All posts filed under: Arts Crafts & Hobbies

The Versatile Blogger Award

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It’s like the email chain letter of the blogging world! But it’s a fun one because it brings bloggers together and lets you share awesome people you’ve stumbled across in the interwebs! Thank you so much to Teresa at NavyBlueThreads for the nomination! I love her sewing! She’s fairly new to it as well, but really inspiring!    So here are the rules of the award for anyone who chooses to accept the nomination: Thank the person who nominated you and create a link back to their blog. Share 7 things about yourself. Nominate 15 other versatile bloggers. Tell the bloggers that you nominated them. Hmm… so here are 7 things about me: I’m allergic to bee stings. I got stung A LOT as a child, and my reactions seemed to get worse every time. I rarely remember to carry my EpiPen with me. :/ I LOVE coffee, but ALWAYS leave my coffee cup sitting around somewhere and end up re-heating it at least three times before I finish it. I am a sugar addict… constantly trying …

Handmade Gift Exchange, Part 2

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Can I just begin by saying how adorable this packaging is… haha “Dill with it!” :)   Julie, my handmade gift exchange partner, sent me some awesome stuff! Here’s what the note said: “Enclosed are a flower that will never die and a jar of stars. When you need a pick-me-up, shake the jar and pick a star. Pinch it flat and find the arrow. Pull out the flap and unravel the star for a special message. Enjoy!”   This flower will be making its home on my desk. And of course I was too curious – I had to open at least one of the stars – and luckily figured out how to fold it back up after :) This is such an adorable and thoughtful gift. Thank you, Julie!

My First Year of Sewing: A Review

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It’s my sewiversary! Ok, so maybe that’s not a thing. But it could be! :) On July 1st of last year, I got my sewing machine in the mail (yay!). I got the Brother XR9500PRW machine from their Project Runway series (got it on Amazon for $179.99 at the time – now it looks like it’s even a little cheaper). I bought it as a birthday present to myself because I wanted to try a new hobby. It had very decent reviews – and seemed to be highly recommended for beginners. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s been a great machine so far. Only complaint is the needle threading system – it worked wonderfully for a while (I thought it was the best invention on the planet while it worked!) then something got bent or off somehow and it doesn’t work anymore. To be fair, I haven’t really tried to fix it yet, so maybe when I do it’ll be just fine. Also the lettering/monogramming is nothing to write home about. But overall I’d definitely recommend this machine …

New-To-Me Salme Minna Blouse

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Finally (attempted) to get a few more/better pictures of my Minna blouse that I made for the New-To-Me challenge over at The Monthly Stitch for Indie Pattern Month. I’m still trying to master this whole taking pictures of myself thing. I LOVE taking pictures. But I also LOVE being behind the camera, if you know what I mean. :) So anyway, I went ahead and got a tripod, and just recently got a remote to use with the tripod… See… remote… still wasn’t sure if I was using it correctly at this point. But the pups were pretty interested in what I was doing. After just a couple of shots, though, they got bored with me and started running and wrestling around as they usually do in the back yard. For fear my camera was going to get trampled into the dirt… I gave up. The pups, plus the wind – it was a challenge getting any photos at all! Anyway… to the challenge. The second week of Indie Pattern Month was the New-To-Me challenge. The idea was …

Handmade Gift Exchange

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Sometimes I complain to myself because I can’t think of something to make for someone I know. Well, that mentality was turned upside down when I started brainstorming what to make for a complete stranger! Seriously. Never realized how easy I had it. :) I entered the Summer Handmade Gift Exchange put on by Craftaholics Anonymous. The only clues I had about my gift exchange partner were that she likes coffee and the color orange. Here’s what I came up with: Bow Clutch, with orange accents of course (made from this tutorial that I’ve been gawking at on my “Things To Sew” Pinterest board for some time). The outer fabric is actually from a thrifted shower curtain that happens to be the same shower curtain I have hanging in my bathroom. Can you tell I like the pattern!? :) You can’t really tell from the pictures, but the lighter color has a bit of shimmer to it. Also used it for the ABC bag I made last year. The inner fabric is a cotton I had from my grandma …