My Embroidered bean bag

What would be fun with a plain bean bag? So I decided to try embroidery. The camera image pops into my mind and I immediately feel that it would be the one to go.

What you need:
needle, embroidery floss, hoop, poly pellets ( You can use dry beans. I worried that it might get wet outdoor, and germinate...-_-  and then.... )

How:
1.draw your image on regular paper/tracking paper
2.pin the paper to the fabric
( Keep your finish product in mind. Don't be too close to the edge since you might need to cut and sew later)
There are other way to transfer image to your fabric. I find this way quite easy and you can draw whatever you want. However, it is a pain to get rid of the paper at the end. Maybe it will be easiver to remove when it is all wet?
3. embroider it with the stitch of your choice. ( I used split stitch for the outline, french knots for the small buttons, satin stitch for the big button, backstitch for details)
4. cut the fabric to a rectagle of the size you need. ( Mine is 10 inch x7 inch with 1/4 inch allowrance)
5.sew edges together with right side together. Leave an opening on the last edge.
6. turn the bag inside out. Fill in the poly pellets. Hand sew the opening together.
7.top stitch the edge for reinforcement.

My kindle cozy

We were warned by a friend that kindle is made from plastic and it can be cracked or scratched easily. So I decided to make one personalized cozy for our new kindle.

There are two kinds of cozy most people do. One is pouch/pocket, like this one. Another kind is like a book cover with elastics on the four corner. I have to say, the bookcover one is easier to use. Since you don't have to take it out,you just open the "book". However, the elastic doesn't look very good. Nor does it holds the kindle very well. So I decide to go with the pouch/pocket one.

Now my problem is how i can get a very easy closure. My hubby isn't very patient with putting stuff away. (well, not many men are, sadly.)  He can put it into the pouch, but won't bother to close the button. Zipper might be easier, but it may scratch the kindle when you put it in, which is against the idea of protection. Velcro doesn't look very good...So i decided to go with the hidden elastic. Super easy, super clean, and will only take less than a second to close it. It won't hold as strong as other full closure, but will work just fine here.

The surface is made with gray and green 4mm felt.The placement of the elastic and the pattern create a K. I hope it is not too bad, although subtlty would be my goal. This is made for my hubby, so it has to be not so girly. At the end, i still cannot help to add a little heart at the back. But at least i didn't add lace, right? You know how much i love lace:)

Here is the final product!

My paper flowers

One good thing about paper flowers is that they will stay beautiful all year around. I fell in love with these paper flowers when I first saw them on its package. They finally came in life on my tables:)
They are super easy to make. I followed the instruction on Martha Stewart Tissue Paper Flowers.
Here are some photos!

Aren't they the beautiful sign of spring?