The Hexie Earring Winners are........

And the winners,

chosen by Random.org are:

Denise - who wrote "How adorable your hexie jewelry is! You are so crafty my Chica friend!"

Theresa - who wrote "Hexie earrings, how sweet. I like the 3rd and 4th pairs from the top."

Regena - who wrote "well lookie at you, all glamour and less quilty...great job!!"

Tami - who wrote "Very cute. I like the red and white dots. I live in Aurora, Colorado. Thanks for sharing"

Anita - who wrote "Very creative! Love the earrings! Also thank you for posting a tutorial!"

Thank you to everyone who left comments!

I enjoyed reading them all!!!

Winners, please email me with your full name 

and address.

Hexie Button Jewelry Tutorial

Every "Sewista" needs fun accessories, right?

Make them for yourself

or for someone you know who loves to sew :)

What you will need:

4mm open jump rings

7mm open jump rings

Package ear wires

lobster claw

1" piece chain with links large enough for the lobster claw

jewelry pliers

sharp craft scissors

1/16th Martha Stewart Handpunch

Phoomph by Coats & Clark (Stiff)

fabric scraps at least 1" square

co-ordinating buttons (1 for each hexie)

Fabric glue (I used Aleene's OK To Wash)

Download Hexie template

It would be best

 to read through all the directions

before you begin :)

A few months back I watched a online video 

for a product called Phoomph for fabric.

It's made by Coats & Clark

and it comes in either stiff or soft.

I couldn't wait to use it!

To see more about it click HERE.

I bought mine from Joann's online,

but they carry it in the store as well.

First you will need to download the hexie template.

I found it HERE. (Genius right?)

Don't forget to say "Thanks" 

and leave her a lovely comment!

I printed it out full size,

then used my copier to shrink it down 50%.

Cut out your tiny hexies

Then cut the Phoomph into 1" strips

and then into 1" squares.

Peel off the paper and attach your fabric

and then peel the backside and repeat.

I didn't bother to cut my fabric into 1" squares,

I just stuck the Phoomph onto my fabric scrap

and cut around the little square.

So much easier than trying to line up

1" pieces of fabric.

Hold your paper hexie firmly

 against the 1" double sided fabric square

and cut around your template.

I originally drew the shape onto the fabric,

but with these tiny shapes, 

holding it in place went faster

and I ended up with better results.

For  the earrings:

Use your handpunch and 

punch your hole at the top "point" of the hexie.

For the bracelet:

Punch your holes along 2 opposite flat sides.

Choose your buttons

and attach them according to the directions

on the glue package.

I allowed my buttons to "cure" over night

before I went to the next step.

 For the earrings:

Attach 7mm jump rings to the earrings

using the holes you made.

Use your jewelry pliers to gently close the rings.

Attach a 4mm jump ring to each 7mm jump ring

and attach an ear wire,

then gently close the 4mm jump ring 

with your jewelry pliers.

You have now connected the ear wire and the hexie.

The 4mm jump ring assures

that the hexie will hang correctly in your ears.

Your earrings are done.

Stand back and admire your work :)

For the bracelet:

Use 7mm jump rings to attach your hexies to one another.

Use as many hexies as you need,

depending on the size of your wrist.

I have a 7" wrist and I used 9 hexies.

Gently close the rings,

leaving the first and last ring open.

Attach your lobster claw clasp to one end

and gently close that ring.

Attach the 1" piece of chain to the other end

and gently close that ring.

The chain step is optional but it gives you the ability

to extend your bracelet if necessary.

I added a bead to the end of the chain

with a straight pin and jewelry pliers.

You can also purchase an extender 

at a jewelry supply store that already

has a bead or ball on the end.

If you choose not to use the extender,

you can simply close the other open ring

use your lobster claw to hook directly into it.

Your bracelet is now done.

How fun was that?

Obviously you can make necklaces as well

with maybe 5 hexies in the center

attached to chain on both sides.

So many possibilities!

I have to say,

I love me some Phoomph!

Be A Hexie Queen Blog Hop & Giveaway!

Welcome everyone to day 5 

of the "Be A Hexie Queen" Blog Hop!!!

Thank you Madam Samm and our Cheerleader Debby :)

Today is my turn to show you what I've come up with.

Since the theme stated

"Anything and Everything"

I wasn't bound to a sewing project.

I decided instead, to bust out my jewelry making supplies!

A few months back I watched a online video 

for a product called Phoomph for fabric.

It's made by Coats & Clark

and it comes in either stiff or soft.

I couldn't wait to use it!

To see more about it click HERE.

I bought mine at Joann's online.

I used the stiff Phoomph and some of my favorite

fabric scraps to make a bracelet and earrings.

As you can see I made more than enough earrings....

So what should I do with all those earrings?

How about I give them to you?

 

 

 

 

 

There will be 5 winners chosen at random!

So how do you enter the giveaway?

Just leave me a comment 

and tell me which pair of earrings is your favorite 

and where you are from :)

You have until Friday Aug 30th to enter.

I will announce the winners here on Saturday the 31st.

This giveaway is open to everyone.

Good luck!

