Gingercake

Special Sculpture

First!!  Sorry for the delay about the winner.  The winner of the vintage sheets bundle is...

That sounds adorable!  Congratulations GS.  I would love to see a patchwork animal from vintage sheets.

Over the past few weeks my oldest daughter Elsie has been having a special program at school.  Her art teacher, Ms. Henry raised funds outside of the school to bring an artist to the school to create a lifesize sculture of one the students.  His name is Dave Poulin.  We had such an amazing experience with him.

I visited 2 class sessions with "Artist Dave" and brought Cal with me.  The 3 week program begins with students in grades 3-6 submitting stories (the theme was Freedom since we live in Freeport, PA) on which to base the look of the sculpture.  The student whose story is chosen gets to be the model for the sculpture.  The story of this sculture is that a girl is at a birthday party and she is holding a big bunch of balloons.  The balloons begin to lift her up into the air and she is surprised but also excited.  This is her idea of what freedom feels like.

The kids helped the artist by adding clay to the sculpture.  The older kids do a little more with shaping but for the 2nd graders (Elsie's class), the sessions were about thinking creatively and pushing yourself to solve problems.  He gave each student and visitor a small chunk of clay and he would give us assignments about shaping the clay with eyes open and then shaping with eyes closed.  It was wonderful to see all the kids concentrating so hard and really getting into the experience.

Above was Elsie's favorite part.  On their last session with him, he had a sculture of a head without ears, nose, eyes or mouth.  He divided into groups and each child was assigned a part of the face to add.  

This head was separate from the main sculture.  Elsie did ears.

Cal and I were also assigned face parts...

After all this scupting, we smooshed up our face parts and added them to the main sculture.

The sculpture was completed last Friday and Artist Dave (as Elsie called him) took the whole piece back to his studio in Jamestown, NY.  There he will cast the clay part and using real balloons, in plaster.  From there he will create a bronze casting that will be returned to our school in the Spring.  The process of going from the clay to the bronze is truly amazing.  Here is the link to his process.

This was so fun and I was so proud of our little school for coming together and  bringing this artist to rural Western PA.  It wasn't cheap!  But to have this experience and to have a beautiful bronze statue at their school is truly something special.  Elsie loves all things art but it was also easy to see that all the students were equally inspired and had a great time learning with this project!

Months of Vintage Pillowcases and Sheets no longer collecting dust

I finally got all my pillowcases and sheet sets listing in my vintage linens etsy shop!  It had been sorely neglected although I was still shopping at the thrift store and estate sales every few weeks but these babies were just piling up in the corner of my closet.  I love how they all look together listed in the shop...

Go get some good deals if you are a pillowcase lover!  

I edited these in picnik a few weeks ago.  I usually use iphoto or photoshop elements but I wanted to try picnik since I heard it was easy for editing a bunch of photos at once.  It was nice!  Simple too.  I would certainly recommend it if you are uncomfortable with PSE and want to get nicer, brighter photos.  PSE is still much better for making a single special picture look great but picnik works really well for doing a bunch at once and brightening a batch of pictures.

I still have a few more to add and hopefully I won't wait months to do it!  Do you have a fun project to share that uses vintage sheet fabric?  I am thinking about making fabric banners with the leftovers from my sheet ripping day.  I think they will look so sweet hanging around the girls room!  Leave a comment with a project you would do and I will choose one winner to get a sheet bundle from my shop!

Those bundles make me so happy!  I can't wait to hear your ideas!  I'll choose a winner from the comments on Friday November 18th, 2011.  Thanks friends!

Convertible Clutch: a 2 in 1 bag

My talented friend Vanessa is now an official pattern maker!  She has done lots of cool tutorials, but this is her first PDF pattern with detailed instructions and full pattern pieces.

She gave me a copy to review and I really love the result!  My bag turned out so nice and it is just the pop of style I have been needing.  I am not the best at accessories for myself- my kids, yes, but me, seriously lacking on the cool accessories!

I am loving the chevron trend, aren't you?  Obviously Vanessa's bag fabric inspired me!  The handle is my favorite part.  It's really unique and fun.  The bag is made to be a tote or you can fold it down to be a clutch.  I am not much of a clutch person (maybe because I usually have to be holding hands of small children and dragging them into the grocery store)  but I love the thought of using it as a clutch while out on a nice date with the hubs.

