Makers Swap

Do you follow pandhchalk on Instagram? (go ahead and click on the link and check her out!!) I am absolutely in love with all the signs she makes! 

When she decided to host a swap with brynnjames i knew i needed to sign up because i knew it would be awesome! So what is a swap? Basically, someone hosts a swap and they have people sign up. Then each person is assigned a person that they will send a package to. Some swaps have themes or rules. For this swap, they asked that the majority of the items are handmade. This swap was also a secret santa type swap, where we don't know who is assigned to us. 

Last year, (probably in the midst of thinking about creating a shop), I bumped into an instagram feed that hosted swaps. I was instantly obsessed. I loved the idea of sending pretty presents to people and getting things in returned. So, i decided to share some of the things included in my #makersspringswap.

I wish i remembered to take a picture after it was all wrapped up, but my kids were getting pretty restless this morning, so i was kind of rushing out the door to mail this out. The majority of the items above are handmade by me. A few of the things i purchased at michaels or target. (and if you follow me on instagram you can see some of my new items up here that i will release sometime next week)

Currently my Etsy shop is filled with different size zipper pouches. I've been playing around with the idea of making a wristlet version of my coin purses using my new Kam Snap.

That cute little snap button is a Kam snap. My idea behind the wristlet is you can unsnap it and hang it on your stroller or purse. Or just use it as a wristlet. Plus I'm absolutely in LOVE with all the snap color options!

My swap partner didn't give me much information about herself, so i needed to get creative. One of the things she did manage to tell me was that she had a toddler. So i decided to make her son a Crayon holder pouch.

I'm contemplating adding these to my shop to have kid options. I have so many ideas for kid pouches.  We'll see what i decide. This is a pattern from Gingercake sews. I love her patterns. So if you want to make one for yourself. You should go purchase her pattern.

The last thing ill talk about is that cute little succulent. If you know me and my gardening efforts, you'll know that i pretty much have a black thumb. I wanted a succulent garden because they are basically low maintenance plants. However, i managed to kill all of mine. When i saw these cute faux succulents at the target dollar spot, i was instantly in love!

One of the things she mentioned she loved about spring is her succulent garden. Since i knew i would probably kill the plant before i even bought it, i decided this was probably the best option. I also decorated the pot with some lemony stitch washi! i LOVED how it turned out. 

Well there it is! Make sure to click on all the links in this post! You can basically see where i get my inspiration for my creative life from these creative ladies. 

Be an Amateur

I feel like it has been FOREVER since I blogged. Sometimes when I feel overwhelmed with things I just stop doing some things completely. My blog has definitely been neglected in the last month. 

The reason why is because in the middle of February I finally did something that has been on my mind for 4 years. If any of you are friends with me on facebook, you know that I have been sewing for about 5 years now. Every now and then ill get the idea that I should open an Etsy Shop. A lot of my hesitation has been because of my own insecurities. (My stuff won’t sell. I’m afraid of putting myself out there. I’m not good enough... blah blah blah) Well, one day I decided, life isn’t about just sitting around waiting for the perfect moment. We have to make the perfect moment. (I think that’s actually a quote from someone.) So, I finally opened my own handmade shop! Here it is:https://www.etsy.com/shop/Manghammade

Please give me feed back! Email me. Message me. Its still new. Im new at this. The best advice that got me to finally take the plunge was to just START! The best feedback is definitely from friends!

So what changed? Last year, while searching amazon, I randomally came across this book called “Steal like an artist” by Austin Kleon. I bought it and its follow up book called “Show your work” (hey if parenthesis and periods are in the wrong spots, I apologize. I’m not a writer)

The book sort of just has this “DO SOMETHING” feel to it. When I first read it, is when I started my own blog. I wasn’t ready for the whole open your own shop thing. One of the things that inspired me about this book was what it said that's at the top of this post. "Be an Amateur" He says "Don't worry, for now, about how you'll make money or a career off it. Forget about being an expert or a professional, and wear your amateurism (your heart, your love) on your sleeve. Share what you love, and the people who love the same things will find you" pg 19, Steal like an Artist

So here it is! Here's my start to this journey. I know ill make a ton of mistakes, but its ok! We need to continually educate ourselves and try to get better.

Here are some other excerpts that I have underlined that i love:

“School is one thing. Education is another. The two don’t always overlap. Whether you’re in school or not, it’s always your job to get yourself an education.” Pg 19 Steal like an artist.

