April 19, 2016
Earth Day Denim Upcycle — Part I
It’s earth week! This is the second day of an earth-friendly blog hop. (See the other hop stops at the end of this post.) And we’re paying homage to Mother Earth while we renew our individual efforts to save our home. Mars is not a suitable habitat for humans yet so forget that as an option. Now Venus, she’s pretty hot… but nah! still not an option. Back to Earth…
I have two projects on the go for reusing textiles, but I’m saving the other one for a different post. I wouldn’t want to overwhelm anyone or make them puke with all my greenness. This is the first of a 3-part (or more) upcycling series to turn my old worn out jeans and
Tags: Earth Day, Earth Week, ecofriendly, found treasure, Green, jeans, recycle, remake, upcycle
April 18, 2016
Hey Mercedes Sew Along Winners
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April 11, 2016
Flash Finish — The Winners Are…
I’ll get straight to the point because I know what you want to know. Who won??
Nah! First, I’ll tell you the answer to the trivia question: The brand that used the advertising slogan, “Only in Canada, you say? Pity!” is Red Rose Tea
- The winner of the Rowan 3/4 Tote Kit from Craftsy is Heatherly824802. Luckyyyy!
- The winner of Prize Pack A is Jayne B. from Canada, who correctly answered the trivia question.
- The winner of Prize Pack B is Di S. from the UK, who correctly answered the trivia question
- The winner of Prize Pack C is Karen P. from Canada, who correctly answered the trivia question
- The winner of Prize Pack D is Beverley P. of Australia, who followed Janelle on Instagram
This giveaway is over, but although your name might not be on that winners list, you can still win big at Craftsy* this month…
* affiliate links
See you soon! À bientôt
April 10, 2016
Flash Finale Giveaway — The Great Canadian Craftsy Bag Tour
Hello again!
We’ve just barely made it home after our Craftsy escapade all across Canada. We’re unpacking our luggage and finding some great souvenirs from the trip, but it’s just too much to keep for ourselves. And because you’ve been such perfect road trip companions, we’d like to share them with you. Up for grabs are 4 coveted prize packs from our travels, as well as the special gift that Craftsy sent to us while we were gone galavanting.
Be quick about it! Giveaway closes soon.
* This post contains affiliate links. If you visit one of those pages via my link, I may receive a small commission from the seller, at no additional cost to you.
First up is the Craftsy gift:
This colourful tote bag kit includes the Rowan Three-Quarter Patch Tote pattern, some stunning Kaffe Fassett fabric, plus all the Pellon Fusible Fleece stabilizer you will need for the project. The only things you would have to add to this are a coordinating button, some thread and your time. Voila! You have a gorgeous tote that will be the envy of tote-al strangers. It’s almost like instant Jello pudding, only better! Follow this link to enter before midnight April 11, 2016:
Enter to WIN a tote-bag kit
The Souvenir Prizes
Prize A (Canadian, US and International entries accepted)
- 1 Craftsy Class: “Mix & Match: Clutch Bag Techniques” by Janelle MacKay of Emmaline Bags
Prize B (Open to Canadian residents only)
- $32CAD store voucher for Tangled Blossoms Design (Redeemable in fabric and S&H)
- The Manhattan Bag PDF Pattern
- The Manhattan Mama Hardware Kit
Prize C (Open to Canadian residents only)
Prize D (Canadian, US and International entries accepted)
- 1 PDF Purse Pattern (winner’s choice) from Blue Calla Sewing Patterns
How to Enter
Sign in to Rafflecopter below, or follow this link:
Giveaway Rules:
- Prizes are awarded “as is”. No substitutions.
- Deadline for entries is 10 AM PST on Monday, April 11.
- Winner’s will be notified by email within 3 hours of the contest closing, and will then have 24 hours in which to respond to the organizers.
- It is each participant’s responsibility to ensure they sign in to Rafflecopter with a valid email address, and also check their email accounts for notification.
- Entries requiring a blog post comment, social media follow, or trivia answer will be verified using the name provided by the participant.
- The giveaway is open to anyone worldwide. International or US residents who win a prize designated as for Canadian Residents Only may be required to pay for the additional shipping, or forfeit the prize. If said winner chooses to forfeit the prize, another winner will be chosen from the remaining eligible entries.
