How Pinterest Ideas Run My Life

I could spend my life looking at all these cute blogs and great ideas to get me motivated, but the truth is I'm not great at following through.

I realized recently that too many of my conversations start with that sentence "So, I found this thing on Pinterest....<Insert cool thing I will never have, do, or attempt>. My husband tells me I should just eliminate the "On Pinterest" part and then I could sound normal.... "So, I found this thing" 

Anyways, for the record, I am following through with something I found on Pinterest! Finally!

Well, actually this would be #2 thing that I am doing. #1 is a T-Shirt Quilt using old t-shirts I can't seem to throw away, ever. I started working on it, but not enough done to show pictures yet.... BUT it's going to be amazing when it's done, I'm super excited about it, but that's all I can share right now :)

I don't know if I can link directly to Pinterest since you have to have an account to open it up, but this is the one I'm working on....T-Shirt Quilt Tutorial. I promise pictures of my progress and definitely a blog of my experiences once I get something that somewhat resembles a quilt. It might be a while though..

My #2 Pinterest project is a 5 year journal, an idea by Tami Taylor.

A WHAT?! Yeah that was my initial reaction too. Doing anything for 5 years sounds intense. Don't worry - it's not that bad! It's a super cute idea, and it is super super easy to keep up with. I know it is a little ambitious of me to start with such a long-term project so I am willing to accept your ridicule and stuff shortly but first I'll tell you about it, then you be the judge.

Each month she posts a series of prompts/questions to answer for each day. And each day you write down your answer, for 5 years. Quick, easy, to the point. I am obsessed with journals and anything writing related, it's something you can do every night before bed, and you can compare where you are year to year (coolest part). I started with October, and so far am going strong. Laughing now would be appropriate since October is not over yet, so not much to be proud of.

I will keep you posted on my progress, see if I make it past the first month or two. But I am aiming for all 5 years, go all in or go home.

The hard part is making the cards, after that, answering is fun! I even made Novembers cards already... month 2. 

I think the hardest part to make this work is coming up with a cute, efficient way to keep your questions and answers. For those of you scrapbookers, there are so many cute ways to put this together.  Here is a creative one I came across...

It's My Life!: 365 Day Filofax Journal - a lot of work, but looks great when finished!

I REALLY like the card method used by the original poster, I wasn't sure I could handle that so originally I opted to use this cute journal I have that has a page for every day of the year. Was going to cut and paste each question onto each page...

In the end, I decided to keep this journal for a thought a day type of journal -- write down something I have accomplished or want to remember from each day. 

So, this is how I am ACTUALLY going to track my 5 year journal/questions...

I got a cute magnetic closing box at Michael's, on sale for $5.99, use 5" x 7" cards and scrapbook away. The back of the cards are blank for answering the questions.  Please excuse the poor quality pics from my cell phone, just wanted to share!

 

 

 

Each  month I'll print off the questions, make a months cards at a time, and answer one question each day! Great idea, great concept, but....Think I can keep doing it?? Ahhh I hope so, thanks for the great idea and inspiration Tami!

Zippers, Buttons, and Darts Oh My!

Yesterday marked the second session in my 4 week sewing course. If you missed my post on the first class, Machine Basics, you can find it HERE!

This week's class was called Sewing Essentials, and was a little more information overload than last week. And also a much smaller group, so easier to learn and ask plenty of questions.

We covered zippers, buttons/buttonholes, darts (for altering clothes mostly), and even learned how to make a casing for a small ribbon drawstring bag.

ZIPPERS!

I was glad we were going over this because as much as I think I can I think I can, I never can.
First step (one I never did), machine baste stitch the two pieces of fabric together with a 1/2" seam allowance. The zipper is eventually going to be placed here and be the opening of your bag. But but ... how, where will the zipper go, yeah I know, I asked the same thing.

Flip over your fabric and press the seam open.

Lay the zipper, teeth down, face down, whatever you want to call it and pin it in place so that the center of the zipper is laying exactly where your basting stitches are.

Next, once the zipper is pinned in place properly, using a hand sewing needle, baste stitch the zipper in place. This may seem overkill, but really it is worth it because the zipper will be perfectly in the center of your fabric.

When that is ready, all you have to do is stitch down either side of the zipper (using a zipper foot if you have one), pivot at either end back-stitching to secure it in place.

I was too busy paying attention and not messing up to take pictures during the process, but here is our finished zipper pouch!

BUTTONS!

The buttonhole practice was a little silly for me because my machine was so automated I hardly had to pay attention. The one most important thing I took away from the buttonhole lesson was to make sure you get the right size buttonhole for your button. Nothing worse than trying to make that button squeeze through your FINISHED project to find out, oh wait it's too small. 

If you don't have a buttonhole foot that measures the size for you. Take the diameter of your button and add the thickness of your button, and that is the size your buttonhole should be. It doesn't sound like taking the 1/16" of thickness of your button will much of a difference, but trust me, it will!

OK I lied -  second most important thing I took away: always apply a fusible interfacing to the back of your fabric where the buttonhole will be placed. It makes it more durable and less likely to fray, ruin over time.

