Lizzsews

Todays my birthday, a day of celebration. I’m celebrating all of the creations I have made this year and the joy my blog has brought to me. From my how I made article series all the way back to how to sew tea towels and my learning to sew article series .  Today I decided to bake a cake. What else would you do on your birthday?? I made a cherry 2 tier cake from scratch (Let me know in the comments if you want me to share the recipe!) I’m very grateful for all of you that read my blog , especially those who have been here throughout the year and continue to read and comment.  Have a great day, and use my birthday as an excuse to eat some cake!

  Here’s another project that was just me using my creative brain around my house. I have this small compost bin that I use and wanted to add something to the top of it.   A quick and fun removable vinyl project.  What I used: Premium vinyl (removable matte) Transfer tape Compost bin Lysol wipe Cricut Steps I took: I started by cleaning of the top of the compost bin with a Lysol wipe.  I cut out a trash bin design on the removable vinyl which you can find on cricut design space with this image ID: #M8944E3D.  I weeded the design and cut out my transfer tape to size. I peeled the backing off of the transfer paper, held each side firmly and placed it on top of the vinyl. I burnished (polish by rubbing, smooth/scrape) the vinyl onto the transfer tape with the scraper tool.  I then peeled the transfer tape up ensuring that all the vinyl was attached.  Next was placing the design onto the compost bin lid! I placed the transfer tape with the vinyl onto the lid in the spot that I wanted it a

  Todays make was a birthday gift for a friend. Blankets make a great gift and fun project!   I’m not too sure how the design last as I did not have infusible ink on me so I used HTV (iron-on vinyl)  What I used: HTV Blanket Cricut The steps I took: To make this volleyball blanket I used these two cricut designs -> Text: #MBE29F99 , Diver: #M8B60CDF I started by cutting out my designs on the HTV and weeding.  With my easypress at 315 degrees I prepped the spot that I wanted the player diving to go by pressing.  I placed the diving volleyball player where I wanted in the corner and pressed on 30 seconds, flipped and pressed for 15 seconds then peeled of the liner. Next I placed parchment paper on top of the design and just pressed for a couple extra seconds.  I then repeated the same steps for the words but on the top left corner. 

  I was asked by a friend to create a shirt with this design that she had seen online. And of course I said yes! So here’s how I made this BC SVG .   I created this design: Using this reference picture: I wanted the design to be Cricut iron-on compatible and actually really like the simpler design! But making it was trickier than it looks lol.  I started out by placing the reference picture into procreate and drawing the words and the BC. I then exported my drawing as a transparent image and converted it to an svg image in convertio. I took this svg and imported it to cricut design space.  I decided that I wanted almost like a fire in the B and a wave in the C. After I found two images that I liked I had to figure how to do something called overlay or knockout to place the design only inside the letter.  Cricut image ID’s: Fire: #M2733F722 Wave: #MAA29B53 To do this step I actually had to use cricut design space on my laptop. I selected both the flame and the B and clicked slice. Afte

  PLA ->  polylactic acid  which is a vegetable-based plastic type material. Derived from renewable sources, for example, corn starch or sugar cane (biomass). Although this name is ambiguous as polylactic acid is not a poly acid but rather a polyester.  These types of plastics are also known as ‘bioplastics’ as most plastics are created using    nonrenewable petroleum reserves.  Polylactic acid can be created from pre-existing manufacturing equipment therefore they are quite cost efficient to produce.  Other uses of polylactic acid include:      - Plastic films      - Bottles      - Biodegradable medical devices PLA facts:      - Generally food-safe       - Easily sanded      - Easily painted      - Biodegradable -> although it is biodegradable, it doesn’t compost fast enough to be composted.       - Not suitable to be outside      - Low heat resistance/low melting point      - Good dimensional accuracy       - Good strength Polylactic acid -> a thermoplastic aliphatic polyes

  Procreate is a mobile app for digital painting and drawing.   You can use multiple layers, blending, masks, many preset brushes and more. Auto save is utilized and a Timelapse video of your art can be saved! Although it’s not free, it only costs $10 for a one time purchase with no ads. (There is a version of procreate for iPad or pocket edition for phone) You can also import images, create another layer and trace the image. This is a method I use often to create svg’s ! However, Procreate uses a pixelated way of drawing but using a free resource like convertio allows me to convert my pixeled drawing to an svg. When turning procreate images into an svg, remember that you don’t want it too complex as this is what you’re going to cut the vinyl to. And each different colour must be a different layer and saved and converted separately.  For best results, I recommend converting with a transparent background with a fully black layer. Change the colour later. 

