NEW Burpies & Paci-Clips!

I am excited to begin my Etsy shop more full-time. I've added a couple of listings today (shown below) and will be adding many more options throughout the week. I'm in love with the fun designer baby items and have begun to make some really cute items for babies. I hope you like them too!

Here are two colorful burpies made with designer fabric over soft minky dot fabric. I LOVE them!

And of course, a matching paci-clip made with coordinating designer fabric and fits all pacifier styles.

If you are looking for some adorable burp cloths or pacifier clips, be sure to stop by my store at www.etsy.com/shop/SewWhatSteph. I can make these to make your baby decor style as well.

I hope you'll check it out and let me know what you think!

Fun With Words - Free Wall Art!

I came across a fun and free website where you can create word art. Here's a sample of some I created using characteristics of my children, Sophia, Emily, and Isaac. I love how they turned out!

(Click on images to see larger.)

I think this would be a fun craft to make and frame to put in each of my children's bedrooms. It's also a great gift to give to a special friend to tell them what they mean to you. You could add it to cardstock for stationary as well. Oh, how the possibilities are endless!

Click HERE to go to Wordle.net and make yours for free!

Jewelry made by Emily

Going beyond sewing here... I love that my daughters are crafty and probably more creative than I am. My grandmother was a knitter and quilter, my mom loved the same, and I hope to pass along a crafty and creative niche to my daughters as well.

(Made by Emily)

My daughter, Emily (7-years-old) is into jewelry making and beads. We had the idea to make the kid's teachers homemade gifts for Christmas this year. This is what she came up with. Can you believe it?! I was impressed. I helped a little, but she came up with the design. I thought it came out beautiful. She has an eye for beautiful things and I look forward to showing off more of her designs.

Luggage Tags

If you read my previous post, I asked you to guess what I was making for my sister and her family as they get ready to travel out of the country... and here it is - Luggage Tags!!

(Click on image for larger view.)

I had a lot of fun making these, but also got frustrated working with the vinyl. My sewing machine is not fancy and does not work well with vinyl. It continually got stuck on the vinyl... So, to remedy my issue, I cut wax paper and placed it between the sewing foot and the vinyl... and also ended up using my mom's Elna sewing machine. Between the two of these helps, I was able to finish all 16 luggage tags in time for Christmas.

Having matching luggage tags will help while traveling with 4 children and trying to find so many pieces of luggage.

Find the tutorial to make these over at SkipToMyLou and let me know if you make your own. Be sure to find these and more available in other fabrics over at my store SewWhatSteph! I'll be adding more soon.

Child's Crayon Roll-Up

I am loving this new crayon roll-up! My daughter and I made one of these for her friend's birthday and paired it with a fun notebook. I've also made the kind with the ribbon. And although it's probably prettier, it's not as practical for little children to have to tie a bow every time they want to secure the roll. The elastic is SO much easier that even a toddler can do it.

So, I'm adding this one to my Etsy store today. If you're interested in it or another color option (which I'll be adding this week), I'm charging $7.00 for the small version. If you'd like the 16-ct Crayon Roll-Up, it is $12.00. I'll be adding it soon, or you can contact me.

French Bread Basket (Simple Project)

I found this great and fun pattern to create this French Bread Basket and fell in love! I made this in less than 2 hours, it was so simple. I plan on posting a tutorial if you are interested in making one for yourself.

You can make these in any size you need. I've seen them used for bread, rolls, tea bags, and so many things outside of the kitchen as well. The ribbons add a nice touch and can be untied to allow this bread basket to be collapsible.

I can totally see myself making up a bunch of these and including them in my yearly Christmas cookie bake. Don't you think they'd make great displays for Christmas cookies?! I love that they're washable and easy to store too!

Tutorial coming soon...

Cozy Nap Mat for School

I'm so excited to share with you my most recent project! Up until this year, I have always homeschooled our children, but this year my husband and I have chosen to send them to a private Christian school. Along with this decision, we've had all sorts of adventures - including uniforms, school supplies... and the need for a nap mat for my son who's starting Kindergarten this year!

So, naturally, I saw "PROJECT" in my future! I know I could've just gone to the store and bought a KinderMat, but instead I just had to take the opportunity to make one! I did a little looking online and came across this great tutorial (which I tweaked a little) and... Ta-Da!!

