Pillowcases For A Cause

Courtesy of Dana Made It

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!

Keep It Funky!

Tammi

Funky Find Friday! - Carolyn Crump

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

Keep It Funky!

Tammi

Thread Sketching

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!

Keep It Funky!

Tammi

Funky Find Friday! - The 'Stache Store

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 behind thestachestore.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.com will 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.

Keep It Funky!

Tammi

In The Beginning…

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!

Keep It Funky!

Tammi

Be Afraid…Be Very Afraid

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.. 

Keep It Funky!
Tammi