Saturday, August 20, 2011

Sew Darn Crafty Party...Week 28



Hi everyone!! It's Sew Darn Crafty Party time again. I'm actually writing this post Thursday night, because my family and I are leaving for a weekend trip to New Hampshire Friday morning. By the time this post goes up on Sunday morning, we should be spending the last few hours there and then driving home. I'm hoping to have visited a few quilt shops while I was up there too, but they don't know that yet. Lol !!


Let's see what all of you have been up to lately...

If you're new to Sew Darn Crafty (every Sunday at Sew Many Ways), then grab a cup of something tasty, sit back and join in on the fun.
  • "Sew" for anything to do with sewing,

  • "Darn" for anything to do with knitting. I always think of darning to do with knitting, but in my case "darn" usually is similar to the word I say when I mess up crafting!!

  • Let's not forget the word "crafty"...that can mean just about anything we do to create.


So now we all know what Sew Darn Crafty means, let's explain a linking party again. I subscribe to a linking service, which provides the ability to link thumbnail pictures on my blog. The picture is a link that other bloggers provide to share their projects.

Two things can happen at a linking party...looking and/or linking
  • you can be greatly inspired by wonderful projects, ideas or vacation pictures (looking) and/or

  • you can share what you've been up to (linking)

If you want to be inspired by all the great ideas...just click on a picture and it will take you to that post from a wonderful blogger willing to share her thoughts and ideas.

If you want to link to the party...see the directions below.

So let's get going...

Sew Darn Crafty is all about YOU!! Show off your projects, share a tutorial, show us your vacation pictures, share a family favorite recipe...share anything. Not only does linking inspire us all, it also brings lots of new people to your blog for a visit. Click here for past parties and lots of inspiration

Easy steps to join in on the fun...

  • link up to the specific project post, not your whole blog. Makes it easier to link right to that post and not  search through all your entire blog. To find the http address to a specific post, just click on the Title of your post.

  • link as many projects as you'd like...old or new

  • anything goes...cooking, sewing, knitting, crafts, organizing, remodeling projects, vacations, parties etc...

  • visit other links to share some blogging love! You know we all love comments!

  • grab a Sew Darn Crafty button for your blog (on my right side bar) or just link to the party in your post.

  • the more we share, the more people will join and then there's more inspiration to look at!

  • linking is open til Saturday night, so plenty of time to join in

  • just click the "click here to enter" button and follow the easy steps


Have fun linking up! Don't forget to come back and take a look at all the great projects during the week,
~Karen~

Friday, August 19, 2011

Fabric Twist Tie...

Do you have pipe cleaners or should I say chenille stems hidden away from an old craft project. Well, get them out...we're going to pretty them up!!

Scrap fabric and a  quick stitch will make this great fabric twist tie for any gift bag. You can also make it to match the gift or the gift bag!


These are called Fuzzy Stems...there must be so many names for them now.


You can use any color, because we are covering them with fabric. We just need the wire part to act as the twist tie.


Dig through your scrap basket...these 1 1/2 inch strips worked great!


Cut the strip an inch or so longer on each side of the stem


Fold fabric in half the length of strip, wrong side together.


Iron flat...


Start on one of the short ends and stitch to a 1/4 inch from the long edge. Pivot and then stitch down the length of the strip with a 1/4 inch seam.

I used black thread so you can see it in the pictures. Have your thread match the fabric.


Leave the other short end open to insert the pipe cleaner.


After pipe cleaner is inserted, stitch opening closed with a short stitch.




Using pinking shears, trim close to stitching...about an 1/8 th of an inch away or so.


Trim down the length too. Pinking prevents the fabric from fraying unless you want the frayed look.


Here you have a quick fabric covered twist tie to secure any gift bag.

Great for sewing or quilting friends...add a little fat quarter, tape measure, thread, ribbon etc!!



Get out those old pipe cleaners and start sewing...great for the holidays too. Maybe we can start these early, so we have them in time for Christmas...ahhhh...I know Christmas!

Happy sewing,
~Karen~

Thursday, August 18, 2011

New Venture in Advertising...

"Either you decide to stay in the shallow end of the pool
or you go out in the ocean"
~Christopher Reeve~




I've decide to venture out in the ocean...

I've thought long and hard about the decision to ad advertising to my blog...taking baby steps though. I would love it if you would click over to my advertising page (also located at the top of my blog) and see what's new here at Sew Many Ways. Click here to go to that page.

