Calling all scrapbookers, paper crafters, or any wanna-be-Queen-for-a-weekend out there!

I gotta put in a plug for the upcoming MemoryWorks Retreat -- I went last year and it was AMAZING!!! Even though I was super tired, and in the barfy-all-the-time stage of pregnancy, I still had a blast! It's 3 days of projects, crops, receptions, "girl time"...and don't even get me started on the FREE STUFF. Last year the stuff I came home with WAY exceeded the cost of the retreat. If you've ever even thought about going to a scrapbook retreat...this one is SO worth considering - it's cheaper than the "big" ones (CKU, etc.) but still has big name sponsors and keynote speakers (I got to meet Stacy Julian last year, for crying out loud!), small groups - I actually met EVERY single attendee last year - and did I mention the STUFF???

I SO wish I was going again this year, but alas, my nursing infant is not invited:)

For reals. Go. You won't regret it.

http://www.memory-works.com/retreat/

MemoryWorks May Express Kit

The May Express kit from MemoryWorks was so fun to work with - the papers and embellishments reminded me of 80's cartoons - Rainbow Brite, CareBears, Smurfs... you get the idea! So here's to first grade!


This one is my favorite - I sewed 2 layers of a Prima layered fabric flower together with a button on top, made 2 leaves out of some scrap fabric (sewing and scrapbooking coming together! Ah! The awesomeness! The awesomeness!), and sewed all of it to the center of a long ribbon. Tie around baby's head - instant boutique chic! More pictures of this on the MemoryWorks blog

The mat for the cupcake in this one is actually one of the layers of the same Prima flower I used on the baby headband:

(I don't know if I'm getting lazier or getting smarter...but lately my layouts have been really simple...)

The above headband accessorized by the cutest baby in the universe:

The inside of this card says, "I hope the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, because you're a great Mom!"

I hope everyone has a spectacular Mother's Day...I'm off to do more laundry so I can take the day OFF tomorrow!

Fat Quarter Apron Tutorial

I've been a bad blogger! Wow, it's been a while!

I'm finally getting around to that Fat Quarter apron I've been telling you about...these are like SO last month, haha! I've since accumulated several sacks full of fat quarters and have been making all kinds of things - curtains, car organizers, you name it!

But this, THIS is my very first fat quarter project...and I'm sharing it with you:)

You need 2 fat quarters and a 2 1/2 yard pack of coordinating hem facing (the 1 7/8" wide kind) OR make your own with strips of fabric, but that takes a lot longer.

STEP 1:

Lay your fabrics together, wrong sides together, and trim to straighten up all 4 sides of the fabric - you want your rectangle to have nice parallel sides! Then decide if you want a 7 or 9 inch tall pocket - or any other measurement, for that matter (the taller the pocket, the shorter the apron). Measure your desired pocket height off one of the short ends and trim it off, as shown.

STEP 2:

Get your hem tape ready by ironing it in half (the two edges will already be pressed in for you).

STEP 3:

Take your two pocket pieces, still with wrong sides together, and make sure they are completely lined up with each other. Sandwich these pieces inside the hem tape fold (cut a piece to fit) and stitch it down.

STEP 4:

Lay your pocket piece on top of the front of your apron (lay it down how you want it to look when you're done. If you don't want your pocket division lines to go all the way through all the apron layers, you'll want to sew them now - just sew straight vertical lines from the bottom edge of your pocket to the top, wherever you need a smaller pocket. Now lay the back apron piece on TOP of the front, right sides together. Pin and sew along the two sides and bottom - NOT the top.

STEP 5:

Flip her inside-out, press and top-stitch along the same 3 edges.

STEP 6:

If you haven't already, sew division lines from the bottom of your apron up through the top edge of the pocket to divide it into smaller pockets. These can be any size, but I like to put at least one 1" pocket for pens in mine.

STEP 7:

Find the center of your apron, and the center of your hem tape. Matching centers, sandwich the top of your apron in between the two layers of your hem tape, butting the fabric edge against the fold you ironed into the hem tape. Starting at one edge of the top of the apron, sew about 1/4" from the lower edge of the hem tape, sewing it to your apron. When you reach the opposite side, keep sewing along the hem tape, all the way down to the end (tuck in the ends and sew down). Flip it around and sew along the top edge of the hem tape, then back around the bottom edge to where you started.

