Here is a round up of some Valentine’s Day crafts and treats that caught my eye.

Diy Art

Painting is not really in my wheelhouse but I think these Love Letters from We Lived Happily Ever After are just gorgeous and would love to give them a try.

I’ve always wanted to do one of these string art projects. This one is over at Green Wedding Shoes is really cute!

How about some Scrabble tile inspired coasters from blue I style?

Hand Sewing

I just LOVE these mini hoop hearts by Laurenmakes. They are super simple but striking. I think they are so adorable and they are on the top of my make list right now!

And how cute is this little felt love note hoop by Amy Chappell from Ameroonie Designs at the Polka Dot Chair.

Machine Sewing

I also found a couple of adorable pillows to add to my Valentine pillow collection. First up is this adorable Love You Pillow by Amanda at JediCraftGirl guest blogging at Amy Smart’s Diary of A Quilter.

And how about this cute heart pillow by Anna from Noodlehead guest blogging on U-CreateCrafts.

I don’t really sew plushies but these Love Koi by Sew Desu Ne? on Blueprint are making me rethink that!

I also saw this felt heart table runner at Pottery Barn Kids. This would be so simple and cheap to make and they want $39.00 bucks for it?

I LOVE this one by Center Street Quilts. I might need to make one of these!

Sweet Treats

How about some delicious treats? I love a quick and simple yummy treat and this bark from Lauren at Delish looks amazing.

And who doesn’t love a yummy Rice Krispy treat? These from Midwest Living look so good!

I’ll wrap up this post with these Cookies ‘n Cream Strawberry Cheesecake Bars from Creme de la Crumb look amazing! I think I may be able to get Sam into making these with me!

You can find my treat bag tutorial here.

My Valentine pillow covers sew up quick! You can find the patterns here. They are on sale all through February.

And if you’re looking for a little bigger project, try out this Flying Home pattern. It is 30% off all month long.

I’ve also been meaning to make a Valentine version of my Christmas Cards quilt using some reds and pinks and calling it Love Notes. Can you see it? You can find the pattern here.

I hope these ideas have you inspired! I know I am, and I think I have a few ideas of my own!

Krista

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I had seen these beautiful ornaments just before Christmas 2020. Each one is so beautifully designed and detailed by Larissa Holland at mmmcrafts.blogspot.com and her patterns are for purchase in her etsy shop.

On Larissa’s website is the comprehensive list of supplies you will need to make your 12 Days Ornaments along with color guides and everything else you need to know. You’ll want to decide on your colors so you can order either one of the color bundles that Benzie Designs has of the beautiful wool felt or choose your own colors. You’ll also need the floss and the Notions Bundle. I’ll be honest. I did look around locally in combination with Amazon to see if I could get everything cheaper but nope. The notions bundle is a deal and don’t forget the fiberfill! You will also need one additional pack of the 8.5 x 11 printable Sulky Sticky Fabri-Solvy because 2 of the series have two pages of pieces you will need to print, for a total of 14 pages, and the packs only contain 12 pages.

I used cellophane envelopes and made a little kit for each ornament with the pattern pieces and notions needed to make each one as well as the color guide for each ornament from mmmcrafts. That way I could grab an ornament and my floss and work away. Larissa’s guides take you through each step in detail.

Then you’re ready to assemble the pieces into the adorable ornaments you see below!

Once you get all your supplies, it’s time to get everything organized and prepared. The first step is preparing your wool felt. You need to rinse each piece in warm water and then allow to dry. It will shrink a bit and you want to have that happen before you start cutting out your pattern pieces. You can hang to dry on a line or lay flat. I put some thick towels on our table and after gently squeezing out all the water from the sheet, I smoothed each one out and let dry over night on top of the towels.

While my felt was drying, I printed out all my patterns and put them in a three ring binder to keep them organized. Then I copied each sheet of the pattern pieces onto a sheet of the Sticky Fabri-Solvy. Once the felt was dry, I cut out the pieces for one ornament at a time, affixing the sticky fabri-solvy pieces to the colors I had chosen and cut them out.

Once the pieces have been embroidered, you rinse them under warm water to rinse away the Sticky Fabri-Solvy and let them dry.

This project was outside of my wheelhouse and not something I would normally choose to do but they were so exquisitely detailed and pretty, I just couldn’t resist and I’m so glad I didn’t! They patterns were written so well and so thoroughly that they were easy to follow and each ornament was just so fun to make! So much fun, I’m prepping another set!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Krista

#twelvedaysornaments #12daysornaments #mmmcrafts #benziedesign #benziefelt #dmcembroidery #dmcfloss #sulky

Last year was rough all around. There was so much fear and pain and frustration and anger and loss with us and all over the world. And so many things changed. We also had a few good things. Tom had both his hips replaced, one in February and one in August. It’s hard to believe watching him now when we walk our dogs that this time a year ago he had difficulty walking to the other room and was living with chronic pain. He worked so hard through his physical therapy and is moving around better than ever. Andi was accepted into and begins the nursing program this semester. Sam started college and is doing really well with school. We got a new puppy, Gracie, who is super energetic and has really gotten us moving!

For me, I went back to school to work toward a career change. It has been exciting and has kept me really busy. I wasn’t able to spend as much time creating as I would have liked last year, but I did manage to make some fun things!

I have a quite a few pillow patterns but these Valentine Pillows are my favorites of the bunch and live on my couch most of the time. You can find the patterns for these pillows here to make some for yourself!

And of course, like all of you, made some masks.

I did some bee blocks for my Sew Bee It quilting bee friends. I sure miss being able to meet with them all in person! I also have a handful I need to catch up on this month!

