funsize creations

Christmas paper ornament tutorial

2010-11-14T12:14:00.000-08:00

Its that time of year (already!) to start thinking about Christmas gifts, decorations, and wrapping. Christmas is already less than 6 weeks away!!!

*gulp*

These paper ornaments make a great addition to any Christmas tree, can be used as a pretty tag or "bow" on the top of a gift, or can be strung together to make a beautiful garland. You can use what you already have available at home and they're so easy to make that it's the perfect afternoon craft project to do with your kids.

Lets get started:

Supplies needed:

* construction paper, scrapbooking paper, or any cardstock weight paper you have at home. You can even glue wrapping paper to a piece of heavy weight paper to make your own unique design!

* scissors

* pencil

* string, twine, or floss (I used baker's twine)

* glue

* juice glass (or a paper punch if you have one which is what I used and makes the process go a little bit faster).

Step 1: Trace 8 circles on your paper using your glass and cut them out (or just punch 8 circles out).

Step 2: Fold each circle in half making sure that the pattern you want to show on the ornament is on the INSIDE of the fold.

Step 3: Glue the backs of each folded circle to another folded circle (making sure that you glue the sides together that you don't want to be seen).

When your finished gluing it looks like this:

Step 4: Tie your string into a hanger by putting a loop at top and a knot at the bottom. This will help ensure that the string doesn't slip through your finished ornament.

Step 4: After you glue all 8 pieces together lay your string down the spine of your ornament, then glue the final two paper ends together to form a circle around your string.

Enjoy your beautiful paper ornament!

Layouts

2010-11-08T17:20:00.000-08:00

A few more recent layouts to share.

ATC step by step

2010-11-05T05:52:00.000-07:00

I recently started to get hooked onto making ATC's (artist trading cards). The definition of ATC straight from Wikipedia is:

Artist Trading Cards (or ATCs) are miniature works of art about the same size as modern baseball cards,[1] or 2 ½ X 3 ½ inches (63 mm X 89 mm),[2] small enough to fit inside standard card-collector pockets, sleeves or sheets.[3] The ATC movement developed out of the mail art movement and has its origins in Switzerland.[4] Cards are produced in various media, including dry media (pencils, pens, markers, etc.), wet media (watercolor, acrylic paints, etc.), paper media (in the form of collage, papercuts, found objects, etc.) or even metals or cloth. The cards are usually traded or exchanged rather than sold.

What's great about them is that they come together quickly, you can try new mixed media techniques out on them without the fear of ruining or wasting a canvas or other large item, and that they really are beautiful miniature pieces of art.

Here's a quick step by step for you:

The ATC below was made using a masking technique which utilized the "trash" from the back of some paper tape and some spray ink. When I separate paper tape from the backing I always save the backing paper to use later for projects just like this.

Step 1: Remove the plastic backing from your paper tape.

Step 2: Wrap it around your ATC and secure with removable tape on back.

Step 3: Spray your ATC with a few different colors of spray ink or mist, then remove the backing.

Step 4: Finish off your ATC.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sharing some layouts

2010-11-01T16:21:00.000-07:00

Some recent-ish layouts that were published in Scrapbook News and Review magazine.

Wanna get published in SNR?

2010-10-29T06:03:00.000-07:00

Scrapbook News and Review Magazine's Holiday Sampler issue is coming up and you can be in it!

Check out their Holiday Sampler Calls and get your holiday related projects in by November 1, 2010 to be featured in our Holiday Sampler issue which will be debuting on November 28, 2010.

You can send in projects or layouts from past Christmases or get a jump on this Christmas. We just wanna see your creations!

:)

5 minute Halloween frame

2010-10-28T17:50:00.000-07:00

Wanna make a cute Halloween decoration for your home but only have 5 minutes to do it? Then this is the frame for you!

Step 1: Gather supplies and decide what size frame you want to fill (I filled an 8 x 10).

Step 2: Tear out 2 book pages from an old book.

Step 3: Cut about an inch off of the edge of one of your pages.

Step 4: Adhere the 2 pages together to form one large piece of paper.

Step 5: Pick out a large Halloween stamp and stamp your image (I used a foam stamp and acrylic paint but regualr stamps and ink will work just as well.)

Step 6: Add a few word fetti stickers just under your stamped image.

