Crafts

We currently live in a two bedroom apartment with no garage, basement, yard, or storage. Apartment living definitely has it’s perks – when our roof leaks, we just pick up the phone and someone comes to fix it for free. We don’t have to mow the lawn. We get lots of heat from neighboring apartments. And instead of spending time and money on home improvement projects, I can craft and decorate and spend time on smaller things.

But apartment living has it’s setbacks, too. We can’t make any major changes (ugh, tan carpeting and old cabinets!). We don’t have a yard to garden in. And we have no place to store things.

We got rid of some of our hidden storage in this apartment by removing the ugly hall closet doors. Our second bedroom turned into our guest room/storage/letterpress/crafts/my husbands home workspace/seed starting central. Ahhh, that is far too much for one room to handle. So when I saw this post with a beautiful headboard creating some hidden storage, I knew I had found an answer to at least one problem!

See our bedroom also has a weird cove thing in it. It has this odd mirror plastered to the wall inside the cove. And I hit my head on the top of it almost every day. This cove had to go. And what better way than with shelves and a padded headboard?!

We picked up some fun fabric at IKEA, a few pieces of OSB at Home Depot, and 1″ medium density foam. Thankfully both Home Depot and the fabric store we found the foam at were able to cut the materials to the dimensions we needed. Our apartment doesn’t yet hold power tools and I was a bit stressed about cutting the foam myself.

This was a new-sew project. I just folded over the edges of the fabric, pulled it tight, and tacked it down with 3/8″ double point staples. (Another apartment setback – stressing out that your downstairs neighbor will report you for a noise violation when you spend all day hammering…) I love that I could just easily pull the fabric off and replace it with different fabric if my decor taste changes.

I added two shelves at varying heights so that I could fit different sized/shaped items inside.

I loaded in boxes of things that we don’t need to access all that often – old yearbooks, college course notebooks (someday I will want to know what that equation I learned in biometry sophomore year was!), etc.

Then I slid the headboards in, tucked the bed back in, and voila! No more weird cove, creepy mirror, or head bruises. Now we have a cute decoration, padding to lean up against, and easily accessible storage. Hooray!

Next step: bedside tables. Room by room, I plan to make this apartment as cozy and stylish as possible!

Top Row: Apron in an Hour, Tote Bag, Cathedral Window Quilt. Bottom Row: Summer Wallet, Shirred Twirly Dress, Don’t Get Out of Bed Pants.

And finally, all of the craft/sewing tutorials that were left in the comments to my Giveaway Day post. Thank you again to everyone who participated! These tutorials are so amazing, and they will keep me busy all summer. I hope you find some new, fun things to make as well!

Crafts:

• Fabric Basket
• Summer Wallet
• Pleated Pouch
• Patchwork Cube Drawstring Bag
• Apron in an Hour
• Fabric Calendar
• Silverware Caddy
• Round Luggage Tag
• Bunny Bowling
• Strawberry Fields Pillow
• Sewn Stash Baskets
• Moleskine-Like-Notebook
• Lil Cutie Pouches
• Tutowlrial
• Ironing Board Cover

Clothes:

• Corsage Tee
• 5-minute Hairkerchief
• Spring Ruffle Top
• Layer Skirt
• Ruffle Shirt
• Don’t Get Out of Bed Pants

Bags:

• The Jordy Bag
• Tote Bag
• Apple Picking Tote
• Ruffle Shoulder Bag
• Margaret Sling Bag

Kids:

• Toddler Bib
• Lazy Days Skirt
• Popover Sundress
• One Hour Sundress
• Shirred Twirly Dress
• Rag Quilt Letters
• The Market Skirt
• Baby Tights
• Bitty Booties

Quilts:

• Cathedral Window Quilt
• Modern Square Garden Quilt
• Quilt Along
• Wonky Log Cabin Quilt Blocks
• Wedding Quilt
• 1st Quilt Ever

My coworker carries a great bag like this that you can fold up into the cute accent pocket. I knew it couldn’t be too hard to make one for myself, so I measured her bag and got to work. It’s the perfect size to fit into my bike basket and to pick up groceries from the farmers market or corner store.

And it can be stuffed into the pocket so I can carry extra with me for shopping. Cute, eh? I put together a tutorial so that you, too, can make foldable (er, stuffable) tote bags!

Step 1: Gather Materials

You will need:

• 2 14″x16″ rectangles of main fabric
• 2 2″x27″ strips of main fabric
• 1 10.5″x10.5″ square of accent fabric, cut in half on diagonal to make 2 triangles
• 32″ cord
• Cord stop

Step 2: Make Straps

With right sides together, fold long strips in half hot-dog bun style. Sew 1/4″ from raw edges. Flip rightside out and iron.