Many, many thanks to all the wonderful people who’ve followed us on The Great Canadian Craftsy Bag Tour. We hope you learned a little about our very large, diverse and beautiful country while you got a peek into some of our favourite Craftsy classes.
And very special thanks to the amazing, supportive people who helped make the giveaway and our graphics just that much better: Celine from Blue Calla Patterns and Elle from Brand UR Shop Graphic Design. Take a bow ladies! 
Happy travels until the next time we take you tripping and traipsing!
Marsha, Janelle, Deb, Fiona, Michelle, Reece, Shelaine & Ula
I leave you now with buckets, bags and pouches of gratitude for having shared this epic adventure with us. And also with a bit of advice: If/when you visit our lovely and expansive country, please remember that unless your host says otherwise, you should remove your outdoor shoes upon entering someone’s home. Be sure to wear your clean, un-holey socks, like your mama told you. 
Tags: bags, Canada, craftsy, Giveaway, rafflecopter, road trip, souvenir, tote bag, win
Great Canadian Craftsy Bag Tour Wrap and Flash Giveaway
Marsha from Flying by the Seam of My Pants has written up a fun little wrap up and intro to all the prizes to be won just for following along.
Here’s Marsha:
We’ve just barely made it home after our Craftsy escapade all across Canada. We’re unpacking our luggage and finding some great souvenirs from the trip, but it’s just too much to keep for ourselves. And because you’ve been such perfect road trip companions, we’d like to share them with you. Up for grabs are 4 coveted prize packs from our travels,
as well as the special gift that Craftsy sent to us while we were gone galavanting. Be quick about it! Giveaway closes soon.
First up is the Craftsy gift:
* Please note: If you entered this giveaway before Friday, April 8, your entry may not have been recorded correctly by Craftsy. Please enter again.
This colourful tote bag kit includes the Rowan Three-Quarter Patch Tote pattern, some stunning Kaffe Fassett fabric, plus all the Pellon Fusible Fleece stabilizer you will need for the project. The only things you would have to add to this are a coordinating button, some thread and your time. Voila! You have a gorgeous tote that will be the envy of tote-al
strangers. It’s almost like instant Jello pudding, only better! Follow this link to enter before midnight April 11, 2016:
Prize A (Canadian, US and International entries accepted)
1 Craftsy Class: “Mix & Match: Clutch Bag Techniques” by Janelle MacKay of Emmaline Bags
Prize B (Open to Canadian residents only)
$32CAD store voucher for Tangled Blossoms Design (Redeemable in fabric and S&H)
Prize C (Open to Canadian residents only)
The Totes Ma Tote PDF Pattern
The Totes Ma Tote Hardware Kit
The Manhattan Bag PDF Pattern
The Manhattan Mama Hardware Kit
Prize D (Canadian, US and International entries accepted)
1 PDF Purse Pattern (winner’s choice) from Blue Calla Sewing Patterns
Prizes are awarded “as is”. No substitutions. Deadline for entries is 10 AM PST on Monday, April 11. Winner’s will be notified by email within 3 hours of the contest closing, and will then have 24 hours in which to respond to the organizers.
It is each participant’s responsibility to ensure they sign in to Rafflecopter with a valid email address, and also check their email accounts for notification. Entries requiring a blog post comment, social media follow, or trivia answer will be verified using the name provided by the participant. The giveaway is open to anyone worldwide. International or US residents who win a prize designated as for Canadian Residents Only may be required to pay for the additional shipping, or forfeit the prize. If said winner chooses to forfeit the prize, another winner will be chosen from the remaining eligible entries.
Marsha, Janelle, Deb, Fiona, Michelle, Reece, Shelaine & Ula
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P.S. Since you’re here, you may as well check out this post, where I’m giving away a fat quarter bundle from Fabric Spark.
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April 9, 2016
Tripping on Craftsy: A Week in the Bag
Day 6
It’s been a few decades since I left Alberta, but here I am — virtually waking up hungover in Janelle’s stock room. The past few days have been a crazy ride all over Canada with some of the sweetest, most talented sewists and bloggers up here in the Great White North.
