Laura Griffin Designs

Handmade Doggie Toy…

Back in March, a new member joined my household…

Meet Gus.

Gus was dumped in my neighborhood in pretty rough shape with no collar or microchip. The pic above was taken before his first visit to the groomers. That’s some crazy hair! *lol*

He’s scrappy as scrappy can be, but has lots of love to share too. Over the last four months…we’ve been through A LOT of squeaky toys.

Rather than buying new ones each time he wore one out, I thought I’d take a shot at making one myself with some leftover scraps from other sewing projects.

I traced out a bone shape on copy paper to create a pattern, then cut two pieces out of sturdy canvas. I took some scraps from my buttercup purse project and added lil’ chew ties on one-side (he loves those things). I then sewed the shape together, leaving a small hole to turn inside out. I stuffed the bone with polyfil and added a squeaker from a “retired” toy before closing it up. The finished project looks like this…

Gus thought it was love at first sight…

This lil’ guy could literally play fetch all day!

I picked up a pack of 6 extra squeakers for only $1.99 at Petsmart. Think I’ll try some new toys soon. I might put together a lil’ tutorial if anyone has an interest in patterns & step-by-step photo instructions.

Buttercup Bag

I made my first handbag recently based on this free Buttercup Bag pattern by Rae Hoekstra.

The great thing about this pattern is that it only uses two fat quarters of fabric (one for the exterior & one for the lining). That means the finished purse size is pretty small, but it’s still big enough to fit a wallet, phone & keys for a night out.

It also means that if you don’t have old fabrics laying around, you can test this pattern out without breaking the bank at the fabric store.

I used some linen-textured, navy fabric for the purse exterior and added a coordinating fabric flower made from one of my Sizzix dies (Large Daisies 38-0208).

To create one, just line your fabric with fusible interfacing for stability, then cut out a large & small flower in contrasting fabrics with your diecut machine. (I used my Cuttlebug.) Sew the layers together with a button, then hot-glue a pinback to the assembled flower to finish. I created my own coordinating fabric-covered button from a simple Dritz button kit I found at my local craft store. Helpful hint: Add a touch of fraycheck to the ends of your flower so they don’t unravel.

On the backside of the purse, I added a small button panel with more fabric-covered buttons.

The lining is vintage (reminds me of some baby clothes I had in the 70s.) I added a simple square pocket and a bronze-colored magnetic snap closure. I’d never tried using magnetic snaps before, but found they were pretty easy to work with. I was also amazed at the selection at my local fabric store. Apparently, purse-making is having a comeback. They had a whole aisle dedicated to it with handles, all kinds and colors of snap enclosures, etc.

Before I try this pattern again, I think I’ll enlarge it a bit. I highly recommend it, though, for a beginner sewer. You can finish one in just a few hours, and I think these bags would make great gifts for friends and family. If you decide you want to sell them, Rae also offers a commercial license for only $10.

Fun with swirly backgrounds…

Pulled out some old Adirondack multi-colored inkpads and had some fun with this Misty Swirl Pattern background stamp from Hero Arts.

After stamping the background image (with a spritz of water), I added a few small strategically-placed fuschia gemstones and did some extra coloring with my Prismacolors around the edges and white spots of the image. The thanks sentiment is from Stampabilities.

Thank you chipboard flower card

Pulled out a Sizzix die from my stash that had never been used before. Have any supplies like that?!?!

I first cut out the floral image from chipboard for dimension, and then added a layer of Lasting Impressions papers. I added texture to the stem with my Swiss Dot embossing folder and added a dry-embossed border to the side of the card. Rub-on is Stampin’ Up! and I added white gel pen accents to finish.

(Supplies: Flower & Vines w/ Stem 655821, white cardstock, Lasting Impressions papers, Stampin’ Up! Rub-On, Chipboard coasters, White Gel Pen, Swiss Dot embossing folder, dotted border Cuttlebug embossing folder, brown ink for edging, green cardstock, dimensional foam dots for layering ground)

Happy Anniversary Card

Today’s card was made for my parents’ anniversary (41 years this year – impressive, eh?!)

The damask background (Stampabilities) was stamped in red brick Tim Holtz distress ink. The sentiment (Hero Arts) was stamped onto vellum. Ribbon is from my stash.

Here’s an alternate version that I made for a co-worker’s wedding…

Greeting card designs for men…

I don’t know about you, but I sometimes struggle with creating card designs for the men in my life. I have a tendency to want to attach a bow, flower, or bling to each one. *lol*

When I find myself reaching for the glitter, I stop and think about how I could customize the card without all the extra shimmer. For my brother’s birthday this year, I incorporated a stamped image of an oil rig (he’s in that biz). Since it happened to be the shape of an “A” – it made for easy customization with his name. I used neutral cardstock and added a dashed border with black trim. I figure that’s as close to masculine as I’ll get.

I have to admit, though… the Spica glitter marker made an appearance on the oil drops coming out of the rig…couldn’t help myself.

You’re too kind…

Here’s another quick & simple card to share. The patterned paper and flower embellie are by Marcella (picked up on clearance at my local Target a while back). Sentiment stamp is Papertrey Ink (from Mixed Messages set).

Simple Wedding Card

I picked up a cute embellie at a local scrapbook store last year and re-discovered it in my stash last month. Thought I’d use it to make a quick wedding card. (It’s always good to have extras on hand). It came in an unmarked package…so not sure who made it. Love how the handmade paper looks like icing!

It’s difficult to see in the pics, but I used an irridescent cardstock to give it a formal feel.

The inside of the card is simply stamped with a sentiment by Anna Griffin.

Amy Butler – more than just fabric…

As I mentioned recently, I’m a huge fan of Amy Butler‘s fabric designs. So needless to say, I’m thrilled that she’s teamed up over the years with K&Co to release several patterned paper packs. I love the Sola 12×12 designs. Thought I’d share a quick card today that uses a scrap from one of the Sola patterns. Letters are Thickers by American Crafts and the scalloped border is by doodlebug designs.

Funky green hat and flower pin…

As I mentioned recently, I run a charity called Brimming with Love. We recently received a great fabric donation of some cotton blanket-style fabric in green and white. I thought it would look great in a brim hat, so I grabbed a favorite sewing pattern & created a couple of variations.

The first style has a longer brim that is pinned up on one side. The flower pin was custom made using a Sizzix flower die and my Cuttlebug machine. I backed the fabric with some interfacing first (so it wouldn’t fray), then layered several flowers together, adding a button to the top. I hot-glued a pin-back to the flower, and voila… instant flower brooch!

Here’s a close-up…

This second version of the hat has a shorter brim. I added a similar flower, only this time I used some white fabric to add contrast.

If you’re having a no-hair day… wouldn’t it be fun to put one of these on?

No gift would be complete without a matching card! I created the embossed border using a classic square Nestabilities die. The flower was prepared similar to the brooch and was adhered with a simple white brad.

Anybody else playing with fabric these days? Used it with die-cut machines to create dimensional embellies? Would love to see links to your fabric creations!