Book covers

A friend of Ron's (my hubby) asked me to make a couple of book covers as Christmas gifts for his wife a few weeks ago. She's an avid reader and has a ton of paperbacks as well as hard covered books, so he brought me one each of the typical sizes, told me she liked pink, and I went to town. Here is what I created:




It was very simple (and I even added a little ribbon bookmark to each one...GO ME!) but once I was done I decided that in order to sell these in my shop I will need to alter the design just a bit so that it will fit different thicknesses of books. I'm working on it and hope to have them ready soon!

Speaking of the shop, don't forget to stop by and check out what's new. It's the perfect time to start thinking about gifts for all those wonderful friends, family, teachers, co-workers, neighbors, babysitters, children, or loved ones in your life. Get them something handmade and show your support to crafters!!!!

A sweet flea market find!

A few weeks ago I was meandering through a flea market when this little beauty caught my eye.



It's a vintage train case in nearly perfect condition.



And it's blue. The universe has been mighty good to me lately.

Any-hoo......I'm eye-balling this thing, checking it out front to back, top to bottom, inside and out. Looks like it was hardly used.

I'm SURE that the lady selling it knows how trendy and popular these little buggers have been lately. They're all over Etsy and they are NOT CHEAP. I've been wanting one for quite some time but I wasn't willing to drop the dough.

I took a deep breath and pretended I wasn't all THAT interested, hoping the lady would be desperate and knock 5 or 10 bucks off the price for me.

I said as calmly as I could "How much for the train case?"

I think my voice cracked.

She could see my sweat.

She KNEW I wanted it.

SHE WAS GONNA JACK THE PRICE WAY UP ON ME!!!

I could just FEEL it already. This was gonna be an all out battle of negotiating skills.

I braced myself for the answer.

She looked up at me and said......




50 cents.







Silence.








I said "Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.........................."

It was all I could muster.

I looked at it again thinking SOMETHING had to be wrong with it. I tried to find a hole, a ripped seam, a blemish.

Just a little rust on the latch which I think gives it more character.

I tried not to make eye contact for fear that she would see what a HUGE win I had just managed and change her mind.

I dug 50 cents out of my wallet faster than you can say "SCORE!!!!" and practically threw it at her.

Oh yes, it was a good day at the flea market.

My first etsy treasury - part 2

My freind Rebecca showed me how to get the pic of the treasury loaded here on the old blog. Thanks Rebecca!!!

Here it is just for memory sake (since they take them down so quickly - the link only worked for the first few days or so). Do you see it? The last one in the second row???? Yep...that's one of my patchwork bookmarks. So cool.

:)

My first etsy treasury

I'm a technology nitwit and can't figure out how to get the picture of the treasury loaded on here, but here is a link to it.

Click here to check it out!!!!

I am so excited to be included in my very first etsy treasury and want to thank Rebecca immensly for thinking of me.

:)

Crafters clearly rock.

Still can't believe I actually have a shop

I'm clearly giddy about it!

Two really cool things happened today because of it (I feel like doing numbered lists today.)

1. I got a huge custom order request and am so excited to start working on it.

2. I was asked to sell a bunch of the items in my store wholesale. Can you say HECK YEAH!!!!

:)

I also have a few other custom orders in the works for friends of mine and my husband's. One is for my wonderful friend Becky, she has me making matching wallets and tissue holders for Christmas for all of the teachers her kids have (I believe 7 in total). There are 2 reasons that is really nice of her (another numbered list, hee-hee).

1. Handmade gifts are CLEARLY awesome and way better than anything you could buy at a store.

2. She's Jewish. *laughing*

LOVE YA BECKY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

P.S. Just did a shop update and added some zippered pouches and checkbook covers. Head over to the shop to check them out!

A great BIG announcement.....

So sorry that I've been missing on this blog for awhile, but I have a (pretty) good excuse.

Layoffs seem to be imminent at work so I decided to get a jump on the bad news and opened up my very own etsy shop online to sell all my handmade items!

