Gold Chevron Tote {tutorial}

Do you have one of those friends that you love to death but you never get to see them because you're both so busy?  Mine is Sabrina.  It just seems like the stars never align for us.  But this past Friday they did align and we spent the whole day crafting, and eating, and laughing and crying.  Love her.

Well, Sabrina has this habit of spoiling me and my children and one of the many things she brought were some fun neon canvas totes.  After a sewing fail, I got burned out and decided to switch to paint.  And that my dears is the story of how the Gold Chevron Tote was born. 

Now you may remember I tried painting a similar-ish type thing with my old door mat.  I didn't measure a dang thing and though it turned out okay, I vowed to measure things the next time so the pattern wasn't so off.

You can read about the herringbone mat HERE.

I vowed to change but I had to be true to myself and let's face it, I AM LAZY.  I'm also not a perfectionist.  So instead of getting out a ruler I devised this method -

First I put regular width masking tape town the middle and in a cross section.  I used these as my guides.  I then added chevrons with the wide masking tape.  At this point I then removed the regular masking tape by peeling it away and then cutting it where the two tapes overlapped.

 
I then filled in the spaces that were left with more wide masking tape.  This is where I should have pulled out my ruler because some of them weren't spaced out exactly perfect but "Meh.  What ya gonna' do now?"  It's a good thing I'm not a perfectionist.  Sorry to all my readers who are perfectionists, I know you're cringing in horror right now.

I then dabbed on some gold craft paint {similar to this here}and called it a day.  The whole project took maybe 5-10 minutes to complete and I now have a new great little tote that I have been carrying around all weekend.  You know me, if it's fashionable and functional I'm a happy girl!

If you're looking to find canvas bags I've found a bunch on Amazon in neon and plain.  On Amazon they sell them as singles or in packs.  I'm thinking I may just buy a pack of colorful bright canvas totes and make myself some cute grocery bags.  You need to look stylish while grocery shopping, right? 

Thanks Sabrina for the fun new tote!

Car Play Mat & Storage Bag

I said I needed to show you more boy stuff so here's a fun one!

I wanted to show you something that had it all - Sewing, scraps, BOYS {and Girls!}, play, Imagination, DETAILS,  repurposed, STORAGE, cute fabric, Bright Colors... you get the point.  I hope I didn't disappoint!

Introducing.... The Car Play Mat & Storage Bag!

Each piece was drawn and cut by hand and appliqued onto the mat.  With a park, zoo, speedway, beach, neighborhood and church there is a whole town full of imaginative adventure waiting to happen.  Each piece of fabric was chosen to look authentic, waves for the ocean, brick for the zoo wall, florals for the bushes and trees, cobblestones and sand, even the stained glass windows on the church, etc.  Let's just say, I have a lot of random scraps around the house!

The kids love to play with the mat but the fact that the mat is easily cinched into a bag to store all those little cars is what gets momma REALLY excited!  We can easily carry the bag with us to appointments and activities to keep us entertained during those long waits.  And when we are done, one tug of the cord and "bloop!" all cleaned up.

I think everyone needs a Car Play Mat & Storage Bag.  I hope you agree!

Hair Bow Holder

Here is a fun little hair bow holder I made for Maggie a little while ago.  If anyone is interested in a full tutorial speak up - I'd be happy to create one for you.  This is such a simple project and who doesn't love a little organization in their life?

The holder can fold up to make a little carrying case.  Or it can hang on the wall open and store bows where you can see them.  Either way - Hair Bow WIN.  We keep ours next to the changing table so when we take the bows out when she gets ready for bed the holder is right there.

I basically just created a long double sided piece of fabric.  Enclosed in the seams were two pieces of ribbon one to attach the bows to and one for the handle.  I sewed down the middle to secure the ribbon a little better.  When all was said and done I added a button and button hole.  Viola!

This would be a great gift especially if you included a few bows with it too.  I also think that this would be great for those little girls that dance or cheer since they always seem to have a million bows.  Heck, what little girl doesn't!?!

