Sweet November: winner & etsy

Thank you everyone for joining Jessica and I for our Sweet November week and for all of your sweet comments! I will admit that it was kind of nice spending the weekend relaxing and making out my holiday to-do list! (I've be sharing that later on this week!)  

Now onto the fun stuff! The winner of my Sweet November giveaway is: Grace

grace said...

What a cute giveaway!!
I really liked your autumn wreath post. I can't wait to make one myself!

Thanks for the chance to win! :)

10.11.12 

congrats Grace! Please email your contact info to rosas07@msn.com

~

So now that we've wrapped up the SW week, I got back to Etsy and updated the shop a little more. I even listed a couple of vintage items, I knew I would eventually get around to doing so! The mini scrapbook from last week, Hello Fall - I turned it into a scrapbook kit! All of my favorites in one little kit. :)

I can hardly believe it, but I actually listed one of my cameras today too! It has already sold, and I know it's going to a good home, but oh how these little brownies make me smile! I have my collection of cameras up on a shelf just before the doors that lead into my craft room. The shelf though, was overflowing with vintage cameras and I had starting piling them on the small wooden table beneath. I like seeing them there as I pass by, but it was time to let a couple go!! 

So, that was my weekend, mixed with family, a whole lot of cleaning, some note taking and a little reading. I have plans to find a Christmas tree this week (I gave away my old one yesterday) and I have a new sewing idea up my sleeve that I really would like to get started on at some point. - I'm thinking vintage doily's, machine sewing, pretty fabric and maybe some hand embroidering. Sounds lovely, doesn't it!

Have a wonderful night all! 

Sweet November: Fall Giveway

Hello everyone and welcome to the last day of our Sweet November week! I've put together a list of all the fun we had this past week ~ lot's of Fall inspired posts all in one place! 

from: the pink couch

Welcome to Autumn & Cinnamon Pumpkin Seeds

Autumn Picnic in the Park
Pumpkin Maple Panna Cotta
Pretty Package & Hostess gift ideas
Autumn Wreath tutorial
Tie Necklace tutorial
Something to wear ~ Fall
Hello Fall - mini scrapbook

from: scrumdillydilly
Hello Fall
Spice it Up
Squash & Succulents
Simple Fall Ensemble
November Sweet Treats
Wrap Some String Around It
Pretty Place Setting
Breakfast Time
Cold Mornings & Happy Scones

- and for the last day of a handmade week a sweet handmade giveaway, from me to you! I've collected lots of little pieces from my studio; yo-yo's, paper stickers, vintage papers, sewn leaves, old buttons, tags and sparkly sequins. Lot's of fun things to add to a Fall mini or a few scrapbook layouts!  

Did you have a favorite post from this past week? I have to admit the picnic post was a lot of fun for us, but my favorite is probably the Fall Wreathe. (I really like the grey-peach combination!)  I also loved Jessica's French Toast bites and those cute pumpkin planters she created!

To enter this giveaway simply leave a comment below and I'll be back on Tuesday (the 13th) to choose a lucky winner of the little Sweet November embellishment kit! 

and once you've enter this giveaway, hop on over to Scrumdillydilly and comment for a chance to win Jessica's Sweet November giveaway!

Thanks so much for joining us this week and enjoy your Saturday! 

Sweet November: Hello Fall mini

My last project for our Sweet November week! I printed some of those photos from the Pumpkin festival with the kids and started a mini scrapbook that I named Hello Fall. 

It's main pages are 5 x 7 pieces of chipboard and then in between those pages I added index cards, tags, envelopes and other pieces of cardstock. I still have a few more pages to add, I want to include photos of Thanksgiving and I still have hopes of getting up to Sedona this weekend for a hike through the forest! 

I used small bits of lace, clothing patterns and book pages mixed with some scrapbook pages to create the pages. I kept the colors kind of muted and neutral so that my photos could be the focus. I still have to add a color combination page! 

 

I love creating mini albums, they take so little time to complete and afterwards you have a pretty little book to display for the season! Do you have plans to create your own Autumn themed mini this year? If you do, you won't want to miss tomorrow's giveaway ~ I've put together a kit full of sweet embellishments just for Fall! 

eta: I actually made a few kits of this little book, they can be found here in my shop.

Sweet November: something to wear

Autumn Afternoon by taraanderson featuring a zipper bag

The one thing I think I look the most forward to this month, is getting to pull out all of my big cozy sweaters, unwrapping my wool coat collection and sorting through my ever growing stash of knitted scarves! I love cold mornings and chilly evenings just because it gives me a chance to put on my fuzzy boots and a big over sized sweater. Yes, Fall is in the air! You can check out Jessica's perfect Fall her afternoon ensemble here! 

I have plans to spend the remainder of the day finishing an Autumn themed mini - I'll be posting those photos tomorrow and preparing a little giveaway to wrap up our Sweet November week. I'm thinking Saturday would be a lovely day for a giveaway! 

Sweet November: Tie Necklace Tutorial

Well hello! Today's tutorial is one that I had originally planned to post last year but for whatever reason it never made it to the blog. Now that it is cooling off (it was only 86 here today!) and Fall is on it's way, eventually, I thought this tutorial would be a good fit for our Sweet November week! 

Getting started, you'll need to find a tie. Instead of going through my husbands tie collection, Chase and I went to a Goodwill store where there were way  more to choose from than what Peter had hanging on his side of the closet. That's where I found this great Italian silk tie! When looking for your own tie, just be sure to find one where the material isn't too thick, it should be easy to fold.

Here's what you'll need to get started! 

