Saturday, June 30, 2012

Room & Month Finale!

It's finished!!!
All the work we've done this past week has paid off and my sweet girl has a beautiful room full of color and that perfectly matches her style. We are pleased!

Find the posts from all week where we've shared each feature...


And then here's the side table book shelf that we finished by using Modge Podge and fabric pieces.
She'd like some book ends for her desk and we'll have to find some art for her walls, but she has officially moved in! :)

A very fun, family finish!
Hope you all had a wonderful FAMILY focused month too!
Kristy

Friday, June 29, 2012

Pillow Talk

All of the accents we have been making for the new room makeover have been fun, but I think these are my favorites of all....the PILLOW PILE!
 The large pillows are what I call "Scrappy Stuffed Pillows". I have boxes that sit by my cutting table and serger to catch all my scraps while I'm working. I saw the idea on one of my sewing boards years ago where someone would keep pillow forms cut from muslin by their serger to cut scraps at thought "What a GREAT idea!". These are the first I've made....though I'm sure they won't be my last!
 Simple as: 1 - Scraps
2. Muslin cut in the shape you want your pillow
3. Stuff your pillow form
4. Slip-stitch closed
 For our large pillows, we used strips of our fabric cut based on the measurements of our "Scrappy Stuffed Pillow" inserts to make our pillow covers.

 These sweet accent pillows were made following the Willow Small Pillows with Pom Poms from our Girl's World book. We both just loved these little pillows!

 And OF COURSE, no Girl's World inspired room would be complete without George. :) (another darling project from the book!)
 This fluffy pile is going to top of her bed perfectly!
Not much left now....

Room finish coming soon!
Kristy


Shorts On The Line!!!

shorts on the line button

I'm so excited to be a part of this upcoming event!! In July, I'll be joining imagine gnatsDesigns by Sessa, and small + friendly who are hosting "shorts on the line", a summer sewalong. 

For the first three weeks in July, there will be guest posts with shorts inspiration, tutorials, and pattern reviews. Those sewing along at home will have a chance to be featured in the sewalong round-up posts the last week of july.... and there are some *great* prizes, including fabric, patterns, and gift certificates to be won! Here's the run down...

7.1 shorts on the line kick-off!

week one: imagine gnats
7.2 Rachael (imagine gnats) and Melanie (A Sewing Journal)
7.3 Courtney (mon petit lyons), Inder (Inder Loves Folk Art), and Nicke (Kiss Kiss... Quilt)
7.4 Rashida (i heart linen) and April (Sewing Novice)
7.5 Andrea (the train to crazy) and Kristy (Hopeful Threads) That's ME! :)
7.6 Shannon (luvinthemommyhood) and Erin & Carla (Clever Charlotte)
7.7 Emma (Hello Beautiful) and Cassandra (Cass Can Sew)
7.8 Gail (probably actually) and Becky (Owly Baby)

week two: small + friendly
7.9 Carla (small + friendly) and Sophie (cirque du bebe)
7.10 Ros (Sew Delicious) and Veronica (sewVery)
7.11 Shelly (Figgy's) and Alyssa (Pile O'Fabric)
7.12 Jessica (a little gray) and Diane (from blank pages)
7.13 Kristin (skirt as top) and Kelley (Casa Crafty)
7.14 Katie (There and Back) and Tara (girl like the sea)
7.15 Alli (B. Yazoo) and Jennet (Feathered Nest Studios)

week three: Designs by Sessa
7.16 Vanessa (Designs by Sessa) and Jessica (Me Sew Crazy)
7.17 Cherie (You and Mie) and Jane (Buzzmills)
7.18 Karen (Sew Well Maide) and Stephanie (The Crafty Kitty)
7.19 Bianca (Sweet Diesel Designs) and Tara (true, pure, lovely)
7.20 Jenny (Stumbles & Stitches) and Susan & Adrianna (crafterhours)
7.21 Danny (Mommy for Reals) and Marian (Lady Face)
7.22 Jill (Made With Moxie) and Christina (2 Little Hooligans)

features and deadline
7.23 sewalong features, Rachael's favorites
7.24 sewalong features, Carla's favorites
7.25 sewalong features, Vanessa's favorites
7.26 final deadline for shorts sewalong entries
7.27 viewers choice voting begins

winners annoucements
7.28 judges' choice third place announced
7.29 judges' choice second place announced
7.30 viewers choice winner announced
7.31 judges' choice first place announced

Doesn't that look like LOADS of fun!?!?!? Get ready by joining the shorts on a line flickr group and check out the shorts on the line pinterest board for some short-y inspiration.

Find more information at imagine gnats.
Have fun hopping around all these amazing blogs and sewing along!
Psssst....this might just tie into the July Monthly Project here at Hopeful Threads too! ;)
Can't wait!!!
Kristy

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Lush Lighting

My girl loves to read before bed, so we had to come up with an effective, but equally attractive lighting option. The goose-neck bed lamp just wasn't working with all the other pretties of her new room. ;)
So....the Girl's World book once again provided the inspiration we needed to make it happen. 
 And, once again....to the store we go! :)
We found a simple lamp stand and shade and some bundles of artificial flowers in the colors of her fabric. With the suggestions of the Olivia Floral Lamp in our Girl's World book...
 ...we broke out the hot glue gun and she got to work!
 It was so much fun for me to watch her enjoy making this just the way she wanted it and then see her like it even more than she had expected once it was done. :)
One more beautiful and COMPLETE accent for her new room!
EEEEEkkkkk!!! It's coming together!!!
"One Happy Mama"

Making Memories!

