Wood beaded shirt

You know those shirts with the large wooden beads on the neckline?  I thought they were pretty cute, and bought one awhile back.  BUT, of course it was a hand wash only.  With my particular shirt the only reason it needed special care was because of the beads (not the fabric).

I didn't want to hand wash that shirt, so here was my solution:

 

I removed the beads  (and the entire strap) from the fabric and used a hot glue gun to attach little snaps to each bead (and sewed the other side of the snaps to their associated spot on the shirt)

 

This way the wood beads could be removed so the shirt could be washed, and then snapped back in place when the laundering was done.

 

It worked well for me for quite awhile... but then I forgot the shirt was in the laundry...   Basically it went through the laundry with the beads still attached, and now I see why the shirt was hand wash only!

 

Well, the straps broke, and little beads were all over the washer and dryer... OOPS!

 

But, in the past, when I remembered to remove the string of beads ahead of time, all was well :)

Luggage Tags!

I hate the mad search for my suitcase after a flight.  I get all excited, thinking I see mine rounding the corner of the conveyor belt... only to be let down (and fear the worst... that it didn't make the connection!).  In the past, I've put pom poms and strings on my bags to help identify them, but now have something new.

These make it really easy to spot a bag!  I'm not sure which one I'm going to use yet, but I've posted all of these on etsy :) 

 

Check out my new Etsy shop CrazyBeagle  (update:  I have LOTS of new tags available now!)

 

These could also be used to label diaper bags, camera bags, laptop cases.... and so much more

 

Or, how about as a gift tag?  Lots of options!

Etsy (soon)

I'm finally taking the plunge... I'm in the process of setting up an etsy shop.  It's kind of fun to work on, but there is a lot involved!  Hopefully it'll be up and running soon.  I'll post more on this later :)

pet basket update

The cats are still loving their new pet bed.  It started out as more of a basket, but apparently they prefer it with the edges folded in half.  If I make another one, I'll make it with shorter, thicker sides.

The dogs seem like they're leaving this bed alone more than the last cat bed I made... for some reason they like to chew holes in fleece (I should have known the old one was doomed).

Braided pet bed

Look what I found while sorting through boxes of junk from my childhood bedroom....

A big ball of braided fabric.  This was meant to be sewn into a rug a few years ago, but I was sewing it by hand which took forever, and other things came up.

So, I figured I might as well finish what I started... and threw the braided fabric on my sewing machine (much quicker) and used a zig-zag stitch to sew it together.

Instead of making a rug, I decided to make a cat bed or cat basket.  (since one of my dogs chewed a hole in the fleece cat bed I made for them before, it was time for another)

One of the cats is always occupying the new bed...

To make this, it's the same idea as making a braided rug (which if you google search it, there are several great tutorials).  Except, you braid a little tighter, and let it coil up while sewing.  (every now and then I'd do a slight overlap of the connecting braids)

Update:  Apparently my cats prefer the basket a little shorter on the sides than it was... they folded the edges over on the pet bed and use it that way now.

Heirloom Cut Chenille Baby Blanket

Hubby & I just finished making a blanket for his beautiful little baby niece.  (OK so Hubby didn't use the sewing machine, but he picked out all the materials and helped hand cut the rows and rows of fabric)

We made an Heirloom Cut Chenille Baby Blanket using the tutorial over at Aesthetic Nest.  This blanket was really fun to make but be ready to spend some serious time on the sewing machine.


Here's how it turned out:

(I love sewing binding on with a decorative stitch)

front of cut chenille baby blanket

back of cut chenille baby blanket

close up of cut chenille baby blanket

 Fluffy!  Apparently the blanket gets even softer the more you wash it.