Assembly Line

I made a few mini clutches. I thought that making the same pattern from multiple fabrics at the same time would speed things up. You know like an assembly line. Great idea, in theory.

Just one problem. When I made a mistake on one, I systematically made the same mistake on several others before I noticed. So I also systematically used my seam ripper.

In the end I had to scrap two clutches and have two that had to be ripped back to square one and are still waiting to be reassembled. But I did end up with six new mini clutches destined for the shop.

Pattern is the easy envelope clutch from my favorite pattern shop, keykalou.

Wedding Crafts

I'm finally getting around to posting about the projects for my sister's wedding.

First up are the mustaches on a stick. We didn't make nearly as many as originally planned and in fact the whole idea was almost scrapped. But Mom and I had already put in too much time cutting them out to let them be scrapped all together. They sure made a good photo prop for the wedding party in the end. Plus the kids still play with them.

The most daunting task was the cake. I can't complain because I totally brought this upon myself. My sister had originally planned to make the cake but decided to order a cake from the local Hy-Vee. I asked her if I could give it a go and after many You Tube videos, articles on cakecentral.com, and a failed attempt at taking a class at Michaels, this is the result.

I had planned on a butter cream frosting but unfortunately on the day of the wedding my frosting decided to rebel, despite my many practice cakes. Fortunately I had a couple boxes of fondant on hand, just in case. I wasn't as practiced with the fondant so it wasn't as flat as I would have liked but what can you do.

The fondant was so thick that they had to stab the cake. :) Good think there was a sheet cake.

The vest for my son turned out really well.

It was hard to get a good full length shot because he was on the go the whole time.

He was not interested in wearing his hat and although I didn't make it I'm glad we at least got one picture with him in it.

(Just ignore my horrible hair please)

Although I didn't have anything to do with it I had to include a picture of my sister's dress. My Mom made it! Maya, the flower girl, is wearing the dress that my niece, Emma, wore at my wedding! Maya was only a couple of weeks old at my wedding and I can't believe how well the timing worked out and that if fit her.

Congrats Meg and Adam!

Bounty of bags

I love making bags. They are so quick and satisfying. I am so close to having a large enough inventory built up for my etsy shop. Over the holidays I cranked out a few more while I had access to my mom's machine which is so much smoother than my own. So here's what I managed to make.

This zebra number was a gift for my niece who loves zebra print. The lining is bright pink.

This red clutch is headed for my etsy shop (once I get that up I'm going to have to go back through my blog and make a ton of links).


The pattern is from my favorite shop, keykalou and the fabric is from Moda's Wonderland collection.



I made this green clutch using the same pattern.
I will definitely have to take better pictures for the shop.



This pattern is also from keykalou along with the pattern for the matching wallet.

In hind sight I should have made the pockets on the inside with the floral print and used the dots for the lining.

Well that's it for now. I have a ton of fabric waiting to become more clutches and coin purses but I have to make (another) run to Joann's before that can happen.

It won't be long now!

Handmade Holiday

Every year I try to make as many gifts as possible for Christmas. Unfortunately, time (and ideas) usually runs out and I end up buying stuff for half of the people on my list. This year was no exception but I do feel as though while the quantity of handmade gifts didn't go up the quality did IMHO (in my humble opinion).

First up are three jewelry organizers that I made for two nieces and a cousin. Each organizer has four zipper pouches for the girls to store what ever treasures they may desire. These things were pretty big (11x24) and very time consuming but I really like how they turned out. To add to the gift my husband (!!!) made bracelets and necklaces for the girls. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of those.

I found this pattern in a magazine and for the life of me I cannot remember the name and the magazine is back in Iowa so I can't go look.

This blue and brown combo was my first attempt. In hind sight I should have chosen a different fabric for the tie.


This green and white organizer was made of mostly fat quarters which weren't quite big enough for the measurements in the pattern so I had to do a little adapting but it still turned out nice.

This one is by far my favorite. Were I not so crunched for time I probably would have made a second organizer with these fabrics for myself. :)

I also made two tutus, a flower hair accessory, a coin purse, and a purse (which I will post later). I also managed to get a few more bags for my Etsy shop which is getting closer and closer to becoming a reality. I'll share more about those in the next post.

Maybe I should start sewing now for next Christmas.....

To Do List

My sister is getting married soon and like any good big sister I'm helping with some of the crafts and food. So as a way to manage my to-do list I'm using my blog and putting it all out there in cyber-space.

First on the list are these pom-poms to be hung something like this.

Then there are these mustache on a stick favors.

Next there is this vest in a grey plaid for my son, the ring bearer. Who will be the cutest ring bearer ever. :)

Finally is the cake. I'm going to attempt to make and decorate my sister's cake. I promised her that if it didn't turn out well I would buy her a cake instead.

After all of the wedding projects are finished begins the rush to make as many hand crafted Christmas gifts as possible and maybe even finish enough projects to finally officially open my Etsy shop.

I'll be updating my blog with updates as I go and to make up for the lack up pictures in this post here is a dose of cute to tide you over. :)

Halloween

The first of (hopefully) many homemade costumes.

He was supposed to be a muskateer but ended up looking more like a little prince or knight. Since we only made two trick-or-treat stops I guess it really doesn't matter. The important part is that the costume had a cape because of this....

He kept bringing the blanket to his daddy and whinning. Finally Mr. Gnome wrapped the blanket around his shoulders and sure enough that made him happy. We safety pinned the blanet and he ran around like that for the rest of the night.

Mr. Gnomes and I didn't have costumes this year but we did carve a couple pumpkins.

I found the Hello Kitty pattern here. It was fun hearing the trick-or-treaters outside our window talking about my pumpkin. Mr. Gnome's pumpkin had a couple fans too.

Another bag

Just a quick post to share my latest completed sewing project.

More of the black and white fabric. I like to use it for trial runs so I don't have to cut into my precious (more expensive) fabric.

The pattern is the zip clutch available here and here through my favorite pattern shop
Keyka Lou (she has two shops).

Gotta run. My little gnome and my crazy cat are demanding my attention.