March Card Swap

We had the challenge this month to use a word on our card for this swap. I've had SU!'s So Very set for so long and never used it! But when it came down to put my card together, I was really struggling finding formats that I liked. Since I typically work best under pressure, I came up with my own design using colors that I love and it came together. I usually show my husband Mike my card before I go but I decided not to show him this time and thought I would test him to see if he could pick my card out amongst the cards. Well, to my dismay ;) he picked mine out third. Hmmm...I guess my style doesn't stand out to him as much as I thought. I'm assuming most husbands could really care less so I'm just grateful that Mike takes an interest and admires me (maybe I should say humors me) for my creativity! My daughter Aubrey also got to see the cards before going to bed. I made the mistake of not putting them away that night because in the morning, she decided to "write invitations" using all my cards! She wrote inside all of them and sealed them up in the envelopes. Fortunately, Mike took some calls for work from home that morning and was able to help me see the humor in the situation!

Parents' Night Out fundraiser

I love using my skills towards a good cause. Our school is having their Parents' Night Out this month and I offered to donate some baskets of goodies. I made a Quilted Clutch basket and a Mom and Me Flirty Apron Basket. In the Quilted Clutch basket, I included:

• $25 AmazonKindle Giftcards
• One quilted cover for a kindle
• One smartphone/blackberry clutch
• One earbud/bluetooth keychain clutch
• One makeup clutch with fabric pin

I found the cheapest baskets I could and made a cute little liner for them to jazz up the basket a bit. And then I made a tag listing the basket's contents and value. I hope it will drum up some money for the foundation!

Here are the links to the tutorials I used:

Pleated Makeup Clutch http://www.skiptomylou.org/2010/04/27/pleated-pouch-tutorial/

Earbud/Bluetooth Clutch http://erinerickson.com/2011/11/circle-zip-earbud-pouch-tutorial/

Flower pin http://sew4home.com/projects/fabric-art-a-accents/568-tattered-flowers-for-embellishment

I made up the phone clutch and the quilted cover for the kindle so I need to get on it and get making some tutorials for those!

In the Mom and Me Flirty Apron basket, I made two sets of aprons. Each set has an adult apron with a cute flower pin and one child apron with a cute flower pin. I bagged the sets separately thinking that maybe they can auction them off separately. Again, I found a cheap basket and made a liner that matches the fabrics used in the aprons. These aprons turned out so cute that I'm going to try to get  a tutorial/pattern up soon. 

Mom and Me Flirty Aprons

I offered to donate some goods for a school fundraiser so I used my stash of fabric to come up with Mom and Me Flirty Aprons. My friend Holly and her cute daughter Brinna were my models. Do they sell those aprons or what? These were really fun and easy to make. I threw on a little flower pin for good measure.

Valentine Monster Mail Carriers

Last year, Connor and I made a cute little monster mail box out of a kleenex box. This year we're making these cute little guys with his whole class during art time tomorrow. I'm going to teach a quick lesson on 3D art and then we're going to be making a bunch of monster mail carriers.

Here's what you need to make a Valentine Monster Mail Carrier:

gluesticks
scissors
toothpicks

Small craft bag with handle 5.5" x 8.5" OR the larger size will work fine as well
*You can buy these in a pack of 13 at Michael's. I went with the primary colored bags for the class.

1.25" x 11" strips of colored cardstock for the arms and legs

approx. 2.5" wide hearts for the arms and feet

1.5" or larger circle punch for the whites of eyes

1" or 1 1/4"circle punch for the colored part of eyes

small heart punch for the pupils

wide oval punch for the nose

The flag is made with a 1 1/2" x 4 1/4" white strip of cardstock folded around a toothpick
*Flag ideas: Feed me Valentines, I eat Valentines, Greetings Valentine, "Oh Googlie-bear", "Schmoopsie", "uh, my friends call me Phlem", "You and me, me and you, both of us together", "can I borrow your odorant?", basically anything from Monsters Inc would be classic!

January Card Swap

My card was inspired by the darling card on page 8 of the Stampin' Up! Occasions Mini Catalog. You can check out the other cute cards from the swap here.

Jen's Little Red Hen Pincushion

Yay! I'm so excited! My first real post on my craft blog. I've been working on this tutorial for a while now and just learned that I can't upload pdf files to blogger so I figured out how to work around that this morning. I wanted my little red hen to be my first post because this has been one of my favorite projects over the years. I've taught several friends and family members how to make them and figured that I may as well write a tutorial. They're fun to create and they make darling gifts for that special someone that enjoys sewing. Enjoy!

Click here for the pdf file of Jen's Little Red Hen Tutorial

I recommend downloading the original before printing because for some reason, the quality of the google document is poor. When the tutorial comes up, you should see a "download original" click in the top right corner.

What started it all...

When I graduated from Brigham Young University in 1998, my parents gave me a Brother sewing machine as a graduation gift. Little did I know how much I would be using that sewing machine in the years to come. I had little experience with sewing. Does 7th grade sewing class count? And my mom taught me to sew a few things in my teenage years. But it wasn't until my first son was born that I really got interested in making things. So I started with the basics, baby blankets, curtains, pillow cases, home decor pillow covers, shower curtains and then on to halloween costumes. My move towards quilting was a gradual process mostly inspired by my husband's mother. She is always making quilts for her children and grandchildren. It's her way of sewing a legacy of love for her children. It's really inspired me over the years. Then a little girl joined our family, and my sewing of cute little bags and aprons commenced! My little family has moved around quite a bit and it wasn't until we moved to San Diego, CA that I joined my very first quilt group. Last year, my friend Tina showed us how to make a darling quilted clutch. Learning to sew a zipper transcended my sewing skills and I've had a blast with making little clutches and bags ever since.