When I first started sewing, I scoured the internet for hours and hours looking for cool and interesting tutorials. I am not a dress girl by any stretch of the imagination, but when I came across the tutorial for this Groooovy T-shirt Dress by Amynotsomuch on Youtube, I knew I had to try it. I'd just bought a gazillion t-shirts from Goodwill so I had plenty to choose from. The dress consisted of a form fitting tank for the top portion and two large t-shirts for the skirt. One plain and one with a funky fresh graphic.
I love skulls, so of course this tee with the multi-colored overlapping skulls practically grabbed me as I passed by the rack.
And the manic robotic boomboxes with the crazy eyes and even crazier teeth called to me, too.
These angry purple and grey skulls with the matching harlequin background was too amazing to ignore.
The tutorial was super easy and I made three in two days! And even though I've only worn them once since then, I still take them down every now and again to admire my handiwork.
I've lusted after a serger almost as long as I've been sewing. If you don't know what a serger (or an overlock machine) is, it's a type of sewing machine that trims the seam and wraps it in a complicated web of thread to keep it from fraying and for a more professional looking finish. And depending on your machine, it can also do different types of hems. To learn more about sergers, take a quick peek here.
Baby Girl in her natural habitat/Beautiful serged seam (which you can't really see 'cause it's white on white but trust me, it's beautiful!)
After much research and deliberation, I chose the Brother 1034D as the newest member of the Sew Sew Funky family. It was reasonably priced and all the reviews I found on Amazon and Pattern Review were positive. Even Mimi G listed it as a solid, reliable machine. I was a bit intimidated by the complicated look of it, but it's actually super easy to thread. There's step by step instructions in the owner's manual and there are color coded guides on the machine itself. I love, love, love my new serger and can't wait to really put her to work!
Every person has a dream vacation spot. For some reason, I've always had this strange fascination with Australia and plan on making my way down under some day. My BFF's dream spot is Paris. She's always talking about it and even plans on learning some French so she won't feel like a complete goober when she takes her leap over the Big Pond. So, as her birthday approached, I actually put some thought into her gift and decided to make her some Paris themed pillowcases. I even came up with a cheesy line about Paris, pillowcases and dreams but thankfully I kept that one to myself. :-)
They turned out even better than I imagined! I purchased the Paris Fun fabric from HisandHersFabrics on Etsy and the polka dot fabric from Joann Fabrics. And a special thank you to the lady who helped me decide that the polka dots were the best option for the border. I swear, Joann's has the nicest people shopping there!
My BFF loved her pillowcases and plans on taking them with her when she finally dons her beret and sets off on her journey. Maybe I can get her to take pictures of the pillowcases at different Paris landmarks like school kids do with stuffed toys? Ha! Probably not, but I can dream, can't I?
During my random browsing of the wonderful World Wide Interweb, I came across this website, Twisted Sifter, which seems to be a blog about damn near everything and whose objective is to: educate, entertain and inspire each and every day. And let me tell you, I was definitely entertained as I read/looked at their post about this super awesome graphic designer named Everett Hiller who photoshops celebs into his holiday party pics.
Ok, I will be the first to admit, I am not a Photoshop expert. Honestly, all I know how to do is crop pictures in that mothersucker so needless to say, I'm easily fooled by photoshopped pictures. But seriously, this guy is amazing, 'cause I really thought Barack was chillin' in somebody's kitchen! And doesn't Ryan Gosling (looking super dorky, by the way) look like he's really there?!
This is the year of the baby. Actually, the last couple of years have been the years of the baby. Must be something in the water 'cause I think about 85% of my girlfriends have either had babies in the last year or are knocked up at this moment in time. All this to say, I've made quite a few baby items in the last few months.
So I was so excited when I found this Onesie dress tutorial because one of my good friends just had a beautiful, round headed baby girl named Kinley. Stephanie over at Barefoot In The Kitchen put together a super easy tutorial. Not only was it really simple but it was super quick, too! I whipped up two in like an hour!
She's a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll!
My only issue was the ruffle bottom. I've only tried ruffles once or twice and they ended up looking a hot ass mess. And I know practice makes perfect but I just don't have the patience to try to perfect the ruffle. Whenever a pattern calls for one, I change it to the easy peasy pleat. Which is what I did for this tutorial and it still turned out super cute! And Kin-Kin wears them so well. How can you not love that little face?!
