Production

Check out this dictionary!! Copyright 1952, rescued by my sister from a classroom purge in California, and sent media mail for just over $8 to me in Colorado. The pages are perfectly suited for tearing out (no gasping allowed... remember, this was saved from the landfill!) and using as collage material. As you can see, I started using them today.

I'm working this week on pumping out some product. The application deadlines for two craft shows I want to participate in in the fall are in July and I need to show that I can fill a booth with my goods. Whoa! Plus, I'm working on making those wall hangings that Angela at Mama Said Sew will sell in her shop. So today I finished the 10th mini quilt and wrapped each of my 10 boards in pattern paper (below). None of them are finished yet, but at least you can see part of the process.

My friend Katie volunteered to be my guinea pig student in teaching an apron-making class. You saw my version of this apron in my last post, and here she is with her completed apron (her honey had her pose with kitchen items...).

I learned a lot from teaching this to her. She was a great student, with patience, enthusiasm, and basic sewing skills. She helped me to remember that things always go slower than you anticipate, and I learned that this apron is a little too complex to teach to someone who has beginning or probably even intermediate sewing experience in just 2 hours (my time limit). She also suggested that I have the project in its various stages already sewn to show as examples along the way, a la Martha or cooking shows. Finally, she suggested I write a take-home guide with instructions to hand out to students for them to refer to later when they want to make the project again. I thought both of those were great suggestions.

Moving Along

Below, a few cards that I've recently made and have been looking forward to showing you:

My friend Katie said I need more stuff on my etsy shop! So I made these aprons (below) to put up. She also suggested more of my collage work so I'll get on that soon, too. Good news to share: I approached the owner of a new fabric shop in Fort Collins, called Mama Said Sew, about selling some of my stuff. She loved my mini wall hangings and will put them up in her shop on consignment! I am thrilled. :) Plus, she loved the white apron especially and when I asked whether I could teach a class at her shop, she liked the idea of me teaching her and her staff this apron, kind of like an audition, before creating a class to teach to the community.

The white apron was totally inspired by Amanda Jean of Crazy Mom Quilts. She uses a lot of white in her quilting, and makes regular vows to use up scraps in her stash before buying more fabric. (I can't tell you how hard that is!) The red/brown apron below was inspired by fabrics that accidentally fell together while I was going through my own stash recently. If you like these aprons, check out more photos of them at my online shop.

What to make for a 3 year old?

My young friend Sonia turned three at the end of April and lives abroad. So, I pondered for awhile, what could I send her as a developmentally appropriate gift that was flat and light-weight to send in the mail (for a timely arrival)? I came to the conclusion of a paper doll! (Click on the image for a closer-up look.)

Each of the outfits are drawn/colored on white cardstock that's been reinforced by clear packaging tape on the back. I used tracing paper to create the outfits after first creating the doll herself. That old trick of drawing something in pencil onto tracing paper and then flipping the paper over and going over the lines again to get a mirror image on another piece of paper is how I did it. One of the funnest parts was actually designing the outfits! It was like being a fashion designer! What would Sonia wear? What would she want to see herself wearing?

Indeed, I had to give the birthday girl herself something to wear that would match the Tinkerbell outfit. :)

This gift was made to be played with and, if it comes to that, totally destructed! Hey, as long as she has some fun and knows her Auntie Heather was thinking about her, that's what matters to me.