Here's another fun find from my wanderings around the floor at the recent CHA Craft Super Show in Anaheim California. The show featured many, many, many companies devoted to scrapbooking. Most of these I motored right on by in my quest for home décor ideas and inspiration. And then I came upon the Alexx Kesh booth. Maybe it was the fact there was shelf after shelf of the cutest little rolls of ribbons in all kinds of colors and patterns. Maybe I was drawn to the rows of tiny cups of beaded felt flowers, or the display of amazingly different mesh, interfacing and crepe. Maybe it was the fact I hadn't eaten all day. Whatever it was, I suddenly realized, "Hey! You could use this scrapbooking stuff to embellish home décor!"

While at the recent CHA Craft Super Show in Anaheim, I spent a little time walking the exhibit floor looking for cool products our Sew4Home visitors might find interesting and helpful. This is the first of several articles about what I found.

We've featured a number of tutorials that incorporate appliqué or start with unique shapes, like a heart or small circles and squares. Often, the most time consuming part of the whole project is drawing and cutting all those shapes. And they just never seem to turn out as smooth and even as you'd like.

New Product Find: The AccuQuilt GO! Fabric Cutter, which die-cuts layers of beautiful shapes with the turn of a handle.

The Serger. Many who are new to sewing view this machine as mystical, and maybe slightly sinister. Judging by the name, you could confuse it for something (or someone) found in Marvel Comics. Even its other, more British name, gives it a wonderfully super-hero edge: The Overlocker. Sews by Day, Locks Seams by Night.

It’s true this machine can perform magic – at least watching one work gives you that impression. Don't be alarmed by the multiple thread spools or racing speed. With a few basic instructions, you'll be well on your way to learning how to use this versatile and fun machine. Plus, once you feel comfortable with a serger, you won't believe the time it saves in your sewing room!

So, you've been following our Embroidery Week articles, and now are excited to get started with your own fantastic embellishments. The next step is finding all those awesome designs. You'll be amazed at the amount of pre-digitized designs available and the many ways you can access them. Actually ... overwhelmed might be a better word. There are thousands of options; thousands-squared if you decide to learn how to create your very own designs. Read on to get a taste of just how easy, inexpensive and fun machine embroidery can be.

Mesmerizing. That's what it's like the first time you watch an embroidery machine stitch out a design. Sure, you have to get everything set up and threaded, but once you push that Start button, whoa ... it just takes off on its own. Imagine if all you had to do was put ingredients in a bowl, then step back and watch them become a frosted three-layer cake. Whatever your task, having the right tools makes your work easier, and your success more assured. The most crucial accessory to successful machine embroidery is the hoop.

Shopping for a first embroidery machine can be a little intimidating to the uninitiated. There are quite a few options to choose from at a wide variety of price points. Fortunately for you, we did our homework in preparation for Monogram Week, and have broken down the necessities to a few top-level considerations.

Like any sewing project, using the correct materials is crucial to success. Monogramming and embroidery use their own special set of notions, which aren’t necessarily used in other types of sewing projects. We created a list of the materials you'll need, with an explanation of their use to help you become an educated shopper – before you start your first monogramming project.

Once you discover the rotary cutter, you'll wonder how you ever lived without it. Seriously, this thing is like the sliced bread of sewing. I suppose, if push came to shove, you could use it to slice bread, but that's not my point. My point is that it is a wonderful tool, and can make the chore of cutting faster and more exact. When first confronted with its use, you may find it a bit inimidating. But following a few simple pointers will help you use this tool safely and easily.

You've caught the bug and there's no getting rid of it. Congratulations! The sewing bug is one of the greatest around. Of course, now that you spend all your spare time sewing, you may realize you want a machine that can keep up with you. There's a lot to choose from, in fact it might seem overwhelming when you see all the features you can choose from as you move beyond basic. We've put together a list of the top ten features to look for on more advanced machines, so you can figure out exactly what you want and have the confidence to shop with knowledge.

"There's more than one way to stuff a pillow." I've never actually heard that used as an expression. But when I look at all the materials now available for filling pillows, it really rings true.

From natural fillers like feathers and fiber to the latest high tech fluff, you can choose a stuffing that's perfectly suited to your situation.

