Simple Cork Board Makeover

With school in full swing, my refrigerator is getting cluttered up with drawings and spelling tests.  And they always fly off when the dog passes by with his big tail wagging.  I seem to have found my crafty mojo again (finally!!), so we did a quick project today to help the kids organize their own favorite pieces of school work (and get them out of the kitchen).

We bought simple cork bulletin boards at Ikea.

Everything else came from my stash.  I let the kids choose a fabric.  Good thing, too, because they both chose something that I wouldn't have expected them to like.  I cut each fabric into a rectangle about an inch and a half wider on each side than the framed bulletin board.  I didn't worry about exact measurements.

Then I went through my glue selection and found this!  I sprayed each board very well with glue, centered the fabric over it, and then just smoothed it on.  Then I turned the boards around, sprayed the frame edges, and wrapped the fabric toward the back.

Voila!  They came out better than I expected for the little time they took.

I always go to fabric first when trying to pretty something up.  And this time it didn't even involve the sewing machine.  I love easy projects!

Some sewing for you, some sewing for me

We are in a new school district this year, and the schedule has really thrown us for a loop.  Now that I have one in kindergarten and one in second grade, everyone asks me what I do all day while they're in school.  Th answer: I run around like a crazy person.  My little guy in K gets out of school earlier than my daughter in 2nd.  Every day of the week.  Three days a week, he comes home shortly after lunch.  The other two days, he gets out a bit later, but still an hour earlier than the upper grades.  So I walk to and from school three times per day.  Make that 4 if it's Monday, because that's my day to volunteer in kindergarten.  After a month of school, I'm still trying to figure out how to fit in working out and household chores.  Sewing is squeezed in here and there, but not nearly as much as I would like!

I came up with a grand idea a couple of weeks ago to focus the business aspect of my sewing a bit more, and concentrate on one of my favorite things to make: wallets.  I'd like to eventually have everything streamlined down to two collections, one featuring fun prints (The Whimsy Collection) and one with a bit more versatile solids and just a pop of color on the inside (The Classic Collection).  The idea was to whip up samples of three or four wallet styles in each collection, and launch them all at once in my shop.  But with my current schedule, that could take months!  Still keeping the same general game plan in mind, I'm going to give you a sneak peek of the first in the Whimsy Collection right here.  These are the largest wallets I will be making, from a pattern by Emmaline Bags.  For me, this is the ultimate wallet for organizing everything in one place.  It has 12 card slots, an inside zip pocket for change, two slip pockets for checkbook/cash/receipts, and extra spots inside where you can even stash your phone.  I added a wrist strap and could make a long cross-body strap as well.  Here are some quick snaps to give you an idea of the style:

 I'm still working out the pricing on these, factoring in materials and the time it takes to make them, as they are very detailed.  Next on my list is to make up some in solid canvas and linen.

Now to the sewing for ME part!  Have you heard about Selfish Sewing Week?  It's next week, and the perfect reason for me to put aside my other projects and focus on several that have been on the back burner for myself.

I went to Jo-Ann's today after realizing that I may need to tone down my fabric choices a bit from those in my stash if I am going to make something that I will actually wear. I had planned to use these: a beautiful (but large-scale) print voile and a minty striped knit.

My plan is to finally make myself a Washi Dress, and also try out this knit skirt from icandy handmade.

I got a more subdued gray and gold geometric print for the dress, and some brown knit for the skirt that I plan to add an applique to.  I also found a lawn on the sale rack that may end up as a tunic version of the Washi Dress.  If I have time.  Ha.

Now to get everything cut out this weekend so that next week, all I have to do is sew, sew, sew.