Saturday, June 20, 2015

Bike Shorts and Fathers Day Gift Box


One day last week, while we were cycling around, getting ready for the big ride (Bike MS), my husband mentioned that it sure would be nice to have a pair of those padded biking shorts! Well, I happened to have a pattern, and a quick internet search showed me where I could buy the chamois insert. So, I ordered it and sewed up these shorts for him. He loves them!





Isn't this cute?! It's a little treat box for Father's Day! It holds a full-size candy bar.
I made it from a design I found in Silhouette's Design Store. I love it!


Saturday, June 13, 2015

New DIY Cycling Jerseys

I like to cycle in the warm weather months. I recently purchased a new road bike, which meant that I needed somewhere to keep my "stuff," namely my phone with GPS; lip balm; epi pen, in case I get stung by a bee; and sometimes snacks. I had a pouch on my mountain bike, but there's no room on my new road bike. So, I clearly needed cycling jerseys.

Cycling jerseys have awesome pockets in back for all the "stuff" you need while you cycle (except water, which is stored on the bike frame). They can be pretty pricey, usually running between $65 and $200. I decided a while back that I could surely make them cheaper. So, I did. My first attempt was a cute, flowery jersey that I made last year. Then I made my husband one that reminded me of a jockey jersey. Bright colors are a good idea, as they aid in visibility on the road.

Yesterday I made two new jerseys for myself so that I could have a spare or two when one was in the wash. They are made with swimsuit fabric, which has a two-way stretch and contain Lycra. You can get two jerseys out of 1 1/2 yard cuts of two coordinating fabrics. You wouldn't believe how hard it was to find masculine swimsuit fabric when I made one for my husband! I downloaded, printed and pieced together the pattern from a Canadian company called Jalie, which also sells patterns for swimwear and dancewear. This pattern was one of their discontinued patterns, and also includes a pattern for bike shorts and tights. If I could figure out the Chamois padding, and find the right fabric, I'd make my husband a pair of bike shorts.

Here they are:


Front
This one matches my husband's jersey, which is blue where mine is pink. I think the collar on his is blue as well. 


Back
See the big pockets? They're wonderful!!


Front
This one is hanging kinda wonky on the hanger, but you can get the jist of how it looks.



Back
Again, love those pockets!

Thursday, June 11, 2015

First Vinyl Project With Cameo




Look, Ma! No mat! 
I love that I can feed the vinyl right into the Cameo. I couldn't do that with my old machine that is named after an insect!
The vinyl cut like a dream. I had no problems with it at all.



The backing came off very nicely. It was very easy to do.



Ta da! Here's the final product! I think it looks great! And, those little flourishes on either side of the word, "Keep?" I made those in my Silhouette Studio software. I also did all the lettering myself, just the way I decided I wanted it. Another thing I couldn't do with my Expression. I'm really enjoying the creative designer abilities of my Cameo.


Monday, June 8, 2015

My Latest Cards


I made these two cards for the card exchange group I'm in. It was our last exchange before summer break. I decided to do a couple of cards that will come in handy for this season.


Isn't this one cute? It's a teacher appreciation card, with a pocket for a gift card. The pattern for this card is available in Silhouette's Design Store. I made my own stamp with Silhouette's stamping material for the "For You" on the tag. I think it turned out great!




All set for Father's Day! This card will surely remind my children of "The Doctor."


The pattern for this card is also in the Silhouette Design Store. It's really perfect for Father's Day. 


I had the shirt fabric paper in my stash. I thought it was pretty perfect! I started out with pockets of the same checkered red paper, only cut on the diagonal, but they didn't show up well enough. The pattern also has tiny buttons that I cut out in black, but they were just too tiny for me to try and glue in those little holes! I think it looks fine with the beige "buttons."

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

New Dust Cover For My Silhouette Cameo


It got too windy to work outside, so I came in and made this cover for my Cameo:


I found the free pattern online and used some fabric I had left over from another project. I think it turned out great!