A Fun Purse to Sew

I realize it has been a long time since I've posted. My new job has taken quite a lot of my time and energy, but I love it. I haven't been on the computer much, except for pinterest or other websites looking for project ideas I can teach to my students. I am primarily teaching fiber arts, fabric and paper. Of course, the paper part is easy for me.  Working with fabric has been quite a change. I've had to brush up on my sewing skills. Fortunately, the sewing is all hand sewing, mostly embroidery or simple projects.

I've created a new pinterest board : Sew What? for inspiration. I have been able to adapt some of the project ideas for some of the students. Others I want to try for myself. One in particular, I wanted to make so that I can teach it to them.

Teesha Moore makes beautiful fabric covered journals. The same technique can be used for purses and bags. You can find the video at the above link or go You Tube and view them  HERE.

I did not make a journal cover. I wanted to make a small purse. I used several scraps of fabric, many from discarded clothing. For the strap, I used a belt from a discarded skirt. I then added embellishments and I even lined the purse. Lining the purse was not necessary  but I thought it would be a nice touch. The lining is the only part I sewed with a machine. All other sewing was done by hand. I LOVE the raw edges and the imperfect look!

Easy to Sew Purse:

The back of the purse

The front of the purse

Lining with magnetic button and two pockets

A pocket in the front for my phone

Another view of the back

A close up of the "perfect" embellishment for the purse's style

Ink and Paint Blowing Art for Kids and Adults

I've seen lots of ink blowing art over the years, and have used the technique in a few different ways. It is a great art project for kids. Sometimes, it is fun to blow the ink in random directions and then decide what the finished image will be - a spider,  a monster, or just fun designs. Click on the links to learn how to use paint or ink with straws for fun children's art projects.

Another fun and educational project can be found on Rainbow Creations.

Blow Painting Chinese Cherry Blossom

Try pairing the technique with a unit study on Chinese Culture and Art:

Homeschool Unit Study Ideas from Our Journey of Dreams
Homeschooling at Harvest Moon Chinese Unit Study


A few weeks ago, I wanted to experiment with paint and ink on different types of paper and surfaces, specifically to create a tree for one of my art journals. I wasn't sure how to get the effect I wanted, so using different methods and paper helped me to choose what would work best before I started on the page.

I always hold onto good quality paper, even if it is used. I hate to throw it out. When I bought my Doodle Book at a yard sale, there were a handful of pages in the sketchbook that had been used for some pencil drawings. I cut them out and set them aside for background pages in art journals or for mixed media projects. I used one of those sheets on my first tree.

The paper is smooth, but thick.  I mixed black paint with water until it had consistency of ink.

Paint blowing: Tree on Sketchbook Paper

If you look at a close-up, you can see how quickly the paint dried and soaked into the paper. I thought it was interesting.

I tried the next ink blown tree in one of my smaller art journals. The paper is not smooth, and it is much thinner than the above paper.

You can see how much lighter the paint looks. It soaked into the paper even quicker and blowing it was different also because of the texture. After I blew in the tree and branches, I used a dry brush technique on the entire page with a darker gray. I like the texture it gave the page and tree.

Once I knew what would happen using raw paper, I decided try it on paper coated with gesso. I used lots of gesso layers on two pages of my altered composition notebook journal to get the effect I wanted. I wanted a winter scene, so the layers added to the effect of snow and ice. For this tree, I used black ink. I loved the way it DID NOT sink into the paper quickly. I was able to shape it and "draw" with it easily, even getting small detailed branches. I had to make myself stop.

The difference in using raw paper, textured paper, or gesso treated paper was evident as was using thinned paint versus ink. Experimenting with all three has made me want to try other things. I would love to use other colors and let whatever happens, happen. I wonder how it will work on book pages...acrylic paint....magazine pages...

411 On Cleaning: Garden Tubs-Clean Your Jets

After moving a few times and cleaning several houses on a regular basis, I have developed quite a few pet peeves concerning certain appliances, different types of flooring, vacuums, and garden tubs.

