Craft Hope Project 8

By now, we all know about the devastation caused by the Gulf Coast oil spill. Personally, I've wandered what I could do to help and have come up with nothing. Luckily for me, the wonderful people at Craft Hope are partnering with The Institute for Marine Mammal Studies to assist them in their efforts in caring for and cleaning oiled marine mammals, mostly dolphins and sea turtles. This will be Project 8.

Craft Hope's Project 8 will be collecting handmade washcloths and hand towels for use in cleaning all of the dolphins and sea turtles. These will be thrown away after a few uses, so there is absolutely no need to worry about how they look.

If you can sew, knit, or crochet, then you can do this. They are asking that you create sets of hand towels and/or wash rags to send. Preferably in sets of 10 or 20.

Since they are called "Craft Hope", they do require that they be handmade, however, several people have asked about simply cutting up old towels and t-shirts to send. They said this is okay! Also, someone mentioned not being a sewer and wanted to do the cloths where you tie the edges with knots, like you can do for the no-sew fleece blankets. Craft Hope says this is good, too! So if you're not a crafter, please don't let this stop you!

Craft Hope says this is also a great opportunity to get kids involved. It’s a wonderful way to teach them about our beaches and the fragile marine life. Perhaps they can help you cut up the fabric? It's never too early to teach them about doing what they can to help save the environment, don't you think?

The project deadline is July 3rd, so you still have plenty of time to join in! I think I will get started tonight so I can get as many sets of 10 made up as possible.

If you want to join in with me for this wonderful project, go here.

You can send your handmade towels and wash rags to:

Kimberly Davion
c/o IMMS Oil Spill Relief
1700 East La Rua Street
Pensacola, Florida 32501
USA

They also said that if you'd like, include a bottle of Dawn dishwashing soap, as this is the soap they use to cut through the oil on the animals.

Don't you just love this project? It's so easy, and yet so rewarding. We can really make a big difference if we all step up to help with this! Please let me know if you intend to help!

I will love you forever if you help!! {Okay, I will anyway, but do it anyway--even you non-crafty peeps!}

Wanna Make It Wednesday: May 5, 2010

Scotti over at The Oxford Family blog had the idea for a Wednesday theme: Wanna Make It Wednesday. I love new themes!

Here's what I wanna make this week:

Easy Fabric Vase Covers

Do you have any boring cylinder vases around your house that need sprucing? I don't, but I think I'll have to go to Hobby Lobby and buy some. {When they're 50% off, of course.} If you do have some, you should try out these Easy Fabric Vase Covers. Such a cute way to decorate while using up some of your fabric scraps. Two birds, one stone! Oh yea!

Happy Scrappy Skirt

I love this Happy Scrappy Skirt by Little Bit Funky. If you don't follow her blog already, you should. She made this skirt last summer and now offers the pattern for $5. You can get it in her shop. Perfect for summer and for using up more scraps! I'll definitely be ordering the pattern when she reopens shop after vacation.

DIY BabyLegs

I don't have a baby, but I think these would make a great gift. You can find the tutorial here. I hear these are pretty expensive if you buy the "real" ones, and I think the DIY's are just as cute. They can also be used as arm warmers, too.

Neck Pillow

It is impossible to find a cute neck pillow. Why not make your own? FREE pattern here:)

Wanna join in on Wanna Make It Wednesday? Link up over at The Oxford Family. Be sure to check out everyone else's posts, too!

Lots of Custom Orders!

I was quite busy this weekend with some special orders for friends an family.

Presenting my first ever taggy blanket!

I made it for my 6-month-old nephew and he loved it! It got lots of chewing over the weekend. I embroidered his name on it, but quickly realized I should have used the bright green thread instead because you can't really see his name at all. Oh well. Here's a close-up.

I just love the 80's cassette tape fabric! I also worked on an order for a baby's 1st birthday shirt. Another first:

Off to work on more custom orders!

Foxy!

I am so excited about the new Foxy design released at Urban Threads today. Check it out!

How cute would this be on a onesie?!

Rag Quilt Alphabet

I found this fabric alphabet tutorial the other day on Happy Together and had to share! I was so excited for a new idea for a toddler gift and will definitely be making some of these for my nephew for Christmas this year. He will be 2 1/2 so I think he will be the perfect age for these. I may even try to make him some numbers, too. This is also the perfect way to use up some fabric scraps that I just can't make myself throw away--and now I'm glad I didn't!

Let me know if you make any--I'd love to see them!

Thursday, Thursday

I know I've been MIA, but I'm still crazy busy trying to get bibs and burp cloths made for the Childbirth Fair this weekend. Only 2 more days!

Each vendor donated a $50 value door prize for one lucky mom-to-be. Here's mine:

The "basket" is a photo box. I thought it would come in handy with a baby on the way! I included 2 burp cloths and matching onesie, and some great Etsy friends donated a diaper trash bag carrier, knit hat and headband. I hope the winner loves it! Oh! I also added some hair clippies to match the onesie. Very girlie!

On another note: Here lately I've been loving the pocket tissue holders that people have been making, and I always need tissues in my purse, so I decided to whip one up myself! Since I love owls so much, I decided I needed to make mine out of owl fabric, of course.

It turned out so great that I decided to offer one in my store! You can check it out here =)

so much to do, so little time

Things are still crazy busy with me trying to get goodies made for the Childbirth fair. Sorry I haven't had much time to blog, as of late! Hopefully everything will calm down in the next couple of weeks.

Here are some of the bibs I have been making:)

You can get the pattern here. It's very easy:) You'll love it!

