Shark Pencil Pouches

Hi Everyone!  It has been so long since I posted.  I hope everyone is doing well (and that someone might still be out there to read this! lol)  I thought I would dust off the blog and share some projects I have made lately.  Unfortunately for my paper crafting readers, I have not been making anything paper crafting related.  I seem to have moved on in my hobbies to sewing and quilting and am absolutely loving it!

I made these little shark pencil pouches for two of my sons' birthdays.  They turned out so cute!  I used a tutorial found here.  They were so much fun to sew!  My daughter and my youngest son want one as well.  I'm going to have to make some more!

I made this patchwork shark first.  I love the look of patchwork.  With this pattern, it did make it more difficult assembling the shark because of the additional layers, but it turned out really cute!  I used Wishes fabric line from Sweetwater (Moda) for the patchwork fabrics.

After making the patchwork shark, I wanted to make another one without the patchwork to see if it would make it easier to assemble.  It made it so much easier!  I love patchwork, but I would skip it with this pattern.  I used a grey fabric from the Happy Go Lucky line by Bonnie and Camille (Moda).

I used some white thread on the button eyes and love how it makes them look more like eyes.  The red fabric and white zippers look great with the mouth as well.

Sorry I don't have any great photos of the pouches.  I took these with my phone and they just aren't up to the quality of a dslr camera.

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Niki

Half Square Triangle Quilt

It's been a long time since I posted.  I figured it might be now or never. lol  We moved back in December and things have been so busy.  (When isn't life busy with 4 kiddos?!?!)  I finally sewed again today for the first time in the new house.  My son requested a quilt for his birthday later this month.  So, I'm finally getting back to it.  I've really missed it.  I love seeing my kids curled up under one of the quilts I've made or using something else that I've made for them.  I'm not sure how often I will post here, but I do post more frequently over on Instagram if you would like to follow me there.

Click here to go to my page!

I don't have any new creations to share, but I thought I would share this quilt I made last year that I never shared here.  I had decided to try my hand at half square triangles and they were really not too hard.  I didn't follow a pattern, but I started with 5 inch squares and after sewing and trimming, they are 3.5 inches.  (Just in case anyone needs that...)

I used some older fabric that I had in my stash from Riley Blake called Scoot.  

I have been debating if I should sell a bunch of my stamps.  I'm just not sure at this point if I am going to use them again.  There are some I want to keep, but some I know I won't use again even though I love the companies.  I just don't know if I have enough readers anymore (or any . . . ) to sell them here on my blog.  Anyone have any tips they want to share if you've sold off a lot of paper crafting stuff?  Many of the stamps are discontinued so I would have to be able to post photos of them because I don't remember the names of the stamps anymore.

Anyway, hope everyone is having a great summer!  My kiddos had their last day of school today!

Niki :)

One Hour Basket

It's hard to believe how quickly this year has gone by.  It seems like my children are growing so quickly.  We are busy getting ready to move to a new house and put our house up for sale.  (We seem to have a record of only moving when it is snowing and bad weather.  What is up with that?!)  Anyway, with Christmas quickly approaching and life completely hectic, I have been missing being crafty.  Moving all my craft supplies makes me really want to create some me time to get to create again.  Maybe someday soon....

Anyway, I thought I would pop back on the blog (in case someone out there still happens to check in) and share some things I created last spring before life got even more in the way.  I discovered this wonderful tutorial for creating one hour baskets.  They are perfect for storing fabric and so many other things.  I created a couple and hope to make more some time.

This was the second basket I made and by far my favorite.   (Sorry the photos are not the best.  They were all taken with my phone and posted on my Instagram feed.)   It features some of my favorite fabrics from designer Atsuko Matsuyama.  I designed it using some patchwork squares and some Essex linen.  I love how it turned out.  If you decide to make a one hour basket and want to use patchwork, here are the dimensions I used.  I used 2 1/2 inch squares for my patchwork.  Then, I cut the top piece of linen 2 inches by the width in the pattern and the bottom linen 5 inches by the width in the pattern.  When sewn together, it leaves you with a 10 1/2 x 16 1/2 inch piece like the pattern calls for.  Then I added a piece of batting and scrap fabric behind my patchwork before quilting the squares.  I did not quilt through the inner lining.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season!
Niki

Birthday Gifts

Hi Everyone!  I spent much of my free time in March and April sewing some gifts for my daughter's 9th birthday.  She loves Hello Kitty so I found some Hello Kitty fabric on etsy and set to work making some things for her.

