Not so perfect...

I don't know what was going on last week but I was having nothing but problems with almost all of my craft projects.

First up....iron-on transfers.  I wanted to make some fun t-shirts for my niece and nephew for their birthdays, so I edited a couple of their favourite cartoon characters and put their faces on them.

My nephew's shirt turned out less than great:

However, the fact that he put it on right away tells me he liked it anyway.  Normally gifts of clothing just get tossed aside in search of something better lurking under the gift wrap.

The one for my niece was a total flop, even after re ironing on a second iron-on over top of the first one.

My mom thought it was most likely because I didn't pre-wash the t-shirts, but even after I washed them, it was a no go.

Then I used the same idea and made tattoos.  I made one for my Dad for his birthday as a sort of a joke.  I thought I'd take a chance and let the Silhouette cut it out for me.  Big mistake, because I still don't know what I'm doing.

Can you see behind the name at the bottom?  It started cutting out each letter instead of going all the way around.  I think I was supposed to weld it or something.

And last up were the laminated cards from the Family Match-Up game I shared with you.  In the end it turned out fine but the laminated sheets totally bubbled.

I don't know if there's an expiration date or what on the transfers (I didn't use Silhouette transfer paper by the way, I had some older stuff from HP on hand) and lamination sheets but the craft gods were not really on my side. 

Hopefully this week will shape up differently.  Check back on Friday and see if I'm having better luck~

Don't forget to check out Monday's post for your chance to win a FREE vintage sewing pattern from my new shop . 

New Shop Announcement....Giveaway!!!

Big News everyone!! 

As most of you know I'm crazy about vintage sewing patterns.  I love finding and collecting them, I love making them, I love looking at them, I love everything about them.

Somehow, over the years, I have managed to collect and keep far more patterns than I could ever possibly use.  And more importantly, I'm running out of storage space.  Sooooooooo, I'm opening a new Etsy shop:

Right now I'm busy checking loads and loads of sewing patterns from the 50's, 60's, and 70's to put into the shop.  Eventually I'll add patterns from other decades as well as vintage sewing books!

'Etcetorize Vintage Pattern Supplies' by EtcetorizeSupplies

1970s Vintage Vogue Caftan R... EtcetorizeSupp... $4.00	1972 Vintage Simplicity Dres... EtcetorizeSupp... $4.00	1977 Vintage Style Dress Sew... EtcetorizeSupp... $4.00
1969 Vintage Simplicity Dres... EtcetorizeSupp... $4.00	1974 Vintage Simplicity Blou... EtcetorizeSupp... $4.00	1974 Vintage McCall's Br... EtcetorizeSupp... $4.00
1971 Vintage Simplicity Dres... EtcetorizeSupp... $4.00	1973 Vintage Simplicity Sewi... EtcetorizeSupp... $4.00	1972 Vintage Style Jumpsuit ... EtcetorizeSupp... $4.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

This is just a sample of what's in the shop now, there's lots more to come.
Head on over to Etcetorize Vintage Pattern Supplies and see what gets your imagination going.  There are patterns for all levels and styles.

And now for the really fun stuff....To celebrate, I'm going to give one of these gorgeous patterns away.  Just follow Etcetorize (the blog) and leave a comment letting me know which of the patterns from the shop you would love to own (don't worry, if you win you can change your mind as there will be more patterns added by the time I do the drawing).  For an additional entry "favourite" Etcetorize Vintage Pattern Supplies on Etsy and leave a comment below to let me know you've done so.

If you're an experienced sewer, beginner, or someone who's always wanted to try but haven't yet, this is for you!

I'll make a random draw from the comments on Sunday, July 17th so make sure to get your entry in by midnight July 16th.  (By the way, anyone from any country can enter, you just have to be a follower).

Good luck everyone!

Two Easy Ways to Win:

Become a follower of Etcetorize and then;

1) Check out all out all of the patterns at Etcetorize Vintage Pattern Supplies, come back here and leave a comment letting everyone know which one is your fav.

