It's the best time of year...

...and no, I'm not talking about Christmas. I adore holidays of all kinds, but, besides birthdays, I have to say Halloween tops the list at our house. Come on, you get to dress up and get free candy! And yes, I do dress up (and yes, my kids get the candy, but it's so fun to watch them!).

As a craft addict, Halloween seems to be the ultimate outlet for my creativity. Plus it's an opportunity for me to tap into one of my passions: movie costumes. If somehow I could live two lives, my second life would be as a costume designer. Ah, the fabrics, the hairpieces, the jewelry, the colors, the way it all comes together to blend into the world within the movie. I love it!

So the last few weeks I've been working hard on our costumes this year, and I love the way they turned out! So please pardon while I do a little Halloween preview...

We've been Star Wars characters the last couple of years, so I felt like it was time to do something new. I already have a Lord of the Rings-ish elf costume, so I wanted to go with that this year. Since there are no cute little babies in the film, my baby gets to be a cute little elf only loosely tied to the theme.



I used the same sewing pattern for both the kids -- it included some Renaissance-style dresses and a knight's outfit. I had to cut this down for my girlie; the smallest size was 3 and she's in 18 months. I did this by cutting the pieces out inside the smallest size lines, and then I used a generous seam allowance when I put it together. I then tried it on her -- it fit farely well, just had to take some extra in on the shoulder seam and consequently adjust the shoulder hole.



I also used my serger to make a fancy edging on the sleeves and along the bottom. It definitely cut off a lot of time trying to hem the odd shapes on Renaissance sleeves and the rounded dress.



I also practiced doing French seams on the sleeves and this little cloak I made. Both were sheer fabrics, so this was an elegant, professional way to do the seams without raw edges hanging out. French seams are really easy, too! I just looked it up on YouTube.

For my son, I've been wanting to make this costume for a few years. He's my favorite character from the movie!



I had so much fun doing this one! The only thing he's missing is a blond wig; he does have a bow, just didn't bring it to this Halloween party.



I used the knight's tunic pattern to make the jerkin  and simply had it open in the front instead of the back. NOTE: If you're going to do this, remember to add a little extra to the edges. Cutting it in half and then hemming along the front cut too much into tunic; luckily it was big enough, but it does pull toward that middle instead of laying with the side seams where you want them.

I then added the green parts on the front, across the back and on the sleeves. I used the same pattern to make the boot covers and put snaps on to close them in the back so I can easily adjust the size and he can wear them for a few years. The arm braces were going to be closed with velcro, but I realized I made them too small. So I used my leather punch from this tutorial, and put eyelets in evenly on both sides and laced them up with suede cord I found in the jewelry aisle at the store. I can also use the arm braces for several years because they're adjustable.

My hubby will be a ring wraith -- I'll share next week!

Add a little rock'n'roll to your wardrobe...

I have been on a jewelry kick lately -- I love jewelry, so why not learn to make my own? I've made a necklace and some earrings so far, and I'm definitely hooked! So much fun...

But I have to say what I've been dying for most is a punky, rock'n'roll leather cuff, and I'm so excited with the results! (Just don't look too close, it's definitely not perfect, but it was my first time working with leather...)

Yeah, I know. Not the most edgy looking with my wedding ring, but I had to wear it on that arm so I could take a picture. :) But still, I think it looks pretty awesome for my first attempt!

This was actually a pretty simple project; I did it in one afternoon. First, pick up some materials at the craft store. I saw leather and embellishments at both Hobby Lobby and Michael's. I bought a piece of leather ($3) and some embelishments ($3 to $7). Both rivets and these pyramid brads looked so much fun!

Now, this isn't the cheapest project, because you'll need more than just the materials. I also bought some snaps (and fyi, both the snaps and the rivets come with what you need to set them, you just need a hammer -- $7.50 but used a coupon), a leather hole punch (which was about $8 but I used a 40-percent coupon), and a needle/leather awl ($2). I used the awl for the pyramid cabuchons, but you will only need the leather punch for the rivets. You can make at least three or four cuffs from the leather, and you'll have leftover rivets, cabuchons and snaps. So this will be more cost effective if you make several -- hey, it's a good time to get started on Christmas presents!

So to start, you need to take some measurements and do some designing. I did a Google search and looked at leather cuffs, then designed my own with inspiration from what I found. I decided I wanted three horizontal strips and I wanted to use the pyramid cabuchons and alternate them. So plan what you want it to look like, then determine your width based on that. I decided to have each strip be 3/4 inch, so my width was 2 1/4 inches.

