Tuesday, May 29, 2012

One, Two, Tie Your Shoe Model - Tutorial

Before I get down to this I will be honest with you.  I have a new camera and do not know how to use it.   I am definitely not a photographer.  So my photos are not always the best.  :(  I am also very new to writing tutorials.  But, if you can bear with me I will show you what I made for my daughter recently and how I made it.




 My little girl has hit that preschool age where she needs to learn to tie her shoes.  So instead of having a shoe sitting on my table that has been trudging through the garden, I decided to make her one.  

 

Materials:

- adult shoe
- 3 pieces of 12" x 12" cardstock
- hole Punch
- scissors
- Shoe Lace
- Gluestick
- Double Sided Fusible Webbing (I use Steam A Seam 2)
- About 1/8 of a Yard of Fabric (depends on shoe size)
- Knife
- Single fold bias tape
- Glue Gun
- Puffy Paint (optional)

 

Instructions:




1.  Trace your shoe on to the card stock.  Cut out shoe outline and use this first one as a template for the other 4.  Once you have your 5 shoes cut out, set one aside (this one is your backing).




2. Take one of your shoe cutouts and draw little circles evenly spaced down both sides of your shoe top (I pre-draw to make it a little easier to figure out spacing).  Next, use the hole punch to cut them out.  It is okay to bend or fold the cutout to make the holes (you can see in the photo I had to).  Use this first one as a template to repeat the process on the other 3 shoe outlines.  Now glue your outlines together.  Do not worry about them matching up perfectly, this will be hidden.




3. Place your fusible webbing on top of your shoe outlines and then your fabric on top of that.  Trim to fit the shoe outline and press with an iron.




Yours will look like this.

4. Flip over your shoe to the side without the fabric and use a sharp knife to cut an "X" through the holes into the fabric.  Thread your laces through the holes.  I like to make sure mine lay as flat as possible on the underside.




5. Now glue the shoe outline you set aside to the back of the shoe over the laces.  Turn over again so you can see the top of the shoe.





6.  Use a glue gun to add the single fold bias tape to the top of your shoe first and then the back.  If you go slow and do about an inch at a time you can get it to lay nicer.




7.  (Optional Step)  On the back of your shoe, use puffy paint to create fun designs or tread like you find on the bottom of real shoes. 

I hope you will be able to use this tutorial to create some cute practice shoes for your children!

Friday, May 25, 2012

Giveaway Winners

Thank you all for stopping by and entering my giveaways!  I will be emailing the winners later today.  I had so much fun reading through all of your responses.   In case you are curious about my own answers to the questions, they are below the winners.

Giveaway #1 Winner is:
# 134 Treasuresofjoy
I Love to read my Bible

Giveaway #2 Winner is:

#30 Jenniffier Kramer
 "I want to make a purse this summer and finish some UFOs not too much to ask right?"

Giveaway #3 Winner is:

#89 CarrieM
Right now--coral

My favorite books include: "Bel Canto", The Kristin Lavransdatter trilogy, The Sevenwaters books, "Snow Falling on Cedars", "Pillars of the Earth", "Enders Game", "Chocolat", The first few Wheel of Time books, The Elm Creek Quilt Books...I could go on and on.  Currently I am reading "The Phantom of the Opera" and "The Eyre Affair" (a friend lent it to me when we were swapping books). I recently finished "A Discovery of Witches" and "Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes"

This summer I plan to finish up several UFOs and make myself a purse.  The last one I made was from a pattern I drew up and it was for a swap.  I wish I could have kept it.


My favorite color is red but I am having a lot of fun with orange lately.  I tend to buy a lot of Riley Blake fabrics because they are cute and I do most of my sewing for children.

I hope you have a fabulous weekend.  Feel free to stop by again.

