It's my life

Here Comes 2016

I can't believe that 2015 is almost over.  It's just a few hours until midnight at my house.  It's been so long since I've given any attention to my blog.  I have been doing so many fun and exciting things this past year and I really should share!  While my enthusiasm for paper crafting caused me to start this blog, I really love doing so many different crafts so I'm going to be changing the content of this blog to share more of all of the things I like to create.

I'm also going to use this blog to share about what I offer through my businesses, Threads and Stitches and Sew Many Ruffles and some exciting news that is coming soon.

First quilt I have sewn in years.  I loved making it and have another one in the works already.

Christmas cards made using Bella Blvd products.

One of my favorite fabric collections from Riley Blake, Woodland Spring, available in my Threads and Stitches Etsy shop.

A dress pattern by The Handmaiden's Garden that I tested this year.  I will be offering some of these dresses for sale at Sew Many Ruffles for the Easter holiday.

Here's a few favorites of mine in 2015

Favorite Drink: Mocha Light Frappuccino

Favorite desert: Apple Pie and Cheesecake Factory Cheesecake

Favorite book:  The Outlander

Favorite TV series:  The Walking Dead, Nashville, Criminal Minds

Favorite place to visit:  The North East Georgia Mountains 

Welcome to 2016 everyone!  Here's to a great one!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

So excited to announce...

I'm so excited to announce that I will be sewing up some brand new fabric projects for the Bella Blvd Design team again this year.  There are so many fun new fabrics coming that I know you will love!!  But let me introduce you to the whole new 2015 paper and/or fabric team.  I am so happy to working with these fabulously creative and talented ladies.

 

Here are a couple recent projects that I have done. You can find more fabric projects on the Bella Blvd blog!

Fabric Notebook

Step by Step Quilting Block Tutorial

Coaster Set Tutorial

Follow Bella Blvd on Instagram now to see more of everything Bella Blvd!!

Bella Blvd Spotlight- Snapshots Fabric

I was so excited to hear that the Snapshots line was going to be made into fabric.  I love the fun colorful cameras, houses and doodles.  They sparked my creativity while choosing which fabrics to use on this fun, oversized purse.  

 

See a few more pictures and information on how to make your own on the Bella Blvd blog today.

Supplies:  

Bella Blvd Snapshots fabric for Riley Blake Fabrics

The Shore Bag pattern by Tiny Seamstress Designs

Bella Blvd Spotlight- Summer Breeze Twirly Doll Dress

Today I am sharing a project that I did for Bella Blvd as one of their fabric project designers.  Bella Blvd fabric  is available through Riley Blake Designs.  There is a big surprise at the end of this post, so be sure to read all the way down.

One of my favorite things to sew are girls dresses.  I love all the ruffles and twirly skirts.  A lot of time I’m asked to sew matching doll clothes and they are just as fun and cute to sew.  This double skirt peasant dress fits 18” inch dolls and was made with beautiful Bella Blvd fabric from the Summer Breeze line for Riley Blake Designs.

 

This cute little doll dress has a big bow sash just like the big girl version.  The dress pattern is the Elena Dress by Create Kids Couture.

If you are considering learning to sew clothing, sewing doll clothes is actually a great way to get started.  It’s a rather small project and most of the time you basically sew it exactly the same way you would the larger version.  That way you won’t have a lot of material and time invested the first time you try the pattern.

 

Well, here comes the surprise.  I would like to give this doll dress away to one of my lucky blog readers.  I've set up a Rafflecopter Giveaway and there are a couple different things you can do to win.  Please note that the doll, shoes, or tights shown int the picture is not part of the giveaway.  

Bella Blvd Supplies:

Summer Breeze fabric

Create Kids Couture Elena’s Twirly Peasant Doll Dress Pattern

Click the link below to enter.  Thanks for stopping by and good luck! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Bella Blvd Spotlight- Going to Grandma's Bag April's Fabric Project

What a fun way to tote your child’s favorite blanket and stuffed toy.  This reversible tote is made with Summer Breeze fabric by Bella Blvd.

