It's Wedding Season...Time to Make Bridal Shower Cards!

There are 7...that's right -- 7, "Save the Date" cards on my 'fridge.  It's Wedding Season again, and I've been invited to a few bridal showers this Spring.  After shopping for the gifts (and wrapping them), it is time to make a card!

I saw something I liked in a store for about $8.00, but thought I could mimic it with materials I had in my studio.  So, I snapped a quick pic on my cell phone and gathered up supplies.

Distress Ink in dusty concord, with a JudiKins duster to apply the ink, is the right color palette for this card.

I selected a 5" x 7" card in light purple, with a matching envelope, and a few favorite wedding/shower- themed rubber stamps.

A spool of ribbon and a little flat-backed 'bling' would help finish things. I couldn't decide which gem to use -- the oval pearl or the large crystal, so I waited until I had everything put together before making up my mind.

I started by tracing out the pattern for a flip flop on thin cardboard.  While it wasn't to scale (unless you're about five years old), you can tell what it is, right?  Then I found sparkly white paper in my stash and opted to use it.  I traced carefully around my flip flop on the back side of the paper, then cut it out.

The paper alone was a bit boring, so I decided to emboss it with an overall design, using a Darice folder and my Cuttlebug.

I dusted the edges of the card with ink, stamped my greetings inside and out, and then assembled the flip flop with a little tacky glue, attaching it to the front of the card with a tape runner.  As you can see, the pearl beat out the crystal, in part because I used glitter paper.  The pearl makes it look more sophisticated.

Of course, artwork isn't finished until it is signed!  I put my personal signature stamp on the back, and I'm ready to go to the shower!

Such an easy card!  And easy to make multiples for all of the showers I'll be attending this year!

Happy Stamping!!

From Old Sweater to Trendy Handbag

I'm jumping onto the bandwagon of recycling old wool sweaters into felt, and here is my first project:

Felted wool purse, with a leather strap and floral print lining.

My friend Sherrie hooked me up with the Salvation Army store about five miles from my house, where every Wednesday is "Half-Price Day."  So the $3.99 sweaters I found there cost me just two bucks each!  (It's also been a gold mine of leather that I'm recycling into other things...and just wait until you see my latest t-shirt quilt project, made from 50 cent tees!)

The key to felting sweaters is to be absolutely sure they are 100 percent wool -- no nylon, no acrylic, no rabbit fur, no cotton -- just 100 percent wool.  Garments are required to be labeled with the content of the fabric, but if you happen to come across one that isn't labeled, leave it on the rack.  It isn't worth your time or money.  Brands like LLBean, Land's End and Woolrich make wool sweaters, but always check the label. Crew necks and cardigan sweaters will yield the most felted wool...don't forget to look in the men's department for larger sizes!

Some sweaters will felt quicker than others but overall, it's an easy process.  Set your top-loading* washing machine to the hottest water temperature and add about 1/4 cup of inexpensive shampoo or laundry soap like Ivory Snow (but not detergent).  Use a long wash cycle; when finished, throw the sweater into the dryer on high heat until it is just damp.  Check and see if it is sufficiently felted -- shrunken to about half its original size and the fabric is about 1/4" thick.  If not, repeat the wash and dry cycle one (or two) more times.  Remove it from the dryer while it is still damp, pat it flat, and allow it to finish air drying.  (*I tried this in my front-loading washer, it is didn't do well, so I made a run to the local laundromat.  The agitator is the key to felting.)

When the sweater is completely dry, cut it apart along the seams.  Then it's ready to turn into something fun!

The sleeves, cut apart along the seam lines.

This handbag pattern was in Sewing Basket Fun, edited by Barbara Weiland (House of White Birches, 2005).  Designer Lucy Gray made the pattern 12" by 7.5", but I enlarged it a bit to 14" by 8.5".  I cut a rectangle that size from pattern material and rounded the four corners for the purse back/flap piece.  I needed a gusset strip 3" wide by 21" long, but had to piece it because I didn't have a long enough piece of fabric.  After cutting those pieces, I folded the back/flap pattern in half to cut a purse front (7" by 8.5").

The purse pieces, cut from felt:  one back/flap, one front and two 3" strips to make a 21" long gusset.

From a half-yard of coordinating floral print fabric, I cut out all three pieces for the lining.  With the remaining fabric, I cut three 2" wide bias strips.  I sewed them together to create one long piece, then pressed it in half and machine-stitched a single row of gathering stitches along the length.

Pressing the bias trim in half, wrong sides together.

