Belated billfold

Hello friends!  I know I've been absent and I apologize!  I've had a wild couple of weeks that included yet another move and a great deal of training for my new summer job.  It's been exciting, but busy!  I popped in to share a project I made some time ago for my mom for Mother's Day.  I somehow got it finished, packed up, and mailed on time (which is nothing short of a miracle for me) but I just never got around to posting it on here.

For the last few years, my mom has been using a cheap "wallet" that she found in the attic, even though it doesn't really fit any of her cards or money, and it doesn't have a pocket for change.  After trying (and failing) to convince her to get a new one for herself, I decided I should make her one for Mother's Day, and this is what I came up with:

 

I used pretty blue and white fabric for the outside, and lined it with pink polka-dotted fabric.  I put in an inner zipper pocket, two larger inner pockets for bills, six credit card pockets, and two clear card pockets in the front for ID cards.  It closes with a snap button tab, and I used pink thread for the top stitching (I thought it looked so cute against the blue!) 

I lined the inner pockets with the outer blue fabric, just to make the inside more interesting.  I love the way it came out!  This was one of my all-time favorite handmade gifts.  I completed it in a reasonable amount of time, and it was pretty fun to put together!  This could easily be changed around in terms of pocket layout; the possibilities are endless!  I can't wait to make some more wallets!

Happy Saturday, everyone!  I have some projects planned for the new house this week, so I'll keep you all posted!  Have a great weekend!

Dapper dog bow-tie tutorial

As promised, I've worked up a little tutorial for those doggie bow-ties from yesterday's post.  Enjoy!

Fashion for Fido

As I'm sure you've noticed from this post (not to mention this post) Oliver likes to look good.  So, as per his request, I whipped up some bow-ties to add to his wardrobe.  I just sewed simple bows with Velcro loops at the back, so that the bows can be attached to his normal collar.  Since they just go onto the collar he's used to wearing, he doesn't mind wearing these little beauties one bit! 

Since I scheduled this photo shoot during his previously scheduled nap time (which usually lasts most of the day) Oliver refused to get out of bed for the fashion show.  But I'd say my little gentleman looks pretty dapper!  These little bow-ties are definitely one of my all-time favorite scrap busting projects, and they were a cinch to put together!  In fact, these little bow-ties were such a great project, I'm thinking they will be the subject of my very first tutorial!  I'm still working on putting everything together, but look out for details!  Happy Tuesday!

UPDATE: Check out the tutorial here!

Back in the saddle

It's been a wild week!  In the midst of finding a new place to live, getting a job, having some lovely out-of-town visitors, running our first-ever 5k, and a little trip to the puppy ER (those darn fire ants!) I got back in the sewing saddle this week.  I put together a few little projects, including the completion of a project using this fabric that I dyed back in good-ole' Pennsylvania.  I used the fabric to make another "Flirting the Issue" skirt, and here's the finished product:

Because of all of the elastic at the top (and also because the results of my first venture into DIY ombre dying were slightly more subtle than I had hoped) I lost some of the ombre effect once the skirt was put together.  But I love my little skirt anyway!  I used a sunny yellow cotton lining, and I just love that the little white dots didn't take the teal dye on the outer pieces.  This is the perfect addition to my Florida wardrobe...it can get pretty warm at this time of the year!

I have a few more projects to share this week so stay tuned!  I hope you had a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping by!

Greetings from sunny Florida!

I know I've been a little absent lately, but I have a good excuse this time.  After spending a few days out of town playing a gig, Sean flew up to Pennsylvania and we spent the weekend (drum-roll, please...) driving to Florida!  We made the last-minute decision to do it in one shot, so that we would have Sunday to rest before Sean had to return to work on Monday.  The drive was relatively uneventful (aside from a wonderfully horrible book-on-tape involving contagious mold spores, time travel, and monster babies) and Oliver was perfectly angelic.  In fact, I think he handled the drive better than I did.  So I've spent the past few days getting settled in our new house and getting to know the area a little bit.  We're living just outside of Orlando, and the weather has been beautiful for my first few days here!  It's been so beautiful that these guys decided to take a little stroll this morning, and I encountered them on my run:

Despite the fact that they were alarmingly large, I couldn't keep myself from sneaking a few pictures of them.  I think they're some sort of ibis?

