Tutorial ~ Plump Yarn Tassel

I have been cleaning and organizing my studio over the last few weeks. It was a long haul to say the least, but I found many things that I had forgotten about or some projects that I meant to start and never did. "Out of sight out of mind" is so true. One of the projects I wanted to do is to make tassels. I bet many of you have some ball of left over yarn somewhere in your house perfect for this project. I know there are different ways to make tassel, but I am sharing the way that works for me the best.

1. I made a 3" board from cardboard and wrapped medium size yarn 120 times. This is just a random number. If you want your tassel to be fuller, you can always do more.

2. Cut long yarn(mine is 12" long) and put it through yarn needle. Put the needle through in the middle of one side of the card board and tie it in the middle.

3. Flip the cardboard over and cut the middle.

4. Set the cardboard on the side and fold the yarn in half. Pull the yarn tied on top away from the rest. Take long yarn (12" to 15") and wrap it around the folded yarn about 3/4" from the top.

5.Thread the yarn ends from step 4 to yarn needle and stab it behind where you tied a knot and pull it through towards the middle and the bottom to hide the knot.

6. Trim the yarn.

7. I put a wooden bead through the top and made the knot so it will stay in place. You can skip this step, it is just an option.

I haven't decided what I am going to use this for, but I added them to my chair in the studio for now. LOVE THEM!

Are you going to give it a try?

Tiny Tin Sewing Room Behind the Scenes

You might be tired of me posting about Tiny Tin Sewing Rooms, but this one is a bit different. It is not a shop announcement, it is about "behind the scenes" post. What inspired me to write this post is that I got asked the same questions from people about the Tin room. So I thought it would be fun to collect my thoughts and write about them. :)

{Question 1} "How did you come up with this idea?"

I always liked miniatures and wanted to make miniature rooms. When I finally did it, it was in a little wooden suit case and I loved how it tuned out.

I made some more for my etsy shop and sold them. They sold alright, but there were some challenges... because I used different bases(boxes), I always had to figure out the shipping for each one of them. Also they were harder to ship. There were a couple incidents where some parts came off when my customers received their packages, and I needed to do trouble shooting. I was a bit discouraged and going to stop making them to sell. Then one day, as I was eating some Altoids mints the idea hit me. "Hey, why don't I make a tiny sewing room inside of the Altoids mint tin?!" That's how I started making the Tiny Tin Sewing Rooms.

{Question 2} "Are you thinking about manufacturing them at some point?"

That is a hard question to answer. It would be a lie if I say that it didn't cross my mind, but I feel like manufacturing takes lots of knowledge and money up front. Also, I am afraid that it might lose the uniqueness of each item's "one of a kind" feel. I feel so bad that I can only make so much in a week and make my customers wait, but I think I am going to stick to what I do for now. OH! I *hired* my 11 year old daughter to paint the spools though!

{Question 3} "Do you ever get sick of making them?"

Not so far. I usually don't like doing the same thing over and over again, but because all the sewing rooms are different I enjoy making them. Coming up with different combinations of color, paper, buttons and other miniature items are challenging sometimes, but very fun.


{Question 4} "What do you do with all the mints???"

Hahaha. Yes, we have so many mints. I dump them in a 1 gallon freezer bag and keep them in our pantry and the whole pantry smells very MINTY! I eat them, but one person can only eat so many mints.

I put them in a snack size plastic bags and gave many away to my friends and neighbors, gave my kids some to share with their friends and my husband took a 1 gallon bag to work to share with his coworkers. He told me that they were joking about how their section has the freshest breath in the whole company. :) At this rate, I might start leaving the bags on my neighbor's door steps. hahaha

I better go back to my sewing room and make more tiny sewing rooms. I should be ready to restock my shop by the end of next week. Those of you who are interested, I am sorry to make you wait and thank you from the bottom of my heart for your interest. I will do my best to make them cute and fun to look at. :)

Book Review ~ I Modify IKEA

I was given the chance to review a new book called "I Modify IKEA". Being a big IKEA fan (and yes, we do have many pieces from IKEA in my house), the title alone was very intriguing and I jumped at the opportunity. :)

The clever duo, authors of this book, Charlotte Rivers and Elyse Major did a wonderful job introducing 50 DIY projects! Each project in the book offers illustrations and step-by-step instructions to recreate the examples. Depending on what paint colors or fabrics you choose to use, you can create your own unique look for your home.

Let me share some of the projects I would love to try...

Using Runnen, you can create a neat bathmat. By using more of them you can make it as big as you wish. I personally like this for inside my garage where we take our shoes off.

I am a sucker for baskets, and I fell in love with this look. The basket they used for this project "Nipprig" is discontinued, but I can use the same idea for the baskets I already have and personalize it for a fraction of the cost. How cute!

This reading bench was created using Kallax; it is very stylish and practical. I can totally see how things like this can be a great use in the living room or kids room. Just imagine... with different fabric choices and pillows you can totally customize the look for you.

Last but not least... check this couch out... how unique and adorable!! It's like a couch you see in a high end furniture catalog. It is a much bigger project (and a bit scary to try), but the fabric lover in me REALLY wants to do this someday.

