When Pins Revolt

This post has moved to our new website!  Check it out over here:  http://theecosewist.com/2015/10/21/the-revolting-pin/

We’ll see you over there!!

Spring Snow

Today I’m sharing a picture of our backyard view with you.  We woke up to  two or three inches of snow.  It’s my favorite kind of snow because it didn’t accumulate on the roads!  Have a peaceful day.

My New Serger!

Words can’t describe how excited I am to finally own a serger!!!  After weeks of deliberating with my husband over whether or not I should invest in a serger, I finally found one and purchased it on Saturday!

I spent a couple of weeks researching and watching Craigslist to see what I could find.  On Friday night, I decided on a make and model I wanted.  So I began a thorough internet search.  And that search turned up an even better deal.  Instead of the Brother 1034D, I found a Juno by Janome 3434D on sale at Hancock fabrics.   After asking several friends about this machine (one of them has the same one!) I decided it was the machine for me.

Saturday afternoon we made our way to Hancock Fabrics (with both kids in tow) and purchased my machine.  Just yesterday Mary Anne (my former sewing instructor) came by and helped thread it.  It works beautifully and I am so excited to really learn to use it.

If you have a serger and have any tips, please leave them in the comments below!

Homemade Freezer Paper

Freezer Paper.  Wax Paper.  Are they the same?  No, not really.  Wax paper has a waxy coating on both sides of the paper.  Freezer paper has a shiny/waxy side and a paper side.

I want to create my own tags for my handmade items and I began my search the other day.  I found a tutorial  on YouTube on how do to this.  (It really works, by the way!).  In the tutorial, freezer paper was used.  I don’t have any on hand and didn’t want to run to the store.  I needed to make two labels for some rice bags I made for someone.

So I set out to find out if you could make your own.  And I found out the hard way that wax paper is not the same as freezer paper.  It just doesn’t iron onto anything.  I found a way to make my own using items I already have on hand:  computer paper (I’m sure almost any paper would work, but I used it because it was handy) and a plastic trash bag (unused, of course!).  I used a white trash bag.  The tutorial I found said to use a black one.  It worked well with the white bag though.

If you want to make your own freezer paper, I’ll show you how!

Supplies Needed:

 

• Plastic Trash Bag (Again, I used a White one)
• Paper
• Iron and Ironing Board
• Press Cloth (I use a scrap piece of fabric)

First, cut your plastic bag to fit your piece of paper.  I used a sheet of 8 1/2 x 11.  I cut the bag slightly smaller than my piece of paper.

Next, place your press cloth on the ironing board and put the piece of plastic down (first picture).  Make sure to smooth out the wrinkles as best as you can.  Then, place your piece of paper on top of it; I made sure the plastic was centered on top of the plastic bag piece (second picture).

Cover the piece of paper with the press cloth to protect the paper from burning.

With your dry iron set at about medium heat (I think I set mine to 5), begin to iron.  I start from the center of the piece of paper and work out, although I don’t know that you have to do it that way.

Iron until the plastic is melted onto the paper.

You can check periodically and see if it’s all adhered to the paper.  If it’s not, just cover it back up and iron down that part.

Voila!  You’re done!  Wasn’t that easy?  I’m on a mission (along with many other things this week) to make a lot of this paper.  It will come in handy for making those fabric labels and for transferring patterns to the freezer paper so I can iron them into place on my fabric (no pinning required!).

Do you use freezer paper?  Let me know if you give this a try!

 

 

 

 

Renewed Perspective

Last week I began to feel discouraged and disheartened.  Perhaps it’s the time of year; it’s cold and snowy (but here in CO we’re lucky to have sunshine even in winter).  Perhaps it’s because I didn’t meet my January goals.  Whatever the reason, I felt down.  I had no direction and felt like I was back at square one again.

If you’ve read my blog, you may know that I have an Etsy shop.  I am in the process of growing and promoting my business.   It is not any easy task, mind you.  I have great ambitions for my shop.  My dream is to one day make a full time income from home (I’m currently at stay at home mom to two children).  Once my children are in school full time, I don’t want to answer to a boss or rely on another company to pay me.

In order to get there though, there are many things I need to accomplish.  (I won’t bore you with those details).  I realized that not meeting my January goals were probably the source of discouragement I felt.

I rely on my faith in Jesus Christ to guide me in everything, including my new business.  And He didn’t leave me stranded at being discouraged.  I received an email from Donna Partow (author,speaker-I’ll share more about her in another post!).  She was holding a teleconference last week and focus of that call was dealing with discouragement!  I wasn’t able to listen live but began the replay later.  Within minutes, I felt uplifted and not so discouraged.  I was encouraged again.

This is Monday.  I’ve already created and listed another item (for St. Patrick’s Day!), began another project, and listed my very first custom order item.  I’ve realized that launching a business isn’t easy and will have obstacles.  But I need to keep pressing in.  So I’ll keep moving forward; one step at a time.

Today I’ll leave you with a picture of our snow laden tree in the backyard.  Happy Monday from snowy Colorado!

An Organized Sewing Room

Do you have a dedicated sewing room or area in your house?  We bought a new house recently and I am so excited to have my own sewing area!  It’s part of the finished basement and near the play room.  This works out well so I can sew while my kids play.

This is the space I use to create items for my Etsy store, New Creation Sewing and for my other projects.

Even though we’ve lived here only four months, my sewing room was in need of a desperate sorting and organizing day.  I finally accomplished this task a couple of weeks ago.

Here’s the final results:

We’re blessed to have a walk-out basement as well.  And the sliding doors make for a beautiful sewing room view!

Where do you sew and how do you stay organized?

A New Year, A New Plan

I’ve been so busy the past several months selling and buying a new house and settling in and dealing with some other issues that I let New Creation Sewing slide.  I’ve had let downs and disappointments.

I spent a couple of months deciding (and praying) if my Etsy shop was worth it, which way to go, and how to create a viable business.   I spent time praying, thinking, and reading.  I read a book on making money at home and another on selling on Etsy.  And shortly before Christmas I had some answers.

Now it’s time to take the plunge.  I’ve decided New Creation Sewing is worth my time and energy.  I know it’s going to take a lot of work during the coming days and weeks.  I’ve set some lofty goals.  I have plan-and  goals.

So I’m committing to posting to my blog a minimum of twice per week.  I’ll post sewing projects and tips.  Some of my Etsy listings might make an appearance occasionally but (I’ll try to save that for Twitter and Facebook).   I might post links to some of my favorite YouTube videos (I learned a lot about sewing there!).  I might even attempt my own sewing tutorials.

My goal is simple: to promote my love of sewing and to increase your knowledge (and mine) along the way.  Will you join me on this journey?

 

Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog, New Creation Sewing!  I’m so excited you’re reading this post and hope I can capture your attention in the days and weeks to come.   My hope is that you are as inspired and excited about sewing as I am.

 Sewing is a passion for me and I hope you’ll join me for the coming posts.

You can see some of my work in my Etsy Shop:  https://www.etsy.com/shop/NewCreationSewing.   

Join me on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/newcreationsewing.

And on Twitter:  @NewCreationSew

I love comments!  Please feel free to leave one with comments or tips, but please be respectful of others in doing so.  Thanks for reading!