This bag is truly a beginner’s project and the pattern comes from a great book titled The Bag Making Bible by Lisa Lam.

The pretty flower on the front is made from a Japanese technique of creating fabric flowers called Kanzashi.  This is another fun project that only requires fabric, scissors, a template, plus a needle and thread.  The center is a fabric covered button created with the button maker tool by Dritz.

The button in the center of the flower also serves as the bag closure.

 

Here is a look at the inside of the bag.  It is very easy to turn it inside out for a totally different look.

 

Thank for stopping by my blog!

-Christine

 

Supplies used:  Bella Blvd fabric, Summer Breeze

Lori Whitlock Spotlight- New Box Cards

Today I am showing you this adorable new card from Lori Whitlock.  Yes, it is a card, or rather a box, well actually, it's a box card.  Super cute, either way you look at it!!  Lori is so clever at creating 3D objects that are special and do different things.  This standalone box card can be folded down to fit into a regular A2 envelope.  

There are a bunch of different ones in the store.  You'll just have to check them all out and the way that they are designed, the parts can be mixed and matched.  Very cool, I think!

At first, I was a little confused on how to put it together, but a quick trip to Lori's channel on YouTube, and I was all set for assembly. Be sure to subscribe to her channel.  Most everything that needs assembly, has a video that she made to show you how it's done.

 

This is the Box Card Flower Pot and I have paired it with this cute envelope from the Card Base & Envelope Set 2.  I cut the envelope from plain cardstock and then altered the envelope with my knife so that I could cut out the flaps in different paper.

 

The paper and brads I used were from Lori's newest collection, Summer Bliss.  I just loved using the brads for the center of the flowers.

 

 

So, I hope you will give these boxes a try and Wow your friends with these stylish new kinds of cards.

 

 

Supplies used:

 

Box Card Flower Pot SVG file

Card Base & Envelope Set 2

Summer Bliss Collection by Lori Whitlock for Echo Park

Lori Whitlock Spotlight- February Valentine Blog Hop

 

There is a lot going on in this blog post today so please read all the way down so that you don't miss a thing.  As a special thank you gift for stopping by all of the Design Team Member blogs, we are each giving away  a $10 gift certificate to Lori Whitlock store.  To be entered in my giveaway, just answer the question that you find below, in the comment section.

 So you need a little something for your sweetheart?  Well my card and candy box will be just the right thing to make them smile.

 

The card is beautiful with multiple layers.  I used some white glitter paper as the second layer so you see some sparkle on the card.

 The heart box was really easy to put together but if you need some help, Lori has a great little video showing just how to do it.

 

The heart box comes with a plain top so I duplicated the heart layers, switching it up just a little and placed with on the top as a decorative layer.

 

To be entered in the $10 gift certificate giveaway to Lori Whitlock's shop on my blog, just complete this sentence.

I use my digital cutter to ....  

Is it scrapbooking, card making, 3D crafts, home decor... I would love to hear if you do one or even more of these things.  Giveaway ends next Monday night at midnight, February 17,2014.

For those of you who don't yet have the Silhouette Designer Edition you will want to check out this great special. Pick up the Silhouette Studio Designer Edition for $29.99 while you can!! This is THE BEST price I've seen (reg. price $49.99)!!

Use promo code: LORI

 www.silhouetteamerica.com/designer

Be sure to visit Lori's blog to receive this FREE digital cutting file.  Here is the list of designers who are participating in the hop.  Be sure to visit everyone!

