July Goal for ALYOF - Butterflies

Yes butterflies!  Butterflies and more butterflies!!  I've posted about them here, here, and here.  I have to have it finished by July 25th for the MQG Michael Miller fabric challenge and I'm going to if I have to not do anything but sew for the next 20 days.
 

I'm working on my last butterfly, then I'll piece the top, the back, sandwich and quilt then bind.  That is my goal for A Lovely Year of Finishes - July.  I am going to finish my butterfly quilt because I've worked so hard on it and I really want it entered in the challenge. 

I've checked out some of the quilts entered over on the MQG community forums and they are great.  Really good uses of the fabric.  But I've got my fingers crossed because I'm hoping mine turns out really good too.

And one last thing, we went on vacation last week and I got my very first pedicure ever.  I mean I've done my own and polished my own toes my whole life but having someone else do it was so awesome. 

Thanks for dropping by!
**Linking up to Sew Bittersweet Designs for A Lovely Year of Finishes**

How are my works in progress going?

It's a semi warm (68 degrees) and rainy day here today.  Perfect sewing weather or napping weather.  I'm trying really hard to stay awake though.

I've been trying to spend some time working on items for my etsy shop.  In particular, eye pillows.  They sell really well this time of year and all year long really.  I spent 2 days cutting 60 rectangles.

 

This is about half of the stack.  I've already started listing them in my shop.

I've also been working on some of my WIP's.

I finished my January block for the Lucky Stars BOM.  I decided to make the 6 inch squares because I wanted to use a charm pack that I already had.  It's Eat Your Fruits and Veggies from Moda. 

 I like the way it turned out.  Although, I did make a mistake which I didn't even notice until I started taking pictures of it.  Can you see it? 
I meant to alternate the star points of the blue fabric so that the cherry fabric was on opposite points but somehow it didn't turn out that way.  And I was being really careful too.  Oh well.

 

I've gotten all my half square triangles made for my Saturday Sampler BOM.  I just need to finish trimming them and sew them into the square.

And finally, this is how far I've gotten on my paper pieced pillow.

I've got a white border going on but it's not big enough.  I need it to fit a 24x24 inch pillow form and I think it's about 18x18 now.  So, I ordered some solid green fabric and also one of the damask prints that's in the pillow.  I think I'm going to make a border with the green and then use the damask for the back.  Also, I'm thinking about doing a cording but I'm not sure.  I'll keep you posted.

Hope everyone is having a great week!

What Have I Been Doing Lately

Well, despite the appearance of my rarely posted on blog, I have been doing stuff.

I've redesigned parts of my apron pattern to make them easier to sew and hopefully, make them "flow" better.  Here is a just listed apron made from the new pattern pieces.

If I hadn't told you something was different, you probably wouldn't have noticed.  It still looks similar to the old pattern but the bib and pockets are slightly bigger.

I've been retaking pics of some of the items in my shop to brighten them up.  I've gotten a lot better at editing my pics but the older pics are definitely darker.  Here is one that I've recently changed.  You can see the details better when the pics are brighter.  I still have a few to go.

I'm also working on a skirt that I've pieced together with fabric strips and I'm working on my first quilt top.  I'm not sure if I'm doing it right but we'll see when it's done.  Hopefully, I"m not screwing it up too bad.  The top of the pic shows the quilt top fabrics and the bottom of the pic is the front of the skirt that I'm piecing.  I'll be sure to keep updating my progress on these.  I think I need to add darts to the skirt (I made a muslin skirt using the pattern to check fit) and I've never done darts before.

So, there you go.  We are getting to the end of the school year and things seem to be getting busier.  Seems like there's something everyday.  Summer will be a nice change of pace.

Short post to start catching up

Ok, I'm trying to catch up on all the blog posts that I haven't made in the past month.  So here we go.

About 3 weeks ago, I got a big pile of fabric in the mail.  I LOVE fabric order days!  Expect to see new aprons coming soon in my Handmade Whimzy shop.  Some of this fabric is scrumcious!

Also, a couple of weeks ago, my sweet hubby talked me into getting a tablet.  One of the back problems I have manifests itself in my shoulder and using my laptop really irritates it.  So, he researched all the different tablets out there and made me go look at all of them until they all just looked the same to me.  I liked the bigger screen size because I'm blind as a bat.  We finally decided to go with the Toshiba Thrive.  It has a full size USB port that I can hook my printer into, or my camera or anything else with a USB port.  This is unlike the Apple Ipad which has Apple specific ports only. 

I really like it so far.  I'm able to surf the internet and do other stuff that I haven't been able to do for awhile without alot of pain.

