Handbag Giveaway

Pin It Now! I've been on a purse making kick and thought I'd share the love by doing a little giveaway. I'm putting one purse and one wristlet into the pool, so there are two chances to win. All you have to do it to enter is post a comment (one per person please). The winners will be randomly chosen by a computer generated random number picker thingie. It's very high tech... don't ask me how it works. If it gets too complicated for me, I'll just close my eyes and plop my finger on my computer monitor to pick a name. Either way, I only have two blog followers so your chances of winning are pretty dang good.

*US residents only please. Ok fine... and Canada, Europe, Australia and other countries with semi- reliable postal services :)

**Contest ends Friday, July 10, 2009 at 10:00pm CDT (way past my bedtime).

First up is this adorable, Pleated Purse with Alexander Henry Kleo Print fabric. Fully lined, magnetic closure, and satin poppy accent:



Next up is this Pleated Wristlet. Fully lined, zip closure, and satin poppy accent:



The following is NOT in the giveaway, just the motivation behind it. I have been meaning to make my sister a new handbag to replace the old one I made her, so I sewed three and let her have dibs. This is the one she picked. The Pintuck Purse:

After Janell picked her purse, I called second dibs on the Ruffle Purse. Mine. (Yes, so really this giveaway is all about the leftovers... cute high quality leftovers, but leftovers none the less.)


These are 30 zipper change purses and key fobs my friend and I made for girls youth camp this summer. It's a surprise, so if you have any little sisters going to girls camp, DON'T spoil the surprise or I'll send out the leg breakers. No really... I've got mafia blood in me :)

This is a cute wristlet I made for my friend.

And this is another mine, mine, MINE one.

GOOD LUCK!

Reusable Bags

Pin It Now! Here's a simple gift idea for your eco-friendly friends. Reusable bags are super fast and easy to sew. I used nylon fabric for the bulk foods bags because it's lightweight and will hold finer grains.
For the drawstring produce bags I used mesh fabric (polyester), which allows the produce to breath. The lady at the cutting table at Joann's was so excited when I told her what I was making. She's planning on making one as well to hang up her onions.

I've been on a purse making kick lately, so I'll post some pics in the next few days. Stay tuned... there may be a giveaway ;)

Family Silhouettes

Pin It Now! Many of you know that I'm not much of a decorator, but I really, really wanted to display some cool silhouette portraits in our home. These are super easy to make... truly, the most difficult part was getting the kids to NOT look at the camera so I could get a good profile picture of them.

I had a hard time finding oval frames that I liked, so I used just plain old oval wood cutouts found in the wood craft section of Hobby Lobby ($2.99 each). I slapped a couple of coats of black acrylic paint on them and let them dry. After taking the silhouette pictures, I sized and printed them off in black and white, taped it to a black piece of cardstock and cut them out. I'm sure there are a lot of different application options, but I used Perfect Paper Adhesive because it acts as a glue, sealant and offers UV protection.

Cut out an oval from printed scrapbook cardstock and have it and your silhouette cutout handy. Quickly apply a thin, even coat of the adhesive all over the top of the wooden oval. Center and press the oval paper onto the wood. Repeat, applying more adhesive over the entire oval paper and center and press on your silhouette cutout. If you apply your adhesive too thick, it will wrinkle and pucker your silhouette, so keep it thin! Allow to dry and apply another coat all over the frame, including the wooden sides. Allow to dry and apply more coats of adhesive as desired (I only did one because I'm lazy like that). For hanging, I just hammered in some frame "teeth" on the back.

I decided to hang them in the stairway. This concludes my decorating project for the year.

This is how Denny and Ashlyn entertain themselves while I'm crafting.

Ashlyn loves her big brother so much. I'm so grateful that they play so well together.

Sew a Quiet Book!

Pin It Now! Quiet Book \ˈkwī-ət 'book\ n. a set of fabric activity pages bound together with the intent of instilling calmness and restful playtime for babies and toddlers in the event of the numberless boring adult occasions that require a hushed atmosphere.