I'm posting this for no other reason then to say: "Lookie what I made!" :-) A bride-to-be wanted some fun bridesmaids gifts for her bachelorette party and ordered 18 wet bags in funky fresh fabric. Hope they have an awesome time in Vegas!
I am a complete and utter tutorial junkie. I've got a million bookmarked on my computer and a million more printed out and organized in binders. So, one day after coming home from the grocery store and shoving more plastic/paper bags underneath my already junky sink (see below), I decided no more!
I'd bookmarked this awesome tutorial for a reversible tote bag over at Craft Passion and obviously it was time I made some. Joanne of Craft Passion found some really cool fabric at Ikea so I decided to give their fabric section a try.
And I'm so glad I did. I came across this Ullabella fabric of four colorful women sun bathing and immediately fell in love! And for only $4.99 a yard, it was a steal. I had a couple of snafus (which is par for the course with me) but my seam ripper is my BFF and I finished up my tote just in time to go grocery shopping. All the cashiers at Trader Joe's loved my bag. And why wouldn't they? My shopping tote is amazeballs!
Who knew a simple pillowcase could bring so much joy? There are dozens and dozens of organizations that use pillowcases to give back to the community. My favorite so far is ConKerr Cancer, founded by Cindy Kerr, who began making pillowcases to cheer up her son and brighten up his hospital room when he was diagnosed with cancer in 2002. He loved it so much, she began making pillowcases for the other kids in the Oncology Unit and ConKerr Cancer was born.
After I discovered ConKerr Cancer last year, I couldn't wait to use my fledgling sewing skills to create some funky pillowcases! They make the process incredibly simple, too. You can download the easy peasy pillowcase tutorial here or use the one that I followed at Dana Made It. Once you're done, find a Regional Coordinator or local drop off site near you and send those suckers off to brighten up some kid's day!
"What if I can't sew?" you're wondering. Well, if you want to get involved, you can donate. Your money or your time. Every little bit helps. And you better believe I'll be revving up my sewing machine to make some more pillowcases real soon!
If this week's post on Thread Sketching/Free Hand Embroidery were an ice cream sundae, then today's Funky Find would be the cherry on top! I came across this talented lady last year and I couldn't believe what she can do with a needle and thread.
Carolyn Crump
Her name is Carolyn Crump and she's a fiber artist (one of my new favorite terms) who lives in Houston, Texas. She goes a step further from Thread Sketching to actual Thread Painting which as you can see is amazing and takes some serious talent. She uses quilts as her canvas of choice. These are two of my favorite pieces. And yes, these are quilts!
Red Scarf Soliloquy by Carolyn Crump
African Attitude by Carolyn Crump
Carolyn also creates abstract artwork and sculptures. Check out her awesomeness here. If you know of something wild and wacky that you think would be perfect for Funky Find Friday, shoot me an e-mail at sewsewfunky@gmail.com
Soon after I started my sewing journey, I
discovered a completely new method of sewing and using thread. It’s called Free Hand Embroidery or Thread Sketching
depending on who you talk to. I was
instantly fascinated and began to learn more about it. It seems like the sky is the limit when it comes to
Thread Sketching. You can embellish pretty much anything from t-shirts, to
onesies to bags. This is one of the
first video tutorials I found and I absolutely love this idea! Girl Popcorn aka Julie Dunbar explains how to free hand embroider on a t-shirt.
You can even create art! Jessica over at Running With Scissors posted this tutorial on how she created European Thread Sketches as totally awesome artwork for her
home.
Pay no attention to the wear and tear! Just look at the pig! :-)
Of course, being the type who jumps in with both
feet, I went out and bought loads of sharpies, tracing paper and scoured the
internet for this particular free motion presser foot I would need. Then I started experimenting. I thread
sketched pens/pencils (don’t ask), a piggy for my pencil case, --------------->
an elephant and
I even tried a picture of Obama! My roomie told me it looked like a regular ol’
white dude so I guess it wasn’t all that great, but it was fun!
It opened up a whole new world for me. I even
found this talented chick, Rosie G whose entire business is based on Free Hand Embroidery and she seems like she’s doing pretty well for herself.
I definitely plan on incorporating Thread Sketching into my products this upcoming year, but of course, it won’t be your
ordinary, run of the mill stuff. I’ll have to put some funk on it! Stay tuned!
