Amanda

Fabric Covered Letters

January 20, 2016 by Amanda Leave a Comment

How FUN are these fabric covered letters!!!

You can embellish them with glitter, trim, rosettes, buttons, flowers, pretty much anything! Get your glue gun and let’s get started!!

Supplies

Letters – mine are 1/4″ MDF letters purchased at Beverly’s Crafts. They measure 10″ tall

Fabric fat quarters

Decou page

foam brush

hot blue gun & glue

trim, glitter, buttons, or other embellishments

Begin by making sure your fabric will cover the letter.

Spread the Decou Page all over the front of the letter. Lay the fabric over the letter, smoothing it out with your fingers. Then apply a coat oa Decou Page over the fabric. Let dry completely.

Once it is completely dry. Lay the letter upside down on a cutting mat. Using an exacto knife or small utility knife, cut along the edge letter. I put a movie on and did this because it takes some time 🙂

Now comes the fun part – and the painful part! Using a hot glue gun, run a bead of glue along the edge of the letter and attach trim. I love these tiny pom poms!! You could also use white glue and glitter like in the FUN letters.

Once the trim is on you can make rosettes or flowers and hot glue them on if you want.

I’m going to hang the SEW HAPPY letters up in my sewing room!!

Filed Under: crafts, FEATURED, tutorial

Strawberry Zipper Pouch Tutorial

January 20, 2016 by Amanda Leave a Comment

There is something about strawberries that makes it feel like summer! This fun zipper pouch is the perfect addition to your warm weather outings! Pack it with little snacks for the kids, keep sunscreen and chapstick in it, or keep emergency items like sewing kit and first aid kit handy in the car. If you know me, you know I love zipper pouches!

Supplies:

Scraps of fabric for front of bag – I used Briar Rose, one of my favorite fabric lines ever
1/4 yard natural cotton/linen blend for outer bag
1/4 yard lining
Heat n Bond® Fusible Fleece
Heat n Bond® Ultra
Heat n Bond® Lite
Pressing Sheet
iCraft® Deco Foil™ Pink Melon Transfer Sheets
11″ lace trim
14″ or longer zipper
Strawberry Pattern

Begin by cutting the fabrics according to this cutting guide: (you will also use this diagram for piecing guide)

Trace the strawberry and stem on the Heat n Bond® Ultra. (We also recommend using our NEW iCraft® Deco Foil™ Hot Melt Transfer Adhesive Sheets)

Cut out the strawberry and iron it to the white 5″ square according to the instructions. Let cool completely. Peel off the backing paper. Next take the Pink Melon Deco Foil and place it over the Heat n Bond® strawberry. Place a pressing sheet on top of the foil. WITH A MEDIUM HOT IRON (HOT ULTRA HOT) press for about 15-20 seconds. I wanted a slightly vintage look so I pressed for a shorter amount of time. (for a full Deco Foil™ look…press for 30 to 40 seconds and then allow to completely cool before removing the liner.)

This makes it so some of the foil peels off. Let it cool then gently peel off the remaining Deco Foil. The picture below is the same technique but with a different project:

Trace the stem on the Heat n Bond® Lite. Cut 1/4 ” around the stem. Iron it to the wrong side of the green fabric. Then cut around the stem pattern. Peel off the backing paper. Position the stem. Place the pressing paper over the strawberry to protect the Deco Foil. Heat set the stem in place. Top stitch around the stem.

Once the strawberry is complete, sew the fabric pieces together in the layout diagram. Press the seams – DO NOT press the Deco Foil strawberry. The bag front should measure 8″ x 11″. Iron the HeatnBond® Fusible Fleece to the wrong side of the bag front and the bag back. Again, put a pressing paper over the strawberry to protect while fusing the fleece. You can quilt the bag pieces or leave them as is. Add the accent lace along the bottom seam.

To insert the zipper, follow THIS tutorial. It’s my friend’s and it’s the easiest to follow, and it comes out perfect every time!

Wouldn’t this made a super cute gift?

Filed Under: Heat n Bond, Therm O Web, tutorial, zipper pouch

Theme Print Zipper Pouch Tutorial

January 19, 2016 by Amanda 1 Comment

Today I am sharing something I LOVE!!! Zipper Pouches! I can’t have enough of them and I love to give them as gifts. In fact, the ones pictured in this tutorial is actually what I gave my nieces and nephew for Christmas.

I have created this pattern so you can use your favorite theme print fabric and tailor it to who you are giving it to. I even have Star Wars version!! Let’s get started!!

Supplies

1/4 yard outer bag fabric

1/4 yard lining fabric

1/8 yard accent strips

small scraps for theme print 5″ x 6 1/2″

Heat n Bond fusible fleece

Spray n bond

12″ or longer zipper

Cut the pieces according to the above cutting guide.

Fuse the heat n Bond Fusible Fleece to the wrong side of the (2) outer bag pieces.

Cut the 1.25″ accent strip into (4) 6.5″ x 1.25″ strips.

Press the accent strips in half lengthwise.
Align the raw edges with the edge of the theme print fabric and sew a 1/4″ seam. Do this to all (4) sides of the (2) theme print pieces. Press the accent strips so the seam allowance is toward the theme print.

Using the Spray n Bond (temporary basting spray) spray the theme print piece and position it on the outer bag, centering. Topsitich along the seam to finish.

Inserting the Zipper

Note: This tutorial is for a zipper with zipper tabs. You can find more instructions HERE if you need a little extra help. You can also use the”Open Wide” zipper method by clicking HERE . I used both.

Using the extra from the 1.25″ strip, cut (2) pieces 1.25″ x 5″. Press them in half, and then press the raw edges under 1/4″.

Lay the zipper out positioning it on top of one of the outer bag pieces. Position the tabs so they overlap each side of the bag 1″. Cut the zipper to fit inside each tab. Pin in place.

Sew 2 times along the edge of the tabs as pictured above. http://www.jedicraftgirl.com/wp-admin/post-new.phpCut along the fold of the zipper tab and cut away the excess zipper, leaving about 1/8″ of zipper. This makes it so there is no bulky zipper in the side seam of the zipper pouch.

Position the zipper right sides together with the outer bag piece. Notice the zipper tabs are hanging over, not to worry, we will square up in a minute.

Next position one of the lining pieces right side down on top of the outer bag with zipper in between.

It should be layered together like the picture above. Pin and sew 1/4″ seam along the top edge using a zipper foot. Trim off the excess zipper tab so it is square with the outer bag.

Press the outer bag and lining piece so it looks like the above picture.

Topstitch along the edge (above). Then repeat with the other side of the zipper, aligning the pieces just like we did above.

This is how it should look once the zipper is inserted (above).

Finishing the Bag

Making sure the zipper is open, match the lining pieces together and the outer bag pieces together and pin all the way around.

Make sure to push the zipper tab toward the lining piece and pin, matching the zipper seams. Sew all the way around the zipper pouch using 1/4″ seam. Leave a 3″ opening at the bottom of the bag for turning.

Cut a 1″ square notch out each corner. Open

Open each notched corner and match seams. Sew a 1/4″ seam, backstitching to start and stop. Turn right side out and topstitch the opening closed.

Your done! You can see from the photo that I used a zipper tab on one and then the open wide zipper method on the others. It’s just preference.

For my nieces I am including a cute nail file, an EOS, and some yummy smelling hand sanitizer. You could also include a small perfume, lotion, gum, notebook and pen. One of my nieces is a ballerina and I know she’s going to love this darling fabric by Heather Ross!

My other niece loves the ocean and fish so this Saltwater fabric by Riley Blake will be just perfect!.

For the boys (which are always harder for me to buy for) you can include a small flashlight, deck of cards or other small game, PEZ dispenser or candy, small action figure or car. I also purchased a whoopee cushion to include, just to drive my sister crazy!!

Filed Under: FEATURED, Heat n Bond, Riley Blake, star wars, Therm O Web, tutorial, zipper pouch

Deco Foil Sizzix Snowflake Pillow

January 19, 2016 by Amanda Leave a Comment

Merry Christmas! I can’t believe how fast December flew by! I still have a stack of projects I was hoping to get to! There is still time to whip up this quick snowflake pillow before Christmas. I used 3 different Sizzix snowflake dies and Deco Foil in Silver and Gold – just like the song!

Gather your supplies and let’s get started!

The Hot Melt Sheets are what allow the Deco Foil to adhere to the fabric. Cut the Hot Melt Sheets the size of the Siizix die.

