Mixed media art bookmarks. It is well with my soul.

I hope you enjoy the courage and simplicity of these little pieces of art. 

After my last  post, I wanted to share these bookmarks I made for some ladies that passed through my home the other day.  They too each have situations and hardships in their lives that have or are teaching them to say 'Whatever my lot, it is well with my soul.' 

Both these bookmarks are made out of cardboard pieces.

In my west corner using what I have to create courage for my soul,
Becky

'Bottoms up' farbric bookmarks

(PLEASE all you followers of mine ~ sign up for the giveaway!!! Click here for pics and details. (Crochet flower garland and Ebru original Art) I really want to say thank you to all of you for being a part of this journey with me, so sign up to win.)

Ok so YES I have this thing for bookmarks.  I actually have grand sewing plans but time and me, well we seem to fight about priorities. So I end up creating modest items that help me try differnt things on my sewing machine.  For these bookmarks I was playing with the differnt stitch settings. Anyway, I created these little bookmarks and I have to say out of the 4 different kinds I have made (here, here and here) these being the 4th, they are my favorite.  They are so thin and well just downright cute, with those tiny ribbons stubs sticking out each side.  

Hope you enjoy the color and sweetness as much as me. 

Up is down and down is up with these bookmarks. I couldn't decide what to name them:
*Ribbon tabby bookmarks
*Both ends Bookmarks
*Stubby Fabric Bookmarks
or
*Bottoms up Bookmarks :) The last was the winner. :)

I know I am not the only color lover out there that could sit and play with fabric squares and scraps all day. :) I also have really starting enjoying finding projects with ribbon (since it is so easy and inexpensive to purchase here), thus, the ribbon chandelier we made for the girls dollhouse. (click here if you haven't seen it, it makes me smile and I am sure it will make you smile.) :)

Oh so very practical. :)

~ Enjoy your Monday.
From my little corner of the world to your corner, Becky

Simply w/ love ~DIY ribbon bookmarks

I made these 'sweet simple ribbon bookmarks' for some of my most cherished people. ~ They did not cost very much time or money and they fit perfectly in an envelope but I made each of them with a specific person in mind. ~  

Ribbon is so accessible at the Bazars here, and fairly inexpensive to buy, so my 'use what you have' theme came in handy for me on these little gifts. :) 

Gifts the joy and the dilema.
This year I committed to being more faithful at sending birthday greetings and gifts to family back in the States. Sometimes the joy of giving a gift can be stripped by feeling the pressure to get something just perfect (which for some reason tranfers into dollar signs $) or something unique (which transferss into lots of time), or for me trying to figure if my package will make it back to the States. So I have committed this year to giving 'simply with love'. I remember my sweet sister-n-law sent me a can of 'Rebublic Tea'(ginger peach!!) with a note of things she liked about me taped to the front for my b-day... as you can see I left the note attached to the can of tea just like it came almost a year ago. (this tea is some of my favorite so I use it sparingly since I cannot get it here) anyway my point..simply sent with love a gift means so much and it DOES NOT always have to cost lots or money or time. Not that investing time and money in a gift is a bad thing but for me it cannot be every person I give a gift too. I don't want to give out of obligation and pressure, I want to give freely out of love and a smile. ~

         Here is a quick picture tutorial for Ribbon Markmarks:

I hope you enjoy the simplicity with me

My little note on this tutorial is: remember to singe the bottoms of the ribbon so they do not frey.
All you need to do is take a lighter and allow the flame to singe the very bottom. Maybe just try one for practice before the orignal so you get the hang of it.

Some days I make things so complicated, however today I am enjoying simplicity ;)
from my west corner~ Becky

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DIY Fabric Bookmarks

An early

Happy Mothers Day to all of you dear Moms out there. 

As a Mom I love books and I love bookmarks so..

