sewing – Bubblegum Sass

Instagram Giveaway!

Mon, 04 May 2015 15:35:29 +0000

Are you on Instagram? Then you should definitely check me out on there! I’m currently offering a pretty sweet giveaway. Enter to WIN A SPOT in the Crafted Artisan Truck’s upcoming embroidery workshop being taught by the folks of Needle & Pine. We could all use more things to do with our hands, right!?

Needle & Pine are a local couple who use salvaged & thrifted materials to create a collection of wonderful wood shelving units and sewn home decor, all inspired by the mountains. Learn the tips and tricks of hand embroidery from one half of the talented duo behind Needle & Pine. It will be a fun evening of making and mingling in Calgary, Ab.

{All entries must be made on Instagram, so hurry up & head on over. Giveaway closes on May 6th at 11:59pm MST}

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DIY Valentine’s Day Lace Heart Garland

Sat, 31 Jan 2015 18:13:03 +0000

Although we don’t typically do a lot to celebrate Valentine’s Day at our house, we do decorate a wee bit. It’s nice to have a few pretty things around the house in the dead of winter. I especially enjoy a pretty wreath on the door (I get so sad when I take down my Christmas wreath). A wreath on the door always makes me smile when I arrive home. This year, I decided to spruce up our twig wreath with a shabby chic inspired garland. Annnd… I even remembered to document the process thoroughly so I could share it as a tutorial with all my lovely readers! That’s my bit of Happy Valentine’s to YOU!

Now, the number of hearts to make for your garland is up to you (that’s why no material amounts have been given in the supply list below). I just made three (two large & one small) to symbolize my small family of three. Also, as you will see, I attached this short garland to a wreath. If you want a longer garland to hang, say from your fireplace mantel, then you will need to cut & stitch more hearts (you could alternate small & large hearts, some lace covered, some not).

Here are the supplies you will need for this project:

Bubblegum Sass Heart Template
Red craft felt
Pink craft felt
White or light-coloured lace
Buttons
Lace trim or ribbon (to hang hearts from)
Sharpie or fabric marker
Thread
Scissors
Hot glue gun

Print off and cut out the heart template (or use your own preferred heart template). Using a sharpie, trace around the template onto the felt.

Trace out your heart template onto the lace, as well. *For perfectionists, see note below (in sewing section) for a tip on cutting out the lace.*

Cutting just inside the marked line, cut out each heart shape.

Repeat above steps for all sizes of hearts in both felt & lace. For my short garland, I cut out: two large felt hearts, two large lace hearts, and one small felt heart.

Lay one lace heart over a matching felt heart, lining up the edges. Pin into place, as the lace tends to stretch & move a bit. Using a sewing machine zigzag stitch, sew all the way around the heart. Repeat with remaining hearts that you wish to layer with lace & felt. *If you really want your lace hearts perfectly lined up with the felt hearts (I know there are perfectionists among us), then I suggest cutting your lace hearts out slightly larger than the felt hearts, zig zag stitching them on and then trimming the edge of the lace so it is even with the felt.*

Choose your buttons and stitch onto each heart, either on the left or right upper corner of the heart.

Measure and cut the length of lace trim/ribbon that you will hang the hearts from (mine was about one meter or 39″, but of course cut whatever length is going to work for your own project. A longer garland will require a longer lace trim/ribbon.) Fold this in half and mark the half-way point (with a pin). Position your center heart here and pin into place, along the back of the heart.

Position remaining hearts along the lace trim/ribbon, pinning into place on the backside. Tip: Place your lace trim/ribbon on the upper part of the heart, or else the hearts tend to flip over once hung. Once pinned into place, use a hot glue gun to attach the lace trim, removing pins as you work. If you would prefer, you can stitch the lace trim/ribbon into place.

Voila! A pretty lace heart garland to hang. Besides using it to decorate for Valentine’s Day, I think it would be a sweet addition to a baby room. And of course, you could make it in any combination of colours.

My completed project, with the lace heart garland attached to our twig wreath & hung on the front door. The wreath, by the way, is one that my hubby made for fun one year out of lilac bush branches.

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In the Studio: Love Catchers

Mon, 10 Nov 2014 13:00:54 +0000

In preparation for the Market Collective Christmas show on December 5-7th, I’ve been sneaking in a bit of crafting time here & there. Mostly in the evenings while watching a show on Netflix (most recently Veronica Mars, and now onto the latest season of Vampire Diaries). Hoping for a bit more time in my actual sewing room in the coming weeks. The Love Catchers are starting to pile up, and I’m feeling very satisfied with how well they are all coming together. So how about some pics and quotes to inspire your week?

“Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.”

– Earl Nightingale

“When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I.”

– Proverbs 26:1

“There are far better things ahead than any we leave behind.”

– C.S. Lewis

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Button-spiration: Bag Lady

Wed, 16 Jul 2014 12:00:53 +0000

I’m waaaaay overdue for a Button-spiration post. Have you missed them? I certainly have! Today, finally, a little button love with a simple project. Who can resist a button bag? Certainly not me. In fact, I’m thinking that a trip to Value Village might be in order to find an old purse that I can spend my evenings embellishing with buttons galore. Find the original post on Burkatron.