I’ve dragged you along as I’ve criss-crossed the country with these ladies and peered into their sewing rooms. (A few of you were held hostage with a bow & arrow, but there were no charges laid so it doesn’t count.) So many miles, even more Kilometres, and oh so many pretty bags! — we covered it all with the help of our favourite enabler, Craftsy.*
This virtual road trip was a huge rush in so many ways, my head is still spinning. While I hunt down some Timmie’s coffee and dream of going home to my Montreal bagels, take a look back through the itinerary:
And be sure to visit all my new friends across Canada:
- Shelaine @ Shelaine’s Designs
- Fiona @ Tangled Blossoms Design
- Michelle @ Michelle’s Creations
- Reece @ Happy Okapi
- Ula @ Lulu & Celeste
- Deb @ Sprouting JubeJube
- Janelle @ Emmaline Bags
Each one of these bloggers has a discount link for you to take 50% off the class they reviewed. The discounts all expire next week, so now is the time to make the rounds and get those bag-making classes you’ve been thinking about. You can pick up Learn to Sew: Simple Bags for half price here, until Monday. No special link needed for Bag-Making Basics: Reversible Tote & Zipper Pouch because it’s always free.
Don’t forget you can enter to win a tote bag kit from Craftsy right now. Follow this link:
Enter to WIN a tote-bag kit
As long as I’m here in Janelle’s stock room, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to pick up some of that delicious bag-bling that’s stabbing me in the latissimus dorsi. This one‘s my favourite.
Until tomorrow, then!
PS. You know about tomorrow, right?
Day 5
We’re zipping across the wide expanse of Canada, the second largest country in the world geographically. And today we have a change in the itinerary. Do you have any idea how far out of the way you can go if you take the wrong exit? We originally thought we’d stop off at Shelaine’s place, toss her in her duffle bag and go out to see Fiona on the east coast. But we’re going straight through to Fiona first, because well, the TransCanada Highway does not go through Southern Ontario. I’m sure glad Terry Fox knew that before he started his run. Or did he?
Fiona got out of bed early to brush up on her skills with the Craftsy class 20 Essential Techniques for Better Bags with Lisa Lam. Her very detailed post is “riveting”, and as delightful as a big tin of Quality Street sweets from the other side of the pond. Go check out the sweet carpet bag she’s working on at Tangled Blossoms Design. And don’t forget to comment so she knows you want her tutorial. She even ups the temptation factor with a 50% discount code for the class.
With a delicious buzz and a few extra bottles from the Annapolis Valley wine country where she lives, we grab Fiona and backtrack to start Friday Happy Hour with Shelaine in Southern Ontario. As long as we’re close by, let’s just pick up some of the Niagara wine region’s Ice Wine. If you’ve never had icewine, put that on your bucket list too. You’ll thank me once that elixir of the gods hits your taste buds.
While we sip our wine, Shelaine is going to give us the skinny on how things went with her Craftsy class, Sew Better Bags: The Weekend Duffel with Betz White. I have my own strong opinions of the class and I’m dying to hear what Shelaine thinks. Come join us for Happy Hour and kick off the weekend un peu soul/soule. By the way, Shelaine has a special 50% discount link for Betz’s class.
Driving under the affluence of incohol is a very (very, very, very) bad thing to do so no more driving after all this wine. We’ll take our carry-on luggage and fly by the seams of our pants back to Emmaline Bags on Saturday for a wrap up of our adventures.
I’m off to start Happy Hour!
PS. If you haven’t entered yet to win a Tote Bag Kit plus stabilizer from Craftsy, do it right now!
PPS. To try for even more amazing prizes, be sure to bookmark this blog and come back on Sunday, April 10 at 1PM Eastern. Or you could sign up for my newsletter to get a reminder so you won’t have to set your alarm.
Day 4
We left BC last night and went over the mountain, to see what we could see. And all that we could see, and all that we could see, was the other side of the mountain, the other side of… Not a bad view, actually.
Today’s stop is at Michelle’s Creations in Alberta to see all the bras bags she’s made. Unlike me, Michelle has some sense of decorum and therefore didn’t pull out her unmentionables for us but she did show us the stunning clutch bag she made from her Craftsy class, Mix & Match: Clutch Bag Techniques with Janelle MacKay.
