home ec {101}

Ok - so first of all, let me start by saying that I am not a great sewer. I've made 3 sewing projects in the course of my life time. They are: 1) a mouse-shaped pillow in 7th grade, 2) tissue holders that I made when I first got my Janome Mini last year, and now 3) this ADORABLE rag quilt purse {if I do say so myself}, with the help of the Big Shot and Angie Juda's awesome tutorial here. Now, I have to say I'm soo hooked! I definitely need to practice sewing, but now that I've gotten my first purse done, I can't wait to make more and try making different styles, too! For this purse, I used the Heather Bailey fabric I got last month and I really am so happy with the colors and everything. Now you wanna see how I did it? I'm not quite video enabled yet, so I thought I'd walk you through the basic steps of constructing this purse.

1. This purse is made up of 19 double sided scalloped squares, so I ran the fabric through my big shot and used 3 different patterned fabric. The die I used is the Stampin'Up! Scallop Square Clear die. The next step below is sewing the "scallop sandwich" together. The scalloped squares on the outside, and the batting in the middle. After consulting with other fellow demonstrators, I went with 100% cotton batting from the craft store. I sewed an "x" on each of these squares. I'd have to say that this was the most time intensive step!

2. Next, I laid out the scallop squares into the fabric pattern I wanted for my purse. The front and back are 3 squares wide by 2 squares high, and the bottom and sides make up 7 squares.

3. Look at how my purse "shrunk down" after pinning the sides. This picture actually has some parts already sewn together and some parts yet to be sewn.

4. Here's a close up of the batting that's in the middle. I think it definitely adds to the purse shape and sturdiness.

5. Here's a look at the inside - it looks like a finished quilt! Now a note about the straps and closure - the straps are 2" x 24" pieces of fabric and you'll also want to insert batting in between. The batting measures out to be 3/4" x 24". For the closure, I used a 12" piece of 5/8" SU! Regal Rose grosgrain ribbon and a big button.

6. Viola!! Here's the finished purse - isn't it just TOO CUTE? I haven't washed it yet, but by doing so, it'll fluff up the scallops to give it that rag quilt look.


Hope you like it! It's a great project and lots of fun to make...even for beginners like me.

Thanks for stopping by!

{yummy} Fabrics!

I just had to share the gorgeous Heather Bailey fabrics I got online. Aren't these such fun springy-vintage prints?! I love her website and all her fun fabrics. I'm hoping to make a rag purse and some more flowers...I'll definitely post them when I'm done! I know this is a short post, but I couldn't help myself - these fabrics really are so pretty in person!

Happy Freebie Friday 28!

Wow! This Friday came really quick! Or, maybe it's cuz the time went by so fast since I've been so preoccupied and enamored with my new little sewing machine. Heehee. Can you take a guess as to what today's Freebie might be? It's one of my new favorite sewing projects! Here it is: A handmade original by me - a Tissue Holder, embellished with the Flower Folds flowers :) The color reminded me of the new In Color, Dusty Durango with a hint of In Color Alumnus, Groovy Guava. Hope you like it! Who can't use a cute little tissue holder in their purse or car!

Here are some quick instructions, for those of you out there that might want to try your hand at making your own tissue cozy!

{Instructions}

Supplies:
* 4 pieces of 5 3/4" x 4" rectangle fabric
* Thread
* Sewing Machine
* embellishments (your choice)

1. fold 2 of these pieces with the right side facing out, then iron down so you have a nice crease (these are the 2 flaps)
2. put the layers together:
-bottom layer face down
-next layer face up
-arrange your 2 folded pieces on top, so that the crease side is in the middle, open side on the edge
-now sew along all 4 sides about 1/4" from the edge
-turn inside out, and viola - you're done!

Back to the Freebie Friday giveaway...Are you ready to play? Now, all you need to do is leave me a comment on this post with your email address or blog url (basically, enough information so I can contact you) by Midnight Saturday, July 18th. The winner will be announced on Monday's blog post, so you can check back then.

You can leave me a comment about anything or you can answer the following question: What is your most coveted household appliance or item (non-crafting, that is)? I borrowed this question from one of the blogs I visit, but now can't remember which one - so forgive me, fellow blogger, for not giving propper props. You can email me privately and I'd be happy to share and send folks your way ;)

Sharing some new supplies to my sewing arsenal

I'm sure you've gathered that I'm on my newfound sewing kick, so I thought I'd take today's post to share a few things I've added to my sewing arsenal. As I had mentioned earlier this week, I took the plunge and purchased the Janome Sew Mini online at Hancock Fabrics. Here's the box it came in - no exterior packaging - I found it on my doorstep just like that. For $39.99 (with tax and shipping, that really means about $51ish), I think it's definitely worth it! I lucked out and got it on sale. I think it's normally around $60ish. Now imagine me - stamper, papercrafter, occasional hobby jewelry maker/designer - getting into yet another hobby {sewing}. Unfathomable, right? That's what my dear husband said {smile}. Well, I tell you - these darn talented papercrafting bloggers just made me do it! I've oohed and ahhed for months now at all these beatiful stitched card projects! I had no choice but to learn to SEW! So, of course, I head over to JoAnn's and get a few basic supplies.

Part of the reason why I didn't bust out the machine on day 1 was because I had NO THREAD! Sad, but true. So, after watching the tutorials on GinaK's StampTV over and over, I decide to get a few basic colors - neutrals and some brights - that I think would complement my card palette. I discovered that looking at thread could be overwhelming! So the spools in the picture are the ones that I went with for now.

Next was the fabric. Since I am embarking on this new hobby to augment my papercrafting, I figured little bits of fabric would do, and a whole bunch of felt, which I could also use for my big shot. This is my starter assortment. I'm sure you'll recognize the fabric I used for my Tissue Holder (or Tissue Cozy, as I fondly call my project). I got these squares that are 18"x21", which most people would call rectangles, but they were labeled as squares! Go figure. Anyway, this is all my sewing stuff. For starters. Let's hope I keep things under control and not get overbudget on yet another hobby! Though, I have to admit, I've enjoyed making a handful of those tissue cozies as my practice project :)

Thanks for letting me share - have a great day!

My Intro to sewing on fabric...

Hi peeps! I've been having fun playing with my new Janome Mini. Yesterday, I shared my first sewn card, and today, I am gonna share my first "mini" project sewing on fabric. I say mini because it really was a small project! Let's see if you can figure out what it is: I stitched on the embroidered flowers (retired) and a button from my current favorite SU! designer button pack called "Playground." The finished project measures roughly 5 1/4" x 3 1/2". This is something that would hold an item that you might have in your purse. I don't think it's very common, but once I saw it, I thought it was a cute idea. Have you figured it out? Here it is again, with the item it would hold: It's a cute little tissue cozy! Isn't it adorable? I can't say I came up with it on my own - I got the idea from one of our college interns at the office who likes to sew and has encouraged me to try it out. I had asked her about some basic projects and she showed me the little tissue holder she made. I instantly thought it would be a great first project for me! Not only was it cute, but it was small, so if I messed up, I wouldn't have wasted a big piece of fabric! So, now that I've made this, of course I want to make MORE! Thanks for popping by today! I'd love to hear what you think about the project!