cherishables

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Cherishables Spring Sale

Spring is in the air! I'm making room in my Etsy shop for Spring & Summer goodies, so all headbands have been reduced to $10. Combine with other items, like Daffodil Pins, to save on shipping.

Gray Bobble headband (top) not available.

They make great gifts. Stock up for Christmas or buy one for yourself.

Thanks for all your support!
Cherish

New look!

Cherishables has a new look!

Everything has been re-branded -- my Facebook page, my Etsy store, and this blog. Hope you like it! Feel free to leave your feedback in the comments or email me.

Thanks!
Cherish

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Spring is in the air!

The daffodil pins are done & are now available in my Etsy shop!

Each of the pins pictured here is ready to ship. More are coming -- including a white & pink combo.

Let's revive the Easter & Mother's Day tradition of giving a corsage with one that will last forever!

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Stash!

We all have one...or two. If you're a crafter, it may be a stash of fabric or yarn or beads or scrapbook paper. Whatever it is you use to create. If you're not a crafter, I'm willing to bet you still have some kind of stash. Maybe it's unmatched socks, magazines or TP.

I have at least two stashes. One is yarn though, compared to other stashes I have seen, I don't have lots of yarn. I tend to buy what I need for a project, do the project and move on. I do, however, buy wool when it's on sale since I always use it. That's my stash. It's also spread out all over the house, so no picture of this stash. If I ever clean up my basement & create a craft room, then I'll have an organized stash. Until then, the only stash I'm willing to show is fabric...and it grew by 10 half-yard pieces this weekend.

I never purchased fabric online before. I prefer to look and touch before I buy. However, Fabricworm.com had a sale last week and I just could resist. I just had to buy some pretty fabric.

Yup, that's Truffula Tree fabric at the top.

Here's an up-close look at 9 of them (I didn't get a good shot of the daisy fabric.)

Aren't they gorgeous?!? These are all destined to be purse linings and I can't wait to use them. In hindsight, I should have ordered more of the utensil fabric to make new curtains for my kitchen.

I may just need to place another order for more of this beauty!

The Truffula Tree fabric is all mine and will line my spring purse (which I haven't made yet. I really should get on that.)

Mine, mine, mine, mine, mine.

This one reminds me of my sister's kitchen.

And I just love this one with the mod houses and palm trees!

<drool>

So into the stash they go. Admittedly, my stash is very tame compared to some I've seen. Though, I must admit, these are the 1/2 to 1 yard pieces I use for purse linings. I have larger pieces stored elsewhere, as they are for other projects and take up a lot of room.

Can I even call this a stash? It's more like a selection.

It's not organized by color or anything, though I do try to fold the fabric so I can see it from the outside. This way I don't have to go through the whole pile to find the one I want. I do admit to occasionally going through the pile & "discovering" a fabric I didn't know I had. That's okay, though. I love a treasure hunt!

If you've never bought from Fabricworm.com before, I highly recommend their site. Their fabrics are exactly the same in person as they are on the website. When you browse the site, they tell you how many 1/2 yard cuttings are available so you can make an informed buying decision. (Unless stated otherwise, a quantity of '1' is a half yard, but you can get larger cuttings by ordering a larger quantity. For instance if you order a quantity of '2' you will get 1 yard of fabric.) Their customer service is superb! In fact, I received a call the day after I placed my order letting me know that one of the fabrics I ordered was no longer in stock. (Not a big deal b/c it was a sale fabric.) They gave me many options including a refund. I choose to get the same fabric in a different color. It did not hold up my order at all and I received my order a very fast 5 days after placing it.*

So, what about you? Have you ever ordered fabric online? Do you have any sites to share? I would love to hear about your sources and your stash in the comments.

*Disclaimer: Fabricworm did not pay me for this statement or review. I found them on Pinterest, checked out the site and placed an order. I found their materials to be fantastic, so I just thought I would share.

Monday, February 27, 2012

New Bathroom Curtains -or- How I Spent My Saturday

I have wanted new curtains in my bathroom for a while now. I have a very small window, which tends to get overwhelmed by any curtain. In fact, I would prefer to leave it bare, but the window faces the driveway and our neighbor. I'm nothing, if not modest. So, I've been making due with cafe curtains and valance trying to find a good combo. For 10+ years, I've liked NOTHING I put on the window. (Which is why there is no before picture. Everything was hideous!)

Last weekend, Joann Fabrics had a sale on all home decor fabrics. 50% off any fabric AND I had a coupon for an additional 10% all my purchases -- including sale items. I knew it was time to strike.