Measure your wrist (my wrist was 6 inches around), then add 2 inches so you'll have enough to wrap around. And believe me -- you'll need 2 inches (I tried only 1 inch and it wasn't enough). Your arm is a little bigger further up, so you need enough for the widest part of your arm, and you'll want a decent amount for placing your snaps. So my length was 8 inches. Using a rotary cutter and a straight-edge ruler, cut out your cuff (2 1/4 inches by 8 inches for mine).

Then mark any specific design elements you need to cut using a pen. I tried a pencil and it totally didn't work. You can do it on the back so you won't see it anyway, so go ahead and use the pen. I measured where to make my cuts so I could have three horizontal strips at 3/4-inch each.

See what the pencil did for me? Nothin'! My strips ended up crooked because I couldn't really see them. I just used my nice sharp scissors to make the strips. I also rounded the corners using my scissors.

Now you'll need to plan out where to put your embellishments. If you're making a hole to put the embellishment in, you can put your pen marks on the front because they'll be cut out, but if you're doing something more like these brads, I suggest you lay them out and mark it on the back.

If you're doing rivets, grab your punch and go to town. For these brad cabuchons, I used this awl. I didn't like the way the punch looked; even the smallest hole was too much of a circle for these and then it looked lumpy when I put it in. Now be so careful! This awl was super sharp! I pushed it into the leather where I wanted it and really wiggled it around to get it in. Then I flipped everything over so the base of the awl was on my matt and the leather on the top of the awl and -- carefully -- pushed the awl up through.

As you can see, this method kind of stretched my leather out. It looks all lumpy laid out, but it won't matter much when you've got it around your wrist. So get your embellishments all in place...

... then wrap it around your wrist to mark the spots for your snaps. Again, use a pen, and you'll use the leather punch here, so the pen marks will get punched out.

I just eyeballed how much I wanted it to overlap and how good it looked on my arm so I had plenty of leather to support them. Make sure to mark the holes for both ends.

I used my hole punch, making sure to get the punch that was the same size as my snaps so it had a nice, snug hole.

Then I simply followed the directions to put the snaps in, using the little setter and anvil and just a hammer I had around the house. So here's your fasteners -- and that's it!

A nice leather cuff full of attitude! Sweeeeeeeet...

Something for your bling with a twist...

As promised, here's a little fancier version of a jewelry organizer, this one more all-in-one.

This was my friend Keri's idea, and it's brilliant! I made this as a birthday present for my sister-in-law.

You'll need these items:
*a shadowbox frame (a frame with kind of a door on it, deep enough to put things inside -- a wood one)
*fabric
*hot glue gun
*staple gun (optional)
*fiberglass screen
*pushpins

(Sorry, I know I'm using the same pics again, but you don't mind, do you?)

I bought my shadowbox at Hobby Lobby -- even half off it wasn't as cheap as I had hoped, but it really worked well for the project. It also had hardware to sit on a dresser instead of hanging on the wall, just fyi. I bought the screen at Home Depot behind the windows department along the back wall. And I bought these awesome wood pushpins at The Container Store, and then they were too big for my project. :( So I ended up buying some rounded-head pins at Target.

Again, this method is really easy -- you could have this done in an afternoon! First, ditch the glass or plastic. You won't need it.

Next, take out the back/inside of the frame. Mine had a styrofoam pad attached to the back, and I tried to cover it wth fabric without taking it apart. That totally didn't work, so don't be afraid to take it apart! If your shadowbox doesn't have some kind of pad, then I suggest you get one or it won't hold your necklaces and/or bracelets.

I cut my fabric a little generously so I would have plenty to work with (so maybe an inch, inch and a half beyond the edges of my back and foam pad).

Warm up your glue gun and you'll attach the fabric to the foam, and then glue it to your backing.

My pad was glued to the back, and then there were screws through the backing and foam to the frame. When I glued my fabric down, and then glued the foam onto the backing, I tried not to put glue over where the screws needed to go.

Now you'll cut your screen just a bit bigger than the front of the frame and you'll staple it or glue it in place, basically replacing the glass or plastic with the screen.

Now, it was a little funky doing this part because these hinges didn't allow the frame to lay flat open. I just propped the back up so the front part could lay flat while I stapled it in place. I started with one side, got it stapled down, the really stretched the screen as I stapled the opposite side, then continued to pull as I did the two short sides. I didn't get it to lay perfectly flat and taut, but that's ok. It will still look great if you can't get it as tight as you want.