For an additional entry

2) Favourite Etcetorize Vintage Pattern Supplies on Etsy, come back here and leave a comment to let me know you've done so.

Easy Peasy!  Good luck!

PS..... Big thank you to Fonda over at Southern Scraps who did a lovely feature on Etcetorize on Friday.  Check out it and you'll find a bonus promo sale code for my regular Etcetorize shop that's full of handmade clothing and accessories~

ADDED July 17-------

This contest has now closed but please still feel free to visit the new shop, favourite, and leave comments.  Thank you!!

Dress Shirt to Summer Halter

Here's a fun summer project you can do to recycle those old dress shirts you (or someone you know) doesn't wear anymore.

I went to the thrift shop in search of a men's large dress shirt, in nice colours, that didn't have a pocket on the front.  This was not as easy as I had hoped it would be.  There were only two men's button down shirts that didn't have a pocket in the front and they were u-g-l-y.  So I headed over to the ladies large sizes and found the perfect top for this project.

Here's what you need:

In case you can't tell from that photo, that's:

-a long sleeved shirt
-lace or other trim
-elastic (1/2" and 3/4")
-scissors
-pins
-bias tape (single fold wide)
-thread
-and a sewing machine

Steps:

1) Lay your top out, buttoned up, and mark where you want to cut it.  It's best to do a bit of an arc in the front and then you can just go straight across in the back. 

I liked this top because it had so much detail and embroidery and patchwork.  Even the snaps down the front are cool.

I marked my line right under the arms in an effort to get as much fabric as possible.

2) Cut out along your lines.  Check to make sure that everything is somewhat symmetrical.

3) To add a little flair and make this top truly mine I decided to add a bit of crocheted lace to the front on either side of the placket.  Just pin it down, remembering to fold a little under on each end to avoid fraying, and sew it in place.  You will most likely need to use your zipper foot for this to get around any snaps or buttons.

4) Once the lace was secured, I snapped the front closed and then sewed down either side of the placket again so that the front is totally closed and won't come open even if a snap comes undone.

5) Now we have to make a casing along the top to insert some elastic.  You could just fold the fabric down but then you'd lose length from the shirt.  I wanted to maintain as much as possible, so I used bias tape instead.  I still got a nice clean seam with a casing but I only lost a fraction of an inch of length.

To attach bias tape, lay it edge to edge along the top of your top, with right sides facing one another.

6) Pin and sew down right in the little ditch of the fold.

You may want to switch to your zipper foot again for this in order avoid hitting any buttons or snaps when you get to the front.

7) Press your seam towards the bias tape.

8) Now we get to do my favourite stitch!  (yes, I am that much of a sewing nerd)  Sew in the hem as close to the edge as you can without hitting it.  This is an edge stitch.  It looks simple, but what it does for your garment is amazing.



Notice all those skipped serger stitches?
It shouldn't look like that, I just need to take my serger
in for a tune-up~

9) That little stitch allows you to make a super clean fold line that holds everything in place.  So cool right???

10) Fold the top down and press.

11) Now you just sew along the bottom of your bias tape, making sure to leave a space open to thread your elastic in.  Make sure your elastic isn't too wide for the casing.  I used 3/4" wide elastic.  This will effectively be a tube top, so make sure you use something with enough strength to hold this baby in place.  Also, watch where your buttons are falling in the front.  You may need to make your casing a little wider to accommodate a button or snap.  I was lucky and mine fell almost perfectly.

12) Once your elastic is in, sew the ends together, and finish of your hem, closing the hole you left for the elastic.

13) You could just leave things there.  The bottom already has a finished hem.  I knew for my body shape though, that I needed to create a waist line.  So I added another narrower casing to the bottom of the top, laced 1/2"elastic through it, closed it up and then called it a day.



Bottom hem: 5/8"wide

Tah Dah!!!

Pin It

You could also add straps if you want a bit more security.



Using lace from the front



Use the left over fabric from the sleeves

Funnily enough, being small chested actually makes it easier for a tube top to stay up somehow, so I don't need any straps.

