{6/52} Fabric birthday gift bag

Another cold winter day here, and it's been a day full of laundry, dishes, and sorting through the piles that accumulate all over the house. I was ready for a little break, so I decided to sew up a drawstring bag to "wrap" a gift for a birthday party that Lachlan is going to tomorrow. The invitation is "Monster High" themed, and although I'm not a fan of that show, I thought this little fashion sketchbook would be a fun gift with a box of new colored pencils.

I used a tutorial from See Kate Sew to make the drawstring bag. I have used the tutorial several times, and I love it because the bag is simple to sew, but seems a bit fancy because of the enclosed seams and drawstring. I eyeballed the measurements to make it plenty big to carry another sketchbook or collection of toys. I hope she likes the fun octopus fabric by Cotton and Steel!

{3/52} Pillows for Wendy

My good friend Wendy recently moved into a new (old) house with her family, and has been decorating each room to fit their adorable eclectic style. She found a vintage bark cloth curtain at a local shop and asked me if I would use it to make pillows for her couch and loveseat.

We both loved the "paint-by-numbers" look of the fabric, and I decided to sew red piping into the edges to make the bright colors pop. There was only enough fabric for the front of the pillows, so I used a new soft green upholstry fabric for the back.

I had never sewed a bolster pillow before, so I looked for a tutorial and ended up using this one from PrettyPrudent.com (link isn't working now but will hopefully be fixed soon).

I think they turned out great, and look especially nice with the new paint color on the walls!

{2/52} Sleeping Mats

 
Earlier this week, I needed to stop at JoAnns to pick up a few things. As we pulled in, Kenley said, "I wish this store would have Elsa fabric..." and I said, "Guess what, I'm SURE they have Elsa fabric!". Sure enough, there's a whole Frozen section set up. So we picked up a yard of fleece and she asked me to make a sleeping bag for her stuffed dog, Luna (who received her own Elsa dress and pjs for Christmas - ha!).

After I made the sleeping bag for the stuffed dog, I realized that I could buy Frozen fabric to make a sleeping mat for Kenley, too. I've been meaning to make one for her rest time at preschool, and who can go wrong with Snow Queen fabric and cozy fleece?

 
I planned to spend a couple hours on Saturday whipping it up - but then I added homemade piping... decided to patchwork the fleece blanket... added a few decorative stitches and binding on the blanket... and one whole Saturday later, the sleeping mat was complete!

 
Don't ask me the details of how I made it - I pretty much winged it as I went along. But if you're looking to make one, I have sewn one based on this tutorial by Prudent Baby before, and recommend it. The Snow Queen fabric from JoAnns is heavier weight and also wider than the usual cottons (also much more expensive, thank goodness for sales!) but I think that worked out perfectly for a durable napping mat.

happy customer testing out her sleeping mat (with bluish mouth - still trying to kick the popsicle habit post-tonsillectomy)

Tea Party for big sister

I wanted to send a little something special for big sister when I sent the quilt, so I made some fabric tea bags for a play tea party. There are a few tutorials around, but I just winged it with some fabric scraps I had on had, and a piece of batting inside each tea bag to add a little weight. I stamped "TEA" onto a bag that I had received from a jewelry order, and ta da!

I had so much fun making these. I think there are more in my future!

Crinkle Quilt for baby V.

I made this quilt for a special new baby girl who lives in Colorado. I knew right away when I saw the Crinkle quilt pattern that I wanted to give it a try. It creates a very fun texture, and I loved playing with the Simply Style fabrics by V and Co. from Home Ec Workshop. I would say that it comes together very quickly for a baby quilt (even though it took me months from start to finish, ha ha!).

One detail I added was a little embroidered message on the quilt back. I plan to do this on all the quilts I make from now on. It is an easy, but special detail that marks the time and occasion for the quilt.

I hope I get to meet little V. in person sometime soon, but in the meantime, I'm happy to have added a little coziness to her nursery.