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look ma, I can sew!

I finally pulled out my sewing machine and got a few lessons from my mom. It all came back to me as she talked me through each step. Pretty simple! Immediately, I knew what I wanted to sew… it’s been the #1 item on my list for a long time: a tissue holder. I know, nothing spectacular, but I’ve wanted one for quite a while. And it comes handy with the winter weather taunting me these days. Of course, I made it a bit more complicated and added a strip of patches in the middle!

Don’t look too closely, the stitching is not straight and well, it’s a little lop-sided too. haha… but I made it! After I practice sewing straight a bit more, I’m going to make a bag… these skirts for friends’ little girls… some little envelopes… and more. Can’t wait!

iDIY…

Who says diy has to be limited to weddings/parties and home improvement? I first stumbled upon Luzel’s blog because she had such wonderful diy projects focused on wedding related items! But the last 2 nights, I have seen such fun projects that I had to share the wealth!

Come on… make your own ‘drumsticks’? GENIUS idea! You can add as much chocolate inside the cone as you want!!! Hm… I may have to make this for brunch next weekend… *I’m a firm believer that you can eat ice cream at any time!

And I just adore how you can re-use an egg carton to hold the cones up…

Now that we’re officially in fall, this is a perfect little project…

Who knew you could make something out of maple leaves!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend! I’m crossing my fingers that the rain holds off on Saturday evening for an outdoor ceremony!

you too can letterpress!

There’s an affordable letterpress kit out on the market soon by Lifestyle Craft.

Of course, it can’t do everything the original letterpress machines can, but for a wedding or a large event, this might do the trick!

Here’s a look at how it works:

And here’s a sample:

Pre-order here!

[images courtesy of Lifestyle Craft]

the next time I veg in front of the tube…

I’m hoping to craft this, this, this and this…

PS... thanks for the advice on the books + accessory on the mixer! I'm investigating as I write this!

another fun read

Whenever I get a chance, I wander over to Paper-Source for some good inspiration. Now, I can just follow their new blog!

I love what they did for Father’s Day. Such a cute idea that can be used with the name for a child or perhaps as a newlywed present by using their new last name.

And I’m really excited about these lanterns! I’m hoping to attend the Girls Night Out event near me! But just in case, they posted instructions online.

Can’t wait to read more!

[images courtesy of Paper-Source]

i *heart* mod podge!

At the Craft Fair, I discovered Mod Podge… goodness, where on earth have I been? This bottle is a must-have if you are a crafter of any kind. It adheres items together and also creates a seal when needed. Wonderful! The only problem I’ve seen so far is pouring out the right amount into a little jar, cup or bowl and to use it all up. I wish it had a spout or something to ooze it out, know what I mean? :)

Then I found this site… It’s a blog dedicated to Mod Podge! It certainly does rock! haha.. ooh the possibilities are endless. How cute and clever is this? Stop by Chic and Jo for instructions.

Wish I didn’t recycle my phone book…

more cupcakes

I can’t seem to get enough of cupcakes these days! Maybe it’s because Martha has been talking about it on her show every day in anticipation of her cupcake book, coming out next Tuesday, June 2. Some of the recipes seem hard though… like the tiramisu one? I love tiramisu so maybe one of these days I’ll make an attempt at it.

[image courtesy of amazon]

But in the meantime, I made some cupcakes for my sister’s school and added some festive toppers for the kids that graduated. At first she wanted 70 cupcakes… um, I’m no baker nor did I have the cake mix for that many. haha. These were nice and easy in these silver liners because you didn’t even need a cupcake tray. Congratulations graduates!

fleurs de papier

when you can’t have real live flowers… paper is the next best thing!

[images from Eloise Corr Danch]

And if you want to make your own, you can purchase a set from Paper-Source.

 

showered

Some recent designs for a baby shower:

clockwise: beverage signs, pint-sized water bottles, fork + knife napkins

clockwise: invitations + party favors, green ugly doll, baby bingo cards, name tags

Hoping to put some up of these up on etsy soon…**really makes me want an
SLR... this point and shoot is just not cutting it anymore!

All images courtesy of Studio 1125

craft social

I attended the first ever Craft Social event on Friday evening and it was such a huge success! The 2 hours of crafting flew by and everyone I spoke to had a wonderful time… many thought we needed 3+ more hours because it was simply not enough! Everyone kept asking when the next event would be… so Jess, when is it? haha…

I forgot to take any pictures once the event started up so I’m at the mercy of other crafters who attended and took shots. I’ll post a little how-to on these. They are SUPER easy and a nice touch for the fellow bookworm!

But I managed to get a picture of the little toothpicks I added to my very special dessert… rice krispies. Um… you can’t go wrong with rice krispies… kids of all ages enjoy and appreciate them! I’ve learned that you can skimp a bit on the butter [and yes, it’s important to use real butter, no margarine in our household!], but you should add another 6 or so ounces of marshmallows.

I digress… I designed the little circle + verbiage on illustrator [you can stamp these or even handwrite them]. Then I punched them out with a 2” circle punch and taped the back to these bamboo special toothpicks I found at Target. I placed them on each chunk of rice krispies like a cupcake topper. I’ll have to make them again really soon!