I am so excited!

Every spare moment I have had for the past few months (which really isn't all that much time) I've been sewing like mad so that I would have a little stash of items ready to go into the store, as well as a stash of items to take with me to craft shows. I've signed up for 2 local shows, one in November and one in December, and my mom is going to one for me in Las Vegas (I just shipped out a huge box of stuff to her today to have for the show). Crossing my fingers big time that it goes well.

Here's the link to my store, click on it to check it out!

funsize creations

Oh, and I also made my first 2 sales the other night, so I was clearly extra excited that people actually wanted to purchase my things. Who'da thunk???

So....a big favor goes out to any family or friends out there who may be reading this (or even to any strangers passing through who want to show a random act of kindness to silly little me). Please spread the word for me! Pretty please with fudge on top! We all know how powerful word of mouth is, so any help you can give to get my name out there would be totally appreciated. If you have a blog, it would be awesome if you could do a quick little blog post with my store link on it. If you don't have a blog, you could totally copy my web address and e-mail it to all your friends and family and I wouldn't be mad at'cha!!! *laughing*

Don't forget to bookmark this site and check back often, I'll be doing shop update notifications here as well as announcing sales and giveaways!

Thanks for stopping by!

:)

Stash

I think I've said this before people, but it's an addiction.

Clearly an addiction.

I wonder if they have a fabric addict rehab somewhere.

Well if they do, I DON'T WANNA GO!

I *heart* my stash.

And shhhhhhhh....this isn't even all of it. I have fabric larger than a yard as well as a bunch of my neutral solids stashed elsewhere since they wouldn't fit on this cabinet, and I have all of my fat quarters and scrap pieces in a few baskets scattered about my craft room.

Addiction at it's finest.

:)

Custom order: dog wallet

Rebecca of graphic haven has an 8 year old daughter who loves dogs, so she asked me to make her a doggie wallet. This project was fun for me for 2 reasons:

1. I got to go shopping for doggie fabric and picked out a few for her to choose from based on what she liked and examples she sent to me.

and

2. Rebecca lives in AUSTRALIA!!!

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would be sewing a custom made wallet for someone on the other side of the planet!! I can't believe that something I made will be living in a place that I have always wated to visit. It's surreal to me how small the internet has made our planet. So cool.






You know I couldn't resist also making her a matching tissue holder with the fabric that she picked out. Shhhh....it's a secret. I hope she likes them.

Daycare bag with matching wallet

After seeing the clearly awesome fabric that my friend Soo used for her iPod holder (in the previous post) another friend at work asked me to make her 2 year old daughter a daycare bag which would hold her nap blanket, pillow, change of clothes, and other items for school each day.

And of course I said YES!!!

So...this bag is awesome. It's very large (about 19" wide x 17 1/2" tall) and super sturdy (I lined it with fusible fleece). I also added three very large pockets to the inside for any little "goodies" she may need to take with her.

I need one for myslef.

Bad.







She also had me make her daughter a matching wallet. At 2 years old she is in the stage where she keeps "borrowing" mommy's wallet....so mommy thought it was time for her to have one of her own and now she has her very own HANDMADE one-of-a-kind wallet!






I have to admit, I fell in love with both of them and had a real hard time parting with the pair. This sewing stuff is hard on the emotions!

:)

iPod holder

My friend Soo needed an iPod holder for her GIANT iPod so I made her this one out of a super cool yellow and black fabric that just so happened to match her totally rad yellow handbag. Isn't it cool when those things happen???






Also...did you notice it???

Huh???

Look again.....it's there.

My funsize creations label!!!????

I am soooo proud of myself. I'm a computer dork and have a mental block when it comes to figuring anything out on the puter'. I'm surprized I blog. Seriously. It always shocks me when a post actually makes it to my blog.

Anyways, with a little help from Rebecca of graphic haven and my friend Jeanne I was able to print my very own labels for all my handmade items. I get super excited evertime I sew one into something and I think it makes it look so...professional.

