High Five... For the Last Five Fridays

I haven't done a high five post in five whole weeks... so really, this is just going to be one big photo dump. Here we go:

1. Got our rings dipped! We get them rhodium plated about every 8 months. And by we I mean I... hence the reason I'm also wearing Sean's ring in this pic. 2. It's screen porch weather.

3. The garden is in place... and as of today there's a lot of green growing there that wasn't when this picture was taken! 4. We celebrated my mom's birthday in downtown St. Louis at Cielo. 5. Emily got married!

6. My buds keep me company during the work day and make me laugh. 7. It's screen porch NAP weather. 8. Couldn't leave out the pics of Emily dancing with her Dad.

9. I thought blondes weren't supposed to get gray hair this young? Though I don't know if I'm considered blonde anymore. Either way, Sean made me laugh about it. 10. New drapes for our living room! We have a family room and a living room and since the tv isn't in the living room... well, it's just kind of sat there since we moved in. Feeling more like home now. 11. Sean surprised me with flowers when he knew I was having a bad day.

12. Visited this new-ish fabric and quilting shop and fell in love. 13. Really this isn't a high as in "good times," but the water was high from all the rain, and it's actually kinda pretty so I included it. This area is normally a field of grass. 14. This face! Fun to see how content little Nora is with bath time.

15. These faces! It's been nice to meet up a few times with Anna and John while she's been on maternity leave. 16. Finishing up a gallery wall in the dining room. But I've already got plans to change that yellow frame. 17. Tomatoes! Which are now in the ground in the garden you see above. Updated photos to come soon.

18. I found a new favorite tea this Spring. Harney & Sons Dragon Pearl Jasmine, which was actually a favor from Emily's wedding shower back in January. Glad I saved it til Spring! It's very floral and tasty. 19. New scarves in the shop! 20. Feeling good about putting some tricks I taught myself to good use on the ol' serger!

Confession... I am well aware of the fact that I am guilty of over-using the exclamation point. Most times when I write an email or blog I make a point to go back and edit them down to an acceptable level... but this time, I'm leaving 'em. Because really, five weeks of high fives deserves 'em!

Happy Friday, Friends!

Linking up with Lauren Elizabeth

'Round the Shop

Hi there! I just wanted to stop in and make note of a few things going on in the shop. First, you might have noticed that the fabric department is looking a bit barren these days. Don't worry though, it will be full again soon! I'm switching things up a bit with pricing and batching, and will be adding some new prints over the next few months. So sit tight on that one!

Otherwise, I'd like to point out that I still have a few tea towel calendars on hand, and they are now 50% off. Snatch 'em up now while they're at their best price yet! Keep in mind that even though we're nearing the fourth month of 2013, you can still use the calendars after the year is over as actual towels in your kitchen. They're a lovely linen/cotton blend that only gets softer with time.

Next, you might notice that things are a bit hodge-podge in the handmade department. I've struggled over the past few months with narrowing down what exactly it is that I want to make to sell in my shop. Just because I can make just about anything doesn't mean I should sell everything! I've always loved making purses, bags, and accessories. But as my friends and family experience lots of life changes like weddings and babies, my mind wanders to things I want to make for them as gifts, and then of course, what I can turn into products. So I think I've finally narrowed down a logical product line that encompasses ladies and babies... accessory style. So look forward to new handmade products being added regularly.

Finally, things are starting to pick up in the DIY department. If you head on over there now you'll see my very first non-seasonal pattern available as a digital download. I plan to add many, many more of these patterns for a variety of items so you can sew along with me. Putting patterns online is not a quick or simple process, and it's a bit nerve-wracking as far as intellectual property goes... but you never know what will come of something if you're not willing to put your work out there!

Thanks for reading my shop announcements and being patient as I pull everything together. I'll be back on Friday with some High Fives for the week.

No Sew Fabric Tutorial: Mouse Pad Upgrade

I'm all about the quick DIYs this month. And office projects... since Sean finished building my studio furniture and now the rest is up to me! (I promise I haven't forgotten about posting pics of my studio... the building took a bit longer than we thought and I still have some finishing touches to do with decor and such so stay tuned.)

So for entirely too long, I've been using this ugly, boring, black mouse pad.

And it's seen better days.

