Shaker Gift Card

My First Shaker Card!

I've always had an interest in doing more paper crafts, but just didn't have the room to spread out.  I even bought a Cricut and accessories a few years ago, but never had the room to keep it out and accessible, and therefore I didn't get much use out of it so I finally sold it.

Now that I have moved all my sewing and crafts out to the "Little House", I have room to spread out, which means that I can now work on paper crafting.  

I've been watching some YouTube videos on card making and stumbled upon NurseTara04's videos.  She has a lot of really good tutorials on papercrafting.  I loved the idea of a "shaker card" - where you have sequins, glitter, or other small free-floating items encased behind acetate or other clear medium.

NurseTara04 took this a step further with Shaker Swag Bags.  I used her tutorial to create some gift card holders for Christmas.  I started with a small kraft paper bag and folded and embellished it.  The bag opening is the place where you can add a gift card or other small "swag" items.  

I added sequins, silver disks, pearls and seed beads to the shaker window then embellished the front with silver glitter washi tape and snowflakes. I made an insert to hold cash for this card out of cardstock, washi tape and a large snowflake.  Everything but the paper and acetate came from Dollar Tree.

Hand Made Journals

Having a laminator and a binding machine at my disposal has opened up a world of possibilities for paper crafting.  I am making booklets for everything I can think of.

So I thought everyone needed a journal at Christmas.  I started by finding paper for the covers that I thought the recipient would like and laminated them.  I then typed up some bible verses that I like in different fonts and printed them out on 8.5 by 5.5 size paper.  My first thought was that I would use those verses on dividers for sections in the journal.  Maybe 12 sections, one for each month.  I ended up making a couple of journals with 12 tabbed dividers then made others without.  

I'm not much on journal writing myself, so I didn't know how the recipient might use them.  I thought they would perfect for daily journaling, but also thought they would work well for a prayer journal, or jotting down notes when researching bible topics.

I made a bookmark to match each journal and wanted a tassel on each one.  I had to watch YouTube videos to learn how to make tassels..... I bought embroidery floss in colors to coordinate with each journal and made a tassel for each.  Turns out, tassel making is very easy. I took these pics before making the tassels. 

Hard to see in this pic, but I used a stamp and a VersaMark stamp pad for the square embellishments on the cover and bookmark.  This stamp pad creates a translucent watermark or tone-on-tone image instead of color.  

I found the washi tape used in this journal at Target, in the "Dollar Spot".  I wish I had gotten more of it!

I used washi tape to adhere the bible verses on these dividers and tabs before laminating. 

This cover and bookmark are embellished with another Target dollar spot washi tape.  

Family Recipes and Kitchen Memories

Family Cookbook in the making

I've been wanting to create a family cookbook for years.  I started typing it in 2011 and just finished it in time to give it as a gift this Christmas!!! When I first came up with this idea - many years ago -  I had sent emails to family members asking for recipes but only Dana wanted to participate.  Between the two of us we compiled recipes that we remembered our parents and other family members making, along with memories relating to holiday meals and cooking in general.

When the idea was hatched we thought about how to actually put it together and we thought maybe a three-ring binder would work because we could find them at any store and we'd be able to add recipes in the future.  Between then and the time it was finished, Dana had purchased a brand new, unopened binding machine, along with all the binding combs we could ever use, for about $20 at a teacher supply store sale. 

I knew I wanted a retro, 50's feel to the cookbook, so I used red gingham paper from Hobby Lobby for the front and back cover.  I used white cardstock for the section dividers and the title on the front.  I didn't have a font that I liked on my computer so I searched the internet for a suitable font.  

I'd never downloaded a font before so I didn't know how hard it would be.  Turns out - it was super simple!  I used the Remachine Script  font from DaFont.com.  It was free for personal use.  The download instructions on DaFont was very easy to follow.  Now that font is installed on my computer and can be used for anything.  I used that font for the cover page and all divider pages.

I typed all of the recipes in Microsoft Word.  Once I had them all typed in, I added a Table of Contents.  Once that was done, I could add recipes or move them around and re-build the table of contents.  It was super convenient.

