A Collage of Hands

Hey everyone! I'm taking a quick break from the Christmas present posts to show you something I finished more recently (and by that, I mean a month ago). 

I created several new pieces for my college applications in the last couple months, and this is one of my favorites! I posted a lot of process photos on Instagram while I worked:

Never would have expected to have this much fun with a college application #hopingforartschool #drawing #aaaaallllltheartsupplies

A photo posted by Taft Weber-Kilpack (@taftisseamstress) on Jan 9, 2016 at 7:42pm PST

Toothpicks + matches + hot glue #hands #drawing #hopingforartschool

A photo posted by Taft Weber-Kilpack (@taftisseamstress) on Jan 11, 2016 at 8:28am PST

Hopefully you're not tired of seeing this project yet...I broke out the #watercolorpencils and #paintbrushes today. Almost finished! #hands #drawing

A photo posted by Taft Weber-Kilpack (@taftisseamstress) on Jan 12, 2016 at 4:26pm PST

For the project, I started by photographing people as they worked on various creative projects and then used the photos to draw their hands. After I had all the sketches, I used aaaallllll the art supplies I could get my hands on to recreate the sketches in different ways. I used glue, ink, paper, wood, needle and thread, marker, watercolor pencil, tape, charcoal, different paints, tracing paper, pen and even fire!

So here it is! I decided to hang it up in my bedroom cause I like it so much. 

Next week, the Christmas posts will start up again. See you then!

-Taft

Christmas 2015: Chapstick Holder for A

So I was searching around on the internet/Pinterest for DIY gifts when I found this awesome tutorial from a blog called Crazy Little Projects. It's a little chapstick holder for your keychain, and I knew I had some fun scraps left over from the quilt I could use. 

(Sorry the pictures didn't turn out well this time, I was in a rush while I was taking them.)

The tutorial was fantastic, and I followed it pretty much exactly. I added an embroidered letter to the front. 

You can see this same fabric in the quilt post too. 

-Taft WK

Christmas 2015: Personalized Pouches, Part 3

Readers! I have excellent news!! Nearly three years into this blog, I have finally figured out how to rotate photos. Notice how I went from this: 

To this: 

Ah! A huge accomplishment! Never again will we have to crane our necks at weird angles to see Taft's pictures. Blog officially more user-friendly. 

Anyway, my Winter Break was pretty much taken over by pouches, embroidery and zippers, as you may have already seen. 

My mom saw all the pouches I was making for my friends, and commissioned me to make some for her coworkers and friends. Yay! Getting paid to sew was one of my 2015 goals.  

So without further ado, here's pictures of what I made: 

My mom picked out little milagros (you can read more about milagros here) for each person. It was fun to figure out how to work them in around the embroidery. 

Love the shape of that zipper pull!

This pouch is for someone who has moved from San Francisco to Brooklyn.

A process photo that was up on Instagram...

I love the color combination of the zipper and lining fabric on this one!

I posted a little sneak peak of this pouch on Instagram a couple weeks ago.

This one had a little Instagram sneak peak too!

I loved doing the embroidery on this one. I twisted a couple different colored strands together because I couldn't decide which color to use!

This is the last of the pouches posts (until next Christmas!), so I figured I'd tell you what I learned: 

1. Never underestimate the power of a good finish, even if it's just the inside and "no one will ever see it" even though they totally will. 

2. Avoid chunky zippers. Never again. I'm sticking to thin, light zippers next time. 

3. Respect your sewing machine's limit. Not all decades-old home sewing machines are meant to sew through 4 layers of fabric. Sometimes they get angry and fling broken needles at your forehead. 

Anyway, there are about 4 more posts about Christmas, and then we can move onto what I've been up to now that school is back in session! There's a couple projects I made for college apps that I can't wait to write about. 

-Taft WK