Just Sew!

Give Them Something From the Heart This Valentine's Day - Buy a Cricut!

  
      Happy Valentines' Day and  welcome to another fun Theme Day@ My Cricut Craft Room! Today Erica asked us to use the theme "Just Do It" so I decided to showcase a craft I love and have the opportunity to pass on to my grand daughters: Sewing!!! For Christmas I bought my oldest 2 GD's their very own sewing machines so we spent some quality time learning how to use it. I decided to make a layout to capture this major milestone. (I think so anyways, lol).

Mia, Cecilia and Alexis

Just Do It!!!

     The above picture shows Mia with her machine and she was just too excited to learn. To make this lay out I started by making my own background paper by using the Imagine Cart Heirloom. This paper pattern can be found on page 10. I flood filled it but decided to trim all edges by 1/2" on all sides and adhered it to a solid background paper. What a fun paper to work with! Let me break down the elements I added.

     This frame is on the Imagine More cart on page 12. I print and cut @ 2.5" however I also separated the layers so I could use the spools of thread. The spools had to be resized to 3.5" since I wanted to use them separately and not just to layer on the frame.I also wrapped some thread around the spool to give it a realistic look. I also layered this on a chevron paper for the background. Just a word about the journaling, I always write it in pencil first and then go over with ink so I don't have to worry about making a mistake. After the ink is dry I just erase the pencil marks.

     These are the extra threads I added to fill some white space. The buttons are a Tim Holtz embellishment as well as the card with hooks.I love to add dimension to my projects so I added some satin braid and I-Rock studs to the corset.

     In order to balance out this page, I took some of the pics I had taken and used them as "buttons" to fill the top "white" space. I lovehow this looks and plan to use this on more future LO's. By the way, this is the sewing machine I bought my GD's. It's by Michey and is the perfect size and model for these girls. They are 6 and 8 years old and this is perfect for them!

      I thought this would be perfect for this page. The graphic is from Word Collage but I used the color palette from Heirloom so I knew it would match. The graphic was cut and printed @ 3".

     I never realized there were so many images to choose from on my Cricut carts, lol. This phrase is from Nursery Rhymes and I cut it @ 2.5" then added some Distress Inks. I also pulled out some of my button brads. How can you possibly sew without scissors?

     Oh look, there were some on Cricut Everyday cart!!! I cut all the layers with different colors and added a brad for the "screw" on the scissors. I think I cut these at 1.75".
    Well there you have it , I just immortalized my cuties with their first step into sewing!!! Cecilia is the youngest one but it looks like she was really taking it all in. What did they make you ask? Pants for their American Girl dolls of course and they did a fabulous job for the first time!
     That's all for my project for today. Be sure to hop back over to My Cricut Craft Room and see what other surprises we have for you. By the way: Happy Love Day!!!!!!
     You can see the machine they are using Michley LSS-505 Desktop Sewing Machine (Google Affiliate Ad)

    

The Three Wisemen Card

     As you can see I am on a roll with my Christmas cards this year. The more I do the more intricate I am getting. This is my new favorite for the week, lol. Fortunately I had cut these out in anticipation of our possibly losing power. It is truly a miracle that THIS time we didn't. However you can still see the snow that is left over and this is 5 days later.
     This time I went with a 5x7" card base. The card stock is a cream with a nice sheen to it. The image was cut using the Inspired Heart image @ 3" and the background is from a pale blue glossy card stock.I really love using embossing of all kinds on my cards and this has both dry and heat embossing.The background is Swiss dots whereas I used heat embossing for the stars in the upper right hand corner as well as the sentiment "Unto us a child is born".  The embossing powder is a detail silver and really makes a statement! Both stamps are from Inkadinkado.

     The flower was cut from Flower Shoppe cart by ProvoCraft.  I cut them @ various sizes: 1 3/4" and 1- 1/2". I used a DCWV stack and Donna Salazar's technique with the tulle and added some of her Pixie Dust Glitter. I assembled the card by using silver thread to sew the image and background together before adhering it to the card base.

     I thought the flower would balance the stars off and the colors just seemed to fit.It gives it a quiet elegance don't ya think?

