Lamp shade project

D picked up a lamp from a 2nd hand store a few years ago, and I finally got him to let me play with it. Originally, it had a beige cover with black feathers around the bottom, and I wanted to chuck the thing across the bedroom. The shade had a crack in it, and I didn't understand why D was so attached. Well, D is out of town, so I'm recovering it!

First I took the shade all the way apart. I brushed off the shade with a damp cloth to remove dust, then found some fabric I wanted to use.

Using the open shade as a template, I traced the shade with an added 1/2 inch border. (I used a 1/4 inch, and it just wasn't quite enough to make me comfortable when I wrapped the fabric to the frame again.)
For this next part I moved to the kitchen floor and busted open a box (specifically, a Goose Island Honker's Ale) to protect from over spray. Use your favorite spray adhesive and coat the outside of the lamp shade. Before it dries, put the fabric on the outside of the lamp shade.

Some helpful tips for this part:

1 - Put the fabric right side down and place the shade on the fabric, instead of putting the fabric on the shade.

2- Start in the middle of the shade and gently press the fabric in place, leaving the 1/2 inch of fabric on both sides. As you work your way to each side, press out any bubbles or wrinkles.

3 - Also to make a clean edge on the seam when the shade is put back together, the shade should be moved just a bit to one side so the shade edge is not covered in fabric. See photo below.




Reassembling the shade:

1 - Using a hot glue gun, attach the extra flap of fabric around the edge of the seam edge. After it is pressed down, hot glue this "finished edge" to the other edge side, re-forming the shade to a 3 dimensional shape. I used binder clips to help hold things in place.

2 - Insert bottom ring and fold 1/2inch of fabric around the metal. Use a hot glue gun to secure fabric to ring. Use the same technique for top ring.

If you want to add a little extra, you can glue a strand of ribbon around the brim of the shade. Move very carefully around the edge, gluing and pressing the ribbon small sections at a time. The extra ribbon can hang down, or be wrapped around to the back of the shade and held in place with glue.

This took me about 35 minutes once I had the fabric picked out and I found my glue gun. I like how it turned out!

Whew!

It's been a roller coaster for me these last two days.

I just made a trip to Mailboxes Etc and sent off a special order to Neely in Tennessee.

This pillow finally got made after two days of misunderstandings and numerous color swatches. It was almost too much near the end! But, this is what she wanted and this is what was mailed. She will enjoy it, and I now have enough cut out pieces from the other swatches to make a pillow for my page :)

My projects board has two rows of contact information to check in with when I return from Alaska, and that feels pretty good. There are 9 people just waiting for pillows!

Ciara flew out to Turkey yesterday with Adam, and now that it's 5pm, they only have about two more hours of flights, and maybe 2 hours of car rides until their big travel day(s) are behind them.

I need to get ready for my own traveling. I took an adventure through my closet earlier to pull my rain gear and cold weather clothes out. My back pack in airing out. I am taking a little break from all of the rushing with the latest pillow before I tackle the actual packing.

Dan and I will drive up to Chicago tomorrow, with a stop in Bloomington to see my friends, Kristy, Trish, and Crissy for lunch. At the Garlic Press. I love the Garlic Press. And then early Saturday morning, I fly to Juneau through Seattle. I'll be there at 2:30 local time, which will be 5:30 Central time.

I'm excited to read books on the plane. Since my Etsy shop has opened, I haven't been able to focus when I read. I feel like I should be in "my studio" (that is how I reference it now. "I will be out of my studio from August 14th- September 30th...") working on orders. I have four books just waiting for some quality time.

Speaking of quality time, Dan and I are going out! Gotta go!

In the Etsy newsletter

I found the spot where my pillow was featured on Etsy. Visit the page HERE. I'm part of a selection with the header of Rooftop Party. This newsletter goes out to thousands and thousands of people everyday. What great exposure!

Since Thursday I've been trying to keep everything straight and accomplish as much as I can.

