Sew Long, Brother

The other day as I was sewing a present for one of my friends, my Brother sewing machine quit on me.  After hours of cleaning, oiling, taking apart and putting back together . . . I had to call it.  It was done for.  I called a local repair shop and they wanted $98 (not including parts!) for repairs.  Um, this was an $88 Walmart special from 2005.  Not going to happen.  I'm just going to have to get a new sewing machine.

Unfortunately, I have medical bills coming in by the dozen.  You'd think I just got accepted to Hogwarts or something.  "NO POST ON SUNDAYS!!!"  I feel your pain, Uncle Vernon.  So, it's going to be a little while before I can get a new machine.  Luckily my mom has kindly offered to let me use her machine to get caught up on purses for my shop (and my contest winner!).  

But all my refashion projects and birthday presents I had planned are on hold.  I'd hate to break my mom's machine doing something adventurous.  So, in honor of my sewing machine's passing, I want to share some projects I made with it recently.  First, a car seat cover for my friend Kimberly using this tutorial.  I made a few tweaks, like the "A" applique.  It seemed "empty" without something there.

She and her husband are big Bama fans.  My husband, being the rabid Georgia fan that he is, was upset when he first saw the Alabama fabric.  "What's that?" he demanded (He's really not the demanding type.  Nor am I the type that would allow demanding).  I explained it was for Kimberly which calmed him down.  Sort of.  

I used a cute plaid Bama fabric along with a white and black houndstooth (my FAVORITE).  It's too bad that Alabama has dibs on black and white houndstooth.  It really is my favorite pattern and I feel like a traitor any time I wear it during football season.  The South is a complicated place, folks.  Really.

I've been needing a big cloth purse for awhile now.  Of course I have book purses, but sometimes I need a big bulky bag to take to church, etc.  I'm not the biggest fan of tote bags (except for library books) and I couldn't find a big purse that was in my budget (that I liked).  I made one instead using this tutorial.  I really love this bag design but again, I took some liberties.  I pleated the sides rather than gathered.  It was much easier to make a pleat than to ruffle and I just like the cleaner look better.  I also added a pocket and a magnetic snap on the inside.  The pattern is super easy and fast.  I think it only took me about 2 hours from start to finish.  Plus, don't you love the fabric?  I got tons of the grey peacock feather fabric with the intention of making a skirt or dress out of it, too.  Guess that project will have to wait until I get a new machine . . . sigh.

Mmm Mmm, Good!

Before I get to the post, I need to let you know (or remind you) about this month's giveaway.  I'm giving away this Harry Potter charm bracelet with the Hogwarts crest and the crests of all the Houses.  To win, you must post your favorite Hogwarts House on my Facebook page.  Each post counts as one "ticket" and you may post as many times as you like.  You can post through Monday night and I'll announce the winner Tuesday (Sept. 20th).  Good luck!

Last month I had the opportunity to make a custom purse for a Campbell's Soup Test Kitchen employee who was retiring.  Her co-worker contacted me and said she already had a book (well, a notebook) and fabric.  I had never made a purse from a book (much less fabric) I had never seen but I thought I'd give it a try.  The fact this was for a Campbell's Test Kitchen employee was exciting!  I, like every other kid in America, grew up on Chicken and Stars (and still love it!).  Campbell's is such an iconic brand that carries a certain sense of nostalgia and Americana.  I'm a sucker for anything "retro" so this was right up my alley.

I got the notebook and fabric and instantly knew I would have to do some "tweaking."  The notebook was a deep burgundy color and the fabric was lime green with tomato red accents.  I knew it would work fine but I needed another fabric to bridge the notebook and Campbell's fabric for a more cohesive look.  I went through my fabric and scored big: a red and white checkered fabric I had used on another nostalgic purse.  Luckily, the fabric had red and burgundy in it.  Kismet, baby!  I decided to use the fabric for the bottom and for the pockets inside the purse.  I was so relieved when it all came together and actually worked!

I use a button closure on all my purses and I try to do something special or different for each one.  There was only one choice for this purse: it had to be a mini can of soup.  First, I tried making a Shrinky Dink one.  It came out really cute but it was so flat.  For the button to work, it needed to be shaped like a can of soup.  Searching through my craft pile, inspiration struck: a mini thread bobbin!  Since it already had a hole running through the middle, it would make a great toggle.  I was able to find a picture of a wrapper online and sized it on Photoshop.  A few coats of Modge Podge and ta-dah!

Cute, no?

The retiree was thrilled with the purse.  I felt so honored to take part in such a big life event like a retirement.  It makes the silly things I do so much more meaningful.  My customer put a lot of trust in me and I appreciate that. She was an amazing customer . . . I wish all custom orders were like this!  I was an absolute dream and I'm grateful I got to do it!

