Cute Idea For Your Fabric Scraps from www.thesewingloftblog.com

{How To}Taming the Scrap Basket

SEPTEMBER 7, 2011 BY HEATHER · 24 COMMENTS

Well, as I mentioned in my last post ….. My scrap basket over flows from time to time!  That means it is time to create something fun to share with everyone!!

A few weeks ago, my basket was crazy and I just pushed everything to the side and had some fun!
I made these little birds.   You can really do so much with them.  Think about it-

Gift tags

Magnets

Lavender Satchels

Holiday Ornaments

Wall Decor for Nursery  (how super cute!)

Personally, I like the magnets.. So that will be the focus for today’s craft!

This project is for sewers of all levels.

Skill Level- 1 Button

Materials:

• Scraps of fabric
• Bits of felt
• Mod Podge
• Poly fill
• Button Magnet
• Glue Gun

You can really do this with any basic shape but the birds were on my feeder having a feast on project day and were on my mind.

To help manage my scraps, I made my birds small.  This pattern is to scale.

Basic instructions:

1. Apply a thin layer of Mod Podge to your pressed scraps to ”stiffen” the fabric and give it more texture.
2. After everything is dry, cut 1 bird from fun fabric and 1 bird from coordinating felt.  Cut 1 wing in fabric of choice.  (I used felt)
3. Stitch wing to body.  For my little guys & gals, I used a decorative blanket stitch on my trusty machine and a contrast thread color.
4. Then, super simple, match your front and back birdies together and straight stitch them together leaving a 1″ opening at the bottom.  Stuff with poly fill.  Be careful not to over feed your birds they will get fat!!   Stitch the opening closed.
5. With your trusty glue gun in hand, apply a dab of glue at the center and attach your button magnet.

These little birdies are a fun way to use up your scraps or even reclaim that special printed dress your child has out grown.

What did I say ~super simple! Would love to see what you can create with this… please share photos on my facebook page!

Happy Crafting!

~Heather

FREE - FREE is Good!

Here is a link to sewing patterns (checkout the free ones!)  SewingPatterns.com

With any of our new fabrics, you could make something really cute!

audreysfabric.com

Here's some useful information for those of you who want to learn how to hand embroider.

Common Hand-Embroidery Stitches by Robin Strobel: A Visual Guide for Quilters and Sewists

Headband With A Bow (No Sew)

Would you love to make a headband with a beautiful bow without having to do any sewing?  Here's a video I found that will help you to make a beautiful headband - no sewing required!

Have fun, be creative!

Check Out Our New Fabric Bundles

AudreysFabricAndTrim

New Product - You'll Love It!

New Product - You'll Love It!

The Binding Tool is an easy to use tool that will have you saying "I wish I had one of these a long time ago!"

http://www.audreysfabric.com/

This is not your Grandma's Flannel or Oilcloth!

Source: etsy.com via Audrey's on Pinterest

One of our oh so soft flannels.  Use it as a backing for your blanket - cotton on one side, flannel on the back side!

Source: etsy.com via Audrey's on Pinterest

New Cosmo Cricket's coated fabric.  Excellent for tablecloths, totes, raincoats, cosmetic bags and more!

Buttons, Buttons, and More Buttons!

We now make fabric covered buttons, brads, magnets, snaps and more, on line and in store!

The Tax System Explained in Beer

The Tax System Explained in Beer

January 12, 2012

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100.

If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this…

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing

The fifth would pay $1

The sixth would pay $3

The seventh would pay $7

The eighth would pay $12

The ninth would pay $18

The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59

So, that’s what they decided to do.

The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the

arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve ball. “Since you

are all such good customers,” he said, “I’m going to reduce the cost of your

daily beer by $20″. Drinks for the ten men would now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes. So the

first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what

about the other six men ? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that

everyone would get his fair share?

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that

from everybody’s share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end

up being paid to drink his beer.

So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill

by a higher percentage the poorer he was, to follow the principle of the

tax system they had been using, and he proceeded to work out the amounts he

suggested that each should now pay.

And so the fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% saving).

The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% saving).

The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28% saving).

The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% saving).

The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% saving).

The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% saving).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to

drink for free. But, once outside the bar, the men began to compare their

savings.

“I only got a dollar out of the $20 saving,” declared the sixth man. He

pointed to the tenth man,”but he got $10!”

“Yeah, that’s right,” exclaimed the fifth man. “I only saved a dollar too.

It’s unfair that he got ten times more benefit than me!”

“That’s true!” shouted the seventh man. “Why should he get $10 back, when I

got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks!”

“Wait a minute,” yelled the first four men in unison, “we didn’t get

anything at all. This new tax system exploits the poor!”

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks so the nine sat down

and had their beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they

discovered something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of

them for even half of the bill!



And that, boys and girls, journalists and government ministers, is how our

tax system works. The people who already pay the highest taxes will

naturally get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much,

attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In

fact, they might start drinking overseas, where the atmosphere is somewhat

friendlier.

More Fun Fabrics Just Came In!!

And there's SO MUCH MORE!!  Go On Line to:  AudreysFabric.com or come by and see what's in store!