handmade

  • Giveaway Day 15

    ByHeather Bailey

    Day15_HELLOgiveawayBanner

    Day15_CalligraphyMelissaEsplin2

    I've been asked to be the keynote speaker at The Sewing Summit
    this year. We just firmed it up this week, so watch for an announcement
    on their site soon. As a bonus, I'm going to fly in for the entire
    event and well, hang out. Which means I'll have the chance to get to
    know some fabulous people who will be there with me.


    MelissaE    One of those fabulous people is Melissa Esplin, who is scheduled to teach at the event. I'm excited to meet her. Melissa not only sews and maintains a beautiful blog, but she is also an incredible calligrapher. And she teaches calligraphy online. Yes, you can take classes without having to leave your desk!

    Calligraphy is gaining attention from today's style stars as a
    back-to-crafts artform. Beautifully-lettered posters add a personal
    touch to a home or office. And personalized calligraphy is a great way
    to enhance a wedding or baby announcement—or otherwise stand out in a
    mess of computer-generated communication.

    Take a look at Melissa's incredible lettering on her website and blog. See Melissa's classes on her site, I Still Love Calligraphy, where you can learn from the best. And don't miss her beautiful, free printables and tutorials as well.


    Day15_CalligraphyPrize
    Today's lucky winner will receive five ready-to-write cards and five envelopes, all hand-lettered by Melissa. Talk about putting your best face
    forward. Your mail and affection will look like it came from the queen
    herself.

    Day15_CalligraphyCards

    The hand-lettered kraft-paper cards feature "5 Things" prompts such
    as "5 Reasons Why I Love You" and the blue envelopes read, "Kindly
    Deliver to" or Please send to." They can be used together or separately.
    A $35 value.



    Day15_CalligraphyCards_squareWT    Melissa
    does custom calligraphy for families and businesses. She designs logos,
    tattoos, greeting cards and more. But, calligraphy isn't her only
    passion. If you like to sew, then you must swing by Melissa's blog to
    see her sewing acumen as
    well. She is teaching at The Sewing Summit afterall. When my
    fashion-fabric line hits next spring, I have a secret wish that we'll
    get to see Melissa work her magic with the collection.

    Okay! Exciting. Let's get this contest going. To enter for today's
    giveaway, just leave a comment here on this post. One entry per human.

    Be sure to include your email
    address
    so we can contact you if you win. You don't have to type your email
    address into the body of the comment if you entered it in the email-address
    field on the comment form; I can access that info from behind the scenes. Today's giveaway will close at NOON PST on Friday 8/16/13. (Extended deadlines here and there, depending on when I get the post up!) Watch for the winner to
    be announced within a day or
    two at the bottom
    of the post.

    Day15_Calligraphy_melissa2

    Follow Melissa on all over the social media scene, on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest and send her a love note while you're at it, "Melissa, your work is beautiful!"

    For more info on these August HELLO Giveaways, click here. Please
    share the word. Tomorrow's prize is the biggest one so far, so don't forget to check back in.

    Good luck!

    xo—Heather


    Read More “Giveaway Day 15”

  • The Vintage Pearl

    ByHeather Bailey

    When Erin offered to make me one of her silver, hand-stamped necklaces, I was
    all over it.  Who in her right mind would say no!?  What I didn't
    realize at the time was how much I would love my necklace — and wear
    it all the time. 

    VintagePearl470

    I
    have a soft spot for funky jewelry.  But, as it turns out, there are
    plenty of days where I'm not up to the funky stuff.  And it is
    sweet-sweet to joggle the charms on my necklace and think of my two
    kids. 

    Necklace1upA
    Wouldn't these make great Valentine's Day gifts?  I know that each of
    my brothers has received a loud hint from his wife for a Vintage Pearl
    necklace.

    So check this out — when I told Erin I planned to post
    about my necklace, she offered to set up a 10% discount for anyone
    who wants a necklace too (enter Bailey10 at checkout) — AND a giveaway of two $50 gift certificates to her store, TheVintagePearl.com.  There are a lot of jewelry styles to choose from.

    Necklace3up

    Holy guacamole. (I'm kinda jealous. Which is so very wrong, as my necklace was a present after all.)

    Leave a comment to enter — and drop a 'hello' at Erin's blog as well.  Winners will be drawn on Thursday, the 28th.

  • Suture-Free Future

    ByHeather Bailey

    Here it is, my live interview on NBC's Studio 5 in Salt Lake City. Catch a glimpse of my next mini pattern. Try not to glimpse the ribbon dangling from my shirt sleeve though.

    Written instructions for the Pop Garden scrap flowers featured on the video can be found here. I had an incredible time in Utah this weekend. I met many fun entrepreneurs & was showered with some amazing presents — necklaces, notecards, homemade games, tee-shirts, chocolate. The Sweet Tooth Fairy's Double Fudge Cake Bites made my night on Thursday. Imagine oreo-cookie-flavored cake with a truffle-chocolate shell. Yeah. Holy happiness, Batman.