(Just in case anyone is interested 

in making their own Hexie jewelry,

I will be posting a tutorial here tomorrow)

And don't forget to check out the awesome 

creative talents of the other amazing bloggers

showing off their Hexies today!

Scrapbook-ChickaDoodle

Kathys Quilts

A Quilt and a Prayer

I Piece 2 - Mary

Life, Quilts and a Cat, too

Quarter Incher

Kwilt Krazy

Selina Quilts

Espritpatch

Nunu’s Quilt World

So here we go again!

It's been an interesting few weeks.

Somehow,

 Microsoft has locked me out of my blogger dashboard

and blamed it on Google.

Google says it's a Microsoft problem.

I hired tech support and after 13 days 

they refunded my money because they couldn't fix it.

I tried reaching out on Google help forums 

only to be told it's a Microsoft issue.

I called Microsoft and they basically hung up on me.

My only alternative is to start a new blog.

I know it looks the same

but you'll notice the address is different

and all my followers are gone.

So here we go again!

Time to start over :)

To top everything off

I've got a lovely cold/flu thing happening this week as well.

And you know what makes everything better?

MINIONS!!!!

I seriously have the best friends!

Look what my buddy Regena sent me in the mail :)

That gun on his shoulder is a whistle!

(yes.....I've been blowing it in the house

and NO my grandchildren can not play with it)

And look what else!

A felt Gru patch for my overalls!!!

(I've had a crazy love affair with overalls since high school

and I wear them all the time)

My son has recently showed me the "Minion Rush" game

for my iPhone and I'm hopelessly addicted.

And I don't even like to play games.

But this little minion holding a banana

 just reminds me of the game :)

I also received my order of lovely thread

 from Connecting Threads.

I don't know if you've ever shopped there, 

but their fabric is such good quality and very inexpensive

and the thread is gorgeous!

You get 1200 yards of thread on each roll

for about 1/2 of what you would pay for Gutterman 547 yards.

You get free shipping on orders over $50.00 too!

Last but not least,

I added 3 new Limited Edition bags to my shop today.

I've been busy working on custom orders lately

so I haven't had too many new items for the shop.

I'm hoping next week to have some new things to share :)

Don't Fear the Zipper.....Bag Tutorial :)

Does anyone remember the commercial for Rice Crispy Treats when the woman would throw flour on her face in the kitchen to make it look like she worked so hard to make them and then tell her family "Go ahead......eat them. I'll make more."? That's pretty much how I feel about these bags.

The finished bag looks like it was difficult to make, but really it's super easy!

A few of my girlfriends who are learning to sew are a bit intimidated by zippers.

One dear friend of mine actually used crazy glue to attach a zipper.

 (Don't worry...your secret is safe with me!:)

Well here is a project that makes sewing in a zipper Easy Peasy!

By using a zipper that is larger than the bag itself, it makes this bag totally stress free 

and there is no wrestling with the zipper.

This is such a breeze to do, you can even change the dimensions for any size bag, larger or smaller.

The finished size of this bag is 7 1/2" by 4 1/2".

 So are you ready to make a cute bag?

For this size bag you will need a zipper that is at least 12" long.
Cut 1 each of your main fabric, your lining fabric and fusible fleece into 8 1/2" by 11" rectangles. If you are using an obvious directional fabric like these owls, make sure to cut your fabric accordingly.

Next, iron your fusible fleece to the wrong side of  your lining fabric.

Layer your fabrics and make a cut at 4 1/2" from the bottom. You will have (2) pieces 4 1/2" by 8 1/2" and (2) pieces 6 1/2" by 8 1/2".

You can see by the photo that I am using a zipper that is quite a bit larger than the 8 1/2" fabric pieces. You can use any size you have laying around as long as it's larger that the bag you are making. Open your zipper and make sure it is face down on top of the 6 1/2"  main fabric with the zipper pull to the left.

Attach your zipper foot to your sewing machine. Sandwich the zipper between the main fabric and the lining fabric, right sides together. You can certainly use pins here to keep your pieces in place.

Using a pen or marker, make a mark where the fabric ends on both halves of the zipper. This will be a reference point.

Line up your 4 1/2" main fabric at the mark your made on the zipper so that both sides will line up and sandwich that side of the zipper the same way that you did the other with main fabric and lining fabric having right sides together.

This is what it should look like. Double check that you have the zipper face down at this point. ( Just the other day I ended up having to use the trusty seam ripper to re-do a bag because the zipper was wrong side up. )

Flip both pieces around so that wrong sides are together now and press from both sides being careful not to iron the zipper itself. You are trying to make sure that the fabric is away from the zipper teeth.

Still using your zipper foot, top stitch close to the edge of the fabric to insure that it won't get caught in the zipper when you open and close the bag later.

This is the time you would add any ribbons, ruffles, or appliques to the bottom section of the bag. Because this fabric has so much going on I chose not to add anything to distract from the owlies.

Open the zipper at least 1/2 way or more to enable you to flip the bag right side out after you sew the edges together. With the main fabric (right sides facing) pin the bag.

Using a 1/2" seam allowance stitch the 3 sides together making sure to stitch slowly through the zipper, using the forward and reverse stitching for re-enforcement. Don't be afraid to sew through the zipper. Just go slowly and it works great.

