DIY Z-Palette Tutorial

Hi lovelies!

     I know I have been missing for so long, and there really isn't much of an excuse aside from being incredible busy with school.  Speaking of which I graduated last year with my Bachelor's and started this year on my Master's.  So there is tons to talk about, but that will have to wait because today I have a tutorial for you.

     So lately (as in the past couple of months) I have been heavily into makeup.  I think my bank account, Ulta, and Sephora accounts can vouch for that!  My weakness, admittedly, are palettes and minis.  (I mean who can't pass up a tiny version of a makeup favorite??)  I do have a few cumbersome singles floating about.  I typically didn't have an issue with them...that was until I was trying to organize all my makeup into a more streamlined fashion and realized that they are just awkwardly in the way.

     Cue the lightbulb!  I figured that I have enough materials to make myself a Z-palette knock-off.  What a great way to recycle the Ulta and Sephora boxes that somehow find themselves at my doorstep weekly (no judging, okay?) and to reduce the bulk of having many little cosmetic holders all over my tiny apartment bathroom. 

     If you'd like to see how I made mine, stick around after the jump!

{Tutorial} : Simple Cardstock Mailer

I typically make my own mailers for when I ship packages to my customers.  I like making them myself because 1) they are inexpensive, 2)they are totally customizable, and 3) they are always readily available.  I whipped up a little tutorial to demonstrate my process.

Let's go!

Strawberry Lemon Pops

I posted yesterday about Strawberry Mango Lemonade.  Today I'm bringing you another little summer treat idea.  I recently made some fruit pops because I saw some freeze pop molds at the dollar store and figured I could give it a try for only $1.  It's not like I wouldn't be getting any great use out of it.  We have hot summers here.

So I took to my trusty food processor (because my trusty blender isn't so trusty anymore now that it went ka-put).  I used my combination of strawberries and lemons again.

I chopped up a handful of strawberries, added some freshly squeezed lemon juice (one lemon is enough), and added a little water and honey all to my food processor.  I blended it all until it was pureed smoothly.  I then poured this mixture into my freeze pop mold, placed in the sticks, and froze them for hours.

These things are soooooo good!  All natural and super easy to make.  I think I will try adding fruit juice the next time I make fruit pops.  I'm definitely going to see how many different types of pops I can come up with before the end of summer!

This kiddie likes and so does her mama!!!  She couldn't wait to get out of school to have one.  I finally let her enjoy one, and she was so excited.

Strawberry Mango Lemonade

If you follow me on Instagram, then you know that I have been on a bit of a natural food/beverage kick lately.  I've made everything from smoothies to detox water to homemade limeades.  I have made plain lemonade, but I wanted to have a drink with a little bit of a twist to it.  So I made Strawberry Mango Lemonade.  Here's how I did it.

I roughly chopped up some strawberries and a mango.  You could use frozen if you have it.  I then put it in my food processor.  Ordinarily I would puree it in my blender, but my blender decided to commit suicide not too long ago, therefore leaving me stuck with my food processor until I can get it fixed.  If you need to, add a little bit of water to your fruit blend.  Blend it as much as possible until it becomes uniform.  Add this mixture to your pitcher.  I used a regular quart-sized pitcher.  Add water about three-quarters of the way full.  I then juiced 3 lemons.  I could have used one or two extra, but I like the flavor it has.  Add a half cup to three-quarters cup of sugar.  Fill the remainder of the pitcher with water.  I topped it off with adding several lemon slices to the lemonade, so that when it chills the lemon-y flavor with infuse with the rest of the drink.

Wait until it gets cold for a couple of hours and then enjoy it on a nice, hot day as a cool and healthy refreshment!!

{Tutorial} : Using a Binder Video

As I promised before, I made a video of how to use a binder foot. Take into account that I am using a vintage binder foot that uses the aid of an attachment foot to be added to my machine. If you purchase a newer binder foot, it may snap right on to your machine. However, I do believe the actual use is about the same.

I hope this little video helped you out. If you have other questions, contact me and I'll try to answer best of my ability.

{Tutorial}: Oilcloth Market Tote

Inspired by the oilcloth lunch bag that I posted, I decided to whip up a quick tutorial for a large oilcloth tote in the likeness of the lunch sack. It comes together fairly quick, especially if you have the proper tools to sew on oilcloth.

Let's begin!

TIPS FOR SEWING VINYL:

-Use a Walking (Even-feed) foot, Roller Foot, or Teflon Foot if you have one available.
-If none of these feet are available, attach a piece of Scotch tape to the bottom of your regular presser foot so that the vinyl won't stick. Or place a piece of tissue paper on top of the vinyl and tear away once the stitching is complete.
-Never pin vinyl. It will leave holes. Instead hold pieces together with masking/painters tape, binder clips, or paper clips.
-Use a denim or leather needle, a longer stitch, and a looser tension. I usually set my stitch length to 4.5mm or longer and my tension at 3 or 4.
-Go slow and take your time. The slower you go the more control you will have over this tricky fabric.

You will need:
-at least 5/8 yard of 2 different oilcloth prints
-Teflon foot, roller foot, or Even-feed (Walking) foot--If none of these are available then making tape on the bottom of your regular foot will suffice.

