July Challenge Day #31

Hooray, it's day 31, and this month-long challenge is DONE! I'm ending it with one more goody for you strawberry lovers: a strawberry pincushion. I found the pattern at Martha Stewart.com. It is made from wool felt and filled with emery, which I had bought on Etsy quite a while ago--I'm glad I finally got around to using it!

July Challenge Day #30

For today's craft, I turned a leftover quilt block into a potholder!  Here's the front (I added the red boarder to make it plenty big to handle hot things in the kitchen):

On the back I used a pretty blue print. I layered the front and back with two layers of cotton quilt batting, and machine quilted it. It went together really quickly, and it's a great way to use an orphan block.

See, it really works!

July Challenge Day #29

About a year ago, for a Craftster swap, I made a felt heart covered in buttons. I've thought about that heart many times since then, wishing I had one for myself--so with this challenge for motivation, I finally made another one, just for me.

Here are the two halves of the heart, completely covered in buttons.

Here's the finished product. For me, the appeal of this heart is the assortment of buttons all in a shade of the same color. It was so easy to make I can't believe I put it off for so long!

July Challenge Day #28

I made another felt badge! Why? Because I like working with wool felt!

July Challenge Day #27

While trying to think of a way to use the pom poms I started making a few days ago, I saw this giraffe fabric in my sewing room and the light bulb went on over my head.  "Of course! A giraffe ninni monster!" I said to myself. (You can get the pattern and find out more about ninnis at RevoluzZza.)

July Challenge Day #26

I made the top of this pincushion a year or so ago, but I didn't actually finish it until now! I wanted to use my new-found love of pom pom-making by adding them to the corners (instead of the small tassels I usually use).

I love the quote on this: "Search the world for happiness, and you may find it in the end, for the world is round and will lead you back to your door"-- but I wonder why I didn't realize that it would be perfect on a ROUND pincushion??

July Challenge Day #25

A few months ago I bought some pom pom makers, and they've been sitting unused since then; so for today's crafting challenge, I made pom poms! They are fun and easy to make, and I think they are cute! This is a good way to use up scrap yarn.

These are the pom pom makers I got. They are extremely well-designed, and you can make perfect pom poms very quickly. I hope to show you a couple of crafts that use these in the coming days.

July Challenge Day #24

I love making felt badges! I wanted this cupcake to have a crazy/goofy face; it didn't come out quite as goofy as I hoped, but I still like it a lot! The size is about 2" wide and tall.

July Challenge Day #23

I needed a new key fob; the one I've been using for over a year was looking very sad and bedraggled.

This is simply layers of wool felt sewn together with embroidery floss; it's the same on both sides. I used a fabric loop to attach the fob to the key ring because I think it will wear better than felt. To give it some stiffness, there are two layers of sew-in interfacing inside.

July Challenge Day #22

I had another request for Hope Hearts (click on the tab at the top of the page to learn more) and, since I've already posted some in this challenge, I decided to try to make these a little different. Normally I embellish all the hope hearts the same way; that makes them quicker for me to do, and gives them a degree of standardization (as much as something that is handmade can be standardized!)

These are the changes I made: the small heart usually just has the word "hope" on it, but I added seed beads all around it this time; the medium heart has more variety in the fabrics than I usually use; and on the large heart I embroidered flowers instead of sewing on buttons, and I used a patchwork of yellow fabrics for the base heart. This unique group of hearts will be heading off to Kathy in Australia later today.

July Challenge Day #21

I wanted to make another quilted basket after yesterday's first attempt, and I am super excited about this one! I love these fabrics; I happened upon the button fabric in my stash, and it is perfect for this, since there are actualy buttons around the sides--and speaking of buttons, I used four different un-matching buttons on this, which really adds a lot to the "fun factor"! The best improvement over yesterday's basket, however, is invisible: I used iron-on interfacing on the back of both fabrics, which makes this basket nice and sturdy. It really holds it's shape well, unlike yesterday's pink basket, which is a little floppy.

I used two 10" squares of fabric for this basket, and a 2 1/2" gusset on the sides. The finished size is 4" wide by 2 1/2" tall. The second picture shows a matchbox inside for scale. This is really too cute to keep to myself; I can see I'm going to have to make some of these for gifts!

July Challenge Day #20

Yesterday, on Craftster, I saw the cutest little fabric baskets; I loved them so much that I immediately went to the tutorial at Seaside Stitches and started working on one for myself! This is it. It was really simple, and although it did take some time to do all the machine quilting, it came together pretty quickly, and was very satisfying to make. I feel that the first one of anything that I make is a practice item, and I make changes in the next one. The one thing I will change next time (probably tomorrow!) is my fabric choice; I played it safe with the outer fabric, and it looks a little boring to me.

I made this one with two 12" squares of fabric, and I used a 3" gusset on the four corners. The finished basket is 5" wide and 3" tall--a good size for all the odds and ends that accumulate near me when I'm sewing or crafting!

July Challenge Day #19

I'm really glad I made an extra bookmark two weeks ago, so I have something to show for the challenge today! I used embroidery floss to make the tassel at the top.

July Challenge Day #18

Yesterday, as I thought about the mushroom badge I made, I decided to do another one...but instead of a face, I would turn the stem into a little house.  Here it is:

July Challenge Day #17

Another wool felt badge...the mushroom stem was looking a little plain, so I added a face! I know some people love this "kawaii" look, and others don't. I'm undecided.