To be quite honest, I was worried for Michelle that this could get ugly. Or at the very least, put her under too much pressure to be nice. I hate reading review posts where the writer is so afraid of offending someone that the whole thing sounds like rice pudding without the pudding. And this situation was particularly challenging in my mind. First, Michelle was reviewing a class by someone who is also on this tour. If feathers get ruffled in the car, it could make for a very tense road trip. The second challenge here is that both ladies live in the same small town. I don’t need to tell you how many ways things could go wrong there.
I needn’t have worried. Michelle did an outstanding job with the review and produced a bag that is so stunning … let’s just say if that bag should go missing from her house, there will be no shortage of suspects. (And they will all be zipping off to Ontario in the same getaway car.)
Pop in to Michelle’s and have a peak in her clutch bag. When she’s not looking, snag her link to get 50% off the price of Janelle’s class. But don’t let “Catherine” catch you.
Before I go, does anyone recognize what I was singing in the first line? For some reason, I get strange looks every time I go over Mont-Real (Mount Royal) and I burst into song. To the tune of “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow”, everybody sing …
The bear went over the mountain
The bear went over the mountain
The bear went over the mountaaaayn
To see what he could see
And all that he could see
And all that he could see
Was the other side of the mountain
The other side of the mountain
The other side of the mountaaaayn
Was all that he could see
Have fun with that!
Day 3
We drove all night … and we sang along with Celine Dion (oh yes, she’s our Canadian superstar): “I drove all night to get to you. Is that alright? I drove all night…” Sing along with Celine*, Deb, Ula and me as we visit Reece in Beautiful British Columbia today.
Reece from Happy Okapi has done some spectacular sewing, and written a review of the Craftsy class Sew Sturdy Travel Organizers with Annie Unrein. This is, by far, the most organized, honest and helpful class or pattern review I have ever read (and I read a lot!). Plus the travel organizer she made is just stunning! You have to see the photos. Outstanding job on both counts, Reece!
While you’re there, look for her link to get 50% off the price of the class.
Join us again tomorrow as we make a pit stop in the prairies to see how Michelle handles things with her Craftsy class, Michelle’s Creations — Mix & Match: Clutch Bag Techniques with Janelle MacKay. (Check out the complete tour schedule below.)
Day 2
{{Briiiiiiiiingggggg, Briiinnnng}}… Craftsy Calling. Get out of bed!
10 AM
Hello… HUH??? Whaaaaa? OH $&%! I slept in! I slept in. I’m late, I’m late…
I’m late for the epic road trip — The Great Canadian Craftsy Bag Tour. Wait for me, wait for meeeeeee.
Oh! I have the car keys… In that case, y’all come in, make yourselves some coffee (or tea. I got lots of tea) and hang out while I get myself cleaned up. Better to wait and miss the rush hour traffic on the bridge anyway.
1 PM
Just stopped off at Deb’s place with the Sprouting JubeJubes to see her pot of binding and grab some coffee. That Champlain Bridge, man! Anyway, I discovered she was over there making stewed rabbit. Go see what I mean! Poor Wabbit!
As long as you’re there, don’t miss the discount link to get your class for half price.
2 PM
We’re picking up Ula at Lulu and Celeste, and can you believe it? The woman is still in her pajamas. She’s not even finished packing her bag! Shall we leave her a comment and tell her to get a move on? We’ve got to get to Reece in Happy Okapi by tomorrow morning.
But don’t leave without your 50% off discount link to Craftsy.
Day 1
Catch up on Day 1 here and here.
Complete Tour Schedule
Monday, April 5
Emmaline Bags — Tour Kickoff
Seam of my Pants — Learn to Sew: Simple Bags with Nicole Vasbinder
Tuesday, April 5
Sprouting JubeJube — Sew Sturdy: Home Organizers with Annie Unrein
Lulu & Celeste — Sewing With Oilcloth: Bags & Baskets with Kathy McGee
Wednesday, April 6
Happy Okapi — Sew Sturdy Travel Organizers with Annie Unrein
Thursday, April 7
Michelle’s Creations — Mix & Match: Clutch Bag Techniques with Janelle MacKay
Friday, April 8
Shelaine’s Designs — Sew Better Bags: The Weekend Duffel with Betz White
Tangled Blossoms Design — 20 Essential Techniques for Better Bags with Lisa Lam
Saturday, April 9
Emmaline Bags — Recap/Roundup
Sunday, April 10
Sur”prizes”
Set your alarms to come “bag” here or sign up for the newsletter to get a reminder and other exclusive treats.
