Flirting the Day Away

Welcome Back!!!

Life got in the way, business grew, babies were born.  The list is endless but suffice it to say we are back to the blog!  We have lots of fun little projects and ideas that we want to share with more than just our brick and mortar customers.  So, resurrect the blog we say!

And what better way to start again than a day spent with Flirt - the lovely collection from Dear Stella Fabrics!

I love this collection!  It is so pretty and sweet and feminine.  Perfect for little girls (and big girls too!) without being childish.

I decided to make a lovely stroller blanket for a friend's new baby girl (actually two months old now but that is how I roll).  These stroller blankets started as a little seed of an idea from my friend Stephanie.  I made some for some babies in my life.  Then I made one for a sample in the store.  Then I made more for some more new babies.  See how life happens?  Moms love them because they are the perfect size to throw over baby and toddler alike in the stroller and they tie on to the stroller.  Look, Mom, no constantly picking up the blanket!  Backed with faux sherpa (or organic fleece), they are warm without being too hot.   Perfect gift idea.  I guarantee these will be the only stroller blanket at the baby shower!

When I saw Flirt, I knew it would be the perfect gift for little Copper and her Mom.  Elegant but feminine.  I used seven fat quarters from this collection, as well as an eighth for the binding.

Follow along to see how easy breezy this blanket is!  At the bottom of this post, you can download full PDF directions to have on hand.

I started by fussy cutting some beautiful elements from a focus fabric.  I really wanted all the lovely florals from this print to stand out.  I also fussy cut two other fabrics.

I then cut my squares from the last four fabrics and pieced them into a simple design.

After basting it to the faux sherpa (no batting needed!!!), I hand tied each intersecting corner with size 5 perle, my go-to for hand tying quilts.   Tie right through both layers.  You will see that the dense pile of the Sherpa hides the back of the ties.  Nifty and neat!

After all the corners are tied - but BEFORE I remove my basting pins - I quickly hand baste the edges of the entire quilt.  This step only takes ten minutes but don't skip it!  The sherpa is a knit and has lots of stretch.  The hand basting will hold it all in place when you bind your blanket and you will be much happier with the end result.  I promise.

After binding the quilt, I use the leftovers to create two ties.  You can also use a wider loop with buttons if you prefer.  I sew them on six inches down from the top so that a natural fold occurs, showing off that soft and fuzzy inside.

Look at that!!  Sweet, soft and all made in a morning!  Does it get any better - or Flirtier - than that ?

Hope you have some time to make one of these for that little one in your life!

We will have kits available on our Etsy shop soon.

Download the directions here.  If you are assembling a top using seven different fabrics, as I did here, download this diagram.  If you choose to use five different fabrics, use this diagram.

Until next time (and we promise it will not be another two years) ...

Ciao,

Beth

The Makerie Sewing Retreat!!

So, can any one of you guess what all these things have in common?  Well, besides being a few of my favorite things!

A hint ... it is coming up in April and I have been so excitedly talking about this for months!!!

It is the Makerie Sewing Retreat in Boulder, CO!!!!!!!!!!!

What is this retreat and what does that have to do with a few of my favorite things?  Well, I will tell you!  The retreat is three fabulous days of sewing, yoga, hikes in the gorgeous Flatirons, good food, lovely little cottages, and fantastic crafty company surrounding you all day.  In case you wanted to have that topped, the instructors for the classes are some of the best there are!  When I first received the information from Ali, founder and owner of The Makerie, I took one look at the list of instructors and thought "How can I NOT do this?"!!!  For those of you who know the long hours and many days that I put into RPS, I thought a well-deserved weekend of feeding my creative soul was in order.  And the Makerie Sewing handed it all to me in one fabulous package!  And it is in my old college stomping grounds - Boulder - to boot!

Okay, now for what all these things have to do with each other?  They are all lovely products from my instructors!!!  Yes, that is Amy Butler fabric from Amy Butler Designs, and stitching patterns from Jenny Hart at Sublime Stitching, and the great Design-It-Yourself Clothes from Cal Patch, and patterns from Liesl Gibson at Oliver & S and the Stitching Society patterns.  And, yes, I will be taking classes from all of them!!!!!!  Can ya believe it?  I feel like a kid waiting for Santa to arrive.  It feels so magical to me.

