The One about a BAG of Fabric...

So...remember last post when I was running all over town looking for purple polka dot fabric? Well, as I was leaving Hancock Fabric I look over and see a cart FULL of bags. I say to the cashier, "What's that?", she says, "Oh, that's our St. Jude's Grab Bags." "Grab Bags?" I say...."yeah, it's donated scraps and off-cuts, they're $5" "A BAG???" Well you know me...anything for a good cause!!


YES!! I AM A GLUTTON!!


This is only ONE BAG!!


Cottons, Polyesters, Cotton/Poly blends...



Denim, corduroy, Linen, decorator-weight, swimsuit fabric...



Satin, sheers, linings, terry cloth, fleece (even a cut of LSU!!), ultra cuddle fleece, and even a big ole piece of "flag" fabric...nylon right?? I am in SERIOUS need of a fabric recognition CLASS!!
Can you BELIEVE the amount of FABRIC that was in this $5 Grab BAG???!!!! It is all washed, folded and sitting on my cutting table like an AVALANCHE ready to topple over if I even LOOK at it!! Did I really NEED this? ABSOLUTELY!!! HA!! And there you have it...I am a GLUTTON!!

So last week I didn't sew much, just sorted some fabric and tried to prettify The Middle Child's Pre-K bookbag...


As soon as I found out her bag would be blue this year...I immediately thought RAINBOW, Sunny skies and puffy clouds!! Now usually I would machine embroider her name, but it came home with white PAINT pen...what's a momma to do? I just "attempted" a simple backstitch...can I tell you how HARD it is to pull a needle through canvas AND paint pen??? By the time I finished the "O", I was digging though my sewing room looking for a THIMBLE...aaiiieee, my fingers were throbbing!! Oh well...sacrifices...


I've had this sheer Rainbow ribbon for a while...knew it would be perfect. Now most people don't think, Fall=Rainbows...so imagine my GLEE when I am catching up with my FAVORITE all-around Artsy/Crafty HOW TO blog, Wee Folk Art, and see that they are all about RAINBOWS in the Fall!!! :D They are even having a Rainbow-inspired giveaway...it ends September 1st, so HURRY!!

Lastly, I've been practicing my bow-making skills...

Dare I say these came out OK? This was a day's work!! Bow-making is soooo meticulous, which I don't tend to be...so I feel a sense of accomplishment when I see these. Ms. Priss has even worn one EVERYDAY!! She has never been a "Bowhead", so I'm not sure what to think...

I guess I need to make some more! I've offered some to her school for their PBS store. Positive Behavior Support, if the children are caught "being good" they get an Eagle Wing, which can be used like $$ to get something from the PBS store..this is new for this school year, so I thought I would give a few trinkets to help out. They have been using the PBS system for a couple of years now, and I think it is AWESOME! It teaches the children to be respectful and responsible and they have SUPER FUN pep rallies as rewards. At the end of last year, I helped fill water balloons (we did 900 ya'll!!) that the children got to toss at teachers!! SO FUN!!

Well, this weekend is my 20 year High School Reunion....!!! No, I can't BELIEVE it has been TWENTY YEARS...but I am looking forward to seeing old friends! It is also my daddy's birthday, don't worry daddy...I won't say how OLD you are!! :D So what all of this means is MORE SEWING for me!! I am going home by my family and as usual, there are REQUESTS to be FILLED!! I'll be back next week to show off THIS BUSY WEEK'S creations!! Until later....

LSU Ruffle Pants and Hooded Towels

We went to my folks this past weekend, and usually that means that I am rushing to finish a requested item! Well, these ruffled pants were this visits' request. My always WELL-dressed niece (thanks to a talented sewing AUNT, hee hee!) was in need of some "game" wear. My brother and SIL LOVE to tailgate and attend home games, and having a 2 yo doesn't slow them down! She will be the cutest dressed Tiger Fan! Now, originally they were supposed to be purple with white polka dots like the doll in my header...but I had less than a yard of fabric, which wasn't going to be enough. So off to my less than a block away JoAnn's to pick some up...nothing! Well, I guess I'll try Hancock's down the street....NOPE!! Hobby Lobby, here I come....UGH!!! I guess I should have known that the beginning of Football season would leave the local fabric stores DEPLETED of purples, golds, LSU, or Saints related fabrics!! Thankfully, I had this swirly fabric in my stash and after some emailed fabric choice photos, the SIL decided that this was EVEN better than the polka dot fabric...HOORAY!! And just TRY finding plain white Tshirts with puffy sleeves...HA!! She got this one from her Target and gave it to me my last visit!! I want to know WHERE are all of the sewing and monogramming mommas in this town?? Stop buying up all my NEEDS!! :D Just kidding...send me an email...we can get together!

My SIL also requested some ruffled pants to wear for Saints games.

These are plain enough to also use for Halloween...so I guess my NEXT request is for a matching Appliqued shirt. NO problem...just send me some SHIRTS!! You know MADE has a really good tutorial for making your own Tshirts and also one for making Puffy sleeve shirts....maybe it would be easier to just learn how to make my own, instead of running all over town LOOKING for some!!

So, anyway, remember last post I was trying to decide what to make for the twin girls' first birthday?

