Party Prizes / Triangular Coin Purse

I knew that I wanted to use some of my sewing supplies to make prizes for the bridal shower games. It worked out well that I had two zippers in the right size and just enough yellow striped fabric to make two triangular coin purses.

I used the instructions here and they were fairly simple to understand. It didn't take too long and I'd probably sew these again if the occasion presented itself.

Next, I wrapped them up and they were ready to be prizes at the shower. I think the recipients enjoyed them.

Party Favors

I've spent the past month and a half planning a bridal shower for a friend. Well, technically my role was assistant to the Maid of Honor... but she graciously allowed me to take over.

The shower was this past Friday. Now the bride has seen it all and I can share the details here, starting with the favors.

I was looking for something affordable and easy to make for a guest list of 22. I somehow came across this project for candy pouches and it seemed like just the thing! I was able to gather all the supplies easily and the only expense was the Jelly Belly jellybeans inside (in the shower colors).

Kraft paper is nonexistent here so I used Molly's hefty supply of lunch sacks to cut out squares.

To personalize the candy pouches I used two of Molly's letter stamps for the bride and groom's initials, and carved my own stamp out of an eraser for the heart.

Then it was just a matter of sewing three sides of the pouch, pushing jelly beans inside, and sewing it closed.

I think they turned out quite nicely. 

Another Market Bag

Do you ever zone out while sewing? I do. I planned to add a few pockets to this bag. I even prepared and sewed some. After that I guess I entered a trance because I didn't realize that I didn't actually include the pockets until I was nearly finished. There was no going back. Oh well.

So the market bag with lots of handy pockets I planned to make for a friend's birthday became just a plain old market bag.

At the very least I did remember to add a velcro closure. I hope that counts for something! The tutorial for this project is from Film in the Fridge but the exact link doesn't seem to be currently working.

Happy Birthday, Shera!

(And thanks to Molly for leaving her camera at home during the day. I was able to get a few last minute photos!)

Aprons for Thailand

Today I'm setting off for Thailand! I will be doing a few weeks of volunteering with the Thai Child Development Foundation (and a few weeks of travel as well). Last month I was reading over the foundation's Wish List and noticed they were asking for aprons. Having too much fabric and ample time on my hands, I decided to make some!

It was a slow process at times. I really hate turning tubes of heavy weight fabric. But it was all worth it. Now I have 5 cute aprons to donate to an amazing cause.

I used this pattern for a child's apron from Sew Liberated. I used the 6-8 size pattern pieces but added an inch across and an inch in length. I don't know exactly how big the children will be but I wanted the aprons to be able to fit older kids, if necessary.

The reverse side.

It always feels great when you can use your skills or something you love doing to help other people.

Utensil Roll

I was trying to think of something useful to make for Molly's birthday. I also wanted it to be small and easy to pack. Knowing that Molly is often on the go, a utensil roll seemed to be a good choice.

I went back and looked at pictures of the rolls I made for Jenny and Kevin. This time I decided to make it a bit smaller and less bulky. The light blue fabric is actually a dishtowel Taune sent me. I added a stripe of forks, spoons, and knives because... well, it's the perfect print for a project like this!

Molly just needs to add some cutlery and she's covered for picnics, cookouts, or lunches at work. She could even stock it with several of these fun sporks and provide utensils for the whole party!

A Scarf for Sarah

I saw this pin on Pinterest weeks ago and immediately thought of Sarah. I kept the idea in the back of my mind until just a few days before her birthday.

I roughly followed these instructions but mostly did my own thing because either the steps weren't very clear or I thought of an easier way.

In all, it was a pretty quick project and very satisfying. I wrapped it up in a box and gave her the advice to "Double it!"

via Skylar's instagram

I think it kind of looks perfect on her!

What's for Dinner? Vday Edition

A few days ago I hosted a belated Valentine's Day party for Hump Day. Something about not working right now has my mind racing for party ideas...all the time. So many ideas meant that there were a lot of themes going on. But that's ok. Right?

Beverage: Love Potion #9 aka strawberry soda

Appetizer: Asparagus and White Bean Pesto Tart

Salad: Spinach, red onions, cherry tomatoes, walnuts

Soup: Broccoli Seed Soup

Dessert: Vanilla cupcakes with frosting

All of the foods (except drinks and dessert) are considered "heart-healthy" and I typed up little cards to explain their health benefits. It's always good to know what your food does for you!

The cupcakes we had for dessert were actually offered as a bake sale. I put the money raised towards a donation to V-Day. V-Day is a global movement to end violence against women and girls worldwide.

Hopefully, the cupcakes were judged worthy of money. I worked extra hard to put a little surprise inside!

Yep, that's a cute little heart in there. It took a lot of extra time, but it was pretty fun to put together and very exciting to slice each cupcake.

The entertainment of the evening was making mailboxes and exchanging valentines. I didn't get a photo of all of them but everyone did a great job. There were doilies, cookies, and even a mix cd. I made scratch off valentines that corresponded to numbered boxes. Inside the boxes were draw string bags in different colors and patterns. (That's a mix between being a keener and having a lot of fabric to use up and extra time on my hands.)

It worked out well that each bag suited its recipient.

Not pictured: Sarah and Box #3

Unfortunately, Sarah couldn't make it so I pulled together a little "V-Day in a box" and dropped it on her doorstep.

I hope everyone had a lovely Valentine's Day!

Sleeping Masks

I had been thinking about making sleep masks for about three years now. Last week the day finally came.

It was really just a matter of tracing a sleep mask I already had (from a long haul flight). I looked over a tutorial (that I can't seem to find) to make sure there weren't any little tricks I was missing. But nope, it was really that easy. The masks are reversible and I made sure to use especially soft material.

