Sew Cute Sewing Machine

I'm sharing today this darling vintage sewing machine that I made for my sis-in-law. She's a quilter and had shared a different cardstock sewing machine that was posted on a quilting site. It was cute, but I remember seeing one that had a more vintage look. I went online and came upon a photo of a darling sewing machine posted, by coincidence, by a good crafty friend of mine, Misty (her blog is: cardsbygeyda.com, January, 2017 post).

The cut file for this sewing machine is from Cre8iveCutz.com. Of course, I had to put a couple of my own ideas into it. Firstly, I decided I wanted the box and extension to be really strong, so I made it in chipboard. And, added a real metal (So cute. I think it's Tim Holtz) drawer handle as well.

 

I have to admit, I made a huge mistake making the basic bones of the box. I had to throw it away, as I glued too fast and too many prongs at the same time. Word to the wise: Take your time and glue only two prongs at a time! It made all of the difference.

Thankfully, I hadn't put on any of the overlays on it yet, so only had to cut the basic machine, the inside part of the wheel and the spool holder.

One more note here: Having made this and experienced a massive fail the first time, I would suggest a small change in the pattern. It will be most helpful if you add a score line parallel to the bottom front fold line/score line. So, you will have two parallel lines on the bottom piece going from front to back on either side of the square hole that the needle comes through. The line would be .6525" from the front bottom score line, as shown in the following photo. It's very difficult to turn that corner without a score line. So, whether you score it by hand prior to applying the bottom to the front and back of the sewing machine, or you add a score line into your cut file (which is what I did), it will be quite helpful in putting it together.

 

 I found an image of an old J.&P. Coats thread spool, and altered it to use at the top of the spool using print-2-cut with my Sizzix Eclips 2. The spindle that holds the spool was open at the top, so I added a piece to close it off.

Here's the drawer open. The chipboard makes it so strong and substantial, and I'm so glad I went that route.

To make it a bit stronger, I made overlays for the top of the machine and the bottom, so they are two layers thick of cardstock. And just a note, the wheel on the right side of the sewing machine spins around freely.

 

I used a gold metallic cardstock for the needle guide and the head of the machine. I embossed it, and put some alcohol inks on to antique it a bit.

And, that's about it! Thank you, Misty, for answering all of my questions and for the support! You are the best!

Thanks for taking a browse. I enjoyed the process and the outcome so very much!

Be Sew Happy!

Custom Chipboard Boxes

Firstly, I needed a box for an odd-sized gift, but I couldn't find one that would work. I got it into my head that I didn't want to put the gift in a giftbag, so I decided to make a chipboard box on my own.
The box was sized to hold 8 sets of acrylic stamps. It is about 2" high, 5.5" deep and 11" wide, and has a magnetic closure on the front. Here it is:

The box is covered with Basic Grey's Serendipity and Shine On cardstock. I combined two different papers and added the rik-rac pattern to separate the two papers on the top. By the way, I use digi paper and elements, so I can alter in Photoshop to use as I see fit. I also put a strip of Tyvek along the hinge edge of both boxes to make them more durable.

The box fit the stamp sets perfectly (from SMS).
Also, I made a quick enclosure card from the same cardstock.

 

Regarding the second box, I had been looking for such for some time. The new Eclips cutting machines don't have a tray pull-out like the original Eclips did, so I wanted to set just the right size box or container in front of the machine. Mind you, the cutting machine works fine without a tray, but I got used to it on the older cutter. I've looked on-line and looked in every store I've been in for just the right size box for months, but nothing was the right size. I don't know why it took me making the box above to think, "Why not just make your own box for the Eclips2!"
This box was made with cardstock by Glitz (Pretty in Pink), again printed myself from digital files. I faded out some of the pink before printing. It is 2-1/2" tall, by 4.5" deep and 9" wide, and again has a magnetic closure.

This fits just perfectly in front of my Eclips. It's also quite functional, as I can keep my extra blades and my pen holder housing in the box.

Fast forward a couple of days: This sweet box did not work in the capacity for which it was made. I think it was too tall, and was made with textured cardstock. These two factors, either alone or together, caused too much "drag" for my mat to feed though the machine, so I scrapped that idea. But, instead I decided to use it on my desk for other purposes, and to modify/add to as follows:

 

 I made a couple of small boxes that fit into the box so that I have some compartments. It's perfectly functional and I love seeing it on my desk.

I'm so happy with it! Didn't realize I needed it until I revised it.

So of course, now I had to make another one to take place of the previous. I made this box 1/2" shorter and 2" less wide, the dimensions now being 7" wide/4.5" deep/ 2" tall. I printed my cardstock on the smooth side instead of the textured side. I've tried it with my Eclips 2 and it works perfectly. And, all of my cutting machine accessories still fit perfectly.

The cardstock used for this one is Carina Gardner's Apricot & Persimmon (digital paper purchased from Snap Click Supply company).

 I learned a little bit after making each one. Love the way they turned out. However, I'm amazed at how long I can spend making each box. Way too much time, that's for sure. These would never be economical to make to sell, as the time to make them would be prohibitive. But, that won't stop me from making them again. Very fun and I love the finished product.

Live and Learn!