Linda Israel

Multi-Media Artist

Today has gone to the dogs.. lol.. Well I really just created these cute coasters with a silhouette of a Scotty dog and thought I would share with every one.

I found a silhouette pattern in my craft stash and re-sized the image to fit onto my 6 by 6 block and used Heat n Bond to attach to the foundation fabric. Then I cut a 6 by 6 piece of fabric and 100% cotton batting to make up a sandwich of fabric to sew together. Using a 1/4 seam allowance I left a gap and turned the right sides out, pressed the fabric and then sewed around the edge. Once I had the edge sewn I used my sewing machine to stitch a zig zag around the dog image. I decided that the coasters would last longer if the fabric was protected so I used Scotch Guard on the front and back of each. Finished size is about 5 1/2 inches square. I made sets of four of Blue and White and Red and Blue.

I think these turned out pretty cute. I’m trying to decide if I should offer these for sale online at Etsy or take to Loving Touch Marketplace in Yukon..  Maybe some of my friends can give me some feedback and suggest what I should do with these cute little doggies…  For now I’ll try to keep them away from my four legged creatures, as they would love to have a new chew toy…

Sew, a day gone to the dogs, isn’t necessarily a bad thing… I hope you are having a great day and can find some way to make someone else smile…

I decided that coasters should be the next project I would share.. I have a lot of scraps of fabric and couldn’t decide what to do with all those little bits when I saw a coaster and though hey there is an idea that I can make… I started cutting bits of fabric into 1 1/2 strips then sewing the strips together. Once I had enough to make what I thought would look nice I cut sewed strips into four so I could make a pretty set.. I’ve completed two sets so far and I have a lot of strips cut for many more coasters. I will have the coasters out at Loving Touch this week. I will create custom coasters in the colors you would like, just tell me what you are looking for – blues, reds etc.. As I make more coasters I’ll upload the photos…

What  have you productive today? Maybe you cleaned out the refrigerator, cleaned out a junk drawer that was getting way over full… Don’t coast through this year, do something productive, even the smallest of things will make a difference, before you know what has happened you will have made a big impact on your life and you’ll be coasting along happier…

Linda

Happy New Year! 2011 is finally here and away we go!  I’ve been busy sewing and I’ve got 2011 in the bag! lol.. I use little bags in my purse to hold small items so I can transfer from purse to purse quicker and I thought I should make and sell some of these little bags… The three in the photo are about 9 by 7 and are lined. The bags will be out at Loving Touch next week.

Now that it is a new year, do you have it in the bag, do you know where you are going this year? I’ve got some big ideas and plans… The biggest for me is to be consistent, to follow through with the plans I have made and keeping doing things on a regular basis.. For example, I want to be consistent in updating my web site with posts, photos and news…

I think I have a great start.. I’ve told someone about my plans and I’ve created a new post.. So I’ve got 2011 in the bag, how about you?

Linda