oh mamas-- more flowers!

I've been LOVING the flowers we made at MT the other day. Although they are glued flowers, I've been sewing some others and also sewing some of the glued ones together for projects! I have roses all over my house!

But, check out this RING you can make from one of the flowers!

AND, here is a photo of the necklace that I made my mom with the ones from MT. YEAH!


Speaking of great gift ideas, I NEED to try this adorable gathered clutch. Love it! What are you hoping to work on?

Oh my!

Days like today, I am overwhelmed with my love of sewing. This buttercup bag makes me so happy.

Question for you all, though: Is the fabric a summer fabric? Does it shout a season to you?

Yes, another bag!

Add another bag to my to-do list, but this one is super cute!! Made-by-Rae wrote a great tutorial that you can download for free from her site. Woo-hoo!

Anyone want to sew soon?

Another Monster Idea

I am on a posting kick... but I I saw this bag and thought-- that is another great thing to do with monsters! Perhaps for a kid who may not want a stuffed animal? But with some felt, how fun would it be to sew a monster on a tote bag? I'd like to find out.

happy summer fabric...

... and happy (early) birthday, Jen!! I finally finished something for my sister and she gets it early so she can use it all summer long. YEAH! See what happens when you take my son for a few days? You get presents!!



I followed Meghan's lead with the "Bend The Rules Sewing" Charming Handbag at an increased size for the pattern. Also added a pocket, key fob, and magnetic snap thanks to Meghan's suggestions.

I seriously love this bag and can't wait to make more!

Dish Towel Bag

I'm totally inspired by this idea for a tote made from a dish towel and extra fabric. But have been looking for dish towels for months now and haven't seen what I like. Still, seems like a short cut to a cute tote. Perhaps as a teacher gift or hostess gift?
* * * * *

UPDATE: I finally made this, but have to tell you... it is just a basic tote and a small one at that. IF you find a dish towel that you fall in love with but don't know what to do with it, then YES, this may be the right tutorial. But I really stretched it and ended up using the towel on the inside instead of the outer layer and really would have enjoyed working with 2 fabrics instead of the dish towel.

But, now I know I can do totes! And Jen (in case you are reading this), should this go to Mom, Ann or Ellie? It can only fit about a book, reading glasses and a little more. Let me know!

Mail Sack Bag

Happiness is a new mail sack! I bought this pattern online - made by Pink Chalk Studio. I installed my first zipper! Its a little wonky but it works. Ben continues to shake his head as my bag choices get bigger and bigger. Love it though!

Bag Addiction

This is my first post and I don't know what I'm doing! Ben has been traveling and so I've been up LATE sewing.

This is my new favorite. It's called the "Charming Handbag" from a book Sarah got at the library called "Bend-The-Rules-Sewing". It's written by the woman from the Angry Chicken blog. It was easy and quick!

I've experimented with fake patent/black vinyl which was difficult but cool.

The two patent totes are varitions of the fat quarter purse tutorial from sewmamasew.

I used the enlarged template for this dresden petal bag and it looks like a banana. I think I'll only do 5 strips per side instead of 7 next time. I don't think I'll cut off the top to make the pockets either. I'd rather have a bigger bag.

This is the "Sweet and Sassy" bag from the class I took at Quilting Adventures. The final step is learning how to install grommets which I'll do this Friday night. Exciting! : )

Reusable Gift Bags

The Green Bag Lady shared a really easy tutorial for reusable gift bags which I love for Christmas bags, wine totes or birthday presents!

Tips: Super easy to make and can do in any size. BUT, with the ribbon, remember it will be sewn onto the side so make one side of the ribbon longer than the other. That way, the ends will meet up on the front of the bag instead of the side. Look at your samples for my trial run where I didn't do this and it may make more sense!.

Also, the government in Japan posted a site to show how to use fabric to wrap into MANY shapes, almost like origami but called Furoshiki. Very cool!