The pattern was simple to follow and I certainly learned some new tricks.  Her method of putting in magnetic snaps is really fun and easy.  The bag is a nice size too- not too big but big enough to hold my essentials plus some extra.

Guess WHAT?!  Vanessa has generously offered to give away 1 pattern to a nice Gingercake reader.  Awesome!  SO...tell me your favorite accessory this fall (like a scarf, bag, boots, etc.) and I will choose a random winner on Thursday, 9/29/2011 from the comments.  

Volunteer Sunflower and the Winner

We have a big volunteer sunflower growing in one of my garden beds.  All the seeds I planted were eaten by deer, but this one must have come from the bird feeder.  It is making all of us happy in our house with its sunny face.  Now it will make Stephanie Dott-Ginsmore happy!

Congratulations Stephanie!  You have won the Notebook Slipcover pattern!  Now for the rest of you friends- if you already bought this pattern and want the upgrade, go to my shop and use the coupon code NERDSRULE and you will get the pattern for 99% off!  This will only apply if you already purchased the old pattern (either on etsy or on bigcartel) since your email will be on file.  Only use it for the notebook slipcover since it will cancel out your other purchases.   This means you will only pay about $.04!  Awesome.  Email me with questions or problems.  

I loved hearing about all your school supply love- seems like we all love a new box of crayons, fun erasers and a fresh notebook!

 

Re Vamp #4- Love Your Lunch Box Rises Again!

July 21st and I have gotten 4 of my patterns rewritten with brighter, bigger pictures, clearer instructions, and better graphics.  I am getting a little tired of sitting at my computer every free moment!  My background music is kids yelling, and I have to get up every few minutes to refill cups of juice, wipe bottoms, and give cuddles when they fall off their bikes and fight with each other.  BUT, I finally finished another the Love Your Lunch Box!  And it's pretty durn good.

There are a few differences in the new pattern which kinda fix up the old favorite.  The first is the omission of the water bottle holder- after using this lunch box for Elsie for 2 years, I realized it just wasn't practical.  Because of the boxy shape, the bottle just doesn't really move around all that much- especially if you just a tupperware sandwich container like I do.  Aren't using a reusable sandwich container?  Come on friends!  It's so much easier and you no longer will have smooshed sandwiches.

Next, the velcro is now added to the flap before it is all sewn together.  Just a detail but it looks a little nicer.  

I also added a layout for fabric cutting to help you have less fabric waste which was something new for me to figure out and I kinda liked it!  Geometry rocks!  

After making this many times for friends, my own children, and to sell, I switched over to insulbrite batting to keep the lunch a little cooler longer.  I can't vouch for this working personally but Elsie says she thinks it helps (maybe an unreliable source since she's 7) but what I really like about it is the extra structure it gives the bag.  It's a bit harder to work with but worth the extra quality it gives your finished product.

Next, instead of recommending oil cloth for the interior, I recommend using laminated cotton or cotton canvas in the interior of the bag.  It turns out that oil cloth comes in a variety of weights- from very stiff to an easily ripped, thin mexican oil cloth.  The laminated cotton is dreamy to work with but expensive.  The cotton canvas is great since it makes the bag since and sturdy and can be washed easily.  You can choose what works best for your bag!

Last, I added a bonus pattern of a handy snack bag as part of the lunch box pattern.  These are fast and simple!  You can make a bunch at once to use all year long.  These are not a new idea but to have a simple version right with your lunch box pattern is nice and convenient!  We usually spend an afternoon before school starts picking out fabrics and making a bunch of these together.

Now it's time for the giveaway!!!!  3 commenters will receive the new pattern (the Love Your Lunch Box & bonus snack bag).  In the comment, I would love to hear about what you pack your child or yourself for lunch!  I need all the help I can get on that front since lunch packing variety becomes a problem over here pretty quickly once school starts!  The giveaway will be open until some time Monday, July 25th.  

Also, if you already bought the old version in the past,  email me (through that little button on the top of the blog) if you want the 75% off coupon for this new version.  You don't have to give me proof (like with the crayon folio giveaway) since I realized already have your email on file if you bought it!  

Winners and Tomato Stakes

Thank you so much for all the comments on the new pattern makeovers!  I loved hearing what everyone is sewing too.  It was so fun to hear about all the handmade activity happening out there!  I used the True Random Number Generator and it gave me numbers 18, 8, & 28!  So the winners are these awesome readers...