Tags: bagmaking, bags, blog tour, carpet bag, clutch, craftsy, duffle bag, Giveaway, home organizer, oilcloth, tote bag, travel organizer
April 5, 2016
The Great Canadian Craftsy Bag Tour
If you’re new here, and even if you’re not, feel free to have a look around. I have a tab just for Canadian resources: one of the main reasons I started this blog was because so many fellow Canadians had a hard time sourcing supplies. I also have a Sales tab, where I try to stay current with fabric sales, pattern sales and other sewing related deals. If you’re looking for something specific, have a browse through my categories, or use the search feature on my site.
The Class
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I really appreciated the tip for selecting fabric for this project. It was suggested to use a busy, non-directional print, as much of the pocket stitching is visible on the exterior portion of the bag.
The class is basically divided in two sections: the first being the Everything In Its Place Bag and the second being the Hanging Cosmetics Bag. There are over 3 hours of video instruction, plus a PDF of measurements to cut and written instructions. To clarify: this class does not include any actual pattern pieces, rather the measurements you need to cut in order to create each project. I state this here because after reading through some of the discussion in the class, some people were disappointed there weren’t any pattern pieces included. We also need to round the corners with household objects as a template. Personally, I prefer to use my quilting rulers and rotary cutter, so I was fine without the pattern pieces. Here’s the lesson plan:
I also had to refer to the PDF quite a bit because the video instruction wasn’t specific enough. For example, the instructor would say “now take your facing and fold it in half” except, we had several facings, all different sizes, so I’d have to refer to the written instructions to figure out which one she meant. Again, onscreen text here would have been helpful. I think if I make this project again, I’ll have to suck it up and print the PDF to help me follow along a bit more easily.
The class is listed as beginner, but I feel like a beginner would likely be overwhelmed by the disjointed nature of this class.I think it would be better suited for an advanced beginner to intermediate. I did like Annie’s method for creating binding, and will use that way for other binding projects.
For my next one, I’d skip making the handle a long tube, turning it, and then trying to feed strapping into it; instead I would follow the method used for making the padded handle. I broke 2 safety pins trying to get that strapping in! I did appreciate that several methods were shown to create similar results.
There were also a few discrepancies between the verbal instructions from the instructor during the video and the written instructions; after spending a considerable amount of time, I discovered we need to follow the written instructions when any discrepancies occur.
I noticed participants outside of the US complained that they had a hard time sourcing the right supplies for this project. You can check out my Canadian Sewing Links if you’re in Canada and looking for resources.
The Platform
The Instructor
I really enjoyed all the different methods she showed for turning tubes. I learned a new trick! I also decided to give my seam ripper a new life based on how Annie uses her Stiletto – so far so good, it’s like an extra finger for holding really small pieces in place and feeding it under your presser foot.
Recommendation
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Tour Dates
Monday, April 4
Seam of my Pants — Bag-Making Basics: Reversible Tote & Zipper Pouch with Kristin Link and Learn to Sew: Simple Bags with Nicole Vasbinder
Tuesday, April 5
Sprouting JubeJube — Sew Sturdy: Home Organizers with Annie Unrein
Lulu & Celeste — Sewing With Oilcloth: Bags & Baskets with Kathy McGee
Wednesday, April 6
Happy Okapi — Sew Sturdy Travel Organizers with Annie Unrein
Thursday, April 7
Michelle’s Creations — Mix & Match: Clutch Bag Techniques with Janelle MacKay
Friday, April 8
Shelaine’s Designs — Sew Better Bags: The Weekend Duffel with Betz White
Tangled Blossom Designs — 20 Essential Techniques for Better Bags with Lisa Lam
Saturday, April 9
Emmaline Bags — Recap/Roundup
Sunday, April 10
Sur “prizes“
- Amy Butler Violette :Leaf Lines in Jade (exterior); Town Center in Crush (binding and facings); Camellia in Crush (interior) from Dressew in Coquitlam
- Soft and Stable foam fromConnecting Threads
- Aurifil Thread from Dressew in Coquitlam