She’s two, and I’m sending presents. ‘Cause that’s what aunties who live 12 hours away do.

So, my little niece turns two tomorrow. While I can’t be there, I can still send a piece of me through my sewing! I finished this bag in record time tonight–about an hour and a half. And I really like how it turned out. I even spoke with my sister (my niece’s mom) tonight while making it. Though it won’t make it in time for her birthday, it should be there by this weekend, which is when my mom, dad, sister, and bro-in-law will be there to party hardy in celebration of the lil’ tike’s b-day. Here are some pics of the gift bag and her present:

It's all pretty with butterflies and dragonflies!

Close-up

Ribbon

Gingham interior

And what's inside? Squirrels! Handmade (not be me, of course).

I also made a card for her, so it’s a completely handmade present. Yay! I’m going to try to do this for Christmas this year, too, so maybe this is the first step. Right?

Wedding Card by Me!

I created this card with my brand-new Cricut Expressions for an upcoming wedding we’re attending. I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out, so I thought I would share it with the world.

Enjoy!

Outside of Card

Inside of Card

KnittingHelp.com

For all my knitting friends out there, I wanted to give you this link to KnittingHelp.com. Even if you’re a fantastic knitter, an expert at all things yarn, it’s sometimes helpful to return to your roots. Or, if you’re like me–barely above mediocre–these videos will help you to learn the basics and then some. They have several techniques for each tip, and it’s good to have choices. And the videos are short. If I can’t learn it in under 5 minutes, it’s not worth learning.

I’m personally working on increases and decreases, and because I knit kind of funny (different than anyone I know; that’s what I get for being self-taught), the videos help me to modify the instructions I’ve been reading in my Stitch ‘N Bitch book. I’m very much a visual learner, and this website feeds that need.

I purchased these pretty cardboard boxes at IKEA months ago. I thought I would use them as pattern boxes, but as I stood in the aisle at the store, I couldn’t be certain if the patterns would fit. Lo and behold, they are perfect! And at $3.99 for a set of 2, I can’t go wrong. I picked up two sets, and I am using the other two to hold my smaller, “in progress” projects. It keeps the mess at bay around my kitchen table, and it jazzes up my sewing area.

One for clothes.

And one for everything else.

(P.S. Sorry for the blurry second photo. That damn natural shake of mine doesn’t exactly lend itself to crisp photos. But you get the point.)

I took the time a few weeks ago to sit and organize my fabric, patterns, and sewing notions. I made a mess, but everything got put back together…eventually.

I have a lot of projects I’m looking forward to working on. I have to finish my father-in-law’s Christmas present first. I’ll post photos of that once it’s completed. Then I’ll get my mother-in-law’s done, and then I will start working on stuff for myself. I’ll get a few more gift bags done up between projects for Christmas. I already have my bro-in-law’s Christmas present, so I’ll be making the bag for all that first.

Here are the first two gift bags I made. They’re super easy, and I’ll be making plenty of these in the upcoming months, I’m sure.

This bag is awaiting Erin’s arrival this evening. It’s stuffed full with her birthday present (a sweatshirt), her graduation present (a t-shirt and stationery set), and a few books and cards I’ve picked up for her along the way. She’s on the train here as I write this, so I have no concern that she will be reading this before she gets here. Needless to say, these gift bags can hold a ton!

I haven’t decided if I’m going to use this bag for my friend, Brooke’s, graduation present and housewarming gift, or if I’m going to wait and make a smaller one for her. I added the buttons, as I purchased two huge jars stuffed to the brim with buttons at an auction a few months back, and I need to use them for something. I love buttons. They’re an obsession of mine, and I think they add a lot to a simple project.

I know I’m not terribly exciting these days, but now that I’ve finished a few things for school, I feel like it’s OK to sit down and get some crafty stuff done.

And I know my mom and older sister and cousin read this, and they totally appreciate crafty stuff. One of the reasons I love them all.

I’ve made a bracelet for my little sister for her wedding. Terrible sentence, I know, but I’m too lazy to rewrite it.

Anyway, I’m really pleased with how it turned out. It’s three-stranded, and it really didn’t take that much time to complete. It was the last one I made (I’ve made two sets of earrings and three double-strand bracelets for the bridesmaids and myself), and I think I was “in the zone,” if such a thing exists for crafting and beading and such.

So, here are a couple of photos of the final product. The pictures aren’t that great (they were taken without any natural light), but they give you a general idea.

More an FYI for me than anyone else…but you’re more than welcome to use it!