The Love Your Lunch Box is next is a few weeks so you'll have a chance again soon!

Since I can't make a post ONLY about the winners, I decided to tell you all about my tomatoes!  Nothing too exciting but I have been trying a different method the last couple of years and wanted to share it with you all.  I used to always use cages with my tomato plants but now I have switched to stakes.

 This is the old timers method and I am liking it.  My favorite part is pinching off the suckers.  Do you know about the suckers?  You can train your tomato to grow up a stake only if you pinch off the shoot that grows between the main stalk and each leaf stem that comes off the main stalk.

Unfortunately I pinched all my suckers this morning so I couldn't show you one in action but above is what they look like AFTER you pinch them off.  It's so fun to stand up there in your garden early in the morning, look for suckers, pinch off and then have that wonderful tomato plant smell on your finger tips.  That sounds pretty wierd, but if you love growing tomatoes, you hear what I am saying, right?  When you grow with cages, you just have to wait until the fruits get red to start interacting with your tomatoes but with this method, you are doing something with them every week!  I love it.

I wasn't much of a student in science class but I do have 1 control tomato growing in a cage...

I know you all are on pins and needles waiting to see which plants will bear better fruit!  The cage one is a grape tomato though so maybe this experiment is already flawed???  We are growing lots of other things in the garden this year.  The deer have been brutal though!  Travis and the kids made a scarecrow for me.

Isn't it beautiful?  Especially his old hockey helmet in the crabbing net.  Awesome!  There is also a transistor radio playing in a plastic bag in the helmet.  The neighbor dogs are totally freaked out by this guy!  Another new addition last year was kholrabi which is super easy to grow and so yummy in salads right out of the garden.  It looks cool growing in your garden too.  

Does anyone else have new things growing in their garden?  

 

On the Go Organizer gets going with the Crayon Art Folio

Sorry for all the posts about my pattern fix ups.  But it's on my agenda this summer to go through and make things better instead of just rushing onto the next new project in my head.  For the past couple of years I have been so excited to make my new patterns that I just rush ahead,  but now that I have more experience with writing patterns, I see how I need to go back and make the old ones better.  The instructions are fine, it's just that my graphics and pictures really needed an update.

I am surprised by how much I like doing these face lifts.  I actually completed the new version of my Crayon Art Folio about 6 weeks ago!!  The reason for the hold up was my internal debate over people selling the made art folios and how I should handle that.   I'll tell more about that after some pictures of the new pattern cover pages!

First the On the Go Organizer...

I really do love this pattern.  I give these away as gifts all the time and they sell nicely at the Handmade Arcade.  The pattern itself was written fine, but my pictures were dark and I wanted to change the outside piecing to be vertical instead of horizontal.  I also included instructions to make the old horizontal version and a colored pencil holder version that I made a few months ago.  I know people will like the brighter pictures and enjoy the additional options.

 The Crayon Art Folio was a bigger undertaking since I actually re- wrote the entire pattern.  It is my most popular pattern- the Lola Owl being a very close second!  It was only my second pattern written and for some silly reason I decided to use graphics instead of photos.  Again, the instructions were fine- lots of people have made it successfully, but I wanted to add pictures to the pattern and a pattern piece that people could print out.  This meant that much of what I had written for the pattern originally couldn't be used.  I also added 5 extra pages (with pictures!) with instructions to make the mini art folio- people have been asking and now it's finally available as an addition to the main folio pattern!

I also added 5 extra pages (with pictures!) with instructions to make the mini art folio- people have been asking and now it's finally available!

Aren't they cute?  The deal with selling is going to be that I would like to have sellers email me with their intentions- like selling at a craft show, on etsy, face book, etc.  I will keep their name and shop on file so that I can set up a part of my website that will say where buyers can purchase Gingercake items made.  Also, I gave specific wording about giving me credit for the pattern so there won't be any more confusion.  I originally thought I would sell a license separately in my shop, but I don't want to spend my time policing people and emailing them messages about buying a license, etc.  That would be a stinker, no?  

Feeling like you want the new version but you already bought the old version?  Email me some kind of proof of your previous transaction and I will send you a coupon code to get the new version for about $2 (75% off!) in the shop.  These new versions are going to be $8 instead of $6 since they have all the extra so you will be getting your money's worth!  

