BACK TO SCHOOL BAG

Remember this BACK TO SCHOOL BAG that was posted sometime ago.  Well, my daughter's friends were admiring this bag and so I thought it was time to make more.  My daughter actually had some hands-on time with these.  With the new craze of Marvel Comics, we found some very cute fabric prints and finished these two:

Marvel Comics cross over sling bag

Marvel Comics cross over sling bag

The Pattern is from KWIK SEW #3749. 

Creating things w/my kids is so priceless!  I hope one day they can take our time spend creating and making more things on their own.

What have you created lately?

AVA ROSE TOTE

G'morning!  I realize it's been awhile since my last post but I've been busy making this Artsy-Crafty Babe's Ava Rose Tote.  I first learned of this tote when I saw it here on flickr.com.  I placed my order for the pattern at Artsy-Crafty Babe's website and as soon as it was received, I made the first trial run tote.  It has since survived carrying bottles of water, been to various sports games, few vacations and it still stands as good as new.  There's plenty of room for really anything you could think of.  I just luv the silhouette and the size.  Here's the most recent Ava Rose Tote I made for my sister as she specifically wanted a black/white tote.

Ava Rose Tote by Artsy-Crafty Babe

I modified it to have magnetic closure versus a button closure (you can barely see it above the red interior pocket):

And added a key holder, too.  I saw this in a few fancy bags in a department store and thought it was such a great idea and started making these in all project bags:
 

And of course, I sewed on my label just to see what kind of feedback will come my way.

My motto this year is to "RID OF THE CLUTTER" which specifically is targeted towards my ridiculous fabric stash.  As each project is done, I feel a sense of accomplishment that a little bit of room was made in our little humble storage shed and another project is complete!

Did you give yourself a motto to follow this year?

T-SHIRT BLANKET

Good morning!  Here's a quick post for today.  I finally finished my son's memory blanket so he can take it with him to school in a few weeks.  It is made out of collected treasured T's he purchased and/or rec'd as gifts and at sports camps in the past few years.  He'll be traveling to another state so making this blanket was very important to me as it will ease the home sick blues most freshmen go thru their first year away from home. 

I've seen many T-shirt projects but I have such a difficult time machine quilting large blankets and quilts on my little sewing machine.  When I cam accross this blog called Maiden Jane, she had a pattern that didn't call for machine quilting and knew it was right up my alley.  The blanket was finished in one week, just in time to pack it up and get it ready for traveling. My family can now have the dining table and living room back! 

What treasured items to you collect?

Sew Easy Simplicity 1995

It's been a rough few days.  So many things to do in such little time and my procastination has gotten the best of me.  There comes a time when I know I need to somewhat slow down and unwind, or as the saying goes, SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO STOP AND SMELL THE ROSES....Well, I did,...slow down and unwind that is.  I purchased this pattern sometime ago after seeing this beautiful bag on flicker:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/ritafazfita/4905450248/in/faves-37483854@N04/

The Patterns is a Sew Easy Simplicity 1995

 

 

I interfaced both the front/back and the lining with 906F Pellon to give it strength and structure.  This sewing project gave me the much needed time to slow down a bit.  It took me just a few hours and not only do I have a new bag but my focus back.



 

 

I even had a spare kanzashi flower to pin as an accessory. 

 

This was a long over-due sewing threrapy session.  I feel so much better now.

 

What do you do to unwind?

HELLO AND A NEW BAG!

Oh my, where have the time gone?  Guess it's true for the saying, "Time flies when you're having fun!".  It's been little over a year since my last post.  Family time took precedent over blogging and know everyone will agree.   During my blogging absence my curiosity in photography resurfaced and I've been getting familiar with my camera.  It's amazing how a camera can capture precious moments and in today's digital world, photo editing is a whole new beast in itself. 

My family will be doing a little bit of travel this summer and my daughter's been mentioning for a new bag.  While doing a some errands just a few days ago, we had some time to browse the local fabric discount store.  Having recently watched THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, she saw a few Batman fabrics and after contemplating over a handful of options, she chose a really cute MARVEL COMIC print and carefully picked an interior of blue.  After pre-washing, cutting, ironing,interfacing, and sewing, her bag was ready in a day and she loves it!  Her BFF's also hinted that they'd LUV a bag, too so I have a feeling someone will be busy making a few Christmas handmades for her BFF's.

This bag is from KWIK SEW 3749.  A fairly easy pattern for me which I luv.  We added interior pockets for her itouch and writing utensils.  Looks like she's ready to do some traveling!  And so am I!

Oh, here's a sneak peak of what I'm working on....

Are you traveling this summer?

FATHERS DAY APPLE CRISP AND LO MEIN

Sunday, we spent Father's Day at home.  We finally had a day w/out having a schedule and that is always a treat for us.  In the morning everyone pitched in and did a few chores and by mid-day, my husband got to relax and watch the NBA finals....Heat versus Thunder  (go Thunder!). 

As every Father's Day and his birthday, my husband always requests for steak

Seasoned beef ready for the grill!

and grilled veggies

Gettin' ready the veggies

so that was a given for his Father's Day menu.  My daughter pitched in with her Chicken Lo Mein (for recipe click here).  

We opted to leave the chicken out of the noodle dish and make it more of a vegetable dish so we added more veggies instead.  She substituted the angle hair pasta and used spaghetti instead since that's what we had on hand.  My son purchased a bunch of apples from the local wholesale store so he pitched in with the Apple Crisp (for recipe, click here) dessert. 

Fresh Apple Crisp with brown sugar/oatmeal topping

A scoop of macadamia nut ice cream topped with whipped cream on the warm apple crisp was the icing on the cake for the evening.

Hope you had an enjoyable Father's Day.  There are those who do the double duty as a single parent 365/24/7, and there are those who cares for children as if they were their very own.  Some of us were blessed to have fathers from the day we were born and care for us in every way all parents should, and for that I am extremely grateful.  In anycase I hope everyone had a chance to experience a real dad, even if it was only for a little time.

“Any man can be a Father but it takes someone special to be a dad.” -Anne Geddes

Did you have a special menu for that special dad today?

T-Shirt Bag

There are so many way to re-cycle and up-cycle T-shirts.  personally think its an awesome way to remember the memories they come with.  Most of my T's comes from places I've visited, concerts I've been to, favorite logos, (to name a few) and when I look at them, they just bring back happy times w/my favorite people!  Well, the T-shirt blankets have been so much fun do to for my kids.  This time, I'd like to do something for ME!  Let's see....There's always a NEED for one more bag, right gals?  Thank goodness for this blog called A Very Purple Person, there's an awesome tutorial for a reversible bag.  You can see more inspiration of her reversible bag here on flickr.  So, here are my version of the reversible bags using interfaced T-shirts:

T-shirt tote #1

This one is a beach bag:

T-Shirt Tote #2

This one's my fave!  It came from a family owned surf shop in a sleepy little town on the Big Island of Hawaii.  To my surprise, when I used this tote, I had a lot of compliments and interest! 

T-Shirt #3

Interior pockets were added and the pattern was adjust slightly making it a few inches longer and wider.  Another wonderful bag from a wonder tutorial!

Any other suggestions for up-cycling/re-cycling T's?