When did it become June?

So, it's June already. How did that happen? Well with June comes the beginning of summer, though its been hot enough here for months.

But June brings other things as well, including the 30 Days of Creativity Challenge.

I have to say I'm intrigued by this, and very tempted to join in on the fun. The problem is I don't always have time every time to create something, and I feel like I can only count "dinner" so many times. The challenge starts today, and its after 6pm and this is the first chance I've had to even blog, let alone craft. Guess that's why they call it a challenge. :P

Well I may be starting late. But in the meantime, I bought a yard of this fabric for $2 over the weekend, but I still don't know what I want to make with it.

I really like it. I'm thinking something beachy or summery would be good, but I still haven't decided. Any one got any suggestions?

What I Sent

Oh I've been neglectful. I have been running around like a mad person, fighting multiple illnesses and a crazy busy work week(or two) before making it back to all my crafty duties.

I'm still hard at work on my swap items for the Dia de Los Muertos Swap, hoping to finish on Thursday so I can mail Friday. Tuesday is the last day to mail, but thankfully I don't have too much left to do.

I did send all my goodies for the Fabric Scavenger Hunt Swap and my partner received, so I can share with you what I sent her:
 

A reversible sewing machine cover(left) to fulfill something cozy. For senders choice some fabric(top center) and for something green I sent four FQs with green in them(bottom center). Embroidery scissors on a necklace for something sharp(right), and fabric weights for something bumpy(right).

The sewing machine cover was tougher to make than I anticipated. I read a couple of tutorials on it, looked at a couple of patterns and thought, "please its two rectangles sewn together, how hard could that be?!" and then attempted to proceed without a plan, resulting in many errors. Thankfully all were fixable but I wasted a lot of time redoing things because I didn't have a step by step plan. It's still a super simple project, though, and I'm planning to make one for myself, probably with a tutorial for you, sharing all that I've learned. :)

As for the fabric I sent, you'll see some of that pop up later. I ordered a lot of it online and had to cut my own fat quarters, since most stores won't send them to you that way, so I saved a bit of it for myself. Especially excited about that tea pot fabric.

The package that she sent me in return was absolutely amazing! I've had the pictures on my camera for a while, so I still need to post them, but let me tell you, I was blown away! Everything was perfect for me, she clearly did her homework, and I was especially impressed with the neatness of her sewing, as that's still something I have to work really, really hard on. But that's for another post. In the meantime, I'll be hard at work making ________ and some coordinating _______ ______ for the Dia de los Muertos swap, and hoping I finish in time!

Go and make things -W

PS- go RIGHT NOW to Sew, Mama, Sew's blog page and check out the absolutely amazing giveaways happening all across the internet right now! They started Monday but most are open through Wednesday and some even through Friday. There's some really awesome stuff up for grabs!

All Work and No Play

OK, maybe some play. I've been dying to bust out the sewing machine this week thanks to oodles of pretty spring fabric I've been eyeing from my stash. When it comes to sewing projects though, I'm mostly drawn to small-ish things that I can finish in an evening or a weekend, generally while parked in front of the TV. I needed a new fun little something to stitch up- here's what I ended up with:

It's a skinny little wallet, or (and this is totally what I intend to use mine for) a business card holder! I got coordinating fat quarters from the fabric store and some lightweight interfacing and went to town.

This is the outside. Then I decided to modify a little and created a different version:

This one just has the one pocket, and the fabrics for the outside and pocket are reversed. I also used more interfacing on this one to make it a little more sturdy, which I definitely prefer.

On the next one I'd like to add some elastic and loop it around a button so that the folding wallet will stay closed and you can use it for additional things. I can make three or four of these guys (depending on if you go big or small) with just two fat quarters, so its a great stashbusting project as well.

I think they are pretty darn cute, and I definitely plan to make some more, especially since they are done start to finish in about half an hour. Can't beat that!

Procrastinating and Pretty Fabric

OK, I clearly need to stop promising upcoming topics on this. This is the third time I've failed to deliver what I intended to blog about.

Last time I promised tales and photos of my first experience making cake pops, which was actually successful and pretty easy and stress free. I took pictures the entire time, and last week I even wrote the blog post in advance, thinking I'd just upload the pictures and add then in the appropriate places when I was ready.

And then a week went by. No uploaded pictures, no blog post. Why? I hate uploading photos. Normally I take blurry and awful pictures on my phone and upload them immediately to the blog and it's simple and easy. But these pictures generally kinda suck.

This time I decided to use my actual camera. Which means I have to pull out the memory card and put them on my computer. And then from the computer to the internet. And from the internet to the blog. Obviously this still hasn't happened. But I haven't given up, some time soon I will get around to uploading those darn photos.

In the meantime, check out this freaking adorable and amazing fabric I just bought from Sew, Mama, Sew!

A good bit of their fabric is on sale right now, so you should consider snatching some up before its all gone! You can purchase in 1/4 incriments or even buy some pre-cut fat quarters of select fabrics. Got a couple projects I want to try out soon, can't wait to get this and some of the other stuff I purchased in the mail.

Next Time: HAH. I don't think so. lesson learned.