Lori Whitlock 
Brigit Mann 
Christine Ousley (you are here)
Corri Garza 
Mendi Yoshikawa 
Natalie Graham 
Traci Penrod 
Chrissy Guido
Ashley Cook
Lorrie Nunemaker 
Smitha Katti
Stephanie Chavers

And last but not least, use code word LOVE to receive 30% off your Lori Whitlock and Kolette Hall SVG & Font Files until February 16, 2014

Lori Whitlock Supplies used:

•  Layered Heart Card
• Heart Candy Box

Other Supplies used:

• Love and Marriage paper collection by Bella Blvd

Lori Whitlock Spotlight- Making Your Own Embossing Plates

Today I am going to share a neat little trick that will quickly expand your current embossing folder inventory.  I love the look of embossed paper and there is so much you can do to with them.  But what if you could make your own? Wouldn't that be fun!  Well with your die cut machine and your Lori Whitlock files, you can do just that.

 

As you can see in my card and envelope set, I embossed both with a quatrefoil pattern.  That pattern can be found here, 3 Pattern Backgrounds

In the following tutorial, I'll give you step by step instructions on how you can make your own embossing plate out of plain cardstock.  Of course you can also use chipboard but if you don't have any on hand then it's just as easy to make it out of cardstock.

First pick your background shape.  Lori has so many beautiful ones in her store to choose from.  Here is the link to 3 Pattern Backgrounds and these 3 Doily Circles would be a lot of fun too!

 

Open up your Silhouette program and place your file in the top left corner of your mat.  You will need to cut out multiples of the background shape.  I cut out and used 6, but depending on the thickness of your cardstock, you may need to cut out more or less.  I used Stampin Up! cardstock and it's fairly thick.

 

 

Use the replicate tool to duplicate the shape.  Select the first shape, then click Duplicate Right.  Select that shape and click Duplicate Below.  The last step is to click the 3rd shape and click Duplicate Left.  That should place 4 shapes on your mat that are very close to one another.

 

 

 

Cut out your shapes and then adhere them together with adhesive. Make sure that they are lined up correctly.  You really don't need to use a lot of adhesive, just a little on the sides and top.  I wouldn't recommend liquid glue unless you made sure it was completely dry because it may ooze out of the sides and ruin your paper.   If you want to use 6 layers like I did, then just recut your file.

 

Here is what my quatrefoil pattern background looks like cut out and adhered together.  The sandwich for my Big Shot is bottom plate, embossing mat, paper, your embossing plate, then 2 cutting plates.  You may have to change your sandwich, depending on which machine you use, but as long as you have your paper between the embossing rubber mat and the plate you will get good results. 

 

 

 

If you start cranking your machine and the sandwich is very difficult to crank through, stop, and remove some of the layers or check to see if your sandwich is too thick.  Don't keep pushing it as you may break your machine or injure yourself.

 

 

 

I always practice on another piece of paper first to make sure that I have my sandwich right and that I get a good impression.  Looks pretty good to me!

 

 

 

And in my last picture, you can see the embossing on the patterned paper up close.  It gives the card such a beautiful look.  Sometimes its the details that count.

 

 

 

The last thing that I want to mention is how making your own embossing plates out of paper gives you a little more versatility than embossing folders.  If you have a special look in mind and let's say you want this quatrefoil pattern to only emboss into a circle, then all you have to do is use your Silhouette or manual die cut machine to cut a circle out of your cardstock paper stack and emboss it exactly where you want it.  You can't do that with the plastic embossing folder.  So now you can really tailor make your embossing plates to suit your needs.

 

 

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you have fun with this neat little trick.

 

Lori Whitlock supplies used:

• 3 Background Patterns
• 4 x 6 Envelope with Liner and Card
• Reflections paper and embellishment collection by Lori Whitlock for Echo Park

Bella Blvd January Fabric Projects

Today I have a Valentine clothing project for you featuring Bella Blvd fabric.  Even if you don't sew, you can make this cute shirt.  I've used the brand new Summer Breeze fabric by Bella Blvd for Riley Blake Fabrics and it is so precious.  There are a couple of ways to make this shirt so let me tell you about them.  