Silly. Some day maybe I'll stop living like a college student and realize it's ok to have nice things... especially ridiculously inexpensive things like a mouse pad. But, why buy when you can DIY, amiright? Plus, the part of the mouse pad I had that was damaged was really only the top fabric layer. So I thought, pshhh... I've got tons of fabric! Let's test it out.

First, I peeled off the fabric layer to reveal the equally as ugly (covered in glue remnants) backing.

After disposing of the (disgusting) fabric layer, I got out some other supplies:

I traced the mouse pad onto the Craft Fuse:

And then I cut out and ironed the Craft Fuse to my fabric.

Then I cut out the fabric to the same shape as the Craft Fuse.

My initial idea was to use Wonder Under, or some kind of fusible interfacing that became sticky on both sides when heated to fuse the layers together. But then I realized that my mouse pad backing is rubber... and an iron would likely do some melting on that kind of material. So I stuck with fabric glue:

Spray adhesive would also be a great idea for this project, but I didn't have any on hand so I stuck with what I had in stock. I chose to add a layer of felt to the back of my mouse pad too, because my furniture is white and the black layer was leaving a little mark on the desk top. I just used a little bead around all the edges on both sides of the black backing to adhere the fabric on top and the felt on bottom.

I waited a few minutes to make sure the layers were secure and dry, and then trimmed off the excess felt with my rotary cutter. I also added a little bit of Fray Check to the edges of the fabric layer just in case.

 And that's it! Now my mouse pad is back where it belongs, looking much, much prettier:

And sporting some Clever Betty style in the process.

Now how easy was that? 10 minutes, some scissors, glue, and an iron, and my computer desk is looking quite a bit happier these days.

Beginner Sewing Tutorial: Simple Pillow Covers

Something about the snow falling over the past week has made me long for Spring even more than usual (it is March, Missouri... come on now...) and that longing finally gave me the kick in the butt I needed to check this project off my list. Of course, I put it into tutorial form as well, so I hope you can find a spare 20 minutes or so to sew along with me!

I've made lots of pillow covers like this for our family room, but today, I concentrated on our screen porch. (Hence the longing for Spring... can't really comfortably use the screen porch when it's cold enough to snow!) I bought fabric to make my pillow covers last May, soon after we purchased our patio furniture, but clearly it wasn't a high priority project. It should have been, though. Check out the pillows that came with the furniture:

Now, they could be a lot worse. But I don't really care for red when decorating, nor do I care for color schemes that are so dark. The stripes I can handle. They were just kind of blah to me.

So when I was hunting for fabric I looked for something that would liven things up a bit, and go with the one item on the porch that already had color, which is a potting bench/buffet that Sean built and painted yellow. (More on that later.) I also wanted to stick with an outdoor fabric since rain does sometimes get blown in through the screens. JoAnn has a handful of decent outdoor fabrics if you're shopping during the right season, but I found the best selection for my taste here. The fabric I used is by Mill Creek and it's called Glamis in Spa.

On to the tutorial! Here's what you'll need:
• Pillow form or an old pillow to cover. I used the insides of the two pillows that came with our furniture set, and two additional pillow forms from JoAnn for a total of 4 pillows.
• Fabric mine was 54" wide, and for four 16" square pillows I bought 2 yards. I could still make an additional two pillows with the fabric I have left over.
• The usual sewing supplies: machine, pins, scissors, ruler, seam gauge, thread, marker or chalk, serger if you have one.

Here's how you make it:
1. First, figure out the size of fabric you'll need. For example, my pillow forms are 16" squares. That means for the width I'll need 17" in order to include a 1/2" seam on each end. For the length, you'll need to do a bit more math. I needed 16" for the front, 16" for the back, and 5" for overlap and seam allowance. So my pillow covers started as 17 x 37" rectangles. I measured and cut one, then pinned the first to my remaining fabric to cut the other three. If you're using an 18" pillow form, you'd make a 19 x 41" rectangle. Width + 1 by Height x 2, + 5.

2. Hem the short ends. I used a 1/4" double hem on both of the 17" sides of all four of my pillow covers. I used a seam gauge to measure 1/4". Fold over the edge, press, fold again to encase the raw edge, press and pin. If you feel that's necessary. I did for the photos but for the remaining three pillows I didn't bother to pin.

