September Craft 1 of 3!

THREE posts in one day.  Can you believe it?  I've labeled them September Crafts 1 of 3, 2 of 3, and 3 of 3 so I hope you take time to check them all out and leave a comment or two......or three :)

This was a simple project but I loved how it turned out.  Cute fabric goes a long way.  I had some  adorable fall fabric in my stock and, like every year, I love making holiday pillows to add a little flair to my decor.  While shelves, tables, mantles and desks frequently receive all the decorations, the poor couch is often overlooked.  Not anymore.  These little gems bring fall right into my living room.

To make them, I cut pieces of fabric in coordinating  patterns and stitched them together to resemble the lay out of, you guessed it.....candy corns.  I top stitched the pillows, stuffed them with batting and sewed them shut.  The rectangle was added just to mix it up a bit.  Everything can't be about candy corn.......or can it?  :)

Here's a close up of the adorable vintage looking Halloween fabric I've had for a couple of years.  The scrap at the top and bottom came from a remnant I happened upon at Wal-Mart and fell in love with.  The clerk told me it wasn't even supposed to be on the floor.  She assumed it was left over from their old stock from a few years back.  But she sold it to me for next to nothing and I have been loving it!  Happy Fall, Happy Harvest, Happy Halloween or Happy Whatever You Celebrate this time of year!!!

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Check it out and enjoy all the fun projects, crafts and yumminess!

September Craft 2 of 3!

When Autumn found out her grandparents were having a sale, she was determined to bake something to contribute.  They turned out really cute and quite festive for fall.  She sold them all :)

We made a big batch of double chocolate brownies, cut generous sized squares and wrapped them in plastic bags, tied with candy corn fabric.

She wasn't content to just have one baked good, so she insisted we make chocolate chip bars as well.

 

After they were wrapped and tied off, we crafted cute little tags to adhere to the outside of each one, and we placed them in a Longaberger to enhance the 'cute factor.'

Here's a close up of one of the tags.  The cookie bars' tag was striped cardstock with 'Treats by Autumn' printed on coordinating green paper.  So there you have it.  Super easy, super cute and super 'Autumn.'

September Craft 3 of 3!

It's always cold in my Sunday school class.  When the weather outside is nice, people always want the air conditioning on in the classroom and some of us get a bit chilled, and while I own numerous hoodies, I don't have many sweaters.  I could have purchased one, but where is the craftiness in that?  So, after checking out some blogs on upcycling tired clothing.......behold:

Right out of the shoot, I cheated.  I didn't  previously own this long sleeved tee, I bought it at a thrift store.  That's right!  I bought it for.......wait for it.......$1.00.  I wear a lot of solid colors so a striped shirt was the perfect accessory.

I laid the shirt out flat, and measured to find the center of the neckline.

Then I cut the neckline all the way to the bottom hem.

A V-neck shirt would have been much easier to work with, but I didn't realize that until AFTER I had purchased this and began cutting it.  So instead of sewing some simple bias tape down the front of the shirt, I had to deal with the neckline as well.  I could have left it as a scoop neck, but trust me, it looked ridiculous.  The V-neck updates it and makes it much more wearable.

After cutting the front and shaping the neckline into a V, I pinned the matching cream bias tape into place........

......and stitched it around the neckline.

I then aligned the bias tape to the front of the shirt and stitched from the neck to the bottom hem.

To keep the sweater closed I sewed some velcro onto each side and attached a button so it looked more finished.

 

And here's the completed project.  It didn't take very long and I think it will be pretty cute with a coordinating short sleeved top underneath.  In true Pacific Northwest fashion, layering is essential.  That way I can stay warm in 'the freezer', but remove the sweater to be comfortable during worship service - where it's a normal temperature :)

Shirred Scarf for Fall!

I have been completely obsessed lately with jersey knit fabric, specifically tee shirt recycling, or the latest and greatest term: upcycling.  In short, it involves taking an item with a specific purpose, like a tee shirt, and turning it into something amazing.  This project however is NOT an upcycling project (but I do have more of those to come) because I bought a couple of yards of jersey knit fabric specifically for this scarf.