The first way and the way I did it is to use an Embroidery machine.  I bought the file and let my machine do the work.  Easy if you have an embroidery machine but if you don't there is another way to do the same thing.  There is this wonderful product on the market called Heat N Bond by Thermo Web.  It comes in a couple of different strengths and you will need to be sure that you pick the right one for your project.  Heat N Bond, is a two sided iron on adhesive.  You iron it on one side of your fabric and then onto the object that you want to place it on.  Heat N Bond Lite is used when you will be sewing on your project after application and Heat N Bond Regular is used when you are not going to be sewing on your project later.  Note:  Please make sure you are using the right type as you could ruin your sewing machine.

The first thing that you will need to do is determine how you are going to cut out your letters.  If you have a Silhouette or other cutting machine, you can cut them out using it.  Just iron on the appropriate Heat N Bond on the wrong side of the fabric, lay it on your mat, and cut.  If you don't then you can use scissors or even a Big Shot if you have dies you need.  Just like before, iron on the Heat N Bond and cut away.  If you are tracing the letters on fabric to cut out with scissors, use a vanishing pen.  You can find those in the quilting section of your fabric store.

 

After you have cut out your design, peel off the backing paper to reveal the other side of the adhesive.  Position it on your shirt, fabric side up, and iron it on.  Then if you have used Heat N Bond regular, your project is done, unless you want to add something to each letter like a border using Puffy Paint or some other trim.  If you have used Heat N Bond Lite, you can use your sewing machine to sew it on with a straight stitch or a zig zag stitch.

 

 

I also made these cute little ruffle pants to match the shirt.  If you are new to sewing, ruffle pants are one of the easiest patterns to start with.  You'll learn a lot about the basics, such as straight stitching, gathering, inserting elastic and hemming.  Hmm, might make a good tutorial someday! :)  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

 

 

Bella Blvd Supplies used:

• Summer Breeze fabrics by Bella Blvd for Riley Blake
• Baby Lock Embroidery Machine
• LOVE Embroidery file by Itch 2 Stitch

Lori Whitlock's Valentine Card and Gift Box

Valentines is one of my favorite holidays to make cards and little gifts for.  I love giving out a little treat of candy to all of my friends.  So today I am going to show you a card and a little treat box that is just plain, "Sweet"!

 

The card I made is a couple of digital files put together.  The card base is from a file, called A2 Card Base Set 3, one of many that Lori has in her store, but I love the fancy cutwork on this one and though it was perfect for a lovey dovey Valentine's card.  I cut the base out of red cardstock and then the background out of the black patterned paper.  The patterned paper is one of my all time favorite paper collection by Lori Whitlock, called Love Story.  Then using the same paper collection I cut out the lacey decorative mat.

 

The heart and arrow are from the file, Valentines Set 4   which is full of fun Valentine icons.  I resized them to fit on my card and then popped them up with foam adhesive.  Next I cut out the word Hugs, which you can find here in the 4 Valentine Titles file. 

 

 

The second piece is a quick and easy box made from the file, Conversation Heart Box.  It features a see through window, which was made by adhering a piece of acetate on the inside front of the box after cutting.  I actually changed out the heart shape that was on the front of the box for this scalloped heart shape, 2 Scalloped Hearts.  I liked how pretty the scalloped outline looked on the front of the box. 

 

 

Then I used a few more shapes from the Valentines Set 4, to create the little tags on the front.

 

 

I just loved how both pieces turned out and I had a lot of fun combining of the cut files.  What will you be making for your sweetheart this year?

 

Lori Whitlock Supplies used:

• Valentines Set 4
• 2 Scalloped Hearts
• Conversation Heart Box
• 4 Valentine Titles
• A2 Card Base Set 3
• Love Story paper collection by Lori Whitlock for Echo Park

My Creative Life 2014 Blog_Project Life: Days of the Week Cards

 

 

Maybe you have seen that I am an instructor at My Creative Classroom, specializing in classes using a Silhouette Die Cut Machine.  If not, I'm going to tell you a little bit about it and the classes that I teach, right after this fun Silhouette tutorial that I am sharing with you today.