I wrapped the masks up and gave them to Hannah for her birthday. Everyone likes a good night's sleep.

Three Pouches

When I was digging around for craft supplies to make Christmas gifts, I pulled out what I thought to be the last of my zipper stash. I quickly sewed up three pouches for three friends. I didn't mean for them to be so square, but oh well.

I think I spotted Molly's in her bag the other day. So that's a good sign. I've discovered a few more zippers since then... so I guess I'll be making a few more!

I used this tutorial again.

Pincushion in Blues and Greens

A friend has recently taken up sewing so a pincushion seemed like a good gift for her this Christmas. Like the note cards, it didn't use up too much fabric but it was fun and easy to make.

These prints are a few of my favorites and I'm glad they look so nice together. I probably should have put a few pins in the cushion for the photo... but you get the idea.

Rainbow Fabric Note Cards

For Christmas gifting this year my goal was to work with what I had. I have way too many craft supplies that I will soon no longer have space for. While this project didn't use up very much fabric, it helped me deplete a good chunk of my blank note card supply.

I liked making these note cards so much before that I decided to do them again, just a little different. Instead of sticking to one color palette, I used them all! Rainbow style.

I made two sets of six cards each. I hope the recipients like them as much as I enjoyed sewing them.

Oh, and please ignore my dirty windows. That's the desert for ya!

Zipper Pouch / Flat Bottom

A friend's birthday was a the perfect occasion to get my sewing machine back out. It had been too long, especially since I have so much fabric sitting idly in my drawers. (And zippers too!)

I decided to sew up a flat bottomed zippered pouch but I elected to follow this tutorial instead of just winging it like I did before.

The lining fabric is one of my favorite prints. I like how the two fabrics look together.

Happy Birthday, Jen!

Baby Turbans

A few weeks ago I arranged another trade with Julia. I was in the mood for a new header (have you seen it?), and she suggested I make a baby item for her new little girl.

I browsed through a few archives and finally found the perfect project, a baby turban. It sounds silly, but they are pretty cute.

I made a simple pink version and a purple and red version that's a bit more fun.

I found the directions here (which refer to it as a headband, psh!). The turbans themselves are actually made from a pair of tights so they are stretchy and smooth on the baby's skin.

A quick and easy project with pretty cute results.

The Dopp Kit

This project was in my sights all summer. It's a dopp kit. Or I suppose you could call it a toiletries kit, but that's not as much fun.

I followed a tutorial at Purl Bee and then went off in my own direction. The tutorial creates a bag that's not lined or waterproof. A toiletries kit that won't survive a spill didn't seem like a very good idea. To fix that problem I created a liner for the inside. I used iron-on vinyl to make the liner waterproof and hand stitched it in. Now, if something spills inside I can just wipe it out.

I think it worked pretty well. The liner made the shape a bit funky but that will change when it's filled with soaps and shampoos.

I'll be testing it out on my travels this summer.

Circle Skirt Take Two

I loved my first circle skirt so much, I figured I better make another one while my sister and her serger were still close by.

This time I chose a Denise Schmidt fabric that I like quite a lot. I wish I had a close up shot.

Sewing up this version was a lot faster. The only change I made was to reduce the waist measurement by a few inches so it would hit at my natural waist. We didn't use the tutorial this time but if you're interested, it's here.

My sister did the parts I didn't really want to do. Like fixing my mistakes and sewing the elastic on. It turned out to be a pretty good deal for me. I thanked her by letting her win at rummy.

Thanks for the photos, Jenny!

Circle Skirt

I bought fabric back in April with the intention of making a circle skirt. Didn't happen.

I brought the fabric home hoping to use my sister's serger to get the job done. I was smart enough to rope her into the project as well.

We followed this tutorial loosely but mostly I just did what my sister told me to do. She knew the way. She knew the way so well that I let her finish the job.

I kind of love my new skirt. Nice and breezy but an appropriate Abu Dhabi length.

And don't worry, I thanked my sister with a homemade Italian soda.

More Bibs

A friend in Abu Dhabi had her baby shower this afternoon. I was super excited for the opportunity to sew a few more bibs.

I decided to use these coordinating prints for bibs that would be appropriate for a boy or girl (the sex is still unknown.) Do you remember the apples from this project?

I also made up a little fabric-sewn-on-paper card.

She was a very happy mom-to-be today!

Goodie Bags

I definitely overwhelmed myself this year with all the projects I took on during the last few weeks of school. One of the bigger projects was my end of the year gift. I decided to make each of my students a little drawstring bag and fill it with goodies from the year.

Luckily, I found a very simple tutorial to use. Making 23 bags took a while, but I did it!

For a little bit of decoration I stitched the girls' first initial on their bag.

Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos, but I know the girls were happy to receive them!

Here's the gift I made my students last year.

Bibs and a Bag

When Julia designed my mom's birthday card this year, she requested "anything baby" in return. I was happy to oblige her.

Because I wanted to make something practical yet simple, I decided on bibs.

There are several patterns out there, but I selected the Best Bib pattern. The bibs were easy enough to sew up and the perfect way to use small amounts of the cute print fabrics I've been saving. I would have liked to try a more prominent quilting design, but I couldn't find batting anywhere. The flannel I used instead didn't do much to plump the bibs up enough. Oh well.

I wanted to throw in a little something extra for Julia's birthday so I sewed up a hobo sack. I had been wanting to try this project for a long time. I've since found a similar pattern with less steps to follow that I like a lot better.

Hope you like them, Julia!