Handmade Ornaments

Happy Holidays to you!  Today, I thought I would share my Christmas tree and all the handmade ornaments from past years.  When the kids were little, each year I made them a new Christmas ornament, with their name and date.

Here is my tree.  I have to confess that I still need to add the angel at the top, and ornaments, too.  Plus start wrapping the gifts. Note to self- bring in the ladder!

Here is my favorite ornament, though I did not make it:

   I own a few of these cute sock cows, plus some sock monkeys.

Now for the homemade ornaments:

  This ornament is special as it was made by my crafty grandmother about 30 years ago.

Cookie cutter and painted dough star.

Tin punch ornament using frozen orange juice lid.

Large Jingle Bell- writing using a white paint pen.  Used to have a ribbon bow top, but oh- well.

Beaded Santa.  This was given to me by my MIL.

Ribbon Candy wreath.

  Fabric horse ornament on a dowel.

Potpourri angel with lace and stainless steel pad hair.

  Victorian lace roses.

  Plastic straw ornament.

  Cross-stitch kitty circa 1985 for my daughter Amy.

  Amy made this cute snowman ornament when she was 9 out of painted tin can.

Anyone care to share their homemade or favorite ornaments on their blog, too?  I would love to see yours.  The ornaments above remind me of happy memories of Christmas past.  Hugs, Carla

 

 

Happy 4th!

To all the US blog readers, a happy 4th of July to you.  We are spending time with family, barbequing, fireworks, a very traditional 4th for my family.  What are you doing if you celebrate the 4th of July?

Grandson Jack spent the night last night!  Jack is now 3, and fun to be around.  He is very funny, and love all the toys I have saved or bought for the grandkids.

Ok, I will admit that I go a little crazy getting toys for the grandchildren room….  Being the bargain shopper that I am, I would say that most of it I picked up at the thrift store.  My local thrift store has a lot of Little Tikes toys, and other name brand toys.  Of course, you have to wash off the Thrift Store cooties first, before letting the kids play.

Any other bargain toy shoppers out there?

PS: if you are looking for the Class Registration info for the class starting next week, just scroll down.  Thanks!  I look forward to a wonderful class!

 

Fabric Scrap Tutorials

I decided to search the web to find fun and interesting projects or tutorials to do with fabric scraps, strips or leftover fabric from other projects including this fun one called Bunny Bowling by thelongthread.  Bowling with Bunnies?  What a fun idea!

Misc. Fabric Items Tutorials:

Inchie Tutorial by Feathered Fibers

Fabric Chain by Moda

Microwave Potato Bag by Feathered Fibers

Blossom Pincushion by Running with Scissors

Selvage Quilt Tutorial

Garden Fabric Crafts Tutorials:

Fabric Flowers Tutorial by Simply Vintage

Garden Flower Tutorial from Sewritzytitzy blog.

Fabric Scraps into Jewelry Tutorials:

Puppy Necklace by Hillary Lang

Fabric Flower Brooch by Gonetoearth blog.

Fabric Bead Necklace Tutorial by Froo Gal

Fabric Strip + chain= cool necklace! by Love, Meaghan

Bead & Knot Necklace by See Kate Sew

Fabric Embellishments Tutorials:

Yo-yo Heart by GonetoEarth

Fabric Scraps Wearable Fashion Tutorials:

Fabric Crochet Purse by Feathered Fibers

crochet purse

Rose Petal Tee by Jennifer Causey

Fabric Flower Pin by Amelia Strader

Crazy Bag by mad quilter

Fabric Scrap Applique Belt by BH&G

Fabric Rosette Cuff by see kate sew

Fabric Scraps Toys Tutorials:

Puppy Necklace by Hillary Lang

Fabric Nesting Dolls by madebyjoel

Balloon cover by mad quilter

Babooshka Doll by mad quilter

Bunny Bowling by the longthread

Angry Bird Plush Toy by Obsessively Stitiching

Angry Bird Pig by Obsessively Stitching

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I hope you will check out these tutorials if you have some free time on your hands.  One of them is sure to catch your fancy!  Happy New Year!  Carla

Carla’s Bedside Organizer Tutorial

My latest free tutorial, a handy bedside organizer, is both  functional and attractive.  I designed this to hold my glasses, my ipad,  phone, TV remote, water  and/or other items that I need close at hand.  Here is my bedside organizer, hanging in place on the side of my bed:

To help you visualize this project, here is a sketch:

For this project, I simply dug in my stash until I found some old flannel, about 3/4-1 yard.  Then I needed a matching smaller piece of fabric (12″x16″) to use as the front pockets.  As an option, you could also substitute quilted fabric in place of the flannel.

Besides the 2 fabrics, you need thread, your sewing machine, rotary mat, cutter and ruler.  Here are the supply list sized to be printed out for your convenience:

Directions are pretty straightforward.  Again, I wrote the directions and sized it to be printed out:

This is a fast project, I made it in less than an hour.  I actually love that it is now hanging on the side of my bed and allows me extra space to store my books, nick-knacks, etc.  Here is a picture I took just before I tucked it between my mattress ad box spring:

As always, if you make one using my free tutorial, please send me a comment or picture.  Happy New Year!!  Carla

Holiday Month

The holidays are right around the corner.  Is money tight this year due to the economy?  Here are some free tutorials I have that would make wonderful homemade gifts.