Here are three orders in their wedge stacks with backing, waiting to be sewn together.
I had to come up with a easy way to see where all of the poufs were at in the process and keep sellers straight. I turned my tree sun window into my sticky-note bulletin board with headers for: Interested, Fabric Choice, Cut, Fill, Done, Ship, and Follow up. The sticky note then has the buyers name, item ordered, the status of their payment and any special instructions.

In amongst all of this sewing business, Dan's Friend Kelly will be coming to stay with us this coming Monday night, with a dog. I had a chance today to clean out "Dan's office" (which is really full of my stuff) and get it ready for company. That meant I needed a place to put my fabric and projects so we could set up the twin bed. Seeing it all heaped up on the ironing board before re-sorting it made me realize how much I've taken on! I have a lot of fabric!

I got to talk with Ciara today and hear how her moving countdown is going. She is busy getting organized and seeing her friends and family. Wednesday is going to come so fast.

I'm over summer

Ever have a grumpy day? Today I was a grumpy pants. I like to think the over 100 degree temperatures had something to do with it, but I think there is something more. When I figure it out I'll let you know (or more likely I'll forget).

I was talking to my mom the other day, telling her how we cope when it gets this hot (we as in, the cats and me. Dan's routine doesn't seem to change much regardless). I mentioned Kodak's method for summer refreshment and again, he demonstrated.

Here is Kodaks preferred method for beating the heat:

My experience with cats is they don't like moving air flowing (like from an air conditioner) over their ears. Usually that is true for Kodak. Poor guy.

Now it's show and tell time!
Here is a glimpse of the floor pillow I'm making for a nice woman named Lori. Comma was nice enough to pose for a size reference. It still needs more filling, closure, and the center to be pulled in. But not bad if I do say so myself!


I hope you have a great, grumpy-free Wednesday. I am so excited to be one day closer to Fall.

New Apron

I'm still so excited that my Etsy account is up and running. I've had a great response from friends and strangers both. And now that it's up, I have a place to turn my customers at Common Grounds to when they comment on the ones I wear when I'm Baristaing.

I'm calling this apron my Marmalade Apron because of all the orange that I used. I think the color orange makes one hugry, but I don't have a source for that info.



I used some of the fabrics my sister gave me in her last box to me - both the orange animal print and the orange flower for the pocket, and the ribbon too.

I went a little crazy on the pockets on this darker side. There are six! It was tricky to sew the layers in and secure it to the backing. I was thinking of a money belt when I was working on this one - maybe this is an apron for your next yard sale? Keep your bills and change with you in your apron/cash box! Or, just have lot of places to put your hands.

I've found I tend to favor right-handed pockets, as I'm right handed. I'm trying to not intentionally exclude all of those left-handed people in the world that also need a fabulous apron for projecting.

Dan and I started watching a series called The Sons of Anarchy. It's about a motorcycle gang in California and all of the drama they get involved in while smuggling guns and protecting the citizens of Charming (what a great name for a town.) The characters are crazy, the adventures are crazy, the plot lines are crazy, but we like it.

Also, Dan and I are great. Have I ever shared that he makes our coffee in the morning, and brings it to me, still groggy, in bed? It's one of the best ways to wake up. I think it tastes better that way too. I hope you have someone that does something wonderful for you.

July is almost over! Wowzers!

Sewing up a storm!

Hi friends! Now that I've dove into Etsy and opened up the shop, I've been having a great time putting projects together and feeling good about how they turn out. At the same time, I've had two custom apron orders to make for a Common Grounds customer. So much sewing!

To start the weekend, my machine kept malfunctioning (!) and I spent a good hour taking the thing apart (as best I could), cleaned and oiled it, and eventually found the one loose screw that was keeping my feeder foot from grabbing fabric to progress the stitch. I felt pretty good, I have to tell you. Dan got to see me skip two laps around the house singing a little ditty proclaiming how awesome I am for figuring it out. So here's what I made!


This is the double sided full apron for my CG customer. She wanted something with lots flowers, in mint green and light pink. This is what I came up with . The green side has one pocket (the white square), and the pink side has two pockets (the beehive pattern rectangle).



