish to fold the fabric or which scallop you are folding on.  And, uh, don't be having instant message chats with people while rolling the Big Shot.  Just sayin'. ;)

The new 2012-2013 Annual Catalog kicks off today!!!!  Do you have your wish list ready?  Would you like to join a share for ribbons, accessories, and/or papers?  If you do, check out my Shares page.  I am now filling 2nd and 3rd rounds of shares.  As soon as the shares are filled, I will invoice you.  Please pay ASAP, so I can place the orders for you!  Any questions, just email me!

I am off to place my order and the 1st round of share orders.  Check back later for projects made with brand new products!

Fabric Friday - Snack Bag

I'm back for another Fabric Friday!  I was just too sick to do any posting last week.  Today's project is a little reusable snack treat bag.  I followed the tutorial from HERE.

I made a couple of different sizes, just for fun.
I also tried our Big Shot Fabric Adhesive Roll to attach fabric to fabric.  This worked like a charm!
Also, I decided to sew a top-stitch line just under the velcro, just because. :)

The small bag on top is from Twitterpated Designer Fabric.  The bottom one is from Summer Smooches Designer Fabric.  The stars are from left over Springtime Vintage Designer Fabric on my table, and were cut using the retiring Stars #2 Big Shot die.

Fabric Friday: Key Chain

We are back for another edition of Fabric Friday!  Today's project is a super simple one.  I followed the directions from THIS BLOG.

Close-up.

This was the second one I made.  I didn't get a chance to photograph the first one, before I shipped it off to a friend.  Anyways, for the first one, I thought I should outsmart the tutorial writer and do something clever on my own accord.  Well, let me tell ya, there's a reason why people write their tutorials.  For this second one, I followed the tutorial, pretty much exactly.  And it is very simple!  Seriously, if you can turn your sewing machine on and sew a straight line, you're in business!

In the spirit of retiring products month, this particular fabric line is the to-be-retired Springtime Vintage Designer Fabric.  You know what's so fabulous about it, other than the prints?  It's deeply discounted at $2.99 per package!  You will get 3 bigger than standard fat-quarter-size fat-quarters.  I stocked up, and you should, too!  Get it while supply lasts at MY STORE.

Click HERE for the Retiring Stamp Sets

Click HERE for the Retiring Accessories

Click HERE for the Retiring Definitely Decorative

Fabric Friday - Passport & Travel Documents Holder

Hooray for another Fabric Friday today!  Today's project is a Passport & Travel Documents Holder that I saw on Pinterest.  I kind of followed the tutorial from THIS BLOG.

I used Timeless Portraits Designer Fabric for this project.

Here it is closed.  I just used sew-on velcro.

 Opened up inside.  It has several pockets to stow tickets, passport, itinerary, etc.

In Stampin' news, if you love the sets in the Occasions Mini Catalog, you are in luck! Because of the short time period between the end of the Occasions Mini Catalog and the launch of the 2012-2013 annual catalog, Stampin' Up! has decided to make the carryover stamp sets available early--starting today!

The following stamp sets are available for purchase. We hope you will enjoy this extra little sneak peak to the annual catalog.

Stamp Set Name	Item Number
	Wood-Mount	Clear-Mount
Baby Prints	125470	125472
Love & Laughter	125475	125477
Bordering on Romance	125480	125482
Apothecary Art	125525	125527
Mixed Bunch	125535	125537
Tea Shoppe	125545	125547
Mouthwatering	125675	125677
Loving Thoughts	125843	125845
Salon de thé	125934	125936
Etiquetas florales	--	125941
Art floral	125964	125966

Click HERE for the Retiring Stamp Sets

Click HERE for the Retiring Accessories

Click HERE for the Retiring Definitely Decorative

Fabric Friday - Small Tote with Button

Yay for another round of Fabric Friday!  Guess what I have for you today?  Can you guess?  Yes, it's another tote!!!  Originally I made this for me.  But it turned out a little smaller than I expected, because I apparently can't do math.  Then as soon as my daughter saw it, she claimed it for herself.  So I guess I made it for her.  LOL.

This is made with the Flirtatious Designer Fabric again.  For the handles, I got lazy and pulled out my Striped Grosgrain ribbon.  I put two together and stitched up the sides.

Oh, and I used the Square Scallop die for Big Shot again.  Seriously, that thing is like a work horse around here.  Totally getting my money's worth.  Although hard to tell, I made a little box corner for the bottom of the tote.  The lines are perfect on this one, which makes me very proud of myself. :)

Here's a close up.  Because I had put batting in between the lining and the outer fabric, it felt a little bulky, especially at the top.  So I thought I would give the buttonhole function on my machine a try.  Holy Batman!  That is one cool function!  Oh, did you also see what I did with the ruffle?  I took two scrap strips of fabric, put them at right angles to each other and sewed at 45-degrees.  This way, the two pieces would be joined to become one long strip.  Perfect for me to do some ruffle/gathering.

I used the Fun Flowers die again for embellishment.  Again, as before, I had lined the fabric with some fusible interfacing to make it just a little stiffer.  The button is Melon Mambo from the Ice Cream Parlor suite, which you can find on the Clearance Rack.

Items from the Clearance Rack can only be ordered online at MY STORE.  Which you're there, check out the other really awesome stuff at a fraction of the original cost.

Thanks for visiting!  Have a wonderful weekend!!!