Finally, trim the excess screen and put your back piece back into its place. Then put some pushpins where you want in the fabric-covered foam and hang your necklaces or bracelets on them. Close the front and put your earrings through the screen holes and enjoy!

A little something for your bling...

Not sure why, but I feel like I need something nice and beautiful to put my nice and beautiful things in. I'm pretty sure my husband thinks I'm crazy. I have a wood jewelry box that I really like, but it's gotten a little cramped -- and a lot disorganized -- with earrings and necklaces and bracelets all over each other. I had to untangle everything each time I wanted to wear some jewelry. That, and for some reason, it's starting to tarnish my jewelry...

So I found an easy solution that is not only cute but makes it so much easier to pick out what I want to wear. Love it!

There are so many tutorials for this kind of stuff online, but here's two ways that I found. One is just for earrings (cheaper version), the other is for earrings and necklaces.

Let's start with version one: It's definitely the cheaper route to go, and you can hang it on your wall. And while you can't put your necklaces with it, I found a super cheap solution for that (stay tuned for that tutorial!).

Version two was just so clever, I had to try it! Plus maybe you can swing it to do it for cheap...

We'll start with the basic version today.

Here's what you'll need:
*a frame, of any size you want
*fabric
*hot glue gun
*staple gun (optional)
*fiberglass screen
(Sorry, you don't need pushpins for this version, that's for version two, so ignore that in the picture...)

So I picked up my frame from the thrift store, a nice big 11 x 14, for less than a dollar. I used some fabric I already had on hand, and I bought the fiberglass screen at Home Depot (it was against the back wall behind the windows department) for a few bucks. And there's a ton, so split it with some friends, make a whole bunch for Christmas gifts, something...

First off, ditch the glass in your frame (you can save it as replacement glass or donate it). Then I painted my frame because I wasn't crazy about the color.

I didn't even sand it, just used some acrylic paint in my favorite color, Burnt Umber. Then covered it with a spray sealant.

Next, cut out your screen a little bigger than your frame. Then using the staple gun (or hot glue gun if you don't have that), you'll tack it down as far forward as you can from the backside of the frame (you're basically replacing the glass with the screen).

Make sure you pull it really tight as you do it. I started with one side, stapled it down, and then I pulled it tight as I did the other side and continued to pull tight and tacked it down well everywhere.

Then trim the screen, leaving just a little past where you stapled or glued it down.

Then trim your material a little bigger than the frame. Use your staple gun/hot glue gun to attach the fabric to the very outside/top of the frame from the back side (so there's a little space between the screen and the fabric). Again, make sure you're pulling it tight. You will also need to make sure you can trim the fabric around the hanging bracket so you can still hang it.

And that's it! How easy is that! Of course, this is only good for wire earrings, not for posts. That's mostly what I have, though, so it's been awesome!

I move the little plastic backs up right next to the loop in the wire earring hook and then you just slide the wire through one of the holes in the screen. Now your earrings are easily found, out calling for you to wear them.

Now I just need to get my necklace hanger done so my necklaces won't be all over each other...

Zzzzzzzip!

So I got back from vacation almost a month ago, and I'm still having a hard time getting into the swing of everything! I finally catch up on my house so I think I can focus on other things and my house falls apart, the kids' schedule is still a little uncertain, and I suddenly have a bazillion things that need to get done in just a few weeks! Phew...

So I've got this wonderful little bag pattern that I'm hoping to get up in my Etsy shop in the next few weeks. My testers have given me great feedback and I'm almost ready to put it up.

It's a pretty basic bag, but so cute! It will be great for beginners, and you'll learn how to do a zipper, a pocket and really nice looking corners. I designed it to be a church bag, perfectly sized to hold a set of scriptures, but it makes a great little tote, too. That's where I keep my current crochet projects and all my hooks (although that will change soon -- come back for a crochet buddy tutorial!).

If you're interested, I'll put up a coupon code when I get it in my shop and give you a discount! But for today, I'll share a little snipit about how to do the zipper. I've seen this method used in several patterns, but unless you get lots of pictures and really break it down, it can be really confusing. Hope this helps with your next project!

This method is for a zipper on a pocket when you have two pieces of material.

So here's the back of my bag lining, and I've marked a box right in the middle that's 3/8-inch tall and about 6 inches long. I'm going to sew right on top of these lines, and I want my zipper to be a little bigger than this box. This box will become a hole that I will lay over the top of my zipper and sew in place, so make sure you've made it small enough to have fabric to sew onto the zipper. See how the zipper compares to the box?

