Daily December Pattern Day 10!

I have been busy at home lately - lots of sewing and snapping so I can finish up Christmas gifts for my family!  But I have been posting the daily patterns over on Facebook!  While I get them caught up on here, go check them out over there!  

Now for today's pattern share...

Now that nicer, more professional cameras are starting to get more affordable, people are buying them to help them capture some great family memories. There are also more and more individuals offering their photography skills to help others capture those memories as well! Well... do you have one? Do you hate how the strap can dig into your neck because it's so skinny? Or do you want to make your camera easily recognizable or add your own flair to it?

How about making your own camera strap cover? I have used a couple patterns and/or tutorials to make a few covers and have ended up with a favorite! Little Lizard King has a free pattern at for one on their site (link at the bottom of this post), as well as quite a few other free and paid patterns, and it's very friendly for the beginner sewist. I added an extra pocket on this cover - I made it for my mom when she took a trip this summer to travel Europe for a couple weeks and I wanted her to be able to slip her credit card or ID in a pocket if she wished!

Now, what are you waiting for? Go make your own!

Daily December Pattern Day 4 - Crayon (or make-up brush) roll up

Are you ready for Day 4 of the Daily December Pattern?  This one actually isn't a pattern, it's a tutorial, but it's something that can be very useful, especially if you have young children that do better when entertained while out and about!

A crayon roll up is a wonderful idea, and is ultra easy because it's all straight lines.  It's multi purpose as well, if you have no need to keep crayons with you but you keep make-up in your purse then just use it for your brushes or tubes of mascara and lip gloss!  I have made quite a few of these, I even keep my own roll handy for my girls! What's even better is that these make great stocking stuffers, birthday gifts, or party favors!

Now go ahead and start making your own!! You'll thank me later.... :)  Just visit Art Gallery to check out their tutorial.

Below are some that I made for my shop this last summer.  If you check out my Facebook page, you may even be able to find a couple still available!

Daily December Pattern Day 2!!

Daily December Pattern's Day 2!

Walk through the Christmas/Holiday section of any store and you'll find a huge selection of stockings. But have you ever wanted to have your own personalized stocking? They are easy to make, especially when you have a good pattern and instructions. Add names, monograms, or your favorite character and you'll have a stocking to use for many years to come!

When it was time to add stockings for my girls, I couldn't find anything that matched my and my husbands stockings. Styles, and manufacturers, had changed greatly over the one or two years between purchases! And I wanted stockings that my girls would love, because they were mama made and no one else had one like theirs. I searched Pinterest for stocking patterns and tutorials and, after a couple weeks of searching, finally settled on this pattern. I wanted something simple, no heel or toe patches, a wide cuff. And big.

The pattern I found was very easy. I had all of these sewn up in about 2 hours, including toddler interruptions, and although there are some imperfections, they are ours! I didn't follow the pattern to a "T" though... I didn't use batting since I didn't have any on hand and I didn't have time to run to the store for that one item. My stockings ended up being floppy because of this, which I don't mind, but if you want them to hold their shape when they're hanging with nothing in them then make sure you use the batting!

Where can you find this pattern? Head over to Fabricworm's Facebook page and check them out, that's who I got this pattern from! Then go here and you will go directly to the pattern instructions with a link for the pattern!

Daily December Pattern! Day 1

While I still get my thoughts on everything organized, how about I share a different pattern each day? They will all be quick and easy for the average "beginner" seamstress, but may require you to sew a fabric that's new to you! Some may be patterns I have tried and love, others may be patterns I have yet to try but am itching to make! If it's a pattern that you have to pay for, trust me that it will be worth it!

For Day 1, I chose something that should be a fun sew and the end result offers a great way to stay warm! Today's pattern is a mermaid/fish tail blanket for children!

There are a lot of fresh, new patterns recently released for this style of children's blanket and they're fun for almost any child! The pattern I chose for this blanket is by Made For Mermaids, also known as M4M in the pattern/sewing world, and I chose them because I've used a couple of their patterns and think they are written very well, easy to follow and they provide great pictures during construction as well as after. I have yet to make mermaid tails for my girls, but it is on top of my long list of things to create!

This pattern is free for today only, so grab it while you can! One thing you have to keep in mind is that it calls for fleece, or a similar style knit, fabric. Any kind of knit can be difficult to sew with, mainly because of it stretching or rolling while sewing, so make sure you sew sloooow and use lots of pins or clips!! Feel free to contact me if you have ANY questions on sewing with knits and I'll help you out in any way I can!

How do you get this pattern? Go visit Made For Mermaids on Facebook look for their most recent post. They provide a link to the pattern as well as info on their Facebook group!

Another great thing about this pattern? They also have it sized down so you can make one for your child's doll!

*I need to add that I am in no way affiliated with and of the patterns or pattern makers that I am sharing, nor am I receiving anything from any of them for sharing these patterns.  I am sharing these simply because I like the patterns!

*picture is courtesy of the Made For Mermaids facebook page.

Welcome!!

Hello there and welcome to my new adventure!  I am Kim and I am the owner of J&K Creations, originally based out of Alaska but now based out of sunny Nevada!

I started my adventure in the beginning of 2014 making baby clothes.  I started out with just a few select items and slowly expanded over the next year and a half, and now I have about 100 different patterns for babies & children, women, a couple for men, and lots of home & accessory items!  During this new adventure I will tell you all about the different patterns I have, and love, as well as their pattern makers.  I'll also share my knowledge on different fabrics, great places to get them, and tips on sewing.  And, whenever I make something new, I'll share a creation that I've made for family or friends... maybe even pull something out from my vault (picture or storage!) to share! I also have lots of fabrics, as well as several items I made but didn't get the chance to sell, that I may offer up during a giveaway every now and then!

Now, a little about me:  I was born and raised in a small town in south central Alaska and lived within about a 40 mile radius of my childhood home for all but 2 years of my life, until our recent move.  My husband is in the military and he loved Alaska so much that we got to spend quite a bit of our marriage in my home state!  But now.... we got to move to a state that offers a lot of what we love and want in any home state.  I love heat (don't ask me why I lived in Alaska for so long!) and love that our new norm for cold temps only last a short while.  I may be saying different once the summer rolls around, especially since we moved here after it started cooling off.  We love the outdoors and went camping, fishing, and/or ATV riding most of the year.  Well, all of the year for my hubby, he loved to ride his snowmachine, something people from any of the other 49 states call a snowmobile.  :) We also have two younger girls, K and J (they are where my shop name came from), who stay active just like any other kids their age.  It's so much easier for me to now keep them active outside when there is no snow or freezing cold winds to deal with!  We have two dogs as well; a fat, old lady named Raelie and a young teenage boy named Cooper.  Raelie is a Sheltie and the original love of my life.  Over the last year or two she put on quite a bit of weight, a lot of it because she didn't get much attention because of us having babies as well as getting old (and her metabolism changing) and the arrival of her brother 3 years ago.  Cooper.  He's something else.  The little brother that you love to hate, especially when he's a dog and stubborn as all get-out!  Cooper is a French Bulldog, he's one of the sweetest dogs you could ever meet, dumber than a box of rocks, and is super loyal to his family.  Cooper had to stay back in Alaska with family but will be joining us in the summer, he wasn't able to make the initial move because we flew out of Alaska and his breed is banned from flying because of their short noses.

On to my machines, my sewing background, and all that jazz...  I started using a sewing machine when my age was still in the single digits.  I took random sewing/home economics classes in high school and made random items for family members throughout my childhood.  I even made a self-drafted Halloween outfit one year when I was in my early 20's!  I didn't really get back into sewing again until my late 20's/early 30's.  I picked up a used machine at a garage sale and made little projects here and there.  I embellished some stuff for my nephews for Christmas soon after.  Then I found the pattern that changed it all for me, the Maxaloone pants by Max & Meena.  I made stuff for my oldest daughter while learning how to sew fabrics I had never sewn before.  Upped my skill level and opened my shop.  I learned new techniques and added a couple new machines.  I added lots of fabric to my stash.  I even got to test a couple patterns!  From there I just went along with it, making mostly baby clothes and girls dresses.  And then came the move.

I currently have a sewing machine and a serger, or overlocker, and love them both to pieces!  My sewing machine is a Brother PC420 and has too many stitches to count, lots of feet, a metal frame (a must if you plan on doing a lot of sewing), and lots of little options that make sewing set-up and construction go that much smoother!  My serger is also a Brother, it's a Designio DZ1234 which is basically a 1034D with an extra foot, different tension dial colors and a neat design on the front.  I bought both of my machines from Amazon Warehouse as "open box" items.  The boxes had puncture holes from shipping that they covered/taped up and then knocked the price down by $10-40!!  They both had a learning curve, especially the serger, but since I learn by doing I had them figured out in no time!

Do you think you learned enough about me?  I hope so!  You will be learning more over time, as will I!  Feel free to tell me a little about yourself, what inspires you to create, how long you've been in your craft.... Anything!

Thanks for listening and I'll talk to you soon!