Get those bows out of the drawer and make yourself a hair bow holder today!

Make Your Own Coupon Keeper

Whether you're a major coupon clipper or just use a coupon here or there it's a great way to save money.  I used to be a big couponer and sadly after I was pregnant with baby #2 I just fizzled out.  I do use coupons when I can but I don't collect them from the paper anymore.

Here is what I would use to store my coupons in an organized and easy way. 

I was in desperate need of a larger coupon holder and I didn't want to have to buy a binder and business card holder inserts. I estimated that to do so would have cost me around $10-$15 which would have defeated the point of all my coupon clipping these past few weeks.

 

 

I went digging in an old drawer and found a picture holder from the 7th grade (yes, that would be over 15 years ago). Thank goodness I didn't throw it out! There were a few crummy pictures in it and I hadn't touched it for years. I took the pictures out and created paper tabs (I cut my tabs using my Cricut but you can just fold over rectangles of paper) and stapled them to the inside. I then sorted my coupons.  The labels are for the sections of the store, baby, dairy, meat, cereals, toiletries, medicine etc.  The photo book spaces are the perfect size to store irregular sized coupons too. 

 

 

Simple as that! They are now organized, easy to view, and easy to find. Now I'm not flipping through my messy stacks of coupons trying to find what I am looking for.  And it's a great way to reuse all those picture books you are not using.

Crayon Rolls

One of the best things for a beginner sewer to make are crayon rolls.  They don't take long to make and it's just straight lines.  Super simple.  I first learned how to make them at one of my favorite blogs, Skip To My Lou.  I used her Crayon Roll Tutorial as a starting point and have made a ton of these since.

These were the very first crayon rolls I made.  I fell in love with the fabric.  I got both fabrics from Hobby Lobby.  Eventhough it was a few years ago that I purchased mine, you can still find both fabrics there. 

I love this cowboy one so much I'm thinking of having Baby Jack's first birthday party based off of it.  Still on the fence though...

For these I used ribbon for ties but since then I've been using elastic cord that I loop and sew into one side of the roll.  You can read HERE about where I get my cord.

Isn't this fabric great?  Such a fun fabric especially for travel.

I have a huge stack of fabric cut out for rolls for a project my mom and I are working on but I'll have to show that to you when it's finished.

Currently crayons are banned from our house because someone (cough, cough, Maggie, cough) has had a little problem coloring on well... everything.

So if your child doesn't have a crayon to wall addiction you should totally make some rolls for your kids.  They also make great gifts!

Jean Bean Bag Surprise

My husband and I got married just before our senior year of college.  We were poor.  So so poor.  We were living on love and prayer.  Not a bad way to live actually but it means you don't have a ton of stuff.

To solve a seating issue, I decided to make a bean bag chair.  It's pretty massive.  I used old jeans cut small squares and sewed those into 6 large squares.  The bag is actually one big cube.  At one of the big seams I used the zippers from the jeans for an opening.  Into the opening I shoved an old down comforter I wasn't using and cut up my mattress pad from sleeping on those crappy college room beds all those years for the stuffing.  Free, comfy seating.  It was great.

Here it is  -

(It's seen much better days.  You can tell it's had many years of use.) 

 

 You can imagine my shock when I heard it giggling the other day.  What in the world?!?

 "Suh-pies!"

 This thing is so old it grew a kid! 

John thinks it's time to sew up the holes.  I think it's time to say good bye and buy some actual furniture.  Maggie thinks it's perfect just the way it is.

Simple Rustic Console Table

I love building stuff.

Have you guys met Ana White yet?  Well I haven't officially met her but I'm in love with her SITE.  She's a homemaker from Alaska who builds furniture and then shares simple easy to do plans with you for FREE.  You heard me, I said the F word.  Check out her site but be prepared for your life to change.  Forever.

I became a fan of her site a long time ago and was one of her first followers.  It's been awesome to see it grow.  Pretty much I have all of her plans on my to-do list.