 

With the start of the new year, so many people are jumping into Project Life.  I did a little myself last year, but this year, it is my commitment to myself to complete a double page spread for each week of the year.  I've got a lot of supplies already but there were a few things that I just didn't have enough of so I decided to share how I made one of those things with you using my Silhouette.  I love my Silhouette and use it for all kinds of paper crafting projects and love sharing tips and tricks that I have learned along the way!

 

 

One of the supplies that I just don't seem to have enough of are the Days of the Week Cards.  I've used sticker letters to create some but then thought that making some using my Silhouette program would be a lot easier and more fun!

 

 

These are Project Life cards that I created in the Silhouette Studio program and then cut out with my Silhouette Cameo.  In the tutorial, I will give you step by step instructions on how to create these cards for yourself.  

 

The first thing that you need to do is draw a rounded rectangle.  Size it to 3 x4 inches.

 

 

 

Next type out the word Monday, using the Text tool.

 

 

 

Now change the text font to Capital.  If you don't have that font, you can use another one, or search for it on dafont.com.

 

 

 

Resize the name to a width of 2.5 and lock the aspect ratio.

 

 

 

Move the word over onto the card, centering on the card and in the place that you want it.  I wanted it on the bottom but you could also put it on top or along the side.  Group the two pieces together so you can move it around your mat.

 

 

 

Copy the card outline, and type out the words for each of the other days of the week and create a new card for each.

 

 

 

I organized all of my cards on a 12 x 12 inch mat and cut them out.

 

 

 

After my cards were cut out, I wanted to highlight the word with a different colored paper.

 

 

 

Cut a strip of paper the size of the word. 

 

 

 

 Put some dot adhesive on the back of the card and adhere the paper strip.

 

 

 

Here is what the cards look like from the front.

 

 

 

So I hope that you will make some of these cards for yourself.  Even if you don't do Project Life, you could use these on your regular scrapbook pages.

 

So, if you would like to learn more about using your Silhouette, come check out a couple of my classes that are running right now at My Creative Classroom.

 

Silhouette Studio Designer Edition 101

Well, there are number of different reasons you may have purchased or are looking to purchase the Designer Edition of the Silhouette Studio software. You might want to be able to open and use SVG files, maybe you want to do special things with the advanced editing tools, or maybe you are ready to make your own shape files. Whichever the reason, we will cover each of these topics, and make your purchase of the upgrade more than just a change of the title at the top of the screen!

• Let's find out what's included in the Designer Studio Software by comparing the original version to the upgrade.
• Uploading, using, and saving SVG files.
• Editing Tools, specifically the knife and eraser, and their functions in the Designer Studio Software.

Creative Silhouette Series: Wrap It Up

If you are like me, the little handmade touches that you put on your packaging of your gifts and cards are almost as important as the gift itself. In this class, we will use the Silhouette machine to spruce up your packaging, add a little something extra to your cards and envelopes and make some oh so cute gift tags all while learning some fun new techniques like print and cut, incorporating digital elements, using sketch pens, and more. 

 

Four Lessons available all at once.

• Lesson 1: Tags
• Lesson 2: Packaging
• Lesson 3: Cards and Envelopes
• Lesson 4: Labels

 

 

Lori Whitlock January Blog Hop

 

Welcome to my stop on Lori Whitlock's January blog hop!  I'm going to share with you a couple of Thank You cards that I made.  I've got some special people to send these to in thanks for Christmas gifts I received.  

All three of these cards were made with matching envelopes.  There are many different envelope files and they all come with matching shaped liners.  I love dressing up my envelopes as well as my cards so these particular envelope files are really fun to make. The card in the picture below was created using another one of Lori's files, called 

My second card and envelope set features a large scalloped edge on the envelope.  A little trick to the liners is to first assemble the envelope, making sure to bend forward the flap.  Then take the liner and bend it forward as well.  Put adhesive only on the upper half of the liner, above the score lines.  The bottom portion will not need any adhesive and this will also help the flaps to bend and close easily.  Slide the liner into the envelope, lining the score lines up and press the envelope flap close, sealing the liner to the envelope.

