Bella Grace Creations

Crafting with the Stars!

2010-10-15T11:27:00.009-07:00

I realize it has been a loooong time since posting last. Life has been busy to say the least! Finn is six months old (wha?!)... Bella turned 3 in August (wha- wha?!)... and I, well... not alot going on with me that doesn't involve wiping hinney's and doing laundry (wha- wait no, nothing surprising there haha).

I have been able to get some sewing done. Nothing for myself, buts lots of fun things for others! A friend of mine is getting married so I had to come up with a gift for her bridal shower and wedding. Thankfully she loves to cook and, of course loves anything and everything kitchen and cooking related! So the obvious choice would be to make her an apron! Not just any apron - a Martha inspired apron!

Now this brings me to my inspiration of stating up blogging again. Sew Dang Cute is having an amazing gathering of crafters for a contest and calling it Crafting with the Stars! Love it! I just worked up the nerve to enter and as it turns out it today is the last possible day! So with out further ado... I give you the apron:

Super cute, right? And its reversible!

Sorry didn't rotate the pics :(

I made the ties reeeeally long so it can be tied in the back with a great big bow or wrapped around to the front for an equally beautiful bow tie.

And just for fun a cute little pocket on both sides!

Wish me luck!

It's been a Looong Time!

2010-02-24T23:34:00.005-07:00

Man, It has been so long that I don't know where to start! We've got less than a month until Finley James arrives so I've been busy sewing. Here are a few projects that I have completed:

Pants, appliqued onesie and newsie hat:

Quilt for Finley - perfect as a play mat or blanket:

This is Daddy's lap quilt
It would have been alot bigger if I hadn't messed up :(
Now we joke about how its a "belly blanket"!

And this is our new baby hammock!

I suppose that's it for now!

finished project

2009-07-30T18:10:00.007-07:00

Finally finished my zig zag quilt! It went together surprisingly fast. The most time consuming part is hand stitching the binding on. I really wish there was an easier way!

I really like the way it came out.

This was the first time I've made a quilt big enough to have to piece together a backing. I had a hard time deciding how I was going to do it, but chose this simple solution. The actual quilting is just a zigzag fallowing the brown strips.

Bella loves to cuddle under it in our chair!

(You can also see the nifty arm chair covers I made to match!)

Fun Stuff!

2009-07-15T19:32:00.005-07:00

So I guess you could say it has been pretty busy around here lately... I have a friend with a baby shower coming up so I've been trying to get a few things ready for her baby boy. I made a nursing cover for mom:

And a Play Mat for baby:

...with a diaper bag in the works to match the play mat.

I finished up another diaper bag for a friend of my parents who just had a baby girl. I included a picture of it stuffed so you can see how many goodies you can fit in it!

I love feeling productive!

wip Quilt

2009-06-25T13:33:00.005-07:00

Here is a new quilt I've got almost done. I used a tutorial by amandajean over at the Bee Square Blog. It was surprisingly easy - no triangle cuts! I really love this fabric - my scrapbooking girls can even relate to it - its by Basic Gray!

This is a picture of a "practice purse" I was trying out - Bella really enjoyed it! It took about a week to get her to forget that "mommy gives fun rides in this bag"

...and I just couldn't resist this:

She is such a sweet little miss. This was after tubby time - all she needs is a little hand towel to wrap around!

surprise! a couple of new bags

2009-06-08T11:51:00.004-07:00

A couple of new bags made and shipped out last week. These two were made with linen - I really like the texture it adds!

The back side has a uniform patchwork strip and the front has more "quilty" patchwork with a hidden cellphone pocket!

I really need to make myself one of these - I love the way they came out!

Busy, busy, busy

2009-04-29T19:45:00.006-07:00

Wow it has been a long time since my last post...

Lots for stuff has been going on in my life - most for the better, thankfully!
I recently made myself a new wallet/list taker:

I made a couple of modifications - instead of the ribbon closure (which, lets be honest, isn't very convenient for a wallet) I added a button. I made a super cute one for my sister also... hers is muuuch better. More stable, better closure, and just all around cuter! Ill have to add pictures sometime.

I also found this super cute blog "Tie One On" where everyone makes an apron for a specific theme every couple of months. This was the first month I did it so I made Bella and I matching aprons out of some vintage sheets found at a local thrift store!

I also got some awesome new fabrics cut and ready to be turned into a quilt! Pictures of that soon!

Lisa's Bag is DONE!

2009-02-16T21:39:00.005-07:00

So I finally finished Lisa's bag... it turned into a more complicated project than I thought it was going to be. I had to make some size adjustments to it to accommodate her camera. But since I always turn into a zombie while cutting and sewing I made a few mistakes here and there... The inside "camera parts" portion was the tuff part. I almost didn't think I would be able to squeeze it into the bag!

