Adjustable strap- preview for Karin ;)

I always get a smile when I see someone who has a purse of mine wearing it every day- seriously makes me feel so cozy inside! Karin has hers strapped around her little body each day we pick up our kiddos from Kindergarten but it is time for a replacement!

She bought these beautiful fabrics and said I could arrange them however I want (woo hoo!) and I set about making a pattern for her needs. In addition to the three small pockets in the front of the bag I also made an elastic pocket on the back side of the bag. The inside is lined with elastic pockets on both sides.

Karin's current purse has a messenger strap so is hands free but this time we made the strap adjustable so she has the option to make it a shoulder bag or a messenger bag. I loved making these straps!!

Karin- I hope all of the details make it a perfect fit for you!....a good enough fit that you want to use it every day just like your other one ;). You are so sweet!! Xoxoxoxoxo to you!!

holly

Owl diaper bag- preview for C ;)

    Here is your preview C!! Thank you so much for waiting while I completed it for you!!!

Lorax costume with Trufulla Tree candy bag!

Ha ha....my son is 7 and he is all about being funny ;). If it is goofy, whacky, silly....he's on board. Getting him to stay still so I could take a picture of him-----he wasn't on board with that!

 He was DYING to be the Lorax this year but it was so much harder to find good fur than I thought! He wanted to be a "neon" Lorax since he loves neon colors (if you know him- see his Nikes ;)). Thankfully I found this luxury orange fur off Fabric.com and the yellow fur off Amazon. Both are actually super soft and easy to slide into. Fur is tricky to sew though!

To make the eyes I wrapped fabric over Styrofoam balls and then painted the eyes. I sewed the eyelid and then glued it on and hand stitched the yellow fur for the eyebrow. I did the same thing for the nose (used a teeny weeny Styrofoam ball) and stitched the mustache onto elastic that he can pull over his head.

We thought it would be cool to do a Trufulla Tree candy  bag so I actually painted that onto canvas and then put the bag together.

He also has a book report/character development project due so he did it on the Lorax as well. Here is his stuffed Lorax animal that he made for it. First he made a drawing then I cut a pattern for him using the drawing. There were several parts where I had to take over the machine for him since the fur is so tough to sew but he did most of it on his own. Stuffing those teeny legs and arms was difficult but he figured it out eventually! It turned out so darn cute!!

The "rainbow-mermaid-fairy-princess" costume

 I let my kids pick what they want to be every Halloween and then we make it- usually together if at all possible. Even though my little girl is strong and opinionated ;)- she can be indecisive at times. So when she told me last spring that she was going to be a "rainbow, mermaid, fairy, princess" for Halloween, I wasn't surprised! Shopping with her takes forEVER!

So this is what we created! First I made her mermaid skirt out of super stretchy knit- like a T-shirt. It's crazy comfy and light. Then I cut out the scallops and sewed them on. Laci actually did her bodice (except straps and elastic) on her own. She cut rainbows out and appliqued them on. Her sewing skills have really taken off lately. I don't have to thread the needle for her and she doesn't jam my machine anymore- it's incredible!! And she LOVES it. For her princess crown she used Elmer's paint pens on shells that we collected on a vacation and I glued them on with Gorilla Glue (good stuff!).

I made her seashell bag super big because last year we were running out of room (ugh....too much candy).

I hope you all enjoy getting your own kids dressed up for Halloween!! I'll post my boys soon.....
xo,
holly

Diaper bag for Grandma- she needs one too!

I have so many things to post that I've been working on but there will never be enough time to talk about all of them. I feel like superwoman when I just get all of my kid's homework done!!

This diaper bag was for a new grandmother- not the mommy for once ;). She is a co-worker of mine and is my three year old's preschool teacher. The amount of respect and adoration I have for her is immeasurable!!! Our family hasn't adjusted easily to me teaching full time- it is especially hard on the 3 year old- but his teacher has been the calm in the storm. She's amazing and has made him feel like school is his home away from home.

Her new baby granddaughter is one blessed little girl!! Congratulations again Ms. S!
xoxoxo-
holly

Sewing pillows with 3 incredible girls!!

I had a great opportunity to teach a little sewing lesson to my daughter and two of her friends recently. Whenever I plan out an actual project for my own children it hits me how much time I spend teaching other kids and that I don't get enough time to teach my own ;). Thank heavens my kids go to the school that I teach at!

Both of the other girls had attended a sewing camp over the summer so I was thrilled to see how proficient they were with their machines!! It was awesome! Little "G" even taught me how a self threader works ;). I've been sewing with Laci since she was about 3 but even she surprised me with how well she was doing.

