Featured Shop: LBG Studio

*****This giveaway is now closed*****

I am thrilled to be featuring such a cute etsy shop this week. LBG Studio carries a handmade conglomeration of pouches, handbags, kids clothing and lots of other fun treasures! The best part of the shop is the sweet shop owner, Vanessa. Looking through her shop, it is easy to see (and fall in love with) Vanessa's impeccable taste. Just look at some of these gorgeous creations!

I adore this color combination and the ruffles!

I am ALWAYS making lists, so I really need to get one of these.

Love the fabric!

Here is what Vanessa has to say about herself:

Hi all! Like lots of fellow Etsy sellers, I'm a stay (work!) at home mom. I have an energetic and incredibly cute 2 1/2 year old little girl. I left behind a brief and not so exciting job as a radiological technologist when my daughter Sydney was born. The original plan was for me to go back to work after a short maternity leave but she had other plans. Born almost two months early at 3 lbs and 10 oz, there was no way I could leave the little squirt with someone else all day. She wasn't ready and neither was I. I told my husband I would scrimp and save and get creative if he'd agree to my staying home. Fast forward two and half years and here I am! Other than dabbling in sewing back in high school, I didn't really get started until last February. My daughter had just turned one and for my birthday, I wanted a sewing machine. It's been non stop since I got my hands on that machine. Shortly after making my first few dresses, I started selling things I'd made to friends and acquaintances. In August of last year, after lots of deliberation, I opened my Etsy shop, LBG studio. I LOVE sewing and tackling new projects and techniques so there's always something new popping up in the shop. I've "met" some amazing people both through my shop and the craft blogging community. I look forward to seeing what the future holds for both!

LBG Studio has a great tutorial to share with us too! Check out this precious patchwork pencil pouch.

The supplies needed include:

• Unbleached cotton (Osnaburg) or linen

• 4 small scraps of cotton print fabric (large enough for 2.5 x 2.5 squares)

• larger pieces of cotton print for lining

• heavyweight fusible fleece

• 8 inch or longer nylon zipper (the longer the easier to work with!)

• small length of ribbon (optional)

• sewing machine

• thread (I prefer a thread that blends in with the unbleached cotton but go with whatever floats your boat)

• iron

• rotary cutter and mat (you can make paper templates and cut with scissors as well)

The rest of the tutorial can be found here.

On top of this precious tutorial that LBG Studio has shared with us, she would also like to give something away to Noodles & Milk readers! Vanessa is generously giving away this cute, padded clutch that is perfect for carrying just the essentials. With two pockets, it is easy to stay organized and the flap closure keeps things secure. Use it to bring along your phone, cash, and cards or make up. A matching wristlet key fob is included!

Here is how to enter:

-Check out LBG studio here and pick out your favorite item. Come back here and leave a comment telling us what it is. =First entry

-Become a follower of the LBG Studio blog here. Come back here and leave a comment telling us that you are now a follower. = 1 additional entry

-Become a fan of the LBG Studio facebook page here. Come back and leave us a comment telling us that you are now a fan. = 1 additional entry

The giveaway will remain open until Thursday, July 15th at midnight. The winner will be announced on Friday.

 

Giveaway Winner

The winner of the Noodles & Milk 3 pattern giveaway, as chosen from Random.org is:

 

Courtney! She posted with "I "like" your shop on facebook! Super cute design!". Courtney also posted that she has a super cute etsy shop. You can check it out here: http://www.lovetagsandbags.etsy.com/

 

Courtney- I will be emailing you to find out which patterns you would like.

 

Stay tuned for a great etsy feature, tutorial and giveaway tomorrow. The shop being featured is precious and you won't want to miss it.

 

Lessons Learned

I have been putting off sewing with knits for a long time. They really scared me. I had heard (and read) so many crazy things about how tricky they can be and how it took a super-experienced sewer to work with them. Hearing these things, coupled with the fact that I always had custom orders piled up to work on, I just never got around to even trying.

A couple weeks ago I was cruising the sale aisle of my local Joann Fabrics and I found a ton of knits that were on sale for $1 a yard! Um, what crafter in their right mind can pass that up? So, I snagged up all that they had left telling myself that this would be my "practice stash". Now that I had the fabric, I had no excuse not to dive in.

All this for $10!