Step 7: Cut out your picture to fit your frame and hang on your wall. All done!

5 Minute Frame by Andrea Chrupcala Supplies Foam Stamp: 7Gypsies; Stickers: Making Memories; Paint: Making Memories; Other: book pages

Antique frame

2010-10-23T19:21:00.000-07:00

I found this frame in the very back corner of an antique shop (buried behind a bunch of other cool frames) on sale for $9.00. Ron and I made something cool with it for the kids (using some 3/16" Eucaboard and door trim)....I'll share it with you as soon as I can get some pics.

:)

Pom-Pom tutorial

2010-10-18T10:25:00.000-07:00

Pom-poms are an oldie but goodie and I think they really add a festive feeling to any party decor. You can buy them already made but why do that when you can make them so much cheaper yourself? Homemade pom-poms really are very simple (and inexpensive) to do, here's the step by steps to do it yourself and save a few bucks!

Supplies needed:

8 or 9 sheets of any color tissue paper

6 inches of craft wire
scissors
a couple of feet of twine

Step 1: Accordian fold the tissue paper in 1 1/2 - 2" strips (the folds don't have to be perfect, as you can see my bottom fold is much smaller than the top). You can buy packs of colored tissue paper at Walmart for about 99 cents each.

Step 2: Twist the craft wire in the middle of the tissue paper to secure the folds. (Not shown in the pic: at this stage its also helpful to tie the twine in the middle for hanging purposes, but you can do this step later if you forget like I did).

Step 3: Trim both ends of the tissue paper in points or curves.

Step 4: Fan out the folds.

Step 5: Gently fluff each sheet, one at a time, working from the center outwards. All done!

PS. In the pic above you can see that I trimmed the ends of the white and the light pink in curves and that I did the light green and dark pink in points. I love how it gives them a different look!

A Fall tag

2010-10-08T11:39:00.000-07:00

I made this tag for one of the Scrapbook News and Review Fall newsletters and thought I would share the step by step for making it here.

Step 1:
Spray your tag with a few different "fallish" looking colors of mist or spray ink.

Step 2:
Randomly stamp leaves onto your background.

Step 3:
Using a gel medium, adhere various pieces of fiber, crumpled up book text, and fabric to your tag.

Step 4:
Adhere fall leaves then sew the felt letters to your tag using a zig-zag stitch.

Step 5:
Tie two different ribbons in a bow at the top of your tag and clip the ends to form a point. All done!

Supplies Cardstock: Colorbok; Letter Stickers: American Crafts; Leaves: Prima; Ink: Ranger; Spray Ink: EKSuccess; Matte Gel: Golden; Other: book text, ribbon, fabric, fibers, stitching

Bake sale

2010-10-06T15:01:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago the Mom's Club had a bake sale and I donated baggies of homemade chocolate chip cookies (Ronnie's special recipe - which is the BOMB!) and a few mini loaves of zucchini bread.

I had fun baking but I had more fun coming up with a pretty way to decorate the items. I used some craft punches, some pretty patterned paper, book text, cardstock, and baker's twine.

*love*

Now if only the bread, cookies, and brownies would just magically bake themselves whenever I had a craving for one. That would be really awesome. Oh....and some chocolate covered strawberries too.

:)

Chocolate covered strawberries and pretzels

2010-10-03T10:49:00.001-07:00

This summer the girls and I did lots of fun stuff in the kitchen, but BY FAR the most fun we had was covering all kinds of stuff with chocolate.

I mean really....is there anything better than random stuff covered in thick delicious chocolate?

Nope, I don't think so either.

When strawberries were at their peak we would do a couple sheets of them...then mow through them that same day! Another fan favorite was pretzels (some with colored sprinkles, some without) as well as bananas. Oh man...bananas were sooooo good.

We played around with different chocolates (I bought the wafers from the craft store, a huge block in a tray from Target, and your run of the mill morsels at the grocery store) and I found that the morsels were my favorite to use. I also played with different melting techniques and found that doing it in small batches in a glass container in the microwave worked best for me. Just don't heat them too long or you make burnt chocolate with a fudgey consistency (and I may or may not have still eaten it on top of some bananas. Don't judge. It was good.)

I can't wait to do this next year with fresh strawberries straight from my garden. Till then....there's always marshmallows, pretzels, and bananas.

