Friday, July 02, 2010

Sumo's Sweet Stuff - Blog Swap & Tutorial!



I am so excited to have gorgeous Summer from Sumo's Sweet Stuff here today. She has an absolutely adorable shirt tutorial to share with everyone today. If you haven't visited her blog yet - you definitely need to head over there to drool over all of her cute ideas for some inspiration. 

Welcome Summer!
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Hello everyone!

I'm so excited to be guest posting over here today on Mint & Clandy Create!

I'm Sumo, from Sumo's Sweet Stuff!



Sumo's Sweet Stuff

My real name is Summer, but my husband nicknamed me Sumo when we were dating. (Should I be offended?) Now he's got all of my family, as well as lots of our friends, calling me Sumo. I think Aunt Sumo sounds pretty great, don't you? I live in Utah with my husband, and our two beautiful daughters - Reece & Remi!



Growing up, I never used to be all that domestic or crafty, so I think no one is more surprised than my mom at how I've ended up where I am today! I started Sumo's Sweet Stuff last May as a place to keep some of my crafting projects so that my personal blog wasn't overrun with them. Somehow, that developed into a place to host giveaways, share tutorials, share recipes, and feature fellow bloggers' ideas and blogs! I also use my blog to promote my etsy shop, so if you're ever in the market for some baby girl accessories, come on over! Every Monday is Market Yourself Monday, where you can link up your latest projects, and visit other blogs to get some inspiration!
Sumo Sweet Stuff

For today, I thought I'd share a tutorial on my favorite thing to make right now! These shirts are soooooo easy, and I love the unique look you get!


They are really simple to put together, and the end result is fantastic! I'm always on the lookout for cheap shirts and tanks now! I also love them because they don't require a ton of fabric, so I don't feel so bad getting the designer stuff!


What you need:

- fabric
- shirt/tank
- sewing machine/accessoriees


You'll want to start off by cutting your fabric into strips. You'll have to figure out the length of your shirt depending on what size you are doing it for. I cut mine in increasingly larger sizes: 3", 4", and 5".


Cut your shirt. I usually go about an inch to an inch and a half below the arm hole.


Take your strips, put the ends together with right sides facing in. Sew a 1/4" seam.


I don't have a serger, but I always zig zag stitch my edges so that they don't fray as much.


Take your top strip and do a gathering stitch along one edge. Pull the thread to ruffle it.


Pin it to your shirt, ride sides facing.


Sew 1/4" seam.


Top stitch it.


Pin your second strip to your first strip, right sides facing.


Sew 1/4" seam.


Top stitch it.


Bet you can't guess what we're going to do next!

Pin your third strip to your second strip, right sides facing.


Sew 1/4" seam.

Top stitch it.


I didn't take a picture of this, but somewhere along the line you'll want to hem up the bottom of your third strip.

Done!


Another way you can do it is to sew all of your strips together before attaching them to the shirt.


Then ruffle your tube of strips and sew it to the shirt.


I didn't really prefer one way or the other!





You can find something every day of the week at Sumo's Sweet Stuff:

Market Yourself Monday
Tutorial Tuesday
Mouth-Watering Wednesday
Things to Try Thursday
Feature Friday
Showcase Saturday
Sponsor Sunday

I also am involved in a joint blogging venture - Win, Lose or Blog. If you aren't following already, you should get on over there and do so! We have a lot of great sponsors, and not all of the prizes donated are going to the contestants - they are also going to people who comment! Plus it's just nice to cheer for those lovely ladies. We're also going to start doing some giveaways soon, so what's not to love? We'll be doing more seasons as well, so if you think you want to participate, you may get that chance in the future!

Thanks again for having me! I hope to see you all over at Sumo's Sweet Stuff soon!

Etsy Opening Giveaway - Knot & Pearl Necklace

KNOT & PEARL Necklace - GIVEAWAY!!!!!

For those of you that are visiting, Welcome to Mint & Clandy Create! Thank you for coming! I am so glad you are here!

I am thrilled to share my very first GIVEAWAY with you! Enter for your chance to win the beautiful handcrafted freshwater pearl necklace below.



I also have BIG news! Not only do I have some amazing guest bloggers lined up this week, but I'm also opening the doors to my new Etsy shop. (Better late than never, right?)
http://www.etsy.com/shop/mintnclandy

Right now there is only a blank storefront, but I hope to have things up and running by the end of this week.

I will be listing a variety of items. Some will be made by me, and some by my talented family & friends. I can't wait to show you all of the exciting items I've got planned.

Now for the good part....the GIVEAWAY!

I found this necklace at J.Crew & thought it was stunning.....only....
I wanted to make one on my own. So, I gave it a go.


Using freshwater pearls, nylon cord and a lobster clasp, this "Knot & Pearl" necklace is what I came up with.

The necklace came out better than I could have imagined. The cord really looks like a silver chain, which wasn't what I expected, but it was a very nice surprise.   I'm excited to share it with you & hope you'll be equally as excited about your chance to win!

Now the details!


There are 2 ways to enter.
1 - Leave a comment on my blog. (I'd appreciate recommendations about how to make it better, things you enjoy most about other blogs, etc. - but that's not a requirement.)
2 - Follow me & leave me a comment letting me know you signed up! If you already follow me, just leave a comment telling me that & Thank you!

Entries will end Friday, July 9th, at 1:00pm CST. I will announce the winner July 10th.

Good luck & Welcome to Mint & Clandy Create!