Design Team Introduction: Jennifer "Scraps" Vanderbeek

Hello, fabric lovers! I'm Jennifer Vanderbeek, aka "Scraps" and I have a passion for crafts of all sorts. Of course, what brings me here is my love of fabrics and sewing. (I also have a thing for monkeys, hence the title.)

My mom first taught me to hand-sew when I was way back in single digits. I had dreams of Pretty-In-Pink-ing my hand-me-down wardrobe into utter fabulousness and making clothes for my dolls from scraps of fabric. Turns out I wasn't quite as gifted at remaking as I'd hoped, but I'm nothing if not persistent and I learned by trial, error, and following loads of dress patterns over the years.

Fun fact? I hate ironing--unless I'm sewing!

Steampunk Chef's Coat and Hat: I made the body of the jacket from a pattern, adjusted it to have princess seams for a more fitted look, then added sleeves from a thrifted men's dress shirt for the shirt-and-vest look. The cravat is actually made from the back of the shirt--the collar and the back, curved hem, ruffled with a bit of lace, and is removable for easier washing.

 I don't make a lot of clothes for myself these days, but I do make clothes for my dolls (anyone else collect the Pullip family of dolls?). Sometimes the tiny seams can be a bit fiddly, so I'll sew those by hand while using my ancient Universal beast of a sewing machine for the longer straight seams.

Doll clothes are great for using up remnants of fabric!

Most of my sewing, though, is gifting or home decor. 

I had to ship a gift basket cross-country one year but didn't like how much room the basket handle took up or how heavy the basket made my parcel. So I sewed up a fabric basket that got rid of all those problems PLUS wouldn't take up a lot of space in the recipient's home.

For one Halloween party I made fabric candy corn bags as favors (filled with candy). Not wanting the leftovers to go to waste, for the following year I sewed them into a garland with some of the leftover fabric, even repurposing the ribbon handles and buttons as "bows" on alternating fronts.

I'm looking forward to lots of fun projects like these with the fabulous patterns from Love My Fabrics and I can't wait to share them with you!

If you want to see what else I'm up to, you can find me on:

• Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/scrapsoflife
• Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/scrapsolife
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/scrapsoflifeblog

And I blog over at ScrapsOfLife.com about creativity, food, cocktails, and renovating a century-old Victorian home.

Wishing you creative days!
~Scraps~