If I were building a home and had a choice between a standard tub and a garden tub, I would choose a standard tub, no questions asked. Big shower stalls and fancy garden tubs are very pretty and it is a treat to have so much space when bathing or showering, but when it comes to cleaning and maintenance, they are not worth the trouble.

Worse than a shower stall with separate garden tub is a garden tub and shower combined. I cleaned a house for years with that type of set up. Not only is it difficult to reach all around the tub and walls to wipe and rinse (without getting inside), the filter of the garden tub is a mold and mildew magnet. Most garden tubs are not used daily, the filter case has an opportunity to dry out between uses. Not so with a garden tub/shower combo. It was because I battled black mold weekly inside and outside of the filter case that I discovered how to clean a garden tub.

The big, yellow house we rented for three years had a garden tub.

I used it twice. (In three years). The main purpose of the tub was to collect dust. 

The tub in our current house has also only been used twice. It also simply serves to collect dust. 

As you can see, I am being totally honest with you. If I let it go for more than 2 weeks, hair and dust is everywhere. 

I am short. Do you know how hard it is for a short person to reach over and dust a garden tub? Sure, I can get inside to dust the other side, but do you know how hard it is for a short person to step inside and outside of a garden tub? Can you see why I don't like them?

Let's forget about my being short and get back to the MAIN pet peeve I have. After dealing with the moldy filter for a few months, I did some research and realized that garden tubs should be cleaned periodically, not just the outside, but the inside also. specifically, the jets.

I found some information about how to do it using a combination of things, but I cannot remember where I found it. I do remember that I used the method and it worked, although it was time consuming. Because it worked so well in the house I was cleaning, I decided that I should clean the jets at my own house also.

Before I started the cleaning process, I dusted and cleaned the tub a usual. It was slow to drain, so I had to unclog the drain. If you've never tried one of these, they are Fantastic. It is gross, but you will get all the hair and gunk out without chemicals, quickly.

If you've read my post about cleaning hard water build up in a bathroom stall, you'll understand that it was very likely the jets have never been cleaned before in my tub. If you haven't read it, you can find it HERE.

The tub didn't seem dirty when I used it twice before. Still, I thought it was a good idea. I tried the method and ALL SORTS of YUCK and JUNK came out. So much, that after about 7-8 rinses it was STILL coming out. I finally gave up and decided I'd simply never use it again.

A few days ago, I ran across this post: How To Clean Whirlpool Tub Jets. She has done a lot of research and has had great success in cleaning her tub jets. I won't give the directions, I encourage you to visit her blog and get the how-tos.

I tried her way. Remember, this was after 7-8 rinses a few weeks ago and not using the tub since.

This was after the first cycle. I wish I could say that the water finally remained clear, but after 4 more cycles, I have gotten the same results. AHHH!

I am quite sure if you have a fairly new tub, her method will work. The similar method I tried worked well in the other house. This house is older and may never have had any jet cleaning maintenance. I've pretty much decided that I will be buying the OH YUCK! product she recommended. I will do a follow up post to keep you informed. 

Meanwhile, if you have a garden tub, PLEASE:  CLEAN YOUR JETS regularly so you don't have the same problem I am dealing with!

In all my research, I did come across a few other tips that I wish I had thought of myself:

Tub and Shower Cleaning Tips:

• Use a sponge Mop for cleaning shower stalls
• Use a regular mop to clean a garden tub (Eureka! I can reach the backside!)
• Hang a shower curtain on a tension rod inside your shower so the water doesn't hit the glass door. You won't get build-up on the door.
• Use lemon oil furniture polish on walls and door of the shower stall. (not on floors). Pour onto cloth, rub evenly. It will clean and prevent build-up of scum and hard water stains.

If you have had better success in cleaning your tub jets than I have and you used a method different than Simply Organized, leave me a comment or link. I'd love some advise.

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