My life has grown and changed so much because of this blog and I love it! Just wanted to take a swim out in the ocean!! Wish me luck!

Always Thankful,
~Karen~

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Thoughts on Thursday...

This was in my fortune cookie...

"No matter what your past has been, you have a spotless future."

Hmmm...makes you think, huh?

I like this one!

Have a great Thursday,
~Karen~

Monday, August 15, 2011

Tool Time Tuesday...Photo Album Recipe Organizer

Recipes...we all have them. Some we use ALL the time, some we have committed to memory and some we only use once in a while. Where do we keep them? In a box, in a drawer, in a folder, in a book...messy or organized. 

I keep mine in a photo box organized by category. They are a mixture of my recipe cards, my mom's cards and cut outs from magazines. However, I probably only use a quarter of them. I keep going to the same recipes over and over...and those are just thrown on top of the file in a big mess.

Why not take just your FAVORITES and put them in a special place. I found this photo album in a thrift store...50 cents.



It has three hanging booklets stored in the wooden box.


Each booklet has 12 double sided pages for 4" x 6" photos. That's 72 pages.


I don't print too many pictures any more. The pictures I do print go in frames or on the refrigerator. The rest are stored on memory sticks or on the computer.


So why not use this for all my favorite recipes. You can use 4"x 6" index cards or the 3" x 5" cards fit too.






I labeled each hanging section with my most used categories.




If you want to be really organized you can re-print all your recipes on the computer in 4" x 6" text box in your Microsoft Word program or the program on your computer.

For Microsoft Word Users...
  • go to top left corner and click "insert"

  • then towards the right, click "text box"

  • from drop down box, I pick "simple text box"

  • once your box appears, go to upper right corner and put in 4" and then 6" or the size you need for your photo album

  • type what you'd like inside the box

  • click another text box and drag it to bottom of page

  • you can fit 2 per page



 Print out the pages on regular paper or card stock.


Cut out the 4" x 6" recipe card. It fits perfectly inside the page protector like a picture. They are protected from the mess by the plastic holder.


I like this method, because I can make the font larger for these "getting too old" eyes.


Easy to find and easy to see.


Not bad for 50 cents and a little organizing time.

Happy Tuesday,
~Karen~

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Sew Darn Crafty Party...Week 27


Welcome to another Sunday party...a Sew Darn Crafty Party. If you're new to Sew Darn Crafty (every Sunday at Sew Many Ways), then grab a cup of something tasty, sit back and join in on the fun.
  • "Sew" for anything to do with sewing,

  • "Darn" for anything to do with knitting. I always think of darning to do with knitting, but in my case "darn" usually is similar to the word I say when I mess up crafting!!

  • Let's not forget the word "crafty"...that can mean just about anything we do to create.


So now we all know what Sew Darn Crafty means, let's explain a linking party again. I subscribe to a linking service, which provides the ability to link thumbnail pictures on my blog. The picture is a link that other bloggers provide to share their projects.

Two things can happen at a linking party...looking and/or linking
  • you can be greatly inspired by wonderful projects, ideas or vacation pictures (looking) and/or

  • you can share what you've been up to (linking)

If you want to be inspired by all the great ideas...just click on a picture and it will take you to that post from a wonderful blogger willing to share her thoughts and ideas.

If you want to link to the party...see the directions below.

So let's get going...

Sew Darn Crafty is all about YOU!! Show off your projects, share a tutorial, show us your vacation pictures, share a family favorite recipe...share anything. Not only does linking inspire us all, it also brings lots of new people to your blog for a visit. Click here for past parties and lots of inspiration

Easy steps to join in on the fun...

  • link up to the specific project post, not your whole blog. Makes it easier to link right to that post and not  search through all your entire blog. To find the http address to a specific post, just click on the Title of your post.

  • link as many projects as you'd like...old or new

  • anything goes...cooking, sewing, knitting, crafts, organizing, remodeling projects, vacations, parties etc...

  • visit other links to share some blogging love! You know we all love comments!

  • grab a Sew Darn Crafty button for your blog (on my right side bar) or just link to the party in your post.

  • the more we share, the more people will join and then there's more inspiration to look at!

  • linking is open til Saturday night, so plenty of time to join in

  • just click the "click here to enter" button and follow the easy steps


Have fun linking up! Don't forget to come back and take a look at all the great projects during the week,
~Karen~

Wisata Danau Toba - Sumatera Utara

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