DIY fabric labels

I've been wanting to purchase labels to see in my items for a while and there are two options: buy or DIY.
The Etsy route was pretty pricey,  and a bit overwhelming to sift through options and handling times. The DIY route was certainly going to be it for me.

I found several tutorials that involved iron on transfers and twill tape and that was the route that I was prepared to go. The downside to this was that although it didn't seem over complicated, it seemed fairly labor intensive in that you had to make the transfer, cut them out, iron them to the tape, cut out the labels then fray check the edges. You were also limited to the size of the twill tape you purchased.

While at the store to buy the iron on transfer paper, I stumbled upon this:

Then the light bulb went off, why not just print them directly on fabric and cut them out, vs going to the trouble to print turn iron them on the twill tape? That would totally cut out a couple of the steps!


The catch?
I don't even have office on my computer, I have the generic free version: Open office. Now, for all of my purposes this has suited me just fine but I had to find a way to get these labels onto this sheet in a way that I could customize (which I couldn't do with the address label template). And fill as much of the sheet as I could, so to maximize my labels per sheet. I used my logo,  shrank it and added it next to the font, then just copied and pasted it into the columns I formatted.

After a few tries and some tweaks, I ended up with this:

Printed on regular paper for the rough draft

That's a total of 36 labels per sheet, and there were 3 sheets per pack.  I was able to use a 40% off coupon for the 9.99 they cost, bringing it down to 6.00. Doing the math that's about 5 cents a label. The cheapest labels I found on Etsy were about 15 cents each and were not customizable.

The whole process took under and hour and you can print with colored ink if you choose. All you have to do is let the ink dry for about 10 mins ( I was too impatient for this, I just took a hair dryer for a few minutes), then the directions say to press it carefully for 1-2 minutes to set the ink. It advises a cold water bath to make them completely colorfast.

You could totally use colored ink, or change the sizes of the labels and since they don't require fray-check, you could make fold over labels too!

I'm considering trying to dye the labels once they come out of the printer. This brand comes in both an off white and white, as well as am iron on version as well that the manufacturer claims is sew able.

Eek! I love how they came out! The are .75"h x 2.5" Long. no fraying and no apparent color transfer! 6.00 for 108 fully custom labels in less than one hour?! Yes, please :)

Celebrating the Sunshine--241 Tote round 2

It's finally warm around here, the sun is out and it is absolutely beautiful. Time for flip flops and flowers! What better way to welcome the season than a new bag?! I pulled out my 241 pattern by Noodlehead and pulled the most sunshiney fabrics from my stash and this was the end result. It oozes sunshine, just like I wanted :)
I listed in my Etsy shop, but I"m already thinking of deleting the listing and keeping it for myself.

The last time I made a 241 tote, I was a bit disappointed at the size, but by using both the exterior slip and zippered pockets (and actually remembering to add a slip pocket to the lining this time), it holds so much more than I really need it to.

Happy Spring :)

Recycled Candle Jar

There is never a shortage of candles in this house and with this winter dragging on, they have been a welcome luxury. They help fight off some of the stagnant winter air until it warms up enough to open some windows. I've seen random pins on Pinterest about how to re-use old candle jars and never really paid much mind, but as we've been trying to eliminate as much processed foods as we can, we have been in need of more containers for staple items in our pantry.

My three year old has his own addiction....hot chocolate (thanks Grandma for THAT one). We try to limit him to a cup or two first thing in the morning and he now drinks his "chocky mogurt" (yeah, I have no clue either) while we drink out coffee. Nesquik and the like aren't all that expensive but they are chalked full of preservatives and additives. I can't recall the exact number of ingredients that they use but in our homemade version we use three, sometimes TWO depending on who is making it. We've been making a batch and storing it in a small mason jar and then it dawned on me as I was getting ready to throw out some old candle jars....they are PERFECT for hot chocolate mix!

So, impatient as I am, I decided to clean out the jar, without consulting the oracle (aka Pinterest) for any directions. I mean, it can't be THAT hard right? This is what I started with...Ew

Surprisingly, I was right...it was cake. I put some water in a sauce pan, brought it to an easy boil and then dumped the wax into a receptacle (in my case it was a red solo cup and I was PRAYING that it wouldn't melt through. I didn't thankfully). Then, very carefully and with silicone oven mitts I wiped out the inside with a paper towel and waited for it to cool a bit. Once I was sure it was cool enough that it wouldn't crack when I immersed it in warm water, I scrubbed it out thoroughly with dish soap.

Then it was time to do a little etching. I had done this a few times for some gifts and used the same process as before. I gathered my supplies:

•  The candle jar
• Some letter stickers
• A palette knife (a Popsicle stick would work just as well)
• Masking Tape
• Armor Etch, etching cream
• Some rubber gloves

During the etching process:

The made over jar next to an old jar...what a difference:

The end result:

A fancy new "chocky mogurt" jar. While you are washing off the stickers, at first it looks like nothing is happening but after you get it all rinsed off and dried, the magic is revealed!

