So I wanted to make a pincushion that was jazzier and more *me* than the generic red tomato ones everyone seems to have. So with the inspiration of Heather Bailey and a pattern I drew myself and my new fabric I got on clearance, I made a new one!

Ain’t she beeeeeeutiful? One would think all was well and it turned out almost flawless. Until you look at it from a different angle:

Yipes! I have no idea why it did that. I cut each piece into equal pieces and was careful sewing the seams, and even tried to stuff it evenly, so I don’t get why it’s uneven. Any ideas?

It’s not chocolate, or some icing-covered treat. It’s fabric! I can’t get enough of the stuff and I think about it all the time. When I’m not looking on the internet for it, I’m wandering up and down the aisle’s of JoAnn’s fighting the urge to throw a hundred bolts into my cart and race towards the cashier.

I think this is the most fun part of sewing - picking out your fabric. Trying different color combinations, different patterns, textures - it seems to please all the senses. With the way fashion and trends are today, there really are no rules and you can go with whatever looks good to you.

I got this sewing book awhile back called Simple Sewing with a French Twist and have finally gotten the opportunity to crack it open and read it and I’m addicted to it. The projects, the pictures, the style of writing - it’s all so great. I highly recommend it no matter if you’re new to sewing or an old pro.

After flipping through it I see a lot of projects I want to tackle, but then I saw this rad purse. Of course, this isn’t one of the projects, just a prop for the photograph, but how hard can it be, right? Now I just have to choose my fabric…

I was going to wait and post this next week but I’m just so excited I couldn’t wait!

While I was at JoAnn’s a few weeks ago, I found this yummy fabric that I knew would look great somewhere in the house. I hadn’t decided what I was going to do with it until I walked in the kitchen and this site stuck out like a sore thumb:

We have limited storage space in our kitchen, so I bought this roll cart to put food in and to add to our also limited counter space. So I decided to make a skirt for it to hide the metal part, and also it’s contents. My mom came over this morning to show me how to use my machine and the first seam that I stitched I was in love with it. I can tell this is going to be a beautiful friendship.

So I worked for two hours, piecing the skirt together, then I finished the edges, added some ribbons, and there you have it - a cute covering for a metal kitchen contraption.

I think it turned out great and I had so much fun doing it! I can’t wait to think up more things to do with my sewing machine (and I know the possibilities are endless).

If you know me at all, you know I am not a tea set kind of gal. I was a tomboy, and at the age of 25, I’m just starting to get a little girly. But I have been in search of the perfect tea set. My great grandma had one that I remember playing with, but after she died it got lost in the clean up, never to be found again. A lot of antique tea sets I have seen are super cheesy and well, ugly. Gold-rimmed, scalloped edges - totally not my style. But when I found this on eBay last week it was pretty and reminded me of the tea set my grandma had. So I began the frantic (and blood-pressure raising) bidding. Obviously I won and I can not tell you the relief I had when I saw the green check on the screen followed by the words, “You won!”

It arrive on Monday and I can’t stop looking at it. I think it’s one of the prettiest things I’ve ever seen. It inspired me to make some tea towels and embroider what else but tea cups and flowers on them. However, I’ve never made tea towels before. I’m just getting into sewing and learning about fabric, so I don’t even know the best material to use to make kitchen towels. I suppose I could just buy some plain white ones, but how fun is that? So dear Daisy readers, can anyone enlighten me as to what kind of material to use for tea towels?

In an effort to spruce up my kitchen some, I decided to make some wall hangings. I didn’t want them to be basic and painted flat colors and look one-dimensional. So I headed to Lowe’s to check out the painting finishes they have. I found one that was just what I was looking for: crackling.

I picked up these unfinished plaques at Wal-mart for a dollar each, and used some paint that I already had. I wanted the finish product to be light, with some dark underneath, so I painted the base a coffee bean brown.

Once that dried, I applied the crackling glaze with a sponge brush, letting that dry completely before I added the top coat of off white.

As you can see, when it dries, the glaze doesn’t let the paint adhere to the entire surface, creating cracks in the paint and giving it that great antique-y finish.

Next I decided on my shape (which would happen to be a bird, go figure - hey, atleast it’s not felt!), drew it, cut it out and then traced it on the wood with a pencil.

I then painted my bird and the branches, let dry and there you go - easy and inexpensive wall hangings with that old-world feeling to it.

The supplies cost about $10 (the crackling glaze ate up $8, but it spreads thin so a little goes a long way and you’ll be using this stuff for awhile) and all together took about 30 minutes, not including drying time.

