Making it Personal

When I bought my first embroidery machine, a Brother SE-270D, I don't think I was really aware of the impact it would have on my newbie sewing life!!  At the time I was 6 months pregnant with my second girl, and all I wanted was to make matching pillowcase dresses so I could get a cutesy birth announcement picture.  I had my "Walmart special" Brother LS-2125, and was doing OK with my dresses...but thought I could make it so much better if only it was monogrammed.  So I did a little internet research and shopping and found the embroidery/sewing machine combo on Overstock.com for $250...it was refurbished.  I pleaded with my awesome man telling him I absolutely needed this machine, and how much money I would save on family birthday gifts, and oooh look! it has Disney Designs built in, and could I please, please, please buy it??!!  Well, of course he said yes (I don't call him my AWESOME man for nothing :P), and the rest is history!!

Some birthday hooded towels for friends...

Once I talked him into letting me have the machine....of course it didn't stop there!!  Having an embroidery machine is great....but in order to do some really impressive things, you really need to be able to combine designs....like I did in the above hooded towels.

I use Embird Embroidery Software. I believe it was recommended for use with  the Reader/Writer box (Vikant Ultimate Box) I had to get in order to get designs from my computer to the embroidery machine!!  Little did my husband nor I knew that one little idea would lead to such an investment! HA!!  Besides the actual Embroidery machine there are a few other items you need. Like thread...

Just like thread used for sewing, there are different types of embroidery thread.  The thread I used in this chalkboard pillow is a spool made of four colors, so as it embroiders it gives the design cool effect!  

Oh....here's a quick tip on how I "pinned" the chalkboard fabric :)

Where was I...?  Oh, right....thread!  Well of course you will also need a special bobbin thread for your embroidery machine.  And I must tell you that the bobbin thread/ tension GREATLY affects the quality of your design....and your SANITY!!!  Many a hairs have been pulled over bobbin thread/ tension....and NEEDLES!!  Because you have to have the right embroidery needle in order to get the perfect stitched out design!  And then you need lots of different stabilizers to keep your many different fabrics nice and straight while your machine does its magic...

sorry... I know the photos are crappy! 

And lastly you will need embroidery designs....lots and lots of designs!  Appliques, fonts, monogram frames, filled designs, redwork, bluework, etc...

I have TONS and TONS of embroidery designs.  Some I've purchased and some I have found free on the internet from very generous givers!!  Because digitizing a common clip art or computer font into a machine embroidery design is ALOT of work...believe me, I've tried it!! 

The colors of these blankets are awful I know...it is the lighting in my "new" sewing room...I'm not used to it yet, so all of my photos are terrible!!  Anyway, back to Embroidery designs!!  These were custom made for an order. The font was purchased from 8 Claws and a Paw Embroidery Designs.

Which I then used my Embird software to arrange the letters to form names and words.  The swirled Mickey ears were found at one of the many embroidery design sights on the internet...can't remember which one exactly, but mostly every one offers a couple of free designs.  LOVE how these turned out!

And lastly what you need when machine embroidering is a.LOT.of.P.A.T.I.E.N.C.E!!!  There are so many things that can go wrong while a design is stitching out, so it is important to be as prepared as possible!  Having the right machine, software, card-reader, design, threads, needle, and stabilizer is good....but having the KNOWLEDGE to put it all together is key to any successful design.  Before I even attempted to monogram these swimsuits....I went online and did a lot of research, blog lurking, and forum reading!!

Thanks to all of the knowledgeable people at Sew forum and the AWESOME blogger Nicole @ Cole's Corner and Creations, I was able to do a pretty decent job on my first attempt! :)  So I guess after 6 years I can look back and say that all of buying, and research, and design collecting, and LEARNING, and trial and error, and HAIR PULLING, and more learning and buying (I've upgrade to a Brother PE-700 embroidery machine)....has been totally and COMPLETELY worth it!!!  I fully enjoy taking something a simple as a towel, a bag, a t-shirt, a bathing suit, a pillow, I could go on and on with this LIST...and making it personal by putting a simple machine embroidery design on it!! :)  Until later...

Bags! Bags! Bags!

Happy Monday everyone!  I thought that since I have been so HORRIBLE about posting, that I would try to catch up by doing alot of posts this week!  We will have to see if I can keep it up!  I have been creating lots of stuff, but every time I think about putting it up on the ol' blog....well I just can't seem to follow through! :(  One of the problems....and it is the BIGGEST one...is that the "f" key on my laptop has bit the dust!!!  Do you know how many words use the letter "f"??  Heck, it is even in my email address.... aggravating!!!  So I have to copy/paste every time I want to type "of, for, from, if, fabulous"!!! You get the point!  The other problem...is getting the photos from my camera, edited, and saved in a timely manner!  Thankfully, I did a marathon editing session and have mostly everything I've done in the past three months blog-ready :)So here we go with today's post...It is all about the BAGS!  I did this shoulder bag for my Momma to give to her on Mother's Day.  I think it is kinda AWESOME....she thinks, Meh!?  There are no zippers and not enough pockets I think....she won't be too specific because she doesn't want to hurt my feelings. 