In a perfect world, I’d like to believe that I
am the funkiest thang around, but I know that’s not the truth. I’m pretty
close, though! With that being said, I want to spread the funky love, so from
here on out, Fridays will be dedicated
to the most fun, wacky, unique people, places and things I can find. Welcome to
Funky Find Friday!
The 'Stache Store
A baby with a moustache? What the what?! I found
this cool little shop while browsing for baby gifts on Etsy. Apparently my
girlfriends just cannot stop getting pregnant! I contacted the owner, Brandy (who
I will now refer to as Mama ‘Stache) and asked her if she’d like to be my very
first Funky Find and she happily agreed. I’m nosy and love to hear about people’s life
adventures so I asked Mama ‘Stache how the ‘stache store came to be.
Mama ‘Stache – “What is the {stache} all about? Well for
me, the story behind the {stache} starts like any other good story. So an old
friend of mine and I had a few beers and were being silly while crafting and
the ‘stache was born. Three years later, I'm still going strong! I'm Brandy,
the owner and creative genius behindthestachestore.com. I am a full-time elementary teacher (my kids
love the {stache}!), mother of two sweet boys (under two!) and a full-time
student. Enough about me, let's get back to the {stache} at hand. The {stache}
is a symbol of fun and emits laughter. The paci {stache} is the world’s best
baby shower gift and brings a smile to a nervous parents face. The {stache} has
increased in popularity over the past two years but even long after the ‘stache
tattoos fade off the fingers of the hipster,thestachestore.comwill still be there. Also available are
awesome {stache} sticks for family photos, weddings, photo booths or just for
fun.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself. And for fun giveaways
and coupon codes, be sure to like her Facebook page and follow her on Twitter
@thestachestore! I have and I hope you
do the same.
If you know of something wild and wacky that you think would
be perfect for Funky Find Friday, shoot me an email at sewsewfunky@gmail.com.
My first craft event - "Girls Nite Out"/My first creations
What amazes me the most about Sew Sew Funky is that before 2011 I had no interest in sewing whatsoever. Or starting a business for that matter. But as a good friend of mine (I can’t remember who) always says, “Things happen for a reason.” So, I guess my getting laid off in November of 2010, my sister giving me a pillow case for Christmas which led me to go to Joann Fabrics looking for a pillow form to go in it, was all part of The Master Plan. It was there that I saw a flyer for sewing lessons. Sixty-five dollars for four sessions, two hours apiece sounded like a great deal. So even though I never had an inkling of interest in sewing before, I decided since I had so much spare time I should give it a whirl. To my surprise and the surprise of pretty much everyone else who knows me, I really enjoyed it! So much so that I bought my own sewing machine and quickly immersed myself into the world of sewing.
I signed up for a gazillion sewing blogs, downloaded oodles and oodles of sewing tutorials, bought sewing books and became a self-proclaimed fabric junkie. Through my classes and my own trial and error, I learned valuable sewing lessons. Like always, always pre-shrink your fabric before cutting and sewing anything, because shrinkage is a bitch. I learned this after making some pajama pants in class. When I finally washed them after the fact, I looked like I had gotten them from the girl’s department at Target! Another important lesson: If you’re sewing something you’ve never sewn before, make a prototype! Don’t use the fabric you really want to use or you may end up wasting your fabric…and cursing the Sewing Gods along the way.
I began making handmade gifts for friends and family birthdays. I started off with coasters and wine cozies then made a couple of bamboo handled purses for The Birthday Twins (two good friends who share the same birthday). After that, I made a few cosmetic bags and they were a hit! Everyone kept telling me I should sell them and why the heck not? I had plenty of time on my hands. I thought about what I wanted my sewing business to be. I wanted it to be wild, crazy and funky…just like me. So, I came up with a name, got a logo designed, got some labels made and Sew Sew Funky was born!
To blog or not to
blog, that was the question. After
starting Sew Sew Funky last year, I debated whether I should blog. The writer in me was all for it but the
skeptical part of me wondered what would I even write about. I didn’t think anyone would want to read
about how many times I stab my fingers with straight pins or how ashy my knees
get when I crawl across the carpet trying to cut a large piece of fabric or that
I wear a headband with devil’s horns when I sew or the fact that I am bloody
awful at math! But after attending a
business collective with some exceptional business women, they convinced me
that perhaps the World Wide Web would be a better place with my funky blog in
it. So…
Behold! The Sew Sew
Funky Blog!Enter with caution, my
friends…madness lies within..
