Bags & Tags

This is the project that keeps on giving and it all started this fall at the Stitching' Post in Sisters, one of my favorite quilt shops. We go there every year and this year was no different.  Miss E was with me and while I was browsing she had come across some fabric she liked. It was a collection by Valerie Wells and included a wonderful Elephant print, which was the piece that caught her eye, and she knew right away that she wanted it made into a zipper pouch.

Somehow the project ended up with me along with a pattern from my mother who had made many over the years. Needless to say I wanted to practice before cutting into the Elephant fabric so after the holidays I was ready to begin and made some practice zipper pouches before starting on these.

It only took a couple before I felt comfortable and was hooked on this quick and easy little sewing project.

As it turned out the scale of the elephant print was not the best for this project.  No matter how I laid it out I could only get the two front pieces needed for the one bag out of the fat quarter which, in turn, left the remaining elephant print scraps too small to use for much of anything else. Although, they did work great for making gift tags.

I did have plenty of navy fabric for another zipper pouch so I just needed to figure what to use for the lining. 

In the meantime, I worked on matching gifts tags using the fabric scraps.  

Then it was on to the navy bag. I finally chose a pink polka dot I had in my stash for the lining and also made a label with a Valentine print for the front. The loop on the side was a leftover piece of the zipper from the elephant bag. 

The pink lining went well with the navy and I was certain she would like it, and she did. 

The project that started it all is now finished and delivered. Mission accomplished.

Happy Saturday!

Hawaiian Mu'umu'u Challenge: bonus project!

The repurposed Hawaiian Mu’umu’u Challenge seems to have become

the gift that keeps on giving!

That is because, I recently discovered there was just enough leftover fabric from the mu’umu’u to make a matching Zipper Pouch. 

The project began back in January when my sister asked if I could make a pillow case out of her Hawaiian Mu’umu’u which I gladly did. After I had finished making the pillow case {plus a few accessories} and was folding the leftover fabric scraps to put away I happened to notice a perfect piece of material for a zipper pouch as that had become my next sewing obsession.

The most amazing part about finding the extra piece was that it was exactly the right size, no cutting required. Plus, I also had a zipper that matched so it all came together fast. I like to think it was meant to be. 

By this time I had already made a couple zipper pouches so I had most of the kinks ironed out in the process I was using so it did not take long to stitch this one up.

Actually, the longest part was the wait to give it away. I had hoped to deliver it myself, however, one thing after another kept delaying the surprise and then it snowed pushing it out yet another week.

Finally, after 3 weeks she received the bonus project and was completely surprised which made it even more fun. Better late than never. 

Now she has the complete, one of a kind, designer set of the 

Repurposed Hawaiian Mu’umu’u Original Collection! 

Aloha!

First Aid Zipper Pouch

It may seem a bit late to be posting more Valentines Day projects however I am still catching up from our Valentines week snow and ice storm which left us without power. Before our historic storm hit I was sewing Zipper Pouches and filling them with homemade stamped sugar cookies to give away for Valentines Day. That all came to a halt though once the weather began to interfere. Thankfully I found ways to keep working on my Zipper Pouch projects and this was one of them.

This First Aid version was made for some very special medical school students and was so much fun to put together. At least one of the students plays the piano so I could not resist using some of my music fabric along with the Valentine fabric for this project. 

To spice up the back I pieced in a contrasting square and then also added a zipper loop on the side.

It was shortly after the First Aid bag was finished that our electricity went out so that stopped my zipper pouch production and I switched to making gift tags to coordinate with the fun bags. For this one I wanted to make a white coat which seemed fitting.

However, there was still one obstacle I had to resolve before I could get started and that was the lack of light. With the power down it was just too dark to even work on my hand projects. Mr. Wonderful fixed that though when he remembered a gift our friends had given us one Christmas a few years ago which was a battery operated lantern. We had never had an opportunity to use it until last week and it was just what I needed. The lantern along with his head lamp, which I also used, provided plenty of light to begin work on the gift tag. I began with some scratch paper which I folded, cut and fiddled around with the until details started to come together. Once I had the basic coat pattern about the right size I traced it on card stock and then cut it out. 

Next I added details such as the collar and pocket. The coat pocket is hand cut and then  perforated to look like stitching. The two buttons were glued on the front of the coat and I used a small heart punch for the two hearts in the pocket. The stethoscope is also hand cut except for the two very small center dots which were made with tiny hole punches and then glued in place.

