Well, we've settled in from the move and I've already found stuff to keep me busy! There's a local fabric store (no surprise that I found the nearest fabric store within a week of arriving!) that I've been helping design and sew some displays for. Here's a little portion of a couple summer themed projects I did: An Amy Butler Gum Drop Pillow cover, made to look like a beach ball. (This is one of my favorite simple sewing patterns if you're just getting started sewing!) Once you've mastered it, it's easy to add a zipper along the bottom and make lots of different covers! Also is a simple tote I designed. I played around with the … [Read more...]

Today we're getting ready for July 4th by foiling some fabric napkins! It's sooo easy! I promise! I made my own napkins for this project. Pre-made ones from the store will work just fine too! Here's what you'll need: Heat'n Bond Ultra Hold (Any double sided fabric adhesive will work, just make sure it's washable!) Silver Foil designed specifically for fabric Iron Napkins to foil (I made mine by cutting some squares and using my serger to make a rolled hem on the edges. Next time I think I'll use red and navy thread instead of the white thread though!) Let's get going! Cut out some star shapes from the Heat'n Bond. … [Read more...]

So, a little while ago my husband and I were walking through The Container Store (which I LOVE) and we saw these little shoulder protectors for suits. They are designed to slip over the hanger and keep dust from collecting on your nice suits. I thought they were a great idea, but just looked blah. (Not to mention they were $10 a piece for some plastic!) Then the light bulb went off! I could make my own and choose whatever fabric I'd like to use! Then I could guarantee that they wouldn't look blah! Here's what you need to make yours: 1/3 yard fabric Template (Download here, making sure the 1" boxes print at 1".) Cut out and piece the … [Read more...]

Shirring (pronounced "sure-ing", not "shear-ing") is a great technique to easily add a comfy, elasticized waistband to a project. You'll be surprised just how easy it is! The only thing you'll need, besides basic sewing supplies, that you may not have on hand is some elastic thread:   You'll want 2-3 spools. Sewing all the little bands uses up a bit of the elasticized thread! I've got a dress I picked up at goodwill for $2 that I'm going to make into a skirt. I LOVED the colors and the border print on this dress,   just not the top with teeny tiny triangles and the spaghetti straps. (It's hard to find good border prints so I'm … [Read more...]

I'm finally almost unpacked from my move and have had a chance to finish a sewing pattern I've been working on for a few weeks! It's available in the store now.   I call it Beach Towel 2.0! Don't let the wind or a towel that won't stay on your chair hamper your summer fun! You can upgrade your standard towel to add handles, pockets, and a way to attach it to the chair. There are two different pocket options, one with a secured flap for ID cards, a phone, etc., and an open one that will fit a water bottle and snacks! When you're done at the pool, lake, or beach, easily fold it up into a tote with handles! Use the 11 pages of … [Read more...]

Mom, if you're reading now, please delete the email and wait until AFTER Mother's Day to visit my site. Thanks! Just to make sure she doesn't see the picture of what may be her Mother's Day gift I included this filler picture of my cat trying to help with the project. What you can't see is that he's sitting directly on top of what I'm trying to photograph! I can't tell you how many pictures never make it into the tutorial because it's got a cat nose, paw, tail, or ear in it somewhere! So for Mother's Day I wanted something simple but useful to send to both my Mother and Mother-In-Law and I think I succeeded! I made them each a pair of … [Read more...]

Well, I checked another item off the 30 Before 30 list, yay! I made some French Macarons! (These are much different than their other macaroon counterparts...you know, the ones with coconut.) I was a bit apprehensive because there are lots of little steps and tricks to follow in order to get the "perfect" macaron. The biggest thing I was worried about was that you're not supposed to bake them on a day with high humidity...well, I live in North Texas and there is no such thing as a day like that so I figured that any day was just as good as any other day so I armed myself with the ingredients and got to baking. The ingredient list is … [Read more...]

Ready to tackle an invisible zipper? Please promise me you won't let what anyone else says about how hard zippers are stand in your way! Ok, ready? We'll talk about invisible zippers and then sew up a pillow using one. (I promise these are so easy, you'll wonder why you haven't started using them before!) You'll need: 16" pillow form 1/2 yard of fabric 1 4" invisible zipper (I get mine from ZipIt on Etsy, she ships fast and the prices are awesome!) Coordinating thread Your machine's zipper foot   Let's talk zippers and zipper feet for a minute: My zipper foot for my Janome looks like this: It's got two … [Read more...]

As soon as I saw this stripe from the fabulously talanted Iza Pearl Design (Melissa Ybarra) I knew I had to have it! (It also helps that I've had the opportunity to meet this sweet person as I had the pleasure of teaching her a few sewing classes through CityCraft.) I let it sit with my fabric stash for a week or two (along with some of the other patterns from this collection), trying to determine the perfect project to use it on. The first thing I decided to try was to make a chevron pattern with the stripe. It's super easy to do! Want to try? Layout your fabric on your cutting board. Grab your straight edge and rotary cutter for this … [Read more...]

I knew this jacket had to be mine the minute I saw it at my local Goodwill store! It was my size, in perfect condition, and only $5! Thinking it was too good to be true I made a closer inspection and noticed that a few buttons were missing, and a few others were loose. That seemed to be the only thing wrong. (Kind of sad that someone got rid of a perfectly good lime green jacket because of a few missing buttons!) I bought it, washed it, then got to work fixing it. I decided that I wasn't too fond of the buttons currently on the jacket (kind of boring if you ask me), and it would be pretty difficult to try to find a replacement button that … [Read more...]