Children's Wear Project

Last week I was updating my portfolio and did a new project for children's wear.  These are technical flats to show where essential elements will be placed and how they will be stitched down.  I also included a swatch page and color options to help visualize what the clothes will look like and their fabrication.

Doing this project really made me feel like I was back in college, but I think it is a great addition to my portfolio!  If you are interested, you can see my online portfolio at 

http://whitneyalyssa.carbonmade.com/

Happy Birthday Mom and Dad!

Today is a post just to say "Happy Birthday" to two very special people -

 yep, my Mom and Dad.

And before you ask, yes, they have the same birthday although are one year apart. 

 For this post I would like to share a couple photos to help tell their story.

Two of my favorites, my parents as teenagers :)

Vicki Lou Pope and David Gregg Dickson

Engagement Photo 1981

Wedding: October 16th, 1982

Precious Family 1995

Dad, Mom, Whitney, Brantley, and Bo

Still Rockin' the Stache!

1996

Mom and Dad 2009

Jamie, Gregg, Whitney, Vicki, and Brantley

May 15, 2010

My dad once shared this scripture with me and I find it appropriate to represent 

what God might say to them both on their special day.

And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son (daughter), whom I love; 

with you I am well pleased.”

I love you both, happy birthday!

Unique Pin Cushions

Yep - it is official, I am just not a consistent blogger.  

I guess we will just have to take baby steps!

I want to share a fun project I did - handmade pin cushions.  

I have taken a salt shaker and filled it with vintage inspired materials such as old buttons, threads, and pearls.

Then, with batting, felt, and lace, I created a "cushion" to place on the top of the shaker.

This allows pins to be kept together while also having a piece of art that you can keep out even 

when you are not sewing!

I used a novelty lace to create more visual interest, but still allows the pins to be pushed through.

With this one, I used a bigger jar and filled it with an old photo, buttons, measuring tape,

and other unique items.

I used a embossed felt for the cushion and twine to secure it down.

T-shirt Blanket

So - I have taken a couple weeks off for the holidays!  But now I am 

back with all my handmade gift from this season :)  I wanted to share a great, comfy, 

one-of-a-kind present I made for my brother in law. I made one of these 

for my husband a couple years ago,

 and I will tell you, it is our favorite couch blanket!  I don't have my 

process documented - but it is pretty simple: Start by taking any old 

shirts that have valuable memories or shirts you just couldn't bare to get rid 

of and cut them into 12x12 inch squares. 

 My husband and his brothers were and are wrestlers, so they have 

goo-gobs of t-shirts from tournaments, championships, and camps they 

attended. It made this blanket very cohesive. After cutting all the squares, 

I planned the layout, and began to sew each t-shirt square from left to right

 until I had 6 rows (using 1/4 to 1/2 inch seam allowance.)

 I continued this process by sewing each row together. To attach the

 back (I just used a thick fleece) I sewed the blanket like a big pillow. 

I put the two fabrics facing towards each other sewing along the outside 

edges, leaving enough 

space to flip the blanket inside-out and ta-da! 

The best part about this blanket is that you can change the number of rows 

and columns according to the amount of t-shirts you have, or the size of 

bed you may want to use it on.

This gift is not only warm and cozy, but always brings up memories every 

time you use it.

This is something that not only we get to enjoy, but hopefully one day we can use to 

tell stories to our kids.

Digital Scrapbooks Make Great Christmas Presents!

This year for Christmas I made our parents a photo book of all our wedding pictures.  It is something they will have and cherish forever.

I have found this company to have extensive templates, themes, and custom opportunities - to me it is the best book making business out there. Blurb.com

Enjoy!

Our Wedding Day | Make Your Own Book

Custom Made Bottle Cap Magnets

I have been doing these for a couple years now and have gotten some feedback and orders to do some new "subjects" if you will.  I have just completed a project for a good friend of mine who is using these as Christmas gifts and stocking stuffers.  His family grew up in Chicago and loves sports, so for the men we decided to do a complete set of Chicago sports teams.  As for the mom, we did something a little more sentimental - her family. This was my process.

I took beer bottle caps (thanks to my husband, I have plenty!) and cleaned them well and spray painted them white.

I then found the images I wanted to put inside the caps and sized them down on the computer.

I bought this great 1 inch hole punch from Michael's and it makes cutting out the 

images SOOO much easier.

I then attach the magnets to the back of the caps and let them dry over night.  I then insert the pictures and get ready to pour in the resin.  The resin can be kind of tricky to work with, so you may want to have a couple practice bottle caps.

Here is the finished product after they had again dried over night!

If you are interested in having custom magnets made, please feel free to contact me!

And here are the custom family magnets I created for the mother.

And of course the dog is the central glue of the family!

They keepsakes are cost effective and will be around for years to come!

From "Junk" to Jewelry

Have broken jewelry? Only have one earring to a pair?  Really pretty buttons that don't have a jacket or shirt to go to? Well - let me show you what I did with all my miscellaneous pieces!

I love old costume jewelry, but sadly a lot of it is missing a gem or rhinestone...and I have a box full to prove it! But I still love the charm that it has even when broken.

I used these pieces as a source and start of inspiration.  By adding a few of the elements together on what was an old broach, I turned these "broken" treasures into a beautiful piece of art.

I used an old key (I found a bag full at an estate sale!) and a jump ring to give this piece its finishing touch.

I know a lot of people don't wear broaches anymore, so I added a chain (bought at Michael's) to create a necklace.

When I lived in New York I like to frequent the Hell's Kitchen Flea Market. On one of my shopping trips, there was a vendor who had boxes of old "junk".  So I dug and sifted and found a bunch of old watch pieces.  I didn't know what I was going to do with them, but I had to have them. 

All I did here was take three different vintage watch heads (not in working condition obviously) and attached them together with jump rings and a chain to create an elegant bracelet. 

You may not be able to tell the time, but you will have a wonderful story to tell :)