So thanks to my sweet sweety for thinking of it. :)

Christmas Stockings

I've been busy lately with custom orders for Christmas Stockings.  Specifically, quilted elf stockings.
I love making them but I finally just got overwhelmed and had to deactivate the listings.

I'm hoping to have some time this next week to work on more aprons and also some "ready to ship" Christmas stockings.

Anyhoo, here are some pics of some of the custom ones.  They've all turned out so cute!

Meanwhile, my hubby is on vacation this week and is helping me finish the painting in my living room.  I hope to have it done this weekend so we can start decorating for Christmas.
I'll be sure to post pics when we're finished. 

Still recovering from vacation

Well, either I picked up a bug while in Florida, or maybe allergies are bothering me or I'm just exhausted.  I think it's one of those.
Anyhoo, I'm hoping that I feel better today.  I'm plugging on anyway.

I've started working on some Christmas things for my shop - mostly because I'm thinking about doing a local arts and crafts show in July that is a 'Christmas in July' show.  I've almost gotten myself talked into it.  It's indoors at a great location but it's only been going on for about 3 years so I don't think the crowd will be as big as I'd like it to be.  So, it's something to think about.

This is the Christmas apron that I listed yesterday - made with Moda fabric.

I have tons of ideas for pincushion ornaments and I need to get off the computer and start working on them :)

Here are some more pics of our Disney World trip.

Huge Markdown Sale on My BEADED Bookmarks!

I've decided to clear out my BEADED bookmarks so that I can focus on my ribbon bookmarks.

When I first started making and selling the beaded ones, they sold like hotcakes.  People would buy 3-4 at a time - especially at craft shows.  But when the economy tanked, so did my beaded bookmark sales.  However, my ribbon bookmarks continue to sell really well.

So, I've marked all the Beaded bookmarks down from $15 to $12.  Just click here to see all that's available in the section.

Here are some pics of just a few of your choices.

My New Coin Purse

Well, I finally got around to making myself a new coin purse - which was the whole reason I started making coin purses to begin with.

I used some of Michael Miller's Gypsy Bandana fabric to make it.  It was actually a messed up piece of fabric that I had cut and attempted to make the top part of one of my aprons.  But apparently, the fabric didn't want to be an apron because it wouldn't let me sew it correctly.  I'm not even sure it wanted to be a coin purse, because it had to redo it a couple of times too.

Anyhoo, it's done now.  And I love it.  It's adorable and sweet.  It's in my purse right now, holding my coins :)

I bought these sweet little crocheted flowers and butterflies from littlemargie which I think look really cute and will be gracing some coin purses that I'll have in my shop soon.

I love making these little purses. 

Today's work

Today, I've been working on 3 new aprons for my shop - 2 with the new Gypsy Bandanna fabric from Michael Miller - which I LOVE!
I haven't listed a new apron in at least 2 weeks, so I'm going to try to get these done quickly.

Why I haven't listed new aprons and what I've been working on the past 2 weeks - coming in my next blog post.

I also forced myself to sit down and work on my promotional material today.  I put a little matchbook notepad with my shops name on it, in all of the orders that I send out and I was almost out of them.  I think I was down to 2.  But, I managed to make about 35 of them today - so YAY!  Also printed up more business cards and blog info cards.
Glad to be done with that stuff for awhile.  I'd much rather sew.

Happy Birthday to me! and a sale!

Today is my birthday!  Yay! 
I'm not going to say which one though.  I think once we hit 35, we should be able to subtract the years instead of adding the years.  So, going by that theory, I'm 27. :)

To celebrate my birthday, I'm having a sale in my etsy shop - Handmade Whimzy. 
Get 10% off all items by using the coupon code - birthday1.
Discount will also apply to the already marked down hair accessories and scented sachets.

I'm planning to run this sale through Saturday.  So, Happy Shopping and Happy Birthday to ME!

Sweet Little Coin Purse

I've officially finished one sweet little coin purse in my new sewing venture.  It's perfect.  Well..... actually, it's practically perfect.  I got alittle over zealous with the glue and got some of it on the fabric.  So, I'm debating about whether or not to list it in my etsy shop.  If I do, it will be as an oops and at a discounted price.

Here is it:

It's actually a tiny bit of glue that you can barely see.  But I know it's there ;)

My Finished Flower

Finally, I have a minute to sit down and show you what I did with my finished flower.

But first, a little background story.

I'm not a purse person.  I'm a shoe person.  I could spend all day buying shoes and would love to have a million pair.  But purses - nah.  I'm a once a year purse shopper and that's just because I have to replace them when they start to get all crummy looking.  So a few weeks ago, I happened into Kohl's to look at the purses - which were all on sale :)  My last years purse was pretty crummy looking and had been for a couple of months.
I bought a new purse and a really cool wallet (on clearance) but the problem was the new wallet didn't have a pouch for change.  No problem, I thought.  I'll just have a look on etsy and buy a cute little change purse.