So now you'll flip back to the front of your lining; you'll pin your pocket in place with right sides together. (I made sure to sew my zipper about an inch down from the top of the pocket so you'll have room to stitch up your pocket later). Also, make sure those pins are well out of the way of your box.

Flip your pieces back over so you're looking at the back again, and sew right over the box you drew, making sure to sew well over your beginning place and you back stitch on the short sides.

Now grab your scissors -- you're going to cut a slit right along the middle of this box, stopping about 1/2 inch from the sides. Then from there, you'll cut diagonally to each corner, so you'll have a little triangle at the end. Try and get as close as possible in those corners as you can without snipping the stitching.

Now you can take out your pins, and from the back side, you'll reach through the hole and grab your pocket and pull it to the back side. Then press it nice and flat.

As you can see, my corner bunched a little bit but I was able to press them mostly flat. The closer you can get to those corners when you cut your hole, the flatter it will lay. Now here's the hole for your zipper! While looking at the front, you'll lay your zipper underneath, pin in place and sew.

I like to make sure the head of the zipper is nice and snug against one side, and then just make sure it's centered as you pin the rest of it.

That's the quick and simple version of what I've got in my pattern, but it should help you place your next zipper! Happy sewing!

A personal side note...

Yep, I've been MIA for weeks. I have a good excuse, I promise...

I've been on vacation for almost a month, and part of it was spent with my hubby in Hawaii. As much as I'm obsessed with crafts, I just couldn't think about that while laughing with my family on the back porch, enjoying some cool mountain air with my incredible in-laws, or swimming with my sweetheart in blue ocean water. Wonderful, awesome trip.

But I'm back in full craft mode with a bazillion projects on my mind, like Halloween costumes (yes, I've actually been thinking about this since June -- you need to think about that this soon when you're making three of them and you have to have them be awesome like I do), jewelry organizers and yarn goods.

Promise I'll be back soon with some really fun projects!

Summer maxi dress -- shirring (Part 4)

How's your dress coming? I'd love to know if you're making one and how it's going...

And now, if you're doing the gathered bodice, it's time to finish it up!

To do this, you'll need to buy some elastic thread; I found mine at the fabric store by the prepackaged elastic. It's elastic so thin that you can use it as thread.

Please excuse the close up, but this is a good illustration of the final look of the bodice:

I've seen this method described as smocking or shirring. Not sure what the difference is, but I'm thinking that shirring is what we'll do here, a simple gathering. Smocking is several layers of shirring with decorative thread on the top side, like you might see on little girls' skirts or shirts. But just a guess...

To start, you'll need to hand-wind your bobbin with the elastic thread. I stretched it a little as I did this...

Then you'll load your bobbin in your machine. One of my big sewing machine books said you should bypass your tension disc in the bobbin case, but that didn't work for me. I ended up threaded it as normal.

Here's my test fabric. The top is the correct; you can see the elastic thread, and then on top I used the blue thread I'd been using for the rest of the project. The bottom was my attempt to bypass the tension disc; as you can see, it totally didn't work. I also didn't need to adjust anything else on my machine.

By the way, if "tension disc" is confusing, here's the illustration from my sewing machine. The arrow is pointing right at the tension disc; it's what pulls the thread tight so it doesn't just spin out of the bobbin.

I started sewing at the top, making sure I was sewing vertically right down the middle of the bodice. I back stitched just a few stitches at the top but not at the bottom. I left the threads long at the top and bottom. I pulled on the elastic to gather the bodice, then I sewed it again, right over the top of my other stitches. You can pull on the elastic again if you want to gather it more.

The top stitching at the top held the threads ok. At the bottom, I sewed a very small horizontal line across the bottom to hold the stitches in place (no elastic, back to regular thread for this part). I did it this way because I didn't want to have a horizontal line at the top; I thought it would show. But maybe it won't and that will work better for you than the back stitching.

And that's it! Here's how it looks on the back...

And here's the front view...

If you didn't do this, the bodice looks really, really plain. So here's your chance to be creative and dress it up. One thing I've seen lately that I love is the knit braids. That was my plan before I decided to gather it; there's a good tutorial here to help you create the braids. You would then tuck the ends under and hand stitch it to your bodice; I was going to put it along the bottom of the bodice/top of the skirt, but it would also be good for the straps as well. Or you can do some fabric flowers, some ribbon... The possibilities are endless!

Enjoy summer in your new dress!