Busy Little Bee

Oh my goodness! I have neglected my blog, but for good reason! I have so busy with projects, it has almost been unbelievable! On top of that, we are moving across the country in less than 10 days, and I still have a ton of packing to do! So here is what I have been up to! Enjoy!

The laundry hamper was a great project, and my sister loved it! The shirt quilt was good learning for me. I am not very good at binding! This project was a lady who recently lost her father and wanted to keep him close. The top part is his shirts and I backed it with a no-pill fleece.

 I love everything about the fold over clutch! It's great for out on the town or even everyday use. I am also loving the color combo experiments!

This is the reversible bag. Need I say more!?! This one is mine. I couldn't part with it once I made it. It's too cute and just perfect for me :)

Diaper bags galore! I have made 4 (maybe 5) bags since my first messenger bag. Did I mention that they were ALL made to order!? I couldn't love my job anymore than I already do. The last one that I made, she wanted a matching changing pad. Again, I am not very good at binding, so I did my best to cover that up ;)

My other sister asked me if I could make a backpack. When someone asks me if I can make something..."CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!" This was not an east project. It took my all day. I found a great tutorial. Everything about it was very clear (except for the measurements!) I ended up having to take half of it apart to fix some things that I couldn't live with! After I made this one, she asked if I could one for her son, so that is on the books, but it may just have to wait til after our move.

This is the 6qt. kitchen aid cover. I searched and searched for a tutorial on how to make this, but came up short. After thinking about it, it was rather simple. So simple, that I should have been able to figure it out sooner than I did. My customer loved it :)

And curtains! Oh boy! My favorite, honestly! I love measurements and lines and pressing and getting things perfect, so I actually love doing curtains. 6 panels, 3 sets and all 3 sets different lengths. They wanted them to match up in the middle as much as possible, and I think that was achieved. I love the way they wanted the straps also. I just can't wait to get a picture of them actually hanging up!

So to say that I have been busy is quite a bit of an understatement. It's been extreme business, but I'm not stopping! I have more to share, but I have lots to do today!

Happy Hump Day :)

The Diaper Bag

I got an email the other from a lady that was actually referred to me by one of my very good friends. She was looking for a medium sized diaper bag, but she wasn't really sure what exactly she was wanting as far as well...anything. We went back and forth for almost a full day sending pictures and descriptions and dimensions...etc...when she finally emailed me one last time with exactly what she wanted. So I went to joanns the next day and got all my supplies, or at least the supplies that I didn't already have. I love going to the fabric store, but it is way too tempting to buy everything I see that I believe is cute. I try to get in and get out before I make myself go broke! Anyway. I had recently done a messenger back put up by Crazy Little Projects. It turns out that it was the perfect size for what my customer was wanting. So we went with a grey chevron with a teal solid print accent color.

It turned out too cute! I love the color pop!

She also wanted one side pocket for a zippy cup. Now I have to admit that this was my first tapered/elastic job, but it turned out excellent!

It wasn't too hard. I did end up doing it twice though. My husband made me go to bed last night so as I laying in bed, all I could think about was measurements. What I originally planned to do was for sure not going to work. I had to make the pocket bigger. Well, as you can see, it worked!

The inside, she wanted 4 pockets. I did 2 tapered pockets and 2 sleeve pockets.

Perfect for diapers and wipes! Tapered pockets take time though! My goodness!

And lastly, she didn't want the flap which was perfectly fine with me. That made it a little easier for me, but she did want a snap shut. I always use the magnetic snaps just because they are easier to install and initially, they DO look classier.

I wanted the bag to be a little more open so I made a snap tab instead of just putting both sides of the snap in the lining.

Since the cotton I used for the lining is quilting fabric, I interfaced it with a fusible flex interfacing for durability and stability. As I was finishing today though, I almost forgot the fusible fleece interfacing for the body! Good thing I remembered. That would have been a major overhaul of a redo. I have a love/hate relationship with my seam ripper. 

Oh yeah...here is my first messenger bag with the flap!

It was a super fun project and really made a good diaper bag as well.

Have a happy Wednesday!

The Messenger Bag

I'm in the middle of doing a diaper bag but waiting on some PUL fabric to come in the mail, so I decided to use my extra pretty diaper bag fabric to make a small messenger bag for my daughter. It turned to be bigger than I expected, but that's alright. She can grow into it :) I got the tutorial here.

It was super easy to follow and I got this bag done in an afternoon.

Please excuse the mess that is in the background in the pictures. When I get into my sewing, some things just get a little neglected.

Have a happy weekend!

Decluttering my Life

As I browse Pinterest, I seem to find a lot of links to other blogs that involve decluttering and/or organizing your closet, kitchen, bedroom, LIFE, etc...And they are always from these organizing gurus that have been at it for quite sometime and really know what they are doing. I love be organized and love to shed my crap, but really...sometimes it really just seems almost impossible b/c where the heck to you really start to declutter and take back your life. In the age that we live in, we just have stuff. We have stuff in drawers and stuff on our floors. Stuff here and stuff there. We just have a bunch of useless stuff, and if you are like me, you want to just throw it all away and start over. Doesn't that get expensive though? Don't you just end up sometimes buying the same thing that you just threw out!?! Decluttering is hard, time-consuming and not very practical for day to day living b/c you have better things to do than take time to just go through your crap.

