for the moms

For Mother's Day this year I decided something cute and small would be fun. The Purl Bee's flower sachets have been on my to-make list for a while so I picked them. I had all the felt and fabric I needed so I started playing with colors last week. Both my mom and David's mom like teals, blues and purples so their sachet sets turned out very similar. The pictures here are of David's mom's set. The ones I made for my mom all have a solid dark purple squares with white, dark and light aqua petals, backed with teal and white fabric. Theirs are pretty much just opposite teal and purple.

They're filled with rice and I added drops of scented oils: cinnamon, lavender, strawberry, and vanilla. The cotton fabric on the backs is thin enough that the small comes out enough to make any small space smell yummy.

The moms loved them. Now I need to make some for our home because they smell so good!! I've been working on a lot...stay tuned :)

New items in the shop!!

I'm really bad about updating my etsy or keeping it stocked.  Right now I have 12 items listed which is a big deal, guys! Go check them out and buy everything :)

The latest additions are these great felt feather and button hair clips.  I just love them.  The newest one below has some fabric incorporated in the large feather.  There is so much versatility in such a small object and I've been having fun with that.  If you want one but don't see a color combo you like just let me know, I'm all about custom orders.

purple & silver & polka dots

all five together like a happy little feathery family

ideas ideas...

I've caught an itch to start sewing some more lately.  Knitting is my favorite craft but let's be honest...it can take forever sometimes and if you knit tight (which I do) it can start to hurt the fingers after a few hours.  I'm stubborn and continue to knit when my fingers hurt and that's just bad...bad Miranda!

Moving on...

I've been properly sewing for the past 7ish years and I really enjoy making bags.  Know what's so awesome about bags?  They don't have to fit.  If a bag turns out a little smaller or a little bigger than I planned it's all cool.  Well, unless you're making a tiny coin purse to hold an ID card that turns out too small for said ID card...but it's ok, it still fits my iPod nano, ear buds and little gym card. See, not a big deal.  Clothes on the other hand...blegh.  Too much measuring and worrying about it fitting in the end.  Just not my thing, so please, don't ever ask me to make clothing...unless it's knit...and a hat or scarf.  Those things stretch :)

Back to bags.  I love how simple yet useful that are.  If I'm in a detail mood I can sew a purse with lots of pockets, flaps, buttons, adjustable straps and so on.  Other times I can slap a few rectangles together with a zipper and make a tote bag or coin purse.  Instant gratification, I love it!

I have a lot of canvas at home that I bought to make tote bags to sell for a mission trip fundraiser. I'm pretty sure I made one...and I never even sewed up the hole in the lining...oops.  So now I have a lot of canvas I plan to dye and paint and make lots of simple tote bags to put in my shop.  We'll see if this pans out, but I'm pretty excited about this plan right now.

Keep an eye out for sneak peaks of painted canvas around here!

On a completely different note, David and I are starting a worship/prayer time at our church tomorrow that we hope to make a monthly thing.  We've been praying and working on it for almost a year and we're finally doing it!  I'm really excited to see how God will use us tomorrow.  I love singing for His glory!

day 8: sewing

hand-stitched brooch for my MeMaw

Finally made it to a craft.  Today I am thankful for sewing and every role it has played in my life.  My MeMaw (mom's mom) was a professional seamstress and my mom continued that legacy by making all my prom dresses and sewing many of my costumes when I was younger.  I was so blessed to grow up in a home where sewing played such a huge role.

I didn't get the sewing bug until I got to college, but when I did I got it hard.  I started making all my purses and pillows.  I've stayed away from sewing garments, too stressful for me, but I love making bags.  It's gotten to the point where I feel guilty buying a purse from the store, since I know I can make it just as well.

Hand sewing is a craft I've come to appreciate more in the last few years.  I have 3 sewing machines but I still love sewing with my hands and just a needle and thread.  It's so cool to start with materials and then watch them become something beautiful just because I manipulated them with my hands. 

Sewing enabled me to make my wedding exactly what I wanted it to be.  My mom altered a store bought dress with a brand new skirt exactly to my liking.  It was beautiful and polka dotted!  I was also able to sew a glittery, feathery, felty, sparkly, belt embellishment because I knew how to harness my sewing skills.  I was also able to make my entire wedding bouquet by sewing felt, buttons, and tulle. (I realized I never did a wedding picture post, I need to do that soon!)

It saddens me to see how much sewing has fallen out of our culture today.  I'm always surprised when someone doesn't know how to sew a button or even thread a needle.  This used to be something every girl knew.  It's such a basic skill to me an I can't imagine not knowing it.  I fully intend on passing the sewing legacy down to my children, boys or girls and I hope it sparks something in them that it did in me.

Thanks mom for teaching me!

flower work

I've been working on some new flower techniques lately.  I made the flower above out of piping.  My sister wears a lot of olive green and couldn't find ric-rac to match so I tried my hand with this.  For the most part I like it.  I think it has a more modern look to it.  I'm not thrilled that you can see the stitching that came on the piping.  On my next one I may try pulling that out once the flower is sewn in place.  In my head it will work...we'll see how it works in real life :)

The flower below is a completely new technique for me.  I made a few similar to it for a halloween wreath hanging in our apartment.  At first I thought it looked too childish.  I played around with some button combos and fell in love with the orange and aqua.  The flower still didn't seem complete.  I remembered I had all these tulle circles cut out from making my wedding bouquets.  I snipped 2 down to size and sewed them on with the buttons.  I think it gives the flower just enough sparkle!  This one actually isn't a hair pin either, it's more a brioche. I put a pin back on instead of a clip and wore it with a sweater on Sunday.  Will definitely be making more pins!