My fabulously amazing husband and his parents got me an iPod this year for Christmas. However, what’s a fantastic piece of equipment like that without an equally fantastic cozy to keep it in? So I fashioned a felt (are you surprised?) iPod cozy that only cost about $.60 to make, and only took two hours from start to finish.

First, you’ll measure out how much felt you’ll need. Then you’ll cut a front and a back piece, making sure the back piece is longer than the front (so it will fold over and close).

Next, you’ll decide on whatever shape you want (a flower, an animal, or just shapes of any kind) and pick your embroidery floss.

Cut out your shape, and adhere it to the felt with a needle (to keep it in place while stitching) and then using the backstitch you’ll sew it to the felt. You could also use a blanket stitch if you like as well. You can place your shape anywhere you like, but make sure you don’t place it too close to the edge - you’ll need to allow some room there for the seam.

Next, add any other imbelishments you like, (buttons, more embroidery or other shapes) and then attach the snaps to the tops of the two pieces, making sure they line up correctly so it will close correctly.

To finish up the cozy, stich together the front and back pieces (using either a blanket stitch or a running stitch), and voila, a fabulous and functional iPod cozy.

Since I’ve really been bitten by the crafting bug, I thought I would show you around my crafting space and things I’m going to be working on.

What is this, you say? Just a beautiful piece of furniture?

Not just that - it’s my new sewing table!

(oooooooooooh……..ahhhhhhhhhh………)

I was so excited to pick this up and actually have a space to craft from now on. We can now resume using our dining room table to eat on (who knew?!).

And now, you can see my new sewing machine, out of the box and ready to be utilized.

Look at that big knob - what does it do? And where the needle is…it looks a little intimidating. But I’ve got two new sewing books with some great starter projects so hopefully that’ll get me going in the right direction.

And my first sewing project will be new curtains for the dining room.

Isn’t this fabric gorgeous? I bought it for $5 a yard and it’s a nice canvas material. Granted, I will have to paint the dining room to make them really work, but it’ll be worth it. Am I the only one who does this? Picks up an accent *something* for a room and then changes the paint color just to match that one *thing*? C’mon, fess up.

This is my felt addiction pile. I’m telling you, if there was a felt shortage in the continental US, I fear I may be to blame. I can’t stop buying this stuff. Fourty sheets I have, plus six different yards of the yummy, delightful fabric. Such fun colors and great projects for so cheap!

And finally, my next knitting project, a baby blanket.

I found this yarn for $4 a skein and it’s so yummy, so I thought I would double the strands and knit a blanket. I’ve never used circular needles before and I must admit, I’m a little scared. Anyone who knows me, knows I’m not that into knitting. Like, hardly at all. So if this doesn’t go well, I fear I may give up on knitting all together.

So that’s just a peek into my crafting space. My birthday wish is to have an actual craft studio by finishing part of our basement, so I’m hoping that can be made a reality. Because I really feel that would be the best gift ever!

I have really been into using felt lately. It’s like the wonder material - you can make so much with it, it’s inexpensive and so easy to use. I had bought some little boys shirts for cheap ($3 at Walmart, and they are nice, too) and decided to use them to stitch some felt applique’s on. So I decided on a catepillar and a lion. Once I cut out the shapes I needed in the colors I wanted, I added any embellishments (like eyes, mouths, ears, etc) and then just secured them on the shirt using a blanket stitch.

I finished up with a few other accents and voila - cute (and boyish) felt applique shirts. Each one cost approx $4 and about an hour to make from start to finish.

It’s good for the soul, right? So here I am confessing something in regards to my crafting (and only crafting - for other confessions you must visit my other site).

A lot of people I know enjoy scrapbooking. I love taking pictures, and I loved my design layout class in college, but something about scrapping didn’t appeal to me. Maybe it was because I had so many pictures, I already felt overwhelmed before I even began. People would talk about it, share layouts and what-not and while I thought they all looked fabulous, I still had no desire to do it. Until I was at Michael’s one afternoon and found a scrapbook I fell in love with.

So I bought it. And $50 in other supplies (which doesn’t buy much, but enough to get started with). And what have I done with it? Nada. That was four months ago and I still haven’t even thought about starting a page. I would think of layouts in my head, and then get overwhelmed. I know this stems from my perfectionist personality, of I have to do it 100% right the first time, perfect, or I won’t do it at all. I know I need to get over it, but then I see what other friends have done and think, “I could never show my work to anyone if it’s not right.”

So here I have a beautiful (and very empty) scrapbook, along with lots and lots of paper, and I don’t even know how to begin. I know I should stick with other crafts that I love (embroidery, painting, photography), but I keep thinking I should atleast give it a try, right? And if I don’t, anyone want some scrapping supplies?