We move a lot so I have found that we don't have just a bunch of useless stuff, but we have enough to be a little irritating. Our homes aren't always the biggest so there hasn't been a lot of room to put, well, anything. We have a few big pieces of furniture, but we aren't decked out. We have a couch, a dining room table and 3 beds. Everything else is just throw away crap/furniture that will go elsewhere when it comes time to move again. But as I really start to look around, I find that I have accumulated more than I thought. We still have full boxes out in the shed of things that I need, just not right now. When you don't know when or where you are going next, it's just pointless to unpack everything you own. Unpack the things that you use day to day and that will work.

I should have taken a before picture of the shed, but I was too anxious to get in there so here is the after!

Nice and neat right?? Trust me...It wasn't like that yesterday. Here is my get rid box(es)

No matter what, I am getting rid of the stuff in these boxes. I don't care if I have to donate them or just throw it all away. I don't NEED this stuff. 

So there you go. Day 1 of decluttering! Have a happy Tuesday :)

An Easy Sunday Afternoon

I started a new project yesterday with the intentions of finishing it today, but I got 2 orders yesterday that I wanted to finish to get out Monday. I fully succeeded :) As soon as I posted the Fold Over clutch, I got an order for one with a wrist strap.

I wasn't sure how tricky the strap was going to be since there is a fold over part to the clutch, but it was easier placement than I thought.

Then there is the special order zippered chevron teal and yellow pouch/clutch. I am so glad that I had enough fabric to do this project. I'm about to run out of certain patterns that goes with other patterns that I have. Does that tell you how much I sit at my sewing machine!?! Anyway...here it is!

I love my MADE IN THE USA tags that I got here.

I added a fusible fleece interfacing to this one for stability, and I really like that I did that. I feels like a better quality product. I always want to make sure that my customer is happy :)

As for my current project that I have not finished yet, maybe tomorrow. I think that my kids want my attention. Have a happy day!

The Small Basket

I'm going to start off with my small baskets and then go to my larger ones later.

I love to organize. When you move as much as I do, you look for ways to be more organized and efficient. So what does any sane, organized person love to find? Really cute baskets! You can put your stuff in baskets and store them away. The only thing that people see is the cute baskets and not the junk in them. Sure, clear baskets and totes are great for knowing what you have, but do you really want everyone else know that you have a problem hoarding make up or just small useless items that may one be useful so you don't through them out? You know what I'm talking about. These baskets are the perfect counter piece for all that small stuff *that you just can't get rid of.

Dimensions are 7 1/2'' long 4'' wide 5'' tall

This is a fun piece to have in any home at a great price, and I can always make double of anything you want! 

Have a happy day and comments are always welcome :) Thanks for stopping by.

The Fold Over Clutch

I've been on pinterest for several days now looking for something new and exciting to make. I think that I found that something. Well, maybe not so much exciting, like OMG I have to make this or else, but it seemed really cute and super trendy. I found this Fold Over Clutch. I hate always carrying around a purse and also never being able to find anything b/c I always end up with a bunch of useless junk in it. I love the thought of a clutch b/c it isn't huge, but it's just big enough to carry the necessities. Well, here is mine!

Isn't it just the cutest thing ever! It doesn't feature any kind of strap or handle, but I don't think that it would be too hard to figure out where to put one.

These are made to order, and I will be putting this one up in my Etsy Shop very soon. I need to get all the proper pictures and then I will be set!

Well, that's it for now! Keep coming back for more adventures in sewing!

Where it Started...

Ok, so maybe I won't go back as far as where exactly I started to sew, but I will start from our move to CA and why I love doing what I do.

I'm a stay at home mom so obviously that I means that I do absolutely nothing all day long! HAHA! I hope that you know that I am joking. Between making sure the children are fed, bathed, clothed, and not getting into any trouble at (rolls eyes), I have to keep up with daily household work i.e. laundry, dishes, sweeping, cleaning, making sure the husband has a nice ironed shirt for work in the morning...BTW, I hate ironing, but it has to be done, and at last but not least, dinner when the husband gets home. I have a confession though. I don't always have dinner ready for when he gets home. I try, but I usually get preoccupied. By what exactly? What this blog is going to be all about. My sewing, crafts and more.

Moving to CA has been a huge adjustment b/c it is so expensive. There are no more random shopping trips. I don't even go to Target as much as I like (and I love Target). I'm watching what I spend at the grocery store and make sure that I don't drive too much just so I don't have to put gas in my car.

Good thing I already had a fabric inventory built up! I was a fabric hoarder! Ok, so maybe not that extreme, but close to it. I always start with Pinterest. I am always able to find fun new projects to do on there. Hi, my name is Mary, and I am a Pinterest Addict.

Anyway, one day, I decided that I didn't want to carry around a large wallet anymore and wanted make one for myself. And so birthed this...

Pretty nifty huh? I sent a picture to my sister, and she asked if I could make her one that fit 2 iPhones, a few credit cards and her earphones. Of course I could! So this one was birthed...This isn't the exact one that I sent to my sister, but you get the idea. I made myself one after that, and that is all I carry around.

This particular clutch was made by request of a friend, and yes, it was paid for. 

So here is where this blog is leading to. I am working on these items and more to make and sell. I have excellent prices and do stand up work! If I wouldn't buy, I won't try to sell it. Got it? This blog is also for your enjoyment. If you just want to stop by and read of all the fun things that I get to do and everything that I am learning, that's great! I am here to aspire and inspire. I am so excited to get this project started with you all, and I hope that you stick around long enough to see the big things that I have in store! Happy Sewing!