Free Sewing Pattern Winner!

I've consulted the Random Integer Generator which told me

"Here are your random numbers:

6

Timestamp: 2009-03-22 00:52:40 UTC"

Which means that CaraJean

is the winner of the sewing bundle from You Can Make This! Congratulations! I'll be in touch!

We're Up and it's time to Party!

And just in time because:

Kicks off in mere hours! I'm so excited to be able to sponsor a prize package for the event ($25 gift certificate to Schlosser Designs!) Especially since there's so many other talented ladies and awesome companies that will also be giving away prizes!

Welcome to those visiting my crafty site for the first time! And thanks for all those that keep returning and leaving your comments for me! I appreciate all the kind words SO much!

I decided to do a little bio on me since I've gotten a lot of new readers lately.

My name is Erin Schlosser and by day I use my creativity as an interior designer and during all the other spare times I run Schlosser Designs where I create clear stamps, sewing patterns, and other fun projects!

I absolutely LOVE to make things! Even when I was 9 years old I would decorate my room for each and every holiday and I haven't stopped creating since! Crafting and creating doesn't have to be expensive and I try to keep that in mind when creating my projects. The supplies I carry in my store are all reasonably priced and will fit into just about any budget. Have a look around my little bit of crafty heaven!

Be sure to follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or follow my feed for the latest giveaways, new product releases, and free downloads! (And I've got a huge secret project to reveal soon!) Go check it out and let the partying begin!

Happy Crafting!

Website Down

Sorry for the inconvenience! My store is down and being repaired/updated at the moment. The blog is still up and running though! It should be fixed soon and I'll let you know! Thanks for your patience!

Free Sewing Patterns Anyone?

While I'm finishing up my new stamp sets debuting at the end of the month (I can't wait to share them with you!) I thought that today would be a great time to post this wonderful giveaway!

The talented ladies behind You Can Make This have a bundle to giveaway to one of my lucky readers. So get out your lucky four leaf clover and enter to win! (It is St. Patrick's Day, right?)

I finally had the chance to meet Kim, the owner, at the Mom 2.0 Summit in Houston a few weeks ago. Her sister Kris assists with things at You Can Make This too! (Did I mention that my mom lives next door to Kris? How lucky is she?)

Their website is awesome! If you were ever wondering how to do anything crafty related than this is the site for you. They feature downloadable instructions and patterns for many different kinds of projects! Things like children's clothing, handbags, jewelry, and home decor. If you sign up for their newsletter you will get instructions for all the projects shown below for free. (This is also a great way to see how well written and easy the instructions are!)


Just click to sign up for the newsletter here. Click the confirmation link in your email and you'll have access to all these projects and more!

Ok so ready for the giveaway? All you have to do to win this bundle worth $50 is go to www.youcanmakethis.com and look around at their projects. Come back and post a comment letting us know what your favorite pattern is. That's all you have to do!

The bundle includes and child/adult apron set, woman's reversible wrap skirt, "She Loves Me, She Loves Me Knot handbag, a reversible patchwork bucket hat, easy fit pants, and boys ties.

These are some of my favorites from their website include:

Sweet Pea Pleated Handbag

Aivilo Fat Quarter Wristlet

and if I had a little girl these Ruffled Capri's and Pants



So go check out You Can Make This then come back and comment to win!

I'll close the comments Friday, March 20 at midnight and will announce the winner of the entire $50 bundle Saturday! Good Luck!

Comments are closed for this giveaway. Stay tuned for the winner!

Just Because...

Thank you everyone for all the suggestions, both comments and emails! There were lots of great ideas! I did a few this time, and next time I'll do the rest because I just couldn't narrow it down! For this download you get 4 cards! There are 2 blank square ones, and two rectangular ones that fit inside a standard sized envelope. Those two are Thinking of You and Just Because cards. I honestly can't tell you which one is my favorite because I like them all so much!

Here's what the sheet looks like printed out:

All you will need is white cardstock, paper trimmer, and a either an x-acto knife or sharp pointed scissors. The sheet will print out with some very fine, light grey lines on it. Just cut along those lines, trim the scalloped shaped area out and fold both pieces in half. You've got two cards and the only scrap is a little rectangle of cardstock!

