Japanese Coin Purse

I've always wanted to make a coin purse but I'm kind of afraid of those clasp frame thingies. Have you ever used one? This tutorial via The Purl Bee is so cute! Maybe I'll try it with all the spare time I have. ;)

Eco Snack Bags

Aubrey came over for craft day last week. We had tons of fun making these uber practical reusable snack bags. Aren't they cute? We used this tutorial as a guide. Our pouches are lined with clear vinyl and plush batting. I plan to make loads more! Make your own or buy some from my shop in the near future.

Butterfly Mobile

I followed a link from Fresh Nest Design to this mobile from Bugs and Fishes. Perfect for spring. I must make one soon!

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grocery totes - so cute

Did you see these? If I had these, I'm pretty sure I'd be walking laps around the store parking lot just to show off my bags. I. must. have. them. Who wants to make them for me? I'm way too busy getting ready for the Beehive Bazaar to make them right now. Tutorial here. Thanks Dana!

Frugal Find

Photo via Living with Lindsay

If you are at all like me, your house could always use something new to freshen it up, but your decorating budget is always empty. Well, we are in luck today, because Living with Lindsay has given us this beautiful wreath tutorial, and the cost is under five buckaroos!

iron-on onesies

Add these to the list of million things I want to make before my baby comes (in 2.5 months, whoa). Check out the tutorial here.

Homespun Pumpkins

Check out these cute fuzzy pumpkins spotted over at Martha's site. I love how soft they look. Make your own, it looks easy!

Grapevine Pumpkin

I just can't resist sharing the grapevine pumpkin I spotted over at Make It and Love It. Her tutorial is very nicely put together. Check it out! Maybe I'll go buy some grapevine garland this weekend. I love that pumpkin!

photo via

For me, Henry

Where have I been? Did you see the Henrietta turtle pincushion/toy by Heather Bailey? Like Heather says, I'd scrap the flower, call it Henry and make a whole herd of them for my bebe. Who drew my name for Christmas? Buy me the pattern!

Did you see Heather Bailey on Studio 5 here in Salt Lake City? I somehow missed out on that too. How nice of her to pay us a visit! Watch the clip here.

Goodies

I'm behind on a lot of things these days. Today my Google Reader had over 800 unread items. I sifted through a few of them but decided the best thing to do is to "mark all items as read" and start fresh.

Here are a few goodies I've starred lately:

Baby Sun Hat Tutorial - Via the Purl Bee
Pleated Pocket Tutorial - Via Made By Rae
Ruffle Headband Tutorial - Via Say Yes to Hoboken
Pillow Slip Covers Tutorial - Make it and Love it

Make This

This blog makeover has been so fun! I hope you're keeping your eyes open for more changes to come. For now though, we've got to retire the "Make This" menu on the side bar. These are fantastic links that I just can't bear to part with so I'm going to transfer the links over here so we can all have access to them later.

Did you try any of these? I tried a few of them including the fabric covered tacs, cloth baby shoes, and the quilted wallet. I really want to make the rag rug still...and my ironing board is in dire need of a new cover.

• Ironing Board Cover
  
• Fabric Covered Tacks
• Appliqued Onesie
• Tiny Pin Cushion
• Dish Towel Tote
• Rag Rug
• Lunch Sac
• Tissue Holder
• Quilted Fabric Wallet
• Cloth Baby Shoes
• Vintage Smock
• Girl's Headband
• Checkbook Cover
• Rice Heat Therapy Bag

An Apple for the Teacher

My daughter had the most wonderful preschool experience this year. I have had this cute apple fabric from Sandi Henderson on my eye for teacher gifts. I ended up using the Small Books pattern from Craft Apple to make these cute notebook portfolios. Since I have made a few more. They whip up in under an hour, and with less than 2 fat quarters of fabric.

Easy Flower Barrettes

We had a great time making these adorable flower hair pins for Mother's Day. All you do is glue some ribbon to a small hair barrette. Then pop off some silk flