Kathy's Cozies: February 2011

Happy Birthday, girls! Thanks for sharing your creativity, craftiness and style for the past year. We've been inspired so much by you both and we look forward to everything the new year has in store for all of us!! :)

If you just hopped here from http://scrappymel.blogspot.com/, then you're at the right place. Make sure you visit all of today's links because honestly, you don't want to miss any one of these creative stops. These ladies are just oozing creativity!! Plus, there's a lot--and I mean a LOT--of awesome blog candy up for grabs. Good luck!!

I just love Valentine's Day! Think about it--a holiday devoted to love, flowers, roses, romance and chocolate! For one whole day we get hugs and kisses on demand, we get to eat chocolate covered strawberries with no guilt, and we find ourselves rekindling a little bit of passion with our "special someone" for no other reason than it's Valentine's Day. What more could a girl ask for? Plus, my own special Valentine (Hi, Honey!) was born on Valentine's Day. Yep--in just a few days he will celebrate the big 4-6. Happy Birthday, Honey!!! You're so cute and I will love you forever!

Sorry...I got a bit distracted there. Back to the task at hand. I get a lot of questions about ordering Custom Cozies. So today my post is going to walk you through the steps to creating your very own Custom Cozy. Be sure not to skip through any of the steps...and don't forget...there's some awesome BLOG CANDY at the end!!!

STEP 1: CHOOSE THE MAIN FABRIC

When someone approaches me about making a Custom Cozy, we always start by selecting a fabric. If a new customer can tell me what she likes, then I can either direct her to my photobucket site (http://s1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa422/bckpiano/) or send some snapshots her way. Sometimes, if I don't have anything on hand, I will go to my local fabric store and snap some pictures with my cell phone. (The girls at Joann's must have a special "signal" when they see me coming. I can just imagine..."Everyone to your stations! Here comes that crazy lady with her camera! Dust the displays! Adjust the lighting and straighten the cutting table! Every employee on the floor!")

So...since our theme today is Valentine's Day...let's say that you wanted to order a Custom Cozy that just screams, "I love LOVE!" Here are some fabrics you might choose from:

STEP 2: PICK THE COORDINATING FABRIC

It's always fun to find a coordinating fabric that brings a nice contrast to the main fabric. In this case, I thought that some possible coordinating colors would be brown (as in chocolate!), white or pink. These are the pictures you would find in your inbox.

STEP 3: CHOOSING AN EMBELLISHMENT

After you have picked the fabrics, my work begins. I have to cut the fabric and stitch it together. Then I take the muslin backing, the batting and the main fabric and baste them together. Quilting is next. I usually use a "stippling" pattern as I machine quilt my Cozies. This is a random pattern of back-and-forth stitches that looks pretty, but also holds all of the layers together. Since my Cozies are quilted, they bring a great deal of padded protection to your machines. After the quilting is finished, the pieces all have to be cut to the correct size. They are stitched together, the seams are finished, and then the binding is hand-stitched into place.

This is what the final project looks like...except it's a little "naked," don't you think? (Face it, girls, what's a great outfit without the proper accessories???) A pretty embellishment will finish off the look.

At this point, I will look through all of my buttons, bows, flowers, chains and charms to find some nice items that might dress up your Cozy. I will send some pictures to you and let you choose the one that is your favorite.

A hand-crocheted flower looks so nice on this one.

Ta-da...the finished Cozy!!

BLOG CANDY!!!

I'm offering two great prizes in celebration of Meighen's and Nicole's birthdays. One lucky winner will win a set of 22 hand-crocheted flowers, compliments of my sister, Linda. (Check out her Etsy shop: www.etsy.com/shop/charmingcrochet) These flowers would look great on a scrapbook page or hand-made card!

The second prize is a Custom Cozy of your very own. That's right...you can design your own Cozy for one of the following machines (your choice):

Cricut Expression
Cricut Create
Cuttlebug

Gypsy

To get some ideas, check out my Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/KathysCozies

Here's how you can win. Leave a comment on this post, telling me what colors/fabrics you would use to design your own Custom Cozy. For an extra chance to win, "like" my facebook page--Kathy's Cozies. If you already "like" my page, just let me know in your comment and you, too, will get the extra chance. The first name selected (by random.org) will win the flowers and the second name selected will win the Custom Cozy.

Good luck, everyone!

Thanks for stopping by today. Your next stop is over to Ellen's blog: http://lifeatwalnuthill.blogspot.com/

This is a complete list of todays stops...Happy Hopping!

1. Meighen - http://scrappin3rdeeschik.blogspot.com/

2. Jennifer - http://creativearmywife.blogspot.com/

3. Liset - http://www.hailemnat.blogspot.com/

4. Jill - http://thescrapoholic.blogspot.com/

5. Pam - http://pammejo-scrapbookflair.blogspot.com/

6. Jess - http://www.kinderstampo.com/

7. Dawn - http://www.pinkyswrspaper.blogspot.com/

8. Tracey - http://thecroppingcanuck.blogspot.com/

9. Martha - http://pattisscrapingtime.blogspot.com/