Stop staring and start sewing!

Modern Prairie Sewing (a blog hop!)

It's my turn!  I'm so happy Abi Long from The Modern Prairie Girl (and Marie Madeline Study) asked me if I'd be part of the blog hop as she introduces her new book Modern Prairie Sewing (published by those great folks at C&T Publishing).  I wasn't sure what I was signing up for since I hadn't even seen the book but boy, was I thrilled when it arrived!  It's loaded with great projects.  Seven different bags, eight beautiful garments, and a bunch of darling housewares.

That's Abi on the far left side (I love these girls!).

It was hard to choose which project to make but I really wanted something I would use again and again and so I picked the KittyJo bag.  I really loved the use of a variety of fabrics and it looked like a good sized bag.  Plus the pleat in the center of the bag adds a touch of spunk. Here's the picture from the book.  You can see why it caught my eye.

For my KittyJo bag I used home dec fabric because I wanted it to be sort of heavy and durable enough to hold my gym clothes, or groceries, or packages for the post office (basically to haul anything anywhere).  I'm so happy with the result!  Isn't this great?  Look at how big it is!

I can put so much stuff in here.

 

I included the huge pocket in mine and stitched down the middle so I have room for my phone, reading glasses, Kindle, all sorts of stuff!  I even added the extra Michele's D-Ring (but I only had an O ring so I used it).  I sewed mine in the center over the pockets because it will be a great place to hang my gym membership bar code fob.

I had a lot of fun making this bag.  It's a pretty quick project and not overwhelming so if you get the itch to make something this will do the trick without taking up your whole weekend.  All of the projects in the book are like that and this book is perfect for beginners as well as more experienced seamsters.

That was a lot of fun and I can highly, highly recommend this book!  I know I'm going to go to it every time I need an idea for a hand crafted gift or a spruce up for my own home or wardrobe.

Here is a list of the other bloggers on the hop, so you can be inspired by more fun sewing projects. 

Jenny at Sew Pretty Dresses August 20th
Pam at Pam Kitty Morning August 21st
Melissa at 100 Billion Stars August 23
Caroline at Sew Caroline August 25
Melissa at Lilac Lane August 26
April at April Rhodes August 27
Abiah at Marie-Madeline Studio August 28

On August 29th be sure to hop on over to The Modern Prairie Girl blog for an chance to win a signed copy of Modern Prairie Sewing ! 

Make a cute, quick and easy bulletin board (cheap too)

This is the latest craze around here.  I can't stop making these bulletin boards.  They're cheap, easy and so much cuter than plain cork boards.  Here's the one above my new ironing station and it's so convenient and handy when I'm filling orders or just need a place to tack a reminder for myself.

Here's all you need to make one (or a dozen) for yourself.  

1. A piece of R-Tech 1/2 inch rigid insulation (you can get a small 2ft x 4ft board for only 3.35).

2. Spray adhesive.  I like Elmer's Craft Bond.

3. Hot glue gun

4. Deco Nails Picture Hanging Nails (I think I found mine at Home Depot)

5. Cute fabric - enough to cover the board with about 3-4 inch extra on each side.  Home dec weight fabric is best for this.

Cut your fabric piece big enough to cover the whole board with at least 3 inches extra on each side.  Spray the whole fabric piece (on the wrong side) generously with the spray adhesive.  Be sure to have a drop cloth or cardboard around the edges for the over-spray.

Place your insulation board on the fabric with the plain side of the insulation board against the wrong side of the fabric (on the sticky side).  Pull the fabric snug while smoothing it against the board.

At the corners cut away the extra fabric (cut out a square basically) and smooth one side snug against the board.

Press the other side against the edge of the board like the picture below.

Then fold it over to the back side and glue the edge in place.  

Nice and clean like this.  Flip it over and smooth the front so the fabric is snug against the adhesive.

Your done!  Wasn't that crazy simple??  Just use your cute Deco Nails to mount it on the wall (use a level to get it straight the first try) and start tacking your stuff to it!

So convenient and pretty too!  I've made 7 of these already and my kids are crazy about them because they can pick their own fabric.

Let me know if you try it!