This is probably my favorite! I had it designed to say Just Because but my husband was watching and suggested that I put underneath that: friendship doesn't need a reason. How clever is he? So there you have it, a collaborative project!

Click on the pictures below and they will take you straight to the PDF to print out. Be sure when you print them out you Don't scale to fit the page. Just print it exactly like it is. This will make sure that the sizes and placement come out correctly!

Happy Crafting!

More Downloads....soon...

Hello everyone! I'm just about finished with today's download but have gotten called back into work so I can't post the download today. It is another card that can be printed out and I have to say that it's my favorite so far!

So here's where I need your help!

Leave me a comment and let me know what types of cards you're most in need of now and I'll make a few different downloads with some different sentiments.

Do you need Thinking of You, Birthdays, Cheer up, or blank ones for any occasion? Let me know and I'll do some for you because you guys are the best! (And because I feel REALLY bad for not having it done for today! But after working 10 hours, and then going back in for another 5 I'll have to post tomorrow.)

So, let me know and I'll make some based on what you need right now!

See you soon!

Tutorial Tuesday - Quick Birthday Cards

Alright, so don't even bother pulling out your stamps and ink this time! Just stick some white cardstock in the printer and print out these pre-made sentiments for yourself! Then, just cut, tape with foam tape to your card, add a little embellishment and you've got 4 birthday cards just like that!



Download the PDF by clicking on the preview image below. For added effect, cut out around the shaped ones to make a slightly scalloped edge!

Happy Crafting!

Find me and Fan me

I've finally added a fan page in Facebook



or if you Tweet find me here:

Tutorial Tuesday: Business Card Holder

So I just got back from the most amazing weekend I've had in a long while! I attended the Mom 2.0 Summit in Houston. I met some great new friends, and met a few people whose blogs I've been reading for a while. I had the pleasure of rooming with some amazing craft ladies: Christy and Deb. I also got to room with Surabhi who owns a math tutoring business. You guys rock! I can't even begin to explain the amount of energy there and the amazing women that I got to meet! I finally got to meet my mom's next door neighbor. Can you guess who it is? Here's a hint, her sister owns this site that's super awesome and she assists with it also! I met Maria, Alison (who had her entire wardrobe for the conference sponsered by Shade!), and April too! I had some great, hilarious conversations with Trisha of MomDot. I also got to talk to Gabrielle and Jordan. I wouldn't even know where to start in sharing with you everything I learned while there! There was definitely a reason that the conference sold out and I will definitely be going next year!

Last week I was all ready to go and decided that I needed a business card holder that held more than 5 cards at a time and that looked a little more like a Schlosser Designs product. So Thursday morning, hours before I had to leave, I came up with this simple pattern for a business card holder. (If you don't have business cards this would make a great holder for all those frequent shopper cards.)

So here's the tutorial for today:

Items you'll need:

2 scraps of fabric
1 piece of thin interfacing
coordinating thread

Piece A: Cut a piece of fabric to be 4 3/4" x 9 1/2"
Piece B: Cut a piece of fabric to be 4 3/4" x 6"
Piece C: Cut two pieces of fabric to be 2 1/4" x 4 3/4" for the inside pockets

Sew pieces C to either side of Piece B. Iron the seams open.
Layer all the pieces in the following order:

Piece A
Piece B/C (make sure the right sides face each other on piece A and B/C)
Interfacing

Pin and sew around the edges using 1/4" seams, leaving about 2" open along one of the shorter sides. See where my double red pins are on the top.


Trim the corners.
Turn right side out and top stitch only the top and the bottom. This will sew up the hole you left open for turning right side out. Sew a straight stitch along the seam where the two fabrics are sewn together. This will help secure the interfacing and make it fold a little easier. (You can barely see it at the seam between the green and blue fabric.)


Fold up the pockets and then top stitch up both sides.


How easy was that? You're done!




Happy Crafting!

