Patchwork Shoulder Bag Tutorial

I got a few responses showing interest in the tutorial for this bag, so here it is. It was quite photo intensive and wound up being 7 pages in Word, so I made it into a PDF and posted it at the link below.

Download TutorialIf you get stuck or need clarification, let me know.

Santa's Belly Ornament

I work in the Young Women's group at our church (for the girls 12-18 years old), and this week we had a Christmas Craft Night for our Activity. Each of the leaders came up with a different craft to teach the girls.

Here's mine - Santa's Belly Ornament

To make this, you'll need:

• square glass ornaments
• black paint
• white puffy paint
• strips of red cardstock (mine are about 1/4"x4")

Coil the strips of paper around something thin - I wrapped mine around the end of a paint brush handle.

After making each coil, put them in the ornament - I didn't count how many I coiled, but once you've filled it up, you're good :)

Then, paint a black stripe around the center of the ornament (santa's belt). Once that's dry, use the puffy paint to draw a square (belt buckle) around the belt.

Finish it off with ribbon to hang it up.

Pacifier Clips

I had a pacifier clip for my son that I got at Target. I never liked it because it wasn't cute and it always felt too short. So I decided to make some of my own.

The snap end snaps to the pacifier, and the clip end clips to the baby's clothes.
First, I found ribbon I liked (the double sided ribbon looks the best in the end). I didn't want them too long otherwise it becomes a choking hazard, so I cut the ribbon to the length I felt was functional, but safe at the same time (the length ends up shorter than you cut since both ends fold in).
On one end, I attached a suspender clip (I actually bought some suspenders at the thrift store that looked brand new and cut off the clips to use) It was only about 75 cents for 4 of them compared to the $2+ for a set of 2 at Jo-Anns.

I looped one end through the slot and then folded the ribbon under and stitched near the clip to secure it.

The other end was a bit trickier. I used my Mom's "Snap Setter" to attach these - combined with the muscles of my husband to hammer them together. I tried, but aparantly, I am not strong enough. Her snap kit came with instructions on which pieces to pair together. But I also folded the end of the ribbon in before attaching the snaps so it was a cleaner edge.

The spacing between the 2 sets will depend on the pacifier you use. I use the Avent ones that have a really thin ring/handle thing. Other brands have a thicker handle, so you would want the spacing to fit the brand you use.

Trick-or-Treat Tote Bag

I love when I can make something and spend NOTHING on it. I made this trick-or-treat tote bag for my son using scraps. It only took a little over an hour - I made the whole thing during his nap. This post is loaded with pictures of the process . . . sorry for a lengthy post. First, I traced a tote bag that was the size I wanted it to be, but I added a little to the edges to account for seams. I also wanted a flat bottom to it so I could have the corners instead of a flat bag. I cut the same size pieces out of the lining fabric.

Sew the bottom seam on both the lining and the outer shell. Then using a 1.5" square template, cut the corners on each bottom edge of the lining and the shell.

Since I wanted a design on the front, this is where i added it. First, I cut the oval shape out of the fabric that had been fused to the wonder under. Then I ironed it to the front of the bag.

Next, I top stitched the edges with a decorative stitch.

Back to sewing the bag . . . sew the side seams on the outer shell and the lining (but leave a 3-4" hole in one side of the lining to turn the bag right side out later.)

Next, box the corners on the lining and the shell where you had previously cut the squares out from. Bring the side seam to the bottom seam and stitch. This is what gives you a flat bottom to the bag.

Sew the handles to the outer shell. You could make handles out of fabric, but I used the stuff that's used to make belts since I had that on hand and it was faster.

Now, with the outer shell turned right side out and the lining still inside out, put the shell piece inside the lining and line up and pin the tops together.

Stitch around the top edge of the bag.

Turn the bag right side out through the hole you left in the side seam of the lining.

Hand stitch the hole in the lining's side closed. Then, tuck the lining into the bag and iron the top edge flat. Top stitch around the edge to keep the lining flat and in place.

Next, I painted the "BOO!" onto the bag. I normally would have done this in the beginning, but I didn't want to wait for the paint to dry before putting the bag together. So I did it at the end. I used my Cricut to cut the letters out of Freezer paper, ironed it to the oval and then painted it with the fabric paint. Once that's dry, it's done.

Shadowbox Frame

If you aren't LDS, then this document won't make much sense to you. Our Church keeps a record of Priesthood Lines of Authority - which I sent in a request for so I could do this project.

This project could be done with any document that you want, so even if you aren't LDS, the technique could be something you want to try.

I emailed lineofauthority@ldschurch.org and they replied with an attached form to fill out and mail in. The stipulation is that you have to be requesting your own record or that of someone in your household - and they will need some info including the membership record number.

Once I received that in the mail, I retyped it and printed it out on vellum paper. I debated doing this on a transparancy sheet, but opted for the frosted vellum look.

I used a 10"x10" shadowbox frame and positioned the vellum (with a paper border) up against the glass. The picture below is of the document inserted into the frame.

Next, I used a template for a tie from Crap I've Made (that I had first used to make a tie onesie for my son a few months ago) to cut out the pieces in a fabric and batting. The tie wouldn't show up unless it was closer to the glass since the vellum isn't completely transparant. So I cut one tie out of the fabric, and 4 ties out of scrap pieces of blanket batting since that's thicker. Depending on the depth of your shadowbox frame, you may need less or more thickness. You could do this out of paper and not even use a shadowbox frame with dimension.
Then I glued the pieces together and adhered them to the center of a 10" square cardstock. Next, I inserted the paper/tie into the back of the frame and closed it up. Voila! A dimensional framed tie and document.