doll set

This is a doll set I made. It has a dolly diaper a doll diaper wipe and a dolly diaper bag. I also made a matching headband for the little mama to wear. I love to sew doll diapers and other dolly stuff.

My current sewing machine

This is my current sewing machine. I love it. In 1998 my husband bought me a 99 dollar sewing machine at walmart. It was a basic brother sewing machine and did not have many options. I made 2 pillows out of it and then put it in the closet. It stayed in the closet until July 2002. I had a sling for Sterling to carry him in but it was too long. I could not find any that I liked so I decided to get out my sewing machine and sew a sling. It was rather easy. A few straight seams. I was rather impressed with myself. I started wanting to sew more and more. Little tote bags, doll diapers etc. I used the old brother sewing machine until it just would not run anymore. I bought a used Elna but never quite fell in love with it. There were so many features that I wanted that the Elna did not have. One day I was checking out overstock.com and saw this sewing machine. I started reading all the features it has and was shocked at what I could get for 299 dollars ( plus free shipping lol). I love my sewing machine. It can embroider also but I do not use it too much for that.
I never thought that I could have all these cool functions on a sewing machine that did not even cost me 300 dollars. I sew an average of 10 hours a week. Some weeks I do not get much more then an hour or so but other weeks I will get 5-6 hours just in one day. I think having a cool sewing machine makes sewing more fun and not so frustrating.
I totally give this machine 5 stars and would suggest it to anybody looking for a sewing/embroidery machine that does not cost a ton.

Grandma's sewing machine

When I was little I saw my grandma sew a few times on this little sewing machine. I always thought it was a cute sewing machine. When she died the sewing machine was passed on to me. I used it a few times when I was a young teenager. I never really learned to sew but I did make a few pillows on it. I put it away and never got it out again until recently. I tried to sew on it just to see what it would do but it needs a few adjustments and it seems like it needs a new belt. I am just glad that I have this sewing machine and maybe sometime in the future I will get it all fixed up and use it to sew a quilt.
My nosy cat opal just could not stay out of the way of the picture so that is her that is behind the sewing machine.

Soy tarts

I am addicted to soy tarts. If you have never used a tart you are missing out and you must try some. Tarts are more or less just wick-less candles. They are usually about 1oz and most commonly are shaped like mini muffins or peanut butter cups. Though some are smaller and shaped like cute shapes. Wax tarts first were made out of paraffin wax but then started being made out of soy wax. I prefer soy because it seems to hold the scent longer, it burns much cleaner and you do not have the undertone scent of wax that seems to come with paraffin.
When making tarts it is so much easier to work with soy wax. Paraffin comes in big chunks and you have to break off chunks and it makes it a bit harder to measure out the amount you need. Soy wax comes as flakes and is much easier to measure as well as to clean up from.
I prefer to buy tarts already made because I like lots of different scents so I do not want to end up with dozens of the same scents. For awhile I made tarts that were x-rated lol. They were shaped like naughty body parts and people bought them from me to use as gag gifts. They were tons of fun to make and people thought they were so funny. I only made tarts for a few months and then went back to buying them.
I decided to make a few batches of tarts and decided to post directions with pictures to show others how to make them.
I have a large amount of tart supplies left and want to make small kits to sell so people can try a batch on their own. The kit will include enough stuff to make 2 dozen tarts. It will have a pound of soy wax, an ounce of fragrance oil, 24 (1 0z) containers with lids to pour the tarts into. It will also include a list of suppliers where you can get more supplies in larger quantity. This kit would just be perfect to see if you like making tarts and to give you an idea of what is involved.
You will need to have a candy thermometer, a double boiler ( or something similar). I bought the little double boiler that I use at big lots for 8 dollars and got the candy thermometer for 3.00.
If you want to buy a kit please contact me.

This is a bag of soy wax



Here is my double boiler and thermometer

Step 1 is to weigh out the wax. I use 1 pound of wax to 1 ounce of fragrance oil

Weigh out your fragrance oil. 1 ounce of fragrance oil

Put the water into the bottom of the double boiler and put wax into the top. Melt the wax over medium heat. Stir the wax as it melts. Heat the wax up to about 135 degrees. If you decide to add coloring to your tart this is when you would add it. Take the wax off the heat. Mix in the colorant.

Let wax cool. If you add the fragrance oil when the wax is too hot, the oil will evaporate and will not scent your tart strong enough. I cool the wax to about 95 degrees and then add the fragrance oil.

Stir the fragrance oil in well. Let the wax cool further. It will start becoming thick like slush consistency. Prepare your tart molds. You can pour into mini muffin pans or actual tart molds. I like to pour them into 1oz plastic containers and then when they cool I put a lid on them and store them that way. When I want to use the tart I just pop it out of the plastic cup.

I place the cups on foil so if I spill a bit while pouring the wax it is no big deal to clean up. Once the wax is about 90 degrees or so I pour it into the molds or plastic cups.

I pour about an ounce into each cup. After it cools I put a lid on each one and put them all in a large ziploc bag. I put the bag in the freezer for about 5 minutes or so for them to firm up the rest of the way. When I am ready to use the tart I remove the tart from the plastic cup. Sometimes it pops right out easily and other times I have to cut the plastic cup a bit.

That is all there is to making tarts. Pretty easy. The pot and spoon etc clean up with soapy water.

If you have any questions or you want to order a little kit to try to make some tarts yourself you can contact me.

Lots of knots

A few weeks ago I decided I wanted to sew some sort of lovey. I have seen quite a few variations but most had stuffed hands or feet or both. For some reason I did not care for the stuffing in them. I drew up pattern and started sewing. I realized I drew it too small and did not have enough fabric to knot the legs and arms. So, I drew another pattern. I made one and then decided to make the hat match I wanted to knot the end of it as well...so drew another pattern piece for a longer hat. After making that one, I realized that once all the knots were in that the actual body was too small...so again I drew another pattern lol. I have not sewn by hand in ages so was hoping to come up with someway to sew the hat and head one by using the sewing machine. Oh that was a mess. I realized the only way was to get my needle and thread and start sewing. I stuffed the head and sewed it on, looked at it and realized the head was more the shape of an egg and not a head. I tried a few more times to sew the shape of the head a bit differently but every time I stuffed it, it turned into an egg. I finally decided I would wind some thread around the top of the head before I stuffed it. That would keep the head a bit rounder. I did this and then stuffed it and tried to sew it to the body but it was just too floppy and there was no way to manage to sew it. Back to the drawing board to draw another head that had more fabric for the neck so I could sew it easily to the body. So, I got it stuffed, sewn to the body and then got the hat on. I think they turned out really cute. I was rather proud of myself. The one in the photo is made out of a thermal knit skull fabric made to match a pair of pj's I am making for my 5 year old son.

My fabric stash

I have a few more cuts of fabric that I need to add to my stash and this is not organized well at all. I need to take it all down and refold and organize based on type of fabric or something. I had thought I had quite a good amount of fabric until I started seeing the amount that other people have. WOW!

A few tote bags I have made recently

These are 2 totes I made for a friend and her daughter. The outer is a Michael Miller fabric and the inner is a solid light pink. I think next time I make a tote bag for a smaller child I would make it a bit more narrow and maybe a bit longer. For some reason I just do not totally care for the shape of it.
This is a tote that I made for myself. I added a few pockets inside and a velcro closure. The fabric is Michael Miller outer and inner. It is hard to see but the inside is a striped pattern. I had planned to sew a pocket on the outside with elastic on top to use as a water bottle holder but I totally forgot about it before I sewed the bag together. I plan to make another one and will put an outer pocket to hold a water bottle as well as make a little cell phone holder and a key fob.