Mini Cupcake Pin Cushion

I have seen several times now in different magazines this idea of making mini pin cushions using felt so this is my attempt.  I started with the following supplies: 1. 1 1/2" x 12" purple felt (top edge cut with pinking/zig-zag scissors), 2. Small scrap of tan and pink felt, 3. Small seed beads, 4. Small ball of Fiberfill, 5. Medicine cup.

I sewed pin tuck pleats in the felt ever 1/4 inch.  To get the felt in a more cone-like shape (wider at top than the bottom), I stitched just a hair wider seam on the bottom than the top.  This helped match the shape of the cup.  As you can see in the above picture I used the bottom of the cup + 1/4" all the way around as my template for the purple and the top of the cup + 1/2" all the way around as the template for the tan.  I also used the top of the cup for the template of the pink but cut it out with an uneven edge. 

I just kept putting pin-tucks in until it fit around the cup (approx. 10").  

I then Stitched the pink frosting onto the tan circle and hand-stitched some seed beads to look like sprinkles.  I also sewed a basting (longest stitch or gathering stitch) stitch around the edge of the tan and left the thread long to pull and gather.

I then sewed the purple circle to the bottom edge of the purple cup piece.  I forgot to take a picture of this.  You need to place right sides together.  In this case the side that the pleats stick out is the right side.  You may need to do this by hand as it is small and is hard to get under the machine foot.  Once the bottom of the purple cup is attached, hand-stitch the cup closed. 

Place the purple cover on the cup and put a small hand-full of fiberfill in the cup and a small amount in the center of the cupcake on the wrong side.  Pull the top threads of the basting stitches to gather up the edges of the cupcake until it matches the circumference of the top of the cup.  Hand stitch the cupcake to the purple cup and stuff more fiberfill as needed until desired fullness.

This is a fun gift or even a toy for a play-kitchen for kids!  Enjoy!

Theme Dress

Well, my youngest niece is turning 13 and is having a Nightmare Before Christmas themed birthday on Friday the 13th.  Cute, right?  For years I have made my nieces dresses and over the years they have evolved from frilly costumes to sophisticated dresses.  This is my most recent and I am very please with it.  I enjoy sewing so much I find a lot of satisfaction and pride in how these projects come about.  This has got to be one of my favorites and I can't wait to see her in it and enjoying her special day!

I purchased the fabric from the following Etsy site:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/fabricjunkeez?ref=seller_info

T-shirt Quilt

This is a fun and exciting project to do with all those worn out yet priceless T-shirts from various events and memories that you may have.  I did this one with a girlfriend as a gift for her husband.  It turned out great and he loved it!  If I get enough interest on how to do this project, I can post instructions.

Fun with Fondant

So, keeping with the "Angry Birds" theme I made a cake as well.  It was my first time working with a pre-made fondant from Michael's craft store.  I had WAY too much fun making this cake.

Angry Birds Fun

My son's birthday is coming up and he is obsessed with the game Angry Birds on the iPod.  I took it to a whole new level and made an Angry Bird Bean Bag game for him!  I look forward to having some fun with him!

Felt "Angry Bird" bean bags

Mini Ironing Board

I always need a small ironing board to slip in sleeves or pant legs or use for smaller projects and I am too cheap to pay $15-$20 for a board with fabric on it.  So, here is my solution...

Finished mini board

First I started with a scrap piece of 2x4 I got from the hardware store for a few dollars. It is approximately 6" x 18". You need a heavy duty staple gun shown here.  I had a scrap piece of 100% cotton batting and stapled it to one side.

 *Make sure to use 100% cotton both for the batting and for the cover fabric as it will hold up to the heat of the iron.*

Pull the batting around the other side and staple before trimming away.  Notice the one end at the top: the batting is flush with the edge of the wood where the other side the batting is longer.

Trim the batting away close to the staples on the side and approximately 2" longer on the end.  Pull end up and staple then trim batting away to reduce the bulk and staple to cover the corners of the wood.

Once you have chosen the fabric you want, roughly cut it like you are going to wrap a present.  I had an unused bed sheet that already had one end finished (on the right) but if you don't, you will need to stitch or surge the open end for a nice finish. 

I then wrapped it snug and pinned along the pinch.  Slip the cover off and sew along the pinned edge and then along the unfinished edge.  Turn inside out and slip onto the board.  You are finished!

Scissor Sheath

So I needed to make something to protect my $20+ Gingher embroidery scissors. I did not want to spend much and wanted to do it myself.  This is a fun and easy project and the concept can be used for multiple applications!

Scissor sheath

 First I purchased a leather tool belt I found at my local thrift shop that I frequent. I cut the top part that the belt slides through (I also saved the heavy duty strapping and clip for my next travel on an airplane to identify my bag).

Carpenter's tool belt

I then simply laid my scissors down and roughly cut out the length and width that I would need for the pocket and for an extension to cut down for a strap to snap through the handle (see in a further picture).

Rough-cut for sheath

I then estimated and trimmed the leather for the strap to fit through the scissor handle.  This is important because the snap for the strap has to be added before sewing up the sheath.

You will need some sort of snap-setting tool, a marker and a hammer.  You can see I have marked on the leather already where my snaps will be placed.  I positioned the male snap piece on the body of the sheath and the female part on the strap piece of the sheath.

First sew one side of the leather sheath using, ideally, a leather needle for your sewing machine.  I was out of leather needles and used a denim needle and it worked just fine.  Use a longer stitch length as not to just perforate the leather like a notebook to where it will just rip apart (3-4 mm stitch length).

After one side is stitched move the top layer closer to the scissors while leaving the underside longer (as you can see in the above picture) to create a bubble-like effect for ease of inserting the scissors later.  You can mark this with a pen or pencil at the edge and then stitch.  After stitching you will have the over hang that can be trimmed to match the upper layer. 

You are finished!

Changes are coming

I have neglected to post any new projects but have a few in the works that will have written instructions and pictures.  My goal in posting this projects is to inspire others to create easy and fulfilling sewing projects that will, at very least, inspire creative hearts.  I tend to focus on practical, every-day things that I can improve by creating my own items.  Please visit soon and see some new and inspired projects!