Sequin Heart Shoe Clip Tutorial

What better shoe to bring in the new year? All sparkly and light.

I made mine in under 10 minutes.

Click on this link to Read More of This Post

What I'm doing this morning....

This is what I made this morning with my new Sizzix! It only took me about 15 minutes including the hot gluing part. They'll be wearing them to Chocolate World today. I'm tempted to make one for every outfit!

Melody's Engagement

I've been rather busy these last few weeks on totally unblog related things. This is one of those 'things' I've been up to.

Brian's youngest sister Melody recently got engaged to her long time boyfriend Rob. Big things are happening for them. She recently graduated with a BA in nursing and just landed a job in the NICU of a hospital in the  Philadelphia area. Rob, her "soon-to-be" also recently passed an important exam associated with his position in finance. I can't remember the name of the exam but I do remember it was about as important as passing the bar. And they plan to marry in the beginning of next December. Like I said, it's a great time in their lives.

Around now they are planning basically....everything....but engagement photos to send out as announcements fall somewhere in that mix. She asked me to take them for her.

I was ever so flattered. Part of me really takes pride in the photography of the blog as much if not more than the sewing aspect so I hope that you might take interested in what I was up to.

Happily, Melody easily agreed to allow me to share a few of them with you.

Melody and Rob are such an attractive couple. They made things pretty easy for me:)

And as you can see we were fortunate enough to have it snow.

 Unfortunately, the weather was in the teens with gusty winds. You can't tell from the photos but it was truly unbearable. I wore heavy layers but my hands had to be exposed and did not work as well as they should have.

Thankfully, we were able to take shelter between shoots at a local bar/restaurant.

I knew that the conditions wouldn't be ideal when we started. It is VERY difficult for me to get good (crisp, well-lit) shots in that kind of weather.

But with the snow I think it was all worth it.

We took these the day after Christmas and I was worried I wouldn't find a place that sold the 3' balloons. Fortunately Party City had them for much cheaper than what I pay for down the street from my home.

The only thing I would have liked would be a little warmer weather. I can't focus on all the little details that need to be fixed when it's that cold. But Melody said we could go out later in the year and take some more. I'm looking forward to it. I'd LOVE to take some great summer photos.

 The End.

Fancy Shoe Clips

Guess what I got for Chriiistmaaaaas???? Uh yeah, a Sizzix! I'm so giddy to try it out. You know what's even better? Brian asked the girl at Michael's if he could use the 40% off coupon and she said yes! I don't think she was supposed to. But what a discount, right?! It made me feel better about asking for it. Having a blog is really handy when you want to get your Christmas hints across;)

So one of the first things I'm going to try is making a couple shoe clips. I need to buy a flower die first. But I can't wait to show you what I come up with.

Shoe clips are the most clever idea! And if you like to live by the simpler "upcycling lifestyle" shoe clips are great because instead of a bunch shoes cluttering your floor you have a couple simple colored flats and pumps with a lot of cute clips to add and switch for a million different cute looks.

Look for my shoe clips sometime next week. Hopefully by then I'll be back in my blogging groove. But I have to tell you it feels good to wake up and just relax all day, plan ways to rearrange my house, snuggle under my new electric plush blanket, cuddle Eloise.

For now, here are some great links to Shoe Clip ideas. Tell me which ones are your favorite and I can try to do a tutorial on them. 

Russian Veiling Confetti Shoe Clip
Felt Flower Shoe Clip
Sequin Heart Shoe Clip
Chiffon Pom Pom Shoe Clip
Brooch Shoe Clip
Velvet Strawberry Shoe Clip
Lace Floral Shoe Clip
Dahlia Side Shoe Clip 
Ribbon & Button Shoe Clip
Turquoise Silk Flower Shoe Clip
Navy Spiral Fabric Flower Shoe Clip
Ruffled Circles Shoe Clip
Feather Shoe Clip
Velvet Pansies Shoe Clip
Pink Stefi Feather Shoe Clip
Polka Dot Fabric Floral Shoe Clip
Peacock Feather Rosette Shoe Clip
Mustard Yellow Bow Shoe Cli
Boa Shoe Clip 

top image: ban.do

Post Christmas Silhouette Opportunity!

Did you get everything you wanted for Christmas? We're still reeling from the aftermath. Whenever Christmas is finished in our household I MUST make a trip to Walmart for some plastic bins to store the kids new parts and pieces. Without bins our life would be chaos!

In case any of you didn't get that special something that you wanted, you still have the chance to win one of the amazing silhouette machines!