 

My last card uses another new digital die cut file by Lori for the title.  In this SVG file, there are two different Thank You sayings.  I cut the word out twice, once in yellow, and the second time in black. When I adhered them to each other, I offsetted the black just a bit so it looked like a shadow.  It's a fun technique to try and it really makes your title stand out better.  The envelope is another from the group that I used.  This one has a small scalloped edge.  Won't they be surprised to see the beautiful patterned paper liner in this one?

 Supplies used:

• 4 x 6 Envelope with Liner and Card
• Thank You Snowflake Card SVG file
• Thanks/Thank You SVG file
• Here and Now Paper Collection By Lori Whitlock for Echo Park

Thanks for stopping by.  It's now time to hop on to Corri's blog to see what wonderful things she has created with Lori's files. At the end make sure you go to Lori's shop and use the coupon below to ge 30% off your entire purchase of Lori Whitlock and Kolette Hall's SVG & Font Files through January 19, 2014.

Use code WINTER for 30% off.

If you happen to lose your way along the hop, here are all of the participants blog links.

Brigit Mann 
Christine Ousley 
Corri Garza 
Mendi Yoshikawa 
Natalie Graham 
Traci Penrod 
Chrissy Guido
Ashley Cook
Lorrie Nunemaker 
Mary Moseley 
Smitha Katti
Stephanie Chavers 

 

Bella Blvd's CHA 2014 Winter Reveal Week, Win It All

 

 

The big day, the day that you can win it all!!!

Hop on over to the Bella Blvd blog and see how you can have a chance to win it all!

You know you want to!  Click here to have a chance to win it all!

Bella Blvd 2014 CHA Winter Release

Bella Blvd's CHA 2014 Winter Reveal Week, Lucky Starz

 There is just one more day of amazing Bella Blvd's reveals for this release.  Have you been having fun?  I know I have.  Making my lists and checking them twice!  What are your favorites?  But before you respond be sure to check out this one, Lucky Starz!

Visit Bella Blvd's blog to see how you can WIN one of these fabulous collections!

 

 

You won’t need luck when you have these in your stash! Lucky Starz are the perfect combination of magical colors and coordinating patterns for each day of the week. Keep it monochromatic or mix it up with the playful stripes, hashtags and hearts. Lucky Starz is sure to show up in just about every project from here on out!

Here is just one of my favorite pieces in this collection.  They are going to look great in my Project Life Album this year!

 

And don't forget that you can win it before you can buy it, make sure to go pay the Bella blog a visit today to see the entire collection and enter to stand a chance to get your little hands on all the goodness this collection has to offer.

Bella Blvd's CHA 2014 Winter Reveal Week, Family Forever

Have you seen the new collections from Bella Blvd?  I have just one word, AMAZING!  I know you will love them too!

Visit Bella Blvd's blog to see how you can WIN one of these fabulous collections!

In our house we say please & thank you. In our house we forgive, we play fair and we are always grateful. Through the good times and the bad, Mom & Dad have taught us this language of love. Enjoy the day-to-day family memories, the big moments and the small with Family Forever from Bella Blvd.

Now this is a collection that I know I will be using again and again!  I love the colors in this collection and patterns are amazing!!  

Seriously fun or what?

And don't forget that you can win it before you can buy it, make sure to go pay the Bella blog a visit today to see the entire collection and enter to stand a chance to get your little hands on this fabulous collection!

 

Bella Blvd's CHA 2014 Winter Reveal Week, Max and Molly

 

 

Have you seen the new collections from Bella Blvd?  I have just one word, AMAZING!  I know you will love them too!

Visit Bella Blvd's blog to see how you can WIN one of these fabulous collections!

Max is seriously cool. He’s too old for toys, but totally interested in his new guitar and creating the perfect playlist to jam to. Instead of focusing on his homework Max dreams of being a rock star, going hunting with his friends someday, & even beginning high school with all the pretty girls. Chill out with Max from Bella Blvd.

