WOYWW: Sewing & Silliness {How to Juggle Tutorial}

Happy Wednesday folks! I love Wednesdays because it gives me a chance to peek at hundreds of crafty desks through the marvelous event know as What’s on Your Workdesk Wednesday! Here’s what I’ve been up to this week:

Sewing! My sewing nook is wonderful, it is ergonomic (no sore shoulders after a day of sewing) and since I have my big table I have room to iron and cut fabric (no more cutting fabric on my bed and hoping I don’t snip the bedspreads!) and I can keep all of my mess in my craftroom instead of overtaking the house.  Last week I asked if I should so a weekly video blog and the answer was a surprising (and resounding) yes, wow, you actually want to hear me gab about what’s on my crafty little mind?!? So here is my WOYWW video blog, grab 3 objects because today folks, we are going to learn how to juggle!

Once you learn how to juggle it is addicting (so I apologize if you had things to do today) there is something zen-like about it.  The juggling bags were made from my scraps from my shopping bag (carrier bags for you British folks) caddies:

I used to have this eyesore hanging on my door, all of those bags fit into the one caddy and I can even fit more! I made a smaller version for the car and dog walkers, I have to thank You Tube viewer Snoopy for the clever name P.U.P. bags, it stands for Pick Up Poop, way better marketing, thanks Snoopy! I’ll have a tutorial for you next week sometime!

The juggling bags are made from 5″x5″ scraps sewn up and filled with 3/4 cup of rice. I love no waste projects!

So what’s on your workdesk today? Leave a link, I would love to see! And be sure to check out Julia’s blog for all of the WOYWW fun! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

 

Tutorial: Make a Sleeping Bag and Tent for an American Girl Doll!

Did anyone get an American Girl doll for Christmas? Or any other 18″ doll? I made my twin 8-year-old daughters sleeping bags and a tent for their dolls this year.

I did not use a pattern, I made it up as I went along. The sleeping bag was easy, I made 2 in an hour. I used double-sided quilted fabric that I found at Joanns. This stuff is pricey ($20 a yard normally) but it was on sale and you only need 1/2 yard to make a bag and pillow. you will also need a 18″ zipper, some bias tape, fiberfill and a sewing machine.

To make the bag cut 2 rectangles of material 13″x20″. Insert the zipper then top stitch it down on the front side before you sew up the bag. Then sew up the bag and sew bias tape over the raw top edge. I like to use bias tape here rather than hemming it because it looks neater and has less bulk. For the pillows I simply cut two rectangles out of the leftover scraps, sewed them on 3 sides, stuffed it with fiberfill and sewed up the open side, easy as pie!

Tip: Rub the zipper with a bar of soap so it will be easy to open and close!

For the tent I bought 1 and a half yards of two cotton fabrics from the clearance bin, cut it down to 27″ wide, pinned them right sides together and sewed it up on 3 sides (both short sides and one long side is sewn). Tip: If you sew it so the selvage edge is the un-sewn edge you won’t need to hem it! Turn it right side out, it will look like a huge, unruly pillowcase. Cut two 26″x20″ pieces of cardboard or foamcore and one 16″x20″ piece. These are the tent wall and floor supports. Now with the fabric right side out you need to sew 2 dividers in the fabric. I placed one of the large boards in the fabric and marked along the edge to get a line to sew on. You want the material to be tight against the boards.

The flaps are tricky, after I made the tent I assembled it and traced the end onto newspaper and used it as a template to make the flaps then I sewed each flap to the front end. I kept the back-end open because I wanted to be able to remove the foamcore piece and replace it if it got bent or if I needed to wash the tent.

Best of all the tent is reversible and can be folded up and tucked in a closet or under a bed when not in use!  You will need ribbons (or velcro) at each end of the tent as well as on each side of the flaps to keep the tent up and to tie the flaps back. It is probably better to catch the ribbon in the seams as you work but you can just as well sew them on afterward. It is up to you!

This was a fun project and the sleeping bag and pillow would make a great sewing project for your child! thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Yet another way to make backgrounds & WOYWW

Here is something fun to try! Stick a bunch of small clear stamps on a  large block and viola! Custom background stamp! That is how I made the background of this card:

In case you want to see the technique in action here is a 1 minute video:

I have had so much fun making backgrounds this week:

And since it is Wednesday it’s time for WOYWW:

Nothing fancy, just the mess on my table while filming the video. Next week I’ll try to remember to post a photo of my kids art workspace. I am getting it nice and tidy before summer vacation because when they take time to create I get bonus crafty time too! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Off the grid {a tag}

Howdy, I am on vacation! Whoop! I decided to prepost a bunch of projects I had made here and there but never got around to posting so for day I have a thanks tag that I made for my son’s teacher:

 

I use stamps from SU! except for the letters which were from a studio G wood mount peg alpha set!

 

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!

Button, button…who’s got the button?

Well, today that would be you (check out the end of this post for a cute vintage button digistamp freebie!) I used said freebie on my project today too as well as stamps from the Sew Pretty set from Lindsay’s Stamp Stuff:

Every designer has her favorites and this set is one of mine, you get 8 sewing themed stamps in png and jpg format but what I really love about this set is how easy it is to layer them to create unique “still lifes” or montages that you can color as I did here. I simply layered the png stamps and erased bits here and there (in paint shop pro but photoshop or gimp will work just as well) until it looked right. Tip: When you create a cool layered layout save it so you can print it again!

I used my new favorite markers to color this and if you have not tried Tria markers by Letraset you are in for a BIG treat (my poor copics might be gathering some dust now LOL!) I really like it because I can use them with my ProMarkers (the ink is the same, the big difference is that Tria has replaceable brush, chisel and fie tip nibs and are refillable) and they blend beautifully even though I have a small collection. BTW you are going to want to keep your eyes glued to this blog because I will have a FABULOUS giveaway in a few days that will totally color your world (hint hint, nudge nudge, wink wink ) You won’t want to miss that COLORFUL giveaway!

OK now on with the show. I used the Sew pretty set on my card, this set coordinates with the Sewing Stuff single and the Posh and Trendy sets very nicely:

And here is your freebie-now grab it while you can because I’ve got some sketching brewing in my noggin that coordinate well with this and it’s freebie status might be in jeopardy if I end up tossing it in with a fab new set…as in get it while you can, don’t say I didn’t warn you

To download click on the picture, then right click on the larger picture and choose "save as" from the drop down menu. Enjoy!

Are you ready for this weeks Dollar Deals? Remember these sets are on sale for $1 but only til next Wednesday so don’t wait!

Be sure to check back tomorrow when I will have fabulous eye candy from the Lindsay’s stamp stuff design team! Til then happy crafting!

Leftover card…

If only using up leftovers from the ‘fridge was as easy as using up leftover paper scraps. I made this card with leftovers scraps of green papers and the Sewing Stuff digital stamp from Lindsay’s stamp stuff:

Stamps and Template: Lindsay's stamp Stuff

I had this extra image printed and I colored it the other night while watching TV, i wasn’t sure about the bright purple thread but now I think I like it The Box is from the Fun Favors set and don’t forget the matching envelope! I cut the templates out with my Cricut and SCAL software, easy peasy!

This card qualifies for the following challenges: Bunny Zoes, Creatilicious (vintage), Dancing Pajamas (die cuts), and the design is loosely based on the sketch from 2sketches4you.

Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!