My Annual Home Boutique

I haven't blogged for a while because I've been getting ready for my 3rd annual home boutique - it's this Saturday! I will post pictures later. I'm teaming up with my mother, a family friend, my sister-in-law, and my husband. I'm so blessed to have so many talented people around me. I guess that's part of living the embellished life - to surround yourself with creativity and with creative people. This year I'll be selling embellished denim jackets and vests, shabby chic purses, boutique style tote bags, and what I call "scarf jewelry." My mother is selling decorated towels, my sister-in-law is selling hand beaded jewelry, our friend is selling hand-painted items, and my husband is selling his world famous (world famous to me, anyway) beef jerky and fudge. Since we have a big house, we are able to have everyone set up tables downstairs - 1 or 2 people to a room, and we invite all of our friends, family members, and acquaintances. It's a lot of fun! Hopefully we'll have good weather and a great turnout. More details to follow after the event! Then I need to start thinking about my design career... By the way, if you want more information on how to put together a home boutique see my crafting business blog at http://craftingbiz101.blogspot.com

I love my Simplicity Press!

I was so tired of fusing interfacing to fabric because it takes so long using a conventional iron. Then I found this Simplicity Hot Press on Amazon. It saves me so much time. It cost me around $150 but it is well worth the money. I can fuse interfacing in a matter of seconds! It used to take me more than 15 minutes to press interfacing onto 4 pieces of fabric. All you do is insert the fabric and fusible, push down the handle and hold it for up to 6 seconds. After 6 seconds the machine beeps at you. It's so simple. I have also fused appliques so fast! This is definitely my best purchase this year. There is a more expensive model that uses steam but I opted for the basic model since I don't need steam to fuse fabrics. Be careful if you buy other models to look at the size of the pressing surface. There are cheaper machines but the pressing surface is much smaller. If you're looking for a Christmas gift to yourself or for an investment in better equipment I highly recommend this machine. Now go out and live the embellished life!

Announcing my new crafting business blog

Are you a crafter who sells what they make? Do you have questions about taxes, accounting, record keeping, starting a business or marketing your business? If so, my new blog Crafting Biz 101 is for you! I have seen so many questions from crafters in the crafting and etsy.com forums about business and taxes and it seems to me that so many people need help. I plan to help the average crafter, using everyday terms, with areas such as income taxes, sales taxes, starting a business, marketing a business, etc. All information presented will be based on information obtained from trustworthy sources such as the IRS, secretary of state websites, etc. and I will also provide the links so that the information can be verified. I will also present information based on my experience with starting and running my own crafts business. I have a really interesting article on the costs of running a business. There are many that I did not consider before starting my business. I hope you have time to check it out. I plan to update it often so keep checking. By the way, in "my other life" I am a full-time accountant, so taxes and accounting are not new to me. Anyway, check out my crafting business blog and go live the embellished life!

A black and white bag

 

So here is the black and white bag that I made for my friend. I just love the fabric! It measures 17" wide, 12" tall, and 5" deep. I used metal rings to accent the handles. The inside has lots of pockets which she really wanted. I used decorator weight fabric and interfaced the outer fabric to give the bag body. I made a second bag which I am really tempted to keep but I plan to sell it. I did order 2 more yards of the floral fabric which actually turned into 7 yards total of various other fabrics so that I could get free shipping. I guess I better get busy making more bags. Next, pictures of the belts I have been making. I also have to get busy making things to sell at my home boutique in November. So much to do and so much fun doing it! Now go out and live the embellished life!

Inspired by Amy Karol's book "Bend the Rules Sewing"

 

Here is my version of the clutch purse on the cover of Amy Karol's book "Bend the Rules Sewing" which I saw on her blog. I used Chinese brocade and embellished it with one of my ribbon roses. It was so easy to make. I designed my own pattern, of course, which is basically two rectangles for the outer and lining fabrics. I purposely pressed the lining so that it would show on the outside of the bag. It didn't take long at all to make. Lately I really think that I should be making things that take one hour or less to finish. I love instant gratification when it comes to creating with fabric. I have so many ideas that it's hard for me to focus on a longer project. To think that I used to spend weeks working on a quilt. What patience! I think smaller projects are better for now. Next project - a bag for my friend. She wants black and white fabrics. I love black and white! Now go out and live the embellished life!

Sewing Tools I Couldn't Live Without

It's taken me a long time but I have accumulated a lot of tools that I consider essential in my sewing studio. I'll list a few here.
-rotary cutter and cutting mat. I hardly ever use my good scissors any more. I have several in different sizes.
-acrylic rulers - 2.5" square, 9.5" square, 12.5" square, 6" x 12" and 6" by 24"
-heavy duty scissors that look like pruners to cut up recycled jeans - a must if you recycle denim
-measuring tape
-long pins - I can see them better
-craft scissors so you don't ruin your good scissors

There's also sewing equipment I couldn't live without but that's for another time. Let me know what sewing tools you can't live without. Now go live the embellished life!

Zipper Flower

I recently ran accross a blog discussing zipper flowers. I thought that was so interesting and kicked myself for throwing away a bag of old metal zippers a while back. Anyway, last weekend as I was walking though JoAnn Fabrics, I noticed these long metal zippers in the upholstery department. They only come in this plain tan color (not enough color for me) but I thought I'd try playing with it. I bought a 30" zipper for $2.99 and starting playing with it as soon as I got home. I opened the zipper and then folded the two sides like they were ribbon, making sure that the metal teeth always faced up. After two tries I came up with this beauty. I was so excited I forgot to thread a needle before I started so then I had to do it all one handed since I had to hold the flower together with my other hand. After sewing all the layers together I then sewed a pinback to the back of it and pinned it to a recycled denim vest that needed some embellishing. I wore my outfit to church the next day and received several complements. Most people didn't realize it was a zipper. One person commented on how the tan color gave it an antique look. Gotta go. Now go out there and live the embellished life!