:)

A canvas for Steph's room

2010-10-01T06:11:00.000-07:00

We recently re-did all 3 of the bedrooms in our house (the master bedroom will get it next year SO HELP ME!!!)

When I say re-did I mean that we pulled up all the carpet (thank goodness), put down wood floors, painted all the trim and doors white, re-painted the ceilings and walls, and bought all new "big kid" accessories for the girls. They both still had the nursery stuff in their rooms from when they were born and at nearly 6 and 9 years old I thought it was time to do something different.

I'll share before and after pics soon.

So when I was accessorizing Steph's room I realized that I needed a little piece of artwork on one of her shelves to really pull it together with the rest of the room.

I'm semi-crafty so I decided to give it a try. Her room is purple and magenta so I made her a small canvas that pulls all the different colors together. Here it is....my very first canvas!

It's not perfect but she loves it and that's all that matters.

:)

Baby stuff

2010-09-24T18:52:00.001-07:00

If you read this blog then you may remember this post where minky dot and I broke up.

Well, you'll be happy to know that as of a few weeks ago we kind of made up. I decided to give him one more chance and this time he behaved himself a little bit better. I'm still not 100% convinced he's really changes his evil ways.....

One of my cousins who lives in California was having a baby boy so a few weeks ago I whipped up a couple cute little items in time for the baby shower and sent them on their merry way.

One of the items was this tag blanket which I thought would be especially cuddly and soft with the minky dot on the back of it. And I was right. The minky was *fab* and as soft as kittens straight from heaven.

I eyeballed that minky for a good hour before I cut into it and decided to really give it a go in the sewing machine. The entire time I was telling it under my breath, "behave or I'll make sure you live a long hard life as a toilet bowl cleaning rag" and I think that did the trick.

Sometimes you just gotta talk smack.

:)

I also made a burp cloth and bib as well as this cute little travel diaper and wipes holder. I found the tutorial on the internet for it somewhere but cannot for the life of me remember where! Oh well. Here they are:

I hope the little one enjoys his cute baby stuff as much as I enjoyed making it for him!

My first scarf!

2010-09-12T11:18:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in an earlier post I decided to learn how to knit last winter. For some reason in the cold months I feel like I want to keep my hands busy and what better way than by knitting.

After watching the online video a few times and casting on about a dozen times I was off to the races. Turtle races that is. Boy was I sloooooow at first.

I knitted and knitted and knitted during my free time for a few weeks. I got about half way done with my scarf when I realized that it was wonky.

Real wonky.

There were places where I had added a few stitches to a few rows (instead of knitting 14 times I knitted 16 times for example), then when I would realize I made a mistake and I would go back to 14. This caused bumps on the sides of the scarf. Bumps that were really obvious to me.

So I asked Ronnie (devoted and adoring husband who barely even notices all the craft stuff I own) if it looked wonky.

Of course he said no and of course he was lying. He's a smart cookie that Ronnie.

I promptly said "Yes it does!" and proceeded to pull out all of the knitting that I had worked so hard on so I could start over again.

Ronnie was more than a little shocked.

So was I.

But it was a good decision. I had learned some major lessons in those first few feet of scarf and I knew that if I tried it again it would look much better.

And it did!

Its made from wool yarn and I gave it to my brother-in-law for his birthday in December. He must not hate it cause I've actually witnessed him wearing it out in public a few times. Now if I could just learn how to purl.....

Steph's knitting

2010-08-29T16:14:00.000-07:00

Last winter I had the itch to learn a new craft (cause I clearly didn't have enough crafts under my belt and digging into my wallet- what with scrapbooking, sewing, mixed media, photography, art journaling, etc.).

~sigh~

So I sat down in front of the puter' one day and Googled "how to knit". I found a nice little video online that walked me through the items that I needed and the first steps to take. I skipped merrily to the craft store and picked up the essentials then sat down for my first lesson. It took me a few tries to cast on and get going, but after that it was smooth sailing.

Almost. More on that in my next post.

Anyways, Steph saw what I was doing and showed some interest (by asking me over and over again about 100 times in a row if I could teach her how to knit). I barely knew how to myself but I figured it was worth a try.

While at the craft store a few weeks later with Stephanie we picked up these cool knitting needles for kids which are color coded to make it easier for them to learn. She picked out some pink yarn for herself and we went home.