I gathered the bias strip and pinned it into place on the inside of the flap, with about 1/2" of fabric peeking out to the right side.  I basted it in place, being careful that my stitching didn't show through on the right side of the felt.

The ruffle, pinned in place along the inside of the flap.

With wrong sides together, using a 3/8" seam allowance, I stitched the gusset to the back and front of the purse.  Because I'm using felt, I don't have to worry about the cut sides fraying, and thought having the seam allowance exposed looked cute.

Sewing 'wrong sides together' leaves the seam allowances on the outside of the purse.

I decided to add a piece of plastic canvas to the gusset inside, so the bag wouldn't be floppy and could stand on its own.  I cut it 2" wide and 20" long.

With the plastic canvas inserted into the bag, it can stand by itself.

I sewed together the lining pieces using 1/2" seam allowances, and slipped the lining inside the purse, wrong sides together, to check the fit.  I removed the lining and pressed under the raw edges all around about 1/4", so it would lie a scant 1/4" below the edges of the purse.

I slipped the lining back into the bag and pinned it all around the purse edges, then top-stitched it into place, leaving a 2" opening on the flap and around the purse top.  (Note:  the book instructions called for the lining to be hand-sewn into the purse, but I really wanted it to be secure, so I decided to top-stitch it.  If I make another, I may hand-sew it.)

I cut plastic to back the snap closures.

Now it was time to insert a magnetic snap.  After marking the center point of the flap, I marked where to cut two tiny slits in the fabric, and then slipped the 'male' part of the snap into place.  I backed it with the accompanying ring, then added a 1" x 2" piece of thin plastic, to reinforce the snap.  After bending the prongs down, I glued a piece of batting over the whole set-up.  I repeated the procedure for the 'female' side of the snap, then whip-stitched the opening in the lining closed.

Place the 'male' snap on the flap, then mark the spot for the female snap.

The directions suggest using a recycled strap taken from an old purse, but I had some dusty blue suede from a jacket I had recycled, and decided to make my own strap.  It needed to be about 30 inches long, so I sewed a few pieces together to give me the correct length, then sewed two straps, right sides together, along each side.  The strap was attached to the purse with 'D' rings.

The 1 inch wide strips of blue suede were sewn together to create a strap for the purse.  

I really loved this sweater, which was from Land's End, because even though it was made of wool, it had bright, spring-like colors in it.  The floral print, which I found at JoAnn Fabrics, coordinated perfectly.  I'm really happy with the way it turned out.  However, if you are a beginner, I'd skip the ruffle trim...it made a seemingly simple project much harder.

Happy sewing!!

Peyote Project

Peyote stitch is an old, off-loom bead weaving technique that takes a little time to get, but generates amazing results.  Beaders much more experienced in peyote stitch than I use it for complex jewelry and covering sculpture to create one of a kind pieces of art.

I saw a simple project in the June/July '13 Beadwork magazine designed by Pamela Kearns that I decided to try.  It incorporates a small piece of odd-count flat peyote stitch work, plus licorice leather, a relatively new product to the beading and jewelry market.

After a few fits and starts, here's the finished piece:

While the instructions in the magazine call for two smaller peyote pieces, I decided I wanted to go wider. I found a great website that helped me design my own zigzag pattern. While I wouldn't consider myself an expert in peyote stitch, here's how I made my bracelet.

I used two colors of size 11 seed beads, a size 10 beading needle and about 2 yards of Crystal Fireline, size D, a nylon braided beading thread that is ideal for bead stitching.
 
After a trial run, I determined that I needed 32 rows of stitching to fit snugly around the licorice leather.

I put a stopper bead on my Fireline (threading it on, moving it to within 6 inches of the end of the cord, and putting the needle back through the bead to create a 'slip' knot.)

To make a bead stopper, pass the needle through the bead in the same direction twice, then pull up the slack.  Leave about 6 inches of thread to weave into your work when you are finished.

To being peyote stitch, you thread on the first two rows of beads.

In this case, string on: 2 red, 5 yellow, 3 red, 5 yellow 2 red.  You have one string of 17 beads, with the needle on the right.

These 17 beads will make up rows 1 and 2 of odd count peyote stitch.

For Row 3, now working from right to left:  string on 1 red, skip the last bead in the previous row (in the diagram it's the last red bead numbered 1 on the right), and pass the needle through the next bead (in this case, the first red bead on the right in Row 2). Pick up 1 red, skip the next bead, and pass through the next bead (in this case, the first yellow bead from the right in Row 2). Continue on, picking up and skipping a bead, and passing through the next bead, following this pattern:
1 yellow, 3 red, 1 yellow, 2 red to complete Row 3.

