Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

My 2011 Christmas card.

My Homemade Christmas Cards

Fourteen years ago I started my production of a homemade Christmas card. It started when I was a poor college student living in a house with about 60 other people. I wished I could give everyone in the house a little gift, and if I made them smile for even just a moment knowing they got a handmade Christmas card, then that was a nice gift.

My Christmas card list only grew through the years. I love thinking about what card I will make for everyone each year, to remind people that I care about them, and to continually share the Gospel by writing about my life in Christ. I am very thankful and even blessed that I get to share my heart and creativities in this way each year.

As you can see my resources have increased over time, but since I create them in a large quantity, I can still make them on a budget.

They can be quite the production and perhaps some year I will return to the simplicity of the beginning years. But I can't really imagine that, since they have become such a joy and tradition for me each year. Moving more towards photo based cards has saved on production time. And I love coming up with a twist on a theme. 

I have also made some of the outfits and props for my photos. This green jacket from last year's photo is the one I wrote of in a previous blog post.


Now I better get started on this year!! Merry Christmas!

Sweetheart of a Dress

Summer is the time of year when I am busier with sewing... and with socializing (ah, summer). I absolutely love summer for many reasons. Being able to wear skirts and dresses is definitely one of them.

In addition to my bias-cut skirts that I sell, I really wanted to add a few dress styles to my shop as well. This year I made a pattern for a retro-inspired, sweetheart neckline, strapless dress. I made a few in my size so that I could show their fit (and so I could have one for myself =). Then I offered them as a custom made dress in the customer's size and fabric request.

As with most of my patterns I make, I incorporated a comfort/ease fit. This way I can send a completed custom sized dress to a customer without them needing to have a fitting during the construction. I even got to make one for a gal in Australia and I am making some for a group of bridesmaids in Florida.

I am a big fan of pockets in dresses! (and photoshopping my head of out of the shot =).

Personalized Labels

One of my best friends, Erin, is rather clever when it come to gifts. Her husband's birthday was approaching and so she asked me if I could help with this great idea she had for him. He has been making homebrew beer for several years and really honing in on some good brew. I don’t happen to drink beer but I can appreciate the craftsmanship that they have put into it. So when she asked if I could create a label design for the bottles, I thought it was great!

What I loved even more was that his style is modern (think MadMen) and so I got to create several modern style ideas for her to choose from. From there we had the chosen design printed on labels with the ability to be written on. Now Adam Watson has his very own beer labels that he can write the specific brew on along with the date. That’s a pretty fun guy-gift. 

Paper Cupcakes on Call

There are a lot of great embellishments and stickers to buy these days. I’ve realized through the years though, that the best embellishments I buy I have a harder time using – once I use it, I won’t get to use it again. That is why I like buying punches and other gadgets that let me make multiples of anything I decide to make… I can almost always make more. I have a drawer full of colorful scrap pattern papers that come in extra handy for my punches. Several months ago I decided to see if I could put together a cupcake design with the materials I had on had. Here is what I came up with.

I began with my paper crimper (which is actually a toothpaste crimper that I use on paper =). I knew this would help simulate the cupcake liner. I cut it into an angled rectangle (trapezoid) to fit the size of the cupcake top which I made from a scallop circle punch.

My “cherry on top” is from a small circle punch and heart punch. A simple and cute design that I can make over and over with different papers and color combinations.

Easter Egg Coloring

Coloring Easter eggs is such an accessible activity for almost any age and interest in creativity. Really, the most creative commitment that you have to make is which color to drop the egg into. A bowl full of simply solid colored eggs are super cute and festive. Beyond the basic color, there are many decoration kits, methods and ideas to keep the creativity flowing.

I have long preferred to color hollowed-out eggs. That way I can let them sit out on the table since they won't need to be refrigerated. To hollow an egg, create small holes on the top and bottom of an egg, stir up the insides with a toothpick and then blow the yolks and whites into a bowl. (The egg insides become especially handy to make cookies after decorating is done! )

My favorite decoration tool is a bottle of clear fingernail polish. Paint on the polish any place you want the current color to stay before placing the egg in a new color.

I actually really enjoy simple colored eggs the best and so my favorite egg ended up being the one I used the polish to leave a large heart shape on the egg.

Perhaps what I like most about Easter egg decorating is that I don't feel the need for my finished eggs to look really well done. Instead they speak more of the fun that was had in the creative process... and, well, they look really cute all in a bowl.

