Stuffed Elephant

 So today I'm so excited to share with you my first sewing project I completed with my new sewing machine. I admit, it has taken a while to get here, but now I've finally gotten the hang of the machine.
Before we get started, here are a few things I've learned as a beginner sewer: 

• If your sewing machine includes a DVD, watch it: I read, re-read, and triple-read my instruction manual, and was still having problems. I even went online to try and find help. I finally, out of desperation, decided to watch the DVD and was surprised to learn a lot more from it, such as the proper way to thread the bobbin and the machine.
• Practice makes perfect: I started off practicing on some left-over fabric I had hanging around, which was good, because I really needed the practice. It was nice not to have to worry about messing up on good fabric when I was just staring out and learning.
• Go slow: Even though it is easy to press that pedal as far as it will go, you will have a lot more control if you keep it slow.

So after I had practiced and practiced I decided to tackle my first project, a plush elephant toy. I found the pattern for this vintage elephant here and had pinned it on Pinterest a while ago, and found some cute fabric at Wal-Mart.

My first attempt at this project wasn't a success. The ears were just too difficult for a beginner like me. So I scrapped it and started fresh, this time deciding to just embroider the ear outline on the pattern.
So I traced the elephant out on the back of my fabric twice, once from the front of the pattern and one from the back.

Then I got out my yarn and put together a little yarn tail for the elephant that I thought would be cutter than the little fabric triangle on the pattern. I also found two cute pink buttons and sewed them on for the eyes.
Back to the fabric, the next step was to pin together both sides, the back of both fabrics facing out. I also pinned the tail, making sure it was sticking inside the elephant.
From there I carefully sewed around the whole thing, going slowly and carefully, and leaving a big gap near the tail.

After I finished sewing I turned the elephant outside right. Then I took some batting and stuffed it. Finally I took a sewing needle and thread and hand stitched the hole closed.

There you have it, a hand-made little stuffed elephant! It isn't the best thing ever, but I think it was a good first sewing project attempt. It was looking really, really sad when I finished sewing it, but it looked a lot better once I added the batting. But now I'm looking forward to attempt my next project, feeling more and more confident with my sewing machine. 



Happy Crafting,

PS: Here's where we link up.

Cupcake Pencil Toppers

I love bright summer colours and using felt is a great way to utilize those wonderful colours. Today I am going to show you how I made cupcake pencil toppers

I cut out a little cupcake template on white paper and then a rectangle a little bigger than the base of the cupcake. I chose to cut out the cupcakes purple, pink, and blue, while I did the base a nice brown. Make sure you cut out two of everything for each pencil topper.

My first step was to glue sequins onto the cupcakes with some white glue.

All I had left to do was sew the brown base to the cupcakes and then sew two together to make the topper.

We wish you all a happy long weekend! Stay tuned next week for our Canada Party and some other great projects we have been working on.

Happy Crafting,

PS: Here's where we link up.

Sewing for Beginners

This is the tale of my $12 sewing machine. I found it all alone on a bottom shelf at Winners. What drew me to it was not just its $12 price tag, but its cute petite red shape. Immediately I dreamed up all sorts of projects I would create on this little mini sewing machine. Pillows, dresses, stuffed animals, the possibilities were endless.


But as the age-old saying goes 'It's it looks too good to be true, it probably is.' While this little red beauty looked perfect perched up on my bookshelf, it seemed that was all it was good for. When I tried to actually use it, it let me down.

After going through the steps of threading the, well, thread, through the the proper loops and setting it all up, all I was able to do was sew a couple of stitches before the gears shifted and stuck, and I had to spend time trying to figure out how to fix it. Finally my work paid off and I was able to try again. But the process repeated itself, and I was stuck again.

Needless to say, this little $12 sewing machine wasn't going to be able to join me on my sewing adventures. Sooo.... I put it back up on the shelf and found myself in the craft aisles of Wal-Mart, picking up a grown-up machine to replace my baby sewing machine.

I decided to go for a basic machine because my sewing skills are very limited and I didn't want to spend too much on a machine that I didn't really know how to use, but  I did want  something that would let me do a little more than my $12 one did. The options at Wal-Mart (really the only store nearby where I could find sewing machines for sale) varied in prices from $88 to $295. I went for the mid price range model, The Singer Esteem II  for $135. It offers 22 different stitches, as well as a button hole maker.

When I got it home I immediately got to work setting it up. I was glad that it came with a hefty instruction pamphlet and a quick start-up guide, because I needed all the help I could get!

It took a little bit of finagling, but I followed the directions and successfully followed the directions to pull the thread through the machine. And then I pulled out a scrap of fabric and tested out my new machine. The result? 

Success! I know it is hard to tell from this picture, but I did get some stiches. I'm very excited to really test of this sewing machine and show you all what I come up with!

Do you have an sewing projects, pillows, clothes, toys, etc. you think I should try?

Happy Sewing,

PS: Here's where we link up.