In the Making: Box Wallets

Hi all! I've been MIA for a little while. Work (my real job) has been ramping up and it is a bit insane. May and June are pretty busy months for me and it seems it gets worse every single year. Sigh! But no chatting about work. Blah! I have not been very crafty lately. And my October show, while a ways off, is still right around the corner. So, I need to start really focusing and getting my act together. And ... I have added quite the stash to my already huge fabric collection, meaning I need to start using up all this fabric! So last week I spent a bunch of time cutting and pressing a bunch of Box Wallets:

I made a few for my last craft fair, and they were hot sellers. And interestingly enough, my sister's favorite item. So cutting I did! Fifty two wallets in all! I chose 26 fabric combinations and spent hours cutting, cutting and cutting some more! Nice stack, huh?

So next step is pressing, interfacing and tagging these babies. Wish me luck!

Happy Mother's Day!

It's Mother's Day and I wanted to take this moment to wish my mom a very happy mother's day!!

And you, too, Gramma!! My two favorite ladies above! I love you both! Have a great day!

Waiting for a doxie ...

I'm a super big fan of Retro Mama. I've bought a bunch of Kim's patterns and have made a few:

Yep ... just a few cuties. And I'm going to be cutting a couple more elephants later today. But look what I found on Kim's blog:

 {source}

A super adorable dachshund. And it's her soon-to-be-released pattern (she calls it her sleepy doxie). OMG! Isn't this pup just the cutest thing ever? Now you know I'm going to be one of the first in line to get my hands on this pattern, right?!!! I cannot wait for its release!!! I'll be waiting anxiously!

More fabric on its way!

Warning ... more fabric is on its way. Yes, I'm a fabric hoarder. I will post photos once my stash has arrived!

I've been busy with work (and babysitting a ton!), so haven't been blogging or creating for quite some time. Sigh! But the weekend is almost here and I vow to get some creative juices flowing!

Be back soon!

Unbelievable Fabric Stack ... and a tip!

Over the last week or so, I've been pre-washing and pressing fabrics. Remember this stack?

Well the Hubby estimated this was about 35 yards of fabric. I just said "yeah, right" and smirked. So after washing and pressing, for days on end, I'm finally done. You want to know how close Hubby was? Spot on? Not even close! 10 yards off? Ha! There was about 73 yards of fabric, give or take a yard. Can you believe it? Holy smokes. If that is over 70 yards, I can't even begin to guess what's behind closed doors and still in boxes here and there. Yikes. Can you say fabric hoarder?

Check out that stack! Washed, pressed and ready to be made in all kinds of fun blankets and bibs. I literally could not carry the entire stack in one trip ... required two trips! Not joking.

Do you pre-wash your fabrics? I usually don't unless I know that the item being made is going to be thrown in the wash. Blankets and bibs? Definitely going into the wash. The first time I ever did a pre-wash, holy smokes did my fabric get all frayed and there were strings all over the place. Now, I take the time to straight stitch each raw edge. Just a quick stitch very close to the edge. That doesn't prevent all the fraying, but I find that I don't get a ton of strings anymore. So give that a try and see if it works for you!

{Sewn} Pink Elephant

Another Retro Mama pattern sewn! Yes, I think I'm obsessed with her patterns. They are very well written and very easy to follow. My weekend is going to be filled with sewing a few more of these cuties!

Vintage-style Dolls

So I took a break from the baby bibs! After cutting a bunch, one after the other, I wanted to do something fun! I had these "dolls" off on the side for quite some time now, so I figured I would stitch them up and get them stuffed. It was so relaxing to just stuff, stuff, stuff! And they came together in no time!

Here's another view ... all lined up in a row:

I have a bunch more to stitch, but at least these got done. My favorite from this bunch is the fourth doll from the left (with short brown hair and her hand sticking out). I think I'll need to get back to the baby bibs this weekend. And I hope to start stitching up some of my blankets now that my bolt of minky arrived! What are your plans for the weekend?

On my worktable

What's on my worktable currently?

Baby bibs in various Dumb Dots by Michael Miller. Yes, prepping for that Baby Expo in October. I know ... it's 6 months away, but I'm a procrastinator, so I need to start from now and maybe I'll have enough product! And yes, you will be seeing baby stuff fill this space (it's a baby expo!!).

Can you believe I'm finding time to work on stuff during the week? Normally, I save my crafting until the weekend. But I've been able to fit some crafting in here and there in the evenings, even if it's only cutting bibs!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter!! Look at that cute bunny! Yes, it's another one of Retro Mama's patterns. I made the cutie above for the cutie below. That would be my niece, aka Miss Curly Cue ... look at those curls! We had fun coloring eggs last night!

I'm off to church later this morning (Alleluia, Jesus is risen!). I hope to get a little crafting in here and there, but for the most part, I think I'll be in the kitchen. And who knows, maybe little Miss Curly Cue will stop by for a mini egg hunt before dinner! Fun!