Things are coming together beautifully with my daughter's room makeover as my final FAMILY project this month. I hope to have a finished picture to share with you this weekend, but until then, here is a sample of some of the beautifully, girly projects we've been working on.
Several of our projects have come directly from the inspiration and direction of our Girl's World book. It wasn't really planned, but it has all worked out perfectly!
My daughter knew she wanted a Memory Board for her new room, so I ordered a little extra of the fabrics she had picked to make this special one. It's called the Molly Patchwork Memory Board.
 My daughter measured the space where she wanted it and then I went to work!
 She decided she wanted ric rac instead of ribbon for the trim, and I love the added character it gives! It did require an entire afternoon's trek all over the countryside since we were of course about 1/2 a yard short with what I had in my stash, and the first 2 stores we visited were out....but all in all, the finished product was exactly what she wanted, and that was what I was aiming for. :)
 We finished our diamond accents with a fun assortment of coordinating pink buttons, and it's now ready to be hung in her new room.

I'm not sure at this point who is more excited to see it complete, me or her!
This has been such a fun project to work on together. 
More fun details to come!
Kristy

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Hopeful Threads at CraftFoxes.com!

I'm delighted to have the opportunity to share at CraftFoxes.com today as part of their series "Handmade Conversations". Stop by and say hello....and you might just get a glimpse of me as a child. That's all I'm saying...you can read into it as much as you'd like, but it's way too much cuteness to share in more than one place. ;)
Kristy

Monday, June 25, 2012

New Crazy Love Curtains! +Tutorial

This week I will be working on the biggest FAMILY project of the month for me.....my daughter's room makeover! She becomes a teenager this week, <sniff, sniff> and will also be getting her own room for the first time since her sister joined our family when she was 2. :) So, a complete and more grown-up room was in order. And LUCKY for me, she chose this....
Sigh. Pause. Soak.

I know....gorgeous right??? She has picked an assortment of scrumptious Sis Boom fabrics for all the accents and what a treat for me! Today I'm sharing the first item on the list, curtains. She & I both were giddy with how they turned out!
We were originally planning a ruffled edge on the curtains, but when we saw the Reading Nook Curtains at vixenMade, we decided we liked this idea even better!
We also decided we liked the idea of adding tabs at the top of the curtains to incorporate the accent fabric there as well. Using a similar curtain we had here as a guide to the way it should be constructed, this is how I made them:
Curtain Panels - 3 yards
Accent Ruffles & Tabs - 1 yard
  • Cut your panels 1.5 yard each. (or based on the measurement of your window)
  • Hem the sides of each curtain panel. Leaving the top and bottom edges raw.
  • Cut a strip of the accent fabric 3" by Width of Fabric (WOF).
  • Iron the raw edges in 1/2" on top & bottom of the strip.
  • Iron the top edge of your curtain panel down 1/2".
  • Pin the accent strip along the top of the panel, Wrong Sides Together (WST), set aside.
 This is where we determined the length we wanted the tabs. We decided we didn't want them very long, so I cut our strips for the tabs 6" x 2".
Determine the number of tabs you will need based on the width of your curtain panel and how far apart you'd like them spaced. Our panels are the WOF or about 42" wide, so we used 9 tabs on each. To make and attach your tabs, do the following:
  • Cut 2 rectangles for each tab.
  • Pin Right Sides Together (RST) and stitch 1/4" seams along each of the long sides.
  • Turn. Iron. Top-stitch.
  •  Beginning at one end, position one of the tabs along the edge sandwiched between the curtain panel and strip on the back. Line the raw edges of the tab with the raw edge of the hem about 1/2" from the top edge. Pin in place.
  •  Space the tabs evenly apart along the top. For our panel, this was every 3".
  • Top-stitch along the top edge, and then again about 1/4" from that. Then a third time along the bottom edge of the inner strip. This secures the tabs and provides a very nice finish.
  • Create your ruffle(s). For this step I cut two 4" strips the WOF, joined them to make one long strip and used a rolled hem in pink along the long edges. I then gathered the ruffle using my favorite quick & easy gathering technique.
  • Pin the ruffle(s) in place where you'd like them on the panel and stitch. Ours were 6.5" from the bottom.
 
  •  Final step is to hem the bottom of your curtain panels. I saved this until the last step so I could hang the curtains once the tabs were attached to determine where to hem.
 Now you are ready to stand back and admire your work!
Enjoy!
Kristy

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Fundraiser to support Little Flower!