Tutorial Tuesday-Floral Arranging

I realize I haven't done a home decor tutorial in a while, so how about learning a little about floral arranging? We'll learn a little about arranging silk florals today.

Here is a preview of the two projects we'll make.





Before we get started there's a quick lesson. (Which can actually be applied to ANY design, whether you're designing a room, floral arrangement, quilt, card, scrapbook page, or fabric.)

There are some simple principles and elements of design that any beginning design student learns to recognize. Then, using these principles and elements, can put together a cohesive, pleasing design. These are as follows:

Principles of Design:
Scale
Proportion
Balance
Rhythm
Emphasis
Harmony

Elements of Design:
Space
Shape
Form
Mass
Line
Texture
Pattern
Light
Color

Today for our floral arranging we'll focus on the Principles: Harmony, Emphasis, and Proportion.
Harmony: Compatibility of elements to create a pleasing whole, achieved mainly through unity and variety. Basically it doesn't all have to be the same to be harmonious.
Emphasis: Anything in the design element that serves as a focal point.
Proportion: The size relationship to the object and it's surroundings. For instance, a really small plant in a really large container means either the plant is proportionally too small, or the container is proportionally too big, and one needs to be changed to make the arrangement more pleasing to the eye.

Ok, so now we'll get started applying our principles.
When choosing your floral stems, choose one or two stems that will be your focal point. I've chosen red for that arrangement and the purple for the other one. This one will take the stage front and center! (You've already got your emphasis now! How easy was that!)
Next, choose a few more stems that will coordinate with your emphasis element. Notice I said coordinate, not match. If you've chosen a red floral stem, like mine, try a smaller red floral, or even some berries in another coordinating color. Like maybe cream or pink. Some copper colored berries would be great too. Don't worry, It's perfectly OK if they don't match! (Great! Now you're harmony is complete too!)
Finally, measure the height of the space that the floral arrangement is going in. (You'll have to do a little math here.) You want the height of your floral arrangement to be about 2/3 of the height. So if your alcove that you're putting this in is 36" high, the tip top of the arrangement should be no more than 24". The red arrangement was going into an alcove about 60" high, so the finished height was pretty close to 40".

Now you've got all your pieces, and you know about how big your arrangement should be, you're ready to put it all together.
For this one you'll need some styrofoam, a few containers, 1 floral stem per arrangement, and a filler. (I used some scrap paper and put it through the shredder.)

Hot glue your styrofoam into your container. Trim the stem to the appropriate height. (Be sure you include the height of the container in your measurement from above and don't forget to use a wire cutter for this! Most floral stems will have wire inside them!) Stick your floral into the center of the foam.

Add your filler to cover the foam and you're done. How easy was that?!?

Here are the two I made to go above my stove in the kitchen!


Now for this one, you'll need a large glass container, 5-6 coordinating stems, and 3 emphasis stems. Don't forget you're filler. I used river rocks for this one. It helps to weigh down the bottom, both visually and physically.

Place your coordinating stems in the back and along the sides to essentially make a backdrop for your focal stems. Then place your focal stems in front of those. Vary the height of them slightly. You'll see that I cut two of the red stems to be a few inches shorter than the one that's front and center. (This adds a little variety, part of the Harmony principle.) Place them in front of your "backdrop" and you're done!

Congratulations! You've completed Floral Design 101! I can't wait to see what you make!

Happy Crafting!

Winner is...

According to Random.org the winner is:

Here are your random numbers:6
Timestamp: 2009-02-17 13:55:12 UTC

Which means that the winner is:

So Stacey, email me your address (erinschlosser (at) schlosserdesigns (dot) com)and I'll get that Hey Cupcake set right out to you. Congratulations!

Want to make sure you get every post?

You can now sign up to get all posts by email through Feedburner. Just enter your email in the box towards the bottom of the left column and follow the instructions to make sure that you never miss an announcement or giveaway! Like this one:

Sign up for Feedburner, leave me a comment letting me know that you did, and be sure to tell me which one of my stamp sets is your favorite. You can find them in the Schlosser Designs Store. I'll randomly choose one person from among those who signed up and commented to win their favorite stamp set! (There are a few people that have already signed up. If so, leave me a comment to confirm that you did, and let me know which stamp set is your favorite.)

