Stitched-on names and button bracelets.

Over the past week or so, I've been making some stuff-some for Christmas gifts (a few of which I can't post here until after Christmas) and some for myself. :)

My cousin asked me to personalize these for their two children. She bought the pillowcases (a pair each) and the towels, and I appliqued on their names. First up was her son, Jackson:

I'm sorry the pictures aren't very good. I took them in my new sewing room (more on that soon), and the light from that window was a little weird this morning. His pillowcases are cream, and the fabric I used has baseballs on it.

To applique the pillowcases, I printed out the letters. I used them to cut out the fabric and a layer of medium fusible interfacing. Then I fused the interfacing to the fabric and put FrayCheck all around the edges to prevent them from fraying in the wash. Then I stitched them on!

And Maya's pillowcases:

Her pillowcases are white, and the fabric for the letters is light pink with darker pink swirls.

This towel is really more of a darker pink (than purple, like it looks in the picture). The letter fabric is light blue with matching dark pink butterflies.

For these, I just cut out the letters and stitched them on with a zigzag stitch. I had originally planned on doing the pillowcases with a zigzag stitch, too, but it looked sloppy. The terry cloth fabric of the towels works well with zigzag stitch appliques.

Jackson's towel is a really nice green color, but I couldn't find any green, boyish fabric to match it. So I used a football print, which I think turned out pretty cool (it almost looks like camouflage).

And then, Tuesday afternoon, I had my first adventure into jewelry making. Don't worry, I'm not adding another crafty hobby to the list. :) I've never made jewelry before, except maybe buying a couple charms and putting a jump ring on them so I can wear them on a necklace.

But...I have that common crafter's problem where when I see something, I always say, "I can make that myself (for much less)!" So when I came across this adorable bracelet on Etsy while making my Penelope treasury, I thought that I could try to make one myself. Here's my attempt:

I love purple and green, and I especially love them together. It reminds me of Penelope and nature. But do you know how difficult it was to find olive green and dark purple buttons? I looked through my whole tin of buttons and only found a few, and even Hobby Lobby only had light lavender ones. I had to use small and larger jump rings, because some of my bigger buttons wouldn't fit with a small one.

I had a basic idea of how to make this, but going by this tutorial helped a lot, too. It took me a while to make it, since my hands aren't very coordinated...jewelry making is very meticulous and much more difficult for me than embroidery!

Also, I was rewatching "Christmas in Connecticut" while working on it, so I might have been a little distracted by Dennis Morgan. :)

Anyway, I really love it! It makes a pretty sound when you're wearing it. And it's a little quirky and different...maybe like something Luna Lovegood would wear? Although I think hers would have all sorts of bright colors. I would love to make another one, maybe in white/cream like the one in the tutorial. Or maybe a black and gray one. Hobby Lobby had a big pack of assorted black and gray buttons for a couple dollars. I think my next bracelet, though, will be a charm bracelet with some of my favorite things on it (owl, sewing machine, Eiffel tower, etc.).

Once again, sorry for the bad pictures! The window screen really makes this one look weird:

I'll have more crafty pictures to show after Christmas!

Until next time,