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Button-spiration: In Your Hair

Wed, 07 May 2014 12:00:44 +0000

Here’s a fun collection of DIY headband tutorials. All cute, all colourful, and all sorts of button embellishments. I recently discovered that my short hair finally looks good with a headband (it’s the little things that make my day). Now it’s time to get accessorizing!

Fabric headband by Heidi and Finn

Daydreamer Headband by I Am Momma – Hear Me Roar

Pleated headband by Craftiness Is Not Optional

Yarn wrapped headband by Hellobee

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Pretty in Progress

Thu, 17 Apr 2014 12:00:03 +0000

I’ve been spending the last several weeks preparing for the upcoming Boutique Wedding Market here in Calgary. I’ve designed a couple new products for the show, while the rest are slight design variations on my current products. I brought the colours of everything inline with the very popular shabby chic/rustic style wedding decor (dusty purples & pinks, peach, ivory & beige). It’s all a lot more soft than the punchy colours you see in my Etsy shop.

I had already played around quite a bit with the shabby chic style cuff bracelets last year. So I used the inspiration from those and sprinkled it into my button hair clips and the new bridal accessories. The result is a whole lot of pretty in vintage doilies, lace, silks, tulle, yo-yos, and buttons. There’s a lot of hand stitching going into all of this, evenings spent sewing yo-yos & lace flowers while we watch our latest addiction on Netflix. Right now, I’m moving on to putting together the hair clips, and finishing touches on the bridal accessories. In a few days, I’ll be diving into button magnets (all in wedding appropriate colours… don’t you think they would make cute wedding favors?). I’ve also got several display details still to finish up. I’m really tickled with the display I’ve got roughly worked out. It will be quite a change for Bubblegum Sass (I won’t be hiding behind a table for once), but I’m loving the idea!

So here’s a peek into the progress:

Peach bridal accessory (can be worn as a hair piece or accent belt for a dress)

A whole lot of silk, tulle, & buttons

Bridal accessory with cute blue & bird details

Diving into purple… fabric flower accents for bridal accessories & hair combs

Lots of beautiful shabby chic inspired fabric button flowers for hair clip sets

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Our Week (so far)

Sat, 12 Apr 2014 12:00:53 +0000

Evenings spent hand stitching piles of these lovely lace flowers (destined to be accents in some new products)

His and hers coconut crack bar treats. One batch with agave syrup (for her) and one batch for peanut butter (for him). Both with loads of coconut flakes & coconut oil. All sorts of yummy!

Homemade biscuits (made with coconut oil instead of shortening) and some tasty bacon jam (not homemade).

Be still my heart. Our little man making his first button art project.

Sam’s completed button artwork, perfect on the mantel. One proud mama.

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Button-spiration: Bookmarks

Wed, 12 Mar 2014 12:00:44 +0000

This week’s Button-spiration features a super quick and easy project from Busy Beehives… So easy, in fact, it would probably be a good early sewing project for kids. They make nice little gifts for friends and teachers. All you need is a ribbon, a button, hair elastic, and thread & needle. Stitch the hair elastic to one end of the ribbon and a button on the other end. See, easy-peasy!

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Button-spiration: Heart Day

Wed, 12 Feb 2014 13:00:50 +0000

Valentine’s is just around the corner. Thought I would share one more “heart themed” button craft with you. This one is from Buttons Galore & More. These little rustic fabric hearts decorated with buttons would make a very nice gift, for the young or old. All you need is some plain or linen fabric, buttons, thread, ribbon, and polyfil. If you’re short on time, you could always use some hot glue to attach all the buttons, instead of sewing them (although they look more adorable stitched). Check out the full tutorial for all the details. And enjoy your Happy Hearts Day!

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Fresh in the Shop!

Thu, 30 Jan 2014 18:26:33 +0000

There’s new product now available in the shop! It’s like having a fridge full of fresh, new veggies! Or something like that. I’ve been busy making lots & lots of button hair clips to sell through consignment & thought that my Etsy shop could sure use some of these sweeties. Going forward, I’m likely to focus on selling the clips in sets (of two or six) instead of just individually. Besides, if you like the clips, you should probably have two (or half a dozen), just in case.

Seeing these new items in the shop is getting me in the mood for spring. Realistically we’re still a looong way till spring here in Calgary, but a girl can daydream about that first bit of colour bursting forth from crocus bulbs. Meanwhile, Sam keeps asking to do garden stuff. Poor little guy can’t find a patch of unfrozen dirt anywhere in the backyard. So we listen to the birds and make little seed treats for the backyard critters to pass the winter days.

I’ve started to survive the grayness, ice & cold, by hand stitching felt birds to these colourful corduroy coin purses. Keep the hands busy, the mind focused on bright things and spring will eventually arrive. After many, many years of sewing my coin purses (I designed & started them back in 2006), I’ve been getting bored with them. It was time to refresh my creative juices and I longed to do some quiet hand stitching in the evenings after our little man heads to bed. That’s where these *Put a Bird On It* coin purses came from (you have to watch Portlandia!). Sticking a bird on things, instantly makes them better, right? Well, actually, in this case, it worked. I’m back to enjoying the process of making them. A handful are headed to Treehouse Boutique in Ontario and the rest will be nesting in the Etsy shop, until they find a better home.

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