     I also added a sentiment on the inside and used a rich blue ink. It says: "Peace on earth will come to stay, when we live Christmas everyday." I just love this sentiment. It would be wonderful if we could have that warm feeling year round, don't you agree?

Party Favors

     Sorry I haven't been posting much lately but I have a good excuse. It has nothing to do with the Hurricane Irene but rather with preparing for a baking themed birthday party. So, without further adieu:

     Yup, it's aprons, all 25 of them!!! You read that right, 12 girls and 13 boys. I made my own pattern and the the boys are the chef apron out of character fabric. Some are Batman, some Star Wars, and some are Spiderman. How flippin' cute is that! The girls' aprons are girlie prints with a ruffle around the bottom and side edges. The waistband and neck tie have velcro enclosures making it easy for the little ones to put on themselves.
     The kids range in age from 7 months to 9 years old which meant I had to make several sizes. It may seem like an overwhelming task but not really. I have been sewing for more years than I care to count so I have a serger which helped a lot plus gives it a real professional look. It actually takes more time to cut them out than to actually construct them, lol. Start to finish it took me 2 weeks. Not bad for a power sewer!
     Here's a closer look:

Star Wars Apron

Spiderman Apron

     Here are all the boys including 2 Batman versions. They are all reversible. The straps and waist tie are also from the co ordinating fabric.Now for the girls:

        Such girlie girls!

     Now that's one happy little 5 year old! Happy Birthday Mia Sofia!

     I'll be back tomorrow to share with you what a baking Birthday Party looks like. I'll also have a few pics of the tropical downpour in Massachusetts prior to Irene's arrival. You just can't picture this with approximately 60 people gathered for several celebrations!

I'll Always Have A Helping Hand.

          I always wanted to try printing on fabric, so when this was one of the lessons in the mixed media class, I knew this was the class for me. I am in the process of redoing our youngest son Steve's room with a nautical theme.
     There is 15 years 4 days difference between our oldest and youngest. Mike was going away to college and Steve was entering nursery school, lol. The photo was taken on Cape Cod while the 2  brothers were climbing on rocks. Steve (the younger one) was very nervous, so his big brother (Mike) reached out his hands and coaxed him up. The colors were just perfect for what I was looking for.
     I printed out the perfect sentiment: "I'll always be there with a helping hand." The solid light blue color is from a pair of my favorite capris. They were so worn I really had to replace them but couldn't bring myself to throw them away. They were so comfy. Glad I saved them because they were just the right color.
     Next I went through my buttons and found these that have a greyish tone with a black stripe in them. They go perfect with the rocks in the photo.
     I finished the edges with some French Knots with a darning cotton to add a little dimension to the piece. I really love how this turned out (as well as my sons, lol). Steve graduates college in another month AND has a job( as well as a cute girl friend!). Mike is married, lives in Florida, has a lovely wife and 2 wonderful children, Alexis and Nicholas. He also owns his own company. I'm sure this will become a conversation piece in this bedroom as well as making me smile every time I walk by.

I Love Sewing!

     My Creative Classroom is where I take a lot of classes and this is just the latest: Mixed Media. I have always wanted to learn the principles of this art form ( and use up some scraps!). I love detail so this was a project where I could really let myself go!
     First I started with a scrap of tapestry fabric, some coordinating fabric, some buttons and some lace when it hit me, why not do something for the sewing area of my craft room? I pulled out a zipper, some floss and embroidery yarn ( a project that has long gone by the way side!) and a vintage button. 
     After I fringed the edges of the tapestry I laid out my scrap fabrics and fused them onto the tapestry. Next i did some decorative stitches by hand before I added the zipper.
     The image is from Tim Holtz which I added some Rangers Glossy accents to before gluing it to card stock and fabric. I have so many letter beads that I decided to spell out "sewing" and added pearl beads in between the letters to soften the look.
     The pin with the thread and scissors was a gift years ago for my sister-in law since we both share a love of sewing. I made a ribbon hanger that I glued to a piece of card board and then glued the two together for some stability. This looks so good in the sewing area of my craft room!