A Very Merry Un(Licensed)Birthday

September is a busy month for my family. We literally have a birthday every week in September. I guess you could say January was the busiest month . . . or the month everyone "got busy" . . . sorry, sorry, couldn't help myself. I celebrated my birthday this past weekend and my little guy's birthday is this weekend. Since I've got birthdays on the brain, I thought I'd share some of the birthday cards I've created. Well, they aren't just any b-day cards . . . they all feature a character from a movie or TV. I love doing something so personal (and technically illegal, I suppose) for somebody . . . especially when it's not likely to find a card with their favorite character on it.

Case and Point #1:


ANTON CHIGURH CARD

I made this card for my older brother Nathan's birthday a few weeks ago (his b-day is the first September birthday). His favorite movie is "No Country For Old Men." I saw it on TV a few months ago and personally I think it's overrated . . . okay, I'm babbling. Anyway, for the uninitiated, Anton Chigurh (played by hot, hot Javier Bardem, only he's not hot in this movie so maybe that's why I didn't love it) is the sociopathic serial killer everyone is trying to catch or run away from. His weapon? An air pistol, usually used to kill cattle. It kills the person instantly without leaving a bullet or any other evidence behind. So, I found this picture online and copied onto Word. I added a "Callout" (what Word calls those little word bubbles) and the text, "Need help blowing out those candles, Friendo?" ("Friendo" is a term Chigurh uses for people he's about to kill . . . which is pretty much everyone he meets) Tee-hee. I love my corny little puns . . . hope you do too, because there are more to come . . . My brother loved it. My family has a sick sense of humor, so a card with a serial killer threatening the recipient is like a bear hug. Warm and fuzzy . . .


HARRY POTTER GOLDEN SNITCH CARD

This is probably the most complicated of the bunch. I made this card for my niece's 8th birthday last year. It's a Harry Potter card and a game. The card is a giant shaker box. I printed off a picture of a Quidditch pitch from the Internet and made that the backdrop for the card. I added some gold glass marbles. Here's the part where I'm insane . . . I made a tiny Golden Snitch. I used a seed bead for the base and threaded a tiny piece of paper through it to make wings. Then, I painted it gold. This Snitch was was maybe the size of an ant. Here's a picture of it:



I sealed the "box" and added a picture of Harry (found online, again) and a scroll that says, "Can you spot the Golden Snitch?" I typed the words and then stamped the scroll stamp over that. So, you shake up the box and try to find the Snitch among the little gold marbles. Fun, no? And yes, I spent waaayyy too much time making this but I'm still really proud of it.



LAW AND ORDER CARD WITH SOUND

My mom is a huge "Law and Order" fan. We all grew up watching it. Last year, I decided to make my mom a special "L&O" card. I wanted to recreate, in card form, the opening moments of an "L&O" episode in it's glory days . . . that is, when Lenny (played by the late Jerry Orbach) was still part of the cast! You all know the formula: someone's dead, the cops show up, Lenny has a sarcastic one-liner and bum-BUM! The theme music starts.

First, I searched for a picture online. I have to say, this picture was the hardest to find. I honestly don't remember where or how I found it but I'm glad I did! I did the same thing I did with the "No Country" card and pasted it in Word.

Next, I tried to find a funny Lenny birthday quote. The guy was on the show for a decade, so I was positive he had at least one one-liner about a birthday. Nope. Not so much. I had no choice but to make up my own:

DET. GREEN: Today was his birthday.

LENNY: Yeah, but somebody else blew out the candles.

It didn't even really make sense, but it was the best I could do. Now, for sound. I can't take credit for this idea . . . my younger brother came up with it first. I used one of those cards you can record your voice on, but instead of saying something, I recorded the "L&O" theme song (I played a clip on YouTube and held the card up to the speaker).

I was so excited to give it to my mom but when she opened it she sort of chuckled and that was it. My mom is super emotional so I was surprised when she didn't offer much of a reaction. Finally, I just flat out said, "Mom, don't you like the card I made?" Come to find out, she thought we bought it! She was much more excited when she realized I had made it. Her initial reaction was disappointment that I hadn't made her a card! That card is over a year old and she still has it displayed in the kitchen.



DARK KNIGHT JOKER CARD

This is probably one of my favorite cards ever. I made it for my younger brother's birthday a year or two ago. He's a Batman fanatic.

At first, the card doesn't look like much, until you turn the Joker's hand, and . . .



This is one of those rare ideas that came together at the last minute. I'm not going to go into details about how I put it together because I haven't been able to pull it off again since! I think it was just luck that the mishmash of glue, foam and a brad came together like this. My brother still has this card on display, too.