I've started making Christmas flowers for a craft fair I'm going to be selling at called Budafest.  It will be my first one!  One of my best friend's sister, Jess will be sharing a booth with me.  I've been to tons of craft shows with my mom but I've never actually sold my stuff in person.  I'm a little nervous but mostly excited! 

I plan to sell my flowers mostly.  I've already made 6 sparkly Christmas ones and have 2 more ready to sew when I get home today.  I will also be making some everyday color combos.  Aside from my flowers I plan to make some felt covered mini notebooks, maybe some reindeer nuggets (based of these cuties), and hopefully some other cute accessories.  I made some super cute garland for halloween out of yarn and store bought pom poms (glittery and plain) that I plan to reproduce in Christmas colors.  I might make some to sell as well.

Of course, anything I don't sell at the fair will be put in my etsy shop.  I hope to post some sneak peak pics of my progress during the next 2 months.  Here's hoping I don't lose steam and show up with 8 flowers and nothing else :)

new knit flowers!

I had an order for some of my knit flower hair pins last week and got a bit worried at first. I love these knit flowers but after a while they get floppy and mine tend to slip off the bobby pins. it's also hard to keep the petals looking...petally. I wanted to fulfill the order but also didn't want to sell something that I knew wouldn't hold up the way I wanted.

I sat and though for a bit then decided I'd try to sew the knit flower onto felt just like my ric rac flowers. My only worry was they might end up super bulky.

Take a look!


I love how they turned out! (I made 2, I realize I'm only posting pics of one). The felt helped keep the petal shape so nicely. When I glued the back piece of felt on with the clip I shaped it a bit to form more naturally to someone's head. I tried it on and was surprised at how NOT bulky it felt. These flowers actually have a lower profile than my ric rac flowers.



Now I need to make some more for me and to get some more color options out there. Let me know if these suit your fancy and I can get an order going! I also have some non-flower hair clip ideas in my head for those of you who just don't want a flower in your hair :)

flowers!

Here are some real pictures, finally, of my ric rac flowers! I love how flexible they can be with any color or button style. I plan to make some fun holiday flowers and some different collections of color themes. I'm already thinking earth tones, jewel tones, sparkles and maybe even rhinestones. I also have some non ric rac flowers in the planning. Hope you enjoy the pics!

ric rac

I've been making lots of ric rac flowers lately! I'm currently wearing one in my hair that I made during a lull at work this morning (pictured above). Pictures are in the camera and ready to be posted as soon as I give my sister the 2 made for her. One is a surprise and she has no idea what it looks like so naturally I can't post it on here yet....but soon!

I also plan to sell these so if you see one you like let me know and I'll get an order for you. I personally think they'd look awesome as bridesmaid hair pieces :)

what i've been up to

I've been working on a lot of projects around the house plus some other random crafting. Here are some pics form my phone...all I have right now :)

ric-rac flower making

sparkly headband knitting

chain stitching

Oh and Chuy is just perfecting being the cutest dog ever :)

comfort & home

I'm back and it hasn't been a month...shocker! I have some pics to share :) First here are some detail shots of our home that I love.

Homemade monsters and bear on the mantel

letters in the kitchen from our fave Aussies!

shelves of doodads in the dining room

wedding pompoms hanging in the bathroom

bedside lamps in our room

The rest of this post is about some rice bags I made. I'm not sure what to really call them actually. They're bags of rice you put in the freezer or microwave and use to feel better. I decided to make 2 sets, one cold and one hot.


I found this awesome plaid/owl flannel at JoAnns and added some solid Kona cottons for the backs.


I also sewed in some ribbon on the long bags to help keep them in place if they need to be worn around the shoulders or on the head.

I made some of these for mother's day a few years back and finally got around to making a set for our home. David gets sinus tension in his neck so the long one really helps relieve tension.

Now off to knit and watch The Emperor's New Groove!

Hawaii

I'm not sure how much I've talked about it on here but I'm going to Hawaii this summer with some high school seniors and college students at my church. I'm pretty stoked about it to tell you the truth. While there we will be working with the pacific islander people who immigrate there to work in the tourist industry, and often live up to 20 to an apartment. We will also be helping out with the Baptist World Alliance Congress. We will get to experience worshiping with Christians from over 150 different countries all over the world...awesome!

I have to raise a good amount of money to go, most of which I have not raised yet. I'm not worried though, I have faith God will provide...He always has :) The total cost fro travel, airfare, room and board and meals is $1500. So far I have $190 in my account at church.

I just sent out letters to most of my family and family friends asking for prayers and any monetary contribution they feel led to give. I also decided to make some cute canvas tote bags to sell as a way of raising money for the trip. 100% of the money I get for these bags will go straight to my account for the trip this summer.

They are made from beige canvas lined in a fun bright Hawaiian floral cotton. The top-stitching on the outside matches the floral fabric. I also hand painted flowers on the outside in coordinating teal, green and gold.


You can see by the magazine pics how big they are. I bought enough materials to make 24 bags, but as of right now I've made three. If any of you would like to order one let me know and I'll start cranking them out.

I decided to set a price of $25 for each bag, or a donation amount you feel led to give for one of them. With each bag I will also include a prayer card with specific requests for our trip this summer and the people groups I will be working with.

If you'd like to order a bag you can comment here or email me at randamocity@gmail.com. Mostly I would love your prayers! Going on any length of mission trip is hard but rewarding work and only possible with my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ lifting me up from around the world :)

sneaky sneaky

Just wanted to show some sneak peaks of what I've been working on today. These are both going to be camera cases. The teal pops great with the grey and black of the knit tweed. And I just love the magenta button on the black vinyl. Oh and you gotta love tiny knit i-cord :)


ps. totally listening to Christmas music right now!