Christmas 2016

I made a few gifts for Christmas 2016.  Here are some of them

This mermaid tail blanket for my niece.  I think I might’ve made it too long but hopefully as she grows she’ll still want to wear it.  I had to do a self draft based on a few photos I had screenshot from around the internet.

This is her the night she opened it up!

For my brothers, I made these key ring chap stick holders.  They really like Natural Ice chap stick.  And for all the moms on my list, I made these first aid kits.  I included chap stick, neosporin, bandaids, advil, candy, alcohol wipes, tissues, and gauze pads.

I got this idea from seeing a bunch of quiet books and latch boards.  I thought about marrying the two and this is what I came up with.  I LOVE this!  I call it a busy mat.

These are I Spy bags.  I might have filled up that truck one a little too much but it still works.  haha!

These are blocks.  I actually learned a lot while making these and even made a few more since.  They’re super cute and the different textures of material offer more than just something to play with.

These were zipper bags I made for my new coworkers.

The left photo shows a stand mixer cover that I based on the one I had purchased for myself before I started sewing.  The right photo is a lunch bag that my brother ordered for my sil for her birthday.  I just was unable to get it to her until Christmas.

I had a great time sewing all these gifts.  I wish I had gotten to sew more in 2017 but I didn’t.  I’m hoping that I’ll be able to make more of them in 2018.

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Halloween Candy Bags

I went fabric shopping with my sil-S to look for some prints for her stand mixer cover.  While I was looking around I saw this super cute print and thought it would be so fun to make a candy bag for my nieces for Halloween.

Thankfully I already had some experience in making simple lined totes like this so I was able to whip them up in just a few days.

This was for the nieces.

This cute candy corn was on the inside.

Aren’t they the cutest?  My third niece-K is not pictured but she got a bag too.

After I got the niece’s fabric cut, I realized that the nephew’s probably would like them too.  So I looked for some fabric for them.  My oldest nephew-B is a bit older and the cutesy print probably wouldn’t be his cup of tea.  I found this print that was a bit more mature and made him a drawstring bag.  The design was based off the fishing drawstring bag, just larger measurements.

A few detail shots.

I had bought the orange print from the same fabric store and was planning on just making it unlined.  But ultimately decided that it would last longer and look better if there was a lining.  Luckily I was going to Joann Fabric anyway and quickly looked around for something.  All I could find was orange and black.  Then I stumbled upon this white with black triangles and it was perfect.

I even had enough fabric to make a third bag so I reversed the prints with the white on the exterior and the orange on the interior for my sil-S.  She’s so lucky!

These were fun, nice, and quick projects.  And hopefully they’ll last for several Halloweens to come.

The Memory Game aka Pinspiration numero – sesenta y nueve

Do you remember playing the memory game? I remember playing with cards like the ones you use to play Old Maid.  But I saw this handmade fabric memory game and thought that would be fun.

Source: Begin with B via Tricia on Pinterest

I bought some fabric and started fussy cutting and came up with these.

My friend-A’s daughter is who I made these for LOVES Thor. So I took this photo to send to her.

Here they are all done!

The backing is the same on all of them.

I made a small pouch to hold the cards.

Here they are all squished in!

This project actually went by pretty quickly.  The hardest part was the fussy cutting because I had to make sure that each piece was exactly the same.

The other thing is that I made this for a two year old and her mom was telling me that she’s probably too young for a game like this.  What age would this game appropriate for so I know in the future. I’d like to make it again for someone but I’ll have to make sure it’s age appropriate.

Convert me aka Pinspiration numero – sesenta y ocho

As I was perusing Pinterest last year I saw this convertible tote and knew I had to make it!  It was just super neat and didn’t look too hard to make.

Source: Nap-Time Creations via Tricia on Pinterest

One of my friends hearts Rifle Paper Co and when they came out with their first fabric line with Cotton & Steel, I immediately wanted to make something for her using this awesome print!  I didn’t know what to make until I saw the convertible tote.

I had all my materials.  I even had a few extra, such as these zippers.  I didn’t know which color to use.  My first instinct was to go with orange but wasn’t sure so I asked my friends hubby.  His response was the best. EVER.  It didn’t help.  Paul suggested that I just post it on IG and see what my friend said.  Thankfully I listened to him and did just that.  She confirmed my instinct.

Once I got the color of the zipper down, my brain let me move forward.  Here is the construction of the exterior pockets.  I just LOVE those flamingos!

Here is the front all finished! I used these cities cause I thought my friend had been to all three of them.  Turns out she’s just been to Paris.  Oh well.

The interior slip, gusseted pockets.  So many new techniques!!

The exterior all constucted!!

Here it is all finished!  I just like to try things on and see how they work before I part with them.  =)

As a purse!

As a backpack!

I love the detail of the straps!  I used the selvage of this print.  Rifle Paper Co did a great job making their selvage so cute!!!

A shot of the interior!

Isn’t that orange double zipper just amazing!!  I love it!  And the technique used to insert the zipper was awesome!  I can’t wait to use the zipper insertion technique again!  It was so fun!

One last photo of the purse/backpack convertible awesomeness!

I had tons of fun making this tote.  It stretched me a lot a sewist because the fabric was thicker, the zipper insertion, attaching the exterior pockets, and creating the selvage straps were all things I hadn’t done before.  But I’m so glad that I didn’t let those things freak me out.

Stich me a Divided Basket

My SIL-J turned 30 last year (2016).  I wanted to get her something special for her birthday since it was a big birthday.  My plan was to make this Noodlehead Divided Basket and then fill it with tons of Trader Joe’s snacks and a gift cert for Sugarfina.  (She’s a snacker and she loves Sugarfina – a high-end candy store.)

Here is the basket.  I used the Stitch print for the interior and for the exterior I found this cute vintage-ish romantic print from Hobby Lobby.  I used the Stitch print as accents on the exterior.

A shot of the interior.  I’m not sure if i sewed it wrong but it didn’t all line up as easily as it should have.  We’ll just have to wait and see how the next one comes out.

I’m still happy with it.  I ended up not giving the gift cert to Sugarfina.  My bro-D said not to get it because they had just thrown away a whole bunch of candy the week prior.  I went back and forth and ended up going to get a cert anyway.  But when I got there, they didn’t even have gift certificates/cards to purchase and the salespeople were not helpful and they were pretty rude.  Personally I would not go back there again.