Custom Baby Blankets and More

I am due to deliver a custom order this weekend when I head to my hometown for Easter.  A friend ordered 2 blankets and a crib skirt for her soon to be born granddaughter. 

I actually met the mom to be at the fabric store back in February so she could chose the blanket and skirt fabric.  She chose the yummiest, softest cheetah minky for the blankets - accented with pink and brown.  The colors are so pretty and the fabric is so soft it seriously is hard to stop touching it!  The pictures honestly do not do them justice, you have to touch them!  This is going to be one cozy baby!

She wanted pink and brown for the crib skirt, so I helped her choose the fabric.  We chose the pink from one of my favorite lines from Michael Miller.  I thought is was called Fairy Frost but now that I search for it - its actually called Mirror Ball Dot.  It is just so pretty and fancy.  We found a nice chocolate brown solid for an accent on the bottom of the skirt.  I only took a picture of the finished crib skirt over my ironing board, but I am excited to see a picture of it on her crib!  It turned out so pretty!! 

My baby gift for the Mom to be is this cute cute ribbon owl - it has the cheetah minky on the back and is so cozy.  If my son or daughter had this critter they would have it permanently attached to their cheek!

So fun to create something special and unique for a lucky baby girl and Mommy!!

Minky Blankets - Sewing tip!

I am trying to hit the sewing machine as much as I can, so I can build my inventory and choices in the shop. 

Last weekend, I worked all day on Saturday while my husband was in charge of the kids.  That morning after breakfast I said goodbye to my daughter and told her I was going to work - she said "You are going downstairs!" all sassy like.  Miss O, the smarty pants, was right - my "studio" or rather my sewing corner is downstairs in our daylight basement.  I do long for a real studio with a door that closes, but alas I work with what I have, which really isn't too bad!

So my focus for that sewing day was to sew up a stack of minky blankets I had already cut out.  I would say the day was rather productive!

When I first started making these blankets - check them out in the shop - I was worried about the slippage potential.  The fabric is so soft and cozy but very slippery when you try to sew two pieces together!! 

First Tip:  After reading up on it - I agree strongly with the people of the internet that using a walking foot is a must!  This is a walking foot if you were curious.  They are used when quilting (the stitching that runs through the entire blanket) a quilt - but since they have grippers (feed dogs) in the foot they are great for minky since it keeps the 2 fabrics together as it goes through the machine - sorry a lot of information for non-sewers, but if you really want to get into sewing blankets, its worth the investment (not too much $).

Second Tip:  Pin, Pin, Pin!!  So when I first started my blankets looked like this.

Seriously a pin every inch or so!

 

Then my Mom and I went to Sew Expo last year and found Wonder Clips - Ahhhh!!!  These things are amazing!  Pins with out the pin!  I think I used to stick myself at least once a blanket with the all pin version.  We bought a 50 pack and split it - so since I didn't have quite enough to cover the entire blanket - my blankets looked like this!

Clip, Pin, Clip, Pin......

 

So when I decided to sell the blankets in the shop (after raves from people I have given them to as gifts) I bought myself some more clips and walah!!

All Clips!!





They actually make the "pinning" and sewing process pretty quick now - which is good for the productivity!  Here are some close ups of the newest blankets in the shop!  I am in love with the zebra combos!!  And a new blanket - flannel and minky - my sister dubbed it the "Urp and Cuddle", love the animal superheros!  Check them out!



Friend Craft Night (Free Printable)!

Kate, a friend I met over 3-1/2 years ago (through our kids of course) came over last night for a fun craft night!  It was fun to chat and do some crafting, after not seeing each other for a while!

She (like me and everyone else) is a big pinner - but Kate actually does put those ideas via pinterest into action!  She wanted to create something like this pin (which originally was a free printable, but has since been taken down - poor lady probably got flooded!)

 

I am always up for a challenge and have been very interested in graphic design work - especially creating my own printables (I love them and have purchased plenty over the past year).  I got Photoshop Elements for my birthday last year and have just recently been diving into it.  Its awesome for editing pictures but its also awesome for creating my own invites/art/printables!!

 

There are so many talented designers on the internet (I am partial to the designers on etsy) that you can buy the "pieces" for your final creation.  In order to tackle our state project - we bought state silhouette graphics from Great Graphics, digital paper (backgrounds) from Sonya DeHart Design and found a free heart clip art on the internet.  Total cost around $7.00 for graphics - but they can be used over and over of course!

 

And here is what we came up with!

 



I think they turned out soooo cute!  She is printing them and out and making sure they work in her house - thats the beauty of making your own graphics - you can change them if you want to!  Woohoo!

So because I am so excited that I am learning a new skill - here are a few FREE State art printables.  I am a west coaster and live in the fabulous state of Washington - so for all you Washingtonians out there, here are free WA state printables - in two different color combos with a Seattle and Vancouver (my hometown) version!

The originals were created 11x14 - so you can print them that big, or resize smaller via your home computer or a printer like Costco, etc.  Click the links below each image to download from Google docs.  Enjoy!

WA Red Blue Vancouver

 WA Red Blue Seattle

 WA Blue Green Vancouver

WA Blue Green Seattle

The new look of jeni ro designs!

I am so excited!  I feel like such a big girl now - I finally have a cohesive looking brand across all my sites!  I have been working with a designer (Pink Pueblo, check out her shop below) for the past few weeks to come up with a look and feel for jeni ro designs - something fun and playful - so everyone knows that fun gifts are my passion - mostly for kids now but I have plans, oh yes I have plans!

Introducing the new look of jeni ro designs!!

Pink is one of my favorite colors, so it had to be included.  I wanted a fun icon - and I am a Leo so you can't go wrong with a lion.  And blue because its pretty and I wanted to show that I make gifts for girls AND boys!  So much fun!

On this blog I am planning on posting craft and sewing tutorials and tips and showcasing my creations.  Check back tomorrow for a fun tutorial - my first one!  In the meantime click the "Shop" link above and check out my etsy shop.  I have big plans this weekend to do some serious creating, so look for new stuff in the shop next week too!

Thanks for visiting jeni ro designs!  And thanks for the smile!

And don't forget to check out my fabulous designers etsy shop too - if you ever need fun graphics!!  Such cute stuff! Click on the link under the image!

www.pinkpueblo.etsy.com