Patch Multi-Crafts

Shop in Your Costume!

2009-10-23T00:01:00.001+02:00

Shop in your costume and take 15% off your entire purchase* !!

Two days only, October 30th and 31st.

5% black bag discount applies

*15% does not apply to consignment items, labor or classes

Clothespin Bats

2009-10-02T00:01:00.000+02:00

Make these adorable Clothespin Bats and start Halloween off right!

Supplies (to make 6 bats):

bat template found here

3 sheets of black 12x12 card stock

hot glue gun works the best but for children use tacky glue

pencil and paper scissors

red and black paint

6 large clothespins

Print and cut out template

Trace template on to black card stock with pencil (you will need 12 bats total)

Cut out each bat

paint eyes on each bat using red paint

Take apart clothespins and paint black

Once dry, reassemble clothespins

Take 6 bats and turn them upside down.

Run a strip of hot glue down the body (see picture below) and immediately put a clothes pin on top of the glue as pictured

Take your remaining 6 bats and on the wrong side, run a strip of glue down each body. Immediately take your clothes pins that are already glued to the other bats and stick them on the glue strip. You should now have your clothespin sandwiched between two bats.

To make the wings stick together, peel back one wing and apply a glue dot about the size of a dime on the other wing (see photo). Immediately squeeze the two wings together. You will do this for all the bats on each wing.

Your finished!

Attach them to curtains or blinds or make a "clothesline" of bats by stringing clear monofilament across a window or wall like we did at the store.

2009-10-01T00:01:00.000+02:00

Enjoy 20% of all patterns for one week only!

Bring in this coupon to receive discount.

5% black bag discount applies.

October 1st to October 7Th

Thrifty Thursday

2009-09-24T00:01:00.000+02:00

Print this coupon, bring it to the Stuttgart Arts and Crafts

and recieve 20% off all Jewelry Charms!!

Valid from September 24th to September 30th

Does not include consignment items. 5% black bag discount can be used.

New Fabric and Kids Kits!

2009-09-19T22:16:00.008+02:00

Check out our new kids kits!

Knit an elephant, sew a doll.....

Create a Robot, Stitch an Owl and so many more.

New flannel

Below is a very pretty and very soft line called

" Natural Effects" by Michelle D'amore for Marcus Fabrics

It's going fast already!

Children's flannel..

"Folk Tale Friends"

"Quilters Tweed"

Below is " In Full Bloom"

Thrifty Thursday

2009-09-17T00:01:00.000+02:00

One week only, receive 20% off all Kona Cotton Solids when you bring in this coupon!!

September 17Th to September 23rd.

Scrapbook Saturday: Go Digital!

2009-09-12T00:01:00.008+02:00

Part 2: Getting Started

You'll first need to choose your editing program. I use Photoshop Elements, so I can personally say that it's a great program. Don't take my word for it, though. Get online and look around, you might find something you like better! (If you already have a program that you like, please don't hesitate to leave your thoughts in our comments section, perhaps you can help to guide future digi scrappers!)

Once you have your program and have familiarized yourself with it a bit, you'll need some scrapbooking elements to go with those fabulous photos of yours. You have a lot of options here. I would suggest that you start off with one or more of the Digital Scrapbook Memories CD's that we have available in the store. These are compatible with any editing program which supports a .PNG format. They contain a large quantity of elements, such as digital stickers, brads, and alphabets that can give you a good start to your digital collection. Remember, these things can be used repeatedly, so after the initial purchase, it's not necessary to continue purchasing more elements. To augment your collection, though, there are many online stores which sell down-loadable digital pages and elements. One of our staff is a designer for just such a store! You can check out her designs and many others at Digiridoo Scraps, but this is just one example of many such online shops available to you. Many of these shops and designers do freebie samples, too, so you can snag great add-ons for your digital pages for free!

If you like playing with the photos themselves, you can also buy and download actions for your photos, which can help to make photo editing quick and easy. These actions are generally suited to a specific program, and most of what I've seen are either for Photoshop, or Photoshop Elements. Pioneer Woman has a lot of great actions, as do CoffeeShop, Totally Rad, and Eye Candy.

If you get stuck, no sweat! For technical support, check out the website for your editing program, or just type your problem into Google and you're sure to find all sorts of tutorials. As a matter of fact, most of the sites I listed above have some great tutorials as well! If your creativity has started to sputter, find inspiration in other scrappers' creations. Remember those online scrap shops? Most of them are full of example pages! You can also check my blog archives for some of my pages (look here and here), and Kelly has a digi scrapbook slide show on her blog.

If you aren't quite ready to take the leap on your own, check out one of the Digital Scrapbooking classes taught at Patch Multi-Crafts. One class is going on today (if you read this before 10am you can still bring your laptop over and jump in the class) and the next will be October 8 & 15 from 11:00 to 14:00. As always, we would love to see your digital designs!

Rag Quilt Letters

2009-09-05T19:02:00.003+02:00

Make these Rag Quilt Letters from this super easy tutorial.

These were made for the store to inspire above the sale fabrics.
They were hung with double sided tape but you could sew/glue them on a ribbon or use string as a "clothesline" on the wall and hang each letter with a clothes pin.

