artful thursdays #24....easy no-sew embroidered button tutorial

i am so excited to get back to my artful thursday projects. today my tutorial is how to make super easy no-sew embroidered buttons.

as i was digging through the vintage sewing supplies at one of my regular antique store stops i found this prims, cover a button kit. inside there are four sizes of buttons to cover. apparently they are washable and rustproof. splendid.
it is so easy you don't even need a tool. and just in case you didn't find a little cover a button kit do not fret, i found a similar button kit at joanns.
i like the buttons with the little teeth on the back.



it all started with an old embroidered pillow case. i had cut off the hand crocheted trim to use and couldn't quite discard the little embroidered daisies, so i made a little covered button and liked it so much.


i started looking through my old linens for bits of embroidery i could use.
there it was, the perfect little hankie. stained and torn but with lovely bullion roses and chrysanthemums hand embroidered to the thin cotton.



step 1. wrap your embroidered fabric over the button form to position your design.


step 2. cut out a circle of scrap fabric to test the size then lay your scrap pattern over your embroidery. position, pin, and cut out. my hankie was so thin i used a circle of plain cotton to back the embroidery so the silver button wouldn't show through.


step 3. tuck the circle ends all around the back of the button pulling the fabric taught and positioning your design so you like it.


step 4. place the back over the loop shank and press until the button snaps closed. after the backing is in place you can't take it off and reposition so make sure your edges are smooth and you like how the stitching is centered.

i will never know who stitched this gorgeous piece of embroidery, but i love that i found a way to use it a little bit longer...

happy thursday, julie

a love story...

yes, well you might ask where i have been these last couple of weeks. last month my oldest daughter announced she would be getting married in 3 weeks. the wedding was planned for april (they have been dating for 4 years!) but the two of them decided they wanted to be married before he swore in to the marines in 21 days. i went into shock at the announcement. actually it can be done, pulling off a wedding in 3 weeks... but i don't recommend it...

i love this photo of the two of them, it does tell a love story doesn't it. they are blissfully happy together now and they thought the wedding was perfect. it rained on the lovely garden reception. drops puddled around the frosting on the wedding cake and the tablecloths were damp. still the couple was glowing. at one point in the evening i saw him twirling her around with her dress billowing. i just caught a glimpse of their faces, they were laughing as the warm summer rain fell on them. how else do you start a life together?

its just that she was ready to go, and i wasn't quite ready to let her...


my sister katherine had her camera and was taking photos, i just love this one of the gorgeous green ruffled shoes and the bride bouquet. a mix of long stemmed roses and english roses from her grandmothers flower garden wrapped in long strands of silk ribbon.


i ordered these gorgeous sugar hydrangeas from sweet petal bakery. 100 sherbet colored flowers and pale mint colored leaves were dusted with edible shimmer and arranged on a the buttercream frosting cake. they were gorgeous and the cake was delicious. a little summer rain never hurt a good cake....


these are a couple more photos we used to plan the decorations and flowers. this photo was from a site all about flowers...


this photo was on etsy, can't find it now. it was from a seller that had baskets full of vintage tablecloths i guess.


flickr always has gorgeous color collections!



we didn't have time to order fancy invitations so we bought two boxes of these pretty printed blank cards from paper pigeon and set up the text on the computer and had them printed at our copy shop. the paper store had precut photo tissues to put on top of the photo and we added a little insert in a glassine envelope and tied the bundle together with vintage string.



so now it is back to our regularly scheduled life. there is now one less plate at the dinner table and one empty room downstairs.

yet in the way life continues to surprise and delight me, where before we had one now there are two.
julie

super sale today.....

...............$...$ SUPER SALE $...$..................

i am headed back to school in 3 weeks so i am clearing out
my etsy shop today, august 3rd.

everything marked 20%-40% off. all handmade items, vintage paper goods,
crepe paper ruffles, felt zipper purses, and stamens.