Buttonhole practice - My machine has a lot of different buttonhole stitches available, I tried these 4.

DARTS!

Not the kind you throw at a dartboard in a bar. The kind that fixes clothes that don't fit. I am not really into fixing clothes, I think I would rather pay the designers and get a new one. BUT, this technique was pretty interesting to learn.

It takes a lot of practice. We didn't apply it on the actual piece of clothes, just on a square piece of white fabric to figure out the technique (probably better this way). You can't see it from the front picture, but there are a lot of measurements and drawings involved on the other side to make this happen. Questions? Take the class.. or an alterations class because this was tricky and way over my head!

No, but really, it takes measuring your body, the clothes you want altered, applying the measurements to the fabric, sewing, cutting, testing...etc etc etc.

Dart on a random piece of fabric!

 CASING!

The last thing we did in last nights class was put together a little drawstring bag with ribbon and mitered corners (the bottom of the bag).

It turned out to be perfect for my foot pedal and sewing machine plug for when I need to transport my machine. So Cute!

Start with two pieces of fabric, same size. On one piece of fabric, on the wrong side (interior), draw 3 horizontal lines, 1" apart. These will be your folds for the ribbon casing (later!).

Now we get to practice our buttonholes on a real live project!

Measure approximately the middle of the fabric in between your first and second lines. This is where you will fuse a small piece of interfacing and put in a buttonhole.

Once your buttonhole is complete, lay the two pieces of fabric flat with the right sides of the fabric facing together. Pin, and sew around 3 edges with a 1/4" seam allowance.

Turn bag right side out and admire! Still need to finish the top, casing for the ribbon (the point of this lesson).

Take your project to the ironing board. Fold your bag on the lines you drew earlier, pressing with each fold. It should fold over twice leaving your buttonhole visible on the inside of your bag.

Back at the sewing machine, place your bag around the machine and stitch all the way around the top creating the casing for your ribbon.

Voila!

Well, insert the ribbon. I use a safety pin to do this. Attach one end of the ribbon to the pin and slide it through using both hands.

I have pictures of the finished product here. But again, I was learning and in class so couldn't really take a lot of pictures of the steps. I hope this still helps, but if you have questions please feel free to ask me any time!

 Next week, hand sewing... Yuck! But hey, we all need to learn it eventually.

If you made it through this whole post, know that I appreciate you. I just realized how much I blabbed on this post. Anyways, if you are new to my blog, please follow me or visit my facebook page (links on the right). Thanks for visiting!

Machine Basics - Check!

Thank you PDX Seamsters for my first official sewing machine education course.

Everything I knew up until yesterday, I taught myself. I'm doing SOMEthing right because I can do a lot of things in the sewing world that I never could before. I can cut fabric properly, press projects, sew in a straight line, read patterns, all foreign to me just a year or two ago.

So even though I know a lot, there is always something new to learn in the world of sewing. I decided to step up my game and learn from a real professional seamstress.

Machine Basics course was yesterday, first of four sessions. I took my sewing machine for a ride and we learned. I got a lot of good practice time in and learned a lot of things I didn't know about my Brother.

We started with a few simple things I've already done such as winding the bobbin, threading the needle, but I took advantage and asked questions about my sewing machine that I hadn't already learned from the handbook.

We practiced on a few pieces of fabric, different stitches, stitch length, the importance of slow vs fast stitching, a few other technical things. I messed around with some weird stitches I didn't know my machine had.

We made circles (harder than it looks), turned corners, made a labyrinth, and a mini pillow pocket. We even learned an advanced technique called easing, which is good for making sleeves and clothes, something new to me.

Mini pillow pocket. Sewn shut with slip stitch.

Easing...

My favorite was the slip stitch, so now I can finish my projects with a neat, hidden hand sewing technique.

Next week, Sewing Essentials, we'll learn zippers, casings, darts, and buttonholes. Also some things I already sort of know, but also - taught myself. Excited for this session, zippers intimidate me!

Last Thursday on Alberta - August Edition

Another successful Portland craft show last night. My loving husband came home from work a little early to accompany me to set up at Last Thursday on Alberta, a monthly street festival in NE Portland.

I did this festival for the first time last month (in July) and it was a huge success. For me. I'm just a little guy compared to these life long crafters.

The street closes at 6pm but you can set up on the sidewalk anytime, as long as you don't move your stuff into the streets before 6pm. I showed up around 5 last time and that seemed to work fine. This week, not OK. Since it's free to set up, people don't mess around. I ended up in front of Townshend's Tea House, squeezing between a lady that had been setting up in that same spot for 5 years, every month and gets there around 11am (1st sign I am a rookie) and another 2 girls setting up their canopy of bowties for sale (super cute). Anyways, this location was good, but not as great as last months in front of The Hilt. I think after a certain hour it didn't really matter because the streets were packed.

This may be the last month the weather is nice enough for it, but I really enjoy this one. We packed up around 10pm, around the time when the "buying crafts" type of people are replaced with the "get drunk and dance" kind of people. It looked like the party was just getting started. A little more energy and we might have stuck around to watch, great people watching event.

