Sewing Fun at CRAFTED - Marisa Lynch

I am so freakin' jazzed for this upcoming weekend at CRAFTED at the Port of Los Angeles!!! This Saturday we will have one of my favorite upcyclers - Marisa Lynch who will be crafting with us, followed by a signing of her new book!! The book doesn't come out until Tuesday so this is an exciting opportunity to get you hands on the book first. Heck Yes!!!!!

If you haven't already signed up on Facebook hit up the event details here. 

Info via CRAFTED at the Port of Los Angeles

I am so excited for this event that my Thursday is buzzing even more than usual in preparation.  I always feel a rush getting ready for the weekend mid-afternoon on Thursday, now I have added scrounging for all of our t-shirts that need a well deserved makeover!  

If you would like an overview of what to expect on Saturday, or are unable to attend and interested in making your own t-shirt tote - The Make. Shop. Live. Blog did a tutorial post on this craft back in Aug. 2010:

For full project details from our How-To's Day: Make a Reusable Tee Tote *You can find the post here*

Hope to see you this Saturday at the event!!!

XOXO, KC

Sew like a Pro Classes

Make.Shop.Live is about process over product.  That means we enjoy learning and sharing new ways to create with unique materials.

KC Sears is trained in a wide range of techniques and mediums and is now offering 1 on 1 sewing lessons to any skill set by appointment.  More Info here!

Stop by the shop at CRAFTED to meet her and see our tricked out sewing machines on display!

XOXO, KC

Upcycled Necktie Banner

I worked with Alison Zeno to create a unique twist on the red ribbon at the grand opening of CRAFTED. We decided old red neckties would make a visually impactful banner that would be both visible from most angles and photograph well. It was simple to make, and I am thinking of making a second one in all grey ties for a Fifty Shades of Grey book party ;) wouldn't that be fun!

First things first, tie all your ties like you would wear them. I only know one way to tie a necktie to begin with. There are all kinds of ways to initially tie the neckties - tie each tie like you are going to wear it with whatever knotting method you choose. I used small tacking stitches to secure the tail of the tie in the back as well as at the neck to get it to lie flat. The main trick to turn the neckties into a banner is to get the neck hole to lie flat by tacking it. To get it flat you smooth the fabric up from the knot and fold one of the sides over at the top slightly almost like making a dart. This step is optional since it is reinforced when you attach the ties together I just thought I would note it in case yours isn't coming out fully flat. Attaching the tip of one of the ties to the next one is shown in the picture above. Place the angled tip of one tie inside where the neck touches together of the second tie and make some small stitches attaching both of them together.  It really is that simple!

For this banner I used 12 ties.  There was a 13th but the material was different from the others and it twisted and didn't lie flat with the other ties.  I decided to take it out and thankfully it was plenty long without using it.  Depending on the area you want to hang your banner up I would say 8-14 ties would be plenty to make a statement banner.

We would love to see if you try one for yourself :) Feel free to post pictures to our Facebook of what you come up with.

XOXO, KC

How-To's Day: CRAFTED Upcycled Stitched Stationery

Since this week (and next) is the big build up for CRAFTED at the Port of Los Angeles, I thought I would share a project I did for their gift bags. I created sets of stationery using upcycled paper that I saved from a friend also using CRAFTED's rubber stamp with their logo for the design, then stitched onto the paper adding paper detailing. The paper shapes are also upcycled out of old maps, magazines, and anything else I could find that had a nice pattern or color.

In case you need some more details on Upcycling, we define it as using materials that could be trash or recycled but are saved and re-purposed into the materials for a new use. Here, the main material for the card utilizes this really wonderful handmade looking paper that came from a friend getting furniture delivered from Restoration Hardware. All of her furniture was wrapped in this very nice, double-sided, natural looking paper and I saved every piece possible for supplies.  I made sure to swap sides of the paper placing some designs on the  light tan side as the front and some on the reddish brown, further mixing up the assorted nature of the stationery.

Stitching on paper may even be more enjoyable that sewing on fabric... You will just have to try it out and see how much you enjoy it ;) It works just like sewing "regular projects" just keep in mind it really dulls out your sewing needles so if you do enjoy sewing on paper you should keep some needles that are just for paper.

I was able to also source some fancy old envelopes that didn't have any matching cards that fit inside. Once I had those together I was able to determine what size to cut the paper for the cards. The cards are just one piece, not folded and are more a quick note or a thank you.  With the one sided card you get to see and feel all the stitching on the back too, which I think is pretty cool.

Here is a round-up of all my card variations-

I really like projects where you can make multiple variations and just play around with your materials.  Using similar techniques and materials while creating a series makes each one feel similar and together but allows the freedom to have a different story or theme on each card. Sometimes you can create a pattern or image that is unexpected and can open the door on a new project you have not yet imagined, so this can be a really great project too if you have a creative block or just want to shake things up!

We'd love to see what you come up with. Please share comments with us on what you came up with or post to our Facebook to share with others.

