Framer's Friday

Thrifty Thursday

Don't forget our secret blog sale!

Print out the coupon above and bring it to the Patch Multi-crafts to receive discount.

****

Come in and see our newest fabrics!

Below:

Jingles Flannel by Moda

Below:

Civil war - Regency III by Marcus Fabrics

Sublime stitching

What is Sublime Stitching??

It's not your Grandma's Embroidery, that's for sure!

About Sublime Stitching:

"Sublime Stitching was founded in Austin, Texas in 2001 by artist Jenny Hart, due to an overabundance of bunny-n-duckie patterns and outdated, overly-difficult instructions for embroidery. Unable to find alternative designs for embroidery that appealed to a new generation of stitchers, Jenny decided to make them herself, and her Internet indie craft biz, Sublime Stitching was born. Sublime Stitching introduced edgy embroidery patterns, all-in-one embroidery starter kits and entertaining, now-I-understand-it instructions to bring stitching back to life for a new generation of crafters. Hart's pioneering take on an ages-old handcraft was met with worldwide press and hordes of loyal crafters, thankful for finally having an alternative to geese in bonnets.

**

Think Embroidery is hard? Think again! It really is super easy.

There are many ways to embroider, here is just one, easy way.

1. Tape your paper design to the window (during the day! And blue painters tape works the best)

2. Tape a piece of muslin, bleached or unbleached, over the paper design so you can see the design through the fabric. Tape the fabric so it's taught, around all 4 sides. You don't want the fabric to move much.

3. Take a water soluble pen and trace the design onto the fabric

4. When done, take down the fabric and paper. Take tape off fabric and insert fabric in to a hoop.

5. Thread your needle (size and type of needle is up to the embroiderer!) with DMC floss, and embroider around the design you traced. It's that easy.

**

For a stitch how-to, take a look at the Sublime Stitching site's how-to page.

Take a child's drawing and embroider it on fabric.

The above picture of embroidery is called "Red Work".

Above embroidery pattern from weewonderfulls.com

Embroider a onesie or baby T. Cuckoo clock pattern from pimpstitch.com

And for more inspiration, take a look at the Sublime Stitching Customer Gallery or come in and see our display.

Tuesday Tips, Tricks and Timesavers..

Because we're all "going green", here's a tutorial on reusable snack bags!

This project is so easy and perfect for the beginning sewer.
Please read entire tutorial before starting!

You will need:

1pc outer fabric measuring 11"x7.5"*
1pc lining fabric measuring 11"x7.5"
1pc (of both sides) sew-on velcro 6.25"
pins
scissors
sewing machine
matching thread (**see step 4)
Iron

*I used a one-way design and becasue of this, when I flip over my snack bag, the owls are upside down!
Seam allowances are indicated for each step. Always back stitch.
**
1. Lay your two pieces of fabric, right sides together and sew both short ends with an 1/4" seam.
2. Press seams open.

3. Turn right sides out and press seams flat


**when sewing on the Velcro, I used blue thread in my bobbin and off white on the top
4. Center Velcro pieces on the short ends of the bag, lining side up (make sure the fluffy side and scratchy sides of Velcro are facing up!). No need to pin as it's OK if you're not exactly in the middle but pin if it makes you more comfortable.
5. Sew Velcro to fabric around all 4 sides, right along the edges as pictured. Repeat for other piece of Velcro. Your snack bag should now look like the picture below.

6. Fold fabric in half with lining facing. The Velcro will stick together. No need for pins!

7. Sew an 1/8" seam down both sides (see picture below).8. Turn bag so WRONG (lining) sides are facing out. Use something (not sharp) to poke out your corners. Fabric should look like the above picture.

9. Sew down both sides of bag using a 3/8" seam (see picture below). This will enclose the 1/4" seam from step 7.

10. Turn bag right sides out, poke out corners and you are done!

You can make this bigger or smaller, depending on your needs. For a sandwich sized bag, cut your fabrics @ 19"x7.5", Velcro should be 6.25" also. You can also use vinyl, or other water proof fabrics to line your bag.

Miscellaneous Monday

Featured Customer:

Tonya Coleman...

and her Mosaic end table

This end table is a great thrift store find!

