No Time To Stamp?

This is one of those projects that turned direction once I started, due to a shortage of time, but I do like the end result. I was planning to do a standard paper bag pocket album type of thing to insert seed packets in as a Mother’s Day Gift, decorating all the pages. Well, as so often happens, the day got away on me, time was short, and I had to make some cuts — and the result is this sort of honeycomb design pocket bag for my seed packets. I do love this design and after the photos I’ll show you how I did it. Here’s the finished product:

Kind of shabby, which I thought would go well with the Heirloom seed packets. This is made like a bound book. The binding is on the bottom, partially covered with my wide silk ribbon. There are 3 pockets for my seeds. But the way it opens, thereare actually more like 6 compartments, 2 in each pocket. Here’s how I started:

These are 3 standard white lunch sacks from the grocery store, layered on top of each other. I inserted 1 seed pack as my guide as to how big the pockets need to be. I then clipped the sides so they’d stay in place. I then went to the sewing machine and sewed across the bottom. I had first measured and drew a line to follow with a pencil.

I then took my sewn together bags to the paper cutter and cut off the bottoms, 1″ below my stitching line. Since this was a garden theme, I thoughtthe picket fence might work (this was definitely a plan as you go project), so I straightened my top edge at the paper cutter and cut each bag with the Martha Stewart picket fence punch. The full thickness of the bag top (all layers) cut easily with the punch. I punched the tops of all 3 bags.

Using my Glue Glider, I then taped the bags together. Actually, the center bag got taped to the one in front and one in back, so the bags no longer would separate from each other, and you end up with this kind of honeycomb arrangement. There are now 3 pockets, but because of the folds in the bags, you kind of have 2 compartments in each pocket. Now that the basic pocket bag is made, it’s just a matter of decorating it up — the fun part!

I apologize for this poor photo — it’s been one of those kind of nights — LOL!!! As you can see, I covered my bag with DP by Daisy’D’s. I wanted a bit more white in my DP, so I applied very hurriedly some Gesso with a foam brush — not a great job - but this was Shabby, so I was good to go, and it gave me the bit of white I was after. I used the SU tab punch to top off my seed packs and make them easy to pull out of their pockets.

Here’s a closeup of the detail to the focal image. The tag was a punch out in the paper pad. I used JustRite Times New Roman Uppercase Font (50 pt and 25 pt) on the larger of the Vertical Wood Stampers to create my sentiment. The sentiment in thehalf circle is from JustRite’s Celebrations Demi Phrases, used on a Wood 2″ Stamper. The lower ribbon is 1.25″ wide silk, and the narrow yellow silk was fine enough to thread into the eye of a needle and I used it to sew the button onto the panel. The die cut is from the new Floral Accent dies by Spellbinders and the gingham is 3/8″ by May Arts.

And here’s the back. I wanted to show you the CUTE little *made with love* for the back of projects — I was so excited when I saw this! Actually, there are 2 for the backs of projects in a set called Tiny Words by JustRite, available on 5/10, but available for pre-order now. It fits on the new tiny 1 3/16″ Wood Stamper. This will surely be a fun little set to work with. It’s shown in the picture below.

Here’s what I used to make this project. Everything shown is currently available, with the exception of the Tiny Words Set, which is available now for pre-order with a 5/10 shipment date. Fun new things!!! You’ll love them!!!

Stamps: Times New Roman Uppercase Font, used on a Vertical Stamper, Celebrations Demi Phrases, used on a Wood 2″ Stamper, Tiny Words Set, used on a Wood 1 3/16″ Stamper, all by JustRite

Paper: PTI White and Vintage Cream; Prism Dark Green; Beacon Hill 8 x8 pad by DaisyD’s.

Ink: Versa Fine Vintage Sepia, Color Box Chalk Creamy Brown.

Accessories: May Arts Silk and Gingham Ribbons available at the Stamp Simply Ribbon Store, Vintage buttons, Sewing Machine, Needle, Thread, Primas, Lunch Sacks, Petite Circle Nestabilities and Floral Accent Dies by Spellbinders, SU 1 3/8″ Punch, SU Scallop Punch, SU Tab Punch, Martha Stewart Picket Fence Punch, Gesso, Paint Brush, Glue Glider, Glue Dots

Shopping:

Stamp Simply Ribbon Store has all the May Arts Ribbons used and more.

Joan’s Garden has the products used by Spellbinders, Martha Stewart and Glue Glider.

Thank you so much for stopping in today. It’s been a crazy day around here and I’m wishing for a quieter tomorrow!!! Hope you are all having a good week. Again, thanks much for stopping in and we’ll see you soon!!!

This is a Christmas card I made using my JustRite Christmas Ensembleand some of the gorgeous Holiday Treasures DP by SU. A simple, classic design with lots of glitz and sparkle to my snowflake center.

