MIA...and Back

Things have been super crazy lately.
1) moved from St. Louis to Seattle
2) husband found out he'd be gone for 6 month deployment
3) son started kindergarten (which I'm the room mom)
4) daughter started preschool
5) this weather sux!!!
6) began sewing for a boutique in NY called Giavanna's Closet (www.giavannascloset.com)
7) got a dog
8) I'm way to overwhelmed to continue.

Anyways, hopefully I'm at a better point in my life where I've finally got a grip on things and can continue my blogging life.

Stay tuned to posts. I have a ton in mind.

How to Make A Fabric Bow for Clothing

I have a lot of outfits that have sashes on them, but sometimes, you just want the bow and not the added sash.  I came up with a great ways to make these PERFECTLY every time.  Here's how...

 

Materials for bow maker:

 

2x4 scrap wood

2 wooden dowels

drill

drill bit the size of your wooden dowels

ruler

 

Materials for bow:

 

fabric scraps

thread

machine or needle

 

Bow Maker instructions:

 

Take your 2x4 and find your center.  From there measure out from the center point 1", 2", 3"(and so on) on either side.  Drill a hole using your drill bit about 1" deep at each point. Depending on what size you would like to make your bow, place each dowel in the appropriate hole.  If you want your  bow to be 8" in width, place each dowel in the 4" mark on each side.

 

 

 

 

To make the bow: 

 

Decide how large you want your bow to be first.  Add about 2"-3" for the knot in the middle. 

 

For example: 

A bow that is 8" across, and has tails that are 10" long:  8" + 10 * 2+ 3 (knot) = 31" long

Keep in mind this is not an exact science :)

 

I wanted my bow to be 2.5" wide

so I cut my fabric 31" x 5 1/4" (1/4" seam allowance folded in half = 2.5")

 

 

Now fold your fabric in half (right sides together) length way and iron. 

 

 

Cut a 45 degree angle on the end from the raw edge to the bottom corner folded point.

 

 

Now sew up the entire length of the bow pivoting at each point and leaving a 2" opening to turn in the middle.

 

Clip your corners before you turn so that it makes a nice point.

 

Turn your bow right side out and iron completely.  If you'd like, Top stitch at this point to keep the bow crisp.  If you are going for a more floppy look, I wouldn't suggest you top stitch.

 

Now to tie the bow using the bow maker you made!

 

Take your bow and wrap it around both dowels leaving the left side slightly longer than the other.

 

 

Cross the left side over the right.

 

 

 

Take the tail that is now on the right and cross it under the fabric that is wrapped around the dowels.

 

 

Pull each tail tight at this point.

 

 

Now cross the tail at the top OVER your bow to the bottom.

 

 

 

Cross your left tail under the right tail and over the top of it and loop it back through the same tail making a knot.

 



 

This is what it should look like now.

 

 

 Finally, sew the finished know with a needle and thread to keep it from coming untied.

 

 

You can choose to sew the bow directly to the fabric or use a sew on snap to the bow and the dress.  I like to use the snaps so I can wash them separately. 

 

 

Enjoy! 

 

 

Finally Home...with no stuff!

I've been on the road to Seattle for quite some time now.  First we stopped by Mount Rushmore for a couple of days.  That was amazing for my husband and I.  My kids just liked to throw rocks.  If you ever go, you should definitely go to the night lighting.  The movie and ceremony they held was wonderful.  Then they light up the monument in the evening dusk and it was magical.  At the end, they invited all active duty and retired military to the stage.  They filled it up and then some.  They all received a standing ovation and had a few of them take down the flag and fold it.  It was concluded with each of them telling their name and branch they served.  2 of the gentlemen were WWII veterans and 2 of them were in Vietnam.  How amazing it was to see our men and women standing so proudly under 4 of our nations greatest presidents. 

