See a few more pictures and information on how to make your own on the Bella Blvd blog today.
See a few more pictures and information on how to make your own on the Bella Blvd blog today.
Posted at 05:13 PM in Bella Blvd, Sewing | Permalink | Comments (0)
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.
Click the link below to enter. Thanks for stopping by and good luck!
Posted at 04:15 AM in Bella Blvd, Sewing | Permalink | Comments (7)
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.
Posted at 10:14 AM in Bella Blvd, Sewing | Permalink | Comments (0)
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.
Posted at 06:00 AM in Bella Blvd, Sewing | Permalink | Comments (1)
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
Posted at 10:12 PM in Bella Blvd, Sewing | Permalink | Comments (1)
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!
Posted at 10:52 AM in Scrapbooking, Sew Many Ruffles, Sewing | Permalink | Comments (0)
It's an exciting day today for me. I get to show you a couple of things that I have been working on for Bella Blvd. I am part of their fabric team and so I'll be making lots of fabric related projects.
Today I am showing a fun Halloween outfit made with Bella Blvd's Too Cute To Spook fabric line produced by Riley Blake.
Here's a couple of the pictures but be sure to stop here to see the rest and a little bit more about how I choose fabrics for my outfits and how picking papers for scrapbooking is so similar.
My cute little model is Garrett's friend. They love to play together.
I also made this cute little peasant style dress using the same line. I just love the different colorways this fabric line comes in.
Here is the link to see my projects and a couple of others by Kathy Fyre and Tiffany Hood: Bella Blvd Fabric Projects October 2013
Supplies:
Too Cute To Spook Fabrics by Riley Blake Fabrics; Pattern: Ruffle Pants Pattern used from the book Little Girls, Big Style by Mary Abreu; Pattern: Dress "Lucy" by The Children's Corner
Posted at 09:47 AM in Bella Blvd, Sewing | Permalink | Comments (4)
For the last couple of weeks, on the Bella Blvd blog, they have been doing the introductions of the members of this years Bella Blvd design team. Today was the day that they showcased two of the projects that were submitted to apply to the team. I thought I would share them with you here and tell you a little bit about them.
The first project is a corsage. I knew Homecoming was coming soon, and I wanted to make something special for my son's date. So I used some Bella Blvd Fabric and rolled a couple of roses. They are really very easy to make. Hot Glue is really the key. I took at long strip of fabric 1 1/2 inch wide and fold the edges into the middle. This created a long tube that I was able to wrap and roll around to create the large flat flower. Every couple of centimeters, I put some hot glue on the side of the flower and then kept rolling and twisting the fabric.
It's kind of hard to see, but I also made a wrist band out of elastic and black fabric. I encased the elastic in a black fabric tube and sewed the ends shut. Then I put a snap set on the ends so it would b easy to take on and off.
After making the roses in two different sizes, I glued on some half pearls and attached them to band along with some velvet leaves. Then I tied a bow and glued that on as well.
Below you can see the corsage on the young girls wrist. You can see the black wristband peeking out underneath.
My second project, a pillowcase, uses Bella's newest fabric line, Too Cute To Spook for Riley Blake fabrics.
I just love the bold polka dot fabric and the cute little "spooks".
Garrett decided that it was going to be his when I brought it in his room to photograph it. It makes a great little reading nook. I love making pillowcases. They are so easy. Just a few straight lines and you're done.
For my time on the Bella Blvd design team, I hope to bring you some fun basic sewing tutorials, like this pillowcase, that you can use Bella Blvd fabric to create. Here's to a great year with Bella Blvd fabric!
Posted at 11:53 PM in Bella Blvd, Sewing | Permalink | Comments (1)
I'm love to make things out of paper, glue, yarn, fabric, paint, stickers, photos, ink and thread. I could probaby add many other things to the list, but I think you get it. If you read my blog, you probably understand. So what's a girl to do? There are so many things that I want to create. So much inspiration out there. My pinterest board haunts me at night. There has never been enough time in the day for me to craft and instead of getting better, it feels like it is getting worse.
Someone said to me today, when I told her about my love of photography and the opporunities I have had because of it, "Well, aren't you just the Renaissance girl?", and I though, well yeah, that is exactly it. There really isn't a creative craft or outlet that I don't enjoy or have done.
So my life is taking yet another creative turn, as I embark on my journey with Sew Many Ruffles. The thing that I have come to realize about sewing, that is a little bit different than some other crafts that I have done, is that there are so many different things to sew.
You can quilt a blanket or make a burp cloth. A little girls dress or a wallet and matching iPad case. Curtains, pillows, slip covers, and pajamas. Purses, tshirts, tutus or beach bags. The list just goes on and on and so I have caught the bug and it won't let go.
So if there is anything that you need sewn, you now know who to ask, and if you are looking for sewing inspiration, check out my Pinterest boards.
Purses, Totes, Ideas and Tutorials
Posted at 09:02 AM in Sewing | Permalink | Comments (0)
A couple of days ago, I shared my work for the Ruby Jean's Closet Sew A Long. If you missed Part 1, you can view it here.
In this post, I will show you the finished dress and talk a little more of the process. Here is the bodice completed. On one of the days, we had to choose the embellishment for the front of the bodice. I had this cotton flower from Petaloo from my scrapbooking stash that I think was a perfect fit. I wasn't sure at first about it, but once the whole dress was put together, I realized that it looked great!
Well, after the bodice was completed, it was really easy to finish the rest of the dress. I wasn't abe to take pictures of the process of sewing the skirt and ruffle on, but it's pretty straight forward. At first, I thought that I would use the yellow striped shirt as the main fabric for the bodice and the skirt, but I quickly realized that I was not going to have enough material to do that.
So I decided to use the blue polka dot fabric instead and use the shirt material for the ruffle. I am really happy with this combination. I actually didn't have enough fabric to do the ruffle as a tube, so I sewed a rolled hem with bue thread and it's really pretty.
This is the back of the dress. I have put one of my white peasant shirts underneath the dress.
Here are a couple close ups of the bodice and ruffle.
I really had a great time with the Sew A Long and got a fantastic extra surprise at the end of it. All people who participated in the Sew A Long and shared pictures of their work throughout the week were put in a hat for a grand prize and I won!! 10 patterns from Ruby Jean's Closet and $40 of fabric from xogigifabrics.com. Such an amazing thing to have happened to me.
Well, here are a couple of things that I learned.
I'm sure she will be doing another one, so I'll be sure to spread the news when I here about it.
Posted at 07:00 AM in Sewing | Permalink | Comments (0)