Again with the Tshirts!

I seem to be on a theme these days but you know how you come across an idea or concept and you just have to go with it. Well I am facinated with T shirt strips lately. It actually is not a new passion as I wrote Fashion T Shirts at least five years ago but playing with the strips pulled into tubes is fasinating to me. Here is a quick hairband I made for the Sewing Savvy e-newsletter I write every three weeks for Clotilde.com. Check out the newsletter for full instructions - but to give you a hint it starts with an inexpensive hairband from the dollar store.

Here is the hairband, I beleive it cost $.33 cents and I liked the wavy pattern. When looking for hairbands to cover, be sure they are not too flimsy as you do not want them to break while you are wrapping them with the fabric tubes.

You got it. Now you just wrap and viola you have a fun hairband made from an old Tshirt.

That's it for now, Lorine

Fabric Post Cards

Creating one of a kind postcards from scraps of fabric is fast and fun when using a die cut machine and a wide assortment of die images. With fusible web, fabric, felt and variegated thread I was able to whip up three postcards to use as Thank You cards in no time. Spellbinders has a wonderfully intricate line of dies to choose from so your options are almost limitless. I always keep leftover scraps of fabric with fusible web backing around for just this kind of last minute project. After fusing things together, I add some decorative stitching and spray the back of the fabric piece with some adhesive and then add a piece of card stock. This allows for me to write the address as well as a short Thank You note. They are always received with a smile, I am told.
For complete instructions and more photos check out my latest newsletter. Simply tap on the Sewing Savvy newsletter button along the right side of my blog and it will direct you straight to the latest newsletter. I would love to hear back from you so please leave a note.

Lorine

Playing with Dolls

It is so funny how things come about. I was with good friend Eileen Hull last week and she mentioned the upcoming 'suitcase' project for the Fresh Vintage bloghop. I had participated the previous week and was not planning on going another round of hopping but since my new book, Love to Dress Up 18" Dolls, was just released and would be the perfect fit for the suitcase, I thought it was a wonderful fit. I decided to dress my doll in the Outdoor Explorer outfit which went perfectly with some Monarch butterfly fabric I already owned in my stash.

Here is how I created my suitcase so full of butterflies, that some seem to be escaping.

Fuse Steam a Seam 2 to the back of your chosen fabric.

Remove paper backing from the fusible web and cover a piece of matboard with the fabric.

Create the magic sandwich: cutting board-die-fabric covered matboard-cutting board. Slide the entire sandwich through the Sizzix machine.

I colored the edges and inside of my suitcase using my Mepxy markers.

I added brads to the corners and a 'lock' shaped brad to the front of the suitcase.

Using the project photo as a guide, create your suitcase.

Use leftovers to create a mini luggage tag, adding some embroidery thread as the hanging loop.

Cut out two Butterflies, once again a great die provided to us by Eileen and Sizzix.

Create wire coils and attach them to the back of the butterflies, attaching the opposite end inside the suitcase using foam tape.

What fun!

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