Fun Facts Friday- Seam Ripper

Welcome to our first Fun Facts Friday, where we take a look at something crafty and learn about it's uses, tricks, tips and more!  Today's post, whether you love it or hate it, is a staple in every sewing household... the seam ripper.

What is there to tell you ask? Well my friends, I first want to explain why every seam ripper has that little red ball on it.  It's not just for looks and when used correctly will make the job go 10x faster!  I also wanted to share a list of unexpected uses for this little tool.  Mind boggling, I promise!

First things first... why the little red ball?

If you are anything like me, you will pick each (or at least every other) stitch with the seam ripper to undo a sewing "oops".  But did you know that you can put the ball side down and simply run the seam ripper all the way down the opening of your seam?  It's just like using a rotary cutter except for that little red ball protects your fabric from ripping or catching while the sharp long end quickly cuts through the stitches.

Check out this video from Keeping u n Stitches Quilting for a brief demonstration of this technique.  I can't believe how fast and easy this is.  I also can't believe that I have learned this before and yet keep forgetting!  That's valuable sewing time!

WANT EVEN MORE USES FOR THE SEAM RIPPER?

Obviously it rips out seams (duh) but this handy little tool can also help you in other areas of sewing and in life.

Check out this list of "10 Reasons To Love Your Seam Ripper" put together by ikatbag.  It's a funny (and informative!) article and she's a funny blogger.

[photo credit to ikatbag.com]

My favorites are to cut open button holes, poke holes for prongs/fasteners and... make pleats!  Genius.  I love it.

The seam ripper can also be used in non-sewing areas of life...

[photo credit to www.realsimple.com]

Oh.My.Gosh.  Yes... it can be used to get all those strings, hairs and who knows what else that gets all twisted in the vacuum cleaner.  I repeat... genius!  Check out other "life hacks" from Real Simple.

I hope this Fun Facts Friday was informative and fun!  I've always been grateful for this tiny little tool, but now that I know what all it can do, it might just bump up to one of my favorite sewing tools of all time!

Have you ever used the seam ripper in an unexpected way?  What was it?

Happy Crafting,
Kelsie Ann

I'm back to craft!

Hello and thank you for joining me back on this blog.  I'm sorry it's been so long.  During my time away I have prepared for a new baby, welcomed said baby into the world, got used to life as a new mom, went back to work and then a few months later, left work to stay home full time with the little guy.

Meet Thumper (long story short, he thumps his legs so hard you can hear it on another floor of the house!), our perfect little guy.  He will be joining us for many crafty adventures in the future, I am sure.  He has learned to sleep through the sewing machine and the silhouette machine, so he totally understands.  He is one awesome little dude. 

{Our new little family, just a few minutes old}

Now that I am home full time, I also plan to slowly get back to sharing my crafty adventures with you all!  I can't believe how many people are still visiting the page and for those of you who follow us on facebook I can't express enough the gratitude I have for you.  I have appreciated your comments and questions for me during my "time away" and it's got me itching to get back into the swing of things.

{You can see why it's so hard to blog when I get to stare at this sweet face all day, am I right?}

Be patient with me as I get into a new routine.  I would also love to hear what kinds of crafts you would like to see.  I can always post things I am working on, but if you are itching to get involved in a new project but want a little more info, I am happy to help if I can.  I am open to doing video tutorials too- just let me know what YOU want to see!

My plan is to share a new craft on Tuesdays and every Friday to post a short "Fun Facts Friday" where I share a random "tidbit" about something crafty.  It could be a tip or trick, an informational about how to use a material, instrument, etc.  I'm pretty excited about those because I personally LOVE learning new things- especially on something I have been using for ever and never knew about!

{love those colors but I think I'll play around with a new "button" for this awesome day}

Thanks again for joining me back on our crafty adventures.  Please share with me projects you would like to see and as always I love to hear your questions and comments.

Have a great week!

Happy Crafting,
Kelsie Ann

[all photos posted on this blog are property of Kelsie Sausaman of cut, craft,create.  Please do not share or claim photos as your own, specifically those of people.  Please do not crop, edit or otherwise distort any photos, especially photos of people.  Thank you for your cooperation.]