Teacher's Christmas Gifts

Since I started making Tiny Tin Sewing Rooms regularly I think and dream of tiny tin rooms all the time. You know what that means??

My daughter's school teachers get them as a Christmas gift! But not sewing rooms... I made a class room for her homeroom teacher. I picked some things I thought they looked good together. Then, Rachel told me that her teacher loves Harry Potter books, so I added that personal touch.

Her music teacher got a music themed room. It was a bit hard to find miniatures for this room and to decide on the design.

On Instagram, I received such positive feedback for these rooms and some people wanted me to make more for sale. What do you think? I think it would be fun to have a variety of tin rooms but I need to be more organized before I can expand.

In the meantime, I am going to be restocking my shop with Tiny Tin Sewing Rooms. If you were waiting for them I hope you will find the one you have been waiting for!

Tiny Tin Sewing Room Behind the Scenes

You might be tired of me posting about Tiny Tin Sewing Rooms, but this one is a bit different. It is not a shop announcement, it is about "behind the scenes" post. What inspired me to write this post is that I got asked the same questions from people about the Tin room. So I thought it would be fun to collect my thoughts and write about them. :)

{Question 1} "How did you come up with this idea?"

I always liked miniatures and wanted to make miniature rooms. When I finally did it, it was in a little wooden suit case and I loved how it tuned out.

I made some more for my etsy shop and sold them. They sold alright, but there were some challenges... because I used different bases(boxes), I always had to figure out the shipping for each one of them. Also they were harder to ship. There were a couple incidents where some parts came off when my customers received their packages, and I needed to do trouble shooting. I was a bit discouraged and going to stop making them to sell. Then one day, as I was eating some Altoids mints the idea hit me. "Hey, why don't I make a tiny sewing room inside of the Altoids mint tin?!" That's how I started making the Tiny Tin Sewing Rooms.

{Question 2} "Are you thinking about manufacturing them at some point?"

That is a hard question to answer. It would be a lie if I say that it didn't cross my mind, but I feel like manufacturing takes lots of knowledge and money up front. Also, I am afraid that it might lose the uniqueness of each item's "one of a kind" feel. I feel so bad that I can only make so much in a week and make my customers wait, but I think I am going to stick to what I do for now. OH! I *hired* my 11 year old daughter to paint the spools though!

{Question 3} "Do you ever get sick of making them?"

Not so far. I usually don't like doing the same thing over and over again, but because all the sewing rooms are different I enjoy making them. Coming up with different combinations of color, paper, buttons and other miniature items are challenging sometimes, but very fun.


{Question 4} "What do you do with all the mints???"

Hahaha. Yes, we have so many mints. I dump them in a 1 gallon freezer bag and keep them in our pantry and the whole pantry smells very MINTY! I eat them, but one person can only eat so many mints.

I put them in a snack size plastic bags and gave many away to my friends and neighbors, gave my kids some to share with their friends and my husband took a 1 gallon bag to work to share with his coworkers. He told me that they were joking about how their section has the freshest breath in the whole company. :) At this rate, I might start leaving the bags on my neighbor's door steps. hahaha

I better go back to my sewing room and make more tiny sewing rooms. I should be ready to restock my shop by the end of next week. Those of you who are interested, I am sorry to make you wait and thank you from the bottom of my heart for your interest. I will do my best to make them cute and fun to look at. :)

Tiny Tin Sewing Room Thanksgiving Giveaway Winner!

Happy Thanksgiving!! Thank you everyone for leaving comments for what you are grateful for. It is always so nice to read what everyone is grateful for and imagine the lifes' stories. May we all carry a thankful heart all year around. :)


The one lucky winner is a entry from Instagram...

Oneprojectafteranother


Congratulations!! I am going to spend time with my family now. Dear friends, have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Giveaway! ~ Tiny Tin Sewing Room

As the title says, it's giveaway time: Tea Rose Home style! I can't believe it is almost Thanksgiving, and after that, Christmas and New Year comes in the blink of an eye. This is the season I (probably a lot of us) look back and reflect on the things that happened this year. I am generally a happy and thankful being but more so around this time of the year.

There are so many things that I am thankful for and here are some off the top of my head...


I am thankful for my family. They keep my life busy, full, interesting and happy.

I am thankful for my upbringing and past experiences good and bad. All of them combined made me who I am today.

I am thankful for the roof over our heads, food on our table and clothes on our backs. I know it sounds corny and boring, but I am grateful for these basic things each and everyday.

I am thankful for that I didn't have any major health crisis this year.

I am thankful that I found what I love to do early on in my life. Besides being a wife to my wonderful husband and a mother to our children, creating and expressing whats in my head in various ways made my life so much more enjoyable.

Now, are you ready for the giveaway rules? It is very simple:


1. Leave a comment here and share what you are thankful for.

2. For a extra entry, follow me on Instagram ( https://www.instagram.com/tearosehome/ ) and let me know your user name.

That is it. I will close the giveaway on the 23rd at 11 pm and announce the winner on the morning of the 24th.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Christmas Bundle Giveaway by Modes4U Winner!