Also, I recently found this site for free blogger templates, but I mostly love the free monthly calendar desktop wallpapers. Here's the one for August:

How fun is that? I'm using it right now at work. Keeps the room bright:) You should definitely get one for yourself. What's better than free?

Getting Ready!

I know I haven't blogged in a while, but I honestly have had a blogger's block. Any ideas for a good craft blog entry? I got nothing. I've been so busy lately trying to get burp cloths, bibs, and onesies made for the Childbirth Fair in August that I've not had time to blog. Please don't lose interest! I promise to do better.

I did get some great bib patterns from Etsy the other day, so I will be trying them out this week. I have only made one or two bibs before and I'm trying to branch out. I think they'll go well with the burp cloths for a nice set. Here is a picture of the patterns I bought:

I got them from strawberrytruffle. I really love the square one but it's not quite as long as I thought it would be. I might extend it to make a toddler bib. Cute, huh?

Oh! I also added these burp cloths to my Etsy store. Check 'em out and let me know what you think!

No time to blog today. Sorry! It's been a crazy day...but, I put two new burp cloth sets in the shop today and would love to know what you think!

You can find them here and here.

Simple Cross Burp Cloths

I just got this simple cross applique pattern and thought I'd try it out first on some burp cloths for the upcoming Childbirth Fair I will be vending at. I hope they're popular! They are really fun to make.

I also got some applique letters so I am working on monogrammed burp cloths to go in my store as well. They're really cute!

Not-So-Beginner Handbag

I was recently browsing Martha Stewart's Web site when I found this cute purse pattern and instructions:

Martha said more than once that this was a beginner pattern. Well, Martha, I beg to differ. Though it was somewhat easier the second time around, my first attempt was severely wonky. The second attempt turned out much better and I might would even say "Etsy-worthy", but it still didn't feel "beginner". The first few steps were very elementary, but when it came to sewing up the "arm holes", I wanted to pull my hair out.

I will take post a pic of my second and more successful attempt soon. I really like how it turned out, love the purse, and am so glad I made it, but don't let Martha fool you into thinking it's for a "beginner".

Try it out, you'll like it. Good night, and good luck.

Cute as a Bug!

Remember my caterpillar burp cloth? Well, I finally made a mate so I can sell them as a set. What do you think?

New Burp Cloth!

I made a new burp cloth and I really think it's my favorite one yet. It's a caterpillar!

The body was machine-appliqued and the antennae were hand-embroidered. I stitched it up in probably less than an hour, but since it was my first one, I'm sure it will go quicker next time.

I must say, I'm pretty proud of the little guy. My husband was pretty impressed, too. He especially liked how the stitches made it look like he had "fuzz", which I hadn't even noticed! Mr. Savvy Stitcher is so smart!

I want to sew up another one to go with it to make a set for my store but don't have any patterned fabric to coordinate with it. I do have some solid colors that will match though. Should I do a totally different fabric with a pattern? I'd really like them to coordinate. Any suggestions are appreciated! I'll have to make a boy's set next.

I also made some glass marble magnets which I think turned out pretty nicely as well. I just love magnets! Before long, my refrigerator will be covered and my husband will think I've lost my mind (if he doesn't already).

Summer is Here (Almost)!

I was on MarthaStewart.com today and as usual, she has a slew of new sewing projects up to get ready for summer. Hopefully I can try some of them before summer is over!

I really like this Ribbon Water Carrier:

My only question is where do you find these little springy clippy things? (Yes, that's the technical term.) Martha certainly did not offer up that information.

They also added some very simple embroidery to a fairly plain bag to dress it up for summer. I will definitely be using this technique as seen on this Circle-Patterned Tote:

These are just a couple of the many projects Martha has shared. Go to her site to see them all. She is always full of great ideas.

Since I didn't have time to do any sewing last night, I did make some more cover button magnets for my store.

Maybe I'll be able to get some sewing in tonight.

Rag Quilt Part 1

I am about to start working on the rag quilt for a baby gift and decided to create a tutorial! It's really easy and quick! If you can sew a straight line, you can do this. Here's what you'll need:

~3 coordinating flannels, 1 yard of each (you can substitute cotton fabric if you prefer, but flannel is really soft for babies)

~1 package of high-loft quilt batting (crib size)

~rotary cutter, rotary mat, and straight edge (you can use scissors if you don't have these)

~coordinating thread

~scissors

~sewing machine

For inspiration, this is what the finished product will look like:

*This tutorial will be for a baby-size quilt, but you can always add fabric for an adult quilt.

Next time we will cut out the squares of batting and fabric, so go get your supplies ready!

Project Pincushion

I recently realized that my pincushion is absolutely, ridiculously absurd. It came from a box of sewing notions that I bought at an estate sale. It's ugly, but it works. Here, take a look for yourself. This is basically it, but mine's tomato red.

Aww! Look at the cute little sumo wrestlers holding hands! haha! Hysterical!

Anyway, I found this tutorial on making your own pincushion with fabric scraps over at Paper.String.Cloth. It was super easy to make and really only took me about an hour from beginning to end (including picking out the fabric and buttons, which always takes me a while). Here's mine!

I thought it turned out pretty good for my first time. What do you think? I did, however, make some small adjustments to the tutorial. I only used 2 coordinating fabrics instead of four. Also, instead of measuring out a 2 1/2 inch square for tracing, I used my rotary mat and cutter to cut four 3-inch squares of each of the two fabrics I chose, then sewed them together using a 1/4" seam allowance. I hate tracing if I don't have to.

Next I think I'll try this tutorial over at Make It and Love It for covering my camera strap! :D I definitely love it!