Molly might be boy crazy and obsessed with text messaging her friends, but deep down inside she wears an invisible crown & loves to sparkle & shine. She’s a tween, full of spunk and flair, obsessed with taking selfies & dancing all night with her girlfriends to her favorite playlist. Stay cool this winter with Molly from Bella Blvd.

 

Head over to Bella Blvd's blog for a chance to win these fabulous collections!!

Lori Whitlock December Blog Hop

Welcome to my part in the Lori Whitlock's December Blog Hop where you will find all kinds of Christmas inspiration along the way.  For my project I used the 12 Day Countdown  file and had so much fun with the different papers and embellishments in Lori Whitlock's Reflections Christmas collection for Echo Park.

 

This cute little countdown calendar is really easy to put together.  Each piece needed is included so basically you just have to ungroup the shapes and cut.

 

I used cream cardstock for each of the pocket bases and then cut out different patterned papers for the accents pieces. 

 

The numbers are included in the file but because of the way that I embellished the pockets, I sized each number a little differently.

Each pocket holds a tag.  There is a hole in each for a ribbon or string but I decided that I had enough going on in my project with all of the different papers and embellishments to include it.   In hind sight, I should have probably taken the holes out of the tags.  Next time!  :)

 

Don't forget to take advantage of the fantastic sale that is going on over at the Lori Whitlock shop!  All shapes are 30% off with the discount code: CHRISTMAS

There are so many fun things to chose from so take advantage of the sale now.

Don't forget to stop by all of these talented design team member's blogs.  I'm sure you will be amazed!

Brigit Mann 
Christine Ousley    You Are Here
Corri Garza 
Mendi Yoshikawa 
Natalie Graham 
Traci Penrod 
Chrissy Guido
Ashley Cook
Lorrie Nunemaker 
Mary Moseley 
Smitha Katti
Stephanie Chavers

Lori Whitlock products used:

• 12 Day Countdown
• Christmas Santa Subway Art

Fabric Box Project for Bella Blvd

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today I have a post on the Bella Blvd blog.  I had so much fun creating this cute little fabric box with Bella Blvd's Puppy Park fabric.  It was a really quick sew and I have a short tutorial for you if you would like to make some of your own.

I picked this project for a couple of reasons.  First, it's very simple and if you know how to sew a straight line, you can make this project even if you are a beginner at sewing.  Second, I thought that this is a great gift idea for all of the holidays coming up.  I am showing it as a cute little storage bucket to hold my Bella Blvd buttons but you could use this to hold wrapped cookies, candy, a small wrapped gift, or anything else you can think of.  There is also an added benefit with this kind of gift wrap. Whoever you give it to will love being able to use it for a second purpose. Think storage or even a little trash can for paper scraps.  So cute! 

So, let me tell you how to make this cute little fabric box.  Below you will see the supplies you will need.  Two 10 x 10 inch pieces of fabric and one 10 1/4 x 10 1/4 inch piece of fusible fleece, a disappearing fabric marker, ruler, 4 buttons, sewing machine and iron.  

Put the two pieces of fabric together, right sides together, and the fusible fleece on the bottom. I took a picture of the order below. The pin is there just to show you how to stack everything together. Take your project to the ironing board and fuse the fleece to the wrong side of the bottom fabric piece.

I don't have pictures of the next part, but basically you will sew a 1/4 inch seam around the fabric stack, leaving an opening on one side about 3 inches long. When you have finished stitching, cut off the excess fabric on the sides and corners. Flip your project inside out by pulling it through the opening. Push the corners out carefully using a knitting needle and iron flat, tucking the fabric around the opening inside. Then topstitch a close seam around the edge closing the opening while stitching.

Then you will quilt the block using any pattern that you would like. I just sewed concentric squares until I got to the center of the square.

The next couple steps are easy but you need to make sure that you sew the right corners first. I guess you don't need to ask me how I know that. :) So the next picture shows how you fold the square over. The fold is on the left side.

Then take a ruler and measure and mark with a fabric marker 2 inches over from the left and then 2 inches from the top. Then connect the marks with a line. This will be your sewing line. Do this for both corners, top and bottom, on the fold.

