Jane's tote is finished! I need to get her mailing address so I can get it in the mail to her!! I'm really happy with how it came out. As always I had a learning experience or two - like what happens when your needle gets bent! The sewing machine doesn't work too well after that, no matter how hard you try. So here are pictures - pretty similar to the ones from yesterday, but there is a zipper pocket.



And the inside:



The tote for Katy's aunt will have to wait for Sunday since we have a lot to do for our BBQ tomorrow. I might have a little time tomorrow night, to help wind down from the party!!

Labels: bags, sewing

Jenn's bag is done! I am so happy with the way it turned out. There is a minor mess-up on one of the straps, but other than that it came out perfectly! I've got a lot more to do tonight, so I'm just going to get right to the pictures:



And the lining:



The lining is a little darker than it shows up in the pictures (it looks better in this picture). Now I just have to put together Jane's and Katy's and we'll be all set!

Labels: bags, sewing

At yoga Monday I saw a lady with a cool yoga mat - it had velcro bindings and a strap built right into the mat. I didn't want to get a new yoga mat, but I liked the idea a lot, so I used some of the grosgrain ribbon I bought on eBay to make my own carrier. Check it out!



And here I am demonstrating:



I have all the fabric cut out for the three totes I'm making, and I'm halfway through assembling one of them... but I ran out of thread for that one and it was really late, so I'll go to the store today for more thread and hopefully finish two bags tonight!

Labels: sewing

Here is some fabric I got at WalMart of all places. I'm definitely not a fan of WalMart, but they have some good finds sometimes. I also got some storage bins to keep my fabric scraps and yarn, but you don't need to see pictures of that. =) Here's the fabric:



I think I'll offer Jane the red and orange if she doesn't like the green and orange below. Otherwise I'll find something else to use it for!

Labels: fabric

I finally got together everything I needed for a ribbon belt. It was super simple to make, it was just harder to find the d-rings than I thought it would be. Considering how easy it was, I'm still really excited about having it to wear! I have a lot more ribbon in different colors, so I'll probably make at least one more. The rest of the ribbon will be used on tote bags, and maybe even for scrapbooking. Here's a closeup:



And here it is with one of the shirts it goes with:

Labels: sewing

So I got three sets of fabric for some new totes. One will hopefully be the purse that Katy sold for me, and one will be for Katy to give to her aunt-in-law, and the other I just got because I like it.

This is for Jane, I hope - I'm going to check to see if she likes it first:



This is for Katy's aunt, if she approves:



And this is just because I liked it:



Although I like this alternate:



Decisions, decisions!!

Labels: bags, fabric

I found this great fabric store online, GotFabric.com. I ordered a bunch of half yards to use as purse linings. I also got some adorable flannel to make a satin-edged flannel blankie for my cousin's baby. Yep, I'm giving up on the knitting. I'm just burned out after speed-knitting the green baby blanket. I think the flannel one will be appreciated just as much, I hope.

Here is what I ordered:



The gingham and puppy flannel is going to become the blankie. It's so cute that it deserves a close-up:



In an hour or so I'm going to head to the fabric store to get the satin binding for the blankie, try yet again to find 1 1/2" D-rings to make my ribbon belt, and look at fabric for the two totes on the drawing table. And I have something to look forward to in the mail!

Labels: fabric

I finally finished the gift album for Pippa and Matt! Their wedding was in February, so I'm not too late. I'll get it in the mail this week. My scans aren't all that great - some borders got cut off - but you can get the general idea. The patterned paper is by BasicGrey and most of the embellishments are Making Memories. Enjoy!

Click here for pictures.

Labels: paper craft

I've had an idea in my head for a purse for a while now. Back in October when my mom took me craft shopping for my birthday, I got some cool faux bamboo purse handles. I also got the beautiful Amy Bliss fabric from my sister for my birthday, and I've totally been hoarding it, saving it for "worthy" projects. I was able to combine the two, and I'm very happy with the results! Here is my new summer bag:



It's pretty small, but it will be a lot of fun to brighten up an outfit when I'm going out somewhere. It's also *kind of* reversible. At least you can see what the lining looks like.



My sewing skills could definitely use some improvement. I'm not yet to the point where I'd feel comfortable selling any of these things, or even giving them away. Well, maybe giving them away. It's just fun to take an idea in my head and turn it into something real!

Labels: bags, sewing

So I was at Target today (surprise!!) and I browsed the $1 section as always... and found these awesome beads! Since my sister and I have been passing around a lot of links to handmade jewelry we like, I was inspired to make these earrings:



There were four per package, so I might make a matching necklace somehow, or make shorter earrings for someone I know who is on a green kick right now!

I got these beads in blue too, and will have to come up with something different for those.

Labels: jewelry