Use only one layer of the Hot Melt Sheets at a time. I tried cutting multiple and it cuts great but the hot melt sheets end up sticking together.

Cut (2) squares the size of your pillow. I always use 20″ pillow so I can swap pillow covers out in a jiffy. I used a heavy natural muslin. Mine is cut 20″ square. Have your cat help you position the snowflakes randomly all over the pillow front. You can also position in three rows for a linear look. Once you have the snowflakes placed just so, press them into place using a medium-hot dry iron. Let cool completely.

Don’t peel the backing paper off all the snowflakes at once. Begin in the center and peel off as you add foil to protect the adhesive from the iron. Peel off the center snowflake’s paper and place a piece of Deco Foil over. Place the pressing sheet (it comes with the Hot Melt Sheets) over the foil. USING A MEDIUM HEAT DRY IRON press for about 20 seconds. I found that if my iron was set on the cotton/linen setting it would scorch the foil. If this is your first time, test this on a piece of scrap fabric to make sure it works. Once you’ve pressed the foil let it cool completely.

Once the foil has cooled, gently peel away the foil sheet. It will leave a perfect snowflake! Continue this process.

Be mindful not to touch the iron to the completed snowflakes.

They are so shiny and pretty!! Once all the snowflakes are finished you can turn it into a pillow! I always put a zipper in my pillow back. I also added some decorative fringe. For more instructions on how to finish the pillow, you can check out this tutorial.

I love how this pillow looks in my sparkly living room! Supplies:

2/3 yard heavy muslin for pillow

Sizzix Snowflake Dies

Therm O Web Hot Melt Sheets

Therm O Web Deco Foil in silver and gold

2.5 yards decorative fringe

22″ zipper, optional

Filed Under: Christmas, FEATURED, Heat n Bond, pillow, sizzix, Therm O Web

Valentine Tote Bag

January 18, 2016 by Amanda Leave a Comment

I am so in love with Milk Sugar Flower fabric from Penny Rose for Valentine’s Day! It just screams vintage valentine! I thought Sally needed a cute tote bag to carry her valentines in when she has her Valentine Party! This tote bag is the perfect size for so many things! Library books, piano books, car trips, stuffed animals, and dolls! Sally will be using it as her piano book bag when Valentine’s Day is over. The bag gets its stability from Therm o Web Fusible Medium Weight Stabilizer. You can totally sew it in an hour! Yippee!!

I have to pay her to model you know 🙂

Note: The seam allowances very as noted in the directions

Supplies for project:

1/3 yard main fabric

1/4 yard white accent

1/3 yard blue accent & handles

1/3 yard lining

HeatnBond® Lite Fusible Adhesive

2 yards HeatnBond® medium weight fusible stabilizer

Cut the following:

White (2) 4.5″ x 16″ accent strip main bag

Blue (2) 2″ x 16″ accent strip main bag

Pink (2) 10.5″ x 16″ main bag

Blue handles 6″ x WOF

Lining (2) 16″ squares

Sew the strips together in that order using 1/4″ seam allowances. You should have (2) 16″ squares for the outer bag.

Draw a heart on the Heat n Bond® Lite and iron it to the wrong side of the red fabric.

Cut around the heart and peel off the backing paper. Position the heart as pictured above. Make sure to leave plenty of room for the bag bottom. Press into place and top stitch around the heart.

Cut the HeatnBond® Interfacing/stabilizer into (4) 16″ squares.

Cut the lining pieces (2) 16″ squares.

Fuse the HeatnBond® interfacing onto the wrong side of both the outer bag pieces and both of the lining pieces.

Match both outer bag pieces right sides together and pin all the way around. Do the same for the lining pieces. Sew around the sides and the bottom using 1/2″ seam. Leave a 3″ opening (for turning) on one of the sides of the lining.

Cut a 2″ square notch out of the bottom corners of the outer bag and the lining.

Open the notch and match the side seam and the bottom seam. Pin. Do this to each of the notched corners.

Sew along this edge using 1/4″ seam.

It’s starting to look like a bag!

Press the 6″ handle strip in half lengthwise, then fold the edges into the center, the handle strip should be pressed into equal sections of four.

Press the handles and top stitch along both long sides. Trim off selvage. Cut the handle strip in half creating 2 handles.