Patchwork Quilt

I finished up my first larger size quilt yesterday.  I designed it last fall and then life got busy.  I pulled out the fabrics a few weeks ago and got to work sewing it all together.  I even did the quilting on my old Singer Featherweight.  I am beyond excited to see it finished!  My kids were already snuggling under it last night while we watched a movie.  

Paper crafters might recognize the fabric.  It's October Afternoon's Sidewalk line that was released as fabric through Riley Blake.  It's always been a favorite of mine since I love October Afternoon.

I chose a bold fabric (also from the Sidewalks line) for the back of the quilt.  I love how it brings out the red in the patchwork.

I decided to use this black fabric for my binding.  I'm not sure who makes it.  I saw it at my local quilt shop and thought it was perfect to help the colors in the front really stand out.

I haven't been blogging much for quite a while now.  It seems I've lost the desire to paper craft much.   I am loving sewing and quilting.  I think after paper crafting for almost 9 years, it's been fun learning something new.  I've even been debating selling a bunch of my stamps.  I'm not sure I'm ready yet, though.  I love stamps and card making still, but just have not had the desire to do it.  Anyway,  I do update my Instagram feed now and then if you'd like to follow me over there to see what I'm up to.

Have a great weekend!
Niki

mini quilts for stuffed animals

Hi Everyone!  Long time, no posting from me.  Hope everyone has been doing well!  I have gotten all my paper crafting supplies organized in my desk, but haven't had a chance to create anything.  Something about 4 kids keeping one really busy.  lol  Anyway, I did have some little mini quilts that I created last fall for my children for their stuffed animals.  (They average about 14 3/4 x 16 3/4 inches.)  I've been wanting to learn how to quilt so these small little quilts were perfect for practicing.  Be sure to scroll down to see them all.  (I think the last one is my favorite.)  :)

I created this first mini quilt for my oldest using some mini charms from Moda's Road 15 fabric line.  The border, binding, and back fabrics on all the mini quilts were all from my local fabric shop.

This mini quilt was for my youngest.  The mini charm pack is from Moda's Milk, Cow, Kitchen line.

This one is for my middle boy and used a mini charm pack from Moda's Bartholo-Meow's Reef.

I love the backing fabric on this one.  It reminds me of waves in the sea.

This last mini quilt was for my daughter.  I absolutely love Moda's Miss Kate line from Bonnie & Camille.  (Love all the Bonnie & Camille fabric lines, actually!)

I used a cute little heart fabric on the back.  I followed Amy's amazing Beginning Quilting Series as a guide when making all the quilts.

Happy Crafting!
Niki

a little sewing

Hi Everyone!  Thanks for the comments on my last post.  I know bringing my craft desk back out of storage is probably a lot more exciting for me than it is for you! lol  My husband did make my desk for me.  He made it about 7 years ago.  (It's hard to believe it's been that long ago already!)

I haven't been creating anything for months now, but I did do some sewing last fall (and some quilting I'll share in another post).  I made some little wallets for my kids, but I didn't get a photo of them before they were whisked off to be played with.  I also made a couple mini pillows for my youngest two sons for their stuffed animals.  My oldest son and my daughter sewed their own little pillows and stuffed them.  They've practiced sewing a little bit here and there and always really enjoy it.

I was needing a pincushion for when I'm sewing so I made this little patchwork pincushion.  I love the look of patchwork quilts and pincushions.  They just make me happy.  :)  This little pincushion is about 3 x 3 inches.

Another sewing project from last fall was these pillow cases.  My older three children picked out the fabric at the quilt shop and I whipped these up for them.  (Sorry for the slightly blurry photo.  I took it on my phone.)