jane's apron

giveaway, kits, and random stuff

I'm a little late with this post but it is not too late to hop on over to Funky Finds for details on their January Giveaway...it includes a set of my "thank you" postcards. 

Thanks to everyone for sharing some great ideas about the collector boxes that I made.  I have decided to offer a few kits for the hearts and, if that goes well I also plan to offer kits for my pattern dresses.  I will package the kits in such a way that they will make pretty gifts...something fun to share with a crafty friend for Valentine's Day.   I'll put them in my etsy shop either today or tomorrow.  update: the kits are in my shop...I really, really had fun putting together a kit!

Finally, the stitching surgeon has tagged me for 7 random things about me...which I'm going to take as 7 random things that are making me happy this week.  1. Ellen at the grocery store with a quart of half & half under each arm and a jar of cherries in her hands...for making homemade ice cream for her birthday.  2.  Ross on his best behavior pushing for a wii for his birthday on Friday.  3. Spoon..."Don't You Evah" 4. The Complete Jane Austen waiting for me on Sunday nights  5. My first Craig's List furniture purchase (I hope)  6. Paint going up on the living room walls 7. Watching "Stardust" with the kids and being pleasantly surprised.   

mini me

I hesitate to post my kid's artwork here but bear with me for just a bit...

I was tossing loads of pre-cut papers recently and my daughter Ellen snatched them up and made, without really knowing it, little altered trading cards of all of our animals.  She made all of them in outdoor scenes except for our cat Nancy.  Nancy is old, has one eye (see the "x" in place of an eye?), and is blind...so her artwork depicts her inside by the fire "looking" out of the window.  I LOVE that Ellen cut out a flower shape and placed it to the left of her composition.

Next, as part of this project, I made a sketch of the floor plan I'm thinking of and  Ellen made one of her own.   She included the paint colors that I had picked for the room (yes, I'm still under the influence of paint color names...I picked "coffee" and "rice pudding").   And I'm especially proud that she wrote "Ellen's Plan" with the correct punctuation.

So, Ellen's birthday is tomorrow...she will be 7 years old.  She is such a close version of me that it is a little freaky.  Happy Birthday Ellen!

 

collector boxes

Remember last week when I posted that my last project is always my favorite?  So, what has it been?...like 8 days and I'm already on to a new "favorite".

I bought two Martha Stewart Crafts collector boxes at Michaels because they were on clearance.  The collector boxes are like little shadow boxes that open and are slightly padded to allow you to pin something inside.  They also have a ribbon attached to the back so you can hang them.  They are such a pretty pink color and I knew I'd find a use for them.

I created the heart version using the back of a pattern envelope cut with pinking shears, layered with a paper from Basic Grey, layered again with twill tape, a straight pin with a heart, and a vintage button tied with brown & white baker's twine.  I attached the heart with two of the straight pins that came with the box. 

For the sweet little girl version, I layered a pattern piece on a pink patterned paper and cut it out with pinking shears. I added another vintage button tied with baker's twine and the little girl from a vintage sewing pattern.  Again, the collage is pinned to the inside using the pins that came with the box. 

I have submitted some of my work for consideration to only one magazine so far but would love any advice anyone may have about trying this again.  Do you think something "do-able" like this would fit any publications...a sewing magazine?....a paper crafts magazine?  I would love to share something like this.  Also, I think these would make good "kits".  If I offered something like this, would anyone be interested?  Please leave a comment or email me...I'd love to hear from you.   

margie

I picked up two expertly crafted vintage aprons at my thrift store last week (what is that diamond-shaped stitching...a kind of smocking?).  The best part is the label sewn on the inside..."HAND MADE BY Margie".  You gotta love a name like Margie...a classic 1940's name...but still so cute. 

I recently was getting ready to meet some friends from college and my daughter asked my friends' names.  "Well, there's Linda, Kathy, Karen..." I said.  Ellen thought about it for a second and said "Those are weird names".   I thought this was so funny.  I guess when you are 6 and go to school with kids named Hannah, Ava, Fiona...and even Parker and Carter, those classic 1960s names must sound pretty funky.  Lisa? Kim? Julie?...classic 1960's names...now seen as "weird".

new sewing boxes

I bought a bunch of stitched suitcases a few years ago and I used a couple of them for storing finished cards.  I looked at them again when cleaning my craft closet and saw a new purpose for them.  I remembered the cutest sewing box from picnic by ellie (I think that might have been the first photo I marked as a favorite in flickr).   These boxes are really, really simple...I just added a pretty image from my big counter book.  The stitching running across the bottom of the dress was just a happy accident from sanding the sealer I used...makes it fit into the little case even better. 

I made two of these and will list them along with a few other "valentine" colored items and a new batch of "sew busy" clipboards in my etsy shop tomorrow. 

