Another Zippered Make-Up Bag!

I finally made another one of these, I think they are just so neat! I'm planning on making three or four more, too! 

And now there are two!

Zippered Make-Up Bag/Mini Purse

So I saw this idea online the other day and I knew I could make it because it is so simple! And I am always wanting a cute make-up bag (or pencil pouch, or mini purse) to carry things in. I also think these will make some nice gifts for my friends and family!

I found some super cute Amy Butler fabric at a local fabric store.

First I cut them to the dimensions I wanted the bag/purse to be.

Then I ironed the fabric, and folded and ironed one side of the fabric down to make a smooth edge for sewing.

Then I sandwiched one side of the bag (so wrong sides together) around one side of the zipper and pinned it.

Next I sewed the zipper to the material with a zipper foot on my sewing machine.

Last, I sewed around the edges of the bag (with the front material facing each other).

Make sure to leave the zipper a bit unzipped, or you will have a hard time flipping the bag right side out!

I trimmed the extra fabric and corners, then flipped the bag right side out and poked out the corners.

And here it is, my finished little bag! I think it turned out so neat!

 (Sorry for the blurry picture, I wanted to show what the inside looked like!)

Baby Play Mat/Blanket

I've really gotten into making things for my future niece/nephew. I love babies anyway, and my brother's baby (who is due in November) is the first baby in our family in a long time. It's difficult to make gender neutral things (especially when there are way more cute things to make for baby girls!). But here is my stab at a baby play mat (or blanket- it's soft enough!). 

I went to the craft store and happened to come across the cutest owl baby print and it reminded me of the colors and style of what my sister-in-law has been telling us about. So I grabbed it up, and picked out a matching color in a very soft, fluffy fabric. I found some nice orange thread (I thought orange would unify the owl print with the brown), but it turns out you can't even hardly see the thread when I was finished. Oh well, I still think it turned out great!

I started with about a yard of fabric for both the owl print and the brown fluffy material. I put them together, right sides together, and pinned them together, then cut the extra fabric (the brown material was a bit longer than the owl).

I sewed these together with orange thread and removed the pins as I went. I left an opening big enough to put my hand into, so that I could turn it right-side out when I was done. But first I trimmed the extra fabric, as well as the corners.

Then I flipped it inside out, poked the corners out, and ironed the owl material.

I took these pictures before I ironed it, sorry!

I think it turned out well! So cute, makes me want to have a baby too! :)

Felt Flowers T-Shirt

After making my yarn wreath with felt flowers I have become obsessed with felt flowers! They are so cute and easy to make! So here is a little something I came up with to make one of my plain, old shirts look more stylish!

I started out by making three sizes of creme-colored felt flowers (see my link to my yarn wreath for the how-to).

Then I arranged them onto this navy blue t-shirt that I have been dying to spruce up a bit. I thought this arrangement looked good.

I got out my hot glue gun and glued these flowers onto another flat piece of felt in the order I wanted them. Then I trimmed the excess felt and hot glued a safety pin onto the back of the flowers.

Voila! I made a felt flower pin! I simply pinned it to the shirt and I think it turned out stinkin' cute!

 It's summer, and I am really excited about iced tea, felt flower pins and the warmer weather! :)

Little Gem Birdie

So this is where I originally got my blog name from. I made this little stuffed animal for my brother and his wife for their baby (who is not yet born) and just thought up the name and really liked it. So here is how I made Little Gem Birdie!

I found a bird shape that I really liked online, printed it out in about the size I wanted, and cut it out. Then I traced it onto some felt twice and cut those pieces out. I also sketched a wing shape and cut that out to trace onto some fabric I had. I traced it four times (so the wings were double-sided). Then I played around with the stitches on my new sewing machine and sewed them together, then to the blue felt bird pieces.

I used a large needle and some embroidery thread to free-hand sew an eye on each side of the bird. Then I sewed the two sides of the bird together. 

Here is a close-up of the wings. Not too bad for my first try at a stuffed animal, but it definitely looks homemade!!!

 Then I stuffed Little Gem Birdie with filling. Poor thing! Then I had to hand stitch the little hole shut.

 And here she is! Little Gem Birdie in all her glory!

I also found a neat label on this website and printed it out on card-stock to present to my brother and his wife.

So there she is- Little Gem of a Birdie! :)

Crocheted Dish Cloth

I made this dish cloth awhile ago for my mother. I've made a few before (because they're super easy to do) and she wanted a larger one because they tend to shrink in the wash. So this one is actually very big (you can't really tell from the picture). I think the yarn is pretty summery!

Colorful Felt Garland

I originally saw this felt garland and wanted to copy it and make it for our first Christmas tree this year. I think I cut my circles a little too large, however, but it might still work (I suppose it depends on the size of the tree!).

Obviously the garland is not going to stay above this window, but I was so proud after I finished it that I had to hang it SOMEWHERE.

Here's how I did it:

First, I traced circles onto felt using a silver dollar. This is the longest and most tedious part. Then I cut the circles out.

I organized the circles by color and picked a pattern out (you can just use a random pattern, but I wanted to see what the end result would look like).

Then sew away!

Random Pictures From My Neck of The Woods

Here's what's been happening around my house for the last month or so...

I went to the craft store (again...and again).

Found this awesome jar with my mom at a very unique country antique show.

Baking Snickerdoodles to take to a friend's for Dinner/Game night.

Niall and I drank wine and had "rich people" snacks (AKA Spinach dip and Hummus!).

 I bought a new sewing machine!!! I love it!

 I promptly made a big mess with my sewing machine the day I bought it.

 Baked muffins for the hubby while he wrote his 15-page paper.

My sister-in-law came to visit from California.

We had a surprise visitor on our third floor balcony (yes, THIRD floor- how it got up there I do not know!). This kitty showed up right after dinner and was happy to have some attention, lunch meat, and milk before we decided to set it free again (it was an outdoor cat).

Visited my parents and took this lovely picture of my beautiful mother (she's going to kill me when she sees this!).

Well, that's what's been going on around here. I did a few more crafts today, I will put up some pictures of them soon!