"Make stuff you love and talk about stuff you love and you'll attract people who love that kind of stuff. It's that simple. Pg 132 Show your work

" You are, in fact, a mashup of what you choose to let into your life" Pg 11 Steal like an artist

"In my experience, it's in the act of making things and doing our work that we figure out who we are." Pg 27

The last quote is basically is the reason why I started this whole journey. Is that i'm trying to figure myself out. Who am I in this world, state, city, family? Don't get me wrong. I love being a Mom, but for some reason I keep striving for more. I found this quote while doing some bible study and I feel like it fits why i feel this way.

If there is something that’s stirring in your creative mind/soul that you want to do but you don’t think your ready. Read these books! It will make you want to do something! It will give you advice on what to do as well! They are also fairly inexpensive too, which is a plus! Let's create and do new things together!

My shop has been open for a month now! i’ve been pretty excited! I’ve had a few sales and it’s helped me keep going! This week i’ve introduced tote bags! Check them out! AND for the month of March im giving 20% off anything in my shop! Use code: birthday20

Valentine's Day Hand Warmers

So its cold in Utah. Is it cold where you are? Because it FREEZING and its really cold (have I told you how cold it is in Utah?). I have the perfect gift to give as a Valentines day gift to a friend or neighbor and a great way to get rid of more fabric in your stash! HAND WARMERS!

These cute little warmers are perfect and don't require that my fabric or time to make! When they are done, just pop them in the microwave for 2 minutes and they stay warm for quite a while! We use something similar when we have backaches.

What you need:

- Heart template: heart clip art
- Flannel Fabric Scraps
- Handful of Rice
- Funnel
- Sewing Machine

1. First you need to print out the heart pattern. I googled clip art heart and this is the heart i found. I then just printed it on my printer. (If i was cool enough, i would create a template myself, but clip art works fine!)
2. Then I found the flannel fabric scraps that were in my scrap bin and I cut out 2 hearts using my heart pattern.

3. I sewed around the heart and left a 1 1/2 opening so i can turn the fabric after it sewn.

4. Then I sewed a top stitch over the part that was already sewn and left the opening open. (this way is SO much easier than trying to sew a top stitch with rice in it already. Because I did it both ways)
5. Then, using my funnel, i added my handful of rice inside the heart.
6. Push all the rice to one side and then sew the opening shut.

DONE! So easy and super cute!

Ill need to make a cute little valentine to go with it.

Do you follow me on instagram: @manghammade
Here's what i've been posting:

Etsy Shop coming: February 15th! Set your calendars!!

DIY Bow Tutorial

When I found out I was having a daughter, I grew a strong desire to start sewing. My husband worked on my only day off and so I needed something to take up my time. I knew i wanted to make her cute things. One of my favorite things to sew were little bows. They didn’t take up much fabric and they were SUPER cute. 

One of my favorite projects to use fabric scraps is still to make bows. Currently my daughter hates putting things in her hair (unless i somehow convince her that elsa where’s it). So I add bows to things like my zipper pouches.

These bows are super easy to make. 

Here are the materials:

• Piece of scrap fabric
• Fabric Scissors
• Sewing Machine

1. Cut a rectangle of fabric that is about 6 inches by 4 inches (you can adjust this to be the size that you want). 
2. Fold the fabric piece in half (right sides together) long ways and cut the corners off. 
   
3. Sew the edges and leave an opening in the middle.
   
4. Turn the piece back to the right side. 
5. Do a top stitch over the middle piece of the hold.
   
6. When done tie in the middle

DONE!

It is super easy and super addicting. Add an alligator clip to the back to make a hair clip! Or add to a zipper pouch! 

Polka dot fabric: Joanns

Ideas derived from: This tutorial

Adding to a zipper pouch from this tutorial.

New Year - Time for some Change

So a lot has happened in the past couple of months and i feel like it flew by so quickly. I can't believe it's almost going to be February! In that past couple of months we

1. Sold our home in California (i guess that was more than a couple of months ago)
2. We bought a home here in Utah
3. We moved out of our rental
4. Visited California for the first time since we moved
5. Moved into our new home!
6. Went to a new ward (congregation)
7. My daughter is now in PRIMARY.
8. Have 1 o'clock church -_-

It was a lot of change for just a couple of months!!! However, with all these new changes i decided to make a few changes myself.

I decided to create a new Facebook page. You can follow me here. Or just follow the link in my bio.

