Friday Recap

 We've come to another Friday!  I'm counting down until 4pm, when I get out of my day job, and the weekend starts!  

I'll be busy this weekend, first with a trip to my parents' house to pick up a quilt pattern and fabric.  If you don't know, my mom is a big-time quilter and is a Quiltworx Certified Instructor.  She's finally rubbed off on me and I'm going to be starting my first BIG Quiltworx pattern.  She also works at a quilt shop and hooks me up with fabric from time to time.  We also host a recurring quilt retreat with another woman three times a year.  I'm looking forward to kicking off my weekend at her house on the lake!  

I've been pretty busy this week, so I haven't gotten a whole lot done in the sewing room, but I did get two tumblers finished, one for my daughter and one to donate to our school's cheer squad for a fundraiser.  I also finished a Tula Pink tumbler that was promptly stolen by my daughter.  Yeah, she got two tumblers out of me this week...  

My plan for next week is to get some more tumblers out, and get back to the sewing machines!  I'd like to start getting some lanyards and key fobs out this week and ready to list, plus some wallets and bags would be a nice addition to the shop when I get it launched.  I really like the passport and mini wallet set that I've been making up, great for international travel!

Maybe I'll pair the next set I make with a matching purse or bag!  Until next time, friends!

~Krista~

Tumbler Obsession!

  I have a new obsession!  

This week, I made my first fabric covered tumbler, after being inspired by Pinterest (such a dangerous place for someone with ADHD).  If you've known me for any length of time, you would know that I LOVE Tula Pink fabrics.  As a child of the 80s and 90s, Tula Pink is like Lisa Frank on fabric.  Her fabric designs are so bright, colorful, fun, and so interesting.  

A few years ago, I got to meet her at Quilt Market in Houston, TX.  She's such a fun person with a passion for what she does!

So, I knew my wanderings into tumbler-making had to include fabric by her.  I had a select few prints to choose from and let my 15 year old pick which print would be my first.  She went with the fierce cheetah from Tula's Daydreamer line.  

I definitely learned a few things and now have two more tumblers in progress!

Of course, one of them is a Tula Pink fabric, another print from the Daydreamer line.  The other tumbler is covered in fabric from another favorite designer of mine, Tim Holtz.

Tim Holtz designs a lot of prints that have a very grunge and vintage look, which I absolutely love!  One of my favorite quilts I've made was for my son out of Tim Holtz's line Eclectic Elements.  I just started working on a mystery quilt and I chose all fabrics from Tim Holtz.  

I think I'll be adding a quote to the tumbler out of Tim Holtz fabric, I'm thinking something from Edgar Allan Poe would fit with this red and black print.  

These should be ready to list for sale early next week!  Keep an eye out for more in the near future!

~Krista~

Quilt Beginnings

 If you know me, you know that I've always enjoyed sewing, but I've never really been big on quilting. I loved making  When I was in high school, I was in 4H and one of our club leaders started a quilting group, which I joined, but promptly left because I hated hand sewing.  It wasn't for me and I never really thought much about quilting after that.  I focused on garment sewing.  Quilting fabric was something to be used as embellishment, not to make a quilt!

Fast forward to 2021 when two new babies were welcomed into our family.  When trying to think of a Christmas gift for these precious babies that wasn't something that they might end up with two of, I decided to give quilting another shot.  I wanted to choose a quilt pattern that was simple to put together, since I had less than 2 months until Christmas when I decided to dive into quilting.  Also, I only had one other niece to shop for that year, she had just graduated from high school, so I added a quilt for her to the list.  After doing that, I decided that my own kids couldn't be the only ones to NOT get a quilt from their mother on Christmas with the family, so two more quilts were added to the agenda.  

Since I had 5 quilts to finish in less than two months, I really needed something that was quick to put together.  I found a great pattern that uses 12 fat quarters and was literally called Fast & Easy Fat Quarter Quilt. 