STEP 8:

Add a fun embellishment! For this one, I looped some ribbon together to make a flower, sewed it down, then added a button to the center. You can sew about anything onto these - a bow, a silk flower, a charm - anything!

ALL DONE!
Here are a few more aprons I've made:

Once you get the hang of it, you can totally whip one out in under an hour!

Have fun sewing!

Show and Tell!

I know you've been DYING to see what else I did with my Moda fabric, right? (The nice thing about cyberspace is that I can pretend to be as popular as I want...)

As I've mentioned before...after spending several months cooped up in my huse with an RSV baby...and staring at all of my walls and belongings for days on end...I decided that my college-era couches and free/nearly free ugly slipcovers were not worthy of my new living room and began an overhaul. I supressed my inner-cheapskate and SureFitted my couches with new slipcovers (okay - I guess I was still being a cheapskate...the slipcovers were like a bajillion times cheaper than whole new couches!) and set to work on the new throw pillows.

Because I'm a little dorky (okay, a lot), I decided that I would make my living room match a wall hanging I'd made for MemoryWorks last fall. I liked it so much, I kept it around all year (except during Halloween and Christmas, because that would have just been weird, right?).

Luckily Moda came to the rescue and I found that the Tranquility and Cottom Blossoms lines were pretty close to what I wanted.

I had a great time making them...then found that I didn't have quite enough fiberfill to do the job...and that I sewed some of the seam allowances too small and some were coming open...but by that time I'd already sewed them shut. Luckily I had a stash of felt flowers and buttons in my scrapbooking hutch (as I frequently tell my husband, SCRAPBOOKING is for EVERYTHING) that I sewed on to cover my boo-boos. So now you know.:) And I'll also admit that I closed up a couple of the tiny holes in the seams with fabric glue...I know, professional.

Then I decided to make a table runner. I need to back up and tell you that I have made 3 quilting projects in my life. The first was a Halloween wall-hanging I found in a magazine 5 years ago or so. I didn't really follow the directions...and didn't really have any clue how to quilt, bind, piece, etc. so its a bit lumpy and a lot lopsided. But I still proudly display it every Halloween and in a few years I'll just say the KIDS MADE IT, haha! The second two projects were quilts for my kids' beds - also loosely based on patterns I bought - they were cute, as long as viewed from several feet away. Moral of the story: I am not a quilter.

BUT, the Moda fabric deserved better (the other projects were done with WalMart fabric, which I think is breaking some sort of cardinal rule of quilting), so I really tried to actually figure out what I was doing on this one. I found a couple of tutorials (Thanks, Camille Roskelley!) and made myself a top from a Cotton Blossoms charmpack and a Sugar jellyroll. No cutting or measuring - I may be able to like this style of quilting!!

I used a walking foot to quilt it - whoa! Huge difference! - and actually bound it like I'm supposed to. Surprise, surprise - it actually worked out! Who knew? Just like finding out that butter actually DOES bake better than margarine! Whoa!

But, of course, I had to Sandy-fy it, (Sandy-fy: 1.) not completely follow the directions, 2.) Be cheap, 3.) Save time and effort later), so I made it reversible!

Now I want to make table runners for all the different seasons and holidays (all reversible to save me some backing fabric and time). Next time I won't use polyester batting, though - this one turned out a little too puffy.

I'll let you in on my dirty little secret. I've become a bit of a cool fabric junky lately... The internet is just too accessible...

So I have my Moda charm pack collection:

My Amy Butler will-be-an-apron fabric:

Sandi Henderson Farmer's Market fabric to make my daughters' Easter Dresses out of:

And then there is that teensy, weensy little obsession with Fat Quarter Friday at our local fabric store - last Friday of the month is 10 for $15. I never went to it...until last month...and this month...and YIKES. It's a lot of fun. They even have a little Moda, haha!