Work row three from right to left.

At the end of Row 3, pull the beads snug, and tie a square knot with your working thread and the tail; pass the needle back through the last bead, now heading from left to right.  Your work may look a little wonky at this point, but don't worry...as you add Rows 4 and 5, it will begin to straighten out.  

Half-way through adding row three, you can see that every other bead starts to 'pop up'.  

Row 4 is 9 red.  Every other bead in Row 3 should be sitting a little higher than the bead in Row 2.  As you add each bead in Row 4, pass the needle through the bead that is popped up from Row 3, so they nestle together.

Add row 4 beads from left to right.

For Row 5, working right to left: pick up 1 yellow, pass through the last red on Row 4, then add 3 red, 1 yellow, 3 red, and 1 yellow to finish the row, passing the needle through every bead in Row 4.

At the end of Row 5, you can do a 'figure eight turnaround' by passing the needle back through the red 4, red 3 and yellow 2 on the diagonal, then pass through the red 2, up to the red 3 on the diagonal, and from the outside, pass the needle back through the last 5, so you're in position to continue with Row 6.

To turn around at the end of each odd row, pass the needle diagonally through three beads below the last bead, then work the needle back to the outside edge of the last bead in the row.  Pass through the last bead so your needle is in position to do the next even row.  The thread path will make a figure 8.  

Do this figure 8 turnaround at the end of the odd rows.  The pattern for the rest of the zigzag is as follows:

Row 6:  1 yellow, 2 red, 2 yellow, 2 red, 1 yellow
Row 7:  2 yellow, 1 red, 3 yellow, 1 red, 2 yellow
Row 8:  9 yellow
Row 9:  1 red, 3 yellow, 1 red, 3 yellow, 1 red
Row 10:  1 red, 2 yellow, 2 red, 2 yellow, 1 red
Row 11:  2 red, 1 yellow, 3 red, 1 yellow, 2 red
Row 12:  9 red

The pattern for Row 13 is the same as Row 5, and so on.  Repeat the patterns for Row 5 through Row 12 to continue the design, until you get the length you desire.

To fit around my piece of licorice leather, I needed 32 rows...my last row was 9 yellow.  At that point, I folded my work in half, and 'zippered' the two ends together by stitching them back and forth to create a tube.  Once the tube of peyote stitching was closed, I buried my thread tails by working the needle through several beads.  I used a Thread Zap II by singe the end of the threads, instead of tying a bulky knot.

You may want to check the length of your work against your leather as you go...remember that you want the peyote tube to fit snugly on the leather.  You may need to add or subtract rows to fit your leather.

I finished my bracelet by adding two Regaliz Slice Spacer beads and a Regaliz magnetic clasp designed for the licorice leather.  I used a bit of super glue to hold the spacer beads into place and the attach the clasp to the leather.

If you can't find licorice leather, or just really like the zigzag pattern, you can make your piece of flat peyote long enough for a bracelet.  You probably will need to add more thread...just start weaving a new piece through the middle of your work until you get the needle into the position to continue stitching.  I rarely tie knots in bead work, I just weave in a new piece of thread and continue on.  The best clasp for this type of bracelet is the sliding bar clasp.

A really great source for Regaliz findings and licorice leather is Goody Beads (www.goodybeads.com). Their prices were among the best I could find.  They also carry the Thread Zap II.  

I'm so happy with the end result, it was worth all of the missteps to get there.  I'm not sure I'll make another...the materials ran about $25, but I think it's worth at least double that!  

Zippity Do Dah!

What to do with hundreds of zippers??

Here's one idea:

Yes, it's a luggage tag, made with a recycled zipper and recycled leather!

Back to the zippers...my friend, Sherrie, had received a VERY large donation of sewing supplies, fabric and notions, and sorted it all our for our local American Sewing Guild.  I was away from home at the time, but she offered to set aside a few things for me.  Instead of picking through the zippers, she gave me the whole bag of them -- 337 in all colors and sizes!!

My new zipper stash, sorted by size.

So, I've been looking for projects to make with my newly acquired craft material.

While in Missouri last fall, my niece sought my help in crafting some leather luggage tags that she wanted to make for Christmas gifts.  A quick trip to the Goodwill store yielded the leather in the form of a skirt, a women's blazer and a large purse.  When we were finished, she had 13 luggage tags and a few people scratched off her gift list.