Cute, huh? Hooded towels are soooooo EASY, and ALWAYS a hit! You don't need an embroidery machine to "fancy" them up, although I must admit..it HELPS! Adding fabric letters and appliques work just as well! And a little ribbon action never hurt anyone!! But I would definitely recommend grosgrain and NOT satin ribbon. Satin doesn't stand up well to lots of washing, and it wrinkles. I've used really good felt, and just plain ole craft felt and as long as the applique is not too big, it stands up well too. I have a good friend who requests one EVERY year, since I made one for her son on his first birthday. She is still using that towel and it was made using craft felt AND a satin ribbon...THE HORROR!! Thank goodness I've improved my materials a tad bit. But it is good to know that sometimes even the cheapest of materials can last!

Well, that was it for last week. I have a couple more requests for my NEXT visit home...and one day I will have NO WIPs..yeah, right!! The Middle Child starts her Pre-K 4 classes this week..YAY!! So on MWF, it will be just me and The Boy..think I will get anything accomplished? Oh, and one last thing...a couple of shout outs!! I recently found out that one of my Woodvale Moms is an AWESOME cake maker/decorator. Ms. Priss has her 8th birthday coming up next month, so we are going to discuss a TRADE...my sewing for her YUMMYliciousness!! Check out her FB page, and if you are local...I'll give my official review in a month!! Also, a couple of FABULOUS Woodvale Moms..yeah, we Woodvale Moms ROCK...started a Tshirt business. Their shirts all sport some "catchy" Louisiana sayings and wildlife...here is their website!! They are participating in a GIANORMOUS Craft Show that is an Annual EVENT here in Lafayette. I have never been to Tinsels and Treasures, but have always WANTED to! Maybe, I will check it out this year! I was asked to make some bows for their booth...REALLY? Bows??!! NOT my strongest craft, but I am willing to practice and give it a try...for THEM! That's how much I LOVE them!! :D So, lots to do, as ALWAYS! Until later...

Letters, Letters, Letters

Been having fun with my Cricut Expression!! This was an order for my good friend's sister. She had a new little girl earlier this year and got some cute letters for her room from her MIL. She wanted to get some for her older daughter's room, but saw the price and immediately called her sister. "Hey, don't you have a friend who sews?"


"Do you think she can make me some letters for Emma?" Well, OF COURSE I can!! :) First I did a little information gathering by going to the store where the MIL got the baby's letters....YIKES!! Pretty pricey for some particle board cut letters with some paint and beads slapped on. AND they were only about 3 inches big. So, I started putting my creative thinking process to work!

First we agreed on the FONT she wanted to use, then she sent me pictures of the sweet girl's sweet little room. It is a very girly garden theme, with pastels and butterflies...cute, cute. Next, I cut the letters from stiff felt for the backing using my Cricut and AWESOME software that allows me to NOT have to buy lots of expensive cartridges and just use whatever font I have on my computer....soooo easy!! Then I chose the fabric, cut 5 inch squares, ironed on some fusible interfacing, cut letters, ironed them on to their respective backings and embellished, embellished, embellished!! All of the trims around the edges are stitched on to reinforce the fusible interfacing, and the ribbons at the top are sandwiched between the backing and fabric to ensure they will hold up to wall hanging! I had a lot of fun making these, and I hope sweet Emma enjoys them!!

So...BACK TO SCHOOL!!


Had this order from a girl at my husband's work....they keep me in "business"! HA! One day I will own a VERY EXPENSIVE embroidery machine that has a FLAT bottom so that this TASK will be MUCH easier!! Hey, I can dream, right?? :D I am very happy the names are actually straight..it was soooo hard getting that pocket on my hoop....centered!!! So when it came time to do Ms. Priss' new backpack, I didn't EVEN want to deal with my embroidery machine.....back to the Cricut!!


Can't say that SEWING on these letters was any easier!!!! WHY did she want them on THAT pocket???!!!! Oh well...it is DONE!! I did hand stitch around the little flower cut outs...NO WAY was I going to get my machine around all of those little curves!! BTW, the fabric letters are from the Moda charm pack I won from SMS eons ago!!! I found them under LOTS of WIPs and TONS of yardage I keep buying...but not using!!! UGH!! MOTIVATE ME!!


While I was on a Cricut roll....I did these cutouts and Modpodged them to her binder...we couldn't find a really cute 1 1/2 inch binder, so we decided to "cute" it up ourselves...I'll let you know how it holds up!!

Ok...so I learned something NEW!!!!

Cool huh? I have ALWAYS loved B&W photos with the little splashes of color, but had NO IDEA how it was done...well, I googled it!!! This tutorial is step by step and soooo easy to follow. If you have Photoshop try it!! It was kinda difficult to be neat, the tulle is transparent in some areas so some of the floor "coloring" came through. I chose this picture, because this weekend is the First birthday for the twin girls I made these for.....AND I HAVE NO IDEA what to make for them!! Well, ok, SOME ideas...but not sure of colors, fabric, trims, etc..... GOT TO GET TO WORK!! Until later...

P.S. I will try to squeak in some visiting time soon...I owe Stephanie a Meme, Amy has been doing soooooooooooooo much, man she is my idol!! And Allie...you are supposed to be taking it easy...EIGHT posts since I've last read!!!! Tammie is pregnant with THREE kids (AWESOME pictures girl!!) and manages to get more accomplished than me....like I've said...GOT TO GET TO WORK!! :)