Whadda-ya think???????

Magnets anyone?

Just a few quick crafty "shares"....

I recently made the alphabet magnets below for a friend at work and I have to say that I really love them. What a great way to help the little ones learn their letters and to spell a few words, not to mention keep them occupied for a few minutes when trying to make dinner! I think I'll be making more of these.....



I also recently made a few name magnets for another co-worker, these turned out really cute too! All you need for this quick project are the glass pieces, some pretty fabric or paper for the design, some strong glue, and some magnets for the back. So easy!



Last but not least, I did a little playing with some ribbon and accidentally made this cute flower. Can't you just picture it on a headband for a little girl or as a decoration on a handbag??? Endless possibilities I guess!



Thanks for stopping by, enjoy the last few days of summer!
:)

4th of July dress

Do you want to make a special dress for someone you love but you fear making clothes, have no idea how to sew a pocket, and break out into cold sweats when you even think about how to make a sleeve???

Then run don't walk to your nearest JoAnn's for the pre-made dress material that they sell. A newbies dream I tell ya! Perfect for summer (which is almost over, boo-hoo) the material comes pre-hemmed at the top and bottom with rouching detail at the top. All you do is buy enough yardage to wrap around whomever you are making the dress for and sew a seam up the back. Then, take the leftover material to make the ties for the top. 15 minutes tops. Done. Looking like a rockstar!

I've made quite a few of these adorable and comfy dresses this year for my girls (7 and 4 1/2) and only needed 3/4 of a yard for each of them.

This is the dress that I made this year for 4th of July for my 4 1/2 year old Jennifer. Total cost with a coupon: about $4.00. Now THAT'S a deal!





And here are the Dora and Tinkerbell dresses that she picked out for herself. I ended up making these too tight so I suggest pre-washing the fabric and leaving a little bit of room at the top. Rookie mistake #74. They went to a good home with a friend of mine who has a little girl who will be 3 next summer, and I'm sure they will be well loved. Total cost for these: about $6.00 each. WOO-HOO!!!




P.S. Don't forget to check back and add funsize creations to your favorites, RSS feed, Google reader, or blog lists.....I may be doing some fun giveaways in the near future. Just sayin'.

:)

Do you see it!!!????

Look up top.

Do you see it???!!

My new pretty banner???!!!!

I am giddy with excitement over my beautiful new banner! It's exactly what I wanted and better than what I had pictured in my head. I've been working with the wonderful Rebecca from Graphic Haven for the past week or so on a custom header and I am soooo in *love* with it. She has been a dream to work with and has a couple of different etsy shops as well as a cool blog....so go check her out (and tell her I sent you!)

:)

A key chain for me.....

Just because I can.

Mwaahhhhhhhh!!!!

Thumb tacks!!!

Oh I'm loving this!!!! I figured out how to make covered button thumb tacks!

So easy and so cute. Now there is no excuse for the ugly metal ones I have around the house anymore. Time to cover those bad boys with some saucy fabric.

At first I think I was doing it the hard way (gluing the tacks directly onto the back of the covered button) until I realized that there is a little hole left in the back once the sticky-outty-thing-a-ma-jig is removed (how's THAT for using my big girl words???)- - which is the perfect size for the tack to securly fit into!

YAY!!!

These are going to be GREAT gifts and will fit perfectly with my "handmade Christmas" theme this year.

Oh....wait............you didn't hear the news???

Yep. If you know me and typically get a gift from me, then consider yourself warned.

MWAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Custom order: for the boys

Sorry for the crappy/blurry pictures. I tried to get descent shots but the sun was quickly going down and I had to deliver the goods the very next morning....so this was as good as I could get. You get the gist.

So after making all this girly stuff it was kinda nice to get an order for the boys! I actually had to go fabric shopping because I had NOTHING for the little guys. Not a thing.