Before starting on anything, I looked around online for all the best tips I could find for beginning with knits. Here is a highlight of the most useful tips:

• If you have a walking foot for your sewing machine, use it.
• Make sure to use ballpoint needles. These go through the fabric without snagging it.
• Pull the fabric slightly from the front and back while you are feeding it through the machine.
• If you will be finishing seams with a serger, just use the machine on its regular settings. If you will be finishing seams with a standard sewing machine, change the settings to a zig zag stitch with a width of 2mm or smaller (the higher the width, the more stretch) and a length of 2-3mm.

Since I am very pregnant, I thought the first thing I would experiment with would be something for the baby. So, I picked up this pattern at Hobby Lobby when it was on sale for $.99.

As I was using this pattern, I made sure that I followed all the tips that I had read and went very slowly. Let me tell you something...It was so easy! Knits are not scary at all!

Here is the finished sleep sack that I made for our little man. I changed the pattern slightly and went with an elastic casing instead of ribbon, but other than that it worked out great. (Please excuse the pitiful "a" on the gown. I was being too lazy to trace a pretty letter and cut this one free-hand).

Next, I wanted to try something for my daughter. How could I leave her out of the fun? So, I took my Kinley pants pattern and shortened the legs to make a capri length pant. I added a couple rows of ruffles for fun and this is what I came up with.

Not bad, huh?

Emerson is wearing her "comfy" pants today and I will try to get a picture of them. They are super cute on and perfect for just playing around the house.

Now that I have conquered my fear of knits, I have big plans. I have scoped out several tutorials and patterns that look so fun and I am planning on working through my practice stash soon (several of the tutorials are linked on the "projects" page of the blog). Emerson has already asked for more "comfy" pants, so that is certainly on the project list too. (Maybe I will even write a knit-specific pattern for the "comfy pants").

       

Just listed

The Elizabeth Mini Dress and Bloomers has finally been listed in the shop. This outfit is perfect for spring or summer as-is or will be great for fall layered over long sleeves and leggings. Enjoy!

Don't forget to enter the giveaway!

A new blog look and a Giveaway!

******This giveaway is now closed******

First, let me say that if you are reading this via google reader or bloglines or some other blog feed, you need to check this out live. The new blog design is up and it is just beautiful! I am in love and I hope you like it to.


Now that the new design is up, I am kicking things into gear. There are lots of fun things in store for this blog. Features on other crafty etsy seller. Tutorials for all kinds of fun & creative things. N&M shop updates (of course). AND giveaways for free stuff. No, this is not going to turn into "one of those" giveaway sites. You know the ones- you have a giveaway like every 5 minutes with no real content. No, I will only be featuring giveaways for cool stuff on a once or twice a month basis.


All that being said, I need your help promoting the new site and I thought I would kick off the site with a giveaway to the Noodles & Milk shop. You may choose to do all of these things for up to 4 entries, or only 1 thing. Here are the details:

-Blog about it! If you have a blog, I would love it if you would do a quick little post about the new N&M blog and/or shop. Come back here and leave a comment that you did and make sure to leave me your blog address.

= 1 entry

-Become a follower of the blog! Make sure to leave a comment saying that you are now a blog follower.
=1 entry

-FB about it! If you are on Facebook, I would love a quick little blurb linking people to the blog or my shop as well. Come back here and leave a comment that you did and make sure to leave me your FB name

=1 entry


-Become a fan on Facebook! Become a fan of Noodles & Milk on facebook and come back here telling me that you did. (http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Noodles-and-Milk/175815777933?ref=ts)

= 1 entry


So what do I win?


1 winner will win 3 FREE patterns of their choice from the shop!


Don't sew? Well, if you know anyone that does, you are free to gift these free patterns to them. Or, maybe you will play along just because you are helping out a friend. Or, maybe it is the perfect time to take up sewing (the patterns are perfect for beginners!)


The giveaway will remain open until Saturday at midnight. I will post a winner on Sunday.

 

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July! I hope you all are enjoying your holiday weekend with family and friends.

To celebrate the holiday, all patterns in the shop are $1 off until Monday at midnight. Just type in "July4th" into the comments of the order or paypal and I will refund your money. Get shopping!

Happy Sewing,
Sabrina

Just about ready for testing

This cutie is being worked up now and will be ready for testing in the next 24-48 hours. Should hit the shop within 2 weeks. It is a super simple pattern that can easily be made into a dress.

Perfect for your little girly- girl.

Happy Sewing,
Sabrina