  • Packing Flowers

    ByHeather Bailey

    FlowerProject2

    Today I'm heading over to the NBC affiliate in Salt Lake City for a live interview & some crafty kibitzing on KSL's Studio 5 with hosts, Brooke & Darin. We're making fast, fabulous, fabric flowers. Fashionable too — and friendly.

    The
    spicy flower above turned out perfectly for the red & olive reverse
    of my red Marlo Bloom bag (shown on the cover of the Marlo Bloom sewing pattern). It takes my handbag right into Fall, all wooly & frayed, with felted houndstooth leaves and raw silk at the center.

    FlowerProject1

    I
    also played around with some of my favorite vintage buttons &
    millinery supplies, such as these green ceramic flower stamen. On the
    show, we're making medium-sized flowers, but as I couldn't stick to one
    size for the samples, I'm listing measurements for the large purse
    flower and the small, blue headband flower as well. Of course, make
    whatever size flower you wish & stitch it where you like.

    I say everywhere.

    FlowerProject4a

    Pop Garden Scrap Flower Tutorial

    Medium Flower

    1.  Tear a strip of printed cotton fabric 3" high by 20" wide. Pop Garden works.

    FlowerTute1

    2. 
    With wrong sides together, fold fabric strip in half, as shown. Stitch
    long, gathering stitch along matched torn edges, through both layers.
    (For a torn-edge flower, stitch along folded edge, through both layers.)

    FlowerTute2

    3. 
    Gently pull stitches as you sew, to gather fabric into a circle. Fasten
    fabric circle at center with a couple of stitches. Secure & trim
    thread.

    FlowerTute3a

    4. 
    Of felt, cut three tiered circles — 2" wide, 1.75" wide, and 1.5"
    wide. Notch edges of large & small circles. Remove all 'hanging
    chads' of felt — we'll have none of that. Stack felt circles as shown.

    FlowerTute4

    5. 
    Onto gathered fabric flower, layer stacked felt circles and a
    decorative button or brooch. Stitch layers together at center several
    times through button to secure. Conceal gathered edges at back of
    flower by whip-stitching a circle of scrap felt to the back of the
    flower. Then, attach a sew-on pin-back, hair clip, ponytail elastic, TT
    headband    , bobbypin or barrette. And that's it. Easy-peasy.

    FlowerTute5

    For
    your reference, the following chart shows the measurements used for the
    other flowers featured in the photos above. The large flower is made by
    stacking a folded piece of silk on top of the folded cotton print with
    folds aligned. Gathering stitches are sewn through all layers, near the
    fold. And the large flower spirals into several layers, unlike the
    other two shown.

    FlowerTute6a

    I'm looking forward to meeting many of you at Friday's Start-up Princess event. If you're interested in last-minute registration, I've got a present for you — use code STUDIO5 for $10 off the registration fee. Or tune in to the show today, as two viewers will receive free tickets on air, valued at $99 each.

    Also, there is an all-new category at The Heather Bailey Store.
    See if you can spot it. I'm eager to post more, but need to rush off to
    the station. Let's just say the new category ties in perfectly with
    this tutorial and with more projects to come. I'll spill the beans in
    my next post.

  • Pretty Maids All in a Row

    ByHeather Bailey

    FeatureFriBanner
    Ravenhill1a

    Like
    so many others, I'm charmed by the bright colors and folky art of
    Russian dolls or matryoshka.  Over the last couple of years, demure
    little matryoshka have become a fierce trend in crafting and design. 
    Russian-doll jewelry, ornaments, beads, fabric, embroidery, and home
    decor can be spotted all over the internet and in stores.  (Fun links at the bottom of this post.)

    RussianDoll250brt Amidst the Russian bunch, the whimsical dolls of Emily Moss of
    Ravenhill stand out — playful stuffed matryoshka made with a variety
    of prints & details.

    Emily’s inspiration for creating these unique dolls was her “growing stack of
    beautiful fabrics and pretty ribbon," combined with her new-found
    enjoyment of embroidery.  As a result, each doll has her own personality. 

    I first spotted
    Emily's dolls in my Pop Garden & Bijoux Flickr group where she has
    uploaded a several cheery, floral ladies.  See a wide variety of fabric
    combinations in her Babushka Softies Flickr set as well.

    Ravenhillsze Emily’s
    dolls were not always exactly what she envisioned. Though the overall
    doll design appears simple, fine-tuning the shape & structure took time.  Emily went through several drafts to develop
    the dolls she makes today.

        “It took a lot of practice and experimentation
    with various tool and mediums… I have learned so much from this process
    and would encourage others not to give up when the first prototype is far from what was planned.
    Plow ahead and persevere.”

    Emily offers Matryoshka dolls in her Etsy store.  Or stop by her blog to see what’s new.

    More Russian doll links:

    *For more information about Feature Friday & the artists spotlighted, click here*

    Photography in this post courtesy of Emily Moss