Anyway...there you go. All caught up on my fabric projects the past few months (except those pesky apron tutorials that I haven't posted yet). This month I need to get cracking on some scrapbooking things, too, so be watching for that!

And don't even think about asking me for a picture of my whole living room, because I won't do it until I'm done. So there.

Who says baby toys can't look CUTE scattered all over your floor??

I have been so ridiculously busy the past few weeks...I have squeezed in some sewing and paper crafting time, but haven't had time to post any of it! I still have more aprons to show you, but I haven't felt like putting the tutorial together yet, so I guess you'll have to wait (I know, its killing you). But, I'll give you a hint...for one of them you're going to need 2 fat quarters and a pack of hem facing tape (not sure if that's really what its called...I should probably find that out) OR 3 fat quarters.

Instead, I thought I'd show you my latest I {HEART} MODA project. I ordered the Neptune charm pack a few weeks ago (this fabric is SO cute - way brighter, cuter and better than it looks on the computer!) and wasn't quite sure what to do with it... so while trolling etsy the other night, I found a great idea for fabric blocks for my baby!

I thought I was so clever adding ribbon loops and sticking a rattle (rudely cut out of a not-so-hot-looking-anymore toy from one of my other kids) inside...then found today that lots of other people already are doing that...oh, well!

I was determined to come up with my own spectacularly creative addition to the basic idea, so after watching my 3 1/2 month old try to play with the first block I made (which was WAY too big for her, by the way...my clever "idea" of making 3 different sizes was really me trying to find the right size for her), continually dropping it...and not quite coordinated enough yet to pick it back up...



I added an elastic LOOP on a ribbon (a short ribbon so she won't wrap it around herself and choke on it) so that I can slip it on her wrist. That way, if she drops it - hurray! - its already attached to her hand! Aren't I clever? (if you see anyone else who already did this, please don't tell me...just let me live in ignorance on this one).

I'm thinking about trying to make some different shapes. I still have about half the charm pack left, so I...I mean she...could have a whole basket of coordinated squishy toys in a basket in the living room. As kid #4, most of the baby toys are looking pretty sad, AND I don't like having "piles" of random things around the living room now that I no longer live in a teeny apartment. My solution is to make some new toys (using the usable parts of the old toys) that actually look CUTE sitting around the living room. Saves me some money, gives the illusion of organization - win-win situation!

Contest opportunity!

My dear friend Lacey and I are in charge of the challenge and contests over at MemoryWorks this month. Yesterday we posted a contest over at the MW blog that consultants AND non-consultants can enter.

Take a look at: http://memoryworksblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/spring-into-action.html

for the details.

Good luck!

The recipe card winner is...

JILL!

With only a few people posting, the odds were in pretty much in everyone's favor, but Jill had the magic number this time!

Stay tune this week for another apron tutorial PLUS I'll show you what I've been doing with all that Moda fabric!

Friday Freebie!

It was my turn to post on the MemoryWorks blog today! Check it out: MemoryWorks Blog There are a couple of fun and easy projects that are perfect for cheering up a sick/sad/overwhelmed friend PLUS a great recipe! Now I know I'm a Crazy Crafter, as I set up a photo shoot for muffins this morning. Yes, muffins...

Feel free to leave a comment over there so I can feel like I have some friends:)


I'm giving away the recipe card from the aforementioned blog post. Here it is, in all its muffiny glory:




If you want it, post a message to THIS blog post. I'll randomly choose someone next week sometime. Family members, friends, neighbors, strangers - everyone can play! I promise you won't be disappointed with this recipe - these are some dang good muffins!


How are we doing on the aprons?? Anyone try one yet? I have two more to post next week...stay tuned!

Apron #2: 15 Minute Dishtowel Apron

This one is so easy its ridiculous...I mean, seriously...as long as you know how to operate a sewing machine and are allowed to handle sharp objects by yourself...you can make this in 15 minutes!

You need: 1 large dish/tea towel and a long piece of sturdy ribbon that won't fray easily (I used about 2 yards - measure the ribbon right on your kid, as it needs to be long enough to go around their neck, down their sides and tie in the back

Hold the towel up to your kid, centering it on their chest and holding it at about the level it should sit when finished. Use a pin to mark about an inch in from their armpit, and another to mark their waist level (if you mark a bit lower than their current waist area, the apron should still fit as they get a bit taller!).