I bought a yard of this fabric:

and paid only $16 for it! I was so excited b/c I've been looking at this swatch for well over a month. I love this print because it coordinates well with my shower curtain and, well, it's just plain pretty. So, I made a pair of cafe curtains and, after hanging them, decided I should fancy things up a bit. I looked around the house for items I could use. Up-cycle, if you will. LOL

I found a couple of crochet bracelets I made one in peacock blue & the other in a lime color that almost exactly matches the curtain. Each is closed with a vintage clip on earring I inherited from my grandmother. After I cinched the curtains, I knew I needed something behind them. The only lace or sheer curtains I had were heavy, machine-made lace, and too long. Then I found this wonderful linen pillowcase I've been hanging on to. It came in one of the many linen lots I've purchased from auctions or estate sales over the years. There is only one, so I've never been able to use it. I kept it, though, because the lace trim is so lovely. I decided I MUST use it as a curtain.

I very carefully picked the stitches that were holding the ends of the crochet lace together & then cut the pillow case in half. I then hemmed the pillow case, added a rod pocket & hung it behind the curtains I just made. I didn't have a sash rod on hand, and I didn't want want the curtain to protrude too far from the window, so I channeled my inner pioneer goddess and hung the curtain on a piece of ribbon tacked to the window casing. Here is the end result:

Why yes, that is an autographed Ghostbusters photo you see. In the bathroom. That's how we roll. lol

Here's a close-up of each of the bracelets/curtain ties.

I'm leaving both bracelets on until I decide which color I want to use. Then I'll make a matching one & find the matching earring. Right now the lime is in the lead, though I'm happy for feedback.

In all, a project that cost $16 and is 50% up-cycled! I would love to hear about your projects using items you already own in the comments. Thanks for sharing!

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Daffodils

Lately, I'm all about flowers. I've had success with my flower pins, which got me thinking about all the other types of flowers out there. First up, daffodils! After all, what's more Spring-like than a daffodil?

I looked around at all kinds of patterns. Some of the free ones were nice, and I even saved a couple. Then I found this one on Etsy:

This beautiful pattern can be purchased from melbangle on Etsy.

It's perfect! The original calls for acrylic yarn and instructions are included to make it on a "stem." I decided to make it into a pin and since I like to felt, I made the daffodil in wool.

It's funny how the flower dictates the yarn. My flower pins are made from worsted weight wool and I love them that way. They're dense and fuzzy and really make a statement. I tried making a daffodil in worsted weight wool and it looks like a dinosaur daffodil.

That's a standard size mouse - this daffodil is bigger than my hand!

Not at all what I wanted. So, I switched to fingering weight wool, and a much smaller hook. Perfection! These are petite and delicate. So far, I've made some in light yellow and a darker yellow. I also have some combos -- just like in nature! My favorite just might be the darker yellow with the orange rimmed center. Next up, white with pink centers. I'm just waiting for the yarn to get here.

I'm thinking about fixing these up as corsages, in boxes with a ribbon & everything, and offering them as an alternative to the traditional Easter corsage that needs to be refrigerated and eventually dies. They'll be in my Etsy shop soon -- in plenty of time for Easter.

Friday, February 24, 2012

Heavy is the head that wears the crown

Unless that crown is made from yarn.

Pattern can be found here.

This is a fun pattern for a child's crown. The pink one, pictured above, was made a little larger to fit an adult's head. I made it for my 85 year old Grandmother's birthday last year. She got a kick out of it. It's made from cotton and stands up well on it's own.

I also made one this year in purple for a special little 4 year old. Stupid me forgot to take a picture.

You really need stiff yarn or else the crown droops. Cotton works well and stiff acrylic does too. Stay away from soft yarns, regardless of content. They'll just droop. Even the wool blends don't stand up well.

For the ultimate stiff crown, I recommend felting a crown in 100% wool. Of course it will shrink, so the pattern (as written) will fit a toddler. You'll need to make it larger to fit an older child or an adult, but the result is fabulous!

Made from 100% wool in white.

While not as much detail as the non-felted ones (the x-stitches melt away, for instance) it certainly does stand up well and the bubbles pop! I think I'll try this again & I'll thread ribbon through the bottom x-stitches to see if it helps them stand out. The worse that will happen is I'll have pretty ribbon as part of the crown. That can't be bad.

If you make this pattern, I would love to see the results. Be sure to post a picture or email it to me at cherishables.handcrafts@gmail.com and I'll include it in a follow-up post.