I was so excited to teach her but I wondered if at 7 years old she would be a.) patient enough to learn b.) patient enough to sit there for hours and knit and c.) remember all the steps.

Well....she showed me! She picked up on it right away and all of a sudden had the beginnings of a beautiful pink scarf. I can just picture us sitting together under a blanket on the couch knitting away on a cold winter's night. Makes my heart all happy.

:)

Craft show "season"

2010-08-29T11:14:00.000-07:00

My craft show season is coming up very shortly so I need to start dedicating a little time in my day to making cute things for my table. I like to do shows closer to the holidays because it seems like more people come out (and are ready to part with a few of their hard earned dollars for gifts). Last year I did a couple shows in October and December and they were quite sucessful, so I'm hoping that this year will turn out the same.

One of my favorite things about doing a show is setting up my table. I get so excited seeing all of the things that I've made sitting on the table ready to go to a new home!

Here are some pics from last years table all set up lookin' purdy. Since I'm usually limited to a 6 foot table I have to be creative in order to fit it all. I have a few ideas for a new set up this year....I need to go UP since I can't go out.

:)

Shameful

2010-08-19T13:49:00.000-07:00

Yes....its pretty shameful how many months I've neglected you, my sad little crafting blog.

I know, I know....you've been patiently waiting for me to come back and give you all of the love and attention that you truly deserve.

Please don't cry.

I have 10,000 excuses why I've treated you this way, but you're right...none of them matter now.

I promise, its me not you.

All I can say is that I'm sorry and that I'll try harder now.

Please forgive me????

Book covers

2009-11-09T18:39:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-10-31T19:51:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-18T17:34:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-08T16:24:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-07T16:09:00.000-07:00

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.....

2009-10-02T17:13:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-08T16:48:00.001-07:00

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

2009-09-05T06:28:00.001-07:00

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

2009-08-28T16:40:00.001-07:00

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

2009-08-25T18:05:00.001-07:00

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?

2009-08-22T18:17:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-16T05:36:00.000-07:00

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!!!????

2009-08-05T14:12:00.000-07:00

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.....

2009-08-03T11:45:00.000-07:00

Just because I can.

Mwaahhhhhhhh!!!!

Thumb tacks!!!

2009-07-13T18:10:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-07T17:09:00.000-07:00

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.

2009-06-30T16:31:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-26T12:41:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-24T17:26:00.000-07:00

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!

Hungry for a tiny cupcake??

2009-06-21T06:09:00.000-07:00

I needed a little travel pin cushion to take with me when I want to do quick little projects while I'm in a waiting room, at a birthday party, or watching the kids play outside.

And since I was going to make one I figured I might as well make a CUTE one!

I've seen tons of adorable little cupcake "things" around lately so I decided that a cupcake is what I needed. A tiny little cupcake pin cushion.

Yay.

Except that I have never tried anything even remotely like it and it requires hand stitching skills. I haven't fully developed my hand stitching skills yet, so lets just say I'm thankful that this is staying home with me and not going to someone else as a gift!!!

How it goes together:

I started out by cutting the bottom of the cupcake in a small circle which will dictate how large the cupcake will be (I just used plain old felt which you can find at any craft store). Large circle makes large cupcake, small circle makes....well....I think you get it. I then cut a strip of brown felt and started to attach it to the bottom circle piece. That part was easy peasy.

Then for the top I cut the dark pink icing in a scalloped manner and hand stitched some sprinkes on top (or jimmies as they call them here in PA). That part was also easy peasy.

Then I cut the light pink felt in a circle about the size that I thought would fit nicely over the top of the brown felt. I guessed wrong. It was wayyyyyyy big, but by the time I figured that out I had already hand stitched it half way and I didn't want to start over again. I made a few pleats which at the end kinda looks like icing schmears....so I guess it worked out.

Leave a hole about an inch wide and stuff the heck out of it (I used poly-fil). Stitch your hole closed and your done!

WAA-LAA! Ca-ute little traveling pin cushion. And she's all mine.

:)

Teacher gifts

2009-06-18T15:38:00.000-07:00

The end of the school year is upon us and I can't believe that my little girl will be a second grader soon! Where oh where has the time gone........

This year I decided that I needed to get crafty and make the teachers some cute little gifts instead of buying the same old-same old. Here is what I came up with:

To start off I found some adorable little apple ribbon and made each teacher a key chain. I figured they could either use it for their keys or put the hall pass on it for the kids at school to use.