The day out, we took the Wildlife Loop Road, located in Custer State Park.  We were actually stopped for a while to allow a herd of Bison come through, more like up, the road while cars stopped on both sides of the road to allow them to pass.  If I stuck my arm out the window I would've touched a lot of them...but thinking smartly, I didn't!  My kids favorite part was coming up on a bunch of wild donkeys.  Our windows were all rolled down and within seconds each window was filled with a donkey's head trying to get whatever food they could.  My kids were eating pretzels, which they decided to feed them, and that seemed to make them happy and they were on their way.  It took us about 15 minutes to get out of there after that since they all assumed my kids were giving out free pretzels and we were bombarded with the rest of the herd. 

After that, we took the trip on the road again over to Yellowstone National Park. 

This was a 3 day excursion that could have easily been a week long.  We were able to fit it all in though.  While we were at the mud volcanoes it started snowing...in June!  I couldn't believe it!  Amongst all the heat and steam popping up, there were flurries of snow falling down amongst it all.  Very cool! 

My favorite stop there was the Grand Prismatic Spring at the Midway Geyser Basin.  The colors were simply STUNNING to say the least.  They are formed by a bacterial that only grows in this one place in the world.  I felt like I was on a different planet. 

The kids took part in the Junior Ranger Program that they hold for all National parks throughout the US.  To become a Junior Ranger, the kids are given free 12-page activity paper that you can get at any Yellowstone visitor center. Only children visiting the park can complete the requirements necessary to earn the patch. After completing the age appropriate requirements described on the last page of the paper and reviewing their work with a ranger at any visitor center, the kids were awarded an official Yellowstone Junior Ranger patch.  The Ranger stopped everyone in the station and announced they were to be sworn in.  They had to repeat after the Ranger with their hand held high.  They were BEAMING! 

We saw tons of Wildlife, including, bears, both black and grizzly, elk, bison, a huge wolf, a marmot, numerous chipmunks, really cute ground squirrels, osprey, and my son's favorite, a mountain goat.  So fun for all of us.  We each had our own binoculars to use. 

And of course, you can't leave out Old Faithful.  We got there in plenty of time to see it, but after I locked the keys in the car, time was running out.  Thank goodness that I did it in the biggest tourist spot in Yellowstone and they actually had a car repair place there.  So $55 later, we were walking down to see her blow! 

Next we were on our way to our new home in Seattle....well, the hotel that we stayed in for 10 days until we found a home.  After day 6 I was getting a bit freaked out and frustrated and had a breakdown.  I was just sure we'd end up in an apartment with no yard and no place for me to continue with my ETSY boutique.  On the 8th day, we found a place that we thought would work, but were not too excited about.  We rushed back to the hotel to fill out the applications, which cost us $86, and faxed it in.  Later that night we had one more appointment to look at a house in Issaquah, WA (about 10 miles east of the city).  The house was on a private drive and sat on 1.2 acres of land.  From the second we got there my kids were in LOVE!  I didn't see them the entire time we were there.  The house had plenty of room for all of our things as well as a finished room in the basement for both my studio and the kids playroom.  I was HOOKED from the second we arrived.  And to seal the deal, the neighbor came down with her 3 year old to say hello to us.  So for a second time that day, we filled out the necessary application, this time only costing us $40, and pulled our applications from the first place.  By the next afternoon we had a house to call home.  Only one problem...we moved in on the 1st of July, but the movers couldn't get our stuff to us until the 11th.  YUCK!  Oh well, we went ahead with it anyway.  And now we are living in the fabulous house with 4 folding camping chairs, a computer, which we just got Internet yesterday, and 3 blow up mattresses.  We did buy a grill on the 4th for a BBQ.  That was interesting. 

So to make a long story even longer...I will not be receiving my machines until the 11th and after that probably will be unpacking for a few days before I can actually get back to work.  So sorry for any inconveniences that I have caused for people who are wanting to purchase items from the shop, but this was definitely not planned.  I will send a new post out the moment I am up and running...which is hopefully soon!

Thanks,