Craftastic Monday & Fabulous Giveaway News!

It's Craftastic Monday & boy am I thrilled about it! We had SO many awesome links last week, I've got loads of great features to share.  I hope to see more awesome projects this week, so show what crafts, DIYs, recipes and other creative things you've been making below so you can be considered for next week's features. 

Last week, I shared my results making a cuddly cardigan:

And I launched an awesome GIVEAWAY for  a 

$100 Gift Certificate to Wunderlabels.com 

to make the custom fabric labels, hang tags or stickers with YOUR name or logo.  It's open worldwide too, so enter HERE:

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Now let's see the Craftastic Picks!!

The Navage Patch made this amazing turquoise inlay cheese board.  I am beyond wowed with this.  The tutorial is incredible:

Tea and A Sewing Machine created this adorable klein bottle crochet hat:

Home Cooking Memories switched up an old favorite into a new flavor with this Mexican lasagna:

Raven Would transformed some basic craft balls into pretty springtime decor:

The Woods of Bell Trees created these versatile tassels on sticks to use for parties, decorating & play:

Eccentricities by JVG shared these DIY grapefruit sugar scrub cubes:

Sadie Seasongoods turned some basic thrifted ceramics into an iconic coordinated look:

If you're one of this week's features, be sure to grab my Featured On button over on my Buttons Page to share the good news. 

 Want a Chance to 
Be Featured Next Week?  

Link back to the party somewhere on your blog.
I can't feature your post if you don't share the party.  
  

I also feature these projects on Sew Can Do's Craftastic Picks Pinterest board 

AND share each of them on Twitter too for even MORE exposure for YOUR blog!

Follow me there to see more great projects (and see if yours is one of them)!   

Follow @sewcandoblog
Sew Can Do

Ready to link up your crafty creations?

 

Party rules are simple: 

• As long as it's crafty, and made by you, it's Craftastic (no links to giveaways, shops, link parties or other people's work).  Add the link to your specific post. Product reviews, plagiarized or sponsored posts for random items will be immediately deleted.  
• Grab my party button & put it on your post, party page or blog somewhere.  If you want the chance to be featured, this is key.  The button code can be found HERE.
• Check out some of the other fabulous links and share some crafty comment love.  We all love getting comments!!

   

    An InLinkz Link-up
   

Easy Cardigan Making: McCalls 6996 Pattern Review

Well, despite it being February, it feels almost out of season to be showing a wintery sewing project right now.  I'm going for it anyway because this may be the coldest it'll be until next Fall at this rate.  Mainly because of the crazy warm springtime weather we've been experiencing.  It's been in the 60s & sunny, despite the normal temps for this time of year being about 30 on a good day and with a foot of snow on the ground.  I feel like I'm somehow behind on my Spring sewing...It's weird....

Anyway, I made this little number for myself and am trying to get a few wears in before it's time to break out the tank tops in March (I'm only half kidding).  I really like that it's comfy like a robe, but looks pulled together to wear out.  I also like that it's the perfect length to wear with pants or leggings.  It seems really hard to find tops that meet that target, so I figured it was worth sharing.

I used McCalls 6996, view D.  I'd tried view A first but that ended up in the donate bin because the fit was so bad.  Like unfixable bad.  I think using a less floppy fabric for D made a difference, as well as the fact that I made an XS instead of M.  McCalls sizing is whack and, in my experience, should be ignored.  I've noticed this with several of their women's patterns.  They say my measurements are a Medium and it's always MASSIVELY big.  Like I was a kid trying on mom's clothes.  I made this one in the XS and it was perfect, so moral of the story is go with what letter size you normally are and forget their numbers.  

This was made from sweater fleece - basically sweater knit with a fleece wrong side.  It's very forgiving to sew and feels cosy, so good for top layers like this cardigan.      

While I love that it's not boxy & bulky like a lot of similar shapes, making the belt is key.  It's got a flared shape so it'll make hips look larger if just worn open.  Dear McCalls, most women aren't looking for clothes to make hips look wider.

I liked that this was an easy sew - just an afternoon.  The neckband/collar was fairly simple to do and has a ruching at the nape so that it lies just right.  

The medium/heavy weight of the fabric really works with the style.  Anything lighter would tend to bunch or cling to whatever is layered underneath, but this doesn't.  

I bought the pattern on sale for 99 cents and as it doesn't take a lot of fabric, it made it pretty economical.  I think the fabric was on sale too so it cost less than $15 total.  Definitely worth making.  

Wunderlabel Review & $100 GC for Labels Giveaway!

Whether you sew for profit or for yourself, having custom labels really gives a beautiful finish to the things you make.  Today I'm showing how some sweet new labels have kicked my recent projects up a notch AND give you a chance to win $100's worth of labels for yourself!! 

Wunderlabel.com contacted me & asked if I'd like to try out some new custom labels from their shop.  I'd had custom labels made for my Etsy shop before, but never any that were for Sew Can Do, so this seemed perfect.  