I am counting...stay tuned


I promise I haven't forgotten.  I did the random generator thing and have my numbers for each of the giveaways.  However, after searching for an easy way to apply numbers to my comments and failing at a few attempts...well I am doing it by hand.  I will have the results for you all soon.  Thank you for your patience.  Too bad my computer guy husband isn't home to get it done in a minute.  :( 

The good news is that I have 2 tutorials I will be posting this weekend! So if you like feel free to drop by again. 


Monday, May 21, 2012

It's Giveaway Day!

It is giveaway day!  I am so excited! Below are 3 giveaways you can enter.  The giveaways are open until the 25th.  Winners will be selected May 27th.  Good luck.

This weekend I took a little time to try a few things.  I set up a fun envelope challenge for our quilt guild which included these colors:


Our guild members have until July to complete the challenge - which could be either creating a 12 1/2" block inspired by these colors or else just making something fun for themselves with them.  I started sketching up some ideas this past week and came up with around 10 different blocks.  I fell in love with one of them and sat down to try it out.  I didn't measure or get too fussy, I just went for it.  What do you think?

I adore it!  It reminds me of: gummy worms, car trips, and summer!  It just makes me happy.  It doesn't meet the guidelines for the guild challenge with the baby blue incorporated.  I think I am going to make a few more of these squares and create at least a lap quilt out of these. 

The other thing I tried this weekend was ladybug nails!
 

My daughter's were thrilled!  I found the tutorial here:
http://brandyscrafts.blogspot.com/2012/05/ladybug-nails.html
I don't paint nails very often so I definitely need more practice but, oh the possibilities!!

Thanks for stopping by.

Giveaway # 1 - *Updated*


Hello, Sew Mama Giveaway Day visitors!  Prize number 1 is: 1 Mod Medallions quilt pattern from Gigi's Thimble and a variety of 10" Riley Blake Fabrics (can be used to help you make the Mod Medallions quilt).

*I only ship to the U.S. (I am sorry international readers)

To enter please leave a comment including an email where I can reach you. If you like you can tell me what your favorite book is (doesn't have to be sewing related).  This giveaway is open until May 25th.  I will announce the winner by May 27th.  If I cannot reach the winner and they have not contacted me then I will select another winner 1 week later. 

Good luck and remember to check: Sew Mama Sew for more fabulous giveaway day giveaways!

 *Updated - Comments are now closed for this giveaway.  Winner announced here:

http://www.kadybugcrafts.blogspot.com/2012/05/giveaway-winners.html

Giveaway # 2 - *Updated



Hello, Sew Mama Giveaway Day visitors!  Prize number 2 is: a copy of "One-Yard Wonders" and  Omnigrid Easy Rounded Dresden Templates.

*I only ship to the U.S. (I am sorry international readers)

To enter please leave a comment including an email where I can reach you. If you like you can tell me what you plan to sew this summer.  This giveaway is open until May 25th.  I will announce the winner by May 27th.  If I cannot reach the winner and they have not contacted me then I will select another winner 1 week later. 

Good luck and remember to check: Sew Mama Sew for more fabulous giveaway day giveaways!

 *Updated - Comments are now closed for this giveaway.  Winner announced here:

http://www.kadybugcrafts.blogspot.com/2012/05/giveaway-winners.html

Giveaway # 3 - *Updated


Hello, Sew Mama Giveaway Day visitors!  Prize number 3 is: 1 fat quarter of the blue Birds on Chairs, 1 fat quarter of the purple Birds on Chairs, and a little more than 3/4 of a yard of jumping frogs.


*I only ship to the U.S. (I am sorry international readers)

To enter please leave a comment including an email where I can reach you. If you like you can tell me what your favorite fabric color is.  This giveaway is open until May 25th.  I will announce the winner by May 27th.  If I cannot reach the winner and they have not contacted me then I will select another winner 1 week later. 

Good luck and remember to check: Sew Mama Sew for more fabulous giveaway day giveaways!

 *Updated - Comments are now closed for this giveaway.  Winner announced here:

http://www.kadybugcrafts.blogspot.com/2012/05/giveaway-winners.html