 Psst, don't make the same mistake I did if you're using indoor/outdoor fabric... turn the temp on the iron down, or you'll end up with puckering like this: 

Thankfully I noticed I was burning it quickly and was able to put this edge on the inside so no one will ever notice!

3. Sew a straight seam along the hems you just folded. I just lined mine up with my presser foot at 1/4" and went to town.

4. Lay your fabric on a table right side up. Fold the hemmed edges towards each other into the center so your fabric is right sides together. Make a mark at 3" from the edge of your hem, and line up the other hem at this mark so your hemmed edges overlap on top of the rest of the fabric.

5. If it doesn't matter to you whether the pocket ends up in the exact middle of your pillow, just pin however you want. I prefer for mine to be right in the middle, so I measured about 9 3/4" from the hemmed edge to the folded edge on both sides of my pillow before pinning the still raw edges.

6. Straight stitch along the two edges that are still unfinished with a 1/2" seam, taking your pins out as you go. Be sure to back stitch when you get to the overlapping edges as there will be more stress on those parts of the cover when you fit your pillow form inside.

7. This step is optional. If you have a serger, run the two seams you just completed through to finish off the raw edges. Some of you might skip this if you feel like your fabric won't fray, or if you don't ever plan on taking your pillow covers off your pillow forms. You could also use a zig zag stitch on a regular sewing machine to get a similar effect, or try out a french seam by starting with your fabric right side down at step 4, sewing 1/4" seams, then flipping and encasing the raw edge in another 1/4" seam.

8. Flip the pillow cover right side out and slide your pillow form in.

So after this only took me about an hour to complete, I had to laugh at myself for not getting this project done sooner... but now our screen porch is well on its way to be ready for Spring and Summer:

And here you can see the fabric pattern with the potting bench/buffet Sean made:

I call it a bench/buffet because it technically is both. I wanted something that looked like a potting bench, but I saw a cart at Crate and Barrel that opened up to hold cold drinks inside, and I wanted both. Sean took my wants and designed a piece of furniture that combined all of the above.

If you look closely you can see a metal bin hanging under the right side of the counter surface. That side of the counter lifts off to reveal the bin, which we fill with ice and cold beverages whenever we have company over. We topped it off with a bottle opener attached above the metal bin and a bucket to catch caps. Oh and of course, painted it yellow... because the rest of our furniture out there is wood toned, so we wanted something to pop.

Did I ever mention we also spent 2 weeks painting the entire screen porch white to match the siding on our house? Ceiling and half walls... and it took 8 gallons of paint for a 15 x 20 foot room. This is the true before:

So we've certainly come a long way. Maybe a new rug and some cushions for the eight seats at the table you don't see pictured here and we might actually have something completed in this house!

What room in your home could use new pillow covers? I hope you'll come back and share what you've made!

Scrap Catcher Tutorial

Today I'd like to share a very useful tutorial for those of you who sew. I'm also linking up to Young House Love and Bower Power's Pinterest Challenge. Check it out here to see all the other awesome DIY projects! If you're unfamiliar with the challenge, here's the scoop: pick something you've pinned on Pinterest as inspiration, and then make something of your own. Simple. Here's the image I pinned a few weeks back:

You can find the full tutorial for this exact project at Always a Project.

While the storage aspect is originally the reason I pinned this photo, I started thinking a bit outside the box about all the other things I need for my studio to make it easier to work in. Someday I'd love to make a really big version of these bins with a huge embroidery hoop that I can hang on the wall to hold all of my scraps that are too big to throw away but too small to fold into my organized fabric stash.

But that was much too literal to be able to also do a tutorial for this post, so I'll save that for a later date. "What else do I need right now?" I thought... and bam! Scrap catcher popped into my mind. And what exactly is a scrap catcher, you might ask? Behold:

I initially thought maybe I could make one with an embroidery hoop like the project I pinned, but I quickly realized that wouldn't lay right at my sewing table. So a few modifications in structure, size, color... and I'm ready to share the tutorial with you!

If you sew, or most especially, serge, you probably know exactly what this is for. It doesn't take much for my studio to look like a tornado blew through even if I've only sewn one thing! This scrap catcher is going to be a lifesaver. Clipped threads? I put them in the scrap catcher. (Which is especially useful when you have cats who think anything stringy must be delicious... I guarantee this project is way cheaper than a vet visit) Excess fabric cut off from the serger? No need to use that dinky piece of plastic that came with the machine... I've got a scrap catcher. Clipped the corners before turning a project? Stick 'em in the scrap catcher.

