Great New Etsy Shop...

First, I would like to wish all my blogging friends in America a very Happy 4th of July!!! Summer is officially here for me after the 4th. I wish you all a safe and happy day!!

Today, I want to introduce you to a new friend....Lisa from Simple Girl Sews. Lisa is a new sponsor on my blog and I can't thank her enough. I am grateful for each sponsor I have and thrilled I can blog, share what I love to do and share great, new friends with you.

I want to show off her new Etsy Shop and all the cute, cute things she has to offer. She makes the most beautiful wallets, cosmetic bags and check book covers. Just look how cute these are!

Ruffled Make-up Pouch...

Small Zippered Make-up case...

Ruffled Make-up pouch...

Checkbook cover...

 Small Zippered Wallet...

and this cute linen zippered pouch...Love it!!

They are all so cute. Thank you Lisa for becoming a sponsor and thank you to all who pop over to her site for a visit. Click Here to visit her shop.

I just love the connection people have through blogging, Etsy and other sites like Pinterest. It's a great group of crafty , talented people in the world!!

Have a great day,
~Karen~

Tool Time Tuesday...Cup Holder Sewing Caddy

Hi everyone!! It's Tuesday and you're probably wondering where I've been to find the latest "tool" of the day. Well, it was in the automotive section. I just love all the organizing things they have for cars and this is how I transformed one of them.

What is it? It's a cup holder!! What is it for me?...a sewing caddy!!

This is a different cup holder, because it's meant to slip in between the seats or next to your seat of the car for more storage.

Label says wedges between the seat of most cars, trucks and suv's.

Cup holders and spot for your cell phone...

The skinny bottom part wedges in the seats.

Lots of storage.

but not for your car on Tool Time. How about the chair you do your hand sewing or stitching in.

Wedges perfectly between the cushion and the arm of the chair.

This is perfect for a pincushion, spool of thread, eye glasses, scissors and all your hexagons for the quilt project you will never finish...oh, wait that's me!

You can make a pincushion to fit, but I had this apple pincushion already!

You can also move it from room to room...chair to couch.

See how it just slips in between the couch cushions?

If you don't sew, maybe a snack, drink and phone when you're reading.

and low and behold...it fits in the car too.

Great for those long trips. Keeps all your sewing, reading, crafting goodies all in one place.

This would be excellent for each child too. They could have their own for crayons, toys etc...

Have fun shopping in the automotive section. I found this one in Walmart for $5.00. If you're looking online, maybe type in "wedge cup holder".

Happy Tuesday,
~Karen~

Bookcase Corkboard

Hi everyone...I've been moving my sewing room around a bit and thought I would share little projects with you as I go along.

This is the big book case in my sewing room. Click here if you want to see the last year's post of my sewing room ideas.

I moved some of the shelves around and this is the final results of the middle portion...I think. You know me with moving things around at the drop of a hat! Lol. More to come on the rest of the room.

Here is a picture of the center bookcase with the 2 shelves moved or removed. Sorry for the ironing board mess...it was mid cleaning.

Now to cover the back with cork.

You could just hang a pre made cork board if it fits. I had these cork tiles that are 12 x 12 inches. They were over a work table in the previous sewing room post.

Just cover them with fabric for a prettier look.

The dark brown cork squares are about 1/4 inch think...

I used 2 of the thinner light cork to equal the brown I had.

Cut fabric an inch or two larger than cork...

Hot glue down 2 opposite ends.

Then cut away a section in the four corners to reduce the thickness.

Fold over the edge like wrapping a gift and hot glue remaining ends.

Now to attach to bookcase back.

Velcro dots...adhesive kind or you can glue them on

Attach dots to the corners. I then attached the opposite dot for placement on the bookcase.

Press on to back of bookcase.

For the odd shaped size, I just trimmed the cork boards to fit and then covered them.

All covered up!! I used busy fabric design to hide the seams.

This bookcase is right behind my sewing table...my back is to this cork board , so it's perfect for me as a quilt design wall or idea board for patterns.

Notes or pictures of inspiration...

or to hold up quilt blocks.

If you want to make this solely for quilt design wall, you could cover any type board in flannel.

and to end the post...thought I would share.

You know I like to work on the floor for most all my projects...Click here for the Knee Pad post. Thought I would share with you what happens when I was working on the floor with a large ice coffee and my hubby walks in and didn't see it.!! That'll teach me!

Happy Monday,
~Karen~

Sew Darn Crafty Linky Party...Theme Week

Today is the start of our summer theme weeks!!! Woo Hoo!! This week is anything red or white or blue...any or all of those colors will be great. You can share any project too...even an older post you've had from the past. Sewing projects, painting projects, recipes etc.

You don't have to participate in the theme if you'd rather not...just share anything you like!

Here are the topics for each week in July...

• week of July 1st - July 7th...ANYTHING RED, WHITE OR BLUE
• week of July 8th - July 14th...SUMMER ACTIVITIES, GAMES OR PARTY IDEAS
• week of July 15th - July 21st...SUMMERTIME RECIPES FOR COOKOUTS OR PARTIES
• week of July 22n - July 28th...SUMMERTIME CRAFTS 

So get your posts ready. You can even go back into your achieves and use an older post to fit the theme.

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If you're NEW to Sew Darn Crafty, then grab a cup of something tasty, sit back and join in on the fun (starts Sunday and lasts all week long here at Sew Many Ways).

If you want to add the button to your blog's side bar or your list of parties that you're in each week...Click HERE for a tutorial for adding a button

WHAT IS A LINKING PARTY...

I subscribe to a linking service, which provides the ability to link thumbnail pictures on my blog. The picture is a link that other bloggers provide to share their projects.

Two things can happen at a linking party...looking and/or linking

• you can be greatly inspired by wonderful projects, ideas or vacation pictures (looking) and/or
• you can share what you've been up to (linking)

If you want to be inspired by all the great ideas...just click on a picture and it will take you to that post from a wonderful blogger who was willing to share her thoughts and ideas.

HOW AND WHAT TO LINK TO THE PARTY...

Sew Darn Crafty is all about YOU!! Show off your projects, share a tutorial, show us your vacation pictures, share a family favorite recipe...share anything. Not only does linking inspire us all, it also brings lots of new people to your blog for a visit. Click here for past parties and lots of inspiration

Easy steps to join in on the fun...

• link up to the specific project post, not your whole blog. Makes it easier to link right to that post and not  search through all your entire blog. To find the http address to a specific post, just click on the Title of your post. Copy and paste the address that's at the top of your computer into the linky steps.
• link as many projects as you'd like...old or new
• anything goes...cooking, sewing, knitting, crafts, organizing, remodeling projects, vacations, parties etc...
• visit other links to share some blogging love! You know we all love comments!
• linking is open til Saturday night, so plenty of time to join in
• just click the blue "click here to enter" button below and follow the easy steps

Have fun linking up! Don't forget to come back and take a look at all the great projects during the week

~Karen~