Gavin's Quilt

I've had this quilt top finished for a while now, but haven't found the time to post up here. Gavin is one of the older brothers of Saben. I mentioned I was making all three boys their own quilts here. His mom gave me a top 5 list of what he liked so I found some fabric that went along with that list. Right now he's into space rockets, aliens, ambulances, police cars and fire trucks among other things. Here's what I came up with:


And of course, we had to personalize it with his name. :) And I'm happy to say I've found a great tutorial on appliques and this time it came out perfect! Slow and steady is the key ;)
Once I start the actual quilting I'm planning on doing a bit of free motion in the white fabric around the letters. Maybe put a cute design or something in a contrasting thread color so it's not so white.

So here's the stats on this quilt:

• The finished measurements for the top is 35" x 42"
• The finished size of the squares are 7" x 7" (I cut them 7.5" x 7.5" for a 1/4" seam allowance)
• The other twin (Logan) will have this same pattern but with different fabrics
  
• There won't be a border on either of the twins' quilts. I wanted them slightly different than their younger brother's but still keeping with the overall block pattern.
• However, I am thinking of making the binding wider on these quilts so you can see more of it

All that's left to do for this quilt is find a great fabric for the back and a coordinating one for the binding. :) I'm still on the hunt for that last perfect fabric for Logan's quilt.

Giving Thanks

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Today I am thankful for a number of things, here are just a few:

• I am eternally thankful that my Lord and Savior has welcomed me back into his open arms, calling me His child once again.
• I am thankful for my husband, who is my absolute rock.
• I am thankful that my son is healthy and happy.
• I am thankful for my family and my husband's family.
• I am thankful for my friends whom I've known since high school and those whom I've met through the Navy. They have stuck by me through it all and have shown me that distance does not diminish a true friendship.

What are you thankful for today?

Saben's Quilt

One of my best girlfriends had a little boy one week before I had my son. He was born 10 weeks early and he is a fighter. He is extremely intelligent and one day he is going to be a wonderful man, father and husband because of his wonderful mother.

On his first birthday I promised that I would make him a quilt but life got in the way and now here we are, roughly 4 months until he (and my baby) are two! So with a little help from Mom, I created a quilt just for him with all of his favorite things on it. I hope they both like it. :)



This is only my second time appliqueing, the corners are still pretty tough on me. But I'm learning so much and getting better with each one. :) Of course, I had to add a few little tags. Mommas like to know how to wash their baby's things so I added a little washing tag and another marking the occasion.



This quilt is a part of theBloggers' Quilt Festival! Check out the others here:

Trick or Treat Bag

My son is 20 months old and this will be his first Halloween where he somewhat understands what is going on. Last year we simply dressed him up and took pictures, nothing else. He was 8 months old and he made the absolute cutest green monster, I loved his costume!

Picture by Christina Rush Photography

This year he will be Winnie the Pooh. My mom already got him a really cute little pumpkin to hold all of my..er, his treats but I wanted to make him his own honey pot to go with his costume. I used this tutorial and it took me maybe an hour at the most to make it (including sewing the honey drips and gluing the letters).


Yes, I went slightly overboard and probably bit off more than I could chew but it turned out so cute!

My son's Christmas gift

I figured out my son's Christmas gift the moment I saw this fabric panel:

Source: Clothworks' Choo Choo You collection

Isn't that so cute? My son is 20 months and he loves cars. I've been wanting to get one of those rugs with the roads on it for his Christmas gift but I have yet to see one in stores. So I stumbled upon Clothworks website last night and I found this panel -- it was a sign from God! He is so good, isn't He? :) Anyways, I plan on making it into a quilt/playmat and just having some simple blocks or a solid piece of fabric for the other side. Nothing fancy since he'll mostly be playing on the roads. I am so excited!

More quilts

One of my best girlfriends has 3 little boys, a set of twins and then another that is 1 week older than my son. At her youngest's birthday party I promised I would make her a quilt with anything she wanted on it for him. And I'm just now getting started on it, over a year and a half later. (oi!) Anyways, his favorite things at the moment are balls, dinosaurs, monkeys, and dogs. So here is what I got so far:



The finished size of this quilt will be 36" by 42". The squares are cut 6.5" x 6.5" with a 1/4" seam allowance making them a finished size of 6"x6". There is going to be a 6" border around them but I haven't decided on the fabric for that. I'm having a really hard time finding something that goes well with the rest of the fabrics! I bought this monkey fabric for the back of the quilt:

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She also asked me to make her twins quilts for Christmas in a similar design with their favorite things. So the twins quilts will be almost the same size (35" x 42" - 1 inch shorter) but theirs won't have the border. Instead they will have squares that are 7"x7". All three quilts will have the boys' names on them too, so they can each find their own. So I've been keeping busy lately, and I haven't even started on my family's Christmas gifts. Phew, this holiday season is going to be packed!