Using the binder is pretty simple.  To punch holes in the sheets  you just center the sheets to be perforated, set the paper stop, and pull down on the handle. 

I made the cookbooks 8.5" by 5.5" (half a letter size sheet of paper).  The covers are a bit larger.  I used black cardstock to make the covers a bit sturdier.  I used glue sticks to adhere the red gingham paper to the cardstock, then I laminated all the covers.  

Since the covers are a bit larger than the paper, I had to reset the paper stop on the binder to punch the holes in the center of each cover.  Then I trimmed the binding combs to match the number of holes in my books and bound them.

Punching Holes

Of course we found some typos once it was printed and assembled, even though I'd previously checked everything.  Oh well, I guess now it will be a simple matter of making new editions in the future.

Hand Made Bath Tea

One of the home made Christmas presents I made this year was a "bath tea".  The teas can be made of various things, including milk.  The idea is to suspend the tea bag from the faucet while filling the tub, and/or drop one or more tea bags into the tub as it is filling.  My tea is made from botanicals, herbs, and essential oils.  I used dried calendula flowers and lavender buds (purchased from the health food store), dried rose petals, mint and clover blossoms harvested from my yard, and lavender essential oil.  I mixed up the ingredients, sprinkled on the essential oil and stored it in a jar for about a month to let the fragrance soak into all the plant products.

I had purchased the DIY tea bags at the health food store.  I bought them to make home made tea from my mint and clover blossoms.  Quite a few come in the package.  The tea bags come joined together, but perforated for easy separation.  One side is open for filling. They come with a little "tag" and string just like a regular tea bag.

Each tea bag is a regular size tea bag. The larger "family size" tea bags definitely would have been better for this purpose.  But it's what I had on hand...

So I stuffed each bag with as much tea as I could get in it.  I then heat sealed the open end.  I keep a cheap, 1 inch hair straightener in the kitchen for sealing mylar bags and other items.  After using these tea bags, I can see that I could have made my own using interfacing and stitch witchery to seal the edges, at a MUCH cheaper cost. That way I could have made the bags an size I wished.

I don't know how they worked out because I haven't received any feedback from the recipients.  These little tea bags would also be great to put in a drawer as a sachet.

Modern Gray and Yellow Table Runner

I found these fabrics at the International Quilt Festival in Houston over a year ago.  I knew they would work with the new color scheme that Stephanie and Frank have in their living and dining rooms.  It only took me 18 months to make the table runner that I knew I wanted to make when I first saw them. 

I decided on a very simple pattern - 2" by 3" rectangular blocks, pieced together in strips of four random blocks, with white sashing between the blocks. I quilted it using the stitch in the ditch method.

Journey in her Christmas Dress

{Journey modeling the Christmas dress that Grandma made for her}

The Stockings Were Hung . . .

My Grandma Gray made a felt stocking for me when I was litle. I still have it, but it has a few moth holes, which tells me she made it with wool felt. She also made tree skirts, door knob hangers, and tablecloths, all from felt. She made a table cloth which was essentially red net with appliques out of felt. I think Dana has that. One of these days I would like to copy it. Grandma Gray also made my mother's tree skirt (I'm not sure who has it now) and one for me when Elizabeth was a baby. She appliqued a baby on it and embroidered Elizabeth or Liz, I can't remember now - I gave the tree skirt to Liz.

My mom made Elizabeth's stocking when she was little too. And Liz made one for Rylan. Rylan didn't need another one, but I had some stocking stuffers for her and it's just not the same without a stocking. So before I mailed her Christmas gifts, I made this one with the embroidery machine. I used a water soluble pen and traced the stocking shape on red felt, but didn't cut it out. I had to hoop the felt twice to get all of the snowflakes on this full size stocking. After embroidering, I cut out the stocking shape, front and back. I embroidered the name on white felt, then made the scalloped edge on the sewing machine freehand. I then stitched it all together. It was very fast and easy.

