Chevron Tote!

I've never thought of sewing my own chevron pattern but this tote from Fabric Paper Glue (link) certainly makes me want to try! Just look at that gorgeous colour (and texture) combination:

(source)

Oh how darling! I sort of feel that lining up all those strips might be a bit on the challenging side, but it sure is worth it! Just imagine this as a clutch! OoOo! Or a fold over clutch! Ah! I'm swooning! What are your thoughts? What would you want to chevron-up? 

trick up your sleeve pouch!

When I came across this fun upcycled pouch project from Family Chic (link) I totally kicked myself for chucking all the old cuffs from the mass of blouses I've been shortening the sleeves on (link)! Gah! Just look at all the cute (and super easy) little button pouches I could have made from the scraps:

(source)

Oh! They are so darling! I think I will need to find myself another long sleeve blouse or two to modify so I can whip up my own matching little pouch! These would be substantially better than the airline ziplock bags I'm using to keep my lip balm and pills from getting lost in the bottom of my purse and would be way cuter too! Looks like this project is going straight to the sewing list! What do you think? What would you do with your own cuff pouch? 

sewin' up a storm

With spring weather peeking around the corner I've decided to make a wee dent in my "to mend" pile and turn some of my thrift store long sleeves blouses into shorter sleeve ones! Apparently that stack of clothes is much larger than I remembered because once I started digging through it I found six shirts to crop and hem! Even though the sunshine was not on my side for this picture, I thought I'd show them off anyways because I am all about celebrating progress and actually finishing some craft projects! Check them out:

Hooray! I must say I am a big fan of how shortening the sleeves on something really transforms the look of the blouse and love being able to control how long I'd like my short sleeves! As you can tell, I am quite fond of the "almost elbow length" sleeve and am also keen on rolling up a hem or two. Nothing like a little modesty and arm coverage to finish up an outfit! Now to bring on the (mild) heat and whip these freshly sewn babies out into the spring sunshine! Woo hoo! 

a quarter well spent.

Last week I shared a tutorial on how to turn a dish into a pin cushion (link) and totally fell in love with the simple and handy idea! I filed it in the back of my mind and kept on with my regular scheduling. Well, this past Saturday we drove past an estate sale and Fraser suggested we take a peek! I always tell him how much I love the idea of estate sales (well, not the whole dead person bit...) and since old people have way cooler stuff than the young folks (who typically hold garage sales) - we stopped in! There was quite the selection of paintings (actually, a ridiculous amount of paintings) as well as some lovely antique furniture! Although I swooned over the silverware and china sets, they were out of my spur of the moment (a.k.a how much cash I had in my wallet) budget and I decided to pick up this dish:

 

Isn't it darling? I figured it was certainly worth the 25 cents they were asking for it and proudly took it home. Now all I had to do was epoxy on some super strong magnets...

...and bam! - instant amazing poppy dish pin holder! Check it out:

Yay! I was a little doubtful of how well the pins would hold through the thick ceramic but they claimed to be super strong on the package and those pins seem to be holding on for dear life:

Ahha! How lovely! I am thrilled to no longer have to deal with my broken disaster of a pin cushion and instead use this classy looking DIY bargoon. It has also got me hooked on going to estate sales and ever since I've been roaming the internet looking for freebie antiques and sales! What fun! Are you a vintage bargain hunter?

The Best Idea EVER!

I have the crappiest pin cushion.  It is one of those plastic magnetic kidney shaped ones that is supposed to hold all your pins neatly for you.  It also has a hole in the middle of it which holds a seam ripper (which is more awkward than anything).  I bought it in a clearance bin for $2 and although I thought it was a great buy at the time, I dropped it (and it smashed - messing up the magnets and their pin holding abilities) and the "once a rad deal" is now the bane of my sewing existence.  It still sort of does the job so I can't rationalize buying a new one but when I saw this amazing idea (link) from Alyssa at Elemental Carbon - my mind was blown. Behold - and ordinary pretty dish:

(source)

How pleasant! Now check out the secret underneath:

(source)

Bam! Thrifted vintage plate turned amazing magnetic pin dish! Brilliant! Seriously - this is the best idea I've seen in ages and although it could be influenced by a few recent (and completely infuriating) battles with my current pin cushion, I just love this!  Since I already asked for a new pin cushion for my birthday this year I think I'll hold off on making one just yet - but come the 26th if there are no functional pin holding devices in my house I'm going thrift shopping for a dish! Hooray! What do you think? Maybe I should make one anyways and have a spare around...