I cut four hearts to add to the inside of the card. Once the power was restored I sewed them together down the middle and then folded them along the stitching line to make them pop up when the card was opened. To hold the white coat closed I cut and glued a very small piece of Velcro to each side of the coat front where it overlaps.

Cookies were the next part of the Valentines Day zipper pouch gifts. 

I made a couple new batches of cookies for the First Aid bag and this time the stamped sugar cookies were gluten and diary free however the  peanut butter bars were not. The recipes made a lot so there were plenty of cookies and bars to fill the bag plus extra to give away.

This patchwork First Aid themed care package was such fun to make and even more fun to give as gifts and care packages. Once the cookies are gone this handy little bag could be filled with actual First Aid items, used as a lunch box,  hold a craft project, as a travel bag, cosmetic pouch, just about anything.   There are several more “bags and tags” that I also finished up so I will be back soon to share those too. 

Happy Tuesday!

Snow Day Sewing ~ a few more zipper pouches

A Snow Day is a SEW Day around here.

Unless the power goes out!

Our forecast called for four days of snow which made me SNOW Happy.  SEW many projects I could work on like my zipper pouches. That is, until we lost our power. It was quite a week but we are now back on the grid and it is time to catch up.

The newest addition to my pouches are labels. It is a fun way to add interest to the front. 

The black thread along with the casual, uneven stitching is fun.

This floral pouch has a loop on the side which was made from leftover zipper clippings. Of course I save the ends because you never know when they will come in handy. 

It is hard to stop making these sweet little bags. 

Each one is different so it never gets boring. 

In fact, I got adventurous and tried a couple new things which I can’t wait to share. In the meantime, our prayers go out to those that still are without power. Stay safe and warm.

Warm wishes!

Valentine Zipper Pouches

It was a busy week last week with multiple projects in the works which includes these cute little zipper pouches. I thought they would make perfect Valentine gift/treat bags so I got to work. Once the sewing was finished it was time to bake some treats to fill the bags.

I baked a big batch of  heart shaped frosted sugar cookies which I then packaged up and put in the zipper pouches. 

Once the cookies are eaten the little pouch can be reused for something else such as a sewing project, make up, pencils and pens, snacks or whatever their heart desires.

The fabric is so cute they did not need to be wrapped however I could not resist making gift tags to tie on in coordinating fabric prints.

Valentines Day is almost here but I just could not wait another week before giving these cute little zipper pouches away over the weekend.

Happy Tuesday!

Super Bowl LV recap

It may not come as a surprise but our theme for Sunday Supper this week was 

SUPER BOWL LV!

And of course, that made preparing extra fun. 

I used one of the cute chalkboards Mr. Wonderful made last fall to make a football sign for the table.

At literally the last minute I decided to decorate the hand sanitizer. Since there wasn't much time I grabbed some card stock and made a quick football band to go around the middle. It worked and made it much more festive.  

Friday night I made a batch of chocolate football cookies. In the past I have made my own football cookie cutters which have always worked fine however this year I just decided to buy an actual football cookie cutter to add to my collection. It is the perfect size.  On Saturday morning I decorated them since there would not be time on Sunday. 

As you probably know, red was one of the main colors of both teams playing in the game so  I used several of my red plastic serving baskets to hold cookies which worked great. They were handy for some of the appetizers too. 

This year for our Super Bowl Halftime Dinner we made Spicy Pulled Pork Sliders on toasted pretzel buns, Coleslaw { either on the top or on the side } and Mac Salad. The pretzel buns were popular so those went fast. Thankfully we had regular slider buns which worked great too.

It is amazing how a few simple decorations turn a Sunday Supper into a festive little party.

It was a fun family day of football. 
 

Happy Monday!

A Hundred Hearts

Over one hundred heart cookies, but who's counting? 

{ Actually, I did! I was curious but I stopped once I reached one hundred. }

I needed a lot and a lot it was. 

Some hearts had frosting, some cookies had words and others were plain and simple. All of the cookies are to give away this weekend and some have already been gifted.

Last week was a busy week of sewing and baking. A lot of fun projects in the works which kept me preoccupied however I will be back tomorrow to begin catching up.   

Blessings!