While my mother made Elizabeth's stocking, I bought a knitted stocking for Caroline when she was little and made one for Stephanie using a pre-printed, pre-quilted stocking panel (26 years ago...). Caroline contends that because it's store-bought, she never had a proper stocking. So, about 10 or more years ago, I bought a felt stocking kit to make for her. Looking back, I realize that I must have bought THE most complicated design they had. Every year I think I will get it done and Caroline gives me a hard time when it's not . . . but this year - I finished it!!

Homemade Christmas, the Mud Room and Food Storage

{Bay Leaf Wreath}

Last year we had a Homemade Christmas. I had wanted to do it for a long time. Turns out it was a LOT of pressure. In my usual form, I procrastinated till the last minute and then didn't get everything done that I wanted to do. Also, I didn't get pictures of most of the things I made.

Some of the gifts were surprising. Those who thought they couldn't make anything came up with some great gifts. Frank made me a fleece blanket and a Texans cap/coat rack for Marc. Stephanie made Marc monogrammed socks (he goes through socks like crazy) and me a gift basket with home made bath products. Caroline made me a turquoise necklace and Marc a Texans fleece blanket. These are just some of the great gifts that were exchanged.

{View of Mudroom from Kitchen}

When we built the mud room we originally thought we would build cabinets on one wall. We decided against that and so Marc made me a large cabinet to be used as a pantry. It was my Christmas gift from him last year. It's quite large (about 3 feet wide and 7 feet tall and 2 feet deep). I use it for overflow pantry storage (since I don't have a proper pantry) and some small appliances that I don't use very often. I also store home canned items in it. I quickly filled it up, so he made another one for me this Christmas. I knew he was building it but one day I walked thru the mud room to do some laundry and when I came out I was shocked to see that he had moved the extra refrigerator out to the shed and moved the cabinet in. I had totally missed it as I walked past it several times.

{Mudroom}

{2010 Cabinet}

I've got wheat and my Excalibur wheat grinder in this cabinet, as well as some small appliances like the bread machine and crock pots, sugar, home canned foods, etc.

{2011 Cabinet}
In the new cabinet, Marc built the shelves a little closer together so I can get more smaller items stored. The very top shelf is lower on the front and higher in the back and has a lip on the front, so that I can put cans on it and they will roll forward. I have 4 cases of canned goods on this shelf already and there's room for more. I have rice, oats, beans, and more stored in this cabinet. I organized everything and took an inventory of what I had in there. I was surprised to see just how much I had stored, but there's still room for more. I've been shopping sales and stockpiling sale items and it adds up pretty quickly. After Christmas I'll do a post about home food storage or "stockpiling".

Marc even went in my craft room and found some Christmas stamps and even hand made gift cards:

Another Quilt As You Go Table Runner

I'm officially in love with making Quilt As You Go table runners. They are SO fast and easy. I bought a Charm Pack from Nancy's Notions sometime this year when it was on clearance, for like $2.50. It's by Deb Strain for Moda, but that's all I can remember. Anyway, the colors and designs are so modern. I originally thought I would use this to make a patchwork dress/jumper for Journey for Christmas, but after tearing up the attic looking for that pattern (I'd saved it from a Woman's Day magazine from the early 80's), I abandoned that idea. Maybe next year for that project.

I arranged the squares the way I wanted them and then sewed three together to make a strip. I then cut the red broadcloth into strips two inches wide for the sashing. I layered quilt batting over the backing fabric and used temporary spray adhesive (which I use in machine embroidery quite often) to hold them in place. Since this is a short runner (36") I started at one end with a red sashing strip. I stitched as described in my previous post about QAYG table runners. Pressed for time (surprised?) I serged the edges then stitched jumbo red ric rac to the edges. We use this ric rac all the time in making dresses for little girls for sale. We buy it at Hobby Lobby when it's half price. Each roll holds about 9 yards or maybe it's 9 feet, anyway, it's about $2 per roll and comes in a lot of fun colors. The first time I used it I washed and dried it to ensure that it was colorfast - it is.

The charm pack made TWO table runners this size. Plus there were a few charms that were left over that I didn't want to incorporate into this project. I used those on Rylan's scarf and Journey's Christmas dress.