Make a Happy Birthday banner...or your child's name to hang in their room.

Other idea's:

Merry Christmas or other holiday wishes.

Crafting inspiration words like above.

Whatever you make, make it fun and be creative!

The Frame Shop

2009-09-02T00:01:00.001+02:00

Ever wonder where we create these beautiful, made-to-order frames?

Behind the scenes at the Patch Multi-Crafts frame shop.

Bring in your artwork, photos or memorabilia for a free estimate!

Scrapbook Satruday: Go Digital!

2009-08-29T00:01:00.005+02:00

Part 1: The Perks

To anyone who has ever been interested in scrap booking or photography, I would like to say this: Go digital. Not that there is anything wrong with traditional paper-and-glue scrap books! But why not give digital a try?

There are a lot of digital scrap booking programs out there, but I use Photoshop Elements and I love it! You can use the program to manually tweak your photos, or you can download actions that will change your photos automatically. You can try different looks, zoom and crop, and so long as you don't save the changes, you can just hit "undo" and it will revert back to the original if you don't like it!

Coffee Shop's "Vintage News" Action

Once you get your photos looking just the way you want them, you can then put together your scrapbook page with the same program. All of your papers, stickers, stamps and embellishments will be digital, so you will have no clean up when you're done. And, just like with the photos, you can undo anything! There's no wasted material if you cut a paper or place a sticker that you decide doesn't look so great after all. Perhaps best of all, everything will be contained in your computer and can be set aside at any time with no mess strewn all over your dining or coffee table. If you happen to be working on a lap top, even better! Your project can be taken with you where ever you go!

Here are a few examples of the pages that I've done for my own scrapbook:

Now that I've got you interested, stay tuned for the next Scrapbook Saturday post, and I'll tell you how to get started on your own digital scrapbook! If you can't wait, check out our digital scrapbooking starter packs in the shop!

What's new in our store

2009-08-28T00:01:00.003+02:00

3 new Hoffman Fabric lines!

"Ceylon"

"In the Wild"

"Night and Day 2"

Katelyn made this beautiful Gum Drop Pillow from an Amy Butler pattern we sell in the store.

Our new design wall! It's made from a Velcro-like fabric and all you have to do is put your fabric pieces on the wall. No pins, it just sticks! You can move them around to find just the right combinations/designs.

3 new patterns from Heather Bailey! Corinnea has already made the apron twice! And Jennifer has started the Happy Stacker.

Don't forget! Big sale on the 31st

2009-08-27T00:01:00.000+02:00

ARThaus presents..

2009-08-26T00:01:00.000+02:00

ARThaus presents OPEN SESAME
...the grand opening exhibition for
Stuttgart's roaming cultural center.
Friday October 2nd through Sunday 4th,
join us at the hidden gallery on the second floor of the
Swabian Special Events Center from 5pm -9pm.
For more information, contact
Patch Multi Crafts 0711.680.5270
or email hannah.coughlin@us.army.mil.

http://arthausgallery.blogspot.com/

Calling all Crafters!

2009-08-25T00:01:00.002+02:00

Attention local crafters: Whether your current craft is scrapbooking, quilting, glass fusing, beading, or embroidery, we want to know. And, more importantly, we want to SEE! We love it when customers come in to show us their finished products and we want to showcase that to the rest of the community too!

For example, look at this beautiful mosaic table made by Tonya Coleman. (See more of Tonya's fantastic mosaic tables here, here and here. She's unstoppable!)

To get featured on the blog, stop by the shop or post a comment here with a link to your online gallery, your blog, or an email address. Also, if you've sewn or scrapbooked with a pattern, fabric, or paper that we carry, we'd love to show off your creations as samples in the store!

Happy creating!

Back to school sale

2009-08-23T20:32:00.001+02:00

What's Hot Wednesday

2009-08-06T00:01:00.000+02:00

Build-A-Bear Make'n'Take.

Come in to the shop now until August 13th for our teddy bear craft project.

Stuff, sew, dress, and give a voice to your teddy bear.

Choose from a selection of military uniforms to dress your bear in, or make your own felt outfit from our pre-cut patterns.

Bears & Stuffing: $19

Uniforms: $15

Recordable Speakers: $10

Felt clothing and Embellishments: $5

Miscellaneous Monday

2009-08-03T09:06:00.002+02:00

LOVE the off-center flowers!

Another beautiful Mosaic table from Tonya Coleman!

She bought the table at the thrift store and left it the color it was. She used pre-cut tiles, glass she cut, glue and grout. Stop by the store for similar supplies.

Thank you Tonya!

Framer's Friday

2009-07-24T07:44:00.002+02:00

Thrifty Thursday

2009-07-23T00:01:00.000+02:00

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

2009-07-22T00:01:00.001+02:00

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..

2009-07-21T00:01:00.005+02:00

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

2009-07-20T00:01:00.000+02:00

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

2009-07-16T00:01:00.000+02:00

What's Hot Wednesday

2009-07-15T09:02:00.000+02:00

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..

2009-07-14T00:01:00.000+02:00

*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.