Handmade Christmas

So this year I've decided to try and make as many handmade gifts as I possibly can for both sides of the family. I say this because my dad and my father-in-law tend to be slightly difficult to shop for, let alone find a project I can make myself. So I've been searching Pinterest and getting some good ideas for people (which I won't be sharing until after the holiday, just in case), but one in particular I'm slightly more excited about...

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I-SPY BAGS! Aren't they cute? They can be made in any shape (including inside old water bottles) and with any trinkets. I plan on making at least 2 of them for each of my nephews, both with fabric. I don't think my son will be old enough to understand the concept of these by Christmas, so I'm going on wait on making his. But I can't wait to get started on my nephews. Hardest part is just picking out the perfect fabric and trinkets! :)

iPod Soft Cases & Hand Towl Bib

Ever have one of those days where your head is not in the game? Yeah, today was one of those days for me. My seam ripper and I were best friends today. Anyways, without further ado here is what I was working on during nap time today:

A hand towel bib - just in time for Halloween! I loved having those cute little bibs for my son last year for all his first holidays (First Valentine/4th of July/Halloween etc) but it's a little harder to find cute bibs for the holidays that don't contain the word 'first' on them. I originally saw the bib made from a hand towel idea on Pinterest (love that site!) that lead me to the tutorial over at Martha Stewart.


It doesn't tell you much other than you need a hand towel and double fold bias tape. The thing that confused me the most was the dimensions - I mean, what do you mean by lollipop shaped hole Martha? Seriously! I still want to make another one for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and maybe a few more for everyday. So I'll put up a proper tutorial when I get those done, that way you won't have to try and figure out the dimensions of a lollipop. ;)


I also made a smaller version of the Nook soft case for my iPod Touch. It fits perfectly and it keeps my (or should I say, my son's) iPod Touch all snuggly and safe. I even added a D-ring so that I can attach it to the hook inside my (future) purse. Yes, I'm that kind of crafter. ;) There's one thing that I would've done differently about the zipper but I didn't think of it until it was too late. So again, I'll do a tutorial to show you how whenever I make another one. :)



Check out that pretty blue zipper! I love colored zippers, I think it's getting to be an obsession.

I was featured!

I was featured today on Craftaholics Anonymous!

Click here to see my wreath

Check it out, my fall wreath is up there! I'm squealing over here, I'm a huge fan of CA. It's one of my top craft blogs I visit on a regular basis and to see my little wreath up there is just so cool. I'm so glad you all liked it! :)

Laundry Lines Card

Are you a scrapbooker that saves every little piece of paper? Good, this tutorial is for you! I made this thank you card for my mother-in-law who recently took me clothes shopping for my birthday.




I didn't photograph a step-by-step tutorial, but it's really pretty simple. I promise. :) Here's what you need:

Leftovers/scraps of scrapbook paper (if you don't have any just use any paper you want)
Brads in any color you want
Glue dots
Scissors
Pencil/pen/marker

Ok, so here's what I did to create this card:
1. Take the largest scrap of blue paper you have, square off the edges (ie cut off uneven edges) and cut into a rectangle. Fold in half. If you want a particular size card then just double the length to get the rectangle. For example, if you want a 4"x6" card then you need a rectangle that is 8"x6"
2. Find a green scrap of paper and cut to the length of your card, but made it a little wider than you need for the grass. Tear one side of the paper and adhere it to the bottom of your folded blue paper with glue dots, leaving some extra green at the bottom. Fold over the extra green to create a little flap, this will help your card to stand up.
3. Draw clothing shapes (pants, shirts, dresses, etc) onto the back of various colors of paper. Cut out and adhere to card, just above the grass.
4. Using your marker to draw a line across the length of the card, just above the tops of the clothing. If needed, reposition your clothing to "hang" better on the line.
5. Attach a pair of brads above the tops of each article of clothing so that the brad will cover the tips of your clothing and the line.
6. For the interior take a scrap of paper the length of the card and wide enough to cover the brad flappy things (sorry, I don't know the tecnical term). I trimmed mine with pinking shears, but you can use regular scissors or various other edge scissors (like scallop) to get a pretty cut. Write a simple message on it then adhere it to the interior using glue dots.
7. This part is optional, but for the back you can write a simple message saying it was handmade. I simple wrote "Made with love, Ashley"

And there you have it! Write your message and give to whomever! :) Enjoy!

