Church / Activity Bag

Buying bags and clothes and shoes and..and...and.. for kids gets pretty pricey so we try to either get things on sale, or make them! This church bags been in the works since we found out I was pregnant with our first.. and he's turning 3 at the end of this month.... so I think it wad about time that I made it. It took a few weeks of working on it a little each day and now? It's done! [OK mostly done.. I still want to add a few things to it, but it's ready to use, and Xander has been BEGGING me to let him use it since I finished sewing it a few weeks ago.

Sew.

Embellish.

look at it.

Embellish some more.

Paint.

Cut.

OK.. USE!!!

Take back..

Embellish some more.

Take pics..

Give back to the kid to use..[and add some more things later..]

The bag is a simple messenger-style bag, Made from old jeans -with felt as the stabilizer in the bottom of the bag. the 'back pocket' has the LDS San Diego Temple on it, and is actually a double pocket! [Sorry the pic of the book and tag in the pockets isn't very good to show it off]

I used my Silhouette Machine to die cut the words, Angel Moroni, and LDS San Diego Temple. Xander helped me paint his bag- and did a very good job too! I was impressed. He also was the one who picked out the graphics and ribbon colors. Here he is below modeling it for me. He kept posing and moving into different places to make sure I got the right picture.. Ah! that's MY BOY! I'm glad at the ripe old age of [almost] 3, he has it down! Everything I used, I had on hand. So it didn't cost me anything. [but in all fairness, some of the supplies DID cost me, but a while ago and I have no clue how much. The jeans were free.]

We loaded it with lots of goodies to keep him busy [and quiet].. oh! and learning.. during first hour of church.

*3 board books about Nephi, tithing, and Moroni

*Noah's Ark Magnetic animals

*Remember Jesus activity wheel

*Photo album

*Green folder- holds blank paper and church color/activity pages

*'B' mini page pad- blank paper for him to draw on

*Activity carrying case- [not pictured]- holds crayons, snacks, pens and misc items

week thirty-five

THE RUSH FOR CHRISTMAS!!!
Sooooo.... all of the projects that were started weeks ago.. and some this week... are FINALLY FINISHED! whew!



So here they are:




A crocheted hat with brim for one of my older sisters. She loves hats and accessories so it was kinda an easy thing more me to make with her in mind. I know I made them from Christmas colors and she wont be able to wear it for too long this year, but next year and so on, she'll already have a hat! :) I originally was making her a hand bag, and it would have totally ROCKED!! but my 2 year old son decided to abscond with the main element [of which] the whole design was hinged on... so the hat was a last ditch effort to have a present [not an IOU ] to give to my sister.




My oldest niece likes scarves but is really a picky kind of girl. I spent hours searching for a fabric that would be perfect.... I found this flowy sheer animal print and knew right away that it was the one! I made a flower clip with beads in the center to either use in her hair or to clip onto the scarf as an accent. love it!



For a cousin [on my hubby's side] who is 12 and I'm not sure I could make anything that he is really that impressed with. But thought that a hat would be a nice warm fuzzy gift :) I made it out our fleece and added a little bit of detail to [an otherwise] boring hat.




My cousin [who I don't see very often] loves skulls and crossbones and motorcycle stuff. I saw this fleece and knew it was for him. I made him a beanie that would be warm :) his mom tried to steal it from him, as did almost everyone else at the party. I think it was a hit!



A fluffy, warm scarf for my aunt who lives in London. I have to admit though, I did not make this scarf. My hubby did!!! what a man! I was so stressed [and trying to "enjoy" the holidays] and he offered to help in any way he possibly could. Normally I asked him to play with the kids.. [a real chore, right? esp since he loves to play with them] Then I asked him to make a few things, this being one of them. I would have asked him to help with more things [making that is..] but I seem to be such a control freak when it comes to handmade gifts that I couldn't [or really didn't want to] find things for him to help with. Yeah, looks like I just gotta let go sometimes!





This small neck cowl is for one of my hubby's cousins. She live in Utah, bbrrrr, so instead of a scarf, I thought a cowl would be very appropriate and lovely. I almost kept it for myself!!


Now for the project [of which I am supremely excited about and just love love love!] I made this for my hubby's cousin's wife.. I wanted to make something classy for her and I don't know her very well [even though I helped hubby's cousin "get the girl" ] and this is what I came up with. I used left over satin [from my Christmas dress, which is going to end up a valentines day dress or mother's day or Easter..... sad, i know but somethings just get pushed of..ya know?!] and I hand painted the bird on in white, hand-sewed the glass seed beads and added my Hey Sharky! label on the bottom back corner. I hope she loves it [half] as much as I do!
{*update- she didn't show up at Christmas too bad. :( so this is her present for next year if she shows up, if not it's going to her mom-in-law !}

Last, but certainly not least.... A dress for my cousin's kid. I thought I took some other pics of this dress right after I made it, but can't seem to find them. So [for now] this is what ya git. He doesn't know the first thing about girly stuff, so I made this cute dress, with a girly skull and crossbones in the bottom corner. He loved it and I'm sure she did too :)







I made a few more gifts, a scrapbooked DVD case set with 1,000s of photos on cd for my sister in law....a BBQ set for the father in law, apron and all ......and a few more things that in the rush of things I thought I took pictures, but apparently did not. Or I just lost them.. or.. or.. or..