I can't begin to tell you how excited he is about his new nap mat! And I love that I was able to create something special for him to take to school that's just from Mommy. Selfishly, I hope that he thinks of me every time he lays on it... but realistically, I know he'll be too busy trying to keep all the kids from taking actual naps... yes, my boy is that child.

I'd love to hear what you're working on in a comment below. Have you ever made a nap mat or do you have a really cool project (sewing or crafty) that you want to share?! Please leave me a comment!! I love to hear from you.

P.S. You can click on the images in this post to see more detail.

Patchwork and Ruffles!

I have really begun to enjoy patchwork sewing. Recently, I was inspired by a shopping trip in which I saw a beautiful patchwork skirt that my daughter fell in love with. I know I'm not the only one to find something I love and say, "I think I could make that!" And so I set out to create this skirt! Here's the finished project.

Ignore the little threads on the bottom. The perfectionistic side of me needs to go get a pair of scissors and cut those off...

My daughter loves how it flows and has worn this skirt for the past 2 days - with exception to bedtime. In our house, it truly comes down to the "twirl factor". That is, does the skirt make a beautiful twirly movement when you spin in a circle. If it does, it's a beautiful skirt. And I'm happy to say that the twirl factor with this skirt was a winner!

(You'll notice that I used mostly fabric I've been using lately. I'm slowly building up my fabric collection... and am in need of some organization of it too!)

What I've been working on...

I know it's been a while since I've posted a new sewing project, so I thought I'd show you what I've been working on for Mother's Day. Throughout the years, my mom has put together so many Around-the-World quilts for me, my sister, and countless friends and family. I remember as a child watching her cut out all the squares, then lay them out on the living room floor, and finally sew them all together. I never thought I'd make a quilt as nice as hers. And until now, I had never tried.

It just seemed to fit that my mom should get the very first quilt I've ever made. With 7 grandchildren (3 of them mine), she's been wanting a blanket that would represent her grandkids. I thought about it and decided to make a quilt - my first ever - for her Mother's Day gift. I literally made this going by what I watched her do so many times before. I went to JoAnn's and bought the fabric with help from my children - that was a fun trip! I used a favorite throw blanket to determine the size I wanted, then went from there. I use a rotary cutter with cutting board that makes the cutting go SO much quicker.

I did a couple of searches on YouTube.com to to learn the best way to sew the binding around the finished quilt. (Look below for those links.) and ta-da, this is the finished project!

Click on image above for larger size.

My mom has been out of town visiting her mom for Mother's Day, so she won't actually open this gift until today. Hopefully, she won't stop by SewWhatSteph.com before she opens it... :)

The picture didn't come out quite as well as I would've liked, but here's some of the details of the quilt. Since I am not super skilled in hand appliqueing, I chose to use a permanent fabric paint pen to write the names and birthdates of each grand child. Then at the top, I quoted a verse from one of my favorite chapters of the Bible (Proverbs 31) that states, "Her children arise and call her blessed." Proverbs 31:28. I chose some colorful and bright fabrics because my mom is not a stuffy kinda lady and I wanted her to smile every time she looked at the blanket. These fabrics are bright and cheery, so I thought what better way to brighten her day?! I finished it off with yarn ties - again, a simpler method my mom used often.

In case you haven't figured it out yet, my mom is very special to me. We are so much alike and often think the same way. Throughout 2009, she went through a long process of breast cancer treatments. I never understood how hard that was until I saw her go through it. I appreciate my mom so much more today than ever. More importantly, I saw her walk with God grow immensely throughout that time. She is a true woman of God and her faith and love in God has blessed me beyond measure. I do indeed "arise and call her blessed!"

YouTube.com Links:

• How to Bind a Quilt: I used this video to help me understand the binding method, but only as a guide. If you're new to quilting, hopefully this helps.
• The Slip Stitch: I slip stitched the back of the binding. Since I had never done this before, I again looked to YouTube for a demonstration. This took a little longer than I liked to complete, but I loved the finished product!
  

Patchwork Drawstring Mini-Tote

I am so excited about this adorable mini-tote bag! My kids went nuts over them. It's reversible and great for carrying around all of their treasures.

Click HERE for a tutorial on how to make your own!