Newest Postcards

Hi everyone... I have been very busy in my new sewing room today. I was able to very quickly crank out several new postcards. I have one other little project that I wanted to get to today... but alas my family wanted to be fed. I don't know what their problem is :) LOL.


At any rate here are the new things I got done today. If you haven't checked out my Etsy site, please do. I am always up to making custom orders and would love to work with you to create a special card, or item. I love to do girls clothing, wedding items, baby booties, postcards, oh lots of things.


The first 4 are a series of postcards for the holidays that I am pretty happy with. They use a fabric that is heavy on blues and golds so I have named the series "My Blue Christmas". Following those, is a very cute motorcycle design. For those of you who love to ride, or for those boys in your life. Then I have 2 Thank You postcards.


Hope you enjoy.... http://www.jenjie.etsy.com/

Organization Complete

As you read in my last post after at least a year of trying to work in my guest room / sewing room; which was a shambles of fabric, thread, boxes, bags, and any other possible thing you can imagine, we have completed the organization. Below the first 4 pictures show the room before the make over. They are slightly misleading as I had moved all the fabric and other things to one side of the room so that my husband could work on the tables in the other area. The bed has been my cutting table, and both my machines have sat on the buffet in the corner.... horrible light.

TA DA!!!!!! The new space with shelving and tables. Over the last couple of years my parents have given me these holder/organizers for my thread. Last year for Christmas, my Daddy gave me a box full of them, they are perfect for all my embroider thread. Now I can see everything and can use all those beautiful colors.

My husband may disagree with this next statement, but this project was not difficult. When we begin to think about this project the biggest concern was that the surface of the table would be durable and smooth so that the fabric did not pull or snag while on it. We simply could not afford a countertop, as we have a 1 1/2 income household now, the funds are tight. So when we went shopping originally it was just to get the fabric organized so I could see what I had. However, while we were there we ran across these solid birch wood doors. They are durable enough to hold the machines, when sanded smooth they will not snag or pull on any fabric. Paired with 2x4's to act as the supports and legs the most time consuming part was sanding the wood and measuring. The second table was made in about 3 hours last night.

If you are thinking of organizing your room make sure that you consider what you need in your sewing room. For me the chaos was overwhelming and organizing it all was the key to becoming more productive. There are elements I would like to add, drawers for supplies, maybe some wall hooks to place tools like scissors within my grasp. However, these things are extras and will come with time. I would recommend baby steps, find the thing about your room that frustrates you the most and fix it first. Creativity flows when your mind isn't cluttered. If you are always searching for your tools, get them organized, hang hooks or peg board on your wall to keep them where you can see them. Take a tip from some of the hardware or home improvement centers where they advise DIY'ers on how to organize hand tools in a garage. A lot of these same tips will work for you in your room. and remember it doesn't have to be pretty, it has to be functional.

I would also recommend do it yourself projects like this one if you have, or someone you know has the ability to build these out for you. Sewing tables are quite pricey when purchased through a retail source. The total cost of this one ( or two as it were) was about $200. There are two tables that form an L shape, each is 30 inches wide x 8 feet long. It is a very ample space and I am very excited to begin working in my new room.

Happy Sewing, Crafting, and Creating.........

Jenjie

Getting Organized

Well success is on the horizon. Monday we went to Home Depot and purchased the materials needed to organize my sewing room. I will post some pictures of it on the next blog as it was before.....sad, sad, sad. We started by purchasing two shelving units like you would put in a garage, they each hold 700 lbs and are 6 ft x 6 ft with 18 inch deep shelves. We figured this would be enough to hold my current stash and accomodate any new purchases. It turns out we did pretty good. I have been slowly working on it all week. Today I got 95 % of my fabric organized. It looks sooooo much better.

I had to move everthing in the room to one side for my husband to work in there. He bought 2 solid birch wood doors, they are 32 inches wide, and 2x4's for the legs and supports. The two doors will form an L shape in the room leaving plenty of room for my "regular" machine, serger, and embroidery machine. The rain this week has kept him from working much on it so far. But we need the rain for the garden and the well more than I need a sewing table, so I am thankful for it.

I am so excited about getting that room in order and ready to truly work in. The light will be so much better where my new table will be, and with all the new surface area, there should be a place for everything I own.

A good friend of mine offered to show me how to quilt today... so that is another thing I am looking forward to. As soon as I get a working area going I am going to take her up on it.

Cute little items 1

My newest favorite things are fabric post cards, or quilted postcards (depending on who you ask). I have read these adorable little projects refered to as " like a potato chip, you can't make just one." I agree. So cute and so much fun.

My fabric postcards are made completely of fabric and interfacing. The Peltex interfacing that I use makes them stiff like a paper post card. The back of the card is made from a recycled t shirt and features the name of the card as well as my web address. They can be mailed using postcard postage because they meet the size and weight requirements of the USPS.

I am attaching some pictures here of the ones I currently have for sale. However, I love custom orders. I would love to create something special for you or your loved one. These make great save the date cards, or invitations for a small intimate wedding, a really special holiday card, or birthday wish. The possibilities are endless.... Let me know what I can create for you.

Joyful crafting !!!

jenjie

http://www.jenjie.etsy.com/

Fabric Stash

Okay... Whew! I feel so much better! See I thought I was the only one in the world with the nasty secret of my fabric stash. It is large, maybe even huge. I hide it in the basement, in bags, boxes, under the bed, where ever I can find to stash a little bit more. Now I am not a horder by nature, but fabric is a passion. While cruising the internet and checking out various sites I have found that I am not alone, there are many people afflicted with this illness. Some of them no doubt got their start like me... REMNANTS. I think they are satan's apples for the crafter. They beckon to me a small piece of really cute or beautiful fabric with a REALLY low price. It calls me over, tempts me to touch it, to feel the soft, or roughy, or bumpy curves of it flowing over my hands. My mind races, what could I make with this, is there enough to do anything with it. Is it cute enough to buy no matter how much there is of it... These are the questions I ask myself. The biggest draw to these remnants for me is at JoAnn's Fabrics. They have discounts on all their remnants sometimes as much as 50% - 75% off the remnant price. I could stay there for hours, feeling the fabric, imagining the possibilities.

I love anything that looks antique, soft and romantic, fleece, bright and colorful, let's just face it I love it all.

So today my husband is taking me to Home Depot to look for the materials to make me a storage system for this fabric. Somewhere that I can stack my fabric neatly and by colors to make it easy to see what I have and what (if anything) I need. I would love to just move down to my sewing room and live there only coming up for a cup of hot tea and a tomato sandwhich.... but my children need to be fed, there is work to be done.

I will post pictures when the storage system is done and the fabric organized.

If you have any sewing related storage tips let me know, I am all about getting that room organized so I can be more productive.

Joyful Crafting....

Jenjie

My Work

I have created this blog as an additional space to share my work. I am a SAHM (stay at home Mom). I homeschool my two children who are 7 and 11. I have been living this wonderful way of life for the last 6 months. Before I was a manager in a large business office for a multi hospital system in GA. I still work PRN for them, mostly part time and enjoy doing that work as well.

I love to sew and craft and I do all types of things, however, with my crazy schedule these days I find that I mostly have time to do small projects. I would love to showcase these projects here and talk about the projects that I have been working on. I will tell you what I learn and what works and hope that you love some of my items and wish to purchase them.

Please feel free to comment on the items, I love feedback whether you like the item or not, every opinion helps me to grow and learn.

I hope that if you enjoy watching me work you will follow my blog....

Jenjie