***i will be listing and adding items all day tuesday, SUPER SALE DAY,
as i photograph and package things up***

have fun, julie

artful thursdays #23....emilee the tiny stuffed kitty tutorial

ok, so i was totally wrong about this whole summer thing...

i thought that once the long lazy summer days arrived i would have the whole day to post my artful thursdays projects and tutorials. i guess i didn't remember what summer was like having 4 kids home all day (3 teenagers!) with friends over, eating constantly, needing a ride here and there, staying up late talking and watching movies. i must have forgotten how fun it is and that i would want to be doing everything with them.

so i am giving myself a break, letting myself off the hook a bit and will just decide to be happy with posting a photo of what i am working on instead of feeling like i have to photograph and post a complete tutorial every thursday. there you go, i now have permission to have all kinds of fun these last 3 weeks before i am back teaching again and having thursdays to myself again.

it is very hot here, nearly 100 degrees every day. july really feels like a desert. it is cooler downstairs and a great place to sew. my daughter marina has been sewing a stuffed army of these little guys, i had to make one.


the supplies are so simple to make your own tiny stuffie:
a piece of cotton fabric, some stuffing, and embroidery floss. it is fun to add beads and other little bits like ribbon and a little pink balloon. dig through your stuff and use up whatever you have left over.

step 1. draw a little outline for your animal on tracing paper. everything shrinks when you stuff it so plan for a little shrinkage.

step 2. sew around your outline leaving a little opening for turning the thing inside out. cut out and tear off the tracing paper.



step 3. turn you little guy inside out and stuff with stuffing. sew the opening closed with a needle and thread



step 4. with a needle and embroidery thread sew on a nose, mouth, whiskers, add eyes or use beads with little french knots in the centers.


step 5. decorate with a collar, ribbon, balloon, birthday hat, or tiny sundress. have fun!

happy summer wishes, julie

a blossom passing fair

from a line by william shakespeare in one of his sonnets....a blossom passing fair.

my favorite pale green cotton stemmed millinery flowers, tiny composite buds, velvet blossoms line up their stems. embroidered with hand dyed threads on a linen ground.

in the evening felicia would don her blossomed bonnet tied with a large bow beneath her chin and stroll hand in hand with eugene under the sycamore trees.

'thy sweet graces'

summer evenings on the porch swing, ruffled aprons, and tall glasses of lemonade. flowery tablecloths hanging on the line to dry.

a charming piece of a vintage quilt is the background for 'thy sweet graces'. the quilt pattern is called postage stamp as even the smallest squares of cotton were sewn together and quilted. old dresses were cut apart after they were worn out and the pieces were shared with friends and made into quilts.

even after this quilt was worn to shreds, this piece remains to remind me of the sweet graces that are found in everyday beauty.

artful thursdays #22....cupcake envelope book tutorial

i might have to call this my artful week...
first i spent the most lovely time at the art nest, then went to my art group last night and now today i am making a sweet little cupcake envelope book to tuck in my purse for my artful thursday.

this is such a fun and easy project. you can make up a whole stack of these little books in an hour. i like that there is a little pocket in the front and back of the book to tuck in a surprise or two.

you will need: 1 envelope, a little stack of paper, a big needle, some string, and a little image for your cover. so the crazy numbers came from a box of subtraction cards i found this week, just felt like cutting them up for the cool numbers....



step 1. fold your envelope in half. cut the flap up the center fold.



step 2. fold the envelope in half with the flap opened. with a pencil mark the cutting lines for shaping your envelope flaps. trim with scissors.


step 3. cut a stack of papers 1/8 inch smaller all around than your envelope. i like to use ledger paper, graph paper, or cute recycled notebook paper. use a corner rounder to round off the corners if you like.


step 4. use a pencil to mark three holes for stitching your book together. thread a piece of string or waxed linen through a large needle. sew your pages in using the pamphlet stitch. here is how to do it.

poke your needle down through the center hole.


poke your needle up through the bottom hole.


poke your needle down through the top hole.



poke your needle up through the center hole again.


now tie the two string ends in a square knot and clip threads.





step 5. decorate the front of your book with a square of cute paper and a cupcake image. i love the cupcakes in this nook and pantry paper pad from basic grey. use an image from a scrapbook paper, piece of wallpaper, wrapping paper, or from a worn out vintage book.


wrap your book up with a bit of ribbon and a tiny pencil for the quickest ever little handmade gift. enjoy, julie