happy new year! now i can finally show you...

Hello everyone!

I started this post before Christmas, but for obvious reasons I couldn't post it until after Christmas. Since October, I started working on Christmas gifts that I had been brainstorming about pretty much all year long. I love giving a thoughtful gift. I know it takes a lot of effort, but for some reason I just enjoy thinking and thinking about good gift ideas for loved ones. It doesn't have to be handmade, but this year, most of my gifts on Caleb's side turned out to become diy projects. They took a lot of time and effort, but I'm pretty satisfied with the results. Next year I may not work so hard. We'll see.  

For my sister-in-law, Shannon, I designed four prints of quote art by Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (I can't quite remember if that's the full name of the school). Shannon is by far one of the biggest Harry Potter fans I know. She has a whole pinterest board dedicated to things "Harry Potter." I love Harry Potter as well, but I don't think you get initiated into the club until you've read each book in the series at least five times. I've got a long way to go. :) 

I got the idea from this etsy listing. I thought of hand lettering it myself, but I felt that designing on the computer would be cleaner and faster, and I would get to use more colors if needed. 

Anyway, so this project allowed me to explore the world of print design and the wonderful unending world of fonts and colors. There were so many different possibilities. I went through multiple drafts and mediums and I ended up with this:  

Did you recognize any of the quotes? Super fun project. I'm beginning to realize how much I enjoy design. The idea is to hang them on the wall together as a collage, but really you can put them anywhere.

As for Josh, we actually knew his gift way before anyone else. It all started with going to a moving sale, and we found some vintage fly fishing flies.

Looks pretty junky huh? Well, you just need to visualize. I could have done more with this, but since I'm working on a budget, we had to keep it simple.

I had to cut out all of them from the original cardboard if I wanted to keep the cork. It was tedious, but I'm really happy with how it turned out. Once again, I carefully chose the color, fonts, and paper. I have some leftover flies that were not used so I will give those to him in a separate bag. 

Now for their son, Phoenix, I had to be really thrifty since these two gifts took most of the budget. What better way to go than by making puppets! Felt is super cheap at the store, and puppets don't take that much material. I scavenged pinterest for ideas and was immediately drawn to the three little pigs. Classic story for any child! These took forever to make, but I really like how they turned out. I made another set for my other nephew, Deacon. 

He loved it!

How was your Christmas? I'll be blogging about ours next!

Hugs,

Jessie

mend dem jeans

It happened. The moment had finally come when Caleb's favorite pair of jeans ripped in the knee. For me, I was initially thinking this would be a great opportunity to go shopping with him for a new pair. It was quite a large rip. But then, unexpectedly, he asks me if I can somehow repair them. He who does not care for clothing whatsoever, surprised me with his affectionate bond with this particular item of clothing. And believe me, I was very much surprised, but I jumped at the opportunity to learn a new sewing trick. Once again, I pored over the internet looking for different methods. I personally didn't want to use a patch. This pair of jeans is gray in color and so it would be difficult to match. And this is just me, but patches aren't my favorite look. Some are nicely done, but I would rather try to mend his jeans so that you barely notice it. I found just the article I had been looking for. And guess what? It was written by a guy who is always mending his own jeans. Cool huh?

How To - A Simple Guide to DIY Denim Repairs  

In order to understand the instructions above you need to be familiar with Warp, Weft, and Twill. He suggests to read the article below first.

Understanding Raw Denim: Warp, Weft, and Twill

In all honesty, this will take time to read, but once you get the concepts down, it will save you money in mending your jeans. This method is not a quick fix like an iron on patch. You mend the actual tear in the fabric. In my opinion, it also looks cleaner and not as grungy. The gentleman also gives tips on how to spot minute tears before they get too big. Following his tips can really make our jeans last a lot longer. I love buying new jeans, but just like everybody else, I've got a budget too. 

You can just barely see the stitching on the knee. It was a long rip. Sorry I didn't take any photos before. I also did some mending around the pocket area. 

  

These are my jeans. I was devastated when I saw small tears at the knees. So they definitely got mended.

You basically use your sewing machine and buy matching thread. The article I'm referencing gives really good step-by-step instructions. For being a novice seamstress, I thought it was an excellent article and help.

So go mend dem jeans!

Happy Sewing,

Jessie

sew i need to move on with something new...

In the last couple months I made more baby blankets. This is like my go-to baby gift because it gets me sewing and I enjoy shopping for different prints. JoAnns was having a huge sale a couple months ago so I bought a bunch of discounted flannel for baby blankets. "But Jess, who are you going to give all these baby blankets to?" Well friend, if you don't know already, I'm Mormon and we believe that we can be with our families forever. It is a sacred privilege to rear God's children in love and righteousness and well...would you like to learn more about why we believe in the importance of families? Yes? Then click here. In my church community, there is no shortage of awesome women taking on that sacred calling of motherhood. Want to know how to make these adorable blankets? Click here.   

I made another robot one. Seriously, love those robots.

Apparently owls are all the rage these days. My hand embroidery ain't great, but it'll do. It's the thought that counts right?

So...I gave this to a family who just had their first boy, and the father just ran his first marathon. I couldn't resist. I even bought extra of this print because I secretly want my future child to have one as well. Gotta start'em young. :)

I made two more tubular infinty scarves out of this fabric I got a while back. I'll be giving one to a friend. For some reason I'm just so attracted to floral prints. They add a little pizzazz to my boring wardrobe. Want to make a scarf like this? Click here. 

Oh and you all should be proud of me. I took this selfie on the first try and was satisfied with it. I was just telling someone the other day that I don't ever take selfies...because it just feels weird. One of my young women from church said that selfies are in fact associated with a mental illness. I chuckled and told her, "Yeah, it's called vanity." I don't think she got it. I thought it was pretty clever. 