I joined in with some Sashiko sewalong fun with @surrur_sunday and @amandalovestocreate on Instagram. These coasters are still on my WIP list.

But I did finish a couple cute bags as well!

I made some fun drawstring bags for goodies. They are super quick and so cute. You can find a tutorial and make your own here!

I also made a valentines day version of my Flying Home quilt pattern. I love this pattern and making 8 half-square triangles at a time makes this quilt a very quick make! You can find the pattern 40% off now through Valentines day!

I made a Sew Kind of Wonderful Metro Hoops quilt. The fabrics are Kona white and red cottons and April Rosenthal‘s All Weather Friend. I love how it turned out and I really enjoyed making it. Sew Kind of Wonderful’s pattern instructions were very clear. This quilt was gifted to someone special.

With the left over All Weather Friend fabrics, I made a free pattern by by Happy Zombie called Lawnchair Quilt. I used Essex Linen for the backing fabric. I love how it turned out. It’s one of my favorites. The linen background really makes it.

I also put out a new quilt pattern, Pinwheel Star. My friend and neighbor was nice enough to hold my quilt for some photos. This was also a quick quilt to make. I used white Kona and Mister Domestic‘s Loved to Pieces fabric line. The link above will take you to a digital copy. If you’d like a paper pattern, let me know. This quilt was also gifted to someone special.

I also started working on a large version of Sew Kind of Wonderful’s Metro Rings Quilt for our daughter, Angela. I’m suing a light gray and darker gray Kona cottons and two neutral jelly rolls including a Blueberry Park Neutrals by Karen Lewis.

I did a little home sewing by making some cushions for our patio table. I just kind of winged it with these making upper and lower cushions and adding ties. I used an outdoor fabric to make it last longer.

I also participated/am still participating in a Traveling Quilt Bee. This has been fun. Each person makes a starter block and sets their theme, color, style parameters. Then each person in the been takes a turn and adds to your quilt. This was the first I worked on for my friend Gayle. I added the top, bottom, and sides. Gayle’s quilt parameters had to do with color and styles.

Next was Annie’s quilt. I added the left column and the bottom with the bear paw prints. Annie’s parameters were our interpretations of her travels she had taken.

Finally, I added the top and bottom rows to Marie’s quilt. Marie’s parameters were more classic style blocks and using her Cotton and Steel fabric collection.

I have two more quilts to work on and will share them when I finish!

I also did a little crocheting and finished this Earl Gray Wrap by Two of Wands. Alexandra has some gorgeous knit and crochet patterns.

Finally, I made a quick tree skirt and extra large stockings with some fleece I had on hand. I didn’t really use any patterns. For the skirt, I cut a large circle. I folded it into qurters and cut out a center circle and then cut along the radius I bound all the edges with left over binding from Tom’s quilt from a few years ago.

For the stockings, I taped together some printer paper and then traced a stocking. I cut out the stocking way bigger then the outline and just stitched up wrong side. I folded the top over twice and top stitched and added a wired ribbon for the loop to hang them up.

I also got into a little cake baking and decorating. I have so much to learn but it has been fun. Here are a few of my yummy creations.

Anyway, that’s about it for my creative round up. Now, to finish planning out my projects for this year!

Have a great day!

Krista

Getting Started

The first thing you want to do is to prepare your fabric. For this bag, my fabric measures 5-1/2 inches wide by 14 inches long. I’m using Kona Snow but you could use muslin or novelty fabrics or whatever you like. First, I like to go ahead a press approximately 1/4 inch in on each side to the wrong side of the fabric so I know where my seam is going and I know how much room I have to play around with applique, embroidery or whatever else I want to do.

Next, fold the top down 1/2 inch. Press and then fold down another 1/2 inch. Then fold in half, wrong sides together, and press your bottom seam.

Embellish Your Bag!

For this bag, I decided to do some applique. First, I cut out a 2-inch circle. I like to take just a tiny bit of invisible Elmer’s glue on my finger and apply it to a few spots on the back of the applique piece and then press with a hot iron. That way my shape stays in place while I stitch and I don’t have to mess with pins. Stitch around the edge. Note: Make sure your seam allowance is open and does not get caught in your stitching.

Next, I cut out a little heart and repeated the glue, pressing, and stitching.

I cut out strips to make an X. I did my glue and press with the first strip and then the second and then I stitched into place. Again, be sure your seam allowance is open and doesn’t get caught in your stitching!

Assemble Your Bag

Stitch up each side using 1/4″ seam allowance back stitching at the top and bottom. Stop approximately 1 inch below the bottom pressed seam line so your top tubes don’t get caught in your seam. Backstitch athe pressed top seam. Clip bottom corners.

Press side seams open. Press your top tube down again .

Finally, turn right side out. Stitch along the bottom edge of each top fold to create a tube in front and in back to place your ties.

Finish the Bag

Using a pin to secure the end of the ribbon or cord. Feed one end of your ribbon into the tube and out the other side and then into the second tube and out the other side so that your ends are both coming out of the same side of the bag. You are basically making a U with the ribbon, with both ends coming out on the same side.

Tie ends together. Repeat with cord or ribbon going the opposite direction.

Have Fun and Add Your Own Style

These are so great for party favors and valentines. You could use them in a table setting with personalized names and little gifts inside. You could also use them for Advent gifts and put numbers on the bags. Here is a fun little assortment using different fabrics and different ties (ribbon, cord, and twine).

Finally, I embroidered this bag with some cute hearts. This bag starting fabric measurement was 5 inches wide x 11 inches long. I used a water soluble marker to draw my hearts and 12 weight Sulky thread for the stitched hearts.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this tutorial. They really are quick and fun to make! I’m working on a dozen of the stitched heart bags right now!

Have a great day!

Krista

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