Friday, August 29, 2014

DIY French Memo Board tutorial

For some reason I felt especially accomplished with this post. I think it's because I wasn't just stashbusting and using up spare craft supplies, I was also fulfilling a need we had.
For as long as we've lived here, I was planning on putting a bulletin board over the bookshelf in our boys bedroom to hold mementos like postcards, ticket stubs, and birthday cards. After consulting with Google on searches like "boys bulletin board", I figured one of those ribbon bulletin boards, or "French Memo Boards" as I learned they're called, was just the ticket.
I especially loved that I got to use a super-fun comic book themed Star Wars fabric-- getting it out of the stash, and on display on the wall. I also harvested a stretched canvas from an unused flannel board (pro-tip: just ignore those little tutorials out there that tell you to use flannel as the base for your felt-boards. USE FELT.)

I did have to buy a couple of things: ribbon and buttons. Both were on sale but unfortunately now I have to use up the rest of those. Everything else came from the stash.
Yay to getting projects ticked off the list! Yay to using up stuff that's otherwise just sitting in a drawer! (See what I mean about this week's sense of accomplishment?)

Have you made one of these ribbon bulletin boards before? They're actually super easy and can be done in an afternoon-- which, of course, added to the I'm gettin' stuff DONE feeling. I made a How to Make a French Memo Board tutorial video if you'd like to try one:

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Basic sewing machine maintenance

When's the last time you cleaned and oiled your machine? Or took it in to have serviced?

If the answer is "never", then now's the time to do it! I made a sewing tutorial video if you've never done it before... and if you have done it before, hopefully this post will serve as a little reminder to do it right now!

Friday, August 15, 2014

City Gym Shorts muslin

The have: old lady Mary Engelbreit (-ish?) fabric (sorry, Engelbreit fans), and a new FREE pattern I'm itching to try. The need: new pajama shorts for summer.

The end result:
I decided to do a little stash busting while fulfilling a need. I inherited this not-quite-my-jam Mary Engelbreit quilting fabric from my beloved Grandma. I briefly considered donating it to the thrift store before deciding that it's cute enough that I can live with it, and that I could use it for a lining or muslin or something. When this free pattern was released, I knew it was destined to become something that wouldn't be worn out of the house: PJ shorts.


This is Purl Bee's City Gym Shorts pattern. I don't have a whole lot to say about the pattern, especially considering that it's a free pattern that Purl Bee generously provided to the sewing blogosphere. I have a couple of other pairs I cut out at the same time, which aren't yet finished, and I'll type up a full pattern review when I post those.


I really tend to overdo it on the free patterns, don't I? Especially considering I spend so much money on NOT free patterns!

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