Somehow on Saturday I managed to find a chunk of time where I was not being needed by anyone else.  Evie was napping, Zach was watching a movie, and Hubby was on his computer.  I suddenly found myself with absolutely nothing to do.  Instead of sitting doing nothing, I decided to go dig through my fabric stash and whip up a couple of things that have been sitting in the back of my mind for a while.

First up was this cute little camera strap cover.  The strap that came with my camera is fine, but when I’m carrying it around on all day outings, it tends to really rub my neck.  I made the cover out of a soft flannel fabric and it feels much nicer slung around my neck.  It is basically just a tube that slides up over the regular strap so it can be easily changed out for another one or taken off for washing.

Next, I used the same fabric, along with a coordinating striped fabric and made a small makeup pouch to take with me when we travel. I don’t wear a lot of makeup, and actually could have made this a bit smaller for what I do carry, but wanted just a small little bag to throw in a purse or suitcase for those occasions when I want to dress up.

Both were fast and simple projects. I love when I can make something useful and save a little money at the same time!

My cousin and his wife are expecting their first baby at the end of June so I decided I wanted to make them a little something. I normally would throw together a little fleece tie blanket, but since he’ll be a summer baby I thought I should do something a little less warm. This is what I came up with.

The top side of the blanket is a soft knit fabric with a cute animal print. The bottom side is a fuzzy fleece backing. All I did was cut the two pieces of fabric, sew around the edge with right sides together (leaving a small opening), turn right side out, then topseam around the edge. It turned out really great. In fact, I think I’ll be making these again when I need another baby gift.

I couldn’t resist knitting up a little hat to go along with it as well. I packaged it all up, along with two cute little rompers I picked up and shipped it off to my cousin last week.

Now I’m just trying to figure out who’s having the next baby so I have an excuse to make more!

My mom and I have been searching all over for some little toddler sized purses for my daughter and my niece with no luck. I did find some on the dollar aisle at Target, but I’m sure they would be torn to shreds in no time. My mom wanted to give them to the girls as Easter gifts, but we just never could find the right thing so I decided to pick up some fabric that would match their Easter dresses and make them instead.

Since we looked all over for them and never did find any, I figured there has to be someone else out there looking for the same thing. I decided I would share how I made these in a tutorial so no little girls have to go without purses.

(My apologies ahead of time for the horrible pictures. I had terrible lighting where I was working.)

Supplies:
2 pieces of fabric 9 x 12 inches (fat quarters would work great for this)
2 pieces lightweight interfacing (iron-on)
approx 1 yard of 1 inch wide grosgrain ribbon in coordinating color
coordinating thread
fabric pencil or marker
fabric glue (optional for making bow)

1. Cut fabric and interfacing into two 9×12 inch rectangles each. Iron interfacing onto wrong sides of fabric.



2. Take one piece of fabric and pin a 9 in. strip of ribbon onto each end approximately 1 in. from edge.



3. Sew along the very edges of ribbon.



4. Make bow with ribbon and attach on top of ribbon stripe. I made a simple loop bow and attached it by sewing just under the top loop.



5. Fold in half length wise with right sides facing. Pin sides and seam with 1/2 in. seam allowance, leaving top open. Repeat with second fabric piece to make the lining.



6. Open seams and iron flat, making a point on the bottom edge.



7. Flatten bottom corners. Measure up 1/2 inch from point and draw straight line to box corners. Seam across line on all four corners.



8. Turn lining so that the right side is facing out.
9. Cut 12 inches of ribbon and pin one end along the top edge of each side, centering with seams. Sew ribbon to lining with about a 1/4 inch seam allowance.





10. Insert lining into outer bag with right sides facing (ribbon strap should be inside between the two layers). Pin around top edge to hold the lining and outer bag together.



11. Seam around top edge, leaving about a 3 inch opening to turn bag right side out.
12. Gently turn bag inside out through opening. Fold liner into outer bag.
13. Iron around top edge to flatten, then topseam around edge.



Now, sit back and admire your work!

This is what I did with a big chunk of my weekend:

Tutorial coming soon!

When I first saw the Superhero Cape tutorial over at Puking Pastilles, I knew I had to make one. Actually, I had to make two – one for my own son and one for my nephew. If one of them gets something, the other one inevitably has to have the same thing. With my nephew’s 4th birthday coming up, I thought it would be the perfect gift. He’s very much into superheros right now and the Superman/Batman combination was just perfect for him.