Cut 2 pieces 16" by 18" from each oilcloth print.Designate one pattern for the outside of the bag and the other pattern for the lining. Place one outside and one lining piece right sides together, making sure you match up all of the sides. Since you cannot pin oilcloth without poking holes into the fabric, use paperclips or bobby pins to hold the pieces in place. I used a temporary adhesive and some hem clips.

Now mark a dot 2.5" down from the shorter edge and another dot 4". At the 2.5" mark a dot a 6" and 10" and connect these 2 points. Repeat at the 4" mark. Now connect the lines to form the rectangular handle.

Stitch on the shape that you just drew.

Cut inside of the rectangle like this. Then push the lining through that hole. It looks tricky, but I promise you it will work.

Your panel should look like this now. Repeat with the other 2 pieces of fabric.

 

Topstitch around the handle.

Place the 2 completed panels right sides together and stitch around the three sides not closest to the handle.

Box the corners of the bag 2" from the edge. Trim close to stitching.

 

Sorry this photo is sideways...

This is what your bag is supposed to look like by now. If the top is uneven, now  is the time to even it out. You will need to cut a "binding" strip from a scrap piece of oilcloth that is 2" wide by however long your your oilcloth is.

 

Fold your strip in half and crease it. Fold it over the edge of your bag's opening like so. I used some vintage hem clips to keep it in place while I sewed and took them off when I started stitching close to them. Bobby pins, paper clips, quilt binding clips, and bulldog clips all work well too. Edgstitch close to the cut edge of the binding.

 

When you get close to the finishing point, overlap the edges about an inch and finish edgestitching. And you're all done!!

 

Enjoy!!!

Embroidery Machine Cheats: Tabs

I don't know about you guys, but I can be a pretty lazy sewist sometimes and forgetful too.
I don't usually like pulling out the iron and ironing board just to press a 2 inch tab to put into a clutch or keychain. To me it's just not worth all that effort.
Well I have a trick that you can use to make quick and easy tabs with your embroidery machine so that you don't have to lug out the ironing equipment and wait for it to heat up.

You will need:
+stabilizer (I used a sticky back)
+scrap of fabric
+coordinating thread

Just a note: I'm using a Brother SE-400. I won't be uploading any designs, simply using one of the pre-loaded frame designs.


Start by loading your hoop with stabilizer. Again I used sticky-back stabilizer so that my fabric wouldn't shift when I attached it to the hoop.


Select an oblong rectangle.


Select a regular stitch. Or for a fun twist you can try out a decorative stitch.


Make the necessary adjustments for your preferred tab: make it smaller or bigger, rotate it, whatever you deem necessary for your project.



Turn your scrap fabric so that the wrong side is facing up. Fold one side towards the middle, then fold the opposite side so that it overlaps the first side.


Place your tab down onto your stabilizer with the overlapping sides faced down. Make sure you trace out your design to make sure the stitches will fit onto the tab. If not, refold your fabric and/or adjust the size of your design.


When everything agrees, stitch out your shape.


Front


Back


To Attach:

Fold the tab in half wrong sides together.


Stitch out the design until near completion. Place the tab fold side inwards along the egde, making sure that the lines of the tab are out farther than the stitching lines of bag. Tape it down.


Place the back over your project and stitch down. Once done, remove from hoop; clip corners; trim edges; and turn right side out.


Et voilà! You have a nice coordinated tab that will match everytime. Gives it a more cohesive look than using ribbon or other tapes.

{Tutorial}: Heart-shaped Pony Holder

I'm not one to get all into holidays, especially not Valentine's Day. But I figured I would have a little fun with it for my daughter this year.

I made this tutorial mostly for embroidery machines, but you can still do this if you don't have an embroidery machine. You will just have to stitch out the heart on your sewing machine.
Let's commence!

You will need:
-a couple of felt scraps about 2-3 inches square
-piece of elastic 2-3 inches long
-coordinating eyelet
-eyelet punch/eyelet attaching tool

I am using a Brother SE-400, so you may have to hunt around a bit to locate similar designs on your machine.


Hoop a piece of tear-away stabilizer into your hoop.


Select the "frames" options on your screen.


Locate the heart frame and select it.


Select a decorative stitch. I chose a dotted scallop stitch.


Scale your heart down to the smallest size and position it in the corner of your hoop. Place a piece of felt on top and underneath the stabilizer, making sure they match up. Trace your design to make sure it will fit on your felt.




Stitch out your design. This shouldn't take long.


Punch the heart out of the stabilizer. Trim close to the stitches and punch a hole in the center with the eyelet punch.




Overlap the ends of your elastic slightly and punch a hole right through both ends.


Place the eyelet through the hole in the felt heart and flip over.


Place the pierced ends of the elastic over the rear end of the eyelet. It will be a tight fit.


Place back onto your eyelet tool and clamp the eyelet shut, making sure the elastic hasn't slipped off and the eyelet has clamped down all the components.


Place on ponytail. You can even make tiny little bracelets from them.

If you're not using an embroidery machine, just sew up a heart on double layers of felt and attach your eyelet and elastic in the same way as above.

I thought it would be fun to use preloaded designs to make in-the-hoop designs with. Not everyone is a digitizer or wants to take the time looking for a design they downloaded who-knows-when.

I hope this was a helpful tutorial.