I have to tell you that I made this card about a week ago, and I have fussed many times trying to get a picture to do this card justice — and I just can’t, and I’m so sorry about that. This snowflake is probably one of the MOST gorgeous snowflakes I have ever made, with any stamp, EVER. The snowflake itself is totally sparkling with Dazzling Diamonds and the points all have gorgeous green rhinestones on them that are the exact color of the background paper. The way this snowflake sparkles and shimmers and catches the light is truly mesmerizing!!! And I just can NOT capture that for you — but I surely tried!!! There is machine zig zag stitiching on each side of the brown dotted strip that I like — it adds a nice touch!

Here’s a close-up so you can see the detail a little better and try to imagine the sparkle and glitz!!! Also, the brown ink is so dark and rich looking IRL. It washes out somewhat in the photo when I brighten it up so you can see it better!!! Some days you just can’t win — LOL!!! Anyway, I love this card and wanted to share it with you, even though I am majorly disappointed in my photo-taking skills!!!

Stamps: Christmas Ensemble by JustRite

Paper: SU Whisper White, Real Red, Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss, Holiday Treasures DP

Ink: SU Basic Brown

Accessories: Petite Circle Nestabilities by Spellbinders. SU Product: Grosgrain Ribbon, Brads, Glue Pen, Dazzling Diamonds. Kaiser Rhinestones. Sewing machine and thread.

Iprepared a short and concise Splitcoaststampers Tutorialon conditioning and cutting your JustRite stamps. All JustRite products can and will stamp this clearly, with complete coverage, with just a bit of conditioning. You may read the tutorial at Splitcoaststampers here, OR you may read the version on my blog here, which is much more wordy — LOL!!! Also, the JustRite Harmony Classic Stamper Ensembles were the focus of a product reviewover at Splitcoaststampers and there are some great reviews if you’d like to see what several women thought and experiencedwhile usingthis product. And for some FUN, Beate did a GREAT triangle box tutorial, also at SCS, using the JustRite Harmony Classic Oval Ensemble II to create a pretty and fun sentiment medallion for her box. Check it out here. I can’t WAIT to make one of these fun boxes!!!

Oh, and I attended a SU workshop this evening — fun, fun!!! And remember the other day whenI asked you all for your favorite Christmas sets that are currently available? Well, Snow Swirled was, overwhelmingly, YOUR favorite set, next Holy Triptychand Scandinavian tied for 2nd,nextwasTo You and Yours, and next Season of Simple Grace and Winter Post were tied. Thank you all so much for your input — MUCH appreciated! It was fun to read your thoughts!

And WHAT did I order? Well, NOT Snow Swirled — I know, I know — and I do agree with you that it IS so beautiful –butI was just in the mood for something a bit different. The set I had in the back of my mind before asking you was Christmas Classics, and only one of you even mentioned it. I fell in love with this set when I saw this card doneby Meg Schumaker (WAXYO). Now isn’t that a rich looking card, still with casual charm? I love it, and so I ordered Christmas Classics. The only other Christmas set I purchased was Scandinavian. That set still gives me the swirls and flourishy markings that I love, but with a little different twist. I also got the wheel to go with it. And both of the sets I ordered have a star that will allow me to use my large star punch, so that is good! I also ordered a few more packs of DP and both sets of the Felt Flurries. I have NEVER had felt before so I’m anxious to try out these pretty snowflakes!!!

Well, I guessthat’s it for today!!! We have a really fun Stamp Simply Challenge lined up for tomorrow, so hope you can stop by and check it out, and also wishing you a great weekend coming up!! Thanks much!!!

Today I’d like to share a super quick way to perk up your bathroom! Using purchased shower curtains I made a new window valance alongwith adecorative shower curtain and valance. I spruced upa wall with a stamped item that I made 2 years ago, and I filled the room with the aroma of sweet smelling potpourri!!! My bathroom is sparkling clean, fresh smelling and just calling me to take a long, hot bath with a good magazine!!! I’ll start with the wall decor:

I made this framed item2 years ago as part of a contest being run at the Limited Supply Challenge at SCS on Labor Day weekend. When made there was a small framed piece to coordinate and several cards, but they have all since been given away. This piece has never been used, so I figured it high time it have a place of honor on a wall — and it’s place of honor is, appropriately, above the throne — LOL!!! Actually, this sits on top of the cabinet above the toilet. I made this using SU Petal Prints. You may see the SCS uploads for this piece and all the coordinates here, and here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Next I’ll show you the window valance, and if you can sew 3 straight lines, you can easily make this valance for any window in your house!!! If you can sew on a card, you CAN make this valance. Here it is:

Making this valance is Sew Simple you won’t believe. There is a tutorial at the end of this post.