I also decided to create a separate Instagram account for all my crafts and sewing projects. You can follow me here: @manghammade

I did this because i just thought it was time to separate the posts of my kids and my crafts. Not all people enjoy my crafts and not all people enjoy my kids ahaha. I probably would have just stopped posting about my kids and focus solely on the things i have been creating, but since I'm a hermit that usually doesn't talk to people, Facebook is where my family gets updates on the children.

Here's what i have been posting lately:

Its all about my efforts into using my fabric scraps. 

Since i've had to move twice in one year, i've noticed that i've accumulated a lot of craft stuff. Two years ago i told tyler that i wanted to start a blog where i don't buy any new fabric and try to go through all the fabric i have in my stash. Last year i quit my job and became a full time momma. For some reason shopping became my way of coping with the change. (Being a SAHM was a harder transition than i thought)

This year since i've been able to figure out what i'm doing and in an effort to stop being a black hole in our bank account, i wanted to try and go on a fabric buying fast. (Maybe my goal should be on a month to month basis ahah)

Here's some of the things that i have been creating so far. 

This is a zipper pouch for my kids snacks. I like to organize my diaper bag in zipper pouches. 

These adorable fabric trays are from seekatesew. Here's a tutorial if you want to make them yourself. They are SUPER easy and SUPER addicting. Such a good way to go through my fabric scraps.

These super cute tie bows i got from an idea on Pinterest. I couldn't find the tutorial but its from the blog post about fabric scrap busting found on my pinterest board here.

Then i made these super adorable fabric buckets. I adapted two different tutorials for this one.

One found here and the one from seekatesew.

Ill write a tutorial about each of these in the next few weeks but i figured i should write a post about all my changes.

Hello to a new year!

I made a dress!

The other weekend i went to pinners conference with one of my friends and while we were walking around we saw a lot of clothing vendors. While i was looking through the clothes, i saw a shirt that i realized that i had the pattern to make the shirt and i had the fabric for it. So i decided to make my own dress:

The pattern that i had was the Gwen dress by seekatesew. Here is a link to her website. 

The first thing i needed to do was print out the pattern, clean off my messy sewing table so i can cut my fabric and choose the fabric. 

I was debating between these two greys, but i already knew i wanted to use the floral fabric.

I decided to go with the darker color because i felt it fit more with the dress. 

For a while my sewing table was being overtaken by other projects and i could barely fit my patterns on them to cut it. So i decided to clean it so i can cut my fabric.

I loved how it turned out! i even made hadley a matching one!

I also made some of the other different variations to this dress:

Here's the shirt options with plackets. i LOVE the plackets.

Here's the bonus pencil skirt! i LOVE it too!!

I hope you like it! You should get this pattern! it was super easy to follow and super cute!

Grey fabric: Joanns

Floral Pink Fabric: Girl Charlee

Pattern: Seekatesew

The Letter F

A few weeks ago it was my turn again to teach the little kiddos! I had the letter F.

So you know those times that you have a great idea and so you spend hours creating something for that idea. That was my experience this week with the letter F.

What do you think about when you hear the letter F.

FISH!

So i used my cricut to cut out some fish with different colors. Then i laminated the fish:

After, i cut the fish out i wanted the kids to go fishing with the fish. So i cut out each fish, took 2 fish and put a magnet in the middle. (I was afraid that if i just glue the magnet to the fish, the kids would just pull it off. Also i didn't have much solid fabric so i didn't want to make it out of fabric)

After i made all the fish i had to figure out how to make a fishing pole. Without buying new supplies, i took a wood spool that i had and tied a string to it. After tying a string to it, i hot glued another piece of magnet. After that i took the other side of the string and tied it to a pole. 

Then i put all the fish into a bucket and had them go fishing. Well only 2 kids of the 4 cared much for fishing. None of them listened about catching the specific color i named. After hours of work, their attention lasted about 5 min. 

The next time i had to teach was on thursday and this time i focused on frogs. Last minute i decided to create little frog head bands. 

Wow, what a hit. The kids LOVED them. They all said they were frogs and started jumping like frogs everywhere. We sang 5 speckled frogs, it was great!

Then after we jumped outside for a while we came inside and made 5 speckled frogs. I had a bunch of googley eyes for them to glue on. They loved that too!

Some of them liked putting lots of eyes on them :)

Well, after a few minutes of prep with my second day it was a huge success! So i guess somethings just don't turn out like you planned.