Wunderlabel.com offers all sorts of label options - practically anything you can imagine for a label.  Printed and woven fabric labels in literally any size and style, custom logo labels, laundry & size labels, hang tags, stickers - even printed ribbon. All kinds of colors (& sparkly text!).  If you have a crafty business, they've got everything you need to brand your items like a pro at a reasonable price.   Plus, if you don't have or want a logo, there are cute symbols you can add to whatever text you want - including these crafty designs:

Text & Symbol Label options at Wunderlabel.com

I chose some custom woven labels in the 2 inch square size, unfolded.  I wanted something I could put on most of my sewn projects - clothing, bags, etc.  It took about 2 weeks - a lot shorter than the turnaround time I'd experienced elsewhere.  I wasn't sure how much detail they could do with my logo, especially given the tiny little holes in the yellow button of it, but they amazed me with a super clear woven image:    

They're washable and no fray.  The quality was nicer than I'd had with labels I'd bought previously too.  I've been sewing them onto lots of my projects, including my sewing machine cover:

I even added a little heat fusible on the back to iron some onto things like my dress form's apron:

Since they were large, I also folded and pressed some, envelope-style, 

so they'd be perfect for smaller applications like the inside of this kid's top.  I love how I everything I make is a little more polished with my logo tag on it:

A key feature that really stood out to me was that their standard woven label minimum is just 25 pieces for $16.  Most label sources require minimums in the hundreds or crazy high prices for small amounts.  This is much more affordable and feasible for home sewers, those that do small volumes or just aren't sure exactly what they want and don't want to invest a lot upfront.  And if you want a custom logo label, those start at just 100 pieces.  Last time I had custom labels done for my shop I had to order 300, so this is a really handy option.    

  

Now, how about a chance to create the labels of your dreams?

Giveaway prize is a

$100 Gift Certificate to Wunderlabel.com!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I was not financially compensated for this post.  I received custom labels from Wunderlabel.com, to review & use as I desired. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.   For my complete disclosure policy, click here.

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Bring The Crafts! It's the Craftastic Monday Link Party

It's that time of the week - Craftastic Monday! Come share what crafts, DIYs, recipes and other creative things you've been making below. 

Last week, I shared a new Free Pattern Find, the versatile Snapazoo Soft Toy:

And I'm ready to announce the winner of the Tribeca Fat Quarter Fabric Bundle Giveaway:

~~ Rebecca R.  ~~

Congratulations Rebecca & thanks to Timeless Treasures for providing this fabulous fabric prize!

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Now let's see the Craftastic Picks!!

The Scrap Shoppe made this cute Pokemon Valentine box:

Simple Nature Decor did this amazing painted feather wall art.  So pretty:

Do It Your Freaking Self created these DIY comic book hair clips:

Lynda Creates shared these cute Valentine birds on a branch:

Kuka and Bubu showed this adorable mermaid tail costume:

And The Crafty Blog Stalker shared this versatile & flavorful dry ranch recipe:

If you're one of this week's features, be sure to grab my Featured On button over on my Buttons Page to share the good news. 

 Want a Chance to 
Be Featured Next Week?  

Link back to the party somewhere on your blog.
I can't feature your post if you don't share the party.  
  

I also feature these projects on Sew Can Do's Craftastic Picks Pinterest board 

AND share each of them on Twitter too for even MORE exposure for YOUR blog!

Follow me there to see more great projects (and see if yours is one of them)!   

Follow @sewcandoblog
Sew Can Do

Ready to link up your crafty creations?

 

Party rules are simple: 

• As long as it's crafty, and made by you, it's Craftastic (no links to giveaways, shops, link parties or other people's work).  Add the link to your specific post. Product reviews, plagiarized or sponsored posts for random items will be immediately deleted.  
• Grab my party button & put it on your post, party page or blog somewhere.  If you want the chance to be featured, this is key.  The button code can be found HERE.
• Check out some of the other fabulous links and share some crafty comment love.  We all love getting comments!!

   

    An InLinkz Link-up
   

Free Pattern Finds: The Snapazoo Soft Toy

As much as I like making my own patterns and dreaming up designs with my imagination, sometimes it's relaxing to just start sewing.  And sometimes there are great ideas already created & ready to sew up, like this Free Pattern Find:  The Snapazoo®  Soft Toy.

Like all my Free Pattern Finds, this is a pattern that doesn't cost a thing, so you can go grab it yourself for FREE!   

The Snapazoo toy is clever design from Ross Miller Studio, Inc. that involves a two sided fabric shape and a boatload of snaps that can be folded and snapped into all sort of things.  Like this teddy bear:

or a little fox:

or a sting ray:  

Or some sort of bird/duck:

I think that's what I love most about this idea - the infinite play options.  It's been around for a while and was even sold as a finished toy years ago, as you can see from some of retro videos on the Snapazoo site.  There are links to different templates and how-to's for making it here.  For personal use only though - commercial selling is prohibited. 

This pattern is best suited for fabrics with some weight & a bit of stretch like heavy knits, minky, felt or fleece.  I used anti-pill fleece for mine.  It's a great way to use up scraps, since it's not very big.   

It's an easy sew, so a good project for a beginner.  Literally, just cut & mark based on the downloadable template:

Then stitch:

Turn right side out and set the snaps according to the instructions:

Plastic snaps are ideal because they are strong and you can get fun with the snap colors if you want.  I just used boring grey for our first one, but I feel like some of the shaped snaps in my stash, like stars or flowers, would look fun too.

There are handy instructions here on how to make various animals with it.  Including this elephant and most of the critters shown earlier in my post:

We had fun just making weird & wonderful creatures too, like this....well, I-don't-know-what:

Definitely a fun Free Pattern Find for us.  My kids love the Snapazoo, what about you??  

Got a freebie pattern find you love? Share it in the comments so we can all try it out!



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