Sneak Peek

Just wanted to give you a sneak peak at part of my next project! I'm 3/4 of the way done with it and should be able to show you the completed thing tomorrow. I can't wait to finish it -- it's going to be so unbelievably cute!

(Photos taken with my Nikon Coolpix...I need a new camera)

So these little guys are a bird pattern I got from a blog/store called Spool. They made the most adorable bird mobile using sticks and brightly colored birds! I really like the bright colored fabrics they used for their mobile, but I wanted to stick with a solid top and a patterned base.

(Photos taken with my Nikon Coolpix)

For the eyes I simply tied a French Knot with embroidery floss. Don't know the French Knot? Here's a good tutorial.

Come back soon and I should have the finished project for you!

Toodles,
Julia

Time for a change

After recently acquiring Adobe Illustrator, I decided to make my own blog banner. It's totally simple, I know, but I actually have NO idea how to use Illustrator, so I've been learning as I play around with it. I'm hoping with a little help from the lovely Lauren from here, I'll be able to make some fancier things.


In the meantime, let me know what you think! I'd love some feedback.

Happy Monday!
Julia

Road Trip - Part 2

Alright, we left off with Hidden Falls in the Tetons. After hiking two different hikes in the Tetons we headed to the condo we rented in Jackson. It was soo nice! Especially after we had been camping in the snow, hiking in the snow, and riding in cars for about 4 days. My pictures of the condo don't really do it any justice, so I'll just show you our view out the back porch. Absolutely amazing!

View right before sunset.

Views the next morning. I wish my back door looked out onto that.

Beginning the hike up Angel's Landing in Zion National Park.

Crazy switchback staircase in the hike.

We hiked to the top of that, but it was part hiking and part rock climbing.

Pretty views from the top.

On the way back down.

After Zion, we went to Vegas. My pictures of Vegas are kind of boring, so we'll move on to San Francisco. Unfortunately we only had about half a day in San Francisco, but I go to see the Bridge and have a Ghiradelli Sundae. Yum-my!

Me and the BF at the Golden Gate bridge.

Well, that's the end of our road trip! Hope you enjoyed the pictures. Let me know if you need any road trip suggestions or tips! I feel like a pro, now that I've done it twice. Like I said before, if you haven't been on a cross country road trip, I highly suggest and recommend it!

Toodles!
Julia

Stuffed Owl Tutorial

I found a really cute tutorial on Make It and Love It and thought I would try my own version of it. Instead of re-purposing an old scarf as in the tutorial, I used leftover flannel from some baby blankets I made recently.

So, without delay...here's how to do it!

1. Draw your pattern and trace it onto two pieces of fabric. After it's traced, cut out your shape leaving an extra half inch for seam allowance.

2. Pin together your edges.

3. Sew around your pattern line and leave a 2 inch hole on the bottom so that you can turn it right side out. (Sorry, no picture for this one)

4. Next, start stuffing your shape. I used polyester fiber stuffing. Make sure you poke the stuffing into the ears/corners.

5. Pin together the hole and use a hidden stitch to close the opening. Don't know how to do a hidden stitch? Learn it here.

6. Now it's time to give your owl some character! Cut out eyes, a beak, and wings from a sheet of felt. You could use a different fabric, but keep in mind that felt does not fray and other materials might.

7. Now it's time to sew on the wings, beak, and eyes. I used embroidery thread because I wanted the stitches to be seen, but you could also use regular thread if you want to hide the stitches. Don't forget to hide the knots of your thread under the felt pieces.

After you sew on your wings, beak and eyes...you're done!

(Please excuse the random thread next to the beak on the brown owl.
Didn't see that until after I'd taken the pictures)

Aren't they cute?! They look so cute with the blankets I've made using the same flannel. Hopefully my soon to be little brothers will enjoy them as they grow up.

Let me know if you have any questions about the tutorial or how to make these little guys. You certainly don't have to do an owl. You could do any simple animal shape.

Hope you had a lovely day! I'll be back tomorrow to show you a dress I made this past weekend.

Toodles,
Julia

Road Trip - Part 1

A few weeks ago I headed off on a cross country road trip with my boyfriend and two friends. If you ever have the chance to take a trip across the country I highly recommend it. It's amazing to see how the country changes as you head from one side to the other! Here are some photos from our trip. I hope you enjoy!

Badlands, South Dakota

First wildlife sighting inside the Badlands.

More Badlands - really cool to see the layers in the land.

Mount Rushmore

Camping near Jenny Lake in the Tetons, Wyoming.

Chopping up some firewood.

S'mores...mmmmmmm.....

We went to bed with it raining and woke up to snow on the campsite.

Hiking through the snow in the Tetons.

More hiking through the snow.

Hidden Falls

I'll leave you with these for now. More to come tomorrow.

Hope everyone has had a good weekend!! Mine was filled with lots crafting, sun, a cute little baby, and catching up on Season 2 of Tru Blood. Haha. :)

Toodles,
Julia

Fabric

I was looking through Harts Fabric's online store and came across some really cool fabrics. I can think of a couple different projects I would use these fabrics for.

For a tote bag:

Echino Matroyshkas Doll Fabric

For throw pillows:

Japanese Flying Bird Fabric in Fuscia

For a makeup/jewelry pouch:

Japanese Kokka Animal Fabric in Teal by Etsuko Furuya

For an apron:

Perky Flower Fabric in Cream

For napkins or placemats:

Camera Fabric by Echino

Definitely go check the site out. They have lots of great stuff and while I haven't ordered from them yet, I keep coming back to check it out, so I'm sure I'll get something soon.

Good night!
J Squirrel

Before and After

Did everyone have a good Memorial Day weekend? I hope so. Mine was filled with lots and lots of traveling. I'll share more about that with you later, but for now I need to catch ya'll up with some before and after refashioning/crafting I've been doing the past few weeks.

First up is last years pair of Target sandals. I wanted to jazz them up a bit so I added some pre-made fashion trim (I think that's what you call it) to them with a little hot glue. I then used an exacto blade to trim the edges and I now have a sparkly new pair of sandals!
Next up is one of my boyfriends dress shirts that I rescued from the thrift store bag. Please excuse the awful iphone picture, but here is the shirt as it was: I took off the sleeves, took in the sides, sewed up the arm holes, added a ruffle around the collar and made the shirt all the same length. That evening I was also working on a black dress I never wear, so I took the belt loops and sash from that dress and added them to the shirt. Here is the final product:

I've really been having fun with all the sewing/refashioning/crafting I've been doing recently. There are so many great blogs out there to get ideas and inspiration from. I wish I could get paid to sew and craft all day...maybe I'll have to look into that a little more...

Have a great evening! I have some more projects to show you soon. I'm going to be a big sister again to twin boys and it's been a great excuse to make cute baby things!

Toodles,
J Squirrel