How to Sew a Cloth Gift Bag

from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Cloth gift bags are easy to make and last longer than paper gift bags.
The recipient will not only be flattered by the effort you put into it, but they’ll also have a bag they can reuse, either for gift-giving or for storage or carrying.
With a sewing machine that can sew straight seams and make buttonholes, and your choice of fabric, you can start making these thoughtful bags whenever you want.

Steps

1. Decide what size bag you want to make. You can do this two ways.
   • The easy way is to wrap the cloth around the object you want to wrap and mark its dimensions on the back of the fabric you want to use.
   • A more complex way is to measure your object’s dimensions (length, width, height) and add an inch or two in each direction for seam allowances. Bear in mind that these instructions are for two dimensional, rectangular bags, and that you will have to allow for all three dimensions of your gift to fit.In this example, the width of the rectangle equals the circumference of the object plus two inches (diameter times pi plus two) and the height of the rectangle is equal to diameter plus height plus two (you could add 3 or more inches instead of two for a roomier fit).

2. Cut the fabric. You can do this all in one piece or in two pieces, just remember to double the seam allowance if using two rectangles instead of one. The following pictures are for a small gift bag made from a single rectangle. If your gift is larger, it may require that you cut two rectangles and sew an additional side seam to make a bag large enough. Otherwise, the same principles apply.
3. Press a fold about 0.5″ (1cm) of fabric along the top edge.
4. Fold and press again, this time a 1″ flap (twice the previous fold). This will be the casing for the tie closure.
5. Press a vertical fold halfway across the fabric; this will be the side without a seam.
6. Unfold and mark the placement of buttonholes on the wrong side of the fabric as shown, positioned below the lower horizontal fold. These are to run the drawstrings through.
7. Make four buttonholes where they were marked. Make them about .75″ (2 cm) long.
8. Open the buttonholes with a seam ripper.
9. Sew the side seam(s) and bottom seam of the bag. It’s a good idea to clip the corner before sewing to prevent it from bunching up later. Zigzag the seam edges to prevent fraying. You can also pink the edges or sew a French seam to obtain the same effect.
10. Turn the bag right side out and turn the casing to the inside.
11. Stitch down the casing to the inside of the bag. Allow for clearance of the buttonholes.
12. Cut two pieces of ribbon, or cordage to use as drawstrings.
13. Tie your ribbon to a small safety pin for ease of threading through the casing.
14. Pull the ribbon through the casing.
15. Note: The photo shows only one ribbon, but if four button holes were made, you should use two ribbons as shown in the drawing… one “U” shape from each direction so that you’re pulling two ribbon ends from each side of the bag to snug down the opening.
16. Drop your gift in the bag.
17. Snug up the drawstring.
18. Tie a bow and add a tag if you like.

Tips

• Suggested (finished) dimensions:
  • 15″ x 24″ will hold a typical shirt box or game
  • 13″ x 18.5″ will hold a large book or medium-size game or toy
  • 7″ x 12″ will hold single DVD or a paperback book
  • 4.5″ x 8.5″ will hold small items such as hot chocolate pouches or jewelry

• Scraps can be used to test your buttonholes.
• You could use metal eyelets instead of buttonholes. You might need to reinforce your fabric with interfacing in the eyelet area.
• An extra large bag makes a great laundry bag to send to camp with kids.
• To prevent fraying, you can use pinking shears, a serged seam, or a French seam.
• Instead of a ribbon you can also use a shoe lace in matching color. A shoelace may be easier to insert into the button hole than a ribbon.

Warnings

• Scissors and needles are sharp. Handle with appropriate care.

Things You’ll Need

• Lightweight fabric to suit the gift-giving occasion. (e.g., a snowman print for Christmas)
• Tool for marking fabric: could be a sewing chalk or even a pen or pencil
• Scissors and/or pinking shears
• Iron and ironing board
• Sewing machine
• Thread
• Ribbon, yarn, or lightweight cordage for drawstrings
• A bodkin, yarn needle, or similar tool (a safety pin will work in a pinch) to thread the drawstring through the bag’s casing

Related wikiHows

• How to Sew a Button
• How to Machine Sew on a Button
• How to Use a Sewing Machine and Adjust the Stitches
• How to Make a Birthday Goodie Bag for Adults
• How to Wrap a Present
• How to Open a Package or Wrapper Without Damaging It

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Sew a Cloth Gift Bag. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

Precieux

A link for everyone who loves jewlery and pretty things. I saw her on HGTV, and I wanted to see how much she charged for her jewlery. Yeah, too much for me, but it’s still nice to look at.