  Today I was scavenging around my house.. looking for the right object to strike at.. something that I could customize for my next make … I saw the phone holders that I have and thought, why not customize those? What I used: Cricut Premium vinyl (removable matte) Transfer tape Phone stand/holder Lysol wipe The steps I took:  I cleaned off the phone stand with a Lysol wipe to create a clean and clear surface for my design.  I decided on the design to use and you can find it here on cricut design space with this image ID: #M26F6CBEC I cut it out at 0.9” wide and kept it on uniform sizing. I cut my vinyl to the size of the design I was going to cut but just a little bigger and placed the liner side down on the mat. Read this how I made article to see what happened last time I didn’t cut the vinyl to size! After it was cut, I weeded the design. I cut a piece of transfer tape a little bit larger than the vinyl and burnished the vinyl onto the transfer tape.  Burnish: polish by rubbing. Sm

  The race, often also referred to as the hook race. Around the bobbin case is a circular groove, this is the race. While the machine is used and you’re sewing, the circular groove allows the hook to travel in a circular path around the bobbin.   While sewing, every time the needle punctures the fabric, a small loop is formed behind the needle. Next, the hook comes over and picks up the loop, where it then wraps the loop around the bobbin.  You can clean the race by using a small brush. Some machines will also require oil to continue to have a smoothly running machine. Read your manual to ensure whether you are to use or not use oil.  To access the hook race, you will need to remove the needle plate and bobbin case. 

  Todays article is the first project from this series that I probably would not make again, unless a did a little something differently.   What I used: White cardstock  Scoring stylus Cricut Tape and glue Lollipop  Cricut project snowflake lollipop holder The steps I took: I had been looking at Cricut’s lollipop holders and really wanted to try making one! Although I did not have a larger type sucker, so I substituted.. I think this substitution made the project not work.  I cut out the cardstock and folded on the scoring lines I placed the lollipop in the center, but the extra plastic around the lollipop made gluing the snowflakes together impossible. I ended up taping all the edges together and cutting off the excess tape.  I’m quite happy with how it turned out but if I were to make this again, I would use the right type of sucker candy!

  I have the Anycubic mega zero 2.0 3D printer. In my honest opinion, I really like the printer! In this image, I had just finished a print on my printer and was so lucky I didn’t run out of filament!      - FDM printer: fused filament fabrication or fused deposition modeling, is a 3D printing process. The process is when a thermoplastic material filament is used continuously.  The large spool of filament is fed through the heated and moving extruder to be deposited on the growing print.  This is an example of one of my filament rolls Extruder: this part of the 3D printer is responsible for drawing in, melting and pushing out the filament. ‘A fancy hot glue gun’  (This printer is a single extruder) The melted filament then goes through the printer ‘head’: the hot-end.       - Magnetic printing hot bed: a magnetic sticker is used rather than paper or glue on the hot bed. It can be removed and bent to remove prints and reused again. The levelling of the bed has 4 positions.       - The

  This is a question where the answer varies from time to  time, the answer will never be the same.   But here’s a simple guide on when you should change your embroidery needle: Over 8 hours of stitching time? Change the needle.  Threads shredding? Try the steps in these two articles (1 and 2) and change the needle.  Loose stitching? Follow the steps in this article and change the needle.  Problems occurring in your embroidery and you’ve already tried multiple other solutions that did not work? Change the needle.  When needles have been used for long periods of time, for tough projects or for the wrong use they can become dull. When needles are dull it is not visible to the human eye. This is why we must use other clues to determine when to change the needle.  Always make sure that the needle is pushed all the way up and secured. Ensure that your needle is for the correct purpose, do not use sewing needles for machine embroidery, use embroidery needles!

  Here’s how I spiced up my little notebook cover. Of course with a cactus design. From the how I made article series. I used a notebook with a pvc sheet cover, plastic cover material, and wasn’t sure how it would be. But it worked really well! What I used: Notebook Premium vinyl (removable matte) Cricut Transfer tape Lysol wipe and paper towel How I made it: I started by finding a design that I liked and of course I picked a cactus design! I used this image ID from cricut design space: #M855825F.  Before cutting my design, I cleaned off the surface I was going to put the design on. To do this, I cleaned and scrubbed it with a Lysol wipe and dried with a paper towel.  I cut out the design on the premium vinyl and weeded.  Next was applying the transfer tape, I cut the transfer tape to size, peeled off the backing and held each size quite firmly. I placed the transfer tape down onto the design, still holding tightly.  Using the scraper tool I burnished (smooth/ scrape. Definition: poli