The Start to Lisa's Bag

2009-02-01T00:38:00.003-07:00

Sooo... I've got all of the pieces cut and ready to go. Last night I started fusing on the batting and then discovered that I hate the way the fusible batting looks when trying to gather the material for the outsides of the bag. With the other bags I made I used just regular ol' batting so they have that poofy look to them. With the fusible batting they look way to stiff and rigid. So I spent the rest of my night ripping off the fusing for the outsides. Fortunately its perfect for the lining since there is no gathering inside! Lucky for me I had some regular batting already cut! YAY!

Ive been tagged!

2009-01-28T01:09:00.003-07:00

I don't normally do these kinds of things but this one caught my eye. I thought it looked easy - then while I was filling it out I realised it takes a lot of thinking hahah!

I am... the happiest mommy
I think... too much
I want... the best for my daughter
I have... too much to do
I miss... NY
I fear... the dark, germs, and being alone
I feel... kinda confused
I hear... the baby monitor
I smell... rice surprise mmmm yummy
I crave... fresh homemade cookies
I cry... over everything
I regret... not going to collage for something i really wanted to do and actually finishing.
I search... for answers to everything
I wonder... if Bella really is happy
I wish... things were easier
I love... my sweet baby girl
I care... about everyone - too much sometimes
I always... think about others before myself
I worry... about alot of stuff
I am not... magic
I remember... pretty much everything
I believe... in god
I sing... all the time - unfortunately not well!
I argue... fair.
I write... horribly! - really messy - and i cant spell
I lose... the tv remote and my phone all the time - well, actually not me - Bella steals them!
I listen... to everything
I can usually be found... at home or at the mall visiting grandma and auntie L
I need... money to start up my own business! and a new sewing machine
I forget... to take a break once in a while
I am happy... when I'm with my girl
I tag... Jennifer

cutie bag

2009-01-26T19:06:00.003-07:00

So this canvas bag is more of a decorative item. If I had made it from a lighter weight fabric it would be much more functional. This one is just a little too heavy for the draw strings to completely close the bag.

more bags...

2009-01-24T22:33:00.007-07:00

My friend Lisa, whom I used to work with at Recollections saw my bags and requested I make one for her to be used as a camera bag. I am totally excited to try my hand at making an "insert" of sorts for camera parts. I had made what I called a "caboodle's case" for a store bought purse awhile back so I've got some ideas as to how to do it. It will be interesting to see if I can create one nice enough for someone elses use. She really liked the pink and brown one I made for Bella and I, so we spent some time at Joann's in search of the same materials. We found the main fabric but even after searching high and low we couldn't find the coordinating print. So we decided to use the main print all the way around. Then after I got home and got Bella down for a nap, Lisa left me a message that she had gone to another Joann's and found a quilt kit containing some cute fabrics she liked. We will have to get together again and see if we can find out the sizes of the fabrics in the kit to make sure we can use it for the bag.

I finished another bag for one of Jimmy's cousin's wives:

With some of the material I had left over I made some cute little "stuff" holders.

The smaller squares with bows are basically open boxes. The sides fold up and tie in the corners. I also put a label holder on the fronts. The matching things next to them are little pocket type things with loop on the back that you can hang from a door knob or coat hook. Like this...

Here is a close up of the "box" with the lable holder:

I've been so busy trying to come up with fun and fast things to make and possible sell. I came up with this little quilted list holder last night:

I think it's kinda cute. Nothing too fancy here. Just a ribbon tie for closing, three pockets inside the front cover, a pen loop, and a tall pocket inside the back cover for the back of a note pad to slip into. Takes a little bit longer to make than I would like.

I'm trying to build up a collection of stuff to maybe open an "Etsy" shop. A few people I've talked to say I should. A friend of mine from back home said she would help me with a logo and name. It's kinda sad cause after all, I did go to college for graphic design! But it is really awesome of her to offer her help! Thanks Holly!

another bag

2009-01-11T03:25:00.003-07:00

So, I happen to think this bag is especialy cute. I made it with the intention of selling it - but, I dont know I may have to keep it for myself!

Crafty Mama II

2008-12-17T23:09:00.001-07:00

As I said before I've been sewing up a storm out here. This is the diaper bag I made for Bella and I. I also made a boy version (brown and green) for Jimmy's niece who is expecting a little boy after the New Year!

Crafty Mama

2008-12-17T23:04:00.001-07:00

So I've been trying to find things to do around the house while Bella is sleeping and I decided I would try my hand at quilting. This is my first attempt and I think it came out alright. It is "crib size" even though Bella has never slept in a crib. I hope it will be her "banky", like the one I had growing up.

Bella's first tooth!

2008-12-17T18:25:00.000-07:00

Bella's first tooth just finally broke through. It is her upper left front tooth. I think it is the cutest thing I ever have seen!

(Don't mind her orange tongue... she had a couple Cheetos earlier!)