We are all home together again today (I don't think my kids ever go for an entire week of school without a day "off") and it is so dang cold.  The only thing I can think to do that shouldn't be too crowded is to go to the art museum...it's free and for some reason my kids like it. 

it's sew time

I don't watch much TV.  Not for intellectual reasons or anything...I just don't have much time during the week.  Luckily, my TIVO has a few shows waiting for me and when I get a chance, one of my favorites is "Project Runway".  I first watched it near the end of season 2.  I was instantly hooked.  I couldn't believe how the designers made such beautiful stuff straight off a dress form...amazing.  I love the hurried creative process and the weird constraints...love Tim Gunn...love the sketches the designers draw.  And, as a girl that admitted in my last post that I'm afraid of my sewing machine, I'm in awe of the sewing skills it must take. Plus, it is one of the few shows on TV that makes me laugh out loud.  My favorite designer this season is Sweet P.  She makes pretty, simple dresses and I love that every thought she has shows on her face...no poker-faced designer that Sweet P.

I love that Project Runway has made it hip to sew again...you can see it everywhere on creative blogs with wardrobe refashions and sewing tutorials.  Of course, it has also been an inspiration for my projects and led directly to me seeing sewing patterns as art...to be refashioned into anything I feel like creating.   

vintage pillowcase challenge

As part of my new year cleaning frenzy, I recently folded and stacked my vintage pillowcases.  I made an apron from one last year and it turned out really cute but, while admiring my nice, neat stack of pretty colors, I thought of something else I could make.  I cut my own pattern from one of the cases.  The pieces have been waiting for a couple of weeks.  Why the delay? Because I'm afraid of my sewing machine...

My sewing machine is a well-cared-for, cute-as-can-be 1963 Singer Touch & Sew. My project requires two button holes.  The sewing machine manual is confusing about how to do this...and the "Professional Buttonholer" attachment is even scarier than the sewing machine. 

While procrastinating on my project, I found The Handmade Parade Vintage Pillowcase Challenge.  There is absolutely no way I will win this challenge but it's just the kick I need to tackle my sewing machine fears and give it a try.   

hearts

Without blogs to read with pretty hearts and Valentine's Day things showing up everywhere, I'd wake up on February 14th and think..."You know, it probably would have been a good idea to make something for Valentine's Day".  Just another great thing about my favorite blogs...they motivate and remind me to make something.  I've saved a few sewing pattern counter book images that were just asking to be made into a pretty valentine.

I made this 11x14 collage with one of those pages...these two girls are reading a note with a heart on the envelope...crazy sweet.  I cropped the pattern page just below the waist of the dresses and cut away the top of the page. The patterned papers are both from Anna Griffin.

Charlotte at House Wren Studio had a great post last week about how her most recent project is always her favorite.  I am the same way and this is now my favorite...to be replaced by something else in the very near future I'm sure. 

a helpful elf

I love decorating and home books...to read, to just look at, to display.  I scoop them up at the thrift store without a second thought.  But, before I buy a  book from a regular store or Amazon,  I almost always get it from the library first.  Did you know you can request purchases at the library?  I discovered that when I first joined my book club and have been "all over" the library services since then.  This week, I found out about the library elf which lets you organize all of your library cards and sends email notifications when items you requested are ready, when something is due or overdue, etc.  My kids have their own library cards at school and this is a great way to keep track of all that stuff (before you get a letter from the library that some lame book your kid checked out is lost and you owe $35 for it). Plus, it has a link to Amazon right on the page so it's easy to look up the book you want.

While on the subject of books, any Jane Austen fans (and I am a recent convert) may want to set your Tivo for this starting this weekend.  I am seriously not the type you'd peg for a Jane Austen fan but it's true. I found out about it from an ad in my Everyday Food magazine...pretty funny.   

biggest seller

My biggest selling items at the craft show last month were my "sew busy" clipboards...I sold every single one of them.  They are cute and easy and I plan to make a new batch for etsy very soon. 

I also created a few legal-sized clipboards...

The large clipboards gave me a chance to use a few of the cool illustrations from my sewing pattern counter books.  I used one of those large sheets of Martha Stewart papers for the two pink designs.  The other one is a 12x12 scrapbook paper configured to fit the clipboard. I ended up keeping the name of the paper because it was kind of cute...it says "GRETEL Autumn" and she looks a little like a Gretel. 

I buy my clipboards at OfficeMax (I think...those places all look the same).  I like them to have the nice "retro office" clips.  The problem with the larger clipboards is they have the manufacturer's name stamped into the clip.  To cover this, I threaded  three vintage buttons with brown and white baker's twine and glued them onto the clip with my new favorite wonder glue..."Quick Dry Craft Bond" from K&Company (got mine at Archivers).

Ok...now I have to go repair some plaster.