It's time to announce the lucky winner for the Christmas bundle! Are you ready to find out?

The winner is...

Sharvia Sultana

Congratulations! Please contact me with your shipping info, so they can send you the prize. Thank you all for participating!

Before you leave; they have just launched Kawaii Fabric, their new site with tons of fun fabrics. Please head over to check it out. Also, I will be having another giveaway before Thanksgiving, be sure to stop by! ;)

Christmas Fabric Bundle Giveaway and Super Easy Pillowcase Tutorial

Today's post it about a Christmas fabric bundle giveaway and sewing tutorial! I will share the details about the giveaway at the end of the post. :)

I was given a chance to work with Modes4u again. They have a variety of cute Japanese character items such as stationary, bento boxes and fabrics. Look at this fun White Christmas Wonderland fabric by Andover.

November and December is the busiest time of the year for everyone, but you might be thinking about sewing something as a gift for your loved ones. I wanted to share something useful and quick to sew today! :)

{You will need}

44" wide fabric --- 42"
Matching thread
Pom-pom trim --- 42"

{How to}

1. Trim your fabric, so it will be 44" wide x 41"long. Fold the fabric horizontally right sides together, then cut it to 36"wide. As shown in the picture, sew two sides and take care of the raw edges with zig-zag stitch or serger to prevent fraying.

2. Fold 1/2" on the edge of the pillowcase opening, press with iron and fold 3", then press with iron.

4. Turn the pillowcase inside out so the right side of the fabric is outside. Pin pom-pom trim on top of the sewed line and sew. I used my zipper foot.


That. is. it! Now you can enjoy the simple and pretty pillowcase. Wouldn't it be fun to make new pillowcases for your family and friends?

Oh, wait! That is not all...
You can use the pillowcase as a gift sack with a ribbon as well.

Now, it is time for the giveaway! Who would love to win this pretty Christmas fabric bundle?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I will post the winner on the 11th. Good luck everyone!

New Tiny Tin Sewing Room in the Shop

Hello, hello! I am back with the announcement of new tiny tin sewing rooms! All new 22 unique sewing rooms are available at my etsy shop. Please hop over to see if you are interested! :)

I feel like it has been such a long time since I have done any tutorial posts... but I am sharing a sewing tutorial plus a giveaway at the end of this week. Make sure to come visit again!

Book Review ~ I Modify IKEA

I was given the chance to review a new book called "I Modify IKEA". Being a big IKEA fan (and yes, we do have many pieces from IKEA in my house), the title alone was very intriguing and I jumped at the opportunity. :)

The clever duo, authors of this book, Charlotte Rivers and Elyse Major did a wonderful job introducing 50 DIY projects! Each project in the book offers illustrations and step-by-step instructions to recreate the examples. Depending on what paint colors or fabrics you choose to use, you can create your own unique look for your home.

Let me share some of the projects I would love to try...

Using Runnen, you can create a neat bathmat. By using more of them you can make it as big as you wish. I personally like this for inside my garage where we take our shoes off.

I am a sucker for baskets, and I fell in love with this look. The basket they used for this project "Nipprig" is discontinued, but I can use the same idea for the baskets I already have and personalize it for a fraction of the cost. How cute!

This reading bench was created using Kallax; it is very stylish and practical. I can totally see how things like this can be a great use in the living room or kids room. Just imagine... with different fabric choices and pillows you can totally customize the look for you.

Last but not least... check this couch out... how unique and adorable!! It's like a couch you see in a high end furniture catalog. It is a much bigger project (and a bit scary to try), but the fabric lover in me REALLY wants to do this someday.

I have a long "To Make" list, but I am sure I just added more to that list. I love IKEA items because of their versatile and stylish designs, but I think I will see them in a different light on my next visit. There are a lot more unique and practical projects in this book "I Modify IKEA" , I highly recommend you check it out.

New Tiny Tin Sewing Rooms are In!

It's been a while since I last posted. The response for my Tiny Tin Sewing Rooms is more than I expected and I sold all the sewing rooms, Yay! I still have the two Christmas Wonderland ones, please check them out if you are interested. I have been making more over" the past two weeks and I am happy to announce that they are available in my Etsy shop now!

There are 14 new sewing rooms and here are some of my favorites.

Aren't they so fun to look at?

I am going to post a review post for "I Modify IKEA" in my next post. I will see you then! :)

Tiny Tin Sewing Rooms are Baaack!

This is the third addition of Tiny Tin Sewing Rooms to my etsy shop. It has been so fun making them and I am so thankful for those of you who purchased them previously. I was overwhelmed by the positive responses about those tiny rooms and this time I made twice as many and more...

Meet a couple Christmas themed rooms: "Tiny Tin Winter Wonderland"

Depends on the interests I might make more of those Christmas rooms along with the sewing rooms. What do you think of them?

Thank you for stopping by everyone!

Diary of a Quilter Layer Cake Giveaway Winner!