XOXO, KC

How-To's Day: Alessandra & Paul's Bow Tie Wedding Decor

The bride and KC both love bows, so it was pretty clear from the beginning that some handmade bow ties were on the horizon.  Using a variety of extra fabrics and clothes and some strong little magnets, Make Shop Live team completed an assortment of 140 handmade cloth bow ties.

KC did a great many tasks at our friend's wedding in Brooklyn.  One of the most fun projects was the seating cards for each guest at the reception. The bows are a variation on a Make Shop Live holiday project post here. For Alessandra's wedding we dropped the scale down to make the bow roughly 5" wide by 3" tall. The bow is held in place with a magnet for the fastening just like this magnetic brooch project we featured in May here.

 
To wear the bow ties as a brooch all you need to do is slip a magnet on the other side of your clothing to hold it in place. Best part of the magnet brooches is you don't ruin your fancy clothes like sometimes you do with a pin back that snags.

We started with some old clothes shown below and dug through our reserved stash of navy and pink fabrics for the assortment of bows.  To make some of the pinks look more vintage and antiqued, KC tea stained the fabrics first before constructing the bows.  For a look at how to tea stain fabric of your own here is how to tea stain fabric. 

Utilizing the project instructions here for the bow, the main variation for these magnetic brooches is placing the magnet inside the backing of bow as you assemble it as shown below:

Using a magnetic board from Ikea we were able to display all the bows and seating cards quickly and easily since they all had super strong magnets inside them.

Here are some color sample tests KC sent Alessandra to show what colors were available to Make Shop Live in Navy and Pink.

Enjoy! and have fun!!!

If you try this project out we'd love to see some pictures :)

XOXO, KC

How-To's Day: Lavender Sachets for Mother's Day

Hi guys! Today we're going to be working on a project that makes a perfect present for Mother's Day. The project does require some basic sewing, but overall it is a very easy project. In just a few short minutes, with minimal supplies, you have a wonderful handmade present.

This project is upcycled, which means we are taking items that would normally be set out for the trash and utilizing them in a way to create value in a new project or product. The materials needed for this project are: old dryer sheets, medium weight string (such as crocheted cotton), a heart-shaped paper hole punch in two sizes, any sort of adhesive (for this example we're using a Xyron sticker maker), and dried lavender.

Once you have your paper hearts for the gift tag (here you can see each tag takes two large hearts and one small heart) place glue on one large heart and line the string up the middle.  Sandwich the two hearts together with the string in the middle, pressing the glue firmly to seal shut. Once the two large hearts are together, glue the smaller heart as embellishment on the top of the tag.

Lavender looks all different types of ways.  Below are two different types of lavender that appear totally different, but smell equally the same.

On the left: lavender bushels store-bought.
On the right: cultivated from my house plants and lavender around town growing naturally.

This IS Lavender by the way.  

Place the dried lavender inside the dryer sheet and fold it up.

I like using these clips rather than using traditional pins. They take way less time for items like the dryer sheets that have some holes in the texture. Once you stitch up the side shift the seam so that it runs up the middle on one side.  You won't see the seam this way - it will run up the middle. 

Fold the bag in half with the lavender bunched towards the center. You can sew across the top of everything once you do this final fold OR you can just go ahead and fold the top down.  To mimic a tea bag, the two corners are folded in triangles and then sealed with the top down.  

Once you fold everything, it is time to staple! Pinch everything in place and put it into the stapler.

Tah-dah! A gigantic lavender filled tea bag sachet :)

The "tea bags" sachets can be used to freshen up sock drawers, keep linens fresh for company, playful decor - and so much more!

Comment below if you have success with this project or have tips and tricks of your own!

We hope you enjoy!!! XOXO, KC

How-To's Day: Chip Bag Pouch

After the super bowl you may be polishing off that big bag of chips you got for the gang thinking- Hmmmm, this doesn't seem like it will ever break down in the landfill... I am sure they take forever!

First thing, clean your bag thoroughly and let dry. 

Mark down from the edge of the opening and use the markings as a guide to cut the top even. Do the same for the bottom leaving the sides intact and both the top and bottom open.

  

Flip the bag inside out so that in this case, the silver side is out. Stitch across whichever end you want to be the bottom. Then flip back to the printed outside of the bag.

Once you flip it back to the right side- top stitch across the bottom.  Turn the top on itself like a hem and top stitch there too.

If you haven't started using velcro on everything- here is a great time to start your obsession! It is so easy to use and is awesome for just about any project.  Cut ~2" piece of both the hook & loop strips and sew the loop side (fuzzy) down- centered ~1/2" below the top edge of the bag. Sew around the edges following the shape of the velcro in a rectangle.

Once you get the loop side down you can mark where to put the hook side on the back side on the bottom.  The bottom will wrap over the top to make a flap. This part is tricky to put in writing- but basically velco it together inside out so you can sew up the sides of the pouch.

Starting down from the top to accommodate the flap stitch down to the bottom. Do the same thing on the opposite side. Once you stitch both sides, flip once more and you are all done!

Here is what the finished pouch looks like:

 I think I will throw mine in my purse to hold coupons and to-do lists. :)

Happy Making!

XOXO, KC