Step 3: Attach Straps

Pin straps to top of main bag pieces 4″ in from each side. Baste 1/4″ from raw edges.

Step 4: Hem Top Edge

Iron down 1/4″ and then 1″. Sew close to bottom fold.

Step 5: Finish Top Edge

Fold straps up and sew all the way across, 1/4″ from top. Set main bag pieces aside.

Step 6: Prep Pocket

Iron one corner of one triangle 3″ up one side (wrong sides together), flush with the edge. Iron the other corner of one triangle 1.5″ up one side (wrong sides together), flush with the edge. Do the same thing with the other triangle, but on opposite corners. The triangles should be mirrors of each other.

Step 7: Hem Pocket

Iron down 1/4″ then 3/4″ of hypotenuse. Sew close to bottom fold.

Step 8: Add Cord

String the cord through both triangles, with pointy tips of triangles touching. Tails on either end should be about the same length.

Step 9: Sew Around Bag

Line up all pieces of your bag with right sides out. The triangles will fit on either side of the bag, like a tote bag sandwich. Sew around sides and bottom, 1/4″ from edge. Be sure not to sew over your cord tails.

Step 10: Finish Bag

Turn bag inside out and iron flat. Sew around sides and bottom, 1/2″ from edge. Be sure not to sew over your cord tails.

Step 11: Cord Stop

Turn bag right side out and pull out corners with a pin. String cord stop onto the tails. Tie the tails into a knot and trim ends.

You’re done!! Now you have a super cute bag that can be stuffed into the pocket so that you can go from this…

To this!

Look at that! I have an extra one tucked inside my bag. Check back next weekend for a chance to win that extra bag! (Hooray for Sew, Mama, Sew! Giveaway Day!)

Whew! Christmas is over and it’s halfway through January! How did that happen? We finally got our Christmas tree out of the house today and are now starting to enjoy some of the great gifts that we received. My brother-in-law gave me the amazing King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion cookbook for Christmas. I would highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn more about baking bread. It’s such a well-written cookbook and I want to make every recipe in it! I’ve made a few so far, and the recipes are super easy to follow and so delicious.

With all of the bread I’ve been baking, I’ve been struggling to find a container to store and carry the bread in. I wanted to bring it places to share with people and none of my tupperware containers were the size of a bread loaf. So I decided to fashion a convertible, washable, colorful, portable, fabric bread box! And lucky for you, I took pictures throughout the process so that you can make one, too!

I made it to fit a small cutting board in the bottom so that I can just untie the straps, open it up, and cut right there. Then when I’m done, all I need to do is retie the straps. All of the crumbs are contained within! And if the fabric needs washing, I can just remove the cardboard inserts and throw the whole thing in the washing machine.

Here goes nothing! Please let me know if anything is unclear. I can try my best to clear it up for you!

Step 1: Cut out your fabric.

Outside fabric (1/2 yard total):
(2) 22” x 6” (tops)
(1) 18.5” x 22” (main piece)

Lining fabric (3/4 yard total):
(1) 12″ x 8.5″ (center piece)
(4) 6″ x 6″ (corners)
(2) 12″ x 6″ (long sides)
(2) 8.5″ x 6″ (short sides)
(2) 22″ x 6″ (tops)
(1) 4.5′ x 3” (long strap)
(4) 12″ x 2” (short straps)

Step 2: With right sides together, line up long edges of the main piece and top pieces of your outside fabric. Measure 5.5″ in from each corner and pin. Sew between pins. Set aside.

Step 3: Hem one edge of the lining center piece and each side piece (Iron down 1/4″ and then another 1/4″ and sew). These hemmed edges will be the entrance slots to slide cardboard inserts in and out.

Step 4: Baste one edge of each corner square down. (Iron down 1/2″ and baste.)

Step 5: Attach a corner square to the unfinished end of each side piece as seen here, lining up raw outside edges. The basted edge of each square will line up with the hemmed edge of another side piece.

Step 6: Attach long sides to center piece, lining up with the hemmed edge of center piece.

Step 7: Attach one short side to center (along the non-hemmed edge of center piece). The other short side will stay separate until you attach the lining to the outside fabric (next). Speaking of that separate short side: go ahead and baste down 1/2″ on the edge that will lay next to the hemmed center piece.

Step 8: Attach top pieces to long sides. (Only to the long sides, don’t sew the top pieces to corner squares. I didn’t take a picture of that step by itself, but you can see it attached in this photo.) Lay lining on top of outside fabric with right sides together. Pin. Sew around the whole thing, as shown here. It’s a little tricky to sew around the top flaps, so take it slow. Trim corners and flip right side out.