So on to the good stuff! Here's what you'll need:
• 10 x 16" Exterior fabric
• 10 x 12" Fabric (Same as exterior) for the base
• 10 x 16" Interior fabric
• 10 x 12" Pellon Craft Fuse for the base
• 10 x 16" Craft Fuse for pocket (optional)
• Sewing machine, coordinating thread, pins, scissors... all your typical sewing supplies.

And here's how you make it:

1. Fuse the interfacing to your 10 x 12" piece. One it's fused, fold that piece in half so you have a 10 x 6" rectangle. Sew along the long edge (I used a 1/2" seam) and one short edge, clip the corners, and turn inside out. You should have one raw edge left.

2. Fuse your exterior fabric now if you choose to do so. I skipped this step as I thought my fabric choices were sturdy enough on their own. Take your 10 x 16" exterior piece and fold it in half so you have a 10 x 8" rectangle. Sew only along the open 10" side. Do the same with your interior piece.

3. Press open your seams, and press both 10 x 8" rectangles flat so that the seam is now in the center of the piece instead of the side.

4. Turn your exterior fabric right side out, and insert it into the exterior fabric tube (Do not turn the interior fabric- it should be wrong side out)

5. Sandwich your base piece (10 x 6" fused rectangle) in between the interior and exterior fabric. Line the raw edge up with the raw edges of the pocket and pin. I made a mark in the middle of my base piece and lined that up with the seam of the interior and exterior fabrics. From inside to out it should be exterior fabric (right side out), base fabric, interior fabric (wrong side out.)

6. Sew a 1/2" seam around the entire circular edge. I made sure to back stitch as I went over the base edges to reinforce the structure. I find it's best to use the free arm on my machine for this part, as if sewing a sleeve onto a shirt.

7. Pull the exterior fabric over the circular seam you just made so everything is right side out. Then turn again so you have one long rectangle of wrong side out fabric, interior and exterior, with the base rectangle flap inside.

8. Sew a straight stitch (with the existing seam in the middle of the rectangle) on the remaining raw edge of the exterior piece. Clip the corners.

9. Do the same thing on the interior piece, except leave a small opening in the middle, about 3 inches. (Stitch where you see the dotted lines in the photo above) Reinforce the opening by back stitching the ends closest to the opening.

10. Turn your entire piece inside out through the small opening you left on your interior piece. Fold over the edges of the opening and use a straight stitch to close it up. (Stitch where you see the black dotted line in the photo above)

11. Push the interior piece down inside the exterior piece, paying attention to push all four corners out appropriately.

12. Line up the top edges of the interior and exterior fabrics (you may need to press this) and again using the free arm on your machine, stitch all the way around the opening. Be careful to not catch the base piece as you make your way around the back.

13. Set up your serger or sewing machine with your new scrap catcher and make something! The base slides under most machines easily and the weight of the machine will keep it in place. When it's full, flip it inside out over a trash can to dispose of all the threads and tiny scraps inside.

This is such a simple tutorial, I bet you could finish one for yourself in no time! The only thing I might have done differently in hindsight is add a button and button hole as I've found that it wraps up pretty neatly and the button would just be convenient:

A few tips:
I used a silky polyester for my interior piece. When I go to empty out threads and fabric scraps into the trash, they don't stick to this fabric as easily as they might to something cotton.

You can make the opening of your scrap catcher hang open more if you make the base width (the part that sits under the machine) narrower. I'm ok with how mine is, as I like that it also keeps my white sewing table clear of threads and fabrics. You could always chop off an inch or two and see what happens! 

The best part about this project? Zero additional dollars spent. I already had all of the materials I needed in my studio! I'd love to see the scrap catchers you make from this tutorial so be sure to send me photos or links.

Pinterest Challenge image via YHL + Bower Power, Embroidery hoop storage image from Always a Project, all other images © Clever Betty. Be sure to check out the other two participants posts: Michelle and Megan. The Pinterest Challenge is in no way affiliated with or sponsored by Pinterest, just sharing love for what the site provides with the rest of the Challenge participants!