Make a Felt Heart Puzzle: Guest Blog Post!

Today's Tangram-esque Heart Puzzle Tutorial comes to us from Jen of An Evergrowing List. Jen is my first guest blogger, so please make her feel welcome :)

Take it away Jen!

. . . . . .

I have had this on my pinterest for awhile now but haven’t gotten the time to make it happen. With Valentine’s Day coming up fast I figured I’d make a heart version first.

After browsing the internet a bit without coming up with anything I liked I made my own pattern (and a tutorial for you). This project can be done very simply with no sewing or a bit more complexly with some sewing involved. Choose your own adventure!

Materials:

red felt (or a color of your choice)

printable pattern

scissors

chalk

sewing machine (if sewing)

red thread (if sewing)

Directions:
Print out the pattern. You can enlarge it or make it smaller depending on your wants and needs.

 

I made a sewing allowance around each piece only to realize later it wasn’t necessary. Oops! You can see in this picture the pieces I end up combining.

 Cut out the pieces. I ended up combining some of the smaller pieces to make it easier for myself to make and my son to solve (he’s 3). You can do the same or keep it the way it is.

I realized here that I only needed to cut out one of each shape since some of them repeated. I made sure to write on the pattern how many I would need of each piece. Since I sewed mine I made 2 of each pattern piece.

Using the pattern pieces as a guide, trace around each piece with chalk onto your felt. If you plan on sewing the pieces make two of each piece to sew together. Cut out all the pieces from the felt.

 If you don’t plan on sewing you’re done! Put the pieces together in their heart shape and enjoy.

If you plan on sewing match each of the pieces into pairs. Sew almost around each shape leaving room to turn them inside out.

You can see here how much room I left to flip the pieces inside out.

 Flip each piece inside out using a chopstick or pencil to push out the corners. Iron each piece on the polyester setting to insure your felt doesn’t stick to the iron.

Sew all the way around each piece or close the pieces with a blind stitch. You’re finished!

 My son has really enjoyed trying to make the heart puzzle as well as making other shapes with the pieces. I hope you enjoyed my tutorial and come check out more at my blog, An Evergrowing List!

Simple Embroidery Ideas for Valentine's Day

There's something really charming about a simple hand stitched embroidery. Embellishing handmade or store bought items with one could make for the perfect thoughtful little Valentine's day gift :)

Images Clockwise from top left:

X-Stitched Hand Warmer DIY Tutorial at Instructables

Free Hug Bot Pattern from Sublime Stitching

Hand Embroidered Rose Sachets from TheStoryofKat

Zipper Pouch from allisajacobs 

$5 pattern from FlapperDoodle

Make a Coffee Sleeve for Your Valentine

Valentine's gifts can get way out of control (you won't see any dissapointment from me when I do not receive a diamond tennis bracelet or an open heart necklace :). I do have fun giving cards and making thoughtful little crafts though, like this coffee sleeve from Smilemonsters. I may have to make myself one so I can cover up the beer glass I usually drink my morning tea out of!

 How will you celebrate Valentine's Day?

Be My Valentine?

Are these cards enough to convince you? Pretty Please? :D

Happy New Year! Bonne Annee! Bueno Ano? ...

Yeah I can't remember how to say it in Spanish :) But you can save 20% off this month at Simply Pretty Prints with the following coupon code.

SPP2012

Whishing you Happiness and Health in this Happy New Year!

-Sarah

Christmas Wiener

What gives a warm and fuzzy holiday feeling more than a Daschund wearing a sweater? My little fashionable weiner is an original design of mine, comes in 3 configurations, and is printed on high quality card stock using my new Konica Minolta laser printer (more on that later).

Twig Christmas Tree

I love this Christmas tree! I can never justisfy buying a real one for our place, considering it's just the two of us, and we are usually celebrating somewhere else. I am a sucker for the holidays though and love to get into the Christmas spirit, which often means driving my husband bananas by listening to Christmas music on December 1st. Let's see what he thinks of me making a twig tree like this one from The Art of Doing Stuff. :D

To Craft Show or not to Craft Show? A Realization.

Last Year I sort of swore off craft shows. Why you ask? Don't get me wrong, for the buyer, they are an excellent way to find unique gifts at reasonable prices. For the seller however, they can be a lot of work with little return. Even at the good ones, it's hard to offset the cost of the entry fees, sales commission, table rentals, and the countless hours of preparation and transportation of all my breakable houseware items. To top it off, I had an item stolen at the last one I did. An item so special to me, it was marked "not for sale". FINE. NO MORE CRAFT SHOWS.

 Fast forward one year to the 2011 holiday season and I am in a bit of a funk. Aside from one or two things, I haven't listed many new designs. To be honest, I haven't even had much holiday spirit. Needing some inspiration, I decided to hit a few local boutiques on small business Saturday. While perusing the aisles, I felt the glimmer of excitement I once had discovering new treats while meeting my fellow vendors at craft shows. Not only did I find many unique gifts, I recognized many Etsy seller's items on the shelves. How awesome to see these artists' handmade creations in the flesh! At one location, a vendor was carefully restocking her shelves with her husband as I browsed her darling laser cut ornaments. With a sparkle in her eye, she stepped aside and struck up a conversation as I made my selection. Then it really hit hit me. THIS, this is why I do craft shows. It's discovering something new while meeting new people with a common passion. It's the excitement of knowing that a stranger might choose to spend their hard earned dollars on my creation. So there I was, now wanting to participate in some way in a Holiday Craft Show on November 26th, with surely no way to do so.

Enter Melinda of Dress and Nest. Like a little Handmade Holiday angel, she sent me an email with a last minute invitation to participate in The Perfect Winter Pop Up Shop. With music, drinks, and shopping, not only does this sound like a great time on a Saturday night, but it may be that kick in the pants I was looking for. And the bonus? Tables and linens provided, and no entry fees or commission taken! Only a donation of five $5 dollar drink tickets for five lucky visitors. It's win-win. Thanks Melinda!

Hope to see you all there!

Alternative Christmas Tree

If you don't have the space or money for the usual Christmas tree, or are simply looking for something different, check out In The Loop by CB2 for some unique ideas!

Naughty or Nice?

Have you been naughty or nice this year? Well, if you've been a little of both, this pair of hand painted coffee mugs is for you! Perfect for a large cup of coffee or tea, hot cocoa, hot buttered rum, or your favorite hot winter beverage!