I had to cut my head off.  I only had about 4 hours of sleep last night and I am definitely not picture perfect at the moment.  I think you get the idea even without my head though.

I really wasn't too sure how this project would turn out but I'm quite happy with it and I think I might even wear this top out this weekend.  Let me know what you think.  I'd love to see this in a men's pinstripe number.

Don't forget to check out the linky party tab up top.  That's where I'll be hanging out all week and you'll find loads of other fun projects too!

Have a wonderful week everyone~

Inspiration Shot: Ngorongoro Crater Lioness

Do you ever wish you could just blend into your surroundings????


Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania

Makes me want to run out and buy a taupe coloured suit~

I sew more than dresses...

Just in case you thought that I only know how to make dresses here's a little skirt I did.

I didn't even use a pattern.  I thought the border print was so pretty so I just bought enough to go around my body plus extra, cut out a rectangle with the bottom on the border, slimmed the rectangle up a bit at the top, sewed the side seams, created a casing for some elastic, hemmed the bottom and, tah diddily dah, that was it, done~

I think it was a last minute thing I threw together for some family function actually.

It's made with cotton and is very simple.  Obviously the embroidery is the only thing it has going for it in terms of style, but I think it's cute and it works when I need a pretty but casual skirt.

DIY Family Match Game

Well, I've been on the road a lot for work lately so I've kind of been taking it easy with my craft projects over the past couple of weeks.  They were pretty easy peasy.  But this week, I was home all week, so I have no excuses.  So, I decided I get back into a project that required a bit more creativity, forethought, and actual work.  I'm so happy with the result that I think it was well worth it.

Here's the thing...I have no less than 5 birthdays to prepare for this month, three of them for kids.  I wanted to make something special instead of just giving them all another toy to add to each of their insanely huge stashes of toys they all already have.  So, I came up with this family match game:

I've sort of made this up as I went along so I don't have my usual photo of supplies but here's a list of what you need:
-paper
-photos of family
-scissors (or a cutting machine)
-glue
-laminating pouches and a laminator

Steps:
1) First, I let my Silhouette machine do all the work for me after I designed a shape to use for my cards.

2) Then I used my Silhouette again to cut my digital photos of family members to exactly the right size to fit inside each of the shapes.

3) I printed out two copies of each face and enough card shapes to do a front and a back for each of the faces.

4) Then I sandwiched everything together, adding a little glue to secure everything before I put it in the laminator.

5) I laminated all of my shapes with pictures on them, making sure to leave enough space in between each one so that I could cut around the shapes and leave them sealed by the laminator.

6)Then I had to cut out all of the circles.  I went old school on this step and used a blade and a hard plastic template, which I didn't mention in my list of supplies because that's totally not necessary.  You could just freehand it with scissors, but I was pretty sure I'd mess it up if I went that way.

And that's it!  When I was done I had a nice little stack of cards that were all pretty much exactly the same size and shape.

I wanted to use more goofy photos of everyone but I ran out of time and had to use what I had on hand.   You don't have to use family pictures.  You could use it as a learning game or just put all of the Thomas the Train characters on your cards (I have no idea how my nephew can keep all of those trains straight!).

I'm assuming you all understand the goal of this game...it's pretty simple.  Just turn all of the cards face down after you've mixed them up and then try to match them up by memory.  I'm such a nerd, my cousin and I used to play this game for hours when I was a kid, and I actually loved every minute of it.  I wish I would've had these cards instead of plain old playing cards though~

If you don't have a cutting machine, don't write this project off.  If you use simple squares or maybe even pre-cut shapes from the craft store you can still do this with minimal cutting time.

I think the kids will enjoy this.  And I can add more photos and cards as I collect more pictures.

What do you think?  Do you have other ideas of easy to make fun kids birthday presents????  I'm also making some tattoo's and personalized T-Shirts with iron-ons, I'll show them to you next week.  After this weekend, I'll have two parties down and only three more to go~

By the way....It's CANADA DAY here in Canada....HAPPY CANADA DAY everyone!!!!!