How easy is that?!? So, just sign up for emails, let me know which one is your favorite, and check back Monday February 16th for the winner! Good luck everyone!

Tutorial Tuesday-Super Quick Valentine's Day Cards

Thank you everyone for such wonderful, encouraging comments! I truly appreciate all of them!

Today's project is super quick. Just print the PDF on cardstock (download here), cut down the middle, embellish as needed, and you've got two Valentine's Day cards. I love how simple they are, and I love how the text plays with the positive and negative space. Try tying a ribbon around, or adding a few rhinestones. Next week I've got a quick home decor project and a mini floral arrangement lesson for you!


And if you're wondering why the project is so super quick today, it's because I'm working on some new items for the store, like more stamp sets and a new sewing pattern! I am SO excited! They're looking great! I can't wait to share them with you soon!

Happy Crafting!

Tutorial Tuesday-Valentine's Pillow Boxes

Here's another quick valentine's day project for you! This one is super easy and fast!
It's a cute little Valentine's Day pillow box.


Just download the PDF by clicking here. It includes one complete box and four sentiment hearts for the front. They say:
SWAK
Love, me
Happy Valentine's Day
XOXOX

The PDF will look like this:



All you'll need is:
1 sheet of cardstock per box
12"-15" of coordinating ribbon
foam tape


Just cut around the edge of the box, fold the bottom and top on the slightly curved line, fold the tab and use double sided tape to close the box. Tie a ribbon around the box, and use foam tape to adhere your sentiment onto the front! You're done! They'll fit a few candies, or a cookie! Yum!

Happy Crafting!

Tutorial Tuesday - Valentines Treasures

I am super excited! I have sooooo many downloads for you today! I've got a project, card, AND a Valentine's Day font for you! All FREE! And a sale in my shop if you don't have any of the cute silver DVD tins for storing your treasures in!

All the papers and labels needed for this project can be downloaded. In addition to the label PDF here and the case cover PDF here you'll need 1 bag of Hershey's Treasures and 1 DVD tin, some double sided tape, and glitter if you want a little sparkle.

I used the Diamond Stickles. This color is awesome because it takes on the color of whatever you put it on, essentially getting many different colors from one bottle. You'll see in the close-ups below!


Yep, that's all the same Stickles color! I love how it's red, and light pink!

So here's what you do:
Print out the labels onto sheets of Avery label #18160 or #8160. (It's the standard size 1" x 2 5/8" white mailing labels. I like printing them out on regular paper first and then stacking a blank label sheet and the printout on top of each other; hold them to the light to make sure they'll print correctly and are lined up. If they are, go ahead and print onto the sticky labels.)
Cut out the background paper and adhere with double sided tape onto the storage tin. Cut out the sentiment you'd like to use. There are three included that say:
You're Sweet
Happy Valentine's Day
I Love You
(I used the two extra I didn't use on the tin to make a card. They fit great on the front of a standard sized card!)

Next, I used the Stickles to embellish a few of the labels and the hearts on the sentiment. After they've dried, just use some foam tape to adhere the sentiment to the front of the tin.

Wrap all the nuggets in the labels, place in your tin, and you're done.

If you'd like the tins I've got with the rounded corners, you can buy them from my store.
Don't forget to use the coupon code "VAL09" at checkout to get 20% off your entire purchase!


If you like the font that I used in the I Love You sentiment with the hearts cut out, you can download it here. I made it with a free font making website called Your Fonts.

Once again, leave me a comment if you make the project! I'd love to see how yours turn out! If you want a different color scheme let me know and I'll see what I can do!

Edited: Also, I've had a few emails about the printout not lining up with the labels. Make sure that when you print, it's not scaling to print, or fitting to page. Usually printers will default to this setting. If you uncheck the box that says that, it will print at the exact size, which will allow it to line up correctly.
That should be all it takes to get you going on your project!

Happy Valentine's Crafting!