Materials

sewing machine 

tie

2 pieces of lace (mine measured about 10 inches each)

straight pins

large button (optional)

vintage pin

sewing needle and thread

Directions

1. Start but laying you tie flat on your work space. Take the bottom of the tie and fold it back towards the middle of the tie. You want to make about 5 pleats or folds, so my first fold measured 4 inches. Each fold, will get a little shorter in length as you go.  

Once you've folded your first pleat, use a straight pin, on the inside of your tie, to secure your pleat. Continue folding and pinning until you have 5 or 6 pleats. *You'll notice that as you're folding the tie it will start to curve inward, almost like the shape of a necklace!*

Once you've finished pinning, now it's time to start sewing. Slowly sew along the inside edge of your tie. As you sew remove the straight pins and set side - we'll use them again for the lace. 

When you reach the last pleat, backstich a few stitches and then cut the sewing thread. After this step, your tie should look like this. If your pleats aren't laying flat use an iron to press them.

Now time for some lace. I'm using a black lace that's gathered on one side. Take the gathered side and following your existing sewing line, pin the lace to the tie. I pinned a small amount of lac to the back of my tie to start.

Just like sewing the tie previously, carefully sew the lace to the tie, removing the straight pins as you sew.

I'm adding one more piece of lace, I found this stretchy lingerie lace that was too cute and dainty plus I loved how ruffly it was! Follow the previous steps for securing and sewing the lace.

Almost done! Now you'll need to measure your tie and decide how long and where on your neck you'd like it to fall. Once you've decided, trim off the extra length of the tie. Fold over the material on the end of the tie and sew close. 

We're all done with the sewing machine now! There are a couple of ways for securing the tie to wear as a necklace. I used a vintage metal pin to to pin the ends together. You could also sew in a metal snap to the back of the tie.

For the top of the tie, I went ahead a sewed a large gold button on for an added embellishment. I like the way it looked, but you could also use a flower or even another small pin. 

Hopefully I took enough photos of the process! It's another one of those lazy weekend projects, plus it's always fun to have a reason to go thrifting!  

Jessica has a Pretty Place setting posted today on her blog that you don't want to miss! I have her idea for napkin rings filed into my 'must make list!'

Sweet November: Autumn Wreath

It's time for an Autumn inspired wreath.... just a little something pretty to hang on the wall. I really wanted to make a wreath for our sweet November week, the challenge was deciding on what type and style I was after. After a trip to Target and seeing their (now discounted) Fall collection, the one with the vintage horse awards and lots of florals mixed with plaids, I had a good idea of the style I wanted. Something casual with dressy elements!

  This wreath was a joy to create, particularly because I was able to use things that I already had available at home. Some vintage wool, remnant pieces of lace, a handmade flower & leaves and even my Grandmothers rhinestone pin, look around your home and see what you can find to work with before heading the craft store!  

I'll walk you through my process of creating this wreath. Remember though, that everything can be substituted for something that you're comfortable working with. (like a sewing machine, hand stitching would work just fine as well!)

Materials

For the wreath itself, I used:

- a foam wreath 

- fabric, in this case a thick wool plaid

- scissors 

- a measuring tape 

- straight pins

- sewing machine

Directions

1. Start by measuring your wreath and then add 1 inch (my wreath form measured 7 inches so I want to cut the fabric at 8 inches.)

2. Lay fabric out and cut the measured amount. Because I wanted to gather or bunch the fabric on my wreath form, I cut out a piece of fabric the was 8 inches wide by 5 ft. long. (If you're using a shorter length piece of fabric, you can also sew 2 smaller pieces together to make one long piece.)

3. Once you've cut your fabric it should look similar to a long scarf.

4. Fold fabric in half (printed sides together or right sides together.) I'll be honest and tell you with this fabric I couldn't tell what was the right side and which was the wrong side, so I gave up and just started pinning the fabric together.

5. Fold over and pin the entire length of the fabric, making sure to leave about 8 inches at the end, so that you'll have room to turn the fabric 'right side out' (These sewing terms make me feel a bit like my mom :)

6. Sew down the length of the fabric, stopping at the 8 inch mark at the end. Remove pins once the fabric has been sewn.

7. Once the sewing has been complete, slowly (and patiently) turn the fabric right side out, by pulling the end of the fabric through that 8 inch opening at the opposite end. This is where I started to doubt whether using a thick wool was such a good idea, but after 5 minutes and some grumbling, I had finally turned the fabric the right way! 

 8. Finish sewing up the opening on the end of the fabric, either by hand of with a sewing machine.

9. I used a serrated knife to cut through my wreath, but with a little arm strength you can easily break the wreath from where the seam is. (I've accomplished this particular feat with last years wreath!)

10. Start to shimmy your fabric onto the wreath form.

 11. Once all of your fabric is covering the wreath, overlap the end pieces. 

So that's all there is to the actual wreath! It probably looks more complicated than it really is, I tried to break down the photos into the steps I thought would be useful. Next you get to decorate your wreath! 

I looked around for embellishments that were similar in colors: white - peach - grey - gold

My original idea was to use a craft glue to adhere everything into place, but then I discovered straight sewing pins do a marvelous job at securing light weight embellishments!

Start with pinning any lace or fabric down to your wreath first. Just like scrapbooking, we're working on building layers. Next add the larger elements like flowers, I was able to push a straight pin directly through the inside of the flowers and ruffled them a bit so the pin disappeared from sight.

For the leaves, I tucked and pinned them under the flowers on both side! 

Depending on how many lovely embellishments you're able to find, keep repeating the layering and pinning process until your wreath is nothing short of perfection!

Hope you enjoyed my Wreath creating process! I promise it really is an easy project that should take right around an hour or so - a perfect Fall weekend project! I have another tutorial to share tomorrow, something sweet to wear this holiday season! 

See you then!