What an exhausting week this has been. But also so rewarding! I'm glad to be done with the sweatshop, but sad that Christmas is over and I didn't celebrate it as I really wanted to. This year was better than last, and next will surely be better as well. {esp since I am already starting on projects to put in the gift bin for next year!! Call me crazy but I love making our gifts {its not really about saving money because most of the time I don't.. it's about the from the heart touch that a homemade gift brings}



Happy crafting! And see YOU next year!

week 35: complete
# projects: 11
weeks to go: 1
cumulative project count: 62

week thirty-four

Sweater- turned-hat

So with Christmas knocking on my door, and projects STILL not finished..... I needed soemthing for our niece. She is a true girlie girl and I wanted to make her a cute [soft] beenie with a brim. I cut up one of my sweaters that i have only worn a few times.. and turned it into a hat. I am very pleased with the result.

I really thought I made more than just this hat, maybe they were all just IN THE WORKS and not really done.. time to CRAM for the next weeks!!!!

week 34: complete

# of projects: 1

weeks to go: 2

cumulative project count: 52

week thirty-three

The mad rush to get all the Christmas presents done!!! I seriously thought we had more than half our list left, when in reality we had WAY LESS!!! So yeah for us! I did put my hubby to work making a few of the presents and he did an awesome job. I don't think I will be adding them to my total because - well- let's be honest.. I didn't make them so it doesn't count. the projects in this entry are going to my husband's sister and her family. we hope they love them because we spent a lot of time thinking of what to do and coming up with [what we think] are the perfect gifts. :)

For their daughter: a headband, crocheted with a flower and a head/ear warmer with pom poms. These are such a cute accessory! So many of my friends have them for their daughters, I just couldn't leave our niece out!! [a special thanks to my son who modeled the headband/ear warmer for me.. he had a fun time doing it and was such a great model]

For their son Jr. I made a travel mat for him to play and store his cars. Xander wanted it so badly and I promised that I'd make one for him after Christmas. He helped me pain the "beep" . It was nice to include him in the making of the presents.

For his sister I made a beanie with a brim. I absolutely love this yarn! She's not very girlie so I left off my usual details of a flower or buttons. Simple and sweet.

For my sis-in-law's hubby: a basic beanie. Again I LOVE this yarn!

week 33: complete

# projects:4

weeks to go: 3

cumulative project count: 51

week twenty

D day is coming up very fast and I still don't have a birthing skirt. Purchasing them online or in a store is pretty expensive esp since I wont wear it any other time than labor and birth of my child. Being a crafty type, I'll be making my own. There are not very many [or very good] instructions online on how to do one, so I'm pretty much winging it. The mock-up will be made out of light weight upholstery fabric, because I have a ton of it laying around the house. For the actual one, I might go and buy fabric but who knows.

What is a birthing skirt, you ask? It's a skirt you wear while birthing your baby- whether you are birthing in the hospital, birthing center or at home. It helps make you feel feminine and gives coverage. I can't stand the gowns that they make you wear at the hospital, I'm not a sick person, why do I have to wear the sick person gown? Anyhow, I'm birthing using the Hypnobirthing method in a big jacuzzi tub at Best Start Birth Center and I want to make sure I am stylish :) Comfort and style.... and a healthy baby boy...

week 20: complete
# projects: 1
weeks to go: 13
cumulative project count: 28

week eleven

this week i was crazy about making hats :) so i made a few. i think i'll be wearing hats more often- which isn't a new thing for me.. i just needed a larger variety to wear! the hats below are mini sized and are worn towards the front of the head, tipped.



week eleven: complete
# projects: 3
weeks to go:22
cumulative project count: 19

week ten

since i am having another boy [yeah!] i get my girlie fix through friends and family :) it seems like everyone else around me is having girls, so i get a chance to make cute little dresses and such as presents. i get to create but not keep which, to me, is a fair deal! here is what i made this week:
i just LOVE vintage items and i have a ton of patterns that are 'old'. i pulled out this very cute shirt and bloomers pattern from my collection and got sewing. at first it was to make a present for a friend who just had her baby.. then it turned into 2 presents.... which then turned into "hey! i could make a bunch of these from material i neeeeeed to get rid of [i practically have my own store!] and sell them in my etsy shop. the two featured in the blog are the ones i completed this week. i did, however, change the bloomers into shorts because i didn't want to deal with leg elastic. i hand drew [and cut out] the cherries to ass an accent. :) enjoy!



week ten: complete
# projects: 3
weeks to go: 23
cumulative project count: 16