Then I came across this perfect apple fabric and made each one a tissue holder for their purses. Love these and have already made more for future gifts!

I found this tutorial online for coffe/tea cozy's at one of my favorite blogs, House on Hill Road, and decided they were the perfect addition to the teacher's gifts. Easy peasy and so fun to make!

Last but not least I took some fabric remnants and whipped up these seriously cute magnets. I'm addicted and have made TONS more for some ladies at work who requested them.

So there you have it, I hope the teachers enjoy them!

&*$!@ minky dot

2009-06-13T14:11:00.001-07:00

Newbies, we need to talk. I need you to pay very close attention to this post so I can save your sanity. It's too late for me....but maybe not for you.

Let's start at the beginning.

Remember in a previous post I mentioned all the baby bellies at work right now? Right. So I had the bright idea that I would make a baby blanket. Easy enough...right? I mean, how hard could it be to sew 4 straight lines? Not hard at all. Nope, not hard at all.......

I went shopping. I found the fabric I wanted to use for the front. Reminded me of a man's dress shirt, which I thought the "little man" could use well past his infant years and not be embarassed that there were baby duckies or giraffes on his blanket. Good thinking Andrea. Good thinking......

Then I shopped for what would be the back of the blanket. It needed to be totally soft and cuddly, and I found it! It's called minky dot and it was glorious. Upon first touch of this ultra soft fabric and I was hooked. What made it even better was the fact that it has all these *adorable* little dots all over it. Oh my. I bought 2 yards even though I only needed 1 for this project because I just KNEW I would need it to make another blanket. Yep, I just knew it.......

I went home, put the kids to bed, and got working on the blanket. In only a few minutes I had the front fabric and the batting cut to the right size and I started working on the minky. This should take 45 minutes TOPS. I was feeling all proud and accomplished. Yay me.

Hmmmmm. Why can't I get this soft and *glorious* minky fabric to cut straight? I fiddled and fiddled and tried every trick in the book to get it straight. Nope. Nothing was working. I thought "Well.....I'll just pin the HECK out of it before I cut it so that I know it's straight." Nope. That didn't work either. I started on one straight edge and just slowly worked my way around with hundreds of pins in place. When I got done it STILL wasn't a very good square, so I trimmed it a bit. And trimmed a bit more.....

Frustrated that this was taking so long (a good 45 minutes just to cut!) I decided to start sewing and trim the minky when I was done.

OK. Off to the sewing machine to whip this baby out.

I sewed three sides together and turned to the 4th side when I noticed something had gone terribly wrong.

Uh-oh. The dang minky STRETCHED. Yep. Stretched so much that if I would have continued sewing the 4th side it would have been completely bunched and gathered and would have looked horrible.

Crap.

I tried to rip a few stitches out to see if I could fenagle it somehow but that wasn't working. I ended up ripping out 2 entire sides and cutting 4 inches off either side of the minky so that it wouldn't happen again. Except that it DID happen again. UGH.

Fast forward.

I finally get the dang thing all sewed up and looking half way decent. Yeah, there are a few tiny bunches but holy cow, they couldn't be helped! I was OK with the final product and was glad to be done. Here it is:

Except that in all the moving and pinning and cutting the top fabric had gotten all wrinkled. No problem, I'll iron it real quick and get to bed only half an hour late.

Any expert sewers out there already know what's coming.

I ironed one spot and turned it over and THE DOTS WERE GONE! The freakin' dots were freakin' gone.

I quickly googled "minky dots dissapeared" and found out that you CAN'T IRON MINKY DOTS BECAUSE THE DOTS GO AWAY. Forever. They go away FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't like to say this but in this case I think it's appropriate.

I HATE minky dot.

Minky dot is evil.

Straight from hell evil.

Minky dot is now dead to me.

After 3 hours of sewing a 45 minute blanket together I had in 10 seconds ruined the entire thing. I nearly broke out in tears and decided there was only one thing to do.

I spent the next hour ironing out the rest of the minky dots. Yep...they're gone forever and the blanket is now on it's way to Boston where it will live with it's new family and I will never have to see it again.

Here is what minky dots are supposed to look like:

Here is what mine looks like:

&*$!@ minky dot.

