Scrappy Little Journal

I've had this little moleskin journal floating around for while and I've been thinking about adding some strips of washi tape to add a little color. I rounded up my washi tape and then I thought of all the pretty fabric scraps that I have and started wishing I could find a quick easy way to use them instead. Hmmm? How to turn fabric into washi tape? I thought I'd seen someone online use double stick tape but of course it wasn't in my drawer. (Someone in my house loves to tape her art work up on random walls. And she's six. And the tape doesn't always make it back where it goes.)

Then I remembered that I had some adhesive in my scrapbook supplies that might work well. It's strong, double sided and also comes in rolls with different widths available.

I headed to my bowl of ticker tape scraps and then to my bowl of selvages to pull out some colorful pieces.

I peeled off one layer of the adhesive covering and arranged the scraps on two pieces.

I flipped the adhesive over, fabric side down and trimmed the scraps with a rotary cutter and ruler. I was surprised at how easily the rotary blade went through the adhesive without gumming it up. I did use the cutter reserved for paper though. I didn't want to dull my sharp fabric blade.

After I trimmed up the scraps, I played around to find a pleasing arrangement.

And played a little more to see if everything would fit. I had to do a bit more trimming.

  
I peeled the final layer of adhesive covering off and pressed all of the scraps into place.

And there you have it! A journal decorated with fabric scraps! Once this little journal knows what it's destined for, I'll add some words and embellishments and fill it with great things.

Tooth Fairy Pillow Complete...

and waiting for a tooth. 

I was at a retreat this weekend and was able to work on this little pillow which took far too long to complete. Leave it to me to make a rectangle shape pillow complicated! The corners ended up being too pointy and weird so I unstuffed it and slightly curved the corners and tried again. My mom is an expert stuffer after years of making dolls but I've never been able to stuff things to my satisfaction. I wish she'd been there to help me out (and to have fun sewing with). But I finally stitched it up and called it GOOD. If I make another, I'll round the corners more and maybe even try rounding out the sides a bit.

Both fabrics are Echino from Kokka which is a bit pricey but they were the perfect color and I wanted something special knowing she'd use it for a few years. She picked out the pony print over the bird, squirrel, bunny and flowers.

When I showed the finished pillow to Jenna she had this puzzled look on her face. She thought it would be tooth shaped. I was surprised because I didn't think she'd ever seen a tooth fairy pillow before. I showed her how the tooth would go in the pocket and that she could leave the fairy a note and a stick of gum in the pocket (which were her requirements) and she rolled with it.

When I taught first grade I had sweet little children wiggling their teeth for me on daily basis. I used to dream of my teeth falling out! So I just couldn't bring myself to go with the tooth shape. I'll make her a little tooth shaped note paper from cardstock to write a message to the Tooth Fairy so she'll have a touch of the tooth theme.

We are still having gloomy, snowy, rainy weather so I had a hard time getting a good photo of the ribbon. I found it in my stash of scrapbook supplies and loved the color and the texture.

Now we're waiting for those first couple of teeth to wiggle out. I can't believe we're at that stage already. It doesn't seem that long ago that we were standing in my Mom and Dad's living room, getting ready to head back to Kansas and I felt her first tiny little tooth breaking through her gum. She was four months old!

Splat!

Have you seen the laminated fabric that several designers have come out with? I went shopping for some to make a table cloth for my daughter's little table. After having our carpets cleaned I changed my mind and decided it would be better used as a splat mat under her dining room chair. I just turned it over to the back side and used a bowl to trace scallops. I was surprised to find the fabric very pliable and it is soft enough to have some drape. Love the fun design on the floor rather than just a white plastic sheet. The print is from Amy Butler's Love collection in Paradise Garden Mint.

I just finished piecing this table topper for our dining room table. I started it at the retreat this fall and had a few borders to put on. The piecing quality is improved from my last project. I really focused on trying to get the points (corners) to match. It's better but still not as accurate as I want. I found I was overcompensating at first when I was butting my seams together and causing problems. I also discovered that I wasn't making quarter inch seams. They were a little bigger. It didn't really matter on this but I'm working towards being very accurate so I can try some more complicated patterns.


The pattern is "Christmas Cookie Crumb Catcher" by Chick-a-dee Hollow. The pattern calls for holly applique on the center and the corners of the light border with embroidery. I decided not to add those. I really liked the simple design and the center would be covered by a centerpeice on the table anyway. I just love the fabric and want it to stand out. It's Peppermint & Hollyberries by Nancy Holversen (Benartex). I love the swirls and little peppermints.

I'm contemplating how to quilt it. I could try to stipple or do some other free motion quilting on it (after I practice quite a bit). Or I've thought I could have someone with more skills quilt it and quilt a neat design in the middle. I think I'll do some practicing first and see how it goes before I decide.

Teapots & Teacups

I have a great stash of fabric, thread, and notions but somehow I don't have a pincushion. I've been looking at different ideas since February of pincushions I could make but now it's September and I really want to have one at the retreat. So Little Miss fell asleep on the way home this afternoon and after I gently put her on the sofa I tiptoed to my supplies. Of course I couldn't find the pattern I'd chosen but I know naptimes are few and far between these days. I quickly decided an easy nine patch would work just great. I found these darling fabrics that I'd been saving for something special and started cutting.

Little Miss woke up before I was finished but a little snack and one cartoon did the trick while I finished up.

Oh, and I discovered that what I thought was a big enough hole turned out to be a very small hole and those crushed walnut shells were tough to get in there! On the bright side, I was able to stitch it up very quickly and now I'm ready for pins!