I've always wanted to sew a quiet book, but never wanted to invest the long, tedious hours it takes to make one. However, the ladies at church expressed an interest in making them for next big sewing project. We decided to meet once a month and work on two activity pages at a time.

To prepare for our first class, I sewed the mock up quiet book you see here, compiled a 13-page list of instructions and patterns (available for free download below), and purchased all the materials needed for a "Quiet Book Kit". I decided that we would have a better turn out if we made ready-made kits available for purchase. Not to mention it saves on cost. I admit that making the kits was a ton of work, but well worth it... I know that making them available lowered the intimidation factor for the ladies, and we did have a better turnout as a result. Fortunately, with Memorial Day sales and Joann's coupons, I was able to keep the kits under $10.

We met for the first time last night and everyone was able to complete the first two pages in about two hours. Last night my home was buzzing with 10 women and their sewing machines. We had so much fun!

Here are the 12 pages :

"Match My Colors"

"Snap Me on My Shapes" and "Feely Fingers"

"Call Me" and "Put Your Hand in My Mitten"

"Dress Me" and "Tuck Me into Bed"

"Traffic Light" and "Lace the Football"


"Zip the Tee Pee" and "What Time is It?"

"Button on My Flowers"

Here is a quiet book kit

Compiled, written and illustrated by me. Feel free to make as many quiet books for personal use or to sell, but please do not sell the actual pattern. It is intended for use by everyone free of charge. Thank you!

♥,

Jodell

Click here to download Quiet Book pattern (this will open the pdf through google docs... click "file" in the top left corner for the option to download or print)

♥ Happy Sewing! ♥

Mother's Day Treats

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My church passes out little Mother's Day gifts each year to all the women. This year my friend Kira was asked to make her fabulous cake truffles, and I was recruited to help with the packaging of them. These are pyramid favor boxes and they were just the right size to hold two cake truffles. My mom helped me cut and fold 75 of these mothas.

Here is the template:

Instructions

♥ Trace or print pattern on scrapbooking cardstock

♥ Use a bone folder to score along each dotted line and fold the cardstock into the box

♥ Punch small hole at the top of each of the four points

♥ Thread ribbon through the holes and tie into bow

Happy crafting!

Oh, and here is a pic of the kiddos passed out on the floor after coming home from Denny's soccer game. How cute ♥

Custom Bridesmaid Dress

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My friend was asked to be a bridesmaid, but needed a gown with sleeves. There are some great modest dress sites that offer a wide variety of dresses with sleeves, however, my friend needed the dress made in the exact same material as the other bridesmaid gowns. The formal wear store where the other girls purchased their dresses, also allows you to buy the fabric in 2 yard increments. (They don't advertise this, so you'll have to specifically ask them).

My friend and I sketched out the design she wanted, then I drew up the pattern and sewed away. In order to add a subtle elegant touch, I added cording around the neckline, bust and waist. The neckline is pleated with the intention of helping those of us who are less endowed up top. The skirt is just a simple A-line, but I cut it on the bias to give it a nice drape. Oh, and the dress is fully lined.

So here is the completed dress, modeled by yours truly (please forgive the bathroom backdrop... taking pictures of myself is very tricky). The dress looks a lot better on my friend who is two inches taller, and has a bigger bust that me (ha! who doesn't?). Other than that, we have the same waist and hip measurements.

Little Mod Man Gift Set

Pin It Now! I centered this baby gift set on Alexander Henry's Hollywood print. Totally mod, yo. Set includes a Business Bib, Puzzle Ball, and Lounge Set. I no longer list Business Bibs in my shop, but will gladly accept custom requests.

This is a puzzle ball, and I find that adults enjoy playing with it as much as babies do. It comes apart in three sections... tricky, tricky. These are really fun to make, but a bit time consuming. My friend Janna makes the best puzzle balls in the world and sells them in her etsy shop, so check them out. She offers them at a steal of a deal for only $25. If you ask me to make you one, I'll charge you $50. I've been trying to talk Janna into raising her price on them, so get one now before I convince her ;)