Per my daughters request we made angel pillows. First we looked at how artists have portrayed angels and then we talked a little bit about what angels are and do (such cute conversation!).

I had the girls draw an angel pattern on paper and then cut the pattern out so they would begin to understand how patterns work. They chose fabric, pinned and cut their pieces and then they zig zagged stitched them onto a backing. Pillows are great because they get to see how items get flipped inside out to hide the seams.

Just a little stuffing later and the pillows were formed! I really didn't do very much......I think I'm still amazed how much they did on their own!!

This was such a sweet afternoon! You girls are such sweethearts- love you!!!!

Diaper bag for K

This one is for my little sister's friend, K ;). I love her color combination!

Owl Diaper bag preview for K

"K"- you were such a patient client- I can't thank you enough!!! I just love how your choices turned out! I'm so glad that you ran with this gorgeous pattern and the pink. Looking at it makes me want to have another baby girl!! I painted the little owl feathers on your owl and he can be removed whenever you like. Your bag is loaded with pockets for all of your baby luggage- I hope it's useful and unique!! Thank you again!!
;) holly

Easter bag!! The Bunny bag tutorial

I designed these bags last Easter to use for collecting Easter eggs. I used iron on transfer paper to transfer my kid's drawings onto the fabric but they crumbled off pretty quickly. This year I just let them have at it with Sharpies straight onto the fabric and it worked great. They love making these bags and were begging to make them as soon as I brought Easter decorations out this year. The bag is long so it's roomy enough to hold lots of eggs!
Here are the three done by my little ones- can you tell that my 2 year old loves blue?


Wow- this is a terrible picture but you get the gist! It's the pattern (PDF pattern to follow this post). Just cut out the pattern, trace onto your fabric and then cut out of the fabric. Cut 2 bodies. 2 ears and 1 face from your fabric. Then cut 2 bodies and 2 ears from whatever fabric you will use as the bag lining.



This is where I let my kids color on the fabric. They didn't do the back side so I gave them one set and the face.



I interfaced the top with fusible Decor bond, you don't have to interface or you can use a softer interfacing- your choice! I chose to not interface my lining.



First, I zigzag stitch (applique) the face near the top of the body.


Here is how it looks with the face stitched on.



Then I straight stitch the ears onto the body. Right sides facing together, edged lined up.



I press the seams open of course!



This is how it looks with the ears stitched on. Now you do the same thing with the second set of body and ears. Then do the same thing for the lining fabric pieces.



If you want to use store bought twill, thick ribbon or something else for the handle, feel free. I will quickly show how I make my handles though if you want to make them from scratch. I took this picture of two handles because I was making several bunny bags but you only need one for each bag. Cut a strip of fabric 12 inches x 4 inches.

Fold the strip in half and press. Open it back up and then use the pressed seam that you made as a guide. Now take each edge and fold it in until it hits the middle pressed seam that you made. Then press it again! See the picture below.







Then fold the strap together again and press one last time. Crisp, clean edges from an iron are crucial so don't skip pressing!



Now straight stitch down each side to finish the strap.



You want to sew the strap onto the bunny ears. Line up the edges of the strap with the top, middle of each ear. I stitch back and forth a few times to get a very strong connection.



Here are the straps stitched on.




Now you can see the strap pulled up and the clean front side.



OK- lay the strap back down. Take both front and back of the bunny, put their right sides facing together and then stitch all of the way around starting on one ear about 1/4 inch before the strap. Sew all of the way around, down the ear, the body and all of the way up to the other side, up to the ear, a 1/4 inch past that strap. Don't sew between the ears ;).


Clip those curves!

Here you will repeat the same thing for the lining pieces (omitting the strap though) but LEAVE AN OPENING AT THE BOTTOM, about 5 inches long.



This is the tricky part if you don't sew bags already.

You have the bunny bag (with a strap sewn on) facing the correct way.

You take your bag lining and turn it inside out.

Put the bunny bag inside your lining and situate it so they match up. The strap needs to be folded into the bag, like it's stuffed inside.

Now you stitch the part in between the ears (the part that you DIDN'T stitch before).

Pull the bunny bag through the opening that you left in the lining. Pull the strap up. You will have two bunnies with their ears sewn together.

Then tuck the lining into the bunny bag.

NOW you have a bag with a proper lining ;).

I looooooove top stitching. First I press all of the edges and make sure they are completely nice and neat because the bag has lots of curves and can look wonky if not. I use the eraser side of a pencil to push the all out.

Top stitch around the entire bag....looks so pretty!

That's it!! Super, duper cute and at the same time giving your child a special way to show off their drawing. Hope you enjoy!!


xo-
holly