Handmade Thank You Cards!

Here is my first project combining print and sewing! I made two versions - one that says "Merci Beaucoup" (Thank you very much) and one that says "Merci Mon Amie" (Thank you my friend ~ female). I am almost ready to open my shop on Etsy...so if you are interested in these...check back soon for updates on that!

Fabric Yo-Yo Mobil :)

Here is another one of my sewing projects! I decided to made a nursery mobile out of fabric yo-yos. I am not a huge fan of the mobiles with hanging plastic toys, so I wanted to come up with a shabby chic elegant option. These will soon be for sale on my {Etsy.com} shop - check back soon :)

Handmade Fabric Napkin Rings

This weekend was all about (much overdue) resting, sleeping in, enjoying downtown, and best of all catching up on some therapeutic craft time. I did some serious damage to my wallet at {The Cotton Ball} in Morro Bay as I have done before...and here is what I came up with for my first project using my new fabrics! Stay tuned for more to come :) These will be for sale soon when I get my {Etsy} shop up and running!

Baby Shower! Cupcakes! Decorations! Sewing!

So, last weekend was my friend's baby shower - it was amazing! This was also my friend {Natalie} and my first attempt at doing a dessert spread - A few different kinds of beautifully decorated cupcakes, brownie pops, and fruit skewers. Many props go to our friend Tabitha, for her amazing decorating skills - it looked wonderful down to every little detail: the hanging onesies, the cute drink buckets, the appetizer table, the chalkboard, the small vases wrapped with beautiful ribbon, the stylish paper chains, the adorable "about to hatch" egg timer favors for everyone, and much, much more! Check out the handmade elephant stuffed animal and handmade flannel burp clothes made by our friend {Tricia}.

Below is the gift I sewed for the guest of honor ~ a nursing cover!

Felt good to sew again!

It had been far too long since I had last done a sewing project, so what better time than a baby's first birthday!? Here they are, the blanket and dressed I sewed for baby Tveen :) Check back soon for a picture of her wearing the dress!

The pattern for the dress is my own take on one from {Mani-Mina} on Etsy. The pattern for the flower was found on {Sew Ritzy Titzy}.

I was gonna just wrap it in a usual gift box, but I felt like using a plain brown bag instead and dressing it up with some paper and ribbon I picked up at {Paper Sky} here in {San Luis Obispo}.

Thread Reel Holder

This is a pretty cool DIY project I found on {Kootoyoo} made by Kirsty, from Melbourne. I always love finding creative storage ideas that look nice at the same time. Living in a pretty small apartment with very little storage space, finding room for my sewing machine, fabrics, thread and all the other supplies is quite difficult. Here is one way to solve my problem! Using an {IKEA} frame and some free pencils, she was able to create this space saving solution. She shaved the pencils down so the cotton reels would fit over them, then spacing the pencils evenly apart on the frame, she glued the ends down using PVA glue. For the most part she tried to match the pencil color to the thread color. This also serves as wall art for your creative space.

Karen Barbé - Textile Designer

I love textile design, so imagine how happy I was to come across the work of {Karen Barbé} from Santiago, Chile. She is a very talented textile designer, printing her own designs as well as producing beautiful felted crafts. Once I am able to set aside some time to do some sewing, the project I want to start is a duvet cover similar to this one! Check out her {blog} for more of her work.

DIY Upholstered Toddler Bed

This is a great DIY project by Gabrielle Blair of {Design Mom} She is a designer/art director and mother of five in New York who posts on where design and motherhood intersect. This toddler bed was featured on {Design*Sponge} - check it out for detailed instructions.

DIY Ruffled Belt

This was a great find! Belts have become a real wedding trend lately - could be attributed to {J.Crew} - so here is a way to have this chic style incorporated in your special day without spending tons of $$. Check out {100 Layer Cake} for step by step instructions. This belt was inspired by a headband made by crafty Rachel over at {Heart of Light}.

Flaxsac Set

I think these are totally awesome (said in the most non-valley girl voice possible). The {Flaxsac Set} consists of multipurpose fabric sacs filled with organic golden flax seeds and lavender for comfort and the added benefit of a calming aroma. You can heat them in a microwave for up to an hour of warmth or throw them in the freezer for a comfortable cooling pack. This would be a great gift for anyone who spends a lot of time at a computer. Each bag is double-stitched and serged to ensure a long life.