These bags are for three nephews (all under the age of 7) of a friend at work who are visiting from California. The oldest is a big Eagles fan and the middle one is a big Phillies fan. Since I couldn't find Phillies material we made due with the baseballs, which I think are so cool! She also had me make their names in large magnets (I totally forgot to take a picture of the magnets, oops) as well as three random other magnets with things like bugs, and trains, and puppies, and all kinds of other "boy" stuff. Then she put their magnets in the drawstring pouches.

She e-mailed me after she gave the bags to them and she told me that they LOVED it. I really enjoy hearing that because it makes it all worth while.

So here they are in all their blurry goodness. Enjoy.

Spoiled.....check. Rotten.........check.

I've been sewing (and learning to sew) on a BEAST of a machine. A 13 year old Kenmore purchased at *shudder* Walmart....where I believe everything in the world will ultimately be purchased from. I imagine that one day soon they will be selling houses and cars and lungs..........Oy.

My machine is very good to me even though I have neglected it and haven't oiled it or serviced it ONCE in it's long and joyous life.

Sorry faithful little machine. Really. I mean it.

When I sew on the Kenmore a few things happen. The bobbin likes to get all tangled up and wreak havoc on my fabric. Often. The needle LOVES to become un-threaded (did I just make up another word???) The foot gets loose from all the vibration and falls down on my project in the middle of a perfectly straight stitch ruining the entire project. The noise of the machine is so loud that I can't hear a conversation in the same room. Oh....and don't even get me started on the numerous times the bobbin runs out of thread and forgets to notify me so I am happily stitching away on an especially looooong and difficult seam and I get to the end only to find out that not ONE stitch has made it onto my project.

Yep. LOVE when that happens.

Well folks.....it ain't happening no more!

See, I came home a few weeks ago and my husband had a silly look on his face.

I can always tell when he is up to something by that silly look he gets.

After a bit of prodding he let it spill that he had researched and ordered me a brand new machine. It would be here in 2 or 3 days.

At first I rejected the new machine and told him I didn't need it....it was an unnecessary expense......he needed to take it back.

But then he started to tell me about it. It has fancy features. It can embroider. It threads the needle for you. It TELLS YOU when the bobbin is running out!!!

Oh the JOY!!!!

I've been sewing with my new toy for a few weeks and I have to say....it really is fabulous. I don't miss putting spittle on the end of my thread and trying to get it in that teeny tiny little hole on the end of the needle. I don't miss the bobbin tangles. And I sure as heck don't miss the noise (this thing is sooooo quiet!)

I think I'm in love.

:)

A new purse

Made myself a cute new purse.

That has to be the best part of this whole sewing addiction......I can just whip out a new purse or whatnot whenever I darned well feel like it (or whenever the kids darn well feel like leaving me alone for about an hour.)

:)

Custom order: childrens bags and drawstring pouches

A woman at my work has 2 granddaughters (ages 3 and 5) who don't live very close to her (I believe they live in a different state...but I could have just made that up. Not sure.) Any-hoo...... whenever she visits them she likes to bring them something extra special just from her, and during her visit in July she is bringing them handmade purses, drawstring pouches, and magnets with their names on them! What a great surprise! She hand picked all the fabrics especially for each girl and will put other "treasures" inside the pouches before she gives it to them.

How cool is that??!!

I love doing these custom orders and seeing the way people respond to something that is handmade. It's just so much more meaningful than buying something for someone off the shelf. Not to mention truly original! Just think.....none of their other friends will have anything like these!







The purses I've made before so they were a breeze, but the drawstring pouches were a first for me. I think I made 3 prototypes before I got it just right. The first one had only one string going through it, and while it was adorable it just didn't stay closed all that well. The second one had 2 strings going through it and stayed closed like a champ, but it wasn't lined and had raw edges. ICK. I don't like raw edges. My 4 year old Jennifer got that cast-off. She doesn't seem to mind raw edges.

Hmmmm....to each his/her own.

Here are the finished products. I hope her granddaughters love them and use them well!