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Quote About Dandelions

"You fight dandelions all weekend, and late Monday afternoon there they are, pert as all get out, in full and gorgeous bloom, pretty as can be, thriving as only dandelions can in the face of adversity."

-- Hal Borland

Thursday, July 24, 2014

{Tutorial} Super Quick NO SEW Tank Top


I love a quick project, and I'll bet you do, too.

For this tank top, all you'll need is a pair of scissors and a stretchy-material dress that looks like this:


Steps:
1) put dress on
2) find where you want the top to stop
3) mark the place (I use white chalk cause it washes or rubs off)
4) take dress off
5) cut across the dress in a clean, straight line at the mark you made
6) put on your cute new tank top and go show it off!

***Please note that if the dress is not made of a stretchy-knit material, it will fray and you will have to hem it.***

♥ Sarah

Monday, July 21, 2014

Much In Progress

My posts are going to be sporadic for a bit - I am gearing up to camp out at the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh for a week, going back to school in less than a month, and just life in general. 

BUT!

(hehe, "butt")

I am working on:
Three men's-to-women's shirt tutorials
A cool-off bandanna/neck tie tutorial
A baking tutorial
A gift-gone-wrong post
And a few thought-provoking musings

For today, I'll leave you with an old photo that makes me smile. 


♥ Sarah

Friday, July 18, 2014

{Tutorial} Flat-Bottomed Tote


I love having a bag on hand in the car or stuffed in a kitchen drawer to hold random things when I'm flying out of the house or running into the store for some quick shopping. This bag is a great size, holds a ton of stuff, and can be fancied up as needed.

What you'll need:
  • 1 1/2 Yards of a 44" wide cotton or cotton/polyester blend fabric
  • Contrasting or matching thread
  • Sewing machine
  • Yardstick
  • Fabric Scissors
  • Sewing pins



Fold your fabric in half long-ways. Measure and cut at 24" so you end up with a 44" x 48" rectangle. 
Then measure and cut two 6" x 44" rectangles:


 Take the large rectangle, right-side out, keeping it folded in half short-ways, and sew the two short sides, using a 1/4" seam allowance.
(That tape tells me where the 1/2" is. And yes, it's in need of replacement.)

Turn the bag inside out and press the seam.



 Now, using a 1/2" seam allowance, sew the short sides and the bottom (yes, I know the bottom is closed, just trust me at this point!) Make sure not to sew the open top!




 On the side and bottom, sew until you get 1/2" away from the bottom and put the needle down.


Pick the presser foot up


And swivel the bag so you're now ready to sew down the next side. Put the presser foot back down and sew!


Tada! You've made what's called a french seam. Now all of your raw ends are enclosed. 


^ That's what it should look like on the inside^
Below is what it should look like from the outside:


Now go back to your iron and press the enclosed seams to one side (even the bottom seam!)


Now you're going to sew on the loose side of the seams. The bag should still be inside out, but don't sew the bag together again. You're only sewing the seam and one side.


Sew as close to the corner as you can get, but don't stress if you can't get too close. (Do remember to backstitch, however) Sewing is only rocket science if you want it to be, and you don't need it to be for this bag. It's going to be ok!


No, it's not the most beautiful thing in the world at this point. Repeat for the bottom and other side then clip the threads. And trust me, it's going to turn out great!


Here's the trickiest part of this whole bag, and the part that gives it the flat bottom. 
You need to make a triangle on the bottom of the bag at each corner. To do this, spread out the sides until the side seam and the bottom seam are on top of each other. Like so:


Measure 6" across the triangle and mark it. 


Sew down the marked line. Repeat on the other side. 
When you turn the bag right side out, you should have a flat bottom! (Well, the bag should, anyways.)


I don't like the loose flaps in the bottom of the bag, so I tack the tips of the triangles down. 


On to the top of the bag!

Fold the top down 1" to the inside around the entire bag and iron it.


Then fold the top down the top 2" (so the first fold is encased) and iron it. 


Sew down both sides of the hem you've created, as close to the edge as you can, all the way around the bag.


 It should look like this:


It's time to make the straps. 

Take one of the rectangles, fold and iron it in half long sides together, with the right side of the fabric facing out.


Then open it back up and fold down each half to the center line you just created.
Iron those sides flat.


Then fold the rectangle in half again and iron it. 


Repeat with the other rectangle. You've got two almost-straps now!

Before you go to sew the straps, take the ends and fold them 1" to the inside:


Then re-fold the strap together:


Sew around the entire strap, 1/8-1/4" away from the edge.
Clip all threads and iron the strap. 

Now it's time to pin the strap to the bag. 
Measure 4 1/2" from the bag's side seam and 5" down the strap and pin each strap end in place. 


Sew a rectangle around the strap end attached to the bag, and then sew an "X" through the middle. I know that's confusing, but it should look like this:


Clip the threads and you are done!


This pattern is easily modified and I ended up adding a pocket to the outside. You could line the bag, add pockets, closures (zipper, snap, button, etc) or anything else you can think of. Have fun and make it personal.

You are free to sell any bags you make with this pattern.
 Just credit me, please-and-thank-you!

 ♥ Sarah

Monday, July 14, 2014

What's Your Style?

I like being feminine. I mean, have you seen this blog? It's so floral it scares away any and all y-chromosome readers. Just kidding, but the girly part of me is very strong. For years now, my grandmother has been bringing me magazines and asking me to point out what "my style" is. And for the life of me, I don't know how to answer that. Because I am a mixture of styles due to so many different influences growing up. My mother describes her decorating style as "secondhand attic", meaning that she re-purposes older items or things that she finds at secondhand stores. My mother's mother is classically southern, with a dash of big city, my father's mother is classically southern with a dollop of rural-country. Then we have the artists of the family who like modern art jumbled up with classical pieces. 

So where does that leave me?

I like breakfast with pretty flowers:
(Also, baked pancakes are the bomb, y'all)




 I like clean and folded laundry in girly colors:


I like vintage sheet dresses, worn with sparkly silver sandals:


But as much as I enjoy being very feminine, I don't think homes should be super girly. I love mixtures of masculine and feminine items in rooms. I've been in homes so feminine I could hardly breathe, and on the flip side, I've been in homes with so much testosterone that I thought I'd need to break out my crochet hooks and make a doily. (Actually, I am not a doily fan at all, but you get where I'm coming from.) 

I like blended homes, you might say. 

Shelves


Take, for example, this shelf. If I owned it, I'd probably have industrial bar stools sitting on either side to balance it out. 

Bar Stools

And if I owned this couch, I'd toss on both floral and plaid (gasp) pillows:
Leather Couch

Pillows
Floral Pillow
I'd love a home with pretty napping spots


And I'd love to be all grown up and have a formal master bathroom:

Formal Bathroom


So basically, I like everything, but I'm picky, and I'm still stuck on answering my grandmother's question.
I assume that 
"modern/vintage/rustic/chic/elegant/classic/country/Southern/big city/British/French Country"
doesn't exactly cut it. 

Oh well. 

If you had to pick a style, could you? If not, could you create a name for your style?