Having also recently learned about elastic thread, I could not wait to try it out.  Per the instructions on the thread, I loaded my bobbin by hand, and used standard thread on the top of my machine.  Then I measured and cut two pieces of knit 70" long by 8" wide.  I lined up my fabric pieces wrong sides together and began to stitch leaving approximately a 1" seam allowance to create the ruffled, raw edge look I desired.

This is the 1" allowance.  It doesn't really look like it.....but it is.  Part of the raw edge has already started to roll the way jersey always does :)

The wonderful thing about elastic thread is there's no gathering to achieve the ruffled look.  I just sewed like normal and the elastic did all the work.  The above photo shows what the fabric looked like exiting the back of my machine as I sewed it.

After sewing both lengths of fabric down each side, I was pretty happy with the look, but I did think it needed a little more.  So I sewed a third stitch right down the middle, which added the perfect amount of ruffle.

Finished product.  Because it's knit, the edges are left raw and unhemmed and I love the way they curl in.  So with only three straight lines I created the scarf I envisioned in my head.

No, I wouldn't wear it with this shirt, but I wanted it to show up clearly so I chose a dark colored top to display the lighter scarf.

Side view.

One of a zillion ways to wear the scarf.

And yet another way to show it off.  So that's it.   Super easy, super quick and super cute.  It doesn't get much better than that!

My little photographer insisted I take a picture of her wearing the scarf.  She's so adorable she'd make a paper bag look good.

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A Little Labor.....and a Lot of Play!

Labor Day weekend was really a lot of fun.  It started with huckleberry picking on Friday morning.  We only had time to collect about 1.5 quarts, but we're planning another trip SOON.  Then on Saturday, we took an old train ride through some beautiful country in the northern part of our state.  We were practically in Canada, and the scenery was gorgeous.  You can check out the details of the ride here.  But for a few of my own photos of the trip, plus the rest of our weekend activities......keep reading.

Picture of the train car we rode in.  Vintage cars, pulled by a modern engine.

Autumn, being goofy and having fun as we pulled away. While not exactly Amtrak, it was a good  home school field trip for the kids to get to ride a train :)

Lisa Dawn, Katy, Autumn and Mark.

Katy, anticipating our trip.

Lisa Dawn.....smiley as always!

Cayla and Luke!

View from the bridge....yeah, it freaked me out a bit because we STOPPED on the bridge.  I don't like bridges and I certainly don't like parking on them, but the scenery was incredible and I forced myself to take a few photos.

This is the view from the other side of the bridge.  Not too bad for a photo taken through a closed window.

It wasn't exactly Cory's idea of a great way to spend a Saturday, but he did enjoy being with the family :)

The instigators of this shindig.  Rob can always find some crazy expedition for us to set out on.  All in all though, it was a pretty fun day!

Almost all of us after the trip :)  


...................On Sunday we headed to my parents so the guys could do some roof work for my dad who just had a procedure on his back and definitely wasn't up for climbing around on the roof.......

The Roofers!

The coordinator (Lisa) and the project manager (dad) overseeing the work!

Cory, Gene and Rob assessing the wind damage.

Even though it was Luke's 12th birthday, he was VERY excited to climb on the roof and lend a hand.

And last but not least.....this crazy thing is MY labor for the weekend.  About 15 years ago I bought a plastic bag holder at an arts and crafts show in my home town.  I won't post pictures, but let me just assure you that my love of all things holstein (that's what the old fabric was) is OVER.  Needless to say it was worn OUT.  So I decided to whip up a new one and I must say, I like it a LOT better than the old one.  It's made of a heavier fabric, and I put thick elastic in the bottom so it would retain it's shape, plus I fashioned it about 1/4 longer than the old one so now it holds a ton of bags.  Bring on the shopping :)

So that's it.  My weekend in a nutshell.  It was fast and furious (that's the way we seem to do things around here) but it was fun.