I have a long "To Make" list, but I am sure I just added more to that list. I love IKEA items because of their versatile and stylish designs, but I think I will see them in a different light on my next visit. There are a lot more unique and practical projects in this book "I Modify IKEA" , I highly recommend you check it out.

New Tiny Tin Sewing Rooms are In!

It's been a while since I last posted. The response for my Tiny Tin Sewing Rooms is more than I expected and I sold all the sewing rooms, Yay! I still have the two Christmas Wonderland ones, please check them out if you are interested. I have been making more over" the past two weeks and I am happy to announce that they are available in my Etsy shop now!

There are 14 new sewing rooms and here are some of my favorites.

Aren't they so fun to look at?

I am going to post a review post for "I Modify IKEA" in my next post. I will see you then! :)

Homespun Magazine Feature ~ Welcome to My (Miniature) Sewing Room!

I have exciting news! My miniature sewing room got featured in Australia's No. 1 craft magazine Homespun! I enjoyed creating this little sewing space so much and it is added joy to see that others enjoy looking at it too. :)

The article is four pages long and includes a lot of pictures and my interview answers.

The issue contains so many fun projects you can start working on for Christmas. I bet you will enjoy it very much! :)

Magnetic Bookmark Tutorial

I would love to share how to make this easy and useful magnetic bookmark today.

I had these paper pads for a long time and I thought they were the perfect size for creating many bookmarks of various designs. I wanted to make some for my neighbors who brought us dinner after my procedure: a little extra with a thank you note. Also, I am going to see my family in Japan soon. I always love to have some small gifts for my friends when we get together.

{You will need}

Thick scrap book papers with different designs
Thin magnet with adhesive
Cutting tool

{How to}

1. My papers were 6" x 6". I cut the papers 2" wide. Now you have three 2"x 6" strips. If you are using regular size papers such as 8 1/2"x 11" or 12"x 12", you can cut it to make it into the same size as mine or make up different size strips.

2. Fold the strip in half.

3. Cut the magnet about 1/2" to 3/4".

4. Stick the magnets to the paper centered at the ends.

5. Now they are ready to enjoy!

I usually have several books I am reading laying around in the house or in my car. It is nice to have a stack of these bookmarks. I hope you enjoyed my tutorial today. Thank you for visiting!

Note: I will be gone till the middle of this month (I will be in Japan, Yeah!!). Stay tuned for my post about my Japan trip! :)

Miniature Rooms on Etsy Shop!

I have been wanting to create more miniature rooms after I made my miniature sewing room a while ago. It's not only because I got many positive responses about what I created, it is honestly so much fun to make miniature rooms! I realized that it allows me to do designing, sewing, quilting, crafting and interior decorating. Things I LOVE to do all in one!! No wonder I enjoy it. :)

I created one living room, titled ~ reading time and a couple sewing rooms and listed them on my etsy shop today. Please head over to check them out if you are interested.

Some of you might think it is a bit pricey, but after considering the cost for the materials and my time that is the price I came to.

I will have a more detailed post soon for each miniature room. I want you to look at the details of each one. :)

Tutorial ~ Stickable Bottle Cap Pincushion

Over a year ago, I attended a quilt retreat. When I took a break to walk around I walked passed a much older lady sitting at her sewing machine and sewing happily. We struck a conversation and chatted for a while and I noticed that she had a tiny tiny pincushion stuck to her sewing machine. I asked her where she got it and she said she made it with a bottle cap. Ha! Why didn't I think of that before?? When I am sewing I put my pincushion on top of the machine or beside the machine and sometimes I forget where I put it. It would be very convenient if I could stick a pincushion somewhere on the machine: out of the way of fabric but still very close when I am pulling out the needles as I continue sewing. On the way home from the retreat, I was so ready to make one... then I totally forgot to do so until last week when I really could have used one.

I made some and created this tutorial to share with you! It is a very quick and simple project. Just remember to keep some bottle caps before you toss out the empty bottles.:)

{You will need}

Plastic bottle cap (Most of mine are from soda bottles. I found it better to have a deeper cap instead of a shallow one)
Fabric scrap
Fiber fill
Thread
Small trims (Pom-pom, lace, ribbon whatever you desire)
Glue gun and glue
Glue for the trim

{How to}

1. Create a 3"diameter template with tick paper, and trace that on to fabric scrap. Cut out the circle.

2. Stitch around the edge with big stitches.

3. Pull the thread a little and stuff it with fiber fill and pull the thread all the way. I like my pincushions stuffed very well.

4. I stitched the top back and forth to keep the top from coming undone then tie the knot to finish it off.

5. Place a little drop of glue into the bottle cap and put the fabric ball you made in step 4, stitched side down, into the bottle cap. Squeeze it tight for a minute or so until the glue is hardened and the pincushion is secure.

6. I added lace around the cap as a finishing touch...

7. For adhesive I chose double sided tape with some cushion. That way, if I want to stick the pincushion on uneven surfaces there is some flexibility.

I was so excited about this and had to test it out right away! Check this out, I can stick this on the top and the side of the machine or right by my hand.

Because it was so easy and fun to make, I made a few more...

This will make a pretty, practical and inexpensive gift for your sewing friends for sure!

I hope you enjoyed the tutorial. Thank you for visiting today! :)