Driving home last night, I noticed twilight had fallen a bit earlier than the week before. How did that happen?! I'm clutching at Summer's pant legs with desperate longing and wild promises of never eating two desserts again if only the warm and golden nights would stay just a little longer. But Fall is waiting in the wings, and soon it will be dark both early and late. So, as a last homage to summer, I made this reflective bandana for our doggies so we can walk in the gathering dusk in style and safety.

I tend to have wardrobe malfunctions at the most inconvenient times. Just before making an important presentation, a strategic button will fall off or a seam opens up. I can't even think how many stapler and Scotch Tape repairs I've made over the years. I finally created a small sewing kit that contains just what I need to fix almost any disaster – contained in a cute felt kit with a built-in pincushion kitty.

"Here Fishy, Fishy." Make your own colorful curtain for this classic kid's party game. Johnny (or Janie) stands in front of the curtain with a pole; mom or dad is on the other side with a bowl of prizes to clip to the end, guaranteeing the day's friendliest catch. It's a fun game they'll fall for, 'hook, line and sinker.' As an added benefit, you can use the curtain to cover a real window after the party's over.

Kick off the birthday festivities by printing your own birthday invitations and thank you cards using our free PDF files. Download, print, trim, fill in the details and pop them in the mail.

Use up your scraps on this festive bit of fun for a special birthday or everyday room décor. Our party banner turned out to be so colorful and cute, I'm tempted to leave it up year 'round. It adds a super splash of color and the extra-long tassels shimmer in the sun.

Webbing, ribbon, hardware, a couple of hours, and you can make your very own boutique style dog collar and leash. This is such a fun and easy project, you'll be offering to make them for all your canine friends. Of course, it's not just for dogs! That's Dexter, one of our French Alpine goats, stylin' our collar, and I think he's saying, "I HEART Sew4Home." Ahhhhh, thanks, Dex.

My husband has freckles, which means my kids have freckles, which means if left out in the sun for any length of time, the whole lot of them looks like a carton of speckled eggs. We have all learned the benefit of good summer head coverings! This adorable floppy sun hat is a pattern from Joanna Figureoa's Fig Tree Threads collection. It uses very little fabric, and so is a perfect way to use up some of your favorite scraps.

This baby gift bundle of two binkys on their own little leashes and a matching drawstring carry bag is at the very Tip-Top of the Cutie-Pie Ranking & Rave Scale. For those of you unfamiliar with the C.P.R.R.S., a project's ranking consists of the combined number and volume of "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhs" generated at baby showers. It's an independent ranking, so don't even try to find it on Google.

You're late, you're late for a very important date! Stumped for a quick gift for Mother's Day? Our Tattered Flower headband saves the day. I made this in about 30 minutes. But, it looks like I slaved for hours over the intricate triptych design, button embellishment and chic frayed-edge flowers. If asked, you're welcome to use any of those big words to describe how hard you worked on this gift as well.

Cuddly Cat is the final member of our Sweet Softies trio of stuffed toys, in which nubby chenille combines with the smooth, retro-inspired cotton of Heather Bailey's Nicey Jane for a sweet and soft vintage look. This friendly kitty has button eyes, and his little head and feet are sewn on by hand, so he's not the right choice for babies or young toddlers who are still rough on their toys. However, he'd make a great pal for older kids, and anyone else hanging on to at least a shred of childlike wonder.

Stuffed animals make me happy. They live on my desk at home and at work, so I can glance over at them when I'm having a bad day or when someone has shot down another one of my 'spectacular' ideas. There they sit. Always calm, always smiling. Funny Bunny is another friend in our Sweet Softies collection, in which nubby chenille combines with the smooth, retro-inspired cotton of Heather Bailey's Nicey Jane for a sweet and soft vintage look.

These fabric flowers are all the rage and super easy to make. The tattered, or raw, edges mute the original fabric's design and give the flowers a vintage feel. Stitch a pin to the back, and you can add them to just about anything: pillows, aprons, jacket lapels, belts, headbands. They take just a tiny bit of fabric and are a great way to use up some of your too-small-for-anything-but-I-can't-bear-to-throw-away-this-gorgeous-fabric scraps.

Just in time for Easter, meet our Sweet Softies friend, Eggy Pop. I dare you to look at Eggy for any length of time without smiling. Nubby chenille combines with the smooth, retro-inspired cotton of Heather Bailey's Nicey Jane for a sweet and soft vintage look, like a treasured stuffed toy you might have found in Grandma's attic. The super-plush minky we used for his hands, feet, legs, top knot and beak make our darling Eggy irresistibly squeezable.

A desk blotter is a bit of a throw back when you consider most work areas these days have a computer or laptop front and center. But, our French Desk Set collection is very traditional, and so a classic blotter was a must. The surface is a custom-cut piece of non-glare glass, which makes a wonderful writing surface and allows you to see Moda's beautiful French General fabric underneath. We've incorporated gripper fabric into the design, and between that and the weight of the glass, it ain't goin' nowhere ... whether you're furiously scribbling a missive or penning an elegant thank you.

Did you have a diary as a kid? I did. I just wasn't ever very good at it: 'Dear Diary, School was boring today. When I got home, I ate crackers and watched TV. It was a good day.' Yep, pretty scintillating stuff. However, if I'd had something as lovely as this French General Journal in which to pen my deepest thoughts, I'm sure it would have been much better: 'Dearest Diary, Today was an educational minefield. When at last I made it back to the safety of hearth and home, I was able to relax with both sustenance and entertainment at the ready. Stupendous all around.' Try it for yourself. Turn a plain spiral notebook into your own inspiring journal with our step-by-step instructions.

Flowers are the RAGE these days. Wear them in your hair, on your wrist, a jacket or a coat, on a velveteen ribbon around your waist... or sew several to a pillow, fill a bowl, upscale a gift. If you're planning a wedding, these airy flowers add an etherial, romantic touch wherever you use them. They can be rather expensive to buy, but are downright cheap to make. And with just a little practice you can turn out a dozen of these beauties in one afternoon.

Yesterday, I created the Valentine card that coordinates with this envelope. While the envelope looks a bit complex, it's really not difficult to make. In fact, it took me less time to make the envelope than the card. It's such a lovely way to deliver a valentine.

Using your sewing machine to sew paper and fabric together is surprisingly easy. Since I'd never tried it myself, I thought I'd start with a project that wasn't too complicated. It's a satisfying way to use up little scraps of pretty fabrics. Tomorrow, I'll show you how I made a coordinating envelope.

Create a pretty fabric mat for an inexpensive frame and turn a favorite photo into a showpiece. We patchworked eight squares from a charm pack, and added some ribbon for accent, but you can use the fabric of your choice. We think using a selection of fabrics from a wedding would make a great memory piece. Covering the mats is easy, even for a beginner, and they make a perfect gift for family and friends.

I'm cautious about toys for my cats, so I like to make my own catnip toys. That way, I can choose organic catnip and use up scraps of 100% cotton fabric. We made these little heart-shaped catnip mice out of charm pack squares, but they're a purrfect way to use scraps of fabric. I was pretty sure my cats would love them because I had oodles of feline assistance during their construction.

A little bird chirps a heartfelt message to someone special. These sweet vase wraps turn fabric scraps into your personal message board. Tweet it as we did, or say it your way.

Upscale a plain cylinder vase into a sweet Valentine gift by using a few squares from a charm pack. These vase wraps are easy and quick to make. Mix and match charm squares to see the many different patterns you can create.

Good things come in small packages, and they are especially good if the package is oh-so pretty and smells wonderful to boot. Our Valentines Heart Sachets are a little bits of elegance you can make to give away as indulgent gifts. They can hang on a closet rod, hook on a doorknob, slip into the lingerie drawer or simply show off on top of the dresser or vanity. Doesn't that sound sweet? Better make a couple extra to keep for yourself.

This very cuddly, very cute fleece throw is another no-sew project to which we added a dash of sewing ... so we didn't feel so guilty about including it on a sewing site. The basic instructions could be winnowed down to two steps: 1) cut fringe around two big squares of fleece; 2) tie together. It's still just that easy, but we've added a soft appliqué to the front in the shape of a giant butterfly. This motif tied in perfectly to the fabric palette for our Pretty Prints Please teen room.

The lowly bulletin or white board is so yesterday. You deserve a much more stylish way to display your notes and favorite photos and all the other stuff that's too cool to throw away. Find a frame you love, ours was a mirror in its previous life. In fact, we had two, which allowed us to leave one intact, turn the other into a memo board, then hang them side-by-side. Look at me, look at my stuff, look at me, look at my stuff. This almost counts as a no-sew project, but we decided to piece together our fabric covering, and so pulled out the machine. You could, of course, use a single piece of fabric ... but where's the fun in that?!