So I think I've become somewhat a pro at making these baby blankets and scarves. I think it's time I try something new. I really have been wanting to try my hand at making some cute clothes, but I've always been a little nervous about it. I think it's time I start trying instead of delaying. 


I bought some patterns at a garage sale thinking it would be good practice. I might as well get started. I'm thinking of making a cute midi skirt from the pattern on the right... 

Happy Sewing!

<3 Jessie

style me #3 sew your own scarf

A while back, like last October, we went to my in-laws for a weekend trip. My mother-in-law loves wearing scarves and thought it would be fun to try and sew our own. Needless to say, it was a success. I don't think I'll ever buy another scarf again. This was before I had Bobbie (my sewing machine), but my mother-in-law also has a good sewing machine and we were both able to make 3-4 in one night.  

When you see all of the cute scarves at the store, they're easily at least twenty dollars. I know there are some of those soft cashmere scarves with beautiful designs that you really can't make on your own, but for the most part, you can make the rest.

monogram an easy baby blanket

I've mentioned before that my mother is an accomplished seamstress (and my mother-in-law is too!). One of her favorite things to make are baby quilts. Someday I will learn how to do that, but in the meantime I went with this. 

I recently attended a baby shower and usually I get the practical stuff like baby soap and lotion that you know they will use. But this time I wanted to try something different and since I had Bobbie, I decided to try this tutorial:

reversible flannel receiving blankets with decorative stitching 

 By stayathomeartist.com

Seriously, the easiest baby blanket tutorial ever.

It's basically making a huge square flannel pillow case, but then you close it by using pretty stitching all the way around. 

Remember my first sewing project? Well in order to add a little something to the blanket, I decided to hand embroider a monogram using embroidery floss. I used a simple back stitch. I didn't do this until after I finished sewing the blanket, but I would suggest embroidering it first before sewing the two pieces of flannel together. I'm not the greatest at hand stitching, but I think it makes the gift that much more special. Well, in my opinion anything I receive that is made by the person is extra special and unique in my book. just sayin'.   

Also, I think this gift proves that you don't need to spend a lot of money either. You can easily find flannel on sale and I think total I spent a little under $7. I know it's only one blanket, but it was made with good quality flannel that will last longer than those store bought ones. And who doesn't want their own personalized gear? 

I love those robots! 

happy sewing,

Jessie

Hem Dem Jeans

When I was a college student at Brigham Young University (oh so many years ago!) I vividly remember the day I found the perfect pair of jeans. They fit me so well that I felt I just had to get them. They weren't terribly expensive, and when it comes to jeans, finding that perfect pair is like finding a needle in a haystack. For me personally when it comes to shopping, I don't buy it unless I absolutely love it. This was one of those rare moments. I've had this pair of jeans for about five years now.

pillows!

My first real sewing project with Bobbie (my sewing machine) was to make decorative pillows to complement our couch. I am in LOVE with our couch. It's comfortable and the perfect size for napping, but it was missing pillows. Our couch is a nice neutral color, so I needed to find some fabric that would give it a nice pop of color. I found some while I was in Phoenix over the holidays. As I researched how to make pillow covers, I learned there were many options. I'm the kind of person that goes for quality over quantity. I am willing to spend more money on items that I know we will want to have around for a long time. I felt that if I were going to make pillow covers, I wanted them to be the best that I could make. Taking into account the style I was seeking, this is what I decided:

• four square pillow covers, two larger and two smaller.
• invisible zippers on all four (gives a more professional and finished look)
• piping on the two larger (you'll see what that is in a second)
• use feather pillow inserts, not the polyester fill

Bobbie

So...funny story. Well, not really a story, just funny. So...funny. I would consider my mother an accomplished seamstress (not like I would know since I don't know a lick about sewing), but she made our clothes growing up and pillows and blankets and such. Give her a project and she could probably figure it out pretty quickly. Sometime last year I was trying to think of a name for my sewing pinterest board (because I didn't want to be uncreative and call it "sewing") so I asked her what that little metal spool of thread she puts inside her machine is called. I remembered it having a funny name. She may have said it wrong, or she said it right and I just didn't hear correctly. All I know is that I heard the word "bobbie."

Just this last Christmas I heard it was called a "bobbin." ahahahaha! I didn't really take the time to actually look up the word. How embarrassing. I think I'll just call it a bobbie from now on for kicks and giggles. You giggling with me? Yeah, I thought so. 

I've done some sewing with my mother in the past, but really nothing too extensive. Maybe a pillowcase and that was it. So my seamstress knowledge was really...zilch. That's a real word by the way. Didn't know that until I just looked it up 10 seconds ago. 

This past Christmas Caleb's parents gave me a beautiful sewing machine.

Isn't she beautiful? I haven't thought of a name yet...how about Bobbie? I think I like it. Ever since Christmas break started, I've been itching to learn how to use her. I even took the manual with me to Phoenix. I'm such a nerd. So when I returned to Michigan, the sewing shenanigans commenced. 

After buying myself some essential tools, like scissors and thread, I went straight to work with my first project:

I wanted to make my own pin cushion since I already had scrap fabric and polyester filling. I can take credit for my handiwork, but not for the instructions on how to make it. The internet is AMAZING and people are so kind to share their knowledge. Unfortunately I can't find the original blog where I got these instructions, but she also had the great idea of embroidering your initials so that it gives a nice personal touch. I like that little detail a lot.  

Yay! Finished my first sewing project on my own. This was back in January, I've finished some other projects since then, so there are more posts to come. Sorry I'm posting so much this month. I've been stuck inside because if I went outside, I could potentially get frostbite in under 30 minutes. Better to stay inside. Hope you all are staying warm this winter!

Hugs, 

Jessie