xoxo - Fabric-Covered Letter Tutorial

Valentine's Day is extra-special in our house as it's also my wedding anniversary. Eight years coming up for us - almost past the seven-year itch. :-)

I like to put out a few decorations to celebrate the season of love and decided to add to our collection this year with xoxo letters covered in fabric. The project was so fun and simple that I new I had to share it with you!

BONUS: With adult supervision (sans the cutting part), this is a great project for kids to assist.

SUPPLY LIST:
-XOXO wooden letters, two of each. (I bought mine at Jo-Ann Fabric for around $2 each. They have a white finish and flat bottoms.)
-Spray craft glue (I used Elmers)
-Glaze (We used some with sparkle!)
 -4 coordinating fat quarters (Mine are Tanya Whelan's Sugar Hill)
-X-acto knife
-Scissors (kid scissors are in the pic because Olivia insisted)
-Cutting mat
-Spongey paintbrush thing (what are they technically called?)
-Newspaper or another material to protect your work surface from glue

STEP ONE:
 -Cut around your letters, one per fat quarter. Leave about 1-2" around the outside edges.

STEP TWO:
-Choose which letters go with each fabric.

STEP THREE:
-Spray one side of the letters with craft glue. Apply fabric RIGHT SIDE UP.

STEP FOUR:
-Cut around each letter with X-Acto knife. Be careful!!

STEP FIVE:
-Let the glue dry for a bit. I probably waited around 30 minutes before glazing.

STEP SIX:
 -Evenly coat the top of each letter with glaze.

STEP SEVEN:
-Let dry overnight.
-Trim off any loose threads.
-Then, enjoy!

Heirloom Winner!

Thank you for all of your wonderful entries to win the seven fat quarter bundle of Joel Dewberry's Heirloom! I enjoyed reading them - especially those of you who shared personal heirloom stories.

The winner of the bundle is... #14 - Jane who said: One of my favorite heirlooms is my grandmother's old butter churn. I remember how she would sit in her rocking chair & rock & churn. Jane - I'll be in contact with you to arrange shipping your prize. Stay tuned for a fun Valentine's Day tutorial this week!

Heirloom

Sometimes life aligns in strange but wonderful ways. In the same week I received in Joel Dewberry's Heirloom fabric line, I also inherited a family heirloom - a straight-back wooden chair.

The chair was made by my great, great, great grandparents. What makes it even more special is that I was named after my great, great, great grandma who owned the chair - Sarah.

Excellent craftsmanship and exquisite details, this chair is quite exceptional.

I decided to use it as my sewing chair and plan to make a patchwork seat cushion to add warmth and color.

The Heirloom collection from Joel Dewberry is breathtaking. Olivia and I squealed when she helped me unpack the box this week! We're carrying seven of the beautiful prints in our shop. To celebrate the new inventory, I want to give away a 7 fat quarter bundle from the line. :-)

To enter, leave a comment on this post telling us what your favorite heirloom is. Deadline: Tuesday, January 24 midnight EST. Good luck!

i *heart* pinterest

I know that I'm not alone in my obsession love of Pinterest. It's a time suck like no other, but I always walk away inspired and excited about sewing, fashion, and decorating. I added a new Pinterest button to the right column of this blog so you can check out some of my boards. One of my favorites to add to is "someday sewing projects." Here is a sampling from that board.

Ruffle Scarf Tutorial

Purl Cotton Embroidery

Scrap Buster Quilt Layout What are some of your favorite sewing finds from Pinterest?

Let's Finish Some Stuff!

Many of you listen to the quilting podcast Quilter in the Gap hosted by the warm, friendly, and funny Rhonda. And if you don't already listen, head over to iTunes now to subscribe!

In a recent episode, Rhonda talked about her plan for a 2012 Finish-A-Long and that she was looking for sponsors. Long story short, Swell Cloth is now proudly sponsoring Quilter in the Gap's party. And boy does Rhonda know how to throw a virtual party!

Check out her blog post for information on how to participate and for an exclusive Swell Cloth discount code! I'm looking forward to finishing some things in 2012. What about you?

Prickly

I have a huge mess with my hand-sewing needles. They're all contained in a bag but are hard to dig out the right size on demand. Needle cases or needle books (what is the more popular term?) are a good solution to organize these prickly little things. For inspiration, I browsed Flickr this morning, and this mosaic are some of my favorites:

1. Sewn Spaces Needle Book Swap, 2. needle-book-front, 3. 1st needle book, 4. Needle book, 5. Needle book, 6. Felt Bird Needle book. The felt applique covers are really cute, and I think the pockets on the inside are a must for measuring tape and other notions. This project is going on my list of things to do. Soon. Just as soon as I can clear out some of my current projects. More on that later! Do you have a favorite needle case pattern?

Post Christmas

There is a sew-along going on that I wanted to let you know about. It's called the After Christmas Sew Along, and is being organized by my friend Karen at Sew Much 2 Luv. Check out Karen's blog for details, but the gist is that for the month of January there are weekly challenges. There's a Flickr group to post your progress and enter for some pretty fab prizes! She's organized a group on sponsors (Swell Cloth included!) to provide discounts on supplies and prizes. I plan to join in on the fun, starting tomorrow with a fun Valentine's Day project that's been on my mind. Are you in?