Check out Stories of A to Z. She's giving away a silhouette machine and the giveaway ends December 31st at Midnight.

But what's even better is that she is offering the best promo code I've ever seen to purchase one of these for yourself.

You must at least take a look. Plus she's an A-M-A-Z-I-N-G decorator so if for no other reason, you should stop by and see all the amazing things she's up to while being a stay at home mother who also home schools her son. Like I said....amazing:)

Embellish Your Knit Month: Epilogue

I have loved this theme! It has been so much fun not to mention rewarding to my wardrobe which was seriously lacking in the sweater department.

Part of me thought it would be sort of cool to do another month of makeover skirts or pants or dresses. But I have to admit that I do miss sewing from scratch and the thrill of designing something of your own. Dresses mainly. Dresses are my passion. Part of me is torn between that and embellishing. It's fun to have such an immediate reward for little work.

Let's recall my top 5 favorites from the past month!

Okay by overall favorite was Day 17. It was cute, whimsical and flattering to my shape. The balloon also rocked! Brian's youngest sister just got engaged and has asked ME to take her engagement photos! How flattering! So aside from being totally nervous I plan on using one of these 3' balloons. Anyone else have any suggestions? Our biggest obsticle will be the blah weather. Althooooough the forecast is saying it might snow which would be IDEAL!

Ahh my second favorite Day 14. I wore this all around town and felt so interesting in it. The orange and blue were a great combination of colors!

And I know you just saw it yesterday but I loved the floaty feel of Day 30. I knew I would the moment I started cutting the chiffon. It's such a lovely fabric to wear.

Day 8. Looked even cuter in person. It was so soft and comfy and warm I couldn't help but wear it all week. To pick Lily up from school, to dental appointments to the fabric store....

And finally Day 3! It was right around the time the leaves were starting to change and everything felt autumnal. Boots were most appropriate and paired with this plaid wool skirt sewn on the bias I LOVED the overall look of this embellishment. It was one of the first outfits that really felt 'put together' for me.

Okay I couldn't help but mention one more. Day 9 was definitely one of my favorites too. The plum hue of the flower and the gathered ribs of the remake all looked pleasing to my eye. I wore this to a couple girl scout meetings, the movie's and Brian's parent's house.

I spent so little on these cardigans. I like to think that even if you don't have a lot of money to spend on expensive outfits, you don't have to be resigned to boring 'mom' clothes.

So there you have it! What were your favorites?

And don't forget to return for more EKM weekly! And if you ever want to peruse new and old Embellish Knits, the sidebar will always have a link to all of them.

Embellish Knit Month: Day 30

The End. Oh it's been a wild ride. I'll have a recap post tomorrow of all my favorites but here we are, Day 30.

For this last (tear) knit I took a very light ballet looking top I bought at Community Aid for $1 and added nylon chiffon embellished flowers. Since the knit was so gauzy and light I knew that felt was NOT the way to go. And I think the chiffon looks just right for the weight of the fabric. See the before.

The flowers were made by taking layers of chiffon and melting the edges with a candle. I thought it might be tedious at first but the process actually went along quite quickly and it only took me about 30 minutes to make 16 flowers with 6 layers of chiffon each. Not too bad.

I only added them to one side for an asymmetrical look but I also thought they would look fantastic on both sides for a full but light feel.
Now for my small announcement, and I do mean small. I'm sorry if I might have led some of you on, it's nothing big. I just wanted to announce that I have loved this series so much and it's gotten such a fantastic response from you that I plan on continuing and doing it on a weekly basis along with my other weekly posts-Thrift Store Thursday, Technique Tuesday (which will be coming back now that EKM is over). I tried to do both in the beginning and yes, it was just lofty thinking.

I like the alliteration, but there's no weekday that begins with an 'E' or 'K'. If any of you out there can think of a cute title I'd love to hear it!

1. First things first, please ignore my embarrassing excuse for a dining table. The girls have colored on it with marker and crayons....and paint and God knows what else. And I have always intended to someday sand it all off but as you can see, that's never quite happened. So please forgive me:) Now, on with the show....cut 3 sized chiffon circles. You don't have to use nylon chiffon since you will be melting the edges. Make 32 of each size. What I did was accordion fold the fabric and cut 16 at once. The biggest is 4", medium 3" and smallest 2".

2. Taking two layers at once hold it AN INCH AND A HALF over a candle. Do not let the flame catch the fabric. YIKES! That would be bad. In fact maybe you should keep a glass of water nearby in case that might happen. The heat from the candle a couple inches above the flame should be enough to melt the edges just enough to look pretty. You will be able to instantly see the edges melt. Only melt them as much as I did in the picture to the left.