 

Recently I used her plans to make the Simple Rustic Console Table.  I had 5 (count 'em, 5!) junk areas in and around my kitchen/dining area.  I was feeling sad because my house was constantly messy.  Shoes were strewn all over the floor.  Bills, paperwork, coupons, magazines and toys everywhere.  Good luck trying to find your keys in the heap.  This wonderful table took me less than 2 hours to make (including paint), cost me about $40 (including baskets, they were on clearance after Easter, score!) and has made me happy ever since.  I can see my floor again.  And my dining room table.

Laying out my boards to see what it should look like.  I adjusted the plans to make mine about 5 inches shorter than the original plans.  I have Lowes cut all my wood for me.  All I have to do is tell them where.  It's great!

Built and ready for paint.

All the instruction I needed to complete the whole thing.  It really is easier than it looks.  Ana has nice printout instructions but I don't have a printer and I work better off my caveman drawings anyway.

All done!  Doesn't it just fit perfectly here?

Did I mention I love building stuff?

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Bag of Blocks

I finally cleaned my living room.  We picked up every toy and even vacuumed under the couch.  I discovered blocks.  Lot's of them.  Living under the couch.  Homeless.

I had seen The Bag Of Blocks Tutorial from Sewing In No Man's Land and decided that we needed our own Bag of Blocks.  A new craft project excuse?  Yes please.  I felt like I was was being rewarded for all my hard efforts in cleaning the front room so well.

I used the Heat and Bond like she had in the tutorial.  I usually reinforce my appliques by sewing around each of them but this time I didn't.  I regret it because one of the letters is starting to peel off but I'll wait until It comes off completely before I sew all the letters.  It's just not worth the extra time.  It's a bag for blocks.  Not a quilt for the Queen.

I used my Cricut to cut out the letters and hand drew and cut the trees.  I always like to use the fabric I have on hand so this is made entirely out of scraps and cost me nothing to make.

I didn't have enough of the cream fabric so I added stripes to the back to give it more width.  I used French seams to finish it but if I had a serger that would have done the job too.

For the drawstring, I used a cord that I had cut from my Venetian blinds when I first put them up.  The cord was too long for the window so I trimmed it and saved the excess.  Glad I did.  I came in very handy.  I also used scrapbook eyelets for the holes.

Love the bag, but the best part is kiddo loves it too.  She insists that her blocks need to go in there and the living room is staying block free!

Storage Solutions: Grocery Bag Holder Tutorial

Are you like me?  You have those plastic grocery bags all over the place?  Everywhere.  They make me crazy.  We never throw them out and always resuse them as little trash bags for the kids diapers.  They used to sit in the hall in a big ugly, messy pile.  Then I found an empty can to keep them in, no longer messy but still ugly.  Solution?  A little scrap of fabric can make a big difference.

Are you ready to make this with me??  Let's go!   

Step1:  Get a large can with a plastic lid.  (I got this a long time ago from the LDS cannery but I have a nacho cheese can from Sam's club that would have worked too.) 

Step 2:  Cut a hole in the lid.  It doesn't have to be perfect.  You're storing trash bags for goodness sake!

Step 3:  Measure your can and cut a scrap of fabric that size (or slightly larger).  Mine was 19 x 7 inches.  Don't bother ironing it.  You don't need to.

Step 4:  Use mod podge to adhere fabric to can.  Dab the glue on generously just a few inches around at a time.  Make sure your pull your fabric on tight and smooth out any bumps or wrinkles.  My 3 year old assisted with this step.  If she can do it, so can you.

Step 5:  Trim off any extra fabric.  You can use scissors or an exacto knife.

Step 6:  Coat the whole thing in more mod podge.  Don't worry if you didn't get every bump.  The mod podge will shrink it and seal it up nice and tight. 

Step 7:  Let it dry and embellish however you want to.  I added this ribbon and bow with hot glue.  Replace lid and stuff with bags.

Viola!  Done and done!  That was easy, it took just 10 minutes and my house looks cuter and cleaner already. 

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