Turn the outer bag right side out and pin the handles into place. Measure 3.5″ from the side of the bag to position the handle. Baste the edge of each handle 1/8″ from the edge.

Place the right side out outer bag inside the inside out lining (that wasn’t confusing at all!) The above picture is how it should look. Essentially the lining and the outer bag are right sides together. Match the side seams. Pin all the way around the bag. Sew 1/4″ along the edge all the way around the bag. Turn the bag right side out through the opening of the lining. Top stitch the opening closed. Press the lining of the bag so you can’t see any lining on the front of the bag. Top stitch 1/8″ seam all the way around the top of the bag.

I love how it turned out and so does Sally! It just screams Sweet Valentine!

Time to get working on our valentines!

Filed Under: bags, FEATURED, Heat n Bond, Penny Rose Fabrics, Therm O Web, tutorial, Valentine's Day

Sizzix Heart Quilt

January 18, 2016 by Amanda 1 Comment

I think I love Valentine’s Day so much because it pulls me out of the “After Christmas Blues”. It’s bright, and happy! I love the simplicity of this quilt – a simple heart applique. What makes it feel special is that no two hearts are the same and the backgrounds are a variety of low volume prints. When ever I go to a quilt shop and I’m not sure what to buy, I end up purchasing charm packs. I had this “Scrumptious” charm pack by Moda tucked away and it was perfect for this project.

DIY Heart Quilt: A Cozy and Sweet Make for Valentine's Day

Heat n Bond Lite by Therm O Web is my go to for any Sizzix applique projects. I love it because it’s light weight, it fuses fast, and peels easy. Cut the Heat n Bond Lite into (25) 5″ squares.

Select 25 of your favorite squares from the charm pack.

Fuse the Heat n Bond Lite to the wrong side of each of the 25 charm squares. Let cool.

Make sure your cat helps with all the die cutting! Die cut each of the 25 squares using the Fabi heart. The squares are just big enough to cover the whole heart.

Cut a variety of low volume prints into 7″ squares. You will need 25 total. Peel off the backing paper and position the heart in the center of each of the 7″ squares. Heat set into place. Top stitch around each heart, I used light pink thread.

Lay out the blocks as desired. You could easily turn this into a table runner or add more blocks for a baby quilt or throw quilt. Sew each block together in rows using 1/4″ seams. Press each row alternately so it makes it easy to match seams. Sew the rows together and press in one direction. Quilt.

I quilted a scallop boarder around each heart to give it a “Valentine” feel. Then 1/4″ straight line seams. Add the binding and you’re done!

Filed Under: appliqué, FEATURED, quilt, sizzix, Therm O Web, tutorial, Uncategorized, Valentine's Day

Burlap Foil Snowflake Ornament

December 23, 2015 by Amanda 1 Comment

It’s only 1 day until Christmas! Are you ready? These little snowflake pillow ornaments are the perfect gift to whip up if you can find a few spare minutes!

Supplies:

Sizzix Fabi or Big Shot

Sizzix Snowflake Die

Therm O Web Hot Melt Sheets

Deco Foil Silver

1/4 yard burlap

scraps of lace

wire

First I had to clear a spot on my sewing/craft table. There are too many projects going on right now! Once you’ve cleared a little spot, die cut the Hot Melt Sheets with the Sizzix snowflake die. Cut only 1 at a time as the adhesive will stick to itself if you try multiple layers.Cut the burlap (2) 6″ x 8″. Position the snowflake and heat set with a medium hot iron, about 20 seconds. Let completely dry and peel off backing paper.

Cut the foil sheet to cover the snowflake.

Cover with the pressing paper that comes with Hot Melt Sheets. Heat set with an iron set to a MEDIUM DRY temperature. DO NOT OVER HEAT. Iron with firm pressure for 20 seconds. Let cool completely.Gently peel off the foil leaving a beautiful snowflake!

Cut 2 pieces of lace the 6″ and use Spray n Bond to position. Sew lace on using white thread.
Pin the front piece to the back piece wrong sides together. Top stitch all the way around the little pillow 1/4″ from the edge. Leave a 2″ opening at the bottom. Lightly stuff the pillow and sew the opening shut.

Add a piece of wire and tie a decorative bow. I like my burlap to look frayed, you can trim if you like a neater look 🙂

Take them to all your friends!!