These two bags I made and put on my Etsy page. I really, really like these two fabrics. Both I found on my last stay in Chicago at The Needle Shop.


I made this, my second Kiss Clasp bag, and I wasn't happy with how it turned out. It is a bit too long, which makes it a bit awkward to use. It was good practice with making my own pattern to fit the frame, and also to make inner pockets.



I call this last one my Octopus apron. I made myself a slouch bag out of this material and love it more and more as I see it. The purple square is a pocket on this side, and below on the back side, both the orange flower square and the pink polka dot square are pockets. I really like how this project turned out.



And just now the mail man came! My sister sent me a care package with all sorts of wonderful things! I knew about the fabric, but she added some wonderful other things - take a look :

Jam (home-made and will be gone in three weeks, yes, that's one jar a week), the second book in the Flavia de Luce mystery series, Ciara's favorite Amy Butler pattern, buttons, a hand-made paper notebook, and wonderful sewing things: fabric, fabric, ribbon, and edging. I can't wait to use these wonderful treats!

Comma (Ciara's cute gray cat pictured below) was sniffing all of the contents as they came out of the box, I can only assume, because she recognized her momma smell. It was so sweet. And then after it was empty, she guarded the box from Baxter (who usually gets to take the first squat in all of the other boxes that come into the house). Aren't the cats super cute?!

Alaska Jane Handmade

I am so sorry to have taken so long, but finally, my Etsy shop is open!

Please visit and let me know what you think. I've been reading other people's pages to try and determine policy, shipping, and descriptions, but if you think it could be better or different, I welcome the feedback.

My Etsy page is http://www.etsy.com/shop/AlaskaJaneHandmade.

Now, to get more items posted...here I go!

Kid bag

Inspired by a cutout Linda sent me, I made a small kid-sized bag this morning. I'm planning on giving to Benjamin - who is 3 today! - along with some other things I think he will probably like more. Dan says it looks like a (little) man bag, to which I rolled my eyes and walked out of the room.

I love it. It has an adjustable strap, and fun bright colors, and I think even if Ben doesn't use it all the time, it will be fun for him to have something he can carry his own stuff in (dinosaurs, or books, or snacks). And it's little! 8 in wide and 10 in long.
I received the bag parts I ordered. Below is my bounty - I am excited to finally have the hard ware to make a clutch with a kiss clasp instead of using a magnet. Also, some adjustable strap hardware, as it is hard to find them in Carbondale.
As I mentioned, Ben is 3 today. Dan and I are heading up the Champaign to celebrate with the family and Ben's friends. Miah is BBQing and I'm hoping the kid pool is set up for some water fun. Party!

Bags!

I am in love with making bags. I can't seem to stop buying fabric and getting pieces cut out. I have never used a pattern, and these projects are no exception, and each creation is something I'm enjoying from start to finish. This is the one I made for myself. I put a magnetic clasp in it, and am a big fan of that new flourish.

Taking over the house.

While up in Chicago last weekend, I explored a fabric shop called The Needle Shop where I picked up the wonderful fabrics in the photo above. Today I set to work cutting and sewing, getting things ready for Nora and Azusa's Christmas presents. No pictures. No gift leaks!

I thought I'd share how great a sport Dan has been about me getting settled into the house. The desk featured in the photo used to be where he typed papers. As you can see, there isn't much room on it. Oops! I seem to have taken all the available counter space and filled it with art supplies! And now with the sewing, the kitchen table is acting as my work area too. I promised to clear him room, especially with his finals approaching in a week plus, but he just laughed at me saying he didn't really use them anyway. He prefers I use whatever space I need - especially if that space is the kitchen and I happen to make something that needs sampling.

And we haven't had a cat picture in a while. This is Kodak. This is from the day I made cranberry pecan bread. His look here was too great not to take a picture. He sat there for almost the entire time I was mixing and measuring, so sure that I would share something with him. Sorry dude.