As I was looking, I thought to myself, "boy, what a great way to use up scrap fabric and you could embelish them in all kinds of cool ways."  Then I thought, "Duh".  And that's when I ordered purse frames. 

Here is my first change purse:

I have all kinds of embellishment ideas and once I get my pattern perfected, I plan to start offering them in my shop.

Now you know what I did with that sweet flower :)

Funky New Aprons

I have 2 funky new aprons for my etsy shop.  I've listed the "what came first" apron already and will probably list the Hootie Owl apron tomorrow.

Very cute!
What do you think about them?

Also, I finally got a much anticipated package in the mail yesterday.  It's for a new craft project that I'm going to try out.  I'll keep you posted on how it goes.  If it turns out well, I'll be listing them in my shop.  (This is in spite of the fact that I promised myself I wouldn't do any new crafts or buy any new supplies for awhile.  I just don't think I'm capable of not buying crafting supplies.)

Jingle Paws

Well, tis the season to not have time to blog.  LOL

Things are finally settling down around here and I hope things are calmer at your houses as well.  I hope you've all had a very Happy Christmas or a blessed Hanukah and any other holiday that your family celebrates.

And once again, we're getting ready to celebrate the beginning of a new year.  Funny how fast they come the older you get.  My son swore that the days waiting for Christmas were endless and moving at a snails pace.  I, however, thought they were speeding by.

We had a very nice Christmas.  Some good food.  Spending time with family.  Putting together lots of new Legos.  And watching my new DVD's of The New Adventures of Old Christine.

I'm not one to make New Year's resolutions. But I do have some plans for my Handmade Whimzy shop and things that I hope I can get accomplished this year.

For now, I have some cute pictures of Jingle Paws.  Our sweet Mac is such a good sport.
But stay tuned for the posts of the bottle cap pincushions that I made for my son's teachers.

Holly Day Blog Hop from EtsyMom Team!

Check out all of the fabulous holiday-themed projects, gift ideas, and more from our wonderful EtsyMom Blog Hop Contributors from around the world!!

www.crazyadorable.blogspot.com/
http://www.thecountrychiccottage.net/2010/12/etsymom-blog-hop-giveaway-with-ornament.html

http://signature-sterling.blogspot.com/2010/12/holly-day-blog-hop.html
http://allyouneeddesigns.blogspot.com/2010/12/holly-day-blog-hop-with-etsymom-street.html
http://tctliebel.typepad.com/life_as_we_live_it/2010/12/its-a-holly-day-blog-hop.html
http://rikrakstudio.blogspot.com/2010/12/etsymom-blog-hop-sweet-salt-dough.html
http://singingthreelittlebirds.blogspot.com/2010/12/etsy-mom-holly-day-blog-hop.html
http://camelotstreasures.blogspot.com/2010/12/etsymom-holly-day-blog-hop.html
http://homemadebyamanda.blogspot.com/2010/12/blog-hop-holiday-inspiration.html
http://annavirginiafashion.blogspot.com/2010/12/piggy-peeps-baby-shoes-pattern-holly.html
http://mylavenderave.blogspot.com/2010/12/holly-days-blog-hop-delicious-fudge.html
http://babyjives.blogspot.com/2010/12/holly-day-silhouette-ornament.htmlwww.babyswank.blogspot.com/
http://babysindulgencebyjocelyn.blogspot.com/2010/12/rocky-road-fudge.html
http://handmadewhimzy.blogspot.com/2010/12/holly-day-blog-hop-from-etsymom-team.html
http://katekatenyc.blogspot.com/2010/12/etsymom-blog-hop.html

http://caramagic.blogspot.com/2010/12/etsymom-holly-day-blog-hop-pleated.html
http://onlyterrastreasures.blogspot.com/2010/12/tutorial-make-your-own-chinese-takeout.html
http://silverrosedesigns.blogspot.com/2010/12/lets-do-some-holly-day-hopping.html
http://quirefly.blogspot.com/2010/12/holly-day-fun-cranberry-pudding-with.html
http://cinnamonspicecrafts.blogspot.com/2010/12/come-blog-hop-with-etsymom-team.html
http://handprintlady.blogspot.com/2010/12/holiday-tutorial-gift-from.html

Here's how it works:
1. Hop through each of the blogs listed above to get fabulous holiday inspiration and leave a comment. If you are starting at a blog in the middle of the Hop, start back at the EtsyMom Blog. You may have to scroll down a bit on the blogs to find the Blog Hop posts as the week progresses.
2. Leave a comment on the EtsyMom Blog post between now and December 11, 2010.
3. Enter to win our giveaway by doing any of the following. For each thing you do, you will be entered into the drawing one more time:

~Leave a comment on the EtsyMom Blog post between now and December 11, 2010.
~Leave a comment on the Holly Day Blog Hop posts for any of the blogs listed above between Dec 5 and Dec 11, 2010.
~Join the EtsyMom Blog email list (fill out the form in the right hand column).
~Become a follower of the EtsyMom Blog! Just click the "Follow" button in the lower right column.
~"Like" the EtsyMom Facebook Page.