Fold the towel in half, lengthwise, and using a rotary cutter (or scissors), cut from pin to pin, making a curved cut (don't worry - you'll be able to eye ball it, but if you're totally chicken, draw the line or use pins to mark where you want to cut):
When you open it out, it'll look like this (see? it already looks like an apron!):

If you have a serger, serge the raw curved edges, otherwise use a zigzag stitch along the raw edges:

Then fold it over (on the backside of your towel) about an inch and sew along the serged edge (you're making a channel to thread the ribbon through, so make sure you don't sew the ends shut!). I let my kids help me "sew" this part:

This is what you'll end up with on both sides:

Hook a safety pin to one end of your ribbon. Thread it up through the side channel on one side, around the top and back down through the other side:

Put the apron on your kid and adjust the ribbon so that the ties are equal length and the neck part fits. When you have it how you want it, sew a few stitches by hand through one of the top corners, tacking down the ribbon on one side only. This way you'll still be able to adjust the neck opening, but the whole ribbon won't get pulled out of wack every time your kid takes it on and off.

If you're feeling particularly tricky (and the back of the dishtowel isn't ugly), you can fold up the towel from the bottom and sew up the edges to make a pocket. Then sew straight vertical lines from the fold to the top of the pocket to make smaller pockets:

All done!

Tip: To keep the ribbons from getting pulled out of the channels, you can tie a large bead (like those big wooden ones they give little kids to play with at preschool) or tie huge knots on the end of each ribbon.

Lucky for you, these only cost a buck or two, and a minimal time investment, so you'll feel just fine about your kids totally yucking them up! You can throw them right in the washer, or you can make more!

Apron #1: Skirt-Style Dishtowel Apron

To make this cute apron: You need 2 dishtowels (mine are Orla Kiely by Target):

Decide which one will be the "skirt" and which will be the "sash/waistband".

On one of the long sides of the "skirt" towel (the side that will be the top), make some pinch pleats along the length of the top to gather it a little. I started from the center of towel and made pleats 2" off the center on either side (point the pleat folds towards the outside edges), then 4" apart after that until I reached the edges. I'm only a few months post-partum, mind you, so if you aren't quite a voluptuous around the middle as I am right now, you might want to make your pleats only 2-3 inches apart:

Here is mine with all the pleats pinned (the crease down the center is just from lack of ironing!):

Set that towel aside and pull out the "waistband" towel. First, cut off the hems around all 4 sides:

Then cut your towel into 3-4 strips (if you want a thicker waistband that ties in the back) or more (if you want a thinner waistband and ties that reach around back, then back to the front). Don't cut your finger like I did (the kleenex I'm holding isn't a decorative touch...its to keep from bleeding out all over the towel!).I cut mine approx. 5 1/2" wide, to go with the pattern on the towel. You will be folding them in half and sewing one edge, so keep that in mind when you decide how wide to cut them:

Right sides together, sew the strips end to end to make one long piece of fabric:

Fold the strip in half, right sides together, and press with your iron. Then sew along the raw edge (but leave the two end open):

Attach a safety pin to one end, and begin pushing it through the tube towards the other end to turn it right-side out (notice I'm still holding the kleenex...do NOT...I repeat do NOT try to wipe off your brand new rotary cutter with a napkin and your finger...):

Once the whole tube is right-side out, iron it flat, with your seam all the way to one side, then topstitch along all 4 sides to keep it laying flat (tuck in the two ends and sew down):

Pull out the skirt piece and machine baste along the top (remove the pins as you go!) to secure the pleats:

Lay the sash/waistband face down; find the center. Now lay the skirt part down on the sash (face down), matching the centers. Pin the two pieces together, aligning the skirt along the bottom seam of the sash. Stitch, taking care to backstitch several times at the ends:

Iron the whole thing, then put it on:

Now go feel sassy.


Stay tune for more apron tutorials later this week!