Silverlinings Originals

Photography Light Box DIY I posted on a few of my social medias my DIY Light Box that I made.  I had a lot of interest on how to make it and was asked to make a tutorial.  I thought about a YouTube video tutorial, but I am "video shy".  LOL So I took pics on how to make it instead.  It's easier to print as well if you wanted.  Please contact me if you have any questions. What you need: Three foam boards size 20 x 30 x 3/16 inches 1-2 Poster boards Rulers Wax paper or tissue paper Pencil, pen or marker Clear tape Masking tape or duct tape Razor blade Measure up 20 inches and make a line across.  (You don't have to measure 20 inches. You can measure as high as you like to make it as tall as you like.) I chose 20 inches.  Cut the board at the line you made. Do step 1 and 2 for the other foam board as well. This will be the sides of the box. Cut your 3rd board to be 22 inches wide (or wider if you like) and 20 inc...

It is time to play a little catch up!!!  I will hopefully be able to spread my posts out over the the next few days or weeks.  I have sooo much to share!  I think it is better and easier for me to post to my blog from my iPhone.  I seem to have the phone to more accessible than the computer now a days. The first piece of news that I would like to share is that as of April 2015 I am now a legal LLC!! My registered name in the State of Connecticut is of course...Silverlinings Originals LLC!! Yay for me!! It is now hanging on my wall above my work station. I have been doing business out of my home as well as two store locations.  Everything I am doing is pretty new still and I am learning as I go, but I am super excited about this new journey I am on!! Soooo.....since I am my own boss (even though I am still working at the hospital as well...can't quit my day job just yet) I needed to have a more functional and appealing work space. I am very OC...

How to Clean a Filthy Iron!! This is what my iron looked like after many interfacing needed projects. When it was time to iron garments, there was no way I was putting this on the fabric! I decided to go to the store and see what I could find to clean the iron instead of buying a new one. I found this in the household section of Walmart for less than 2 bucks.  I know there are a lot of people out there that try to find alternatives to cleaning in homes without using chemicals. But they way I see it, if my grandma did these things and she living past 91 it won't kill me either! LOL I grabbed an old white washcloth that no one uses. One capsule is all you need to clean the iron one time. Make sure you dump all the water out of your iron so the steam is not in use. Rub the iron over and over the spot. Even getting the sides of the iron that you have no idea how cakes on guck gets on the edges. You can wipe the excess off on other corners of th...

February Budget 'Cuse My French I broke the bloody hell out of the bank!! It has taken me a few extra weeks to get my budget post up for February because I knew I busted the bank wide open...I just wasn't ready to share yet! LOL I couldn't really be mad at myself though.  Even though I have set myself to stay on budget, some things just can't be helped. As every knows sewing IS an EXPENSIVE career or hobby in my case.  It is also an investment.  So with that said I will show you how I busted the month of February, but it was a one time purchase! February 4, 2015 Walmart: Pack of Sharp Sewing Needles = $1.27 February 6, 2015 Joann Fabrics: (7) McCalls Patterns = $13.93 (1) Simplicity Pattern = $3.99 (1) Vogue Pattern = $4.99 3 yd of Knit Fabric = $10.77 3 yd of Knit Fabric = $8.98 (2) Spools of Thread = $4.27 2 ¼  Cheetah Print Fleece = $17.04 February 9, 2015 Walmart: Serger = $190.53 February 13, 2015 Wa...

Girl's Weekend Getaway Bag The Weekend Duffel So I decided to step away from making garments and try my hand at making a bag.  I didn't want to make just any type of hand bag, but some thing that would be useful on my weekend trips.  When it gets warm again this bag will be used regularly!!  I bought the Weekend Duffel class from Craftsy.com over the Christmas Holiday when they were having a sale.  I finally got to dig in. There was a crazy amount of template measurements cut out of poster board.  I used the long bag measurements which were 23¼" x 10¼" x 8¼".  If I was going to make the regular size bag the measurements would be 19¼" x 10 ¼" x 8 ¼". The fabric I used was purchased from Fabric.com .   The main fabric is ( HERE ) ,   The accent fabric is (HERE)   and the lining is (HERE) . I also purchased fusible fleece and interfacing from Joann Fabrics.    I bought all the fabric in 2 yards to leave ...

January Budget I Made It!! At the beginning of this new year I decided that I was going to put myself on a sewing budget. You can read that blog post (HERE) .  I had come to the realization that I was spending a good amount of money on my sewing hobby. I would say half of the time it was being spent on things I needed and the other half of the time it was on things that I didn't really need at the time and my eyes were just too big! In my personal opinion putting myself on the budget and making myself stick to it helped out a lot.  I was surprised at the amount of self control that I have when I put my mind to it. It forced me to work out of my stash and actually look at the notions that I already have and not buy anymore. Here is what I bought for the month of January with the total and money saved staying on a $100 budget. (It helps when you buy on sale!!) January 2, 2015 Joann Fabrics: (2) Spools of 250 yd Thread = $3.28 Vogue P...

DIY --Sweatsuit -- New Look 6142 This project was a long time in the making. I bought pattern in the spring of last year with the thought of making a warm sweatsuit this winter.  I purchased this fabric of course from Joann Fabrics on Black Friday! I was on another blog one day and after reading the blogger say there was no stretch I was a little bummed. I didn't realize even after I bought it was there was no stretch to it, but I still wanted to make this outfit anyway and I wasn't letting that stop me. I have no idea what happened to my borders for the other pics...they just disappeared. The fabric I chose for the top and bottom was a sweatshirt fleece in a hot pink and black.  I love patterns that don't have many pieces to cut! I didn't take many pictures of sewing the sweat jacket. I did have to take up in the sleeve cap and adjust the shoulders.  Because this is unisex there will have to be some adjustments made for a more petit...