Share about this Blog Hop on your own blog, posting a link to this page.

Share about this Blog Hop on Facebook, posting a link to this page.

Share about this Blog Hop on a message board or forum, posting a link to this page.

To let us know you've done these things, please come back to the EtsyMom Blog post and leave a comment for each thing you did.
Sorry - you cannot enter the giveaway here on my blog.

On December 11, 2010 we'll choose a winner using the Random Integer Generator from random.org. The winner will receive this super sweet gift basket full of handmade holiday goodies, including:

a pair of Turquoise Earrings from
http://www.stoneymistdesign.etsy.com/

a greeting card from
http://www.homemadebyamanda.etsy.com/

a lampwork bead bracelet by
http://handmadewhimzy.etsy.com/

sterling silver and Swarovski pearl/crystal holiday earrings by

http://www.etsy.com/shop/signaturesterling

a cream colored cotton scarf given by
http://www.zoegirldesigns.etsy.com/

a raincloud ornament from
http://www.etsy.com/shop/babyjives

a matching splat mat and baby bib from
http://www.babysindulgence.etsy.com/

two pair of earrings from
http://quirefly.etsy.com/

a gift pack of over 30 pages of vintage paper ephemera by
http://www.etsy.com/shop/countrychiccottage

a lovely sustainable stocking from
http://www.rikrak.etsy.com/

a set of holly jolly gift tags from
http://cinnamonspice.etsy.com/

a set of toddler pajamas in a style of the winner's choice from
http://heatheregley.etsy.com/

a $15 gift certificate from
http://camelotstreasures.etsy.com/

A gift certificate from
http://babyswank.etsy.com/

A Custom copper heart necklace from
http://www.etsy.com/shop/ct2designs

My contribution to the blog hop is a tutorial for making an easy peasy Advent banner for Christmas.  I'm calling it my:

 12 Days of Christmas Treats Banner

I got the idea from a Better Homes and Garden Christmas magazine that had an article on Scandinavian Christmas traditions.   The family in the picture had an advent banner for each child strung across different windows.  They were very simple little red and white bags or stocking shapes, pinned to a string with clothespins.  Perfect for dropping in a sweet little treat each day.  I only made mine for the 12 days leading up to Christmas.  So, my son will check his treat  pouches each day from Dec. 13th till Dec. 24th.

I decided to make mine with felt (because it's so easy to sew and cheap!).
Here's a pic of the final result:

Stuff you need to make a 12 day treat banner:

2 pieces of sparkly red felt (the 9x12 inch sheets)
2 pieces of sparkly white felt
2 pieces of bright green felt
12 Christmassy buttons
Christmassy scrapbook paper
1/8 inch ribbon in coordinating colors
paper punch in your choice of shape
red and green sharpie markers
Jute (or similar sturdy string)
clothespins
Christmas ribbon
Sewing machine or needle for hand stitching - with thread

Step 1
Cut out your rectangles with the red and white felt.  Each rectangle should be 6 x 4.5 inches.

Step 2
Cut rectangles out of the bright green felt.  Each one should be 4 x 3 inches.

Step 3
Choose the buttons you want to use.  I made some fabric buttons and also used red star shaped buttons. 

Sew buttons on to the center of each felt piece.

Step 4
Pin green felt pieces to red/white rectangles, placing them where you want your pouches to be.   I centered mine closer to the bottom.

Step 5
Sew green rectangle to red/white piece using a zig zag stitch or other decorative stitch.  I used my sewing machine but this could also be done by hand.

Step 6
Punch out tags using Christmas paper and a paper punch.  I used a heart punch and 2 different Christmas papers.  Punch a small hole in each tag for the hanging ribbon.

Step 7
Thread the 1/8 inch ribbon through the hole and tie to make a hanging loop.  Use the sharpie markers to write the dates on the back of each tag.  I used a red and a green sharpie.

Step 8
Hang each tag from the buttons on the pouches.  Tie your jute wherever you want your banner to hang.  Pin each pouch to the jute with clothespins in date order.

Fill with tiny treats and voila', you're done!
Merry Christmas from Handmade Whimzy!!

And on to the next blog in the hop!  http://katekatenyc.blogspot.com/2010/12/etsymom-blog-hop.html
Have fun participating!