Step 9: Top stitch 1/4″ around the outside edge. Top stitch along all seams, tacking down all those places that you previously basted 1/2″ under. Be careful to leave the hemmed edge of each of those cardboard insert slots free.

Step 10: Iron strap pieces in half. Sew, trim excess fabric. Flip right-side out and iron again.

Step 11: Turn under strap edges and sew.

Step 12: Line up the center of the long strap with the center of the outside fabric. Attach at top-stitch lines (see circled areas above). Attach side straps to corners as seen above.

Step 13: Cut cardboard to fit in slots. Slip in. The cardboard is removable so that you can wash the fabric in a washing machine at any time.

Step 14: Fold up, tie short straps along long side to form a box. Tuck in top flaps and tie long strap across the top. Carry bread wherever you please!

Let me know if you make one! Happy bread making and sharing!

Eeks, I just set up my very first item for sale on esty! If you didn’t win a calendar in my contest last month, you can buy one in my brand spanking new etsy shop.

My father-in-law also recently set up an etsy shop. He is making these awesome Euchre counters! (I know, who knew there was a fancy way to keep score in Euchre besides using a 4 and a 6?!) These would be a great gift for any of those Midwestern Euchre fans out there. You can find them in his etsy shop.

My good friend from high school recently had her second baby, so I was finally able to put Pretty Partridge’s World’s Easiest Applique Tutorial to use. I decorated a onesie for the new baby and a shirt for her big (little) sister. Pretty Partridge’s tutorial is super easy to follow and I love the results! I would recommend this tutorial for anyone looking for a simple, thoughtful, and adorable gift for a baby/kid this Christmas.

Congrats Sandy and Matt! I can’t wait to meet your new little one!

Remember that great organic cotton fabric I won back in May? It moved across the country with me and has been sitting on top of my fabric pile, guilting me daily for not putting it to good use. Well, I finally found a perfect use for it! I used Sparkle Power!’s great Super Easy Removable Pillow Cover Tutorial to add some decoration to our couch. It really was the simplest project – no zippers or hand-sewing seams closed. Just a few straight lines and then shoving a pillow inside. Thanks Sparkle Power!

My husband tried to throw out a pile of old sweaters that have been collecting dust in the closet. Luckily I caught him before the sweaters left the house, and they got added to my pile of fabric scraps.

My first project with them was to make these cute little pocket warmers. They can be heated up in the microwave and slipped into your (or a loved ones) coat pockets in the morning before heading out to brave the cold weather. Even though Oregon isn’t quite as cold as Wisconsin was, it’s still nice to have a little warmth for my cold fingers while waiting for the bus!

Step 1: Cut off a section of the sleeve. Repeat with the other sleeve so that you have 2 pieces that are the same size. I cut mine ~5″ long, but you can make yours bigger or smaller, depending on the size of the pockets that they will go into!

Step 2: Turn the fabric inside-out, and sew up the openings, leaving an ~1″ opening on one end.

Step 3: Turn the fabric right side-out through the opening that you left. Fill with dry beans, lentils, rice, pie weights, or whatever you have on hand that will withstand microwaving.

Step 4: Hand sew opening closed.

Step 5: Now you have two soft and cute bean bags! Microwave for 2-3 minutes.

Step 6: Slip into your coat pocket and enjoy the warmth!

It’s a month of firsts for me! My first wedding anniversary, first blogiversary, first craft sale, and first CONTEST!

I made these letterpress calendars to sell at the craft sale this weekend. For the holidays New Years, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, there is a cute little holiday picture instead of the date. They fit into an empty CD case for display. I think they would be perfect for the office!

To win a calendar, simply leave a comment by Thanksgiving Day telling me your favorite holiday and why. I will pick one comment at random to determine who the winner is! Be sure to leave some way for me to get in contact with you. I am happy to ship internationally.

Here’s to another year! Thanks for reading!

Dave and I headed to Bend, Oregon this weekend to celebrate our first wedding anniversary. We had to drive through the Cascades to get there from Eugene. It was a beautiful drive, until we suddenly hit a blizzard. Eeeks! We are used to winter driving from Wisconsin, but Wisconsin doesn’t have very many curvy roads on the sides of mountains. Even though the snow was kind of scary, it was gorgeous in that first snow of the season kind of way. Or maybe I just say that because we made it safely through and enjoyed a relaxing mini-vacation in Bend before returning home on snow-free roads.

I broke out my gocco tonight to print up some snowflake Christmas cards. In Eugene, I just have to enjoy the gray rain outside and make my own bright winter snow!

Thanks everyone for your encouragement about my first craft booth. I have a lot of work to do in the next two weeks!! My goal is simply to have enough items to fill up a table. Maybe some day I’ll make the goal to sell something.