Microwave Potato Bag Pattern

If you appreciate using this pattern, which gets hundreds of hits per day, please leave me a thank you note.  Disclaimer: Use at your own risk and please note that I am not liable if you decide to use this free pattern and fail to read all the directions, follow them, and supervise your microwave.

Directions:

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Copper Bookmark Tutorial

For the reader in your life.  This is a beginning metal project using easily attainable materials from the hardware and craft store.

This tutorial does not have any disclaimers- except maybe to not hammer your thumb, or pull a muscle in your elbow.  LOL

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Mokuba Freelace Scarf

This is a fun project using a little known product, called mokuba freelace.   If you cannot find it, then substitute 2 sheets of water soluble, your favorite brand.

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Last Tutorial I will feature is my Freeform Crochet Tutorial.  This is a tutorial for beginning and advanced crocheters, but only if you purposely crochet in a haphazard manner and let your free spirit come out!

Freeform Crochet Tutorial:

This project is for any friend or relative.  Why not make one for yourself?

Have fun!!  If you try any of these, please let me know.  I offer them free because I love to share, spread good karma, etc.

If you are a quilter, be sure to check out my site, QuiltWhisper.com.   Happy Holidays to all!!  Hugs, Carla

Ugly Christmas Sweaters

With the holidays just around the corner, it is time to turn your minds to finding the perfect “Ugly Christmas Sweater” to wear to your UGLY Christmas Sweater Party!!  Yes, you, too, can own one of these:

There are actually businesses that cater to people holding Ugly Christmas Sweater Parties!    I think that is pretty funny.

If anyone reading this has an ugly holiday sweater picture to send me,  just drop me a comment and I will be in contact.  I can keep your picture anonymous  if it is REALLY ugly, or I can give you credit if you wish.

My recession tip is to find your ugly sweater at the local thrift stores!  I bet you can pick one up for less than $3, too.

Any reason to laugh is good.   Cheers, Carla

Featured Again!

My blog tutorial  for creating a selvage quilt is featured on a site called “Totally Tutorials.” It is a great site, especially since they have such great taste, right?  LOL

This is a great reason to mention I have a whole page of free tutorials, too!!  Check them out!

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Persnickety Quilts blog also has some lovely comments about this Carolina Lily quilt I quilted many years ago:

Thanks for your nice praise about this quilt and my quilting!

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Lynn at Nebraska Views shares that she learned something by reading my blog!  Thanks, Lynn, I do love getting credit!  LOL  She also mentions and links to my Yahoo group on Quilt Whispering.

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Trish at Compulsive Quilting also learned something by reading a particular post.  Find out which one by clicking HERE.

Thank you for posting about my site or work that I have done.  You sometime post and wonder if you are talking to yourself.  LOL   Of course, I soon will be hitting the 750,000 800,000 visitor, when you combine visits from Feathered Fibers with my first blog.  When I get closer, I will be having a free giveaway!!

Hugs, Carla

Paper Bead Necklace

This weekend, I decided to make a bunch of paper beads, the turn them into a lovely necklace:

I love the colors in this necklace… they are some of my favorites!

By the way, making paper beads are very easy.  It is a fabulous way to recycle and reuse. Here, they are drying out and hardening:

This color combo remind me of the beach.    One day I hope to live near the beach and collect things.  It would be my daily ritual.  One can dream….

Vacation Treasures

I can’t resist bringing home treasures from my beach scavenging.  I plan to incorporate some of this into my jewelry.

Here are some of my beach finds:

Notice that large frosty beach glass in front?  That was my favorite find:

Next up, some limpet shells:

Here are my favorite shells… some of these are as wide as my pinky fingernail, very teeny tiny:

Then some black and white finds:

and here are a variety of shells.  Most of these have holes so I can string them:

One last picture to share.  Notice the sea urchins shells.  These were my favorite as it meant one less sea urchin to step on:

That is my collection from this trip.  I now need some new containers to showcase them in.  That means a trip to the container store now.

Any other collectors out there?  Hugs, Carla

Thrift Store Finds

I visited my local thrift store this week, and found a couple of finds in the clothing department.  Since I am down a couple of sizes, I wanted to pick up a few items without breaking the bank.

I found this lovely top by SweetPea, a brand carried at Nordstroms, which looks very flattering on:

It looks terrific with jeans, too.  The next top I found was from the Serenade brand:

Again, this is very flattering on- even better since it only  cost me $1.50 each due to a half off sale.  LOL

I also found a book for my DH by a favorite author; and also a retro pyrex dish.  All in all, a good day!

I love hunting for items at the thrift store!  I guess it is the recycle/reuse philosophy I have, or perhaps the thrill of the hunt?   Any others who feel the same way as me?  I know you are out there!  LOL

By the way, the thrift store is also a perfect place for craft supplies.  One of my favorite projects I did involved buying a couple of those long “teacher” dresses that were in style about 15 years ago  and cut them into strips of fabric.  I then crocheted them into a large bag or purse.  Of course, I have a tutorial for that here.  You could also wrap the fabric around cording and make a fabric bowl for your home or perhaps a rag rug.  The ideas are endless!!

Enjoy your day!!  Carla