Kindle Case

I made this Kindle case for my mother in law.

I used this great tutorial.

t-shirt bag {literally}

I saw this idea briefly at the 4th of July parade we went too---ha ha ha. I'm always on the look-out for something crafty! 

Well, its super easy, cute and one way to recycle an (old) t-shirt.

I've been looking for a way to use my Triathlon shirt, it's too big to wear and not comfy enough to sleep in...this is the perfect gym bag!

So here's how:

Get yourself a t-shirt of choice. I'm thinking this only works with your classic t-shirt style, but you can try a fitted one too if you want.

Cut the sleeves off, this makes the "handles" of your bag. You might need to sew a seam here depending on how you cut it, but I didn't need to.

Then, cut the bottom of your shirt depending on what size you want it.

Then turn the shirt inside-out and sew along the bottom to make the bottom of your bag. I did a double stitch to make it more durable.

Then cut a bigger opening around the neck of the bag, sew a seam around this.

And there you have it. Super easy and simple.

Finished product.

And I will say that I hate my camera, so sorry if these pictures are not very good. Plus, I was kinda in a hurry! :)

There is loads of options to personalize your bag:

you can cut the bottom round instead of flat, make the arm holes bigger for more of a sling bag, or make the neck hole bigger or smaller depending on how you want it to look.

You can use it for grocery shopping, a pool bag, for the gym or even a purse!

Fun stuff, enjoy!

Also, found this recipe for homemade lipgloss---vaseline and kool-aid! Sounds awesome!

here

Towel Bag (So Easy!)

This was suppose to be for "Sew Saturday" but I had a busy day of traveling so I didn't get to it. This bag is sooo easy. I do not sew and I made this with ease and in about 30 minutes. I will do my best to explain the tutorial.

Supplies: Dish towel (this isn't the typical cotton one you get at WalMart. This is the bigger, linen-like, thinner ones. I want to guess the dimension are 18x24inches), 3 yards of rug rope or thicker ribbon. Sewing machine, embellishments if wanted like a button, rosette etc.

This is where I stink in the craft-bloggin, so I will do my best to explain. I don't have a picture for every step...sorry.

Lay your towel out flat and lay out the rub rope/ribbon where you would like it to be placed, leaving loops for the arm straps. Make sure the end of the ribbon is in the crease line where you would fold the towel in half so it is hidden. Pin it down and sew it on, making boxes with "x's" in the them at the top where the towel ends and the loops begin (for added support, you see this on most totes-know what I'm talking about?)

After you have sewn on your ribbon, fold the towel so the patterned sides are facing eachother (inside out) and sew up the edges leaving the opening at the top. 

Then is make it so the bottom of the bag is square (this is hard to explain) pull out the bottom so it lays flat and the corner of the bag comes to a point like in the pictures above and below this. Then follow down 2 inches from the point, lay a ruler across and draw a line. Sew over this line.

Turn the bag right side out and push the corners out so it looks like the picture below. You can completely skip this step if you want but it is nice to give your bag a more level bottom. There is a specific name for this--and I can't remember what it is, if you know it please comment it. Remember? Not a sewer here. :)

Here's the finished product!!! It super cute and I use it for my Sunday bag---its the perfect size! I haven't added my bow and button yet. You could even add an outside pocket in a fun, contrasting color or patter in you wanted to. This really is super simple, and I got it done in no time.

Happy Sewing!

Linked to: Between U & Me, the shabby nest

Birdie Sling

 For Sewing Saturday, I thought it would be fun to show a bag I just finished for a friend. She will be using it as a diaper bag in a couple weeks, but I have one myself and I use it to pack all my church stuff (much cuter than a canvas tote). See:

I love it. 

It's huge, but it's so cute that it can pass as a large purse.

The inside has three great pockets, but you could customize it to have as many as you want. 

It's fully lined and everything is either interfaced or backed with fusible fleece, so it's pretty hefty (washable too).

 I'm a quilter at heart, so I love love love Amy Butler. She has some great free patterns on her website you might want to check out. I bought her Birdie Sling bag pattern here a few months ago, and I've been really happy with it. I'm not great with following patterns, but this one was relatively simple if you know sewing basics.

If you do decide to make any tote, I would stick with darker colors because they don't get dirty as easily. I also like doing something pretty busy on the inside for the lining, it seems to hide cracker crumbs better :)

Hopefully that gives you guys some fun ideas. 

Happy sewing!