PS: I am without a computer tonight while it is at the Apple store being fixed :( So...this is all I could do after finishing work for the day and will be back up and running (hopefully) tomorrow - cross your fingers for me!

Soft-Map Blankets

Check out these beautiful, soft, and chic {Soft-Map Blankets}. Each one can be uniquely customized - ranging from having your house/apartment detailed on the blanket, or where your child goes to school. They include the hand stitching of street names, compass rose and scale marker on each blanket. Most of the Soft-Maps are made with dupioni silk and with an inner layer made from organic cotton. Raw silk creates a texture that I absolutely love! They need to be dry cleaned - but that is a small sacrifice I would be more than willing to make for one of these. The artist is from Brooklyn and specializes in those neighborhoods, but she's willing to customize her blankets to match your favorite neighborhood.

Organic Quilt Company

Becky - mother of 3 in Montreal, Canada - created {Organic Quilt Company} after her quest to find sustainable quilting cottons. Being a long-time quilter, she became more and more concerned with the thought of chemicals being used by the quilting industry - and as a mother she did not want to wrap her babies up in these chemically-laced blankets. She was even more inspired after finding beautiful organic cotton fabrics and decided to create a line of luxuriously soft quilts and receiving blankets - all sustainable and high quality. Aside from blankets/quilts, she also makes hats and fun/stylish, yet soft and very absorbent, burp cloths. She is able to custom make any product to match whatever color or pattern you are drawn to.

Wunderlust Whimsical Nests

Marichelle, the designer of {Wonderlust} creations - an ultimate work-in-progress - is a platform that reflects her personality and her constantly evolving ideas and passions. The goal is to create a new limited series of whimsical treats every month! For this month, she created these adorable eggs in nests out of fabrics/textiles. Now, I have seen a lot of super cheesy Easter/Springtime decorations for so long - but this is something I would love to have!

Be Still - Textile Creations

Check out these handmade creations on {Be Still}, the Etsy shop of a graphic designer from Australia. She started out buying fabrics, with no direct purpose or plan, simply because they were beautiful. Eventually she decided what she would do with them and now creates pillow cases, cushion covers, and sweet linen napkins. I was drawn to the simplicity and rather calming patterns and colors (that may just be me) - but perhaps that's where the name "Be Still" came from?

Heather Bailey Designs

Like {Amy Butler}, {Heather Baily} is a very talented designer of fabrics, sewing patters, and lots of beautiful creations. I just picked out a few of my favorites - I recommend checking out her site and her {blog} for more! Baily started college at the age of 17 in a Pre-Med program with plans to become a surgeon. She allowed herself one "fun" class a semester - her life changed after taking the History of Costume and Pattern Drafting. She graduated in 1996 with a degree in Apparel Design. A year later, she started Noggins, a children's hat company - eventually turning into a women's accessory line with her invention of Trash Ties hair accessories. Her adventures have led her to design fabrics, designer sewing patterns, and paper craft supplies.

Pumpkin Pincushion

This is a pretty sweet {pincushion} for those who sew and appreciate things like this. It is made of soft natural linen with cream colored hand embroidered designs, a brown stem, and a cute green silk ribbon. This is a functional accessory or can be used as decoration year round - it is 4" in diameter and 3" tall.

A couple weekend projects :)

Aside from recovering from being sick all week, running errands, and doing laundry this weekend - I got in a few hours of sewing :) Here are some of the results.

Studio On Fire

Check out these awesome and unique wedding invitations! Not only are they excellently designed with beautiful clean typography and graphics, but so creative to incorporate sewing and a perforated detachable RSVP card! That's not all - this whole invitation folds up into a self-mailer! This was co-designed by the bride and groom themselves, then Gocco printed and then stitched together. This piece, along with a lot of beautiful letterpress designs can be found on {Studio On Fire} - and on fire they are!

Baby Changing in Style

Why not even change your baby in style? These are pretty adorable. They are made with a bold designer print on front and soft white terry cloth on the back - she has even designed matching bibs and other gifts too! Check out more work by Allisa Jacobs, on her {1000 Markets} shop called {Quiltish}.

Sketchbook Covers!

Even if you are not one to necessarily care about the condition of your sketchbook on the outside, as long as the pages are protected, these would probably still come in handy. Not only does it keep your book clean and protected on the outside, but it has the convenience of storing pencils/colored pencils as well. Everything that you need when you go out to sketch or while you are traveling, are all kept together in one package. These sketchbook covers by {KristaMarie} are another great handmade idea!