I have been browsing the web to purchase some pre-cuts the last few days. I can't wait to start working on some of the quilts Amy shared in her Craftsy Class. The lucky winner of the Layer cake, is that much closer to starting work on the quilt!

So, the winner is...

Denise Parker
Please shoot me an email with your shipping info, your prize will be on its way.

Those of you who participated, thank you so much for playing!

Painted Glass Vase

One of my first projects after the kids went back to school was to paint the glass vases. I wanted to use paint that would allow me to put in fresh flowers. I found a couple
ways to do so and here are the links to Martha Stewart and Sand and Sisal. I used Kim's method.

I found these glass vases at the thrift stores and I think they have very pretty and unique features. Hmm... I can't hardly wait to see how these will transform after I paint them. Here is the "Before" picture...

and the "After" picture:

I have never "baked" glass before (well, I guess except the time I was making a casserole), turns out it is such a fun things to do. It was entertaining my curious mind alright.

I love how paints brings out the design of the glass.

Isn't it amazing how 50 cent thrift store finds can look like expensive milk glass for a fraction of the cost? The next time I am at a thrift store, l will definitely be looking for a glass vase with interesting designs! I can't wait to dry different colors.

Craftsy Class by Amy of Diary of a Quilter and Layer Cake Giveaway!

If you are a quilter, you probably already know my dear friend Amy from her wildly popular blog Diary of a Quilter. She is a pattern designer, instructor and author of the book Fabulously Fast Quilts. Just before the summer, she debuted on Craftsy with her fabulous class Pre-Cut Shortcuts ~ Quilt Top in No Time! She did such a wonderful job on sharing her skills and knowledge and I felt so giddy while watching her class. Today, I have a special treat for you ladies... 50% off of her class AND, one layer cake giveaway!!

In her classes, she shared a few fun time saving quilt designs using pre-cuts and different color variations. I want to make them all!

I want to make Bricks and Sticks with my 11 year old daughter. Wouldn't that be fun for her to make a quilt top that is simple enough but a more interesting design than just squares?

I also LOVE to try Crosshatch quilt. I love the look of it and watching how Amy makes it appear effortless made me want to whip one up.

I usually don't buy pre-cuts, but watching her classes makes me want to run to the store, so I can make those quilts! The last one is my absolute favorite: meet "Gumball Block". I loved the different color combinations she showed during the class and they inspire me for other color possibilities.

Aren't they so adorable?? You will find more tips and trick in her course: from fabric care to binding a quilt. Head over to Craftsy to get 50% off her class.

Are you ready to enter the layer cake giveaway? She is giving away Bespoke Blooms by Moda! Look at the pretty prints, I think this will be perfect material when you are going to make one of Amy's quilt, wouldn't you agree? Good luck everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Navy and White Pinwheel Quilt

Summer has been quit busy and I have been away from blogging for a while and I realized that I forgot to post about this quilt.

I have a group of friends that I have been friends with for over 17 years. We used to get together regularly for "project night" before we moved away and our lives diversified. We would work on our own projects (quilting, stitching, crocheting and scrap booking... basically anything goes!). We talk non stop and shared many good treats and fun times together.

This summer, one of our friends got married. She waited for a long time, but she finally met someone special to spend the rest of her life and eternity with. We are all so excited for her!! She is such an amazing person who cares about others so much. Do you have some points in your life you vividly remember when someone impacted your life in a positive way? Well, she is that kind of a friend. Because of her, and all of our friendships, my life is richly blessed. I really wanted to give her a quilt as a surprise gift from all of us to represent our friendship for her special occasion.

I made the quilt top a while ago and I asked my friends if they would like to chip in to have it professionally quilted for her. Well, they all thought it was an excellent idea! Here is the finished quilt (and my boys hands). We knew she would like the traditional look of the quilt, but I was a bit nervous before she opened the bag... but she loved it!! There were some tears and lots of hugs involved and we parted ways.

The back of the quilt, I added a hand stitched label saying "a Sweet friendships refreshes the soul~ Proverbs 27:9". The scripture passage perfectly describes our friendship. Because we couldn't get together before hand, we all signed our names in front of her around the wreath.

Family and friends are vital to our lives. The love we have for each other strengthens us and reminds us that we have a safe harbor in the world. I wish I could be that type of person to the people in my life and be ready to welcome new ones anytime.

Tiny Tin Sewing Room Now in My Etsy Shop!

Hello! I have a shop announcement today! I have been working on some tiny tin sewing rooms and I added them (all nine of them!) in my Etsy shop today.

I created the sewing rooms inside of a famous mint tin which is only 2 3/8" x 3 3/4" big.

Don't be fooled by its size: once you open the door (well, lid), you will feel like you are entering a real sewing room! Desk space has a sewing machine (some of them have hand painted details), on the shelf space there are folded fabrics or other accessories. There are fabrics on bolts and wall art on the other wall. So much detail in such a small space.


They will be perfect decor for your sewing room, as well as make a cute and unique gift for your seamstress/quilter friends. Please hop over to my etsy shop and check them out! :)