Zaaberry HANDMADE

4.01.2013

Clutch with a....

...strap! Is it still a clutch?

In honor of Roselee's GIVEAWAY, I made one more Girls Night Out Clutch with a new twist.

A simple little shoulder strap that tucks inside the bag.

Instructions on making a strap are not in the pattern currently, but it's really easy and I'd be happy to post a step by step here, just let me know. And don't forget to enter the GIVEAWAY. You have until Friday, April 5.

3.29.2013

Think Spring.....TOPS!

Though it doesn't feel much like it around here (W. Massachusetts), it's Spring Top time! I made 2 new shirts for myself last week, kind of itching for it to be warm.

Total side not, you can choose to ignore if you want....one of my New Year's resolutions, even though I don't do New Year's resolutions, is to not crop my face out of all my pictures. It's silly, but I always crop my face out. Why? There a million reasons probably going back to my childhood (just kidding), but it's time to just grow up and put it out there. Ok, back to things that really matter, spring tops!

This shirt was a nod to one of last year's shirts with the shirring. This time I decided to try it out at the sleeve end rather than at the shoulder. I like it!

This next top I made with this this fun bird fabric. I got both fabrics from Girl Charlee.

For this top, I did a cuff on the end. I wish I had made the sleeves either longer or shorter. It's not really a 3/4 length and ends up feeling a bit awkward. I do still love it and have already worn it a few times.

You can't really tell from the pictures, but both shirts also have a bit of a scoop neck in the back too. I traced the pattern from a shirt I own that I've had for many many years. Had to add some length to it. Is it just me or do shirts get shorter and shorter over time? I know I'm not getting longer....

Will definitely be making more Spring Tops, so check back soon.

Don't forget to enter the Girls Night Out clutch GIVEAWAY over at Jane of all Trades.

Girl Night Out Clutch - Bag and Pattern Giveaway

All I can say is WOW! Have you been following Roselee as she posts 5 Girls Night Out clutches this week?

Not only did she make 5 bags, she's giving away the pattern and to a second winner, the bag of their choice!

Go leave a comment on her GIVEAWAY PAGE now to enter to win.

Take a closer look at each of her bags HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE.

Which one is your favorite? So hard to choose! Take a look at some other cute versions HERE.

Can't thank Roselee enough for hosting this giveaway. Sending some blog loving her way...

3.25.2013

In the Clutch - Pretty Bags and a Giveaway

My Girl's Night Out pattern has only been out a few weeks, and already it's popping up. Here's a beautiful version that showed up in the Flickr group belonging to Jill at Homemade by Jill. A-maze-ing to have such a great sewist and blogger make one of MY patterns.

This version comes from my local friend Sarah. Teacher extraordinaire and mommy to 2 beautiful girls.

And if you aren't a follower of Roselee at Jane of All Trades (why aren't you a follower?) now's the time. She's my dear friend, busy super-mom of 2, Daisy leader, blogger, and oh yeah, she tested my pattern and made 5, yes 5 clutches!

She'll be posting them, each with a twist, with a pattern giveaway at the end. Check out this super springy version.

I've been super grumpy this week because it just doesn't feel very Spring-like. Looking at this bag cheers me right up. Hard to feel blue with such a pretty bag tucked under your arm.

3.24.2013

Coconut Banana Nut Muffin RECIPE

Here's an easy, yummy recipe, for your Sunday morning.

I love coconut and there's some evidence that coconut oil might have better fats than butter. Truthfully, I just love the flavor. You can subsitute an equal amount of vegetable oil if you don't have coconut oil, but you won't get that subtle, yummy coconut flavor.

Coconut oil is generally solid at room temperature, so just pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to liquify it.

Combine the wet ingredients.

Combine the dry ingredients.

Gently fold the wet into the dry.

This is a fairly thick batter, so I use a cookie batter scooper to transfer the batter to the oiled muffin tin.

Makes for even muffins.

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.

Eat them while they're still warm.

Yum.

3.17.2013

My New BFF - In Duck Tape!

Ever since my last Washi Dress, I've been thinking that having a dress form might be useful. I've been looking at all the options and thinking....and finally decided to try the duck tape route. There are a million different tutorials for making a duct tape dress form, so I won't add another. But, I will my general advice based on my experience.

Here are my tips in a nutshell:

buy quality tape - and you probably only need 1 roll
wear something thin and fitted underneath
I used fiberfill to do the chest area and wasn't happy with the results so I went back and filled with plastic bags
don't be afraid to cut her open and refill areas - I did this A LOT
take measurements as you fill - my rib cage ended up being too big after filling, so I added more tape to cinch it down
use cardboard to stabilize areas - I used cardboard at the base, neck, and armholes

Overall, I think she came out pretty good. I'm not thrilled with the chest area, but that's true in real life too, so I guess she's accurate :)

I haven't used her for much yet, but I'm happy to have her around, even if it's just for taking pictures of finished garments. The kids enjoy hugging her too. It's pretty funny.

I used this tutorial from Crafterhours to make the cover. I did mine in a cream color first, but you could see the duct tape through the fabric, so I went back and made another cover out the brown. It's a little closer to my own skin tone too, so I guess that might be helpful.

My favorite part is the stand. I bought a 1 inch dowel and some PVC pipe that the dowel could slide in to. I put the PVC pipe up through the form, slid the dowel in, and used an umbrella stand from Home Depot for the base. The great part is, it all comes apart for easy storage. When all was said and done, it cost about $30. Perfect for my budget. It didn't take much time either, which fit my needs as well. I've had my eye on a Uniquely You form, but felt like I wouldn't have the time or patience to really customize it as it requires.

So, do you use a dress form?

I'm curious to hear about what other sewists are using.

3.15.2013

Bag Loving Blogs Blog Hop

Spring is right around the corner and I could certainly use some inspiration for a new bag. I added my Girls Night Out Clutch to a fun blog hop over at ChrisWDesigns.

Here's the scoop from her blog if you want to join in:

One very obvious reason you may be visiting my blog is because you love BAGS just as much as I do! It is FUN and so inspirational to see what bags other people have been making so I thought it would be great FUN to start a Blog Hop so those of us who love making bags can 'Hop' from one Bag Lovin Blog to the next! :)
What do you have to do? It's easy! (Please note links now require approval due to spamming :( so will be approved after all 3 steps have been carried out! Please make sure your blog has posts about BAGS!)
Step 1) Just add your blog link below by clicking on the "Click here To Enter" link and follow the easy steps to add your blog!
*Step 2) IMPORTANT! Click on the "Get the code here" link shown to grab your copy of the code and add it to your blog! Please include these instructions so that new members will know what to do! :)
*Step 3) Grab this button: (Right Click and Save)

and pop it in your sidebar linking to your Bag Lovin Blog Hop post so that we can leave this blog hop open and people can keep finding it and hopping on! :)
After all 3 steps have been completed, your link will be approved and added to the blog hop! :)
That's it! :)
* Please note it may take me a little while to approve your link due to the time differences! If you have any technical difficulties or you can't see your link within 24 hours, please don't hesitate to email me so I can see if I can help! :) Thanks for joining in!
This is a Blog Hop!