Next I made a decorative shower curtain and valance. This was really hard to get a decent photo of asdue to the size/location of the shower within the bathroom I could not get far enough away to capture it all, but I hope you get the idea. I use 2 rods to accomplish this. The decorative side panels hang on a double rod. What you do not see is the shower curtain that actually pulls closed when you shower. That is hung on the inside hooks of the rod and is tucked behind the panel on the right. The decorative panels you see do not close. They are there merely for appearance sake. Then a bit above this rod I have a tension rod on which the valance is hung. Instructions will be at the end of this post. Here’s the pic:

This photo of the shower curtain reflects most accurately the true color of my bathroom walls — a very relaxing sort of seafom green. And here’s where the sweet aroma comes in:

Do you recognize the monogrammed gift bag of potpourri from this post the other day? I won’t keep the monogrammed bag of potpourri on my counter as it is a gift item, but I just displayed it here for the photo so you can see how lovely the potpourri looks when contained in clear glass — love the natural and earthy look it brings to the area. And that’s another idea if you want to add a bit more to your gift bag of potpourri — include a beautiful class container for the potpourri!!!

OK, now that’s it for my squeaky clean, sweet smelling bathroom perk me up. On to the instructions. To do my window and shower as pictured, I needed to purchase 3 shower curtains. Shower curtains work perfectly in the bathroom — they are a great weight and texture, they wash, wear and hang well, and all done in prints well suited to a bathroom!!! Your choices really are much narrower than shopping in a fabric store, and that’s a good thing — makes it easier to decide!!! Plus, by using a shower curtain, a lot of the work is already done for you, as you will see below. I got these shower curtains from Shopko. They were $35 each at full price, but I got them on a good sale, which is also a good thing!!!

My Sew Simply trick for today is how I did the window valance. Now, had I just made my curtain using 1 thickness of the shower curtain, hemmed the bottom and made my casing for the top, my curtain would have been rather *see-through*, and I don’t like that. I most often line my curtains so avoid that issue, and I make all my valances so they are self-lined. Basically, I make a tube, resulting in an automatically lined valance. Here’s how:

For the size of my bathroom window, one width of shower curtain works perfectly. Neatly cut the plastic part with the holes for hooks off the top. Measure down and cut so you have a 36″ longpiece. This is what you are working with, and see how your sides hems are aleady done for you? Very cool!!! I’m using a piece of white fabric with black stitches on my examples just so you can easily see.

Photo 1: Bring your raw edges together and sew with about a 1/2″ or 5/8″ seam, thus creating a huge tube.

Photo 2: Iron the seam down against the back side. So what is the back side? Well, on a plain piece of fabric it doesn’t matter. But on a print, you must pay close attention.When making a tube, one side will be the right way, and the other side will be upside down — look at my floral pattern. See how the flowers/stems are the right way — well,the flowers/stems are upside down on the other side.

Photo 3: Turn your tube right side out, so the seam is on the inside. Measure 3″ up from your seam line. This is the TOP of the curtain ruffle. Adjust it all nice and straight so there is a consistent 3″ from the seam line to the top of the curtain. Pin as shown so it’ll stay in place. Now, machine stitch justa hairabove the seam line, or experienced sewers or quilters would stitch-in-the-stitch. Run a second line of stitching 1 1/2″ above this line, which would also be 1 1/2″ from the top. That’s IT. Your sewing is done!!!

Photo 4: Take your valance to the ironing board and press neatly, getting a nice crispedge at the bottom (hem) and top (ruffle). Insert rod, hang, neatly adjust ruffles evenly on rod and admire!!! (That’s the fun part!!!)

Now on to the shower:

This valance was made in a more traditional fashion as I was not concerned about the sun shining through it and making it look too flimsy. There is no light coming from within my shower! To make this I needed 2 widths of the shower curtain sewn together. Start with another new shower curtain, as you won’t have enough with the one you’ve already cut in to. Again, remove the upper plastic band with holes, then cutyour piece23″ long. And cut two pieces that size. Sew them together on the short edges so you have one very long piece.

Rod Pocket and Ruffle: My tension rod is quite thick around, so I needed to make my rod pocket 2″, so I also increased my ruffle to 2″. At the ironing board press under 1/2″ along the top long edge (again, be mindful of the direction of the print pattern). Now fold the top down 4″ and pin in place. Sew down along the pressed edge, and then run another stitching line 2″ up from that, which is also 2″ down from the top. You have just created the rod pocket and top ruffle.

Hem: To hem your shower valance, press up 1/2″ at the ironing board, then turn up 2″ and stitch into place. You are now done!!!

Shower Curtain: To make the decorative side panels I merely cut the 3rd shower curtain straight up the middle and hemmed those cut edges to the same width as the factory sewn edges so they match. You will have 6 holes on top of each for hooks. Hang them up and your projectis completed!!!

I know I’ve strayed a bit from the usual card making posts, but I’ve been cleaning and sewing, so just thought I’d share. I have sewn my entire life, but much LESS so now that I’ve been making cards — LOL!!! Can’t do it all - but I surely do enjoy a small sewing project from time to time, and it is wonderful when I can combine the two!!! Wishing you all a wonderful weekend — see you soon!!! Thanks so much for taking the time to stop in!!! Just wish I could offer you a cup of coffee — LOL!!!