Printable Lace Box in 5 colors

I hope you enjoy this intricate lacy designed printable box. It's in 5 different colors: purple, pink, green, orange and blue. Click on the images for a larger version to print and assemble. Print on card stock, cut out, score fold lines, fold, glue!

Nested Braids embroidery pattern and coloring page

Nested braids coloring page and embroidery pattern- the outer 3 braids are 6 strand braids and the center is a 3 strand braid. Click the images for a larger version and print. If you embroider, both the embroidery version and the coloring page can be embroidered, but the embroidery version is simpler. The 4 braids can be used as frames or accents singly or all together as shown. Braids can also be considered knotwork and look very similar.

Embroidery version-

Small JPG version:

Large transparent PNG version: (great for digital scrappers to use as a digital stamp)

Simple Heart Knot Coloring Page

This one is a very simple heart knot to color. I really like the way it splits warm and cool colors in a rainbow palette! I hope you enjoy it just as much.
Click on the image and print.
Small JPG version:

Large transparent PNG version:

In other rainbow heart knot news, I was considering this as an addition to my Spoonflower fabric collection, what do you think? It's resized to show the pattern. 

Book Review- Jeaneology

Jeaneology by Nancy Flynn is written for teens and has projects for recycling torn or old jeans into new things. Since my teenage daughter is a big fan of upcycling and sewing, it seemed like something she would enjoy.

I was right. It's written at a close to beginners level. The author does assume at least basic hand sewing skills, and that was my first very pleasant surprise about this book. We have a lot of sewing books, but most modern books focus strongly on machine sewing. They never seem to take into account young sewers like my daughter who can use a sewing machine but honestly prefers to sew by hand. The instructions are written so they can be used by both hand sewers and machine sewers. The beginning section includes useful information like explaining about bias tape and other tools you may need and how to pick the right hand sewing or machine sewing needles for working with denim.

The layout is image heavy with clear illustrations, and spiral bound with a heavy paper cover so it can lie flat. There is a full color photo of every project, and interspersed throughout the book are trivia, facts and tips about jeans. This was one of my daughter's favorite parts of the book.

The projects are well organized, starting with clothing in a chapter called Rocking Rags. Converting jeans into a maxi skirt or a mini skirt, making shorts and a great set of tips for distressing or customizing an existing pair of jeans. I absolutely loved the photo of the star stenciled jeans that were discharged using a bleach pen.

Mean Jean Accessories has headbands, gadget pockets and the nice big purse that's pictured on the cover as well as some great casual jewelry projects for making the most of even small scraps. This was my favorite chapter because it's a good way to use jeans your family gives you that are torn or stained.

Blues You Can Use has gift ideas and projects that are functional. This chapter had my daughter's favorite project, an oven mitt. It also has projects like coasters, place mats and a cute little key fob.

As a crafter, I love the ideas in this book for upcycling and using jeans. My daughter loved it just as much. The projects are a good mix of things to do with whole intact pairs of jeans and pairs that have seen better days. 25 projects total, all very well illustrated with good text instructions.

Published by Zest Books - Teen Reads with a Twist.


I received a complimentary copy of this book to review, I received no other compensation, and my review is my honest opinion of the book. You can read more about my review policy here.