Paper Crafting with the Janome Sew Mini

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Before I hit the "publish" button on Jen's article, I just wanted to let our readers know that Jen has decided to step down from Craft Critique. We are absolutely going to miss Jen's talent here... and we wish her the very best in her new endeavors! Thanks so much Jen for all your hard work! We are already missing you! ~Sarah

Reported by Jen del Muro













It's not a secret that incorporating sewing into your paper crafting is trendy right now. Or, as Paris might say, "That's hot." If you are anything like me, the thought of dragging your Singer out of the closet, getting it all set up and stitching a few lines on your project (assuming that the machine plays nicely with your paper project) is about the equivalent to the dentist saying, "Well, I have some bad news."

Then, along comes the Janome Sew Mini. (retails for $59.99US)

Let me guess...you are skeptical. Thoughts of horror stories of the itty bitty wastes of money that don't work well with paper, let alone cloth--the medium they were originally intended for, are spinning in your head. I sat back and I looked at other people's projects done with the Janome Sew Mini. I read the reviews. I sat back some more thinking that there was no way this little thing could work. Then the other day, my UPS man rang the bell (even though there is a sign on the door that says "Shhhh...Baby Sleeping) and there it was...my very own Janome Sew Mini. If curiosity wasn't gonna kill the cat, it was gonna kill me. I opened it up and grabbed the instructions immediately. Step by step instructions...with diagrams. It was like they were speaking directly to the sewing dummy in me. In no time at all, I had it set up and was ready to work on my first paper project. I put the pedal to the metal and...perfection!! I cannot tell you how pleasantly surprised I was! I was probably grinning from ear to ear as I admired my (somewhat not so straight--because of user error) stitches.

I apologize if I sound like an info-mercial for this product, but I love it.

Well, most of it.

There are two things that I wish that it had. First, there is no case. I will probably end up sewing a fabric case for it so that dust stays out of the components. The other feature that I wish it had was a light. I am not sure if I was missing the lighting because my big machine has one, or if my studio's lighting is not sufficient. Although, I miss these two features, they can be overlooked (and overcome) easily and they are nothing compared to the positives of this machine.

Here are the features, as listed at Hancock Fabrics (where it happens to be on sale right now for $39.99), and as observed by yours truly:

• Lightweight...only 5 lbs!!
• Easy to use (set-up and projects)
• 4 Straight length stitches
• 3 Zig-zag length stitches

Here's a card I did using this machine: