Friday, November 23, 2012

jolly thanksgiving table

I decided to kill two birds with one stone this year.  I made placemats and a table runner for my kitchen table.  I did dancing fun loving christmas penguins on one side, and a thanksgiving theme on the other.  The placemats are quilted with just regular batting on the inside.  Each one is quilted differently.   The table runner is also quilted.  however, each side is quilted different and the inside is that hot pad batting stuff.  The idea of the table runner is that you can put hot pans on it and it not ruin the table underneath.  I haven't tested this theory out yet, but I'm confident that it will work out.  I decided to do this so that i don't have to fish for pot holders all the time and so that i could just use the same stuff all season! hope you enjoy!
 front and back together


 penguins up close


Pet placemats

I made cute little place-mats for my pets.  I have a cat and and dog.  They are both christmas place-mats so I will need to make more after the season is over. I know its the norm, but I made a fishy for the cat and a bone for the dog.  I'm not the best at drawing so they are perfect but they turned out alright I think.  They do not have batting in them because I figured the pets don't need it.  Hope you like them!




just some accesories!

I've made a couple of things all of you readers out there might enjoy.  The ideas are not entirely my own, yet again.  but I made them me! The first is a wallet.  It is 90% jean, the lining is just a plain cotton.  I used a couple different shades of jean.  a darker on the outside and a lighter on the outside.  I'm thinking of adding an applique or some bejeweled stuff or something to spice it up a bit and make it less plain.  It was fairly simple, however between the layers and the thickness that is jean, it got very difficult at times.  The tutorial I used for my wallet is at THIS site! it's very simple to follow.  Here are a couple pics of mine:
 

The next item is a tote! completely jean! completely my pattern.  I used the whole top portion of some jeans.  I then added strips of various other colors and styles of jeans at the bottom to give it something different.  I also took the opportunity to practice different stitches to see what the look like. I also didn't seam everything the way everyone normally does.  for the panels i just overlapped them and stitched them together. the idea is to get a somewhat frayed effect over time.  I have already used this tote once.  I don't need it for everyday.  However, I needed something big because the movie theatre in town quit selling mountain dew and good candy.....therefore, i need a bag to sneak some in.  I used it to hold 2 bottles of soda, 2 bottles of water, and 6 packages of candy.  It was heavy as heck, but it held up very nicely.  I also made the strap way to long, so I knotted it and I like it, it added something different.  Here is a front and back picture:
 
 Well, I hope you enjoy my accessories! I love making them and I love working with jean! It's so much fun to tear up the jeans that laugh at me because they don't fit! It's so much fun to come up with ideas or even to used old ideas!

Thursday, November 22, 2012

advent calendar

This is my advent calendar! I made it, if you couldn't tell. It was quite easy.  My inspiration for this project came from THIS one.  again, I couldn't find a how-to.  so i used a tutorial to learn how to do a pillow case and I chose the envelope style pillow case because it looked easy! The whole case is satin.  I had a set of satin sheets and used those.  the Belt is removable using velcro and is just plain fabric with that stuff you used for tote straps inside to give it stiffness. All the writing was done with fabric markers! My embroidery on my machine is too small, so I hand wrote.  I also added a fabric belt buckle and fabric loops.  the idea is to slide the belt each day as you get closer to christmas! I was excited to do this one. hope you like it!  

holiday chairs

Everyone loves a little holiday cheer.  So how about dressing up your kitchen chairs for the season.  I saw this idea all over the internet. All the sites I saw these on were to buy them for outragous prices.  Then again, I'm a poor retail worker.  I can afford fabric on sale but not the covers.  I could not find a tutorial anywhere for these, so I kind of made it up as I went.  My inspiration can be found on THIS site. I'm pretty sure the price is $30 each.  so for a set of 4 you are spending over $100!! I have four kitchen chairs, not 1! So I took fabric I already had and made it up.  Mine aren't nearly as professional or as good.  As a matter of fact, one of mine started tearing apart in the washing machine! Teaches me to do a small seam on satin! But, I hope you like these.  This is the first finished project for the holidays I have.  I love how easy these were to make.  If anyone wants to know how to make their own let me know and I'll post a tutorial when I make my next set!


 This is the whole set.  The pics below are close ups of each snowman. 
 this hat is shiny!

This is the one with the satin ribbon.....not my fav.  But it's also my first one made.









 This hat is shiny too. 
This one is probably my favorite cause it's so different and so fun!

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Halloween costumes part 2

This is just going to be a few photos.  My husband, my dog, and I were all in patchwork.  We were gleemen from the Wheel of Time series. 







These were way fun to make! I love my coat and wear it every chance I get.  It's got all sorts of colors so it works with everything! My husbands turned out funny. So, we will be tearing it apart in the next few months, adding patches, and making it into a coat similar to mine. Keep your eyes open for the updated version.  I have til july to do it!