Picture Perfect Sewing

My mom is definitely the sewer in the the family, and is wonderful at it. She made all of our clothes when we were kids, which of course, we didn't like at the time. I kind of miss that now, because everything would fit us perfectly, and it lasted so much longer. Much to her dismay, neither I nor my sister, had the desire to learn the skills of a good seamstress; the extent of my sewing is refastening buttons and doing up a hem now and then, or adding some stitching to a craft project.

I do admire those that can create beautiful garments and projects with fabric though, so this is a little homage to them and my mom.


This fabulous idea was an online extra for Papercrafts magazine a couple of months ago. I thought it would be a fun and easy project to do for the craft fairs. Stampin' Up! fabrics work great for these.

The first one I made was the middle one with the Spice Cake fabric. As you can see, it's a little puffy; I overstuffed it a bit and it was a little tough to get back in the frame. :) The rest worked out much better. Simply remove the the back and the glass, cut your fabric about an inch larger (all the way around) than the cardboard piece inside the frame, glue three sides of the fabric to the back of the cardboard, fill with batting, glue the final edge down, trim any excess fabric, and then place all the pieces (except the glass) back in the frame.

The embellishments are simply clear buttons and a little ribbon or paper. Quick, easy, and inexpensive to make. But oh so cute, don't you think?

Make today great!

Paper vs. Tech

With all the cool new gadgets out there it's not surprising that many people keep their daily lives on these little electronic marvels. But some individuals, like me, still prefer to use pen and paper for our day to day task lists: the to-do list, grocery list, gift list....

Don't get me wrong, I love getting new gadgets, but there is just something about the process of writing out the list and crossing it off when complete that works much better for me.

Each year as Christmas approached I would get a wish list from each of the children in our family. So I would invariably carry around 6 different lists, and what a nightmare if one was left at home or lost. Trying to remember which niece wanted the pink iPod, or whether the game my nephew wanted was for his DS or the PS was frustrating.

So, I created a Gift Guide that I use for members of my family and friends that I regularly buy gifts for. It's all in one spot and can be updated or added to easily.

These handy little guides let you keep track of each person's favorite color, music or author; as well, as having a place to record sizes for clothing, hobbies, or any other miscellaneous information.

I made several of these for the two craft fairs I am participating in this month. I had made them a couple of years ago and they went over very well. Hopefully they will again this year. :)

Make today great!