Here is a picture of the On the Go Organizer opened...

This wouldn't be complete without a giveaway!  I'll choose 3 commenters to win the new version of either the Crayon Folio or the On the Go Organizer.  Tell me which you would like in the comments and also, just for some fun, also tell me what you have been sewing lately-or wishing you could sew lately.  I'll choose the winner on Monday, June 27th.  Hope you all are enjoying your summer (or winter for my Australian readers)!  Giveaway is now closed!  Thank you.

Introducing the Hobo Style Lunch Sak & 3 Winners!!

Well, ALL of you thought that I should keep both the Waste Free Lunch Bag and this new bag.  So, of course I listened and now the new bag is named Hobo Style Lunch Sak and I kept the old one in the shop too.  Why "Sak" you may ask?  I don't know why!!  I just liked how it looked in the title.  Usually I am kinda a stickler for using the right spelling of things but right now, I am into the Sak. Yeah. THE SAK.

Thanks to commenter Jill D for the Hobo idea.  I kept thinking "Knot Your Ordinary Lunch Bag"  or "Knotty Lunch Bag"  but my daughters said those names made NO SENSE and both liked Hobo Style Lunch Bag.  They really like the name HOBO.  It makes them giggle and how can I resist that?

So the Hobo Style Lunch Sak is in the shop now and available for instant download so go and check it out!!!  

The 3 below commenters were the winners...

Thank you so much everyone for your support to keep both patterns.  It's nice to hear that so many people still liked my old Waste Free Lunch Bag.  Have a great weekend!

Waste Free Lunch Bag revealed

My patterns are like pets- a couple of them behave OK but you know with a little extra time and effort, they could be really really good.  The waste free lunch bag is one of those pets.  It was fine, but I knew that I could do better.  

I really like the tie handles and this one comes together nice and quick. There is no divider like in the old version but the dimensions are the same- roomier than the Love Your Lunch Box.   Although a child (and my 7 year old has already claimed this one!) could certainly use it, an adult could take it work too. 

I used Liz Scott's Sugar Pop fabrics which turned out really cute.  

For the interior I used Sweetwater laminated cotton which was on sale.  I think it will be nice to wipe clean but I also made a bag in all cotton which was a lot quicker and less expensive.  I could see making a couple of the all cottons and just interchanging them for lunch while one is in the wash.  Here is the plainer version which I still love!

I will be finishing the pattern this afternoon and it will be in the shop by tomorrow!  It's in the shop!  Now my problem is do I just replace the old version (as originally planned) or keep them both in the shop?  Leave a comment here and on THursday, June 9th, I will pick 3 winners from the comments to try out the NEW waste Free Lunch Bag.  Give away closed!  Thanks for all the comments!

 

 

 

Super Sweet Vintage Postcards for You!

My friend Karen (remember how I made her that scrappy pumpkin?) and I often go to the thrift store together.  Although I introduced Karen to the joy of thrifting,  I have to admit that her skills of finding treasures may be surpassing me!  Here is what she found for my girls recently...

 I had been telling her about the girls writing letters to my Mom asking for sticks of gum (thanks for sending all those sticks of gum Mom!)  Now the girls are thinking that they can write to other people and get gum.  Hmm.  I have warned that this may not work but they want to give it a shot anyway.  We figured these postcards will be the perfect way to start sending out their requests.

Anne recently got a picture in the mail from a friend and we decided to use the first new (to us!) postcards to write a thank you.  

I love these postcards so much!  I figured you may like them too so I scanned them for you to download!  I hope you feel inspired to spread some sweet springtime cheer with these too.  You never know- maybe you will start getting some sticks of gum in the mail too!  To get all 5 of the postcards, click on the link below...

Download Vintage Postcards

Here is what the first page looks like~

 
I did not design these cards myself!  They have no company name and no artist signature.  If you know anything about them, I would love to contact someone and ask for the rights to share them.  For now, let's just enjoy how sweet they are, right?  They are for personal use only- especially since we don't know what artist designed all this cuteness!

They will print out best on white card stock- I used 110lb weight which worked out nice.  I am going to print some out to send in my draw string bags for the kids affected by the Tornado in Alabama.  Go check out Vanessa's blog to join in this nice and worthwhile way to help.