Feeling a Little Sketchy...

I am all too aware that summer is flying by and it will be time to send the kiddos off to school again before we know it.  As I was thinking about what types of  "back to school" designs to offer this year, I became inspired by some rough sketches.  What is more "back to school" than designs that resemble the beginning stages of our little ones being able to express themselves with art! These designs are NOT created with straight lines. Instead I created imperfect lines on purpose that give these designs a whimsical yet accurate feel.  

Check out our Triple Crayon Sketch design below.   It is offered as both a Bean Stitch Applique design and an Embroidery only design. 



The Bean Stitch Applique design is on the right. I love this design because it is quick to stitch and you can even use ONE thread color! How is that for easy? The raglan shirt example only uses white thread. Let the solid color fabrics do the talking and the white contrast thread makes the crayons pop! However, if you would prefer to change thread color but not cut fabric, I have a solution for you too! Look at the Embroidery only design on the left. There is no fabric to cut. Simply hoop your shirt or backpack, thread your favorite colors and stitch away. I love the look of the alternating colored letters on top of these crayons. You could also add the name on the side or even rotate the crayons sideways and add a name horizontally on top. So many options...what will YOU create?

My little boys are in a color groove right now. One likes EVERYTHING blue. The other EVERYTHING green. And when I say everything, I mean blue forks, blue cups, blue shirts, etc. If there is a choice and one item has blue (or green)...that will be the winner! I am tempted to make something for them with every crayon the same color! I think they would LOVE it.

For those of you that enjoy all the colors of the rainbow...check out our ROY G. BIV design. Do you know ROY G. BIV? He is a colorful man, isn't he?



And finally, here is our brand new Art Palette design. This design also comes in Bean Stitch and Embroidery only. The color names stitch last and can easily be skipped as seen in the raglan tee example.



Next up, I have scissors, a school bus, a pencil, and possibly a school house in the works. I hope you enjoy these "sketchy" designs as much as I do. I think they feel fresh and I hope you enjoy the uniqueness of these designs.

Teacher T-H-A-N-K Y-O-U Gift

The school year is coming to a close which means it is time to tell our teachers how much we appreciate them!  I like to involve my boys whenever possible so I decided to modify a cute Christmas card we received last year.  The card said "PEACE" but it was spelled out with 5 pictures of the kids holding the individual letters P-E-A-C-E.  Simple but so cute.

To make our Thank You cards, I started with construction paper and sketched the letters in a bold black marker.  I set the boys up at the table with markers and stickers and told them to decorate the letters however they wanted...  (this was a school morning...they were ready...but I was not...so this was a great "busy" activity while I got my act together!)



Once the letters were done...we went outside to our front porch and I took pictures of the boys holding their letters in front of a neutral background. I loaded them into Picasa (a FREE photo editing software) and did some cropping/straightening/lighting adjustments. The final step was to pick my favorite of each letter and create a collage (also using Picasa). I ordered some 5X7 cards from Walgreens (using a great coupon) and picked them up the next morning.

 

I think they were a big hit...and we just might use them again for my boys' joint birthday party later this summer!

We also gave our teachers new books for their classroom. I thought this would be something that gets used often and I wrote a note inside each book cover so the teachers would remember our kids when they read these books to their classes over the next years...



(in case you are wondering...the books from left to right are We Are in a Book (piggie and elephant...we LOVE these!), Yummy Yucky, Color Book, Put Me in a Zoo (Dr. Suess, of course!)).

The last "thank you" I did was for our preschool Director. She had given me some blank white capes several months ago and mentioned that she "heard" I could sew. Does that happen to any of you??? People find out about your little hobby and you get volunteered? I am not complaining...I was happy to do it...and my boys absolutely loved that I was able to do these for their classrooms. Just a part of the job I guess! :)

Anyhow...I decided to keep them somewhat gender neutral and simple by using our new Lightning Bolt and Star on Circle patches using different color felt. They were quick to sew but turned out really cute...and I hear the classrooms have lots of new superheros these days!



Do you have any teacher thank yous/crafts to share? If so, please link up in our comment section below and share your wonderful work!

The Zig and the Zag on Chevron

Chevron is truly ALL the rage these days.  You can find chevron rugs, chevron aprons, chevron website templates, chevron mugs...and yes, chevron fabric!  I thought you guys might enjoy a few tips about the different types, where to find it, and how to best use it for all things applique. 

First, there are several sizes of chevron as well as colors. 

For most of my applique work, I prefer to work with the small chevron.  Remember, the larger the chevron, the less often it repeats.  So, on smaller applique designs, the small chevron pattern will repeat more frequently and have more of an impact. 



Here is the frequency of pattern repeat for each size:
Small: horizontal repeat = 1" vertical repeat = 1"
Medium: horizontal repeat = 2" vertical repeat = 2"
Large: horizontal repeat = 4" vertical repeat = 4"
(pictures and measurements are from Riley Blake)

After deciding on the size...you have the tough choice of picking what color you want.  I'll take one of each, please.  Most of the basic colors come in an alternating white chevron pattern or a tone on tone chevron pattern.  Both of these can make your applique design feel different.  I think the tone on tone is a little more subdued...where the white chevron make more of a bold statement.  Again...both are great and I will still take one of each.  Ha!



But don't settle for just the basic colors of the rainbow...there are now multi-color chevrons!  Check out the picture below for just a few examples.  I know I will be using the Halloween and Christmas chevron in some of my fall designs...and they have lots of color combos perfect for football season!  Any Auburn/Alabama divided houses out there?  Check out the orange/blue/crimson/grey chevron!  Perfect. 



Have you made your wish list yet?  Good...now let's get shopping. 

I am going to share a handful of places to buy chevron.  But...before I go on...please understand this is a very small list...there are LOTS of places to get your hands on this super fun fabric.  But, if you hit a wall and just can't find it anywhere...I hope some of these links will help.

My first stop is usually Etsy.  I just typed in "chevron fabric fat quarter" and got 1713 results.  That should keep me stocked for while, don't you think?  I have ordered from Half Stitched before and received my fabric very fast!  I have also been impressed with the selection at The Fabric Shoppe.
But again, there are so many out there...so just have fun looking...mark a few as your favorite...then make a decision.  I have always enjoyed my Etsy experience...but be sure to check a seller's feedback before ordering. 



Next up...fabric/quilting stores.  Being able to shop in person is wonderful...but the next best thing is a great online store!  Here are a few of my go-to online fabric shops:

* TJ Fabrics: they have a lot of assorted fat quarter bundles perfect for applique!
* The Smockingbird: this shop is in my hometown and I always try to stop in and say hello when I am in town...and 9 times out of 10 I leave with a bag of new fabric!  They have chevron and also have a great selection of auburn/alabama prints come football season.
* The Sewing Room: I visited this store for the first time last fall and stocked up on chevron...and got matching embroidery thread at the same time! 

All of the above are in Alabama...which is where I grew up so I guess I am biased...but I do think they are great fabric/sewing resources! 

And here are some of our recent designs that I tested using chevron fabric. It's bold...it's fun...and it's in!
 


What will you make with chevron?
Do you have a great chevron resource? Please share in the comments below!