There is a pocket on the outside for her cell phone, and one on the inside for miscellaneous...

the inside pocket has no closure, but I did a magnetic snap for the bag closure....guess it wasn't enough. Oh well, I told her if she was completely unhappy with it I would make something else or at least another shoulder bag that has everything she wants...but what makes this bag so AWESOME is that I used discarded pant legs from a pair of Ms. Priss' school pants after making them into shorts!!!!

See??  The bottom hem of the pants is actually the top hem of the bag!!  I thought that was pretty genius of me!!  I took this picture because I thought about doing a quick "how I did it" demo...but of course I then failed to take anymore pictures until I was done...sorry :(  Maybe I will get around to doing a tutorial someday, who knows?!  :)  Anyway, I told my Momma that I would totally rip the stitched "G" from this bag and use it myself!!  And my younger sister has requested a similar one for her birthday at the end of this month....gotta go round up the other pant leg!! HA!
The end of the school year came so fast this year!  One minute I was lounging around, taking a rest after all of the Christmas crafting...then WHAM!!!  Time for Teacher Appreciation Week, then end of school "gifts"!!  Thankfully I had very patient teacher's who didn't seem to mind getting things late! :)I stitched up these towel book bags in about an hour to put in the pile of "door prizes" we give at our Teacher Appreciation Brunch...

And this was an End of Year "gift" for Ms. Priss' fourth grade teacher...

 This bag is HUGE!!

With a wide opening that would be perfect for stuffing papers to be graded and Planner books, no?  I got the pattern from Carry Me: 20 Boutique Bags to Sew by Yuka Koshizen....AWESOME BOOK!!  Of course the bag in the book looks WAY better than mine!
And lastly, I got an order through Pinterest!!!!



How cool is that??  The drawstring bags I did for our last Disney trip has been re-pinned A LOT!!  So this gal from Texas went to my blog and got my email...

 
and made a custom order for three drawstring bags and crayon rolls for an upcoming trip to Disney World!!

Isn't that the BEST kind of flattery??!!  And then to have PATIENCE with me to actually get it done and out to her....which I did in time, WHEW!!  Well, it just kinda makes me feel all warm inside :)So that's it for the BAGS! post...I'll be back this week with more things I've done!  Until later... 

The Wedding of Mr. Q and Ms. U

Happy Monday!!  I am finally having a slow week...so I decided to give you all a quick update of what has been keeping me away!!  Our Kindergarten teachers are so very creative and give us parents so many reasons to visit!!  One of the cutest events (ever?) is the Wedding of Q and U!!  Each Spring the children learn about the permanent bond of the letters Q and U by getting dressed up and being participants in a wedding!  There is a bride, a groom, bridesmaids and groomsmen, a flower girl and ring bearer, and of course fathers and mothers of the bride and groom....too cute!!

Being the Room Mom AND the real life Mother of the Bride...I was delighted to help with all of the decorations and planning of the wedding!  Of course the first place I went for inspiration was Pinterest!!  So many ideas and awesome links to blogs about weddings and party planning...like Oh Happy Day and The Sweetest Occasion....of course they also send you to even MORE awesome sites :)

I've always liked the look of paper medallions...but never made any, so I thought now was a good time to try it!!  Martha has a good tutorial...but of course I don't have her fancy scoring tool, so I just went back to my childhood and pretended I was making paper fans folding the paper back and forth and back and forth  :)  I picked up a couple of paper lanterns from the Dollar Spot at Target and decided to make a mobile to hang over the food table...

 But of course when I got there the next morning...the mobile had fallen and the food was coming in and had to be arranged...so I just acted like it was SUPPOSED to look like this :)

My friend Kathy and I did the cake...isn't it lovely??

And it tasted sooooo good!!!  I did the cake topper using wooden letters that I painted white and then used felt, ribbon, and tulle to create the top hat, bow tie, and veil....adorable!!

All of the Kindergarten teachers share out of the BIG BOX of wedding decorations collected over the years...so we didn't have an arch.  I decided to make our very own one-of-a-kind backdrop...