Just stuff

2009-06-10T17:31:00.001-07:00

As I've made painfully clear I am totally and completely addicted to this sewing thing. I want to do it every waking moment. I know others feel that way too.....right!!????

Just a quick post to share some little projects that I have been working on lately.

Some more key chains:

More *adorable* tissue holders:

Some covered buttons, yo-yo's, and hair clips:

A patchwork zippered pouch with matching yo-yo and covered button:

And some checkbook covers:

Hoping I get a little sewing time in today......

:)

Custom order: bridal shower

2009-06-08T16:39:00.001-07:00

One of my friends at work has a daughter who is getting married this year and her bridal shower is in just a few weeks. She asked me to make her a tote bag, zipper pouch, and matching tissue holder as one of her gifts. Since her daughter is going to a tropical island somewhere (lucky duck!) for her honeymoon she wanted it to have a "beachy" feel. Her plan is to put a beach towel, some sunscreen, some spending money, and some flip-flops inside of the bag. What a cute gift idea!!!!

For the tote I gave it a boxed bottom so that it would hold more and I put a large pocket inside. I also made the handles a bit longer since she will have a large towel hanging out of it.

The zippered pouch has a matching yo-yo and covered button on it. I am so loving covered buttons, they are just too fun and a perfect way to customize your project! The yo-yo's are easy to do, my 7 year old even made one all by herself.

Then there is the tissue holder. I really like the way it turned out, it is just so stinkin' cute!

I hope she likes her gifts!

:)

Baby shower gifts

2009-06-07T08:53:00.000-07:00

There seems to be an explosion of pregnant women at work these days and they all seem to be due right around the same time. I decided that handmade gifts are in order!!! We're having a baby shower on Thursday and mama is having a sweet little boy, so I made her a reversible bib and matching burp cloth. The back of the burp cloth is terry cloth which will absorb any and all spills that come it's way!

I even tried my hand at applique for the very first time and I think I'm in love.

*swoon*

For any newbies out there don't let the fancy word "applique" scare you. All it really means is cutting fabric into a shape and sewing it onto another fabric.

A tip: Using some sort of fabric bonding spray adhesive helps to keep your little shape in place while you sew so that you don't have to pin it. I purchased mine for a few dollars at JoAnn's and it's called Spray Adhesive (imagine that!) by Dritz. Yellow cap. Very handy. All you do is spray a little on the back of your shape, place it where you want it to go, then sew very close to the edge to keep it in place. You can also do a fancy stitch that covers the edges of your shape so that they don't fray in the wash, but I think it looks cool when the edges get a little worn. Shows that it is used and loved.

Another tip: Did you know that you can have your top thread be one color and the bottom be another!!!??? I didn't! I read it somewhere online and gave it a try on this project. You thread the needle with whatever color you want the top color to be, and put a bobbin in for whatever color you want the bottom color to be. I wanted the star pattern to show through on the backside of the bib so I made the bobbin color red and the top color white. I must remember this for future projects......

:)

Welcome to FunSize Creations!

2009-06-04T17:23:00.000-07:00

I created this blog to document the successes and more importantly, the complete failures of my entry into the world of sewing.

I am Andrea and I am a newbie. Nice to meet you.

I have owned a sewing machine for about 13 years and have only used it a handful of times. My poor machine mostly sat alone, in her box, in the basement all these years. I think the main reason for this is because it was just a pain in the neck to find it in the mess, dig it out of it's pile, set it up on the kitchen table, thread it (UGH), do the project, then have to turn around and put it away again.

Whew.....I'm a little winded just typing all of that.

It is also well known by many that I wasn't even able to insert the bobbin on my own.....I always had to ask my husband how to do it. Not knowing how to use my machine was bad moo-joo and I'm sure it caused many of the sewing failures I've had in my past.

All of this sadness recently ended when I dragged her out of the darkness and set her up in a space all her own in my little craft closet. She was happy and decided it would be OK to finally let me make a cute little bag. And cute it was!!!!

From there I was hooked.

I started sewing quite a bit at night after the kids went to bed and just couldn't stop.

That brings us here. I hope to help other newbies avoid some of the pitfalls of starting out in this cool hobby, while at the same time share some of my very own creations with the sewing world (as terrible or wonky as they may be).

Thanks for stopping by.......I'm off to play with my fabric!