tO JoYE

I want to thank Ms. Joye. She is an amazing social worker and person. She was very gracious in helping me finish my hours for my LCSW. Because of her, I finished my 3200 hrs / 104 weeks of supervision. Right now my application, documentation, and money has been submitted to the Board of Behavioral Sciences and I am waiting to hear if I am able to move forward and set a date to take my first out of two exams. I am very nervous, but thanks to amazing supervisors along the way, I think I'll do just fine.

At the last supervision, I surprised Joye with this bag I made, as a thank you gift. She met with me every week for about 7 months. So here's to you, Joye...

Now I am fully aware that the picture above is upside down...I can't seem to rotate it around. But I wanted to show everyone the ab(sew)lutely simple tag. Anyways, I've seen Joye a couple times since and she loves and uses the bag!

thAnK YoU For ViSitINg!

Hello All!

It has been a very long time since I blogged last, but I have some things stored up that I am now sharing. I apologize to everyone that has come to my blog looking for new creations. A lot has happened since I blogged last. Let's start...

My best friend Christina had her bridal shower in Washington DC. It was a success. I took on the task of making invitations. Here was a little of what I used...

Unfortunately I never took a picture of the final product. Not to toot my own horn, but they were darn cute :)

While in Washington DC, I got engaged! I was so surprised. I love being surprised, but I also love ruining them. So Jay was very happy that I did not ruin the surprise, in fact, I didn't even expect it. He asked for my parents blessing on Christmas Eve, informing them that he was planning on proposing in DC. My friend Janelle was with us when it happened. Even she did not know the plan, as Jay was afraid if he told my friends, they would spoil the surprise. There were pictures taken by Janelle of the proposal in actual time, but Jay will not share those photos. But here is one photo.

Let's see, what else... I think it is time to do some separate posts of a couple of creations. See you in a few minutes :)

cHriStmas PreSenTS...continued...

As promised, here are some of the christmas presents I gave out this year. I have a couple more that I will post soon. So, let's begin...

This was a bag I made for my sister-in-law. It is a simple cross-body bag. I placed an inside zipper along with outside slip pockets. I really like the pattern of the fabric and the soft tones of green. It sophisticated a simple bag. 

The next two bags came out wonderfully. One was for my mother and the other for a friend. What I really love about these bags is the size. A great size for work, travel, etc. Each had a zipper pocket on the inside and one I added cell phone holders. I wish I would have added the extra slip pockets to the other bag, but they just never made it there. I especially like the fabric of the green bag, it is very zen like. 

The last the picture is a traveling tie holder. When I saw this project in Stitch Magazine, I knew it would be a perfect present for my dad. He travels a lot, for both work and pleasure. My father is a professor, so a lot of his traveling is to speak at conferences, so he always packs ties. So here it is...

ChRiSTmas PreSenTS

I have finished sewing my Christmas gifts. I am very excited about each and every one. I hope those that get a handmade craft enjoy it too. I also can not wait until I can blog about these projects. In fear that the recipients of the presents may read my blog, I can not risk posting now. Stay tuned...I will probably post them soon after Christmas.

the GinGer BrEaD HouSe

It has been years since I made a ginger bread house. When I was younger, every year at Thanksgiving, my Aunt Esther would gather up all the cousins (and there were a lot of us!) and we made "ginger bread"houses. I suppose I can say, I have never made an actually ginger bread house out of ginger bread. My Aunt Esther would cut graham crackers into the pieces needed to build a house. Everything else was the same, the frosting for glue and tons of candy to decorate. So this year, I went to Deanna's home to make a REAL ginger bread house with her and her 4 year old little girl.

Now, I realize that it is no Martha Stewart house, but I must say, it turned out pretty good since it has been probably 15 years since the graham cracker candy houses I use to make. I did not realize how long the process is, making the dough, cutting out the shapes, baking the dough, making icing, building the house, letting it dry, and finally decorating. I think it took Deanna and I, 6 hours (not including making the dough). Crazy! Not sure I would do it again in the near future, too much work. Maybe if I ever spend Thanksgiving with my nieces and nephews, or if I ever have kids, then I would bust out my ginger bread house - making skills :) 

ChRisTmAS WrEaTH

As I strolled around JoAnn Fabrics, I saw a free craft idea that I just had to complete. So I decided to use my 2 days off from work over Thanksgiving to complete this craft. A wreath made from felt, I figured it would be done in a jiffy, was I wrong. To begin, I had to buy the needed supplies. I bought 4 different shades of green, cutting each felt square into 4, 2" strips. Then after re-reading the directions, I was only suppose to have 3 different shades of green, so needless to say, I had more than enough strips of felt. Along with 10 strips of red felt.