Filed Under: Christmas, FEATURED, Therm O Web

Tinsel Table Top Quilt

December 21, 2015 by Amanda 2 Comments

It’s almost Christmas!! There is still time to whip up a few last minute gifts! I love this pattern because it shows off theme prints so well. If you didn’t know, I LOVE theme prints! Especially if they have cats! I love this fabric by Cotton and Steel called Tinsel. I couldn’t bring myself to cut it up into tiny pieces. Click HERE to download the PDF.

There are two versions you can make. A table runner or a table square.

I love that the fabric has “Sally’s Christmas List” because I have a Sally 🙂I quilted it with loops and retro stars.The runner is for me!!And the square is for Mufasa’s best friend Roo!

Baby Mufasa was such a big help!!!

Filed Under: Christmas, FEATURED, quilt

Noel Mini Quilt

December 17, 2015 by Amanda 1 Comment

Hello, my name is Amanda and I am addicted to gingerbread cookies and Christmas sewing! I love this time of year!!! It’s so happy and magical and joyful! I can’t stop listening to Christmas music, baking cookies, or sewing with this Little Joys Fabric from Penny Rose! I created this little quilt pattern using Therm o Web’s EZ print sheets. All you have to do is print the applique pieces from your computer and you’re already on your way to making this quilt!

Mufasa was very helpful in the creation of this quilt as you can see.The pattern is over on the Therm O Web blog today! Hop on over to download the pattern and get the cutting instructions!!

This quilt is perfect to hang on a wall, put on a table, or give as a gift to someone special.

Because most of this quilt is applique, I didn’t want the applique pieces to puff out from the quilt so I quilted over the entire top.

Merry Christmas!!

Filed Under: Christmas, FEATURED, Heat n Bond, Penny Rose Fabrics, Therm O Web

Santa’s Little Helper Quilt

December 12, 2015 by Amanda Leave a Comment

Hey good lookin’! Whatcha got cookin’? How ’bout cookin’ somethin’ up for me!

I’m so excited to be participating in Riley Blake’s Stitchin’ Kitchen blog tour! Thanks for stopping by and welcome to my little corner of blog land!!! I’m a Southern California mom who loves cats, quilting and sewing!! You can follow Mufasa and I and our sewing antics on Instagram @jedicraftgirl.

I love sewing at Christmas time and I am loving all the amazing projects everyone is creating as part of the Riley Blake Stitchin’ Kitchen Blog Tour! I created this fun little throw quilt with inspiration from our elf, Ritchie. My kids love our Elf and they love writing him little notes. This special Santa’s Little Helper Quilt has a pocket on the back of the quilt for children to leave notes for their elf and for the elf to leave notes in response. It’s a magical quilt and it was created with a little help from some magical elf friends!

Let’s get cookin’! All fabrics are from the Santa Express fabric line.

Recipe yields 1 quilt 32″ x 42″

1/4 ” seam allowances

Ingredients

1/4 yard each: blue santa, green snowflake, reindeer, and stripe fabrics for strips

1/3 yard solid white for pinwheels

1/3 yard Riley Blake Basics prints in red

1/4 yard for pocket

1 1/2 yard backing

batting

1/2 yard binding

a sprinkle of elf magic

Directions

Preheat your television to play your favorite Christmas movies while you are bakin’ up this project!

Begin by cutting the red basics and the solid white fabrics into 4 1/2″ squares. You will need 20 of each.

Using a sprinkling of elf magic use the directions below to create some magical half square triangles.

It’s almost like magic how the half square triangles appear! Make sure to cut off the little “dog ears” of the pinwheels.Pressing the seams open helps the pinwheel lay flat.

Once you have pinwheel blocks constructed (dry ingredients) you can now add them to the side strips (wet ingredients).

Sewing blocks with partial seems also seems a little magical! Lay the 20 blocks out and sew them together in rows. Pressing seams alternately and pinning at intersections.

Quilt as desired 🙂 Add binding.To make the little envelope for the back, follow the instructions below:

Hand stitch the envelope on the back of the quilt as you would hand applique a quilt label or applique piece.

I just love this little pocket! You could use this same idea for a tooth fairy quilt!!

With the quilt all finished, it’s time to enjoy some homemade gingerbread cookies! These are my family’s favorite! We’ve been making this recipe every year since I was in Kindergarten!

They are so spicy and yummy and your house will smell delightful!!!