handmade holidays::christmas stocking

Each year for Christmas, I love giving handmade gifts to our children, friends and extended family.  I thought it would be fun to show you what I'm making this year, and hopefully inspire you to give a little "handmade" this year, as well. 

It seems as if the seasons come and go at much greater speed now that our children are getting older.  Hard to believe the youngest is already 15!   We received very exciting news a couple of weeks ago.  Our daughter and son-in-law who were married this summer are expecting a baby!  This will be our first grandbaby and we are super-excited!  All of our children have their own personalized stockings we fill with goodies for Christmas, and since we are adding a new little one, I thought I would get busy and make a stocking for him/her!

I used a tutorial which includes a free pattern from fabricworm's website and picked up some fun "Oh Dear!" fabrics from Moda from my local quilt shop, Sew Bee It to make the stocking.  It was so simple and lots of fun to make.  Since we don't know whether it's a girl or a boy, yet, I decided to play it safe and use a simple ribbon and button embellishment.  You can get all fancy and add pompom fringe, rick rack or another trim if you wish.  It's all up to you how far you go with the embellishments!  I plan on making a few for sale locally, so let me know if you are interested in a custom stocking! 

I look forward to posting other handmade gift ideas throughout the coming month!  I would love to see what everyone else is making for gifts this year, too!

new tutorials!

I just posted two new tutorials in my sidebar for a bath mat and fabric-embellished towels to coordinate with my shower curtain. This was such an easy makeover I did for my kids' bathroom! Just a few hours, a few towels, and a little bit of beautiful fabric, and you can have the same results!

The awesome thing about the bath mat is that it's soft and easy to throw in the wash with your other towels. I was beginning to despise the rubber-backed things we had been using! And, it has an added bonus of being really pretty!



They were so easy, I am making another set for my bathroom!

patchwork shower curtain tutorial

I just finished this lovely shower curtain today, and as I made it, I wrote a project sheet for it. You can find it in my sidebar in the tutorial section. It is made along the same lines as the one I made for my kids bathroom and posted here.

I will be demonstrating how to make it tomorrow for my sewing show, Sew Simple. It really is simple to make and there are so many possibilities. You are limited only by your imagination! I love all these beautiful fabrics, and you can find them at my favorite quilt shop, Sew Bee It!

Let me know if you make anything from my tutorials -- I would love to see photos, too!

more tutorials added!

I have added three more tutorials to my sidebar for your downloading pleasure! I have to run now and teach a class, but I will add photos to this post to show you the goodies when I return!

*****Okay, I'm back! Here are the photos of the tutorials I just added!

The first is this snap wallet:

Next up is a checkbook cover:

And lastly, is a zippered pouch:

Hope you enjoy them!
Love ya!

a basic tote tutorial

I just added another tutorial to the sidebar for a basic tote bag.



This one is super easy and great for a beginner or someone who just wants a quick project. They are fun to embellish and make wonderful gifts. Enjoy!

new tutorials to download!

As I prepare for each of my classes and shows, I like to make simple tutorial sheets to go along with each project. This Friday, my show will be about simple baby gifts, so I am putting a link to each of the projects in my sidebar under tutorials. The first baby gift will be a burp cloth (really just an embellished cloth diaper).



These are so much nicer than just a white cloth diaper! You can color-coordinate them to your baby's wardrobe and fancy them up to your heart's content! When my children were babies, I made these and trimmed them with ribbons and lace for my girls. They were so much easier to keep up with in the church nursery and at play groups because they were unique and everyone knew who they belonged to.

Now that my youngest is 10, I don't personally have a need for burp cloths, but they make wonderful baby shower gifts. You can easily make a gift of 4 of these in under an hour! And what a thoughtful, personal gift! They are adorable with embroidery or a monogram, as well. Just make sure that any embellishment you do is soft and flat, as these will be next to baby's tender skin.



I will also be uploading a tutorial for the appliqued onesie and the minky blankie in the next few days!

Enjoy!

shop update :: tutorials :: quilting progress

I have been as busy as ever, and just uploaded several new items to my etsy shop. Take a look, if you dare! One of my favorites is this new patchwork tote made from Amy Butler fabrics and natural linen.
Yummy! I hope to continue to stock the shop in time for everyone to do some holiday shopping! Handmade is definitely "in" this year, and it's looking to be on the rise in the future, as well. You can't beat a lovely handmade gift, and in the time it would take you to go to the mall, you could purchase several one-of-a-kind gifts for your special recipients! A lot of time and love goes into every item I make and I'm sure I could say the same for many other crafters out there.

My children have been telling me I need to get in the Christmas spirit, so on that note, I have decided to "gift" anyone who would like a few tutorials by putting a link in my sidebar. The first of the tutorials is for these lovely quilted coasters.

They only take a few minutes, and look so pretty wrapped up in a bow as a hostess gift! Make them in holiday fabric, and they'll be even more festive.

And, last, but not least, here is a photo of my finished quilt top.

I couldn't get a great photo, but wanted you to see it hanging on the wall in my favorite quilt shop! Now, I can't wait to get my hands on it to quilt it!