Naughty or Nice

Here are some pics of the Christmas outfit I made for Journey. I started with McCall's 6062 pattern. It's a peasant style dress. It was very fast and easy to make. I made a few changes from the pattern's instructions. The pattern called for an underskirt and an overskirt. It was a huge waste of fabric and didn't add anything to the overall look, so I omitted the overskirt and added an apron. I wanted it to look like the PortobelloPixie Claire peasant dress. I had used that pattern last year to make Christmas dresses for sale. We made the apron tie style, but found (after making MANY dresses) that the pattern didn't fit as expected, so I didn't want any surprises this year, which is why I used the McCalls pattern. The PP pattern is so cute and features a full color instruction booklet which I liked, but the end result was disappointing. Also it was very expensive!! I used the PP apron pattern piece for this one. I ended up cutting it down just a little. I embroidered the apron first, then added a lining and bound the edges. The tie around the waist is part of the McCalls pattern. I cut the ruffle using the pattern but I cut an extra piece and used the ruffler to make the ruffle. Gone are the days when I will sit and gather fabric. It's amazing what a $20-$30 attachment can do to automatic your sewing.

Since this is a winter dress, I wanted long sleeves, which the pattern didn't include so I converted the sleeve to 3/4 length. Another change I made was adding ribbon instead of elastic at the neck and sleeves. This way, we can customize the fit for Journey this year, and will allow her to wear it again next year.

Here's the back view:

I used some of the motifs from the skirt fabric to embroider the jacket and apron. This is the same owl I used to make Rylan's scarf, shown in a previous post, just different fabrics. It's featured in this month's Designs in Machine Embroidery magazine I noticed. It's from Planet Applique and SO cute. They have really cute kid's applique designs.

This fabric at first glance doesn't look "Christmasy" at all. But if you look close there's a stocking, present, snowflakes, etc.

We have professional labels that we add to garments that we sell, but I like to add a "Grandma" label and a size label to gifts too.

The jacket is a project that I've been wanting to try for over a year. The concept is basically taking a sweatshirt and refashioning it into a cardigan. I have searched high and low for a sweatshirt in a toddler size that didn't already have designs on it and couldn't find one. I finally found a fleece shirt that I could use. To make this you start by cutting off the collar and cuff ribbing, cut up the center of the front, and stabilize all edges with iron on interfacing. From there it's all design fun. I embroidered motifs that matched the skirt fabric and apron on the front and back, then made about ten miles of bias binding which took longer than anything else.

My friend Beth loaned me a book by Mary Mulari and Nancy Zieman called "Sweatshirt Makeovers for Kids" which contains some techniques and ideas. The closure idea came from her book, although I altered it just a little. It's a little flap that uses hook and loop tape (which I have in pink of course).

When I got my sewing machine I bought every accessory they made for it, some of which I still haven't used yet. I have a bias binding foot but it says it's for commercial binding, so I didn't try it out on this project. Commercial binding has one side that slightly wider than the other. Obviously my home made binding is not perfectly straight much less wider on one side... I also bought a "Ditch Quilting Foot" which I'd never used before, so I thought I would try it out. I am wondering how I ever lived without it. It made 'stitching in the ditch' incredibly easy and SO precise. Here's a closeup of the foot in action:

It has a blade that skims along in the "ditch" keeping the stitching lined up perfectly.

Nancy's Notions had a sale on sweatshirts so I bought about 6 of them to make cardigans for myself. These are nothing like Wal-Mart shirts - the fit is perfect and they are preshrunk. Stay tuned for more sweatshirt transformations.

Fun With Fleece

Since there are only twelve days till Christmas I thought I would title this post "The Twelve Days of Christmas" and do a post every day until Christmas, but then I realized that was too much pressure . . .

I've had a booklet from Hancock Fabrics that I picked up at a yard sale years ago caled "Fun With Fleece". It has all kinds of projects made out of fleece, with all the instructions, patterns, and tips needed.

