Valentine's Day

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

Yesterday I whipped up the "love" hearts in this picture so I would have something appropriate to post today, and to add a few more hearts to my 365 sewn hearts total.  As I was making them, I realized I had a sewing tip I would like to share with you.

I used red thread to sew the felt letters onto the fabric hearts on the sewing machine (I wanted to hand-embroider around the edges but I ran out of time).  Normally when you sew on the machine, you backstitch at the beginning and end of your line of stitching to secure the thread.  I didn't want backstitches to detract from my red outline, so here's what I did:

I stitched all around the letter without backstitching, and I left a long tail of thread at both the beginning and the end.

Flipping the heart over, I pulled the loose threads from the front through to the back (with the help of a pin).

Then I just tied them in a knot to secure the threads.

There--a nice neat outline!

I happened to have some  red polymer clay beads that I made a while ago and never used--they were perfect to put between my hearts!  Then I used a long doll-making needle to string everything onto a length of embroidery floss.  This is the hutch in my dining room; I think the little "love" garland fits in very well.  (The strange glow in the lower right is the reflection of my computer screen from the other side of the room!)

Have a happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

Happy Heart Card Tutorial

If you want to see what other people are doing for Valentine's Day, check out the Linky Party/Blog Hop at Itsy Bitsy Paper.


A couple of days ago I came across a post on Lime Riot's blog that got me really excited!  She showed the CUTEST Valentine's Day cards that she made for the other moderaters at Craftster--you can go directly to that post HERE.  The cards feature a hand-sewn felt heart tied to the front, so it can be removed and tied elsewhere--it's a card and a gift in one!  Lime Riot, you are brilliant!!

I could hardly wait to make my own, and I posted the first card I made on my other blog, 365 Sewn Hearts.  Of course, I had to make more than one, and I want to show you the steps so you can make your own. 

Here's the card I will show you how to make:

1.  Gather your supplies.  You will need two different fabrics, heart templates in two sizes (just fold paper in half and cut a heart, like you did in grade school!), kitchen twine (or string, or ribbon), and iron-in interfacing.  Don't be afraid of interfacing!  Just get a package of light-weight iron-in Pellon, and follow the directions on the package.  It makes ALL the difference between something that looks homemade and something that looks professional.

2.  Cut your fabrics into a workable size, depending on how many hearts you want to make.  Cut interfacing slightly smaller than your fabrics, and iron it onto the backs of both fabrics.  Trace the heart shapes onto your fabrics.  I traced mine onto the back so the pencil line won't show.  My traced line will be my sewing line, so I cut out my hearts about 1/4" beyond the line.

Center the small heart on the front of the large heart, and sew it in place on the sewing machine.  The edges will be left raw.  (In the first heart card I made, I used Heat n Bond to "glue" the small heart in place--that works great, but I noticed that the white parts of the fabric looked dingy afterwards, so I didn't use it this time since my small heart has a lot of white.)

Cut the kitchen twine about 14" long.  Fold in half and tie a knot at the folded end.  This end will be sewn inside your heart, and the knot will ensure that the twine doesn't get pulled out.  Place the twine as shown in the picture, and use a small piece of tape to hold it in place.  You will remove the tape after sewing.

3.  Sew all around the edge of the heart on your pencil line, leaving an opening on one side for turning.  Be sure to let the ends of the twine extend through the opening--don't let them get sewn into the seam! Use a short stitch length so the curves of the heart will be smooth.

4.  Trim the excess fabric to about 1/8".  Be careful not to cut the twine.  Trim as close to the bottom point as you dare; if there is too much excess fabric there, you won't get a good point on your finished heart.  At the top of the heart, make a cut close to the sewing line where the two curves meet.

5.  Turn the heart right-side out.  Do yourself a favor and get some hemostats, like the ones in this picture!  They make turning SO easy!  Then, run the end of a chopstick or knitting needle around the inside of the heart to smooth out the curves, and iron it flat.  Be sure to turn under the unsewn edges of the opening and iron that nice and smooth.

6.  On the sewing machine, sew all around the heart, about 1/8" from the edge.

7.  Tie the twine in a bow, and you are done!  I decided to add a coil-less safety pin to these hearts (it just slides on without sewing), but you could sew a safety pin to the back, or use a jewelry pin.

8.  Make a card.  I used white card stock, cut in half to 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" and then folded in half to 4 1/4" x 5 1/2".  On top of that I glued a piece of colored typing paper, cut to 3 1/4" x 4 1/4".  Use rubber stamps to stamp any message you want.

Since this heart has a pin on the back, I just taped the pin to the card.  It's simple to do, and easy for the recipient to remove the heart.  The heart can be worn as a pin, or tied onto a purse or anything, really!

I love these cards so much!!

Thank you Lime Riot for being my inspiration!

Valentine Purses

I just finished these Valentine's Day-inspired purses, and not a moment too soon!  The ladies who own these will only get about 3 weeks of use out of them this year.

I made these at the request of a regular customer (Debbie, who also ordered wintery blue bags from me).  She and her daughter, who is a school teacher, both like to carry seasonal bags.

I made four for them to choose from.  Debbie's daughter specifically asked for something with chocolates on the fabric.

I know which ones are my favorites, but I don't know yet which ones they chose (they will pick them up at the store where I sell my bags and other things).

When I called Debbie to tell her the bags were at the store, she concluded the conversation by saying "We will be wanting St. Patrick's Day bags too."  Luckily, I've already ordered that fabric!