Here is a picture of me starting to sew one of the corners.

The next step is to sew the other corner. I've placed the pins on the corners where you will need to make your markings and sew.

 

Again, mark at two inches on both sides of the corner and draw a line between the marks.

This is what your box looks like after the corners have all been sewn.

Flip your box inside out and push the corners to the sides. This is what it should look like. Iron the corners and flaps down inside. Then iron the triangles down so that they flap over the outer sides.

I've pinned the flaps down, while I hand stitch the corners on the inside so they will lay flat and secure.

Next, you'll want to add some buttons to the outside flaps to keep them secure. I used the Bella Blvd red flower buttons. They matched the Puppy Park fabric perfectly.

So, there you have it. Your finished box. Fill it full of goodies and give it to a friend or keep it for yourself.  

Supplies:
Puppy Park fabric by Bella Blvd for Riley Blake Fabrics; Button Market: Red Flowers

 

 

Tags, Tags, and More Tags_Free Class Offer

Would you like to learn how to make and mass produce this tag and more than a two dozen more for free?  To say thank you to all of our students at My Creative Classroom, some of the instructors there are teaching a free with purchase, tags class, called Tag It!.  Just purchase any class that starts in November and you will get the Tag It! class for free.  Click the link for more details.  The class starts November 22nd so be sure to check it out soon!

 

Here is my class starting in November offered at My Creative Classroom that you could enroll in to get the free Tag It! thank you class.

Wrap It Up!

 

And here are more of my classes that I offer at My Creative Classroom.  All of my classes will show you how to use your Silhouette machine and have more fun with the special things you can do with it!  Click the pictures to be taken to the class at MCC!

 

Creative Silhouette Series: Christmas Cards

Silhouette Software: Beyond the Basics

Silhouette Studio Designer Edition 101

 Silhouette Creative Series: Creative Ways to Use Your Silhouette

Creating with Fabric_Sew Many Ruffles

Some of you might not have heard of my latest creative pursuit, Sew Many Ruffles so I thought that I would share a little bit about it.  I love creating in many different ways.  I truly do not feel complete if I am not creating with my hands in some way.  For the last 18 years I have used paper as my main medium but I realized last year that fabric is also a fabulous medium to create with.  

I have always known how to sew but hadn't done much with my sewing machine except to sew on paper, since my kids were little.  The pictures that I took of them were so important to me and I loved preserving the memories through scrapbooking.  Scrapbooking then led me to stamping and card making, teaching classes and working with scrapbook companies like Bo Bunny, Nikki Sivils, SRM STickers, Petaloo, Epiphany Crafts, Lori Whitlock, Bella Blvd and many others.  

I have had so much fun with all my paper crafting adventures and still do.  But then some of my most favorite paper manufacturers started putting their designs on fabric and I was hooked.  You would probably be surprised at how many big names also have fabric lines.  Bella Blvd, Lori Whitlock, Basic Grey, Doodlebug, My Mind's Eye, and Carina Gardner (Carta Bella), just to name a few plus a whole bunch of designers that design paper collections for the bigger companies.

Bella Blvd's Too Cute To Spook fabric collection

So that brings me to my obsession with fabric and creating with it. After much thought, I decided to start creating handmade dresses for girls and  Sew Many Ruffles came to be.  I have an Etsy shop where I sell them and also have a Facebook Fan Page.  It's been an interesting journey so far and I have learned so much about sewing and running your own business.  It's not easy but it has been very rewarding.  I have found that there are an infinte amount of ideas of items to make using fabric and I always love trying to create something new.

So instead of creating two blogs to share the creative things that I do, I am just going to talk about both right here.  So some days, it will be posts about paper crafting, die cutting, or stamping and other days it will be about the clothes that I have been making for my Sew Many Ruffles shop.  I hope you will enjoy both!

• Sew Many Ruffles Etsy Shop
• Sew Many Ruffles Facebook Page