Bias tape is a great and much-used accent for all types of home dec projects. But how many of us have braved the hours of tedious folding to create a good amount of it, or burned our fingers trying to iron the perfect crease? Well, snuff out those burnt fingers, because there is a great tool for dealing with this: the Bias Tape Maker. Here we share a few hints and tips to make using it easier.

Stroll through many antique shops and you're bound to find a sweet and colorful yo-yo quilt. First made popular in the 1930s, the small, gathered circles that create a yo-yo are super easy to make, and the resulting fabric puff is a fun embellishment for pillows, blankets and more. Make them by hand or use a simple tool. They're great for using up small scraps, and perfectly portable – make them while sitting on the beach, waiting for the train, anywhere.

Beauty is only skin deep. That familiar phrase applies to decorative pillows as much as it does to people. The perfect pillow has an inner "ahhh" that comes from the pillow insert. Yep, it really is what's inside that counts.

Choose an adjustable height board with a padded cover and a cotton or muslin cover. Avoid the outer-space-suit reflective covers

The best irons hold a consistent temperature, produce plenty of steam and don't constantly tip over when upright. 

Pins are an indispensable sewing tool. They'll eventually poke you, but you'll have to forgive and move on because they keep your pattern pieces in place, hold your seams together as you sew, anchor trims, and more.

Ask ten different experts the difference between piping and cording and you might get ten different answers. however, you can be sure it does NOT have anything to do with bagpipes or comfortable pants.

At Sew4Home, we do everything possible using a machine. It's so much faster. However, there are times when hand sewing is necessary. Instead of searching the junk drawer for that needle you thought you saw awhile ago when hunting for the tape, stock up on these five basic types of hand-sewing needles.

If your project instructions call for two yards of 60-inch wide fabric, but the fabric you want to use is 45 inches wide... attempting to dredge up that old math lesson in proportions is probably not going to happen on the fly. Instead, print out this handy conversion chart for those times you don't have a pattern envelope with a yardage conversion table.

When you walk into a fabric store, you'll notice that most fabric is wrapped around cardboard bolts that stand upright on shelves. What you may not notice is that at the end each bolt is a label that provides important information about the fabric.

It's not as bad as searching through the proverbial haystack, but choosing the correct needle for your sewing project can be a little overwhelming. They all look pretty much the same unless you pull out the magnifying glass. But, different needles DO have different tips, eyes, shanks, groves and shafts; and what you select can make a big difference in how well your machine sews through your fabric.

Oh that we were spiders and could simply spin our own silk thread. Then there'd be no difficult thread choices. But that scenario would also require eating flies, so I guess it's worth the trouble to try to unravel the secret to thread selection.

My assignment was to write about window treatment hardware. You'll notice that's not the title of this article. Windows are a BIG subject and the more I dug, the less I knew. And, I'd thought I was well-versed in the ways of windows. It reminded me of another dig long ago...

Sewing requires some specialized tools, the biggest one being the sewing machine itself. If sewing is new to you, your inclination might be to get a sewing machine as cheaply and easily as possible. Purchasing tools within your budget is necessary, but getting the cheapest (or free-est) machine possible is usually not the best option.

Pillows are the star performers of home decor. They make a huge difference in how a room looks and are super easy to sew. if you are new to sewing, a pillow project is the perfect beginner project. If you can sew a straight line, you can make a pillow. And don't tell me you can't sew a straight line! That's what those guide lines on the bed of the sewing machine are for. If he had an opposable thumb, my dog could sew a straight line.

Another great thing about pillows is they don't take a lot of fabric, so they are economical AND easy. The pillow form or filler (what the pillow is stuffed with) is usually the most expensive part of the construction. I've included some online resources at the end of this article, but you can also look for sales and coupon discounts at your local fabric store. I've even been known to troll garage sales and secondhand stores for pillows with a good shape but bad fabric. I tear off the old fabric, gently launder the pillow form, and make my own fresh new cover.

Yet another cool thing about pillows is because they are economical and easy (see above) you can make LOTS of them and change out the look of your room every season, every holiday, every month should you so desire. Remember, if you choose a pillow pattern with an envelope closure or a zipper (as opposed to a sewn seam along every edge), you can even reuse those expensive pillow forms when you change out your look. Simply make new pillow covers in the same shapes and sizes of the forms you already have, and you'll create your own pillow wardrobe. Be a little careful though, or your pillows are going to want matching shoes and handbags.