I decided to make a hat and scarf for my granddaughter Rylan who lives in a colder climate for Christmas. She plays in the snow and needs to stay warm. She won't wear clothes that Grandma makes, but I figured I might be safe with a hat and scarf.

I first used a pattern for a hat which turned out terrible! It wasn't lined so it wouldn't be very warm, and the brim/band was floppy. It called for lapped seams, which made it look way too home made. I then tried serging, which worked better. But the band was just too limp, even thought I tried doubling the band by using a lining. Trash that one.

That's when I remembered the Fun With Fleece booklet in which I found instructions for making a hat without a pattern. You basically make a tube (aprx. 11" by 17"), sew the short sides and gather the top. I made two tubes - one for the lining and one for the outer fabric. I made the lining a few inches longer (aprx. 14" by 17") than the outside so that it could become the "brim" or hatband or whatever you call it. I decided I wanted about 4 inches of fringe on the top, so I used a rotary cutter and cut the fringe. I then used a piece of the selvedge to tie the top instead of sewing gathers. It turned cute and it was super fast and easy.

The booklet said to cut a scarf 9" wide. Again I used two fabrics, white for the outer fabric and pink with dots for the lining. I cut the scarf the width of the fabric. First I embroidered a winter owl motif on one end and two snowflakes on the other of the white fabric. I then cut off some of the excess fabric on the selvedge ends and made that into fringe, then top stitched the whole thing.

Both projects were fun and easy!

Tea Towels - Make your Own!

Here’s a quick and easy project you can make for yourself or to give as a gift. Following are the instructions for the two different types that I’ve made.

Method 1 - Using purchased terry towels

I purchased plain white waffle-weave cloth towels in the kitchen department of the local “big box” store. They came in a pack of three for less than $6. Prewash and dry the towels and press. Do the same for the fabric unless you buy quilting cotton, in which case it’s already preshrunk.

Using the width of the purchased towel as a guide, cut a band of fabric the width of the towel plus 1” (the seam allowances will be ½”). Make the band as long or as short as you want, this is just the decorative band which will be at the bottom of your finished towel. This is where you can use scraps left over from other projects. In this case I used a band about 5” long so that I ended up with a 4” strip at the bottom of the towel.

Cut off the hem from the bottom only of the purchased towel.


With the right side of the band to the wrong side of the towel, and raw edges even, stitch or serge using ½” seam allowance.

Press, folding band to the right side of the towel. Then press under your seam allowances on all raw edges of the band – 1/2” on each side of the band and ½” at the top of the band. Press well.

If you want to add any embellishment, such as ric-rac, this is the time to do it. I inserted jumbo ric-rac just under the band so the top of the ric-rac shows after it’s all assembled. You could also add piping or a coordinating strip of fabric. If you’re using any embellishment, stitch it in place before proceeding to stitch the sides. You can also add a decorative stitch here. I used the featherstitch.

Then stitch along each edge of the band using a regular straight stitch to secure the edges of the band to the towel. That’s it!

Finished Towels, to be given as Christmas Gifts!

Method 2 - Creating your towel from fabric

This method is a little more work. You’ll need a fabric that’s 100% cotton for absorbency. I used an interesting heavy fabric that I found at the quilt store for the “towel” part and a pretty green and red paisley for the decorative band.

Decide what size you want to make your towel. The best way to do that is look at some towels you already have and measure them. I wanted mine about 18 x 28 inches, finished size. Be sure to add ½ inch seam allowances to all edges before cutting.

So, I cut the "towel" fabric 19” wide by 25” long and the decorative band fabric 19” wide by 9” long.

With right sides together, having raw edges even, stitch or serge the decorative band to the towel.


Press, pressing seam toward band.

If you have a serger, serge all edges then turn under ½” and press. If you don't have a serger, press under 1/4" then press under 1/4" again (basically you're making a 1/4" hem on all sides).

Fold the decorative band wrong sides together so that the pressed edge meets the seam on the back of the towel. Press well then “stitch in the ditch” on the right side, catching the pressed edge of the band on the back of the towel.

Finished Towels!