Hopefully if you have been around here for a bit you have heard about China Little Flower/Little Flower Projects. Little Flower is a very special organization that cares for some of the most fragile of Chinese orphans. 
Little Flower cares for a variety of needs. The list of projects includes:
1. Hospice care for orphans
2. Group educational foster care
3. Special Care for infants
4. Long-term care for severely disabled children
5. Special causes
I have found a unique way to combine several things that are important to me and I'm very excited to share this with you and would be delighted to have your support!

Another image that rests on the sidebar of my blog is this,
Assisting Adoption was created by an adoptive mother (and dear friend of mine!) who knows first hand the challenges adopting families face. Her purpose is to provide an easy and profitable fundraiser for them through Thirty-One Product parties, where she donates her commission to their adoption fund. If you are in the adoption process, know someone who is or would like to support an adopting family when you purchase Thirty-One products, you'll want to read more!

So, I asked my friend if she would allow me to host a party for Little Flower.
I asked Little Flower if it would be okay if I fund-raised for them this way.
All has been approved and this is where YOU come in! :)

From July 1st - July 15th I am hosting a Thirty-One Fundraiser event for Little Flower. The goal is to provide a month's salary for one of the incredible Nannies there. The month's salary is equivalent to $283 USD. The Thirty-One order total must reach $1150 for the commission rate donated by my friend to cover this amount, so that is what we are aiming for. 

Of course, if you have the heart and resources to help cover a month's salary for a Nanny independently, you can do so here, and that would be AMAZING!

+++ IN ADDITION +++
To include yet another thing that is near to the hearts of our family, I will be using a large portion of any hostess credit earned to purchase drawstring bags like these from Thirty-One for foster children in our community.


****AND!****
If we reach the goal, I will also purchase another bag to be given away here! :)
If we are fortunate enough to reach our goal multiple times, I will purchase a bag to be given away here for each time we do!

So here's how it works:
  • Visit the Thirty-One site here
  • Select "My Parties"
  • Choose the Hopeful Threads/Kristy Smith party for Little Flower
  • Place your order directly through Thirty-One who will then ship your items directly to you once the party closes. (*Please Note* Gift Certificates purchases are unfortunately not applicable.)
  • Enjoy your new items and know that you helped support Little Flower at the same time!  
For the month of July, there is a special incentive when you order from Thirty-One too! :) It just keeps getting better doesn't it!?
For every $31 you spend you get to choose one of FIVE items for only $5!
These items include the Zipper Pouch, Cinch-It-Up Thermal Tote, Thermal Tote, Littles Carry-All Caddy or Mini Zipper Pouch. 
That means you could buy that bag or gift you have been wanting and get the perfect lunch tote for one of your kid's for the new school year for ONLY $5!
When you've reached the $31 mark with your order, simply place the $5 item of your choice in your cart and it will show up at the discounted price. Easy! There is also $5 personalization all month long too if you want your items personalized. :)

Here's a pic of a couple of my favorite Thirty-One items all packed up for a day at the zoo.
The Organizing Utility Tote is the first bag I've found that can carry ALL the water bottles we need for our big family! And the Lil' Expressions Mini Zipper Pouch peeking out the top there is personalized with a cute little image resembling each of my kiddos....love it! Grammie loves her's like this too, it makes a perfect gift! :)

So look around the easy to read PDF summer catalog here, and let me know if you have any questions.The fundraiser will open 1 WEEK from today on Sunday, July 1st.  ***Monday, July 2nd....delay due to mid-western storms effecting Thirty-One Headquarters.***

This is my idea of a WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN! WIN!
And I'm hopeful that it will be a great success!
Feel free to share with others, and thank you in advance for doing so!
Kristy

Friday, June 22, 2012

Monster Nap Mat for MY Lil' Monster!

 I made this super adorable and playful nap mat a bit ago as a pattern test for Izzy & Ivy Designs. It's part of the new collection called "Muddy Max" that is soon to be available. (And OH SO STINKIN' CUTE!!!) Well, since then, it's been sitting in a basket by my desk waiting for the binding so it would be all finished and ready to use. And let me assure you that my son didn't let me forget.....rather, I received almost DAILY reminders!!! :)
Well, thanks to the extra nudge of our FAMILY focus this month, it is now finished!
 Here's my lil' dude modeling how it's used....not that he dares to take a nap anymore!

The nap mat is part of the new pattern Monster Mash that will be available for purchase very soon. The nap mat is only 1 of the projects included too! There's also PJs, a backpack and an awesome monstery quilt that are all super FUN!
One of the greatest features is that when not in use, it can be rolled up and tucked into a pouch that is sewn on the back to store as a pillow.

My favorite part by far though is that sweet face!
I made this guy with soft & fuzzy fabric that I think was just perfect and adds to his personality!

Ah....SIGH. It really is nice to mark something like this DONE and watch your fella run off with it happily. :) This was my first time sewing binding on by hand, and while I had dreaded it, now I have to admit that it was not only simple to do, it was even enjoyable! Talking myself closer and closer to that first quilt every day! :)

Just a week left of our FAMILY sewing month now and it has been such fun for me! I have loved seeing all of your projects that you've shared on facebook too. Keep 'em coming! 
Kristy



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