UP

Posted in Kids, sewing by Sew Sassy Creations

As a family we started Saturday evening movie nights with Zac. For my husband and me it’s been a great chance to catch up on children’s movies we’ve missed over the past decade. A couple weeks ago, the move we watched was Up. Seriously- this movie needs to come with a warning to parents that it’s a tear jerker, and now in the typical Disney movie way. If you haven’t seen the movie, stop reading now- spoilers ahead! From watching previews I knew the old man’s wife wasn’t going to make it, but was not prepared for the topic of infertility/miscarriage. Before Zac was born, we suffered two losses so this part of the movie (while brief) hit close to home. Thankfully Zac didn’t ask questions about why the couple was decorating a nursery and then the wife was crying in the doctor’s office. My husband and I just glanced at each other and then he went and got me some tissues.

The next morning, I was going through my stash of knit fabrics, and Zac saw my Up fabric. He was pointing out the balloons and characters and he asked me to make him a shirt. How could I say no to that? Zac always gets excited when I make him outfits or pajamas out of character fabrics, but I think this is the first time he specifically asked for something. I got right to work.

I decided I wanted to make a hoodie. Previously, I have made the all ears hoodie by Max & Meena and knew I could do the hood easily (not sure why that was intimidating to me), but I wanted to add a pocket and this pattern doesn’t offer that option. I then remembered I had a hoodie pattern from Brindille & Twig (free btw) and decided to merge the two. The Up fabric is really colorful, so I wanted to use it strategically.

I decided on using grey fabric for the body of the shirt and the Up fabric for the pocket, but first I added an appliqué.

I decided to do the arms and the inside of the hood out of the Up fabric, and make the outer hood grey to match the front (and back) of the shirt. I went back and forth on what to do for the arm cuffs and the waist band, and decided on a dark grey and I’m glad I did. I absolutely love how this hoodie turned out, and Zac does too.

The following day was Columbus Day and there was no school. My friend and I decided to take the boys to the Yellow River Game Ranch. The weather was gorgeous and it was a great opportunity to take some pictures of Zac in his new hoodie. Earlier this year my husband and I purchased a Sony a6000 camera and a 50 mm lens. It was a splurge, but I absolutely love this camera and the pictures I’m able to capture with it.

2Aug2014

Going back to school in style

Posted in Kids by Sew Sassy Creations

I don’t want to believe it, but my little guy starts preschool in just a few short weeks. I am mixed with emotions over this, but decided to channel my energy for good. I started looking at backpacks that I could embroider with his name. After all, what good is an embroidery machine without using it myself? I found this backpack at Walmart and my son fell in love. He carried it around the store naming all the trucks. Because the pattern is so busy, I knew I’d need an appliqué frame to help the name stand out. I was scared to hoop this bag and embroider directly on it, but the front zipper came down far enough that it was fairly easy. So easy in fact that I went back to Walmart to stock up and picked up a girl bag too. These are for sale in the etsy shop, and don’t forget about the code SUPERBLOG for 15% off!

8Apr2014

Inside all of us is a Wild Thing

Posted in Kids by Sew Sassy Creations

I have always loved the children’s book, Where the a wild things Are. I remember hearing the story read aloud when I was on school, and as a teacher myself, I found any excuse possible to read the story to my students. When I found out the book was being made into a movie, words cannot describe my excitement. My husband and I went opening night and watched in awe as the story was brought to life on the big screen. I seriously wanted to name my son Max in honor of the book. At one time my husband felt the same, but when it came time to name our son he changed his mind because we have a Zac not a Max, but that’s a whole other story…

I love having a boy. I love the world of trucks, dinosaurs, and monsters. My son loves books and that’s a great thing considering we have hundreds from my days as a kindergarten teacher. I remember the first time I read, Where the Wild Things Are aloud to him. He made me read it again and again and again. My heart was so happy.

I had the opportunity to go fabric shopping alone this past weekend- a rare occasion. While browsing the aisles at Jo Ann’s I came across this-

I had to have it. At the time, I had no idea what I’d make, but I was not leaving without it. My child has more blankets than he knows what to do with. He has lots of pillows too, but that’s what I decided to make. I sketched this out in my mind, then hit the internet searching for the perfect embroidery fonts and appliqué designs.

This morning I skipped grocery shopping to go to Hobby Lobby for fabric for the appliqués, and at naptime I got to work. I am so super excited about this project. The pillowcase fits an 18″ pillow. For kid stuff, I prefer pillowcases because, let’s face it, kids are messy and cases can be removed for washing. I used a 7.5″ quilting square for the individual squares and a 2″ border. I plan on listing these in my etsy shop this week.

2Apr2014

Pinterest Inspired Bathroom Makeover

Posted in Interior Decorating, Kids by Sew Sassy Creations

I love Pinterest. I feel like I need to write Pinterest projects into my budget, because I am notorious for looking at pictures online and then recreating them in my own house. A few months ago, I pinned this picture an an inspiration for my son’s bathroom-

I love this nautical theme because it is fitting for a little boy, but still looks sophisticated for guests who will also use the space. I also like it because my son won’t outgrow this like he would if it was decorated in the Lightning McQueen theme I was previously pondering.

