A little bit of crafting

These days projects must be short and sweet.

These earrings fit the bill nicely.

I love instant gratification projects.

I kept the first pair for myself and my sister looks pretty snazzy wearing the other pair.

[All pieces were purchased at Hobby Lobby and are brushed bronze.]

Fat Quarters and Insul-Bright

My sister and I discussed a new set of potholders for her kitchen. She wanted something bright, simple and functional. No grommets, no hoops to hang from, no frills. Just hardworking square potholders that could double as a trivet.

2 fat quarters and some Insul~Bright later...success.

A perfect pair of potholders.

Bye-Bye Stinky Room

See those cute little sachets in the middle of this picture: I saw these little sachets while strolling through the baby section at Target picking up diapers, wipes and those handy, oh so handy little bags at the top of the picture. I immediately picked up the package and almost threw it into my cart thinking 'This is great! A cute little lavender scented sachet with baking soda to absorb the odors! Perfect for the twins stinky room!' (Despite the Diaper Champ it still just isn't as fresh as I think it should be.) Then I stopped. Why spend $5 on 2 of these sachets??? I could make these!

So, yesterday during the twins nap (which is hardly never longer than 30 minutes...my children think sleep is for the weak...especially sleeping at the same time...I think they have a pact for one to keep watch while the other sleeps!) I made these:

Scraps of fabric from stash were used and all I had to purchase was the baking soda.

I placed one in the bottom of the diaper champ and one in a Longaberger basket hanging from a peg above the changing table.

The result: A breath of fresh air in the twins room. All for the low price of 57 cents.

Merry Christmas!

Hope you all have a safe and happy holiday!

If you have some crafting time this snowflake project is quick, easy and produces great results. The snowflakes made following the instructions turn out much larger than I expected (the one pictured above hanging over our dining room table), but can easily be modified to make smaller snowflakes (like those below that I made into Christmas ornaments). I'm thinking of trying to make these with felt to use as more durable, reusable Christmas ornaments!

Enjoy!

Getting prepared.

Finally got a little sewing done. I completed a trio of burpies to stash back for future use. I love these...so quick and easy to make, so darn cute and it is the perfect project to use up some of my fabric scraps. I see making at least a dozen of these in my future.

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I love this trim.

My mom picked up this lot of beautiful vintage trim a couple of weeks ago while visiting family (thanks Mom! ...she's always thinking about me and my crazy love for vintage sewing notions). I especially LOVE the red one with the edelweiss.

So I decided to pair it with some linen I had on hand to make this Heidi Headband. This is a BTRS pattern with my own modification for the back closure. The pattern says to use twill tape and sew it to both ends so that you tie it on. I decided to make it easier and just use a cut up Goody's elastic headband piece to connect the two ends so it can just slip on/off. The result - the perfect accessory for my green scrubs and it keeps my hair out of my face all day without the "headband headache" when I come home!

The Perfect Band

Finally! After many many tries...I got it! The perfect headband. I really love headbands - especially now that I have little strands of hair I am trying to grow out - with ponytails. They are cute and functional. However, I have not been successful in finding one that was comfortable (didn't give me a headache from being too tight) and did not slide off my head as the day progressed. So what's a sewer to do? Make one! After many trials (Bend the Rules Heidi headband and other online tutorials) I decided just to try it on the fly...and it is perfect. I'm in love with my new headband. Hopefully, I can re-create it.

It's raining...perfect day for a baby shower!

Ugh...I have to work AGAIN tonight. However, we're having a baby shower at work for one of the nurses! I love baby showers...lots of ooo's and ahh's and good food. I made some bibs (Bend-the-rules sewing pattern) and some burp cloths (A Chelsea Morning tutorial here). Hope she likes them! By the way, these projects definitely fit in the 30 minute project category!


I have really had my eye on an embroidery machine that is separate from my sewing machine...I don't want an all-in-one sewing/embroidery unit because I want to be able to still sew while the other machine is doing embroidery (does this make sense? I want to maximize my sewing time!). Does anyone have any embroidery machine suggestions??? I've never used an embroidery machine (aside from the demo at my Bernina dealer) so I really have no idea what to even look for in a machine. Can anyone give me pointers, please?

Coffee Cozy!

The Coffee Cozy in action at work! Everyone loved it! Now, I'm off on my lunch break to run to the fabric store to buy more felt for more cozies! I'm going to make one for my friend CS tonight because she is coming into town this weekend to visit. I'm even going to stop by Starbucks and pick up a gift card to attach to it too...I'll post pictures soon!

30 Minute Project

So, I am a BIG Rachael Ray fan. Who can't respect someone who comes up that many delicious meals that you can prepare in 30 minutes! My job demands a lot of time...and I have a low tolerance for projects that require long crafting times (it takes me FOREVER to finish them because sometimes I only have 30 minutes a day to do my sewing/crafting). Thus, I am a BIG fan of awesome projects that are quick to put together (instant gratification).

This is one of those projects!

Just look at my new Coffee Cozy! It was super simple. I saw a couple of tutorials online (this is my favorite from pink milk and fairycakes) but decided to just wing it on my own. I wanted to make this project quicker (no embroidery, no Insul Bright - the coffee from my coffee stand is not THAT hot). I needed a fabric that was kinda stiff but cute and kinda thick to act as insulation. I raided my stash and found some cute felt squares that I bought on sale. Perfect! It is cute, thick and stiff. Thus, this little gem was born...THE 30 MINUTE COFFEE COZY! What do you think?