Here are some pics of my display before the sun went down. I'm still working with a few tables and a flat display. Until I can keep more inventory and do shows more regularly, this is how it's going to be. My goal is to up it to a booth by December, I'll keep you posted. Good thing is, people don't care what your stuff looks like, handmade? OK good I'll take it.

Me...

Setting up.

iPad Cases...

I discovered owls are so in right now.

Reusable Snack Bags...

Cards...

Bike Stuff in Every Size....

 

Cell Phone Cases...

Wallets...

So I met some interesting people, made several sales, and I even ran out of business cards. I like it!

My next show will be Sunday, September 16 at Portland Center for Performing Arts 25th Anniversary with Handmade NW. It is from noon to 5pm, come out and join us!

Go Green at Lunchtime

Here is my first shot at reusable snack bags brought to you by Cotton Bottom Mama and her Reusable Snack Bag Tutorial. Found her on Pinterest and became an immediate follower. 

This is a super easy to make baggie and cute cute cute design. You can make them any size, this one ended up at a 6" x 8" size when closed.

I used my bike fabric scraps, but I think I will like it better with a food themed fabric, apples or something similar...

Also, I used a rip-stop nylon on the inside. The fabric store people suggested this was my best option and usually what people buy for these types of food bags.
 
I love that there is no velcro or anything to get crumbs caught in and the design still keeps your snacks safe and fresh, for a few hours anyways, its not a cooler!

I am currently using this one as a sample -- as I do with all my products before I start shouting about how awesome they are, although I guess I already did that with this one!

Thanks Cotton Bottom Mama for the great tutorial!

Front

Back

Inside - grab snacks without flipping completely open...

Inside - Flip the strap back and grab your snacks!

Portland Craftlandia

Since before we moved to Portland I have been looking forward to living in the land where crafts and handmade stuff is embraced to the max. 

It took a few months to get settled here but was finally feeling ready to jump into a (small) craft show. I started looking for something in my area, but turns out I was a little late. 

All the awesomeness seems to happen in the summer. And since summer is here, that meant I missed all the application deadlines. There I go not really thinking ahead.

This is the one I really wanted to start with... close to home, short, easy enough for a little crafter like me.

 Bad news for me, the event was full. Sad.

Turns out this week was my lucky week, and also a little unlucky but I'll get to that in a minute.

24 hours in advance of this weeks event I got an offer to fill a vendors space that had cancelled. Yippeeeee, jumped all over it. Now I had 24 hours to find all my craft show stuff ....my inventory, tables, signs, get help setting up, make a bunch of last minute stuff and stress out because that is just how I roll and get moving.

With the help of my husband (rummaging through our storage unit to find my craft show stuff), 

my brother (showing up right at setup time to help me unload and have Starbucks with me),

and all my supportive local fans that stopped by to entertain me, support me, and give me some company for a bit I did it!

I ended up even getting a slightly discounted spot (awesome) for having to be in the sun (double awesome), I guess Portlanders do not like the sunny spots, I was in heaven. 

Maybe the discount was due to the fact that I was IN THE SPEAKERS. When the lunchtime band started, youch. I couldn't hear anything for the rest of the day.

My pic at the show, yep that's me with no canopy in full sun.

Arts on Main - 7/25/12
My Table

Arts on Main - 7/25/12
Cuteness watching the lunchtime band. 

Some of my more popular items, bike and coffee related... surprised?

Cell Phone Wallet/Clutch - Orange Bicycles - $18

iPad Case - Cafe Au Lait - $20

Card Wallet - Pink Bike - $7

 All in all it was a good show, a good time, and a perfect day for it.

Oh, except for the not so perfect part I was going to tell you about.

Even though I live 8 short, very walkable blocks from this event, I had to drive to bring all my stuff. So that meant I had to park. Which apparently means I had a 50-50 chance of doing something wrong and getting a ticket. I was in the unfortunate 50%.

I intentionally checked on my car about half way through the day. Ended up missing the guy that ticketed me by 7 minutes.  When I got to my car at the end of the day and saw the little yellow thing on my windshield I was feeling very discouraged. I just participated in the most expensive craft show ever and was going home with negative balance. 

Oh well. Live and learn right?

Well no, because I had plenty of time left on the meter so what gives? I got in my car, opened it up and happy day - it wasn't a parking ticket! 

My front license plate (yes this is required in Oregon) had fallen off. Whew -- it is fixable! So, I fixed it. No wait, my husband fixed it. I went to court. Contested it. And now, victory - ticket has been dismissed 24 hours later. That, to me, is considerably equal to the success of the craft show. 

So, two firsts in Portland this week, went to court and participated in craft show. check and check.

Thank you to all of my supporters and helpers. I am hoping for another spot to open up so I can participate in next weeks show too. Except this time, with my license plate attached to the front of my car!

So long April Showers

Happy MAY everyone! You know what that means.... almost Mother's Day! Check out my latest cards in honor of all the awesome mommies in my life. 

More to come as I get inspired thinking about how awesome my own mom is. 

Start thinking about what you love most about your mom for my upcoming facebook contest to win a custom Mother's Day card!

Visit my Etsy Card Section if you are interested in browsing :)

Happy Crafting and Happy May!