Now you are ready to cut off the extra length of the zipper on both sides of the bag.

Trim your seam allowances and zig zag or overlock all 3 edges.

Turn the bag right side out and carefully push out the corners. Sit back and admire your work!
Easy right? So go ahead, give one to a friend.....you can make more :)

The Totally Cute Apron Tute :)

Wow....I know this looks like a really involved pattern, but I promise you it's not. I took lots of photos to help explain how I do this. From beginning to end this apron will take a little over an hour to make. It's very easy to sew and I hope you enjoy making it!

You'll need: (based on 44" or 45" fabric)

1/2 yd fabric for apron skirt
1/4 yd fabric for apron pocket
1/2 yd fabric for waistband, ties, pocket trim and hem

NOTE:  1/2" seam allowance

For the skirt, cut (1)  18" by 30" rectangle
For the pocket, cut (1)  9" by 30" rectangle
For the waistband and pocket trim cut (2)  3" by 30" strips
For the ties cut (2)  3" by 44" strips
For the hem, cut (1)  6" by 30" strip

Take your 6" by 30" hem strip and place it right side up. Take your apron skirt and place it right side up on top of the hem fabric.  Place it directly on top of the hem fabric.  Now fold the skirt fabric down, right sides together leaving about an inch of fabric uncovered. Continue to fold it in on itself 3 or 4 times to make a tight little roll.  See the next photo if this sounds confusing. You're going to make a "burrito" out of the hem fabric with the skirt fabric inside. You leave the 1" uncovered so that you don't catch the bulk of the skirt fabric when you sew your burrito.

Now stitch down the entire length of the burrito.

Gently pull the skirt out of the tube you made.

Press your hem. You now have a completely encased hemline with no raw edges. Set aside the apron skirt for now.

Take one of your 3" by 30" strips and fold it in half, wrong sides together and press. This is your pocket trim binding. 

Place on top of the 9" by 30" pocket fabric  with the wrong side facing up and stitch.

Fold over toward the right side of the fabric and press. Make sure that when you press your binding that you cannot see the backside of the pocket fabric peeking over the top from the front side. You only want to see the binding at the top edge.

 Top stitch close to the edge of the trim binding. Set the pocket aside for a moment.

Now take your skirt and measure 7" from the bottom of the hem. Using a ruler and a pen or pencil, draw a line all the way across the width of the skirt. This will be the placement line for your pocket.

Take the pocket strip and with right sides together, line up the raw edge of the pocket with the line you drew. See the next photo for another view. The line in this photo is not very dark.

You can see the pencil line better in this shot. Stitch the pocket strip to the skirt. Fold the fabric back and press.

This is what your apron skirt should look like now. Baste the edges of the pocket to the apron skirt along the sides. I use a zig zag stitch.

Fold over and press your side seams, and then fold over and press once more to get a clean seam with no raw edges. Repeat on the other side.

Stitch close to the fold. Repeat on the other side of the apron.

Now take the apron skirt and fold it in half, wrong sides together. Using a ruler mark a line down the pocket at 4 1/2" from the center of the apron. Flip it over and do the same on the other side. Now you will have a 9" pocket in the center of your apron. You can use a disappearing ink pen for this. The mark will be your stitching guide.

Beginning at the bottom of the pocket, stitch following your guide line to the top edge of the pocket. I like to do 2 lines of stitching here. Always start at the bottom edge of the pocket to avoid puckering. Repeat for the other side of the pocket.

Now take your remaining 3" by 30" strip and your (2) 3" by 44" strips. Sew one of the 3" by 44" strips to each side of the 3" by 30" strip. Press the seams open.

Lay your apron skirt down, with the right side of fabric facing up. Center the waistband that you just created on top of the apron skirt with right sides together. You can pin it in place if you like.

Stitch the waistband to the apron skirt.

Press the seam up towards the waistband.

Fold the waist ties with right sides together and beginning at the end of the tie, stitch the short end and with the needle down, pivot and continue sewing until you get to the apron skirt.

Another view of stitching the ties.

Stitch until you reach the point where the apron skirt begins. Repeat the process on the other side.

Clip the corner of the apron tie close to the stitching but be careful not to clip the threads.

I use a wooden dowel to turn the ties right side out.

Gently push out the corners. I use a large safety pin to carefully pull out the corners. A crisp corner can really make a difference and make a garment look "finished'. After you have done both side ties, take the apron to the ironing board and press the ties.

Press under 1/2" on the raw edge of the waist band.

Now fold the waistband over and press in place. Make sure that when you press the waistband the folded edge is just slightly over the stitching line so that when you top stitch from the other side you will be sure to catch this side in your seam.

Take your apron with the right side of the fabric facing up, begin top stitching at the intersection of the waistband and ties, pivoting at the corners with your needle down.

Top stitch across the apron waist band until you come to the intersection of the tie on the other side. With your needle down, pivot and continue all the way around the waistband, until you return back at your starting point.

At this point you are done! Stand back and admire your work!

Maybe by now, you've worked up an appetite?

Put on that apron and make something yummy!

 Burritos perhaps?