I decided to make the baby quilts out of the same fabric line, but different colors, so my nephew's quilt was grey and blue, my great-niece's quilt was grey and lilac.  For the older kids, I went off of either favorite colors or interests.  

I was hooked!  I was officially a quilter! At the start of 2022, I joined a local quilt guild, got hooked on three yard quilts, and have finished 4 more quilts, two quilt tops, and a table runner.  I can't wait to share my future quilts with you all!

~Krista~

Motherhood Established Hoodies

  I am so excited about the new hoodie I designed!  I recently bought an embroidery font that is quickly becoming my favorite font, and I knew it was perfect for this idea I had.  

Isn't this the cutest Mom hoodie ever???  I can't believe it's been almost 18 years since I became a mom!  This hoodie is the perfect gift for the Mom (or Nana, Grandma, Aunt, etc) in your life!  It's fully customizable with any name and year you need.  You can also pick your favorite color for the embroidery! I'm currently offering these hoodies in Sport Grey for $40 (plus shipping). 

Below are a few samples of available options:

Message me on Facebook or email me at KristaGetsCreative@gmail.com to order yours today!

~Krista

Hello, There!

  Hi!  I'm Krista!  It's great to meet you!  I'd love to tell you a little bit about myself.  

My husband and I have two teenagers, a 17 year old son and a 15 year old daughter.  We have lived in the Dallas, TX area for almost 11 years now. 

 

I grew up in South Texas, in a semi-small town between Corpus Christi and San Antonio.  Growing up, my family had a little bit of land and we raised show goats and had a couple horses.  I remember heading out right after school on horseback with one of my good friends and not coming back home until the sun went down.  We would spend hours riding our horses all over the back roads.  It was a great childhood and I wouldn't trade it for anything.  

Another thing that I picked up in my youth was a love of sewing.  My great-grandmother would sit me on her lap as a baby while she was sewing.  As a young child, I learned the basics of sewing and as a teen, I jumped into garment sewing.  I competed in sewing competitions through 4H and even started designing some of my own dresses.  My junior year of high school, I made my prom dress on a vintage treadle sewing machine.  My mom still has that treadle machine.  

In my early 20s, I went to the Texas Renaissance Festival for the first time and fell in love with historical costuming, especially corsetry.  I started making my own corsets and garb.  

When I became a mother, especially after my daughter was born, I started sewing children's clothing.  My daughter, H, had so many custom dresses as a child!  I still loved renaissance costume sewing and noticed a huge lack of children's garb.  My kids loved going to the renaissance faires, but not many people were selling clothing in their sizes.  So I started making my own.  That's when my first business was born, MaeFlowers & JuneBugs.  

Having a daughter, and being a little fantasy-obsessed myself, I was excited to see my favorite embroidery designer release designs for fairy wings.  But I didn't just want to embroider them on a shirt, I did that first and it was kinda boring.  I had to go big with it!  My embroidered fairy wings started to take on a life of their own.

As adorable as they were, I knew they could become so much more!  Over the next few years, I was constantly changing and improving the design.  They started out as small wings that attached to a bodice with velcro and became large, double-sided wings that could be worn with elastic straps or could be held in place in a corset with no straps.  The largest pair I ever made had a wing span of just over 3 feet.

However, as a homeschooling mom with kids who were active in sports and other activities, I didn't have the time to devote to having my own shop at a renaissance festival, so I ended up closing the business.  

When H was about to start 7th grade, she decided that she wanted to play club volleyball, so I ended up returning to the workforce to fund club fees and tournament expenses.  I started working at a daycare and fell in love with the infant room.  After 3 1/2 years, though, I needed a change.  I was able to take a position at my kids' school in the special education department and I am currently loving what I do!  

Even though I love my job, I still need a creative outlet, and so I decided to relaunch a small business, but this time, instead of focusing on fairy wings, I'm offering custom embroidery, heat transfer vinyl and sublimation shirts, and various handmade items.  

I can be found on Facebook, Instagram, and soon I'll have a shop on Etsy.  I look forward to what the future brings!

~Krista~