3. Use two layers of each circle and layer them so that you have the largest on the bottom and smallest in the center. There should be six layers of chiffon. Use a pin to hold the layers together until you are ready for the next step.

4. Pin flowers to sweater in the places you would like them to be and sew to sweater in centers.


DONE!

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BlogNog Guest: Grosgrain!

I'm guest blogging over at Say YES! to Hoboken! Over the past few months Liz has been having a fabulous seasonal themed event called BlogNog! (Isn't that just the most clever title?) Anyway, it's amazing, and yes, TODAY I am a guest. I teach you how to make your own felted ball garland just like they sell in Anthropologie!

Go check it out!

And stay tuned for the LAST Embellish Your Knits post today! Tear.

Embellish Knit Month: Day 29

OMGoodness! One more day to go! I have a little announcement about Embellish Knit Month (which kinda has turned into Month's' plural) tomorrow. So please come back for the end!

Speaking of end of Embellish Month. Stay tuned this week for all the last minute Homemade Christmas Gifts I will be working on thru Saturday. Family members and friends: Do not look at this blog from tomorrow until after the weekend!

I came up with this idea when I was scribbling nonsense on a piece of scrap paper. I don't know. I thought it was kind of clever. See the before. 

The tree has wood buttons on it and in the middle there's a button with a little painted owl (like he's in the tree....get it;) You could also try putting the leaves on the tree around the neckline. I think that would look cute too. Maybe just on one side?

This idea might also make a cute child's sweater!

The sweater originally had a turtleneck. I got rid of that and made it a crew neck. Then I cut it up the middle and added the tree to make it into a cardigan. Gotta love those cardigans! See the tutorial below!

1. Cut off the turtleneck.

2. Cut up the front.

3. Take the extra fabric from the turtleneck and cut so it is one long 2" strip.

4. Sew to neckline.

5. Sew felt to one side, right sides together.

6. Fold over and under.

7. Sew down the front to secure the felt on the top and catch the folded over felt underneath.

8. Cut off the excess felt underneath.

9. Cut out branches and sew them to the sweater by stitching around the edges of the felt.

10. Make the leaves. Cut them out of felt. I folded mine accordian style and cut many at once.

11. To give the leaves texture I pinched them at the end and sewed (or hot glue) in place.

12. Attach leaves by either sewing or hotglueing to sweater.

13. I added one falling leaf and made veins with the stitches I used to attach it to the sweater.

I then added the buttons and painted the little owl in the center one.


Done.

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On My Christmas List

Please Please PLEEEEAZE Santa, bring me one of these. I like it because it cuts fabric! Although I wish I could find something that would cut fabric that didn't require you buy dies....oh well, I guess it will give my family members more ideas for their future Christmas lists. 

I could have really used one for Embellish Knit Month! Speaking of EKM stay tuned for Day 29 later today!

Photo credit

Embellish Knit Month: Day 28

Sorry I didn't get this up this late. It's been a busy day. And thank you to all who left comments about Eloise. She still has a fever and I might take her back in tomorrow if it continues through the night. I'm a little worried it might be strep.

This sweater got a complete makeover. See the before. First I snipped of the arms and made them into boxy short sleeves. I also cut the neck into a scoop and used the extra material I cut off to make the cowl neck. I added new sailor anchor buttons and made the "band" embellishments.

It has a very 'band' look to it which is what I was going for. I figured I needed some reason to break out the old flute and show it off to the kids. They were adorable trying to play it. They would blow into the hole and hum as if they were making it whistle.

1. Snip off arms leaving 4".

2. Cut off collar.

3. Cut off buttons.

 4. Cut a scoop neck.

5. Fold sleeve in.

6. And stitch in the ditch to secure folded sleeve in.

7. Take the extra material and....

 8. Sew it to the neckline to make a cowl neck.

9. Then stitch in the ditch to secure the cowl the same way you did the sleeve.

9. Cut five white rectangles with pointed edges sew them down the front of the sweater as well as buttons on either side.

10. And sew twisted embellishments to top of rectangles.

<br /> <center><a href="http://grosgrainfabulous.blogspot.com/2006/10/embellish-knit-month.html"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJpdBoZVbS67gq55K7JKGOn5E_4UlFcDJzEansshVkYvo_nvDBgXohhvGualTWNjkgJfIctJdKV5ClGC_9IGABI1kIkEaatRkvd3H6sgnK6FeeLtoAp34qQXrmmGv-geo_M6P11uiltmc/s1600/button.jpg"/></a></center><br />