I'm planning on picking up some fabric this week, and I've got quite a few projects on my to-do list, so I'll keep you all posted!  Happy Wednesday!

Hola [h]ombre!

Hi, friends!  I diverged from my crafty norm today and tried something completely new.  I've been wanting to try fabric dye for some time now, and today I finally plucked up the courage and went for it.  Inspired by the ombre trend that's hit the nation, I picked up some teal Rit dye at my local craft store and tried some DIY ombre patterns.  I started with a plain canvas tote (store-bought and sitting in my craft box for a couple of years) a plain white T-shirt (with the same history as the tote) and some pieces of white polka-dotted fabric that I picked up along with the dye.  I do have a plan for this fabric, but I won't share it with you just yet!  (I can't give everything away, can I?)  Unfortunately, the T-shirt needs a little more tweaking before its internet debut.  In fact, it looked a little less like ombre and a little more like a plain, yet unevenly blue T-shirt.  But here's what I came up with:

While I think my technique needs a little work, I'd call this tote a success!  It was pretty simple, but I did hit a few snags while working outside (mostly having to do with extreme heat and giant predatory insects.)  I can't wait to try this again and see what I can come up with!

While I won't share my plans for these pieces of fabric, I can't help but share a little sneak peek, because I love love love the way the ombre pattern came out on these pieces.  This fabric started as white polka dots on white fabric, and (much to my delight) the dots magically stayed white through the dyeing process.  I'm so excited to use these pieces!

I'm loving this ombre trend and I'm all too happy to jump on this bandwagon.  I can't wait to make more!  At $2 a box, I'm itching to try some more dye colors on more fabrics...the possibilities are endless!  I hope you all had wonderful Mondays, thanks for stopping by!

Blue butterfly bedtime bliss

Hello, friends!  I'm popping in today to share a couple of projects I made last week for my sister's birthday.  My mom and I found this gorgeous silky (it's technically a polyester blend, but it's pretty luxurious to the touch!) fabric, printed with butterfly wings in beautiful blues and greens and I knew it was perfect for my sister.  I just love this fabric!  So I decided to make some sort of bedtime set, and here is what I came up with:

I knew I wanted to make some sort of a robe and a pair of sleep shorts.  I searched high and low for a pajama set pattern that included both of these items, and I just couldn't find any that I liked (and the pattern sets are around $15...that's pretty pricy!)  So in my desperation, I took a peek into the cheap pattern drawer at Wal-Mart and found two separate patterns (this one and this one) for around $1 a piece!  Neither was really intended for pajamas, but they both worked perfectly for my purposes!

The shorts have an elastic waistband and pockets (which I considered leaving off, but just couldn't because I am borderline obsessed with pockets.)  They also have buttoned-up cuffs at the bottom, although the buttons are sewn on and can't be adjusted.  I tried to choose flat buttons so that they would be comfortable for sleeping, and I ended up these shiny blue buttons...they were just the ticket! (see close-up above)

The robe took a little more time, because there was a pretty sizable amount of sewing that had to be done by hand.  But overall, it was still simple enough that I got it done in two half-days of work.  I struggled a little with the facing around the collar (why are those always to difficult to put together?!) but I'd happily do this project again!

I just love how they turned out!  Both projects were pretty quick to put together, and the fabric was perfect.  My sister has always loved butterflies, so when I found this print, I knew I had to get it...what a great find!  There's really nothing better than finding a fabric that's just perfect for a project!  As far as I can tell, my sister loves her presents and I'm thrilled!

I hope you all had (and are still having) wonderful weekends as well!  Thanks for stopping by!