A Reverse Appliqué Heart

So one of my 2016 goals was not to sign up for swaps. This goal lasted approximately one month and then I signed up for one that needed to be shipped within a week. The swap was to send a heart coaster and 25 Valentine colored hexies. One of my partner's favorite colors was teal so I declared that to also be a Valentine color. I've wanted to try out reverse appliqué for a long time but I've been nervous and have let that hold me back, but I immediately knew I wanted to try it for the heart. I used this paper pieced heart and reverse appliqué tutorial from ... Read More

That’s So Kawaii 2 Swap

I realized I never shared yet another swap I did, the It's So Kawaii 2 swap on Instagram. The goal was to send cuteness and I had a lot of fun with it. My partner liked MINI Coopers, llamas, and fun colors. I drew a little cartoon-y MINI and embroidered it onto a coffee cozy. I also made a llama mug rug and a little zipper pouch. I've had these lace zippers for months and have been really nervous to use them, but I finally bit the bullet and did it. It wasn't the most amazing job, but it worked! I have been wanting to do more paper piecing ever since I ... Read More

Crafting Con Swap!

One of the reasons I do so many swaps is to motivate and challenge me to try new things. A lot of the cross stitch patterns in my shop came about because of swaps and lately I have been using it to push myself more with sewing. CraftingCon is a sewing based competition with different nerdy themes. There was a swap on the Facebook group and I couldn't resist signing up. My partner loves Alice in Wonderland and I was right in the middle of my Tsum Tsum cross stitch madness and decided to make an Alice pattern. I wasn't sure what to make, but when Faith from ... Read More

Best Birthday Ever Swap, Part 2

For the Best Birthday Ever Swap, each person has 3 partners. We didn't start until April but split the year into different quarters. My first partner had a birthday in June and then my next quarter was the beginning of July. So I had a busy couple weeks, but now I'm done until the final birthday in October. When I got the partner information and saw Tsum Tsum listed, I immediately started designing cross stitch patterns. In case you've managed to completely avoid this phenomenon, Tsum Tsum is a game but also a series of plush toys of Disney characters. They are ... Read More

Another Best Birthday Ever Swap Package

My first Best Birthday Ever Swap partner had her birthday this week and I had a ton of fun putting together this package! The swap package had to include something handmade, craft supplies, and then a little gift that was bought. For the craft supplies my partner said she loved Japanese import fabrics, so I sent her a package of charm squares with the fabrics I got from Bunny's Designs Fabric Supply. She also said she was obsessed with her planner, pink, and glitter so I sent some fun washi tape and other glittery items. I figured if I was going to go pink, I ... Read More

Another Rainbow Dumpling Pouch!

The first English paper piecing project I've ever made was a rainbow dumpling pouch and it's still one of my favorite projects I've ever done. It was for a swap though and I sent it away and have always been sad it's gone. I finally got my act together and made myself one to keep. The zipper is a tiny bit wonky and sticks a little bit, but overall I'm still happy with it. I used 3/4" hexagons, I make my templates with theFiskars Hexagon Squeeze Punch, Large.* I'm using it to hold everything for a tiny hexie project I'm doing. I'm counting this as ... Read More

Rainbow Hexagon Needlebook

I so rarely make things for myself, but I signed up for the Selfish Swap over at Things for Boys and it seemed like the perfect chance to make some things I've been putting off. First up is a new obsession of mine, these little hexagon needle books. I've made three so far, one for a swap that has to stay secret for now, and one that I will be sharing soon. But the third one, this is for me! I used this tutorial from My Three Sons and it goes so quickly. I used 1" strips and sewed them together with a 1/4" seam. I basted them like I normally would onto a ... Read More

Best Birthday Ever Swap Gift

A few months ago I posted about sign ups for the Best Birthday Ever Swap. My friend Kristy and I have both been a bit swap obsessed recently and we decided it would be fun to organize a swap to ensure you get fun birthday gifts. My first partner's birthday isn't until June, but I decided to make something for Kristy's birthday this month even though she wasn't my partner. Kristy loves budgies so I knew I wanted to cross stitch some for her. I used water soluble canvas and stitched this design up (I found a random Japanese sticker picture doing a Google image ... Read More