Nook/Kindle Soft Case

A girlfriend of mine asked me to sew a soft case for her Nook with a fabric she loved. So after searching online a bit for a good tutorial I came across the one at Little Birdie Secrets. She sent me a picture of the fabric so that I could find a coordinated soft fabric for the lining, and I even convinced her to do a hot pink zipper! :) I got the fabric last week and today I was finally able to sit down and sew. I started a bit later than usual -- thank you very much thread tension >:/ -- but I think it came out so cute!

Her fabric:



The lining is a soft material (for the life of me I can't remember what it is, but it's not fleece) in a pretty pink:


Check out that hot pink zipper! I love colorful zippers, I'm so glad I talked her into it. :)

I plan on modifying the cut dimensions to make a smaller one for my iPod Touch. Stay tuned for that one!

The tutorial link: Little Birdie Secrets

Jewelry Pouch for a Cause

A friend of mine had asked me to create a special necklace to be donated at a charity raffle. I happily agreed but once done I decided to take it a step further (and use up some of my scraps!) by sewing a pouch for it, in the charity's colors of teal, purple and white. Here is what I came up with:

The special tag that's inside and includes the washing instructions

The necklace in its new home

And I can't leave you without a good close-up of the necklace I made.


Here is a link to the tutorial I used: The Purl Bee
Took 20-30 minutes to create, a great quick & easy gift to make for any occasion!

If you would like a necklace or any other type of jewelry, please check out my jewelry blog: ANP Jewels
It has a list of all the jewelry I've created, a link to my shop and my contact information.

Fall Wreath Tutorial

I love the fall, don't you? The cooler weather, the smells of pumpkin spice and of course, the colors! Today I made a wreath because I love the colors of fall so much. So let's dive into my first ever tutorial!

Supplies:
1 - 18 inch grapevine wreath
About 4 bunches of flowers, berries or whatever you desire on your wreath
Some scrapbook paper
Stamps and ink pad (if you choose to create the banner this way)
Twine, ribbon or something to string the banner
Wire cutters
Hot glue gun
Scissors
Pencil
Ruler

I have two of everything because Michael's was having an awesome sale (2 for $5 wreaths and 40% off fall florals!) that I couldn't pass up

Ok, got everything you need? Good. First thing you want to do is to lay down some sort of covering on whatever surface you're working on. Grapevine wreath are kinda messy, and it's just easier clean up.

Next, you need to turn those bunches into singles. If your bunch has a plastic handle (see below) just snip the individual stems at the base, as close to the handle as possible.

If your bunches are held together by florist tape (like below), use your scissors to carefully score the stems and separate the flowers.

When all your bunches are separated you should have a nice size pile of fall pretties. Here is where the fun part starts. :) Start arranging your flowers in a design that you like, bend the stems to get the flowers to lay flat while you are working on your design.

This is the design that I came up with.


Ok, now you need to flip your wreath over to the back side very carefully. Find all the stems from the flowers and twist them into the wreath so that the flower doesn't fall out and it blends in to the wreath. You may have to flip your wreath over a few times and test all the flowers to see which ones you've missed.


On to the banner, you can do this one of 3 ways:
1. You print your letters onto scrapbook paper
2. You hand write your letters onto the paper
3. You stamp your letters onto the paper
I did it the first way, but it's probably much easier the other ways. Anyways, if printing select your font and size, then print onto a sheet of 8.5"x11" scrapbook paper in a coordinating color - the simpler the paper the better. Mine is mossy green with raised polka dots.


Next, cut out the letters into 1" wide by 3" long rectangles leaving more room at the top. Snip little triangles into the bottom of each letter. They don't have to be perfect, the imperfections give the wreath more character.

Next, measure 1/2 of an inch from the top of each letter and use your ruler to get a crisp fold.

I didn't take a photo of this part (so sorry!) but it's pretty self explanatory. Take your ribbon/twine/string and put inside the fold of the letter. Use hot glue to close it shut. You can have your letters close or far apart, it's really up to you.

Next, find where you want to tie the ends of the banner and make a simple knot. Hot glue that knot and then wrap the string around and knot again, hot glue that second knot. Do the same for the other side. Measure the ends of your string to the bottom of your end letters and cut.


And voila, it's done! Now go hang it on a door or in your house.


Isn't it so pretty and welcoming? :) I love walking up to my front door now!


Remember I said I bought two of everything? I made a second wreath, slightly different than the first. The possibilities are endless!


Hope you enjoyed my first tutorial. Now go out and make one yourself. Happy Fall! :)

Linking up here:
Craftaholics Anonymous
Chic on a Shoestring Decorating