I roughly used this tutorial for fringed streamers from 100 Layer Cake....which is another AWESOME site!
I say "roughly" because I didn't have folded crepe paper....and I didn't do quite as many streamers...ok, I didn't use hardly ANY streamers...compared to the amount she did!! :)  I used about a roll and a half of white crepe paper streamers.  I used an Xacto Knife to cut slits while the paper was still rolled...gently flattening as I went around.  Once I got back to the starting point, I switched to the other side.  It worked out pretty good, but I was being abnormally cautious...since it was all of the rolled crepe paper I had!! ;)  I also added some tulle to "fill in" where HUNDREDS of streamers would have looked much better...oh well, maybe next time!! :)

I did tissue paper topiaries for table toppers....the teacher bought these little place holder boxes at the Everything's a Dollar store...cute, huh?  To give the illusion of one big flower, I used three small-ish flowers grouped on a skewer with some purple tulle tied in to add a pop of color!  The little pails are also from Target's Dollar Spot.

Don't the tables look so elegantly simple??  I also did a couple of bigger tissue paper flower arrangements for the food table and the sign in table that was in the hallway.  Actually I didn't do much for the sign in table besides that and the little "portrait" of the bride and groom...ha!

So a lot of work...but such a great REWARD!!  The children were all sooooo excited and performed their parts well!!  Our teacher did a wonderful job with the ceremony!  We had poem readers and songs in between....so DARLING!!

My little bride...Ms. U!!  The dress was borrowed from my friend Kathy...I did the veil and bouquet!

So many more things going on...I hope to post more once school activities and Girl Scouts start winding down!!  Have a great week!!!  Until later...

Missing!!

So sorry to be absent from blogging AND visiting with my friends for soooooo long!!  I have been really busy with LIFE things, but with a little bit of this....

Ally...I am hoping finding this means my word for the year will come TRUE!

...I'll be back soon!! :)

This is ONE reason to be gone for so long...

The other reason will be blogged about hopefully SOON...because that means that THIS

will be well under CONTROL....and NOT this scary MESS!!!!  Hope you all are doing well...promise to visit soon!!  Until later...

The Mardi Gras Post

We had a FUN Mardi Gras!!  There was some of this...

 Some of this...

This was going on in nearby Church Point...

Check out this float made with THOUSANDS of bottle caps!!  

Now that is Mardi Gras dedication!

 I did a little decorating...but not too much.  Again we have overlapping holidays...

 And I made The Middle Child a dress for Mardi Gras...

I LOVE this pattern!  It is so easy and very changeable...which I did.  Before I go on and on here is the link to Ellie Inspired.  I am sending you to her tutorials  page, because she has so many cute cute dresses and patterns.  I used the Sweet Apple Frock but didn't do the patchwork.

I also attached the sleeve straps to the center back to make it fit a little more snug, since I made the size 6.  But then after she wore it once I changed the straps to the sides to give her more wiggle room.

Here is a view with the sash tied in the back...

I know I am not the best at tying bows, but how cute is this...??

Well, the kiddos are back in school and The Boy is at my folks....gotta get back to some me time...and maybe some quality sewing! :)  Go check out Ellie Inspired....GOOD STUFF!!  Until later...

Valentines

Hi!  How was your Valentine's Day?  Ours was pretty good.  I am happy to report that even though I have been a SUPER SLACKER with my blogging...I have been creating!!  I finally made Valentine Mail Pouches for my kiddos a la At Second Street...although, I didn't exactly use the tutorial...just the idea :)

I used plain ol' craft felt by the yard for the pouches and embellishments...

With some big ric-rac, crochet lace and ribbons...

 And then used my embroidery machine to monogram the names...

That's it!!  Super easy...all three done in a couple of hours.  Although it was difficult to SHOVE all of the little goodies in at one time, it would have been easier if I did them early and only put one goody a day...but that would have gone against my procrastinator nature! ;)

Ms. Priss attended another birthday party last weekend....guess what I made!!

Yep...another pillow!!

But this isn't just any pillow!!  I cut a heart shape out of chalkboard fabric!!!  It is by far the coolest pillow...ever?!!

And lastly, class valentines.  How many of you did the picture-with-your-kid-holding-a-sucker valentine?  I think it is one of the cutest ideas ever...but so did everyone else!!  THREE in The Boy's pre-K class and one in Ms. Priss' class.  Plus I saw numerous others from our school on FB.  I opted to NOT do it (probably due to my procrastinator nature...again!) and instead did these bookmarks for Ms. Priss' fourth grade class...

They were liked just the same but the SOUR gumballs got mixed reviews!  The Middle child decided on the sucker through the heart shaped butterflies...no picture, and The Boy had some super cool scratch off dinosaur valentines I found!  So all in all a good Valentine's Day.  We ended the night with dinner at our favorite Chinese Buffet and came home stuffed and ready for bed! :)

Sorry my blogging has been so sparse lately.  We've had some sadness in our family with the WAY too soon death of my cousin's 17 yo adopted daughter.  It was a very hard week and then a sad, but crowded wake (which I think is always a good thing, the crowded part),  followed by a rainy burial.  We are all so blessed to have had Kristina in our family for as long as we did.  She will be missed every.single.day.

Until later...