Her project motivated me to make a few luggage tags and I was inspired further by the tiny zippers in this collection.

A red Wilson jacket (that cost me $20 at the thrift store) was the perfect weight for my tags. When recycling leather garments, I found it best to start by deconstructing them.  Using my scissors, I cut the jacket apart along the seam lines, trimming out the lining as I went.
 

Depending on the style of the garment, you can end up with some pretty large pieces of leather! Also, some of the design elements of the garment can be left in tact and incorporated into something else (like the flat-felled pocket on the right (above) may become the top of a clutch?)

Using my rotary cutter and ruler, I cut two pieces, and sewed the zipper to them.

Sewing leather is not hard, but a few specialty sewing notions come in handy:  first, buy a package of leather needles.  They are a bit heavier and are designed to pierce the leather without breaking.  Second, a Teflon-coated presser foot keeps the leather gliding along under the needle without jamming or skipping stitches. (Someone suggested covering a regular presser foot with a piece of scotch tape, but I haven't tried that.)

After inserting the zipper, I trimmed the leather to create the top of the tag.

I made a 'layer sandwich' of another piece of leather, wrong side up, a piece of heavy vinyl, and the zippered top piece, and stitched around three edges.  I trimmed the bottom leather and vinyl after I stitched them in place, to be sure nothing slipped and the sides of the tag were nice and clean.

I made a little 'belt' out of another strip of leather and a buckle from my stash of recycled hardware, but needed to put a cut in the tag into which the belt would go.

Another notion, called a button-hole cutter, made quick work of that!

The wood block under the leather protects your table when using a button-hole cutter.

When the tag is unzipped, you can slip a business card or a piece of paper with your name and address under the vinyl piece.  The zipper helps protect your identity from prying eyes.  I especially liked the bright color -- it makes it easy to identify your bags in the airport.

I just couldn't help myself when I saw a lavender leather jacket (clearly for a woman!) for about $12 at another thrift shop.  And I couldn't stop making more luggage tags...what a great gift!!

Two different styles of luggage tag made from lavender leather.

Check back later...I have a lot more leather and zippers, and I'm hoping to come up with more ideas how to use them, alone or together!
 

Recycled I-Pod holder

My d.h. was working in the basement (it's a long story...) and was struggling to keep his i-pod from falling out of his pocket.  During lunch break, he asked if I could 'rig up' a band to go around his arm to hold the i-pod.  I think my son has one of those work-out bands for the i-pod, but I have no idea where he got it.  We talked about the design a little bit, and I took some measurements and got to work.

I have to explain something...I recycle fabric and findings from manufactured items, especially if they are unusual or difficult for the home sewer to purchase.  I knew I would need stretchy fabric, and started digging through my fabric stash to find something appropriate. Low and behold, I came across this:

I know you can buy neoprene somewhere, but it sure isn't anywhere near me!

It is a neoprene laptop computer sleeve.  It had a zipper that went around three sides, which I took the time to remove (you never know when you'll need a 20 inch zipper with double pulls).  Once all the stitching was removed, there was plenty of fabric to work with.

The deconstructed laptop bag.

I cut out a pocket the size of the i-pod, then I pieced together two longer strips equal to the circumference of his arm, plus three inches for a tab to make it adjustable.  Using a narrow zig-zag stitch, I stitched the pocket in place, then trimmed the ends of the strip so it would fit through a sliding buckle.

The pocket stretches a bit so the i-pod fits snugly.

Again, I found just what I needed in my stash.  Whenever my husband or kids throw away something like a backpack, I cut off the hardware and toss it into a bin.  There have been many occasions when I dig through that bin to find just the right hook, buckle or D-ring.

My tray of various buckles, clips, D-rings and other bits and pieces of hardware.

Next, I added a bit of velcro that I removed from something else once upon a time.  This piece has both the hook and loop part on the same side. The tab with the 'hook' part slips through the buckle, then folds back onto the 'loop' part to hold the armband in place.

Here's the final product.  Looks great, works great, d.h. is happy!  Now that he has tunes at his disposal, maybe the basement will be finished by Thanksgiving!!

A Vintage Singer Sewing Machine Gets a New Life

Several years ago, I saw one of these lamps and admired it quite a lot.  I always hoped that someday I'd be able to own one.  When I stumbled across a vintage Singer sewing machine at a flea market a few weeks ago, I jumped at the chance to make my own lamp.  The man wanted just $20!