Hero of Hems

I shorten quite a few pant and jean hems on a weekly basis. Most pants are sewed with a blind hem and chinos with a top stitch. Dark jeans without a wash on them are trimmed and top stitched with denim thread. But most jeans have a wash on them. It’s a process which leaves a light coloring on the hem that we are all familiar with. Unfortunately it is not easily duplicated at home and can be distinctly missing when jeans are shortened. After several washes the new hem can show signs of the similar lightening, but the best way to keep the original look is to keep the original hem. While saving hems is a common occurrence for me, trying to explain how that works and looks to someone who has never had their hems saved, can be hard to relate. Here are some pictures I took of the major steps in the process.

The hem is cut off and the extra length of denim removed. The two new edges are separately sewed with a serger to secure the threads. They are then pinned together with side seams matching up.

The zipper foot allows the stitches to get as close to the hem fold as possible. After the hem is reattached, a top stitch with matching thread keeps the new seam flat and the denim edges under the seam secured down. The result is a seam can be seen when looking closely but integrates itself and is barely noticeable from a distance. As you can see in the final picture, the hem blends back into the pant leg nicely.

Save-The-Date Magnet Fun

While there are a variety of products and services I endeavor in each month, most fall into one of three general categories: invitations, graphic design or sewing. This post is a combination of two categories. It's what happened last month when I took my list of little phrases in my graphic design files and give a face-lift to my save-the-date magnets.

I've been offering save-the-date magnets for as long as I've been making invitations. They incorporate pattern papers and ribbon to nicely coordinate with the invite. They are sweet but I really wanted to offer something a little more modern too.

Long before I made invitations I began collecting a variety of little phrases that I've been using on cards and magnets. Some are known slang, quotes, phrases, song snip-its or other pop-culture reference. Others, usually my favorite, are a mash-up of words from the list or completely random word combinations. For my new save-the-dates I grabbed a couple phrases to combine and then enjoyed a little graphic design. Voila.

My Favorite Holiday

For a girl like me, who is single, people are often strangely confused that Valentines Day would be my favorite holiday. Sure I didn’t always feel this way. There were the anxiety-filled days of elementary school when I would fearfully hope I got valentine cards. But experiencing that feeling confronted me with a choice (that took a little while to learn) to either feel sad and hurt or to help others not feel that way. If we all sit around wanting to be given love, then who is doing the giving? Well, honesty, God is.

God loves us so much that He sent Jesus to Earth (Christmas). Jesus loves us so much that He died for our sin (Easter). And yet life is more than just me and God. He put us here with each other... where we get to learn to love and be loved... to give grace and receive it. Valentines Day not only reminds me of God's love and the people in my life who love me, but that I too have the choice and ability to spread the love. I love it!

While I feel most loved when I get to spend quality time with people, I often give love through words of encouragement, acts of service or even gifts (as categorized by the Five Love Languages). Which I feel like is all wrapped up in giving a handmade card.

A few years ago a local art supply store had a Valentines Day cards contest. I made one with as many different techniques as I could fit on it. A stitched fabric heart painted pink and stamped with white screening ink; Red tissue paper printed with “love” in a variety of fonts then crinkled up and lacquered to cardstock; l-o-v-e letters embossed onto clay circles and painted; bronze embossing powdered hearts and paper edges; are a few of the techniques and materials I used.

  

For my niece and nephew this year I made them these cute little pop-up cards. A pop-up card definitely says “love”! Happy Valentines Day!!

January Jewelry

In the fall I was invited to sell jewelry at a Gal's Night Out gathering. I hadn't made jewelry in quite some time nor had I ever really spent much creative time on it when I was making it. So I took the opportunity to explore some creativeness in making necklaces.

It was a lot of trial and error... beading and taking apart and starting over and sometimes taking apart again! Among the styles I tried my hand at some multiple strand twists but what I discovered was when I just simply braided them together around the necklace chain, I found a wonderful combination of balance, asymmetry and personality.

So this winter, with a drawer still full of beads, I began making my new favorite necklaces. I can't wait for warmer weather when I can wear my own with a tank top and capris or my favorite black linen dress.

I was able to make these available for purchase at my Etsy Boutique and soon I had a bride special order some beautiful champagne shade necklaces for her bridesmaids. It never stops feeling sweet to contribute to the festivities of a wedding!