A Real Checkbook Cover! Finally!!

So, I FINALLY figured out the whole checkbook cover thing. You guys don't even know how many times I've measured, cut, sewed, taken apart, and almost cried over this thing (see my first try here.) Who would think that figuring out your own pattern for a simple checkbook cover could be so frustrating?? Anyway, I'm ecstatic that this is finally finished. So here are the gazillion pictures I took of my latest creation:

The Front:
The Back:
Laying Flat (once again showing off my mad GIMP skills!) :

Flat (sans checks):

Flat showing off the fabric:

I also bought a new cell phone last week so of course I needed a case for it so it won't get scratched when I throw it around so I re-purposed my first checkbook cover and made this:

This is my first project with snaps! They were a lot easier than I thought. Here it is in all it's snappy glory:

Miss Piggy and Me (and a new distraction!)

Sorry for the recent dry spell lately. The only days I can craft are Mondays and Tuesdays and I spent my day taking care of Miss Piggy- who is my car if you were wondering. We got a bath, our oil changed, and we spent over an hour at Tire Discounters getting tires rotated. But while I was waiting I read through a Redbook and found a tidbit about JacksonPollock.org.

I did a project on Jackson Pollock freshman year of college and I've been interested in his work ever since, but this site lets you use your mouse as your paintbrush, the longer you let the mouse sit, the thicker the drips. Definitely a fun way to spend time when you should be doing something else!

Wee Bunny= Success!

Well, for over a week I was debating on whether or not to give my wee bunny to my co-worker or not. I liked him but I wasn't sure if I liked him enough to actually give to someone, you know? Well, after the urging of my family (and my little sister saying I would be dumb not to give it because he was so cute =]) I decide to give him, and my co-worker loved him! I'm happy, I'm very self-conscience when it comes to things I make, I just want them to be good. Well, that worry is over, thank goodness, now on to my next task- I wonder what that will be...

Wee Bunny!

I made a bunny for a co-worker's birthday (she loves bunnies). I used the tutorial from the Wee Wonderfuls site, for the pattern click here.

And for your viewing pleasure, here is the Wee Wonderfuls Bunnies gallery.

Let me tell you, this little booger was hard to sew! My seam ripper is now my arch enemy, I had to rip this apart three times I think. And re-do the ears twice (they're still a little too floppy and they're fraying a little bit, but we'll say it gives him character) And don't even get me started on the bottom! But I think he turned out well and I'm sure he'll be given lots of TLC at his new home. On the plus side I think I did pretty good on embroidering his face which is something I've never had the patience to do...

My Heat Therapy Bag Tutorial!

Yay! This is my first tutorial! I hope I explain everything well, if you have any questions, feel free to message me. [warning: this post is EXTREMELY picture obese!]

You'll need:
-2 strips of fabric 2 1/4" by 8"
-1 strip of fabric 3" by 8"
-1 strip of fabric 4 1/2" by 8"
-Muslin for the inner rice bag
-Rice (for this size bag you'll use about 1/2 pound)

First you want to cut your fabric:
Then I like to lay mine out to see if I like the look of it. I usually alternate colors but you can do it any way that your little heart desires.

Pin your first two pieces together wrong sides facing and sew across:

Attach your other two pieces the same way:

When all pieces are sewn iron down seams (if you want to add any accents to your cover this is the time to do it):

[Not shown: fold down the ends of the long sides about 1/4" and hem. I usually do a straight stitch and a zig-zag on top for extra strength]

Fiddle around with the way you want the cover to look (like how much of each color you want to show on the front) You then want to overlap the long ends about an inch and pin down the short sides (keep in mind that the color that's on the top will turn out to be covered by the overlap when you turn it):
Sew across the short sides trim the access and clip your corners:

Flip and press:

For the inner rice bag I use the cover as a template leaving about 1/4" around:

Sew around all edges of the muslin leaving a 2" opening for turning and filling. Turn. Using a funnel (or a Kohl's ad like me) fill about three quarters of the way full with your rice:

[Not shown: once the rice bag is full fold in the edges of the opening, pin and sew shut. I usually push all the rice to the closed end of the bag and put pins across under the opening so that the rice stays clear of the sewing machine.]

Slide the inner rice bag into the cover and you're done! You can enjoy the bag hot or cold.

I swear I haven't forgotten!

I know I promised a tutorial of my heat therapy bag last Friday, but well, life happens. So I promise to have it posted by Monday at the latest. Please bear with me, I swear I haven't forgotten!!

P.S. My aunt loved her heat therapy bag!