I DID IT!!

I was browsing around on the blogger-sphere of course and I came across what may be my new favorite blog. It's www.bluecricketdesign.net
She has a ton of tutorials (TONS) and every single one was something I wanted to try to make for myself. I am such a copy cat. The first project I decided to try was from a guest poster at Flamingo Toes. Her inspiration was a necklace from Anthropology (why don't we have one of them here in PA?). Here's the original necklace I think it's adorable, I love the color the fabric and everything but who would pay $38.00 for a necklace? Someone, but not me.So she tackled the project herself and her result was adorable. Here's her blog tutorial on the fabric necklace
For a novice sewer like myself this project was about an 11 out of 10. I sewed and re-sewed, and threw out and unstitched. OH it was so aggravating. I've never been so frustrated. I bought beads to use and couldn't get them to fit, I was busting seams, my material wasn't right and yadda yadda. I don't have during pictures but I have my end result and I am very pleased with myself.

Floor Cushion - I Did It!

If you haven't been over to "The Crafty Charlestonian" blog yet, stop reading and sprint on over (or click). She has amazing blogs about every topic imaginable. One of these blogs was "a land of Nod inspired floor Cushion". The idea came from another blogger who is also a must follow, "Living With Punks".



The tutorial for these cushions can be found HERE


I have never used a sewing machine outside of a small pillow project in Home and Careers, and even when I attempted sewing a scrap piece of material to test out my new sewing machine it was a bust. never-the-less they said this was an easy strep by step tutorial and even a novice could do it, so I decided to try.



What I used:

-1 yard of upholstery fabric (finding a boy pattern was hard) - on sale for $6.99

-2 packages of pre-made piping (i had to buy twice because I had no idea what to find... what you want is the bias tape with maxi piping (usually near zippers). Joann carries Wrights brand and it's around $2 a package

-thread (it's good to have a contrasting color from your material and a matching color (to finish)

-16-24 ox fiberfill (wal-mart/joann). The 16 ox bags are like $4 but I like a lot of stuffing (luckily I had a ton lying around from my wedding)

---total cost ~$20 for everything



go HERE and read the tutorial, and here's what i made!!!!

it's roughly 17" across and 9" high. I'm not near my normal computer so there aren't more photos to show you (long story) but this came out so adorable. Of course I stuffed mine to the brim with fiberfill but you can leave yours a little more pliable.

I also didn't leave the handle as slack as I should have in order to carry but it still works.

I will make one small adjustment. When you cut the big strip to go around, I would sew the handle on first, instead of later as you will notice in the tutorial, especially if you are short on room and/or talent like me.

ENJOY, and if any of you make one please share it with me!!!

Tulle Academy

So for those who don't know my newest hobby has become creating (or trying to) tutu's. Aside from dance costumes I never owned a tutu so when I started this new endeavor I had to become acquainted with all that was tulle.

I searched online for demos, instructions, videos, and ideas that I could use to create these poofy accessories, and almost every tutorial I found had the same information. {Side note} My tutorial will be up soon... Everyone said either one of the following:
-tulle should cost less than a dollar a yard
or
-you can buy rolls of 6" tulle at your local fabric store.

In my conclusion these statements are both 90% false (at least in the Philadelphia area at your chain crafts/fabric stores).

I searched our local giant fabric store for tulle and found a variety of options, large holes, small holes, soft, rough, glitter, shimmer, matte, and "illusion" which has crystals glued on. But the cheapest I could find was $1.49 a yard. I know the difference is only $0.50 BUT when you need 10-20 yards per tutu that is $5-$10 that everyone else seems to not have to spend.

The rolls of tulle which are 6" by 25 yards are just impossible to find. I asked two associates at different stores if they carried the rolls and I got glassy eyed confused looks. Even at this large chain's website you can only find 3 or 4 color choices. People online seem to have a rainbow of choice for a mere dollars a roll.

I did find several websites that sell the rolls, but I had already purchased a large amount of tulle and needed to make a sale before i went and bought anything else. Papermart $1.84 a roll, BBCrafts $1.85 a roll (with bulk buy options), smartyhadaparty $1.99 with a small selection of colors.

So i thought I was doomed to settle for the dreaded online order and wait, BUT today I was searching around a local chain craft store (note craft not fabric) and I found in their wedding sections a large assortment of 6" rolls of tulle!!!! Now as happy as I was I couldn't help but be taken aback by the price, almost $4 a roll. This couldn't be my one stop shop for all things tulle, but at least I knew that there was someplace in the county I could find tulle without paying for shipping and waiting 7-10 business days

Also, I happened to check our local Wal-mart in their fabric department and did find a few colors of tulle for $0.97. Granted the colors were ivory, gold, brown, and white but it does exist, tulle for less than a dollar a yard!

So I hope you can look past all my ranting, and use this information to your advantage when you go out looking for tulle, as many of you will I'm sure :-P
-HOS