When I get an idea, I usually run with it. That was the case here. I showed my husband this picture and he said, “looks nice.” I took that as his permission to order fabric. I quickly ran upstairs, measured our existing shower curtain, and ordered 4.5 yards of madras fabric online that very night. I don’t think I would have been able to make my own shower curtain had the fabric not been a true madras. Because the fabric was actually patched together, you cannot see the seam. I used navy fabric that I had from a previous project as my strip across the top. I actually laid that navy piece of fabric under my old shower curtain to use as a pattern for where the holes needed to be for the shower curtain hooks, and sewed button holes there.

Once the curtain was finished, I got to work on the towels. I used scrap pieces of the madras on the bottoms and embroidered appliqué crabs on the hand towels- it is a child’s bathroom after all. Next up was artwork. I searched pinterest and etsy for inspiration and decided that I wanted an anchor and a wheel. A good friend is a graphic artist and she was kind enough to turn my inspiration into a reality and even took my barter of an infinity scarf over payment.

My very talented husband is a talented woodworker. If you’re interested, check out his blog! He made the stool for the bathroom, and I painted it. The final touches were a new trashcan and bathmat. I love how this space turned out and hope you do too!

31Mar2014

Worst. Blogger. Ever.

Posted in Uncategorized by Sew Sassy Creations

I have said it before. I’m sure I will say it again. I am horrible with blogging, but I spent today revamping my blog and am now energized. Because nobody wants a recap of the last 3 months in one post, I’ll do like I have in the past and write several over the next few weeks recapping what I’ve been up to. Most recently, I’ve had fun using my embroidery machine to make burp clothes. My mom was here for a weekend and we made some for a friend of hers that has a new baby boy. New projects mean an excuse to purchase new fabric for me. I am part of an embroidery group on Facebook that’s served as a great inspiration for projects and a valuable resource for questions with my new craft. Somebody there posted about an the Stitch Stash Diva shop on etsy. OMG, I was in fabric heaven!! I have a small addition to shopping online, but fabric can be difficult because typically you can not order less than 1/2 a yard. In the world of embroidery, that is a lot. This shop let’s you buy fat quarters (1/4 of a yard of fabric), and that is the perfect amount. Fast forward to this week and my order arrived. With my new treasures I created some burp clothes for my cousin who just had a baby. I need to get these listed on etsy. Hopefully that can be a project for this week.

While I had fabric spread across my dining room, my son came in and found a piece of construction truck fabric that he attached himself to. He carried this square of fabric around all weekend, so I decided to sew that into a blankie for him. I love project that don’t cost me any money. The construction fabric was leftover from his birthday shirt, and the orange minky fabric that I backed it with was left over from another project.

Here are a few snap shots!

17Dec2013

Christmas Craziness

Posted in Baby Blankets, Kids, Quilts by Sew Sassy Creations

Since Thanksgiving, my sewing room has felt like Santa’s workshop. In the past week, I’ve sewn 5 quilts, 2 toddler pillow & blanket sets, and over 30 scarves. Many of the quilts I’ve completed are Christmas gifts, so I won’t post pictures until after the holidays, but I trust that these kids don’t have internet access, so I can post pics of their presents. Now that I’m caught up on work for others, I was able to start on Zac’s truck quilt so here are some pictures of that too.

3Dec2013

Construction Birthday!

Posted in Kids by Sew Sassy Creations

It’s hard to believe, but over the weekend my little boy turned 2. It seems like yesterday and a lifetime ago that he was born. It comes as no surprise that I’m a do-it-yourselfer. My motto is why buy it when I can make it. Now that I have the embroidery machine, I decided to make his birthday shirt. My son is obsessed with trucks, and especially loves construction trucks. His favorite book is Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site. If you have a son, this book is a must have.

I was nervous making the shirt because I failed miserably while trying to embroider a baby onesie a few weeks ago. Thankfully, this project was a success and not a disaster, mainly because toddler clothes are easier to maneuver on the machine than newborn stuff. I wanted his name on the shirt, but wasn’t happy with the first attempt, so I ended up buying a second shirt and redoing it. I like the second one better, plus it’s long sleeved and he can wear it through the winter.

Prepare for a photo bomb. Included below are pictures of the shirt, but I’m also including some of the party decor and the birthday boy himself. My very talented husband made the construction barrier. Enjoy!

19Nov2013

Toddler Towels

Posted in Kids by Sew Sassy Creations

In my quest to find things to embroider, I came across a tutorial to make hooded towels for kids. My son is about to turn 2, and we were still using towels he received as a newborn. Bless his heart, I needed two to get him completely covered and dried off after a bath. I decided it was time for an upgrade. Like my previous experiences with the embroidery machine, there was some trial and error involved. Making the hooded towels myself makes it loads easier than embroidering on an existing hooded towel, because I can lay the top flat inside the embroidery hoop.

