Handmade Presents: Earrings and Christmas Card Gift boxes

A very easy present to make if you have the right tools, is jewelry.  With a couple of needle nosed pliers and cutters especially sized for jewelry plus some beads, hooks, and wires, you can easily make a very nice looking pair of earrings!  I dabble in amateur jewelry along with sewing, knitting, and other crafting, so I have a lot of jewelry making supplies.  Since jewelry is easy to make, I decided I'd make some for aunts, cousins, and my step-mother-in-law

And because I didn't want to spend money on boxes, I made my own boxes out of old Christmas cards (which you can make yourself if you follow this link).

 Mostly, I just made the earrings based on the colors I had and then decided which relative would like that set, but for my sister-in-law...

...I made special Steelers colored earrings because she's obsessed.  It was hard for me to do since I'm an Eagles fan, but love breaks through football boundaries.

Handmade Presents: Hairdressing Cape

This was a fun present to make--mostly because it came out so well!

I used:
2 yards of cotton quilting fabric
2 yards of PUL (the waterproof material used in cloth diapers)
2 packages of biased tape
A borrowed hairdressing cape.

My sister, C, is a new hairdresser--and a good one at that! I thought, what could be more special than her own, personalized hairdressing cape? So, I borrowed my friend's cape, taped it instead of pinning it to my fabric (because it was plastic and I didn't want to make holes in it) and cut out the pattern for my sister's cape.

It was pretty easy because a hair dressing cape is really just a rectangle (2 yards worth) of fabric with rounded edges.Then, cut a slit down 1 1/2 - 2 feet in on the one end, and cut a hole for the head.

You want to cut the cape from both the cotton fabric and the PUL and then lay them on top of each other.  I chose to leave the shiny side of the PUL facing out in the back, but you can face it the other way too if you want.  Next, pin the two pieces together and add your bias tape!

 

 

Add some bits of velcro (or snaps) to the neck so it can be attached, and you're done! 

My husband loves getting haircuts from C so he was the first one to wear the lovely cape.  Handsome, huh?  Sorry, he's all mine!

My sister loved her hairdressing cape so I'm happy! It's not a cape that can be used for coloring, though, because it will stain.  You could always get some clear plastic instead of PUL and layer that over top of the print if you wanted preserve the print and use the cape for dye jobs too. 

New in my Shop: Fishies Wool Soaker

Okay, so the more I get into knitting, the more I love it and the more bored I get with the basics.  Boredom was the reason that this wool soaker is so amazing!!! If you love it and want it, I'm listing it for only $27 in my etsy shop which is a fair price, I feel, for the huge amount of work that went into the aquarium on the butt.   If you like it an it's the wrong size, let me know and I'm sure I can make a custom order for you.
Here are a few other angles:

The octopus is my favorite.  In fact, I like him so much that I think I might have to dedicate a wool soaker to him alone!

Let me know what you think. I'm still so new that I haven't made a single sale, so I could really use your feedback :-D

Starting up my Etsy Shop

Okay, guys.  So after months of sewing, giving things away, then sewing some more, I finally feel like I have enough product to actually start my own Etsy shop.  That, and summer vacation starts for me tomorrow when I finish tying up loose ends at school so I'll have lots of time to sew and knit.

So, I was all ready, today, to put some items up for sale when it occurred to me that I'm not sure how to price them! I looked at similar items selling on Etsy to see what they sell for but the prices varied from $10-$35 and I just don't know what would be best!

Here are samples of the things I'm currently selling (in various sizes).

Front:

Back:

Top row--two different wool soaker patterns.  
* The one on the left is a triangle that is sewn into a cover once it's completed.  It's the simpler and easier of the two patterns I currently use.  I'd say it takes me about 2 hours to knit if I were to knit it in one sitting.  It's hard to really know, though, since I never sit down and knit continuously. 


*The one on the right with the leg cuffs is knit as a whole piece--there is no sewing that takes place--and it's slightly more difficult to knit and more time consuming.  I'd say it takes me about 4 hours to knit if I were to knit it in one sitting.  Again, it's hard to know since I never sit down and knit continuously.

I don't think a single soaker will pass by me without some adorable applique added to the butt.  Here I've added a simple smiley face and some ruffles.  I also have some with polka dots and one with stripes.

Then, there's the matter of different sizes.  Should I vary the price from S-M-L?

Bottom Row--two fitted diapers with different closures.

*The diaper on the left has velcro closures with laundry flaps so they will never catch in the wash due to tired laundry tabs.

*The diaper on the right has snap closures (thanks to Kamsnaps.com!)

Should I vary the price between velcro and snaps?

Should I vary the price from S-M-L?

So, I need to know what price you think I should ask for each:
1) Triangle  soaker
2) Circular soaker
3) Velcro fitted
4) snapping fitted

Thanks for your time!

And yes, I will probably do a giveaway soon. I'll probably give away one of my fitteds.   Maybe after the Kamsnaps giveaway ends.  I don't like to do more than one giveaway at a time :-D.

My T-shirt fitted diapers

I now officially have a Small, Medium, and Large pattern for my fitted diapers.  A friend of mine has the large for her baby so I don't know if it actually fits well or not yet--especially since her baby is at the very SMALL end of a large right now.  But that's okay.  The patterns have been drafted.  Now, all I need is a newborn pattern and I'll be covered!

As for an Etsy shop.... I'm working on it, guys.  I am.  I'm slowly growing my "to sell" stash.  Maybe come summer, when I'm not teaching.