Fabric Pile

I'm planning a huge show in October. It's not really a craft show; it's a Baby & Family Expo. But we'll chat about that more as I count down the months. So, I've been thinking about what to feature in the booth. And I'll definitely be doing a bunch of baby blankets. That means pre-washing a bunch of fabrics!

 

Yes, you're seeing correctly. A HUGE pile of fabrics waiting to make it's way into the wash. That must be at least 25 yards of fabric. Not kidding!!! And that doesn't include the yards and yards and yards that have already been pre-washed and cut. I'm just waiting for my minky order and then I'll be stitching away!

Easter Menu

We're half way through Holy Week and I'm only now thinking about what I'm going to cook for Easter dinner. And I have Sis #2 asking how is going to make the ham! But I'm thinking I want to do something easy. And what is easier than throwing something in the slow cooker? So I found this:

{Mel's Kitchen Cafe}

It takes only 4 ingredients. You read that right ... FOUR! How easy is that? And the couple of recipes I've tried from Mel's site has not disappointed. And how can you go wrong with ham? To round out the menu? Maybe some scalloped potatoes and my mom's lasagna! Comfort food!!

More stuff headed to STS Carnival!

I've been de-stashing some of my crafty creations from the craft show I did in November. Here's a bunch of bling that's headed to the STS Carnival:

Yes, that's earrings, bobby pins and rings!! Now to go de-stash more stuff!

And today is Monday ... which means I'm back at work. Sigh!

Retro-inspired doll

Yet another post! Surprise, surprise!! Spring break is over and I'll be heading back to work next week. Ugh! So you know that posts will be sparse. I promised another Retro Mama creation and here she is:

My brother-in-law called her "B-52" ... I don't know why. Maybe because her hair-do sort of looks like a beehive? I think she's cute! I do have a few things I'm going to do differently on the next doll. First thing on the list is to give her a tan! Heh heh! She's joining the winking owl in his travels to the STS carnival (she'll end up in the Silent Auction booth; Winky will be in the country store booth).

And just so you know ... yes, I still have more Retro Mama patterns to try. Maybe I'll be able to fit them in during the work week. I have to try because I have a potentially huge craft show in the fall and these would be perfect! But we'll have to see!

Give a hoot!

I got some sewing in recently. Did I mention I'm on spring break? Furlough. Admin leave. Supplemental time off. Whatever you want to call it. Doesn't matter to me as long as I get this week off! Which has allowed me to get some crafty things in here and there. I mentioned the other day that I ordered a bunch of felt from Retro Mama. Well, I had ordered several of her patterns previously. And I whipped this guy up:

Cute!! I used some Flea Market Fancy for his back (we'll chat about Flea Market Fancy another day). I used some corduroy I purchased locally. It was a bit stiff. I don't know if I'd use this same one again. I have a lighter color, which is much softer. Will definitely have to give that one a try. For now, this guy will be donated to the St. Theresa School carnival coming up in April.

Stay tuned for yet another Retro Mama creation coming soon! They're so fun to make (and the patterns are perfect in every way). I may just have to get some of them in my Guava Girls shop ... as soon as I open it. Ugh!

Felt-O-Rama

I've been stash building lately. No, not a good thing, considering I have enough things stashed away. My recent purchase (not including fabrics!) was this luscious stack of wool-blend felt from Retro Mama:

It's the whole collection, plus a few extra sets for a couple of patterns that I purchased. The colors are so pretty to look at. I kind of don't want to cut into any of them. Can I consider this art? Heh heh! Now my true hoarder self is starting to show!!

Meet Pinky Pie!

Hello there! Yes, it has been a long time. I almost flipped when I realized I've only posted one post thus far. Yikes! And a quarter of the year is almost gone. Holy smokes. Is it just me or is time just flying by? Since I haven't been crafting at all {gulp}, the only thing I can share today is this little critter:

Isn't she a cutie? She was a Valentine's gift from the hubby (thanks, hun!). And her name? Pinky Pie! Named by my 2-year old niece! I was showing it to her one day when she was visiting and I told her, "Look at this pinky octopus," and she blurts out "PINKY PIE!" So Pinky Pie it is! Thanks Izzy! I think it suits her perfectly!! By the way, she is made by Cheek and Stitch ... go find one for yourself!

Happy Friday

It's Friday! And I have a vacation day. So that means a 3-day weekend for me! Yippee! Not sure how I'll be spending my weekend yet, but I sure do hope I can at least do something creative over these next 3 days. We'll see. I think on my to-do list is to organize my craft room. It's kind of a mess. I haven't really been doing much in it since the craft fair. Yikes, I know! So things have been piling up and I do not feel very creative when stepping into the room. Maybe that'll change this weekend.

And one of the main things that's piling up? Fabric! What else?

Here's my latest stash. I ordered this bunch from Fabric.com. I added the ever-popular  Amy Butler dots to my stash and at 25% off, I got a deal (plus free shipping, and we all know how costly it is to ship to Hawaii). Anyway, I now need to make room for this stack and the few other fabrics I ordered after Christmas. Wish me luck!!

Here's hoping you have a great weekend!