Hooded towels are one of the new items I plan to offer in my etsy shop starting in January. I purchased some basic designs for kids, a butterfly, owl, sailboat, whale… and then came across the mother-load of Yo Gabba Gabba designs. To help build my portfolio, I offered to make some of these for friends if they provided the materials. I’m still waiting on some, and I’ll add those photos once they’re complete.

14Nov2013

The Embroidery Machine

Posted in Uncategorized by Sew Sassy Creations

What? 2 days in a row!! Get ready readers, because I plan to blog tomorrow too. I’m not sure what exactly pushed me over the edge to bite the bullet and purchase the embroidery machine, but I am kicking myself now I didn’t do it sooner. I remember that it was a Monday and I just decided that I wanted one and had to have it. My friend Jenna did embroidery for me when I had something a customer wanted personalized, so I knew a little about them- especially in regards to hoop size. I knew I wanted one with a 5×7 hoop, and I went from there. For those who don’t know, the hoop is what locks your fabric in place and what you attach to the embroidery machine, so it can work its magic. A 5×7 hoop means that you have a 5 by 7 inch rectangle in which to embroidery a design. Unlike sewing machines, there aren’t a ton of different embroidery machines on the market, making it pretty easy to make a decision once you set your price limit. When my husband got home from work that afternoon, I laid out my plan and explained how this machine would quickly pay for itself. To my amazement, he bought it, and let me place the order.

That’s the history, here’s what happened next. The machine was scheduled to arrive Wednesday. UPS usually is at my house around lunch time. Wouldn’t you know it, that day they didn’t come till 5:30. I seriously spent the entire day peeking out the window, and when the big brown truck finally drove up, I ran to meet the driver. I was able to get the machine unpacked and set up before dinner that night. As soon as my son went to bed, I was ready to attempt my first practice project.

My machine came preloaded with some fonts and designs, but I spent the day before purchasing and downloading some things, and experimenting with two different editing programs on the computer. I was ready, and knew just enough to be dangerous. My first attempt, I hooped my fabric incorrectly, used bobbin thread instead of embroidery thread, and broke 2 needles. The second attempt went much better!

I wish I could say it has been smooth sailing, but it hasn’t. I knew there would be a learning curve involved, but honestly thought that since I knew how to sew, I could pick this embroidery thing up quickly. Overall I have, but there have been some bumps along the way. Like the time I had the machine too close to the wall and the arm bumped and messed up the design. Or, when I thought I could use my husband’s great great grandmother’s Singer sewing desk as a spot to keep the embroidery machine and the shaking caused my thread to fray over and over and over again. Kinda embarrassed it took me an entire day and a half to figure that one out. Seriously, I was one mistake away from throwing the whole thing out the window, but we’ve reached an understanding and are on good terms again.

Once I made nice with the embroidery machine again, I went crazy embroidering things. I put a monogram on our bathroom towels, a throw pillow, and did a scarf for a friend to practice embroidering on jersey knit fabric (that could be it’s own post, but *think* I have that figured out). Perhaps the most fun thing about this machine is the new world of possibilities it opens up with things I can create. I have done a few hooded towels for my son and his friends and plan to add those to the etsy shop in the new year. I’ll blog about them soon. If you’ve made it through this post, thank you!

13Nov2013

Toddler Blanket & Pillow Sets

Posted in Baby Blankets, Kids by Sew Sassy Creations

So, I’m pretty much the worst blogger ever. I am going to try to do better. I’ve said it before and haven’t followed through, but this time I mean it. 😉 Lots is going on, and I want to update. My goal is to blog every day this week in an effort to catch up. My biggest news… I bought an embroidery machine! It’s something I thought about this time last year, so while it seemed impulsive, it really wasn’t. Big thanks goes out to Amazon Prime. I ordered the machine on a Monday night and it was here Wednesday afternoon. I’ll blog more about my love/hate relationship and my uphill battle on the learning curve tomorrow.

The first projects completed were personalized blanket & pillow sets. I made a Cars set for my son a few months ago. He loves it. It’s the perfect size for a crib, or (for him) just lounging around, and we use the blanket to help bundle him in the stroller. I bought Finding Nemo fabric for a set for Evie, a little girl from my Facebook moms group. You may not know,but Nemo is the mascot for the Lucky Fin Project, a group celebrating children with limb differences. Next, I completed two sets for birthday gifts. Whenever possible, I like to give handmade presents. It’s a way for me to try out new things, and I know that there won’t be another one like it at the party.

These blankets measure approximately 42″ square, and are backed with either fleece ($50) or minky dot fabric ($60). All sets come personalized and include a pillowcase that fits a travel sized pillow. They are available for special order now, and will be up in my etsy shop in the new year.