As it turns out, it was a really good thing I decided to make two of them because the first one (which I kept for my son) did not turn out nearly as well as the second (which I gave to my nephew).

He was quite excited when he first saw it and wanted to try it on right away. The size turned out just perfect. I wanted it long enough that he could play with it for a few years without outgrowing it, but didn’t want it to be touching the ground.

I think my nephew has been having fun with his superhero cape, though Zach has barely touched his. He’s a little more into race cars right now but I guess at least it will be there when he’s ready for it.

The best part of it though is that I really enjoyed giving a handmade gift. It just feels better to give something that I’ve put my heart into.

Saturday night I took my sister to JoAnn’s to find some fabric for some curtains she wants made.  I thought I was doing a really great job of not picking up any extras, but we stayed in the store just a little bit too long.  I ended up picking up a couple of fabric quarters, some ribbon, and bias tape to make Evie another little pillowcase dress.  The quarters were just the right size to make her a dress and a matching headband.

This dress is a little bit longer than the Halloween dresses.  I’m hoping Evie can wear it at least through the next Spring and maybe even Summer.  I love the fabric (if you look closely a few of the flowers have aqua colored centers) and I think the bias tape around the arm holes and the bottom really gives it a finished look.  I also made the headband a little differently this time and I think I like it better than the other ones.

What do you think?  I would love to see more pictures of pillowcase dresses if anyone else has made any.  These are so simple and I have lots of ideas for little embellishments!

My niece Caitlin came over on Saturday morning and it gave me the perfect opportunity to get some photos of the girls modeling their dresses.  Caitlin didn’t want to sit still, but I still managed to snap a few cute shots of her.  Evie, on the other hand, was posing and grinning like a pro.  They both looked adorable in their dresses and matching headbands though.

I love these dresses so much that I bought more fabric lastnight so I could make a few more.  Aren’t they just adorable (the models and the dresses)?

After finishing up my Halloween Trick or Treat bags (which you can still buy here), I had a bit of fabric left over.  I debated over what to use it for, then decided that it would make some adorable little dresses.  I’ve been finding tutorials all over the place for pillowcase dresses and since I was dying to make one I decided to whip up a Halloween version.  I figured as long as I was using scraps I wouldn’t mind so much if I screwed it up.

I used Leslie’s Pillowcase Dress Tutorial for the basic steps but adapted it for size.  I left off the frills and didn’t have any bias tape for the armholes so I just turned it under and top stitched.

The first one went so fast that I went ahead and made up another one for my niece.  I haven’t had a chance to try them on the girls yet, but I held one up to Evie and it looks like the size came out just right.

I discovered that I definitely need to work on keeping my stitching even, but I think for a first attempt these look pretty good.  I also decided that I like the thicker ribbon used on the candy corn dress so I’ll probably go switch the ribbon on the other dress before I give it away.  Once I finish up the matching headbands, I think the girls will look just adorable in them!

If you haven’t noticed by my recent sewing projects, I have a thing for handmade bags. Years ago when I first started learning to crochet I made a few little handbags but I always wanted them lined and didn’t quite know how to do it. I didn’t have a sewing machine at the time either, so I put together some very sloppy hand sewn linings for those bags and well, they just didn’t last. If only I had this great tutorial from Futuregirl around back then, perhaps I would still be carrying those cute little handbags around.

*photo by Futuregirl

Life with a new baby includes carrying around a lot of stuff. You need diapers, wipes, extra clothes, bottles, bibs, toys, pacifiers, along with all kinds of other odds and ends. That’s why when I found a super simple pattern for this cute little tote bag I had to buy it. I made the first one for my sister-in-law back in December. I thought it would make the perfect diaper bag, but she chose to use it as a purse instead.

After my own little bundle of joy came along, I decided I needed to make one for myself. Now, only four months later, I finally found the time to make my own bag (the pink/brown striped one). I also put one together for my sister (the underwater themed one), even though her diaper bag days are nearly over. I’m sure she’ll be able to find a use for it.

The bag is reversible, with pockets either on the inside or outside. I haven’t yet decided which way I like the best yet.