I thought thses bookmarks were a fitting gift for Mothers Day they only take about 15 minutes to make. Add it with a favorite fiction or Biography and tada a beautiful personalized gift. :)

I wish I could make for each of you however I hope the idea is helpful and inspires you. :)

This is part of my Sewing Simple series.  Even if you don't have a machine they can be hand done quickly also.

To make the Rosettes click here for a simple and easy tutorial.

This tutorial used fabric glue, I used my glue gun. You could also sew them together as well.

I used ribbon and fabric for the Rosetts. 
 Thick ribbon or thin ribbon works greats depending on the size you want.

Here are the 6 I finished and gave as gifts to some dear ladies. 

Personally the yellow one with the shabby fabric ribbon is my favorite.

It was also the simpliest.

I think I will be taking another go at ribbon bookmarks and some quilted ones at another date.

I don't know what it is with me and bookmarks. :) 

Here is the link of our Patchwork Bookmarks ~kids can do.

Tip: Even if you don't have lots of fun fabric just find a nice plain color and put a rosette made from a ribbon , you could also sew around the edge with a corresponding color of thread and

tada pure sweetness.

I found the Rosette bookmark idea here, which gives a great tut on how to make them for us simple sewing ladies.

much care and love to all

Thank you for following along! ~becky

diy Patchwork bookmarks ~by my girlies

Happy Spring... I am happy that the day on the calendar has arrived but really when the weather finally turns then I will really be able to say Happy Spring to all. 

 However in light of the seasons changing which I absolutely love

 we have been doing a few fun projects ..especially with fabric scraps.  

We worked on these 'patchwork' bookmarks the other day for a B-day present for the kid's Grandpa.  

The thing I like about this idea is it gave my girls the opportunity to touch the fabric and put colors together.

  It was a lot of fun and easy to do. 

 I used up some scrap fabric but I think if you had some really chick new stuff these could be a real hit!!

Patchwork bookmarks made by my girls.  
I think a new or used book and a book mark is one of the best gifts! 


If your interested here is how we went about it. :)

I tend to do almost everything "with" my kiddos and so while
the little guy was playing cars we were cutting up fabric.
 However in this pic I guess he was more interested in his 'bear bear' and the fabric. 
It's amazing we caught him holding still. ;) 

I absolutely love this picture of my girls hands
reaching for the colorful fabric.

We just used pieces of scrapbook paper I had
and a glue sick  to put the fabric on.

My little Lydia took this pic.  ;)

We wanted to monogram the bookmarks to make them more personal.
Plus I just love monogramming..;)

I think stitching on paper is fun so I decided to give Autty a go at it.
She was a natural on the sewing machine and tonight we practiced again.
It is fun to work with her on something she really desires to do, funny thing is she will probably pass me up if she keeps learning at this rate. ;)

Here is the back of them. 
 I didn't want to cover up the back because I wanted to leave room for a written note.
As you can see one is for one of the Grandmas. :)

They are done except for being laminated and some ribbon.
I did leave a few with no stitching just for variety.

Here we are at the Kirtasiye (office supply store) getting them laminated.

For all you Turkey dwellers several Kirtasiyes have lamination machines and it is inexpensive.

 Yep that's the lamination machine. I don't know why I took the pic authenticity, I guess. ?? ;)
 It cost about 2 liras for one page. (just over a dollar)

Here they are laminated.
 I cut them up and then rounded the corners so they weren't so poky. 

I put a slit in the center top and found a pretty ribbon for each

 and then hand sewed the ribbon together.

This little picture is a token for my girlie's. 

I have a few more 'no sew fabric projects' I want to post.  Fabric is one of my favorite things and this last weekend our family went to Istanbul for an education conference and I was able to buy a few cotton pieces of fabric.(cotton is really hard to find and pretty expensive) I am thrilled and completely inspired ~ inspiration is not usually my issue for not getting more done, it is time. I figure God allots 24 hours for a reason so I guess I will submit to it and go to bed. :) 

Good night from the west corner.

~becky