July Challenge Day #16

Yesterday I saw a really cute, folksy-looking heart at The Silly BooDilly, and I wanted to make a similar one. When I went to my sewing room to look for materials to make the heart, I came across a lovely quote by Oscar Wilde, which at some point in the past I had printed onto fabric. I decided to use it for the centerpiece of my heart, with embroidered vines and flowers around the outside.

I really liked the look of the raggedy-looking edges on the inspiration heart, so I tried to recreate that on mine. I think I like the way the boarder came out...

July Challenge Day #15

I seem to be on a roll with felt badges--I made another one for today's challenge item! Even though we are quite a ways from Halloween, I saw a funny cat like this on Pinterest and I just HAD to make one for myself!

July Challenge Day #14

I made another felt badge, but since I had more time I was able to do something very detailed. I saw something similar to this on Etsy and I love it! I can't decide if it looks more like a daytime or nighttime scene; since I used such a dark blue for the background, the orb in the sky could be either the sun or the moon.

July Challenge Day #13

I was so short on time yesterday, that all I could manage to make was this small and simple felt badge, similar to one I saw on Etsy.

July Challenge Day #12

The most popular post on this blog is the "Scrappy Snappy Pouch Tutorial" that I wrote about a year ago. I haven't made one of those pouches since then, so I decided to use up some scraps and make myself a new one. (There's a pretty big pile of green scraps on my sewing table now, so don't be surprised if you see another one of these again very soon...!)

July Challenge Day #11

Well, there are several reasons I wasn't able to craft something yesterday to post here today. Hmmmph. So it's a good thing I planned ahead and made an extra needle cushion last week (remember the bird wearing a party hat?) I made this simple little house out of scraps, with lots of machine sewing around each piece, leaving the edges raw.  It's cute and useful, who could ask for more?

July Challenge Day #10

Oooh look, I'm one-third of the way through the month, and I haven't missed a day of crafting yet! Let's hope I can keep going!

I needed more note cards, so I pulled out the rubber stamp I made last year and got busy. First, I lightly painted some old book pages with white paint. When they were dry, I stamped them. Then I cut out the stamped images, glued them onto colored scrapbook paper, and then glued that to the card.

They came out great--I love the way they look!

July Challenge Day #9

When I go out to exercise (I half walk, half jog around the neighborhood) I take my iPod with me, but I don't like to hold it in my hand the whole time. This pouch solves the problem--I can wear it as a cross-body bag, and my iPod will stay safe and my hands will be free to pet any cats I happen to encounter along the way!

This picture shows it with my iPhone inside. There is a loop (hidden in this picture) on the back edge that goes over the button in front to close it, while leaving room for the earbud cord.

July Challenge Day #8

I love sewing by hand! I made this little leaf from wool felt and embroidery floss; it is about 2" long. It will either go into my felt badge collection or become a patch on something.

July Challenge Day #7

After Thursday's post of a patriotic heart, I received a request for one of my hope hearts kits. Since this is an on-going project of mine (click on the tab above marked "Request a Hope Hearts Starter Kit" to learn more), you might think I have a big stockpile of hearts ready to send as soon as I get a request. Not so! I find myself lacking the motivation to work on the hearts if I don't have a request for them. Here are the hearts I just made, and will send out tomorrow.

July Challenge Day #6

With a "craft-a-day" challenge like this, there will certainly be days when I am short on time and the crafted thing I make will have to be small and quick--like today's wool felt badge. This happy cloud is finished on the back with a second piece of felt, so I can use it any way I want to--later I can sew it onto something, or add a pin back or a magnet. What I probably will do, though, is just leave it as it is and add it to my felt badge collection! (I had a badge similar to this one in my collection, but I gave it away, so this will take it's place.)

July Challenge Day #5

Continuing the "Life is good" theme from yesterday, today's item is a very scrappy fabric bracelet with that same sentiment.  You can find a tutorial to make one yourself HERE.

I went through my fabric scraps and chose colors that I adore--these remind me of candy and ice cream!

Crafting Challenge, Day #4

Happy Independence Day, America!

For today's challenge item, I made one of my Hope Hearts in patriotic fabrics. You can read more about these hearts by clicking on the tab at the top of the page labeled "Request a Hope Hearts Starter Kit".

Crafting Challenge Day #3

Today I made a scrappy bookmark. I love the look of scrappy projects, and they are a good way to use up small bits of special fabrics that you don't want to throw away.

This bookmark measures 6 1/2" x 2 1/2"; I would have made it narrower, but the width was dictated by the big rubber stamps I used to write the word "READ". I used iron-on interfacing to line both the front and back fabrics, so it's not floppy.

I don't have a lot of experience making bookmarks, so I wasn't sure exactly what to put at the top. I used some lengths of eyelash yarn and baker's twine, which looks okay...but it's not perfect. I'll keep thinking about it and try to come up with something better for my next bookmark.

Crafting Challenge Day #2

Today I made myself a cute little needle cushion, using the instructions that can be found at Shiny Happy World. It's just two pieces of fabric sewn together, with an old credit card and stuffing inside--so easy! I decided to make mine more fun by adding a scrappy little birdy, using all my favorite colors

I do a lot of hand-sewing, so I have a lot of needles with odd lengths of thread in them. What makes this needle cushion better than a pin cushion is the flat shape and the plastic card in the bottom. The needles can't get lost inside or poke through the bottom, as they can (and do!) with a regular pin cushion. This is really one of the most useful and practical items I've ever made!