One of the great things about vintage Singer sewing machines is that you can use the serial number to search for the year the machine was manufactured. (www.singerco.com/support/machine-serial-numbers)

This serial number indicated that this model was made in 1925.  Imagine...a machine that's nearly 90 years old!  What is really surprising is how great the gold graphics still look!

The challenge was how to attach a light fixture to the back of the machine.  Luckily, this model already had a small work light on the back.

I was able to unscrew the work light from the machine and disassemble it.   Once I took it apart, I realized I could use the bracket to attach the new lamp to the machine, and the black base was threaded and would hold the new pipe.

The hardware store had a lamp re-wiring kit and a white silk shade.  I had to buy a threaded pipe and a nut separately.  The entire bill was about $40.  After cutting the electrical cord of the old lamp, I ran the new wiring along the same path..  I changed the position of the lamp bracket from horizontal to vertical, and followed the instructions on the back of the lamp kit to thread the pipe, attach the socket base, wire the socket and add the harp, shade and light bulb.  

The new threaded pipe fit snugly into the existing hardware, but I did
turn the bracket 90 degrees to hold the lamp upright.

Next, the sewing machine got a bit of TLC.  I dug out the brass polish, Orange Glow wood cleaner/protector and good ole' fashioned Johnson's paste wax to shine up the metal case of the machine. I also added felt pads on the bottom of each corner of the wooden case, to prevent scratching the furniture.

Time for a little clean up!

Although I'm not generally very mechanically inclined, the step-by-step instructions on the lamp re-wiring kit were easy to follow and I'm proud of myself for finishing this without any help from my d.h. (truth in reporting here -- I did have my son tighten the nut and screw on the bracket holding the pipe...I just couldn't get it quite tight enough!).  The moral of the story -- don't be afraid to re-purpose something neat into a lamp!

My vintage Singer sewing machine lamp!

[After taking another look at the photos of the lamp, I realized the shade didn't cover the base of the socket.  For $4, I bought another harp, two inches smaller than the one pictured, and swapped it out...that solved the problem!]

A little 'Fascination'!

My hand-crafted clip-on feather fascinator.

My daughter was eyeing up a white feather fascinator in a little shop in Maine during our recent trip, but the price tag (about $30) landed it quickly back on its display.  Fascinators are the tiny little headpieces made fashionable by Her Royal Highness, the Duchess of Cambridge (otherwise known as Princess Kate). They are becoming popular here, too.

Philadelphia's 'Diner en Blanc'  is coming up soon, and my daughter is a table coordinator.  This is a fun, magical night under the stars for which Philadelphians pack their own dinner, bring their own chairs and tables, and wait until a late afternoon phone call that tells them where the “secret” dining location is.  Over a thousand people dress in white to take part in the pop-up culinary event. 'Diner en Blanc' picnics began in Paris two decades ago and are now taking over elegant public spaces in 22 cities around the world.

We bought my daughter white folding chairs and a roll-up camping table for her birthday, and she is assembling two place settings, a white table cloth and a centerpiece for the evening.  She has a white dress and comfortable shoes (because you walk or take public transportation to the event), but wants to jazz things up a bit, and a white fascinator would add a bit of style to the evening.

Mom to the rescue!

On a quick run to the craft store this week, I snagged a stem of silk mums and a stem of white feathers.  Total cost:  $5.00.  I found some 'bling' in my stash of jewelry supplies.  It was just a matter of assembling the parts.

The headband, ribbon and Pellon Peltex I already had in my stash...the only purchase were the flowers and feathers.

E6000 glue is my adhesive of choice when it comes to these kinds of projects.  It's good for metal, plastic, beads and fabric.  It stays flexible and dries clear.  The first thing I glued was the rhinestone button into the center of the flower.

A rhinestone button adds just the right amount of bling!

For the foundation, I used Pellon Peltex 70, an ultra firm, smooth and resilient stabilizer for accessories and crafts.  I glued two pieces together and cut it into an oval shape.  I punched a hole in the top of the foundation piece to insert the stem of the silk flower.

The feathers needed a little trimming before I glued them onto the Peltex.  I laid them out first, so I would know how long to make them and which feather would be glued down first.  I topped the feathers with another piece of Peltex, and clamped them for about a half an hour to secure all the pieces together.  Then I glued the hair clip to the back of the foundation.

The last thing to be glued in place was the flower.  I wasn't sure if she would prefer a hair clip or a headband, and I had enough supplies to make another, so I made one of each.  I'm sure she'll find someone with whom to share the other fascinator!  

The headband version of the fascinator.

Both pieces were assembled in about an hour, and cost just $2.50 each!  Can't wait to see pictures of the event!