I rolled 104 strips. First, folding the strips in half lengthwise, then hand stitched the bottom of each one to keep it from unraveling. 

As you can see in the background, the base of the wreath. Due to having a plethora of strips, I covered the white styrofoam craft wreath so it would not show underneath. I am very glad I did that, since the rolled pieces do not go all the way around the wreath.

In the directions it stated to use floral pins, which I ignored, only to find out that each piece of felt is held onto the wreath with the pin. However, I decided to do things a little differently. I hot glue gunned each piece to the wreath and then to each other. I think in the long run, the pieces will be less likely to fall off and it made it very sturdy. 

I am very pleased with the final project. The little dots inside the felt are dots of puff paint (that is where the floral pins would have been). It is very light and adds a little something extra to the holiday wreath. I encourage everyone to make one too. It took probably close to 4-5 hours to complete. The cutting, rolling, and hand stitching gets very tedious, but worth it :) 

BirDs

Finally, a new project. Though this clutch took no time to make, for some reason I could not get motivated to finish it. I probably made the bird applique a month or so ago with the intention of attaching it to a clutch, I just found myself walking pass it. I know it is hard to believe that someone like me, not married, no children, no real responsibilities pass 5 pm, can't find time to sew, but it is true. I get home, made dinner for Jay and I, do the dishes, pick up around the house, go to the gym, and when that is all done, it is almost 10 pm. Geez....how does anyone work full time and have children??

 Anyways, getting back to the real reason I blog. The clutch, it is not my greatest work, but it may the cutest. The fabric has all these little bird cages on it with birds inside, which works perfectly with the applique.

The bird applique is made of felt. I cut out the first pink bird, then the gray one to outline it. I really wanted to make the wing into a heart shape, but I was not able to make a heart that I was pleased with due to the size it needed to be. The button and zig zag stitching brought the whole thing together. I first used fabric glue, but after a little, the pieces of felt were not sticking to each other, I am happy I decided to go with the zig zag stitching. 

From here, I have pile of ideas for christmas presents. I may or may not post them, depending on if the recipient checks my blog :) I will post what I can. Oh, I do know that I am creating curtains for my closet which are inspired by Donna Downey. So check back soon to see what if I am able to pull off something that creative :)

I HaVen'T FOrgoTTen

I haven't forgotten about my blog. To be honest I have not been sewing a whole lot. I have multiple projects going on at once that I am very excited about. One by one as I finish, I will post the completed project. I suppose my problem is that I always have ideas floating around in my head, but I only complete about 25% of them. The other 75% are still being tossed around in my brain...just waiting for their turn to come to fruition. Anyways, thanks for still visiting my blog and I promise to post some finished projects very soon.

Baby It'S coLd OutSide.

Now, those who know me realize that it is still over 100 degrees where I live. So thinking about wearing winter caps does not cross my mind, even though the first day of Autumn is 3 days away. However, Deanna sent me a pattern for a very cute baby cloche and I had to try it. The pattern I used if for size 6-12 mos. So not only is it NOT cold where I live (not even during the winter), I do NOT have a baby either. So it is a good thing I went straight to work on this baby cloche :)

I tested the pattern for her and it is very simple. This is a great introduction for beginners who would like to try to crochet something simple, but looks difficult :) I made a cloche for an infant 6-12 mos. However, the link is for 3 different sizes 0-12 mos, but it would be very easy to make it for an toddler or even for yourself. Here is a link to make larger sizes.  It would be very cute to make the flower a contrasting color from the hat. Mix it up, give it a try, and let me know how it turns out.

LoVe BirDs

This previous Tuesday, I went to my friend Deanna's house to try out clay (yes, I know it has nothing to do with sewing). Let me just say, I think my fingers are stronger than ever! Clay was on sale at Michael's for $0.99, so I thought, "why not". I went to Deanna's to give it a whirl. I think the clay was on sale because many of them were as hard as rock! However, the packages that were soft and durable, allowed me to create these love birds :)

Granted, it is not spectacular, but hey, it was my first time experimenting with clay. I do not think this will be my new thing, but I may make some beads for jewelry that I make. Creating some great earrings would be fun! I suppose this is it for now.... I am beginning to think about christmas gifts next.

messenger BAG

As I mentioned in my first post, these first few posts are me catching up to current time. I just started this blog and I wanted to give my readers a chance to see some things I have already done up to this point in time. So here it is, the most recent bag I have made. I went to a family reunion back in PA and wanted a bag that would fit everything I hold in my purse along with my Ipad. I already had a cross-body purse, but the actually purse is very heavy and I wanted something lighter since I was traveling across the country.

