I'm excited because we ordered a new laptop yesterday. The one we have is a dinosaur. It's a Gateway with Vista but it's old and the battery dies after 20 minutes. So inconvienent! So with the help of my son-in-law, we ordered a new Acer Aspire with built-in webcam and Windows 7! I am excited to make a notebook sleeve and bag for the new laptop. Oh that means choosing new fabrics! Yeah!!!!

This also means I can do webcam with my family a whole lot easier. At least three to four times a week, I get to see these faces via the webcam.

This was taken Jan. 30, 2010. They helped me make the birthday cake for Asher, on the left.  They loved licking the beaters! I just love to watch them grow. Today as I was chatting with their momma, who is 27 weeks pregnant with twin boys, I saw the blanket covering her belly move! Those boys were moving and kicking in there. How cool is that?

We are 2 1/2 hours apart and yet because of technology, I get to see this miracle. Another benefit to having webcam is that when Izzy (Elizabeth) comes to visit me in a week or two, she can visit her momma and daddy via the cam when she gets sad. Although I am the queen of her world when she is around me so there won't be any missing of momma and daddy. Wishful thinking, she is three.

I hope to make her some cute clothes while she is here. Maybe another skirt and a simple summer dress. Maybe I can teach her how to sew with a plastic needle and some plastic canvas. Hmmm...sounds like a plan. I made the skirt in this picture.

Maybe I can pass on my current stand alone webcam to my other daughter and she can then connect with her sister and the kids like I do. And I can see her and Za, even though they live 35 minutes away and we see them at church. It would be fun to chat with Za a few times a week too. I love his cheeks!

Inside:

With the second refill journal:

In order to adjust from the original set of directions, I started with a piece of fabric that was 20 x 24 inches. I used heat and bond interfacing for a stiffer cover. Then I sewed together the 20 inch ends. I hemmed each end of the "tube". Then I turned it right side out and followed the rest of the original directions found at Jenny of Elefantz

Coasters are so easy to make. That is if you can follow the directions! I tried to make a set of coasters for a friend and I am really not sure what went wrong because I measured and cut according to the directions but ended up with very small coasters. I was doing a patchwork design and I was to make a strip using 4 different fabric scraps. For some reason beyond my comprehension, it did not work right. It came up short by 1/2 an inch. So I resorted to my own design and made these.

My friend loved them. I need to make another set for my own home and to have on hand for those last minute hostess gifts. Which reminds me, I need to make that journal cover tonight!

I found this red fabric at a sidewalk sale at a local discount store. It was about 1/2 a yard of brocade for only $.10!!! I snatched it up and put it in my stash for a future project. It's hard for me to decide what fabric to use on different projects. All along I thought that red brocade would become a clutch of some sort but I realized that was not going to happen. Clutch purses are not my thing. So I found this pattern, the April bag, on Sew Mama Sew last year but never could figure out what fabric to use.

Fast forward to January 2010 and I have just started to take about my wedding dress to use the fabric. It's not satin but more of a jacquard fabric and it's a cream color. I wanted to make things from this fabric to give to my girls as keepsakes. But I also wanted something for me. I decided the cream and the red brocade looked great together and got to work. Here is the finished product!


This bag measures about 15 inches long X 13 inches wide. This is truly a bag that took only about 1 hour, very little ironing and cutting. The only interfacing needed was for the handles. Even that was pieced together from scraps since these handles are one big loop. I always do my straps a bit different. I double the amount called for, iron in half then fold the outside to the center fold, and top stitch down both sides. No turning tiny tubes of fabric and my straps are very durable.

You can see the cream lining the purse. I have received so many compliments on this bag. I am proud to show it off.

Here is my first crafting tutorial. I have been into the green craft movement for awhile, looking for ways to re-use what I already have instead of filling the landfills or overburdening the thrift store industry with junk that isn't worth selling.
Each day, yes, daily I search online for new ideas. Craft Gossip is a favorite for new ideas as well as Whip Up and the Craftster communities. Today I realized I needed a giftbag to wrap up my almost 2 year old grandson's birthday gifts. He is really into Disney Cars and Lightning McQueen. Can you say Ka-Chow?!!! It's so cute when he says it. Ok, back to the project.
I recently turned a knit t-shirt into two scarves for me and my granddaughter so I am on the t-shirt recycling kick. I figured my heavier long sleeve red t-shirt, with grease spots and holes in the sleeves would be a good candidate for my next project. It almost became more scarves. But like I said, I had a need. So I figured I could make the drawstring bag for Asher's gifts and personalize it as well.
So I found a picture of Lightning McQueen online, printed it on iron-on paper, reversing the images first, and then used some white cloth, doubled, and made my "stickers" for the bag.

For this project, I wanted about three images. Next, I sewed all around each image to join the layers of the white cloth since it was lightweight.
Next, I laid out my t-shirt, it's an x-large size, so this bag was wider than it's height but it works out well. See the grease stain? Yeah, not good for wearing now.

Fold the shirt in half and cut just below the armpit area.

Then cut off the bottom hem and save it, as this will become the drawstring for the bag. Be sure to trim it, the hem was serged so it's not going to unravel.

Next I cut the "stickers" with pinking shears and pinned them in place. I put two on one side and the third on the other side.

I also wanted there to be no raw edges showing inside so I decided to do a French felled seam. These are super easy and give a great finished look to any project. For the French seam, you join the fabric, wrong sides together first and sew with a 1/4 seam allowance. I sewed the bottom of what is basically a tube of fabric from the shirt. Then you turn the fabric right sides together and press that seam allowance. Then sew 1/2 seam allowance on the wrong side. What you have when you are done is this:


This is the inside of the bag, see no raw edges. I did not trim after the first stitching because I used enough of a seam allowance when I turned it to wrong sides together that it didn't get in the way.
Next, I boxed the corners so there is depth to the bag. I pulled the sides out until there were points, as you can see in the picture. Basically the side seam or crease matches up with the bottom seam. I measured 2 inches from the point, drew a line and pinned. Then sew on the line. Ta-da! You did a boxed corner!

Next, turn down the top hem about 1 inch, making sure there is enough room for the drawstring to be encased. Cut two small slits in one layer of the casing, again, knit won't fray so this is safe.
Next, grab two safety pins. Put one pin through one end of the string for threading through the casing and use the other pin to secure the opposite end of the string to the bag so it's not pulled all the way through.

Here is the bottom seam on the outside, and the inside with no raw edges. All ready to be filled with the goodies for Asher!



The loot all stuffed in. I know there will be one happy 2 year little red haired boy at my house come Saturday!

I want to share my love of crafts and sewing with folks so I thought this is the best way to do that. I have been blogging for over 5 years but with another blog service and well I decided to begin again with an all new place and name. So welcome and I hope you find some great ideas and pass along yours as well.