Now that you have a new jar, why not ditch the store bought chocolate mix and make your own? It's super easy and old requires 3 ingredients:
Sugar, salt and cocoa powder.

That's it. Seriously. Its two parts sugar to one part cocoa powder, and when I make it, I throw in a pinch of salt (but my hubby swears it makes no difference, so the salt is optional.). Blend well and use in place of commercial chocolate milk and hot cocoa mixes. It's cheaper and you don't have to worry about artificial additives. My three year old can't tell the difference. It is a little harder to blend into the milk but that's a small annoyance compared to the benefits of making it yourself.

  

 A couple words of warning: 

Please use caution when using the etching cream, as it is very caustic. Gloves are a MUST.

I wouldn't recommend using candle jars to store foods that remain air tight as I'm not sure how air tight the seal is, but in this case, I'm not concerned about the cocoa mix spoiling. Just please be careful when storing perishables.

The unfortunately NOT BLUE, blue jeans

Seeing all these awesome posts about boy clothes popping up lately made me want to start whipping up some clothes for my little guy. I'm not going to whine about there being fewer choices for boys' clothing...but there ARE fewer choices.

The good news is, that there are some really awesome patterns though and a lot of them allow for modifications. I mean, honestly, how many styles of jeans do boys need? I haven't made a whole lot in the way of garments. I made a few shirts for me (with varying degrees of success) and earlier this year I made a pea coat from peek a boo pattern shop, and it made me look at garment sewing a bit differently.

So, I finally went for it and bought a few PDF patterns for my 3 year old. I went with PDF patterns for several reasons:

1) They weren't ugly (Sorry McCall's, your boy options suck).
2) I liked being able to save the PDF file and print out the pieces in different sizes..versus having to trace and all that nonsense from a traditional pattern.
3) Even though I've used many commercial patterns, I still often find them confusing as they tend to make things more complicated than neccessary.

So, the first one I bought was The Nowhere Man Pants from Shwin and Shwin. I liked the overall look and it looked easy to modify the features of the pants. I wasn't disappointed.

The pattern was great, super easy to follow and relatively simple. I finished the pants in 3 hours from cutting the fabric to sewing on the buttons. They did seem to run a bit on the smaller side, my three year old wears a 4T and these seemed to be on the slim side. There was not a seam allowance given in the pattern, (a google search later indicated it was 3/8) so I just used a 1/4, preferring to err on the side of being too large. Had I not used a smaller seam allowance and my guy not been so slim, I'm not sure the 4T would have worked.

I thought they came out well, but my quite fickle little man did not agree. He was incredibly displeased that they were NOT BLUE, and I was quickly informed that jeans were supposed to be blue. The pictures are not good, mostly because I only had about a 2 minute window in which he agreed to wear them. Only then, it was because I promised to make a blue pair.

I thought girls were the particular ones.

Yes, it's mine

Just claiming this as mine. Nothing to see here.

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Bag Loving blog hop

It's no secret that bags are my absolute favorite thing to sew! In order to get any kind of street cred in the sewing world it seems like one must be a quilter but the idea of quilting hasn't really appealed to me. Not that I don't love to look at them, because I do! There are so many amazing quilt patterns and designer out there that I am taken away by some of their gorgeous works of art, but the whole process of quilting seems so incredibly tedious and scientific to me. I read about all these "UFO"s and how long it takes to complete a project and I am in awe.

 I am an immediate gratification kind of girl. I want to know when I start a project that I can finish it in a reasonable amount of time. Typically, for me this is a week...TOPS, more likely it's only a couple of days before I really start to lose interest. In addition to my need for immediate gratification, I don't like to STOP working on things until they are complete, I cannot imagine how I would be if my projects took weeks to complete. Bags on the other hand, usually can be done in a day or so, depending on the bells and whistles involved. They are also something that I use every single day and I feel like I can never have too many! Like quilts, the design elements are infinite and unlike quilts, they are often more forgiving of small errors. I love reading and seeing what others have designed and created and I find a constant source of inspiration on the internet and through so many awesome blogs out there!

 I'm so glad that I happened across the bag loving blog hop hosted by ChrisW Designs! It's such an awesome idea to link to some great blogs that have a great love for bag making and designing! I already have my Saturday morning earmarked to see what awesome blogs have linked up while I enjoy my coffee :) Happy Friday!



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Chevrons & Polka dots

Spring makes me want for new bags and accessories, today felt like spring may finally be right around the corner so what better time to start working on some new bags for the occasion?

It's a cinch tote pattern by Sweet Verbena, made for a friend

Bow tote made with Riley Blake gray chevrons and Lizzie House pearl bracelets in watermelon. It's kinda pink but kinda not, love it!

It just reminds me of Easter. 

I don't think I will ever get tired of chevrons and polka dots!