Tonya used mosaic glass and pre cut tiles, tacky glue and grout.

Come in and find similar supplies for your own project in the store.

See Tonya's other projects here. If you have a project you'd like to share, please leave a comment on any post or come by the store. We would LOVE to see what you're doing!

Thrifty Thursday

What's Hot Wednesday

A gorgeous new line called "Close To My Heart" by Faye Burgess for Marcus Fabrics.

Check out our hallway for new sale fabric! We've moved many fabrics to the 20% sale area; batiks, flannel and so much more! We also moved several fabrics to the 40% are.




A new Christmas line called "Figgy Pudding" by Basicgrey for Moda Fabrics.

New Kona Cotton Solids!

Robert Kaufman "mingle" and "Metro Market"

Robert Kaufman, "Imperial Fussions" & "Imperial Collection".

Tuesday Tips, Tricks and Timesavers..

*fabric is Recess by Moda.

Stop by the store to see our "Swatch Portraits" above the notions wall. They are so simple to make. Check out this tutorial on how to do them.

This is an excellant way to display embroidery, your childs drawings, or your favorite fabrics. They can be changed when ever you feel like it!

*picture borrowed from ressica jachel on flickr

*picture borrowed from mayalu on flickr


*picture borrowed from laura.eliza on flickr

* picture borrowed from contentedsparrow on flickr

*picture borrowed from stitchesandtulips on flickr

*picture borrowed from special J on flickr

We carry many different sizes of embroidery hoops

but if we are out of what you need, we can special order it for you.

**

Miscellaneous Monday

Hoping to inspire our customers....

Oliver + S Sailboat Top & Pants made by Corinnea.

We carry the full line of Oliver +S patterns and have several samples around the store.

Quilt made by Katelyn. Fabrics are Tina Given's, Chloe's Imagination.

Dress by Kelly. Fabric is Basic Grey for Moda. Pattern is Amy Butler, Mini Dress Tunic and Tops. We also carry the full line of Amy Butler patterns.

We love to show off our customers prjects made from items we carry. Stop by the store for more information or leave a comment on any post and we'll get back to you.

Saturday Scraps

Celebrating the Fourth

by Brenda Wando

Digital Scrapbook Memories "Playground" CD, available at Patch Multi-Crafts

Template from here

What's Hot Wednesday

New Scrapbook Lines!
Come in and see what's new, what's hot!

You'll need soemthing to put all those new completed pages in so remember to print out the coupon* from the blog (posted on July 4th), bring it in and get 20% off all albums and scrapbooks!

*coupon expires July 13th

Tuesday Tips, Tricks And Timesavers

+

=

Hello crafty people! Here's an easy and fun project that's half rainy-afternoon craft, half Extreme Makeover: Home Edition! Armed with a pot of Mod-Podge, some designer papers and a lamp shade and base kit, the possibilities for creative design are endless! 

Start with the plain lampshade. Paint the top and bottom edges in the color of your choice (Girly suggestion: hot pink!). While the paint is still wet, roll the lampshade across a sheet of old, unwanted newspaper, using a pencil to mark the start- and end-points. Cut this section out, you now have the template for the shape of the shade. The newspaper template can be cut into as many sections as you want (I made 3 sections, cutting from top to bottom). Use the template to cut your pieces out of cardstock or paper. 

Once you have your sections cut out (and have double-checked that they will fit) apply Mod-Podge to the part of the lampshade being covered. I prefer a paintbrush to a foam brush, but both will work. Stick the paper to the shade, making sure to smooth out any bubbles or wrinkles before it dries. Continue until all sections are covered. Leave the covered shade to dry completely several hours before going back to apply a finishing Mod-Podge coat. 

Use the same technique for covering the base. Rather than using large pieces of paper, I used a square punch and covered the base with smaller squares of paper, overlapping each other. The possibilities are endless!

You can add flair to a basic paper-covered lampshade with ribbon, stickers, acrylic paint, buttons, stamps, fabric -- anything you can get your hands on!

Send us pictures of your completed lampshades or, better yet, bring them by Patch Multi-Crafts to put them on display!! 

Happy crafting!

Secret Summer Sale