January Bag of the Month - Bye Bye Love!

I finally had an excuse to make the first bag from the Bag of the Month club pack.  My wonderful Mom got me the subscription for Christmas (I only had to suggest it and she jumped at the easy gift).  My BFF asked for a Star Wars purse for her birthday and picked the pattern and fabric, so here it is!  Sorry for the bad pics, was trying to rush them before I ran off to give her the bag and it was hard to photograph for some reason!

(This bag is HUGE!!)

Fun little gifts for kids!

I recently had the chance to make a few birthday presents, so I thought I'd share them now that the kiddos have gotten their gifts!

First up was a 'real' wallet for a boy turning 4!  He requested one 'Just like Dad's, except with a zipper'  So I modified the tutorial over at Modestmaven to include a box zipper.

 

(Inside has card pockets and the zipper pocket)

Crayon Rolls - a tutorial

There are millions of crayon roll tutorials on the Internet (well, maybe only half a million).  I’ve read several of them and come up with my own version that combined features I liked.  I seem to make them just infrequently enough that I have don’t have the measurements and assembly order always at the front of my brain, so I figured I should write it down somewhere.    I like to use a ½” seam allowance, I feel it is a little sturdier and more forgiving than the ¼” I see on several tutorials.

Messenger bags - a happy little family!

I love messenger bags, they are roomy, fast to make, and fun!  Recently I finished 2 more, so here is my 'family' of messenger bags.  I feel like there is a Poppa, a Momma, and a Baby bag...

Uptown Girl Bag - Pattern testing

I took a break from the Necessary Clutches to test the Uptown Girl purse from ChrisW Designs.  It is  designed for Pleather/leather, but I wasn't adventurous enough to do it with those materials!  Thanks for giving me the chance to try this one out Christine!

 

(Pay no attention to the dead grass.  It's winter!)

Tools of the Crafting Trade - Sewing edition

I always see the pretty sewing spaces in magazines and blogs and sigh.  I have taken over the dining room table and random parts of that room, but I someday I'll have an awesome dedicated craft room...probably after at least 2 children leave for college.  I've got a few years to go.  In the meantime, I thought I'd share my tools that I can't live without!

Someday I'll have a super awesome amazing sewing machine that brews a latte while it sews perfect seams, but for now I have a slightly above basic sewing machine.  (Latte sewing machine sounds like an untapped market, I should patent that!)

Another Necessary Clutch plus mini tutorial for installing a swing lock!

I had a request to make another NCW and had the idea of trying to take notes on how I installed the swing lock since it's not exactly the same as the other ones that Emmaline Bags has on her blog (Emmaline Bag Latch installation)  And I also had to make one for myself since I finally caught up on Christmas presents!

 First, the Pirate Loot Clutch for me: