Neon is all the rage this spring and I love it! I'm a color lover and was so excited to pair some fun neon brights with a charcoal colored linen for this project!  You don't need any fancy hardware for the pouch closure either. We'll use a little bit of measuring tape to make the top closure! Ready to get started? You'll need the following: Fabric scraps (You'll need less than a 1/4 yard of fabric for the whole pouch!) 12" of a 3/4" wide measuring tape 12" of 6/32" cotton cording Coordinating thread   Cut the following pieces: Main Fabric (This was my charcoal colored linen.) 4- 3" x 5 1/2" rectangles for … [Read more...]

My husband and I love to cook! (It's not something we've always loved to do, but over the past few years we have done a lot more of it. Probably has something to do with the fact that we switched to a 100% Vegetarian diet a few years ago.) If you're like us, you like to note any changes you made in the recipe when you are cooking it. (Like if you made modifications to the ingredients, spices, baking times, etc.) Usually I just write them next to the recipe, if I even remember to do it at all! I hate going back and making a recipe for the 2nd or 3rd time and then remember, usually while it's baking, that I wanted to modify something but forgot … [Read more...]

I've had this fun little project in my sketchbook for a couple of months. I wanted a way to use some clear vinyl and some smaller oilcloth scraps that I had hanging around. I loved the idea of using both to make a cute little storage bag. I also loved that the oilcloth would add some color and the clear vinyl would let me see right inside the bag.  These would make great gifts for teachers, party favor bags, cosmetic bags for friends, on-the-go sewing kit, and so many other uses! (I'm thinking that for Father's Day my dad might get a travel toiletry pouch with some of this awesome wood-grain oilcloth from CityCraft!) Well, let's get … [Read more...]

If you sew, you know that your bobbins can go from nice and organized to messy and stringy in a matter of minutes. Case in point: Looks pretty bad huh? And I promise that I made them all nice and neat less than a week ago and didn't make it more messy just for a picture! When you go to get one bobbin out, the others just unravel more making an even bigger disaster! I searched online for bobbin clips to purchase. The only ones I found were for a pack of 10 for almost $10 on Amazon.They included the bobbins too, but they were for Brother machines. I sew on a Janome... Although they use very similar bobbins I didn't want to pay $10 before … [Read more...]

Need a easy little gift for Valentine's Day? This perfect Cupid's Arrow pouch is just the right size to hold a gift too! The little arrow becomes the zipper pull. Make one, or a few! (I think I made 5!) What you'll need to make one pouch: Print the PDF pattern pieces from here. (Make sure that the 1" box on the pattern actually prints at 1" square.) 1 Fat Quarter (or 1/4 yard fabric) per pouch front 1 sheet coordinating felt 1/2 yard lightweight fusible interfacing (I used Pellon SF101, my favorite!) 1 - 12" (or longer) coordinating polyester zipper EDITED: You can also use scrap fabric for the front and back, and … [Read more...]

I'm readying my apartment for Valentine's Day. Here's a project I did this weekend that took me less than an hour! You'll need: Blank coir welcome mat (I got mine from IKEA, Target and other stores should have them too.) 3 cans spray paint  in various Valentine's Day shades(I used a combination of both flat and shiny paint textures. It didn't seem to matter and you can't tell which were which on the coir. The darkest pink was a shiny finish and the lt. pink and white were matte finish.) white contact paper masking tape Scrap paper   Tape around the edges and then divide the center into 3 equal horizontal lines with your … [Read more...]

This weekend I taught a few classes, and still had time to do a few projects! Here are a couple of pictures from my weekend: Taught 6 lovely ladies how to make their own slippers. Despite losing power in the studio for 20 minutes, we got everything done! Above are two of the shoe/slipper sets completed! Aren't they fun? (We used this GREAT pattern from Shoeology.) Made two little heart and pom pom garlands based off this fun tutorial from Betz White on Craft. (They took NO time at all!) These are headed to two special family members who share birthdays today, my mom and aunt! Happy Birthday Ladies!! Taught a lesson to my 3-4 year old … [Read more...]

You know I love sewing, but here's a super quick and easy way to embellish some dishtowels with no sewing involved! You'll need: Dish towel (I get mine in a 4 pack from Home Goods. Less than $10.) Scrap fabrics Pencil, Scissors Heat'n Bond Heavy - paper backed fabric adhesive   Ready to get going? On the paper side of your heat'n bond, sketch or trace your image. (Remember that if your image has a direction, like a letter, make sure you trace it backwards so it will be the right way when we're done. Some XOXO's would be cute on the towel too!) Roughly cut around your image. Then iron it to the wrong side of … [Read more...]

This is a fun color wheel clock I made for my mom's sewing room. It's a great intro into hand embroidery too if you want to give it a try! You'll need: 7" Embroidery Hoop 1 Clock Kit 1/4 yard linen (or other fabric) I used linen because I liked the texture, but a plain cotton would work fine too. 1/4 yard extra firm fusible interfacing Embroidery needle Various colors embroidery floss Fabric transfer pen or pencil (My favorite is the FriXion Gel Pen. Draw on your fabric, then erase it with the heat of the iron. As with any fabric marking tool, test in an inconspicuous area first!) Clock Number Pattern (Download the … [Read more...]

Wow, it's been a while. I've been so busy with my job at CityCraft that I've been horrible at documenting what I've been doing here! Last year was a crazy year in oh so many ways! Can't wait to start sharing some more projects with you though! I've already got Tutorial Tuesdays planned for all of January and couldn't be more excited! First up for January is a vinyl covered zippered pouch. This project came about because I wanted to laminate some cute fabrics that aren't available in oilcloth or laminated cotton. (There is an iron on vinyl product but I tried it and really didn't like how it turned out!) So this is my fix! Hope you like … [Read more...]