Other instructors include Kaari Meng (French General), Heather Jones (fab quilter, just watched her demo at QuiltCon), and Tamar Mogendorff of soft sculpture fame!

Sound fantastic???  There are limited spaces available!  They will be closing registration on Mar 27th so do it now!!!  You can register online here!  Mention that you are coming through Rock Paper Scissors and you will get $50 off.  If you sign up, email me so we can arrange local transportation!

You will not regret this one.  Feed your creative soul!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Beth

Duct Tape Journal and Mixed Media with Jessica Sporn

We had so much fun with Jessica Sporn last night - making these fabulous duct tape journals!!  We played and got messy and laughed and painted and stenciled and stamped ... and created these beautiful pages and books.  Jessica helped us to make quick bindings for all of these fantastic papers using the magic of duct tape.  The evening was freeing and fun and just what we needed!  I can't wait to make more pages.

Thank you, Jessica, you are a fabulous teacher and we are so lucky to have you here as we walk the mixed media road!

Curious about the mixed media world?  Join Jessica at Rock Paper Scissors for her next class on Saturday, March 23rd at 9:00am.  Just call the store to sign up!

To see more of Jessica's fabulous art and life, visit her blog here.

Quick and easy Thanksgiving ideas!

Hey! It's been a while. In case you forgot, Thanksgiving is next week and if you are like me, you usually find yourself scrambling with to figure out place cards and thankful ideas. I figured while I have a little time and my daughter is napping I'd throw a few ideas out there to help you out (if you need help that is).

I made a little scrapbook a few years ago and added a pocket in the back for the thankful notes people wrote. 

 They were simply clip art I printed and colored (pre kids I apparently had time to do that)

Another year I used my Cricut to cut out all sorts of tags. You could have the kids cut out shapes or simply buy some tags or  even just use blank cards or strips of paper, punch a hole and use a ring or string to hold them together! (and you've made a mini book, which is some of my favorite things to make)

If you're looking for a centerpiece idea to use for your thankful notes, you may recognize this from the store, a thankful tree. Collect some branches, use leaf cutouts (or real leaves you modpodged or contact papered) and hang them from the branches. Use a vase, or uber cute and trendy canning jars.

Have some corks from all the wine you've drunk? I may have a few (hundred) laying around. They could be used for the notes. They would be cute in a vase, bowl, jar...displayed all year round

Corks are also great for place card holders.

Here's a cute one you could use for the kids table. Take a lunch bag and put some candy, crayons, or little toys inside. Add a little bone, tie it up with some string, or make it easy and use an elastic band like I did and...

Voila! You've got a place marker + for the kids

 

 Last for today I made a simple napkin fold with a place card and thankful note all in one. I did two versions of the napkin, one a tri-fold with the 'book' on top and one simply tied with the 'book' stuck in. I'm definitely doing one of these for this Thanksgiving.

I'll try to be back tomorrow with some more quick and easy ideas. If you have any ideas you've done or plan on doing, please share! We have a flickr page to get inspired and share ideas.

-A

A Guest Post on ahappystitch

Thanks to Melissa over at ahappystitch for letting us share the inside of Rock Paper Scissors, as well as a few of our tips for organizing and storage!

Hop on over and check out our post!  And while you are over there, check out the other studio tours as well as the rest of Melissa's blog.  She is wonderfully creative!  Truly a happy stitcher!  And if you live in the New Jersey area, sign up for one of her wonderful classes!

Thanks again, Melissa!

Give some inspiration, find some inspration

We'd love to see some of the projects you've been working on...

Did you know we have a flickr group? Check it out, get some inspiration and upload some of your work to inspire others!

http://www.flickr.com/groups/rockpaperscissorsnj/

Newest Graphic 45

If you know us, one of our favorite paper companies is Graphic 45. They continue to dazzle and amaze us with their wonderful collections. Their latest, Olde Curiosity Shoppe, is no different.

It's full of the butterflies, peacock feather, oddities, that beautiful turquoise they
use so well... and who could NOT love the flying pigs!!

The new Staples they have out are just too good to pass up too.

Check out the amazing things that you can create from their blog.
(I can't wait to get a chance to sit down and play)
Just imagine the possibilities...

As always, we look forward to seeing you!

Aubrey and Beth