Again, I did not use a pattern. I literally just starting cutting the exterior fabric and crossed my fingers that I wouldn't mess up. I bought the exterior fabric from the fashion district in Los Angeles from Michael Levine. If you live in the LA area, you must go to the fashion district. There are rows and rows of stores that sell fabric. I did not have a lot of time, so I went to go Michael Levine's store, which is a huge warehouse of fabrics and notions. Anyways, the fabric I bought was a little pricey, but worth it because the pattern is amazing. The design is printed on silk and then laminated. It was difficult to sew the fabric at some points due to the laminate, but I learned to use tissue paper in between the fabric and machine for a smoother glide. The tissue paper will easily tear away after it has been sewn together.

Overall, the bag turned out okay. I was not happy with the top zipper, the side pulls that hold the strap rings, and the strap. I decided to make this bag the weekend before I left and starting sewing it 2 days before I left. I did not have time to make modification or even get to the store to look for another strap. My sister-in-law did like the bag a lot, but I already know what I would do differently to improve the structure of the bag. So here it is...and the next time you hear from me, I hope to be creating another almost masterpiece :)

the WeeKenDer BaG

Let me just say that I love Amy Butler. I love her fabrics, I sometimes go to a local fabric store just to stare at her fabrics. One thing you will begin to notice with me is that I love floral patterns, and Amy has a lot of them. I saw Amy's Dream Traveler bag and again, instantly wanted to buy a pattern and make one myself. I was slightly disappointed when I realized that she does not sell the pattern, but must pay for the bag. Being a social worker, I was not able to afford the bag I really wanted. So again, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

It was at this point I decided to create a Weekend Bag. I started by figuring out the dimensions I wanted and then created my own pattern. I did modify the dimensions as I went along, realizing my first ones were way too big. So unfortunately I can't tell you exactly what they are. I bought a heavy canvas for the exterior and just a cotton fabric for the lining. I will say that it was easier than I expected, but I did run into some difficulties as this was only about the 7th thing I've ever made. On the inside I put a couple zipper pockets, thanks to Sew Mama Sew's tutorial. I use Sew Mama Sew a lot, she has great tutorials and she has the ability to make thing easy to follow. Love her! The most difficult part was figuring out how to actually sew it all together. I also really wanted to put a plastic insert in the bottom to create stability, but had trouble finding something. When I make this bag again, I would like to make my handles longer, a couple pockets on the outside with zipper closure, and a find a plastic insert for the bottom. If you know where I may find plastic inserts, please let me know :) Anyways, this bag is probably the one I am most proud of, am I allowed to say that? I think I would like to make some matching bags to use on one of my many weekend-get-aways from the desert :)

the BOX POUCH

The next couple photos are called the Box Pouch...a tutorial I found from "it's a PRETTY MODERN life" blog. A friend of mine, Deanna had a box pouch sitting on her sewing table and loved it! So, i went looking for a tutorial on how to create one. "it's a PRETTY MODERN life" does a great job at explaining what to do and makes it very easy to follow. I must say, I have applied her techniques to other pages I've made. Thanks "it's a PRETTY MODERN life"!!!!

The next pouch I first embroidered the exterior. I found a great book for beginners titled "Doodle Stitching" by Aimee Ray. I love her book because the patterns are hip and modern. I feel like a lot of embroidery books give patterns that my Grandmother would love. They are usually quite beautiful and intricate, but not necessarily things someone my age would be fond of. That's what I like about Aimee's book, it is young and modern, and easy to follow. A great introduction to embroidery. I also embroidered  a hand towel using another pattern from her book.

                                    

button clutch

I made this clutch from a pattern in Stitch Magazine. As I said in my first post, I find it difficult to follow patterns, but this one was very easy. It was the perfect way to get myself familiar with using patterns. The buttons were very fun to buy and sew on the front flap. The applique petals were more time consuming, but adds the perfect touch to this clutch. I would recommend everyone to buy this pattern and try it out for themselves!

the first clutch

I made this clutch for my friend, Nadia, for a birthday present. It was my very first clutch (and the second thing) I have ever sewn. I did not use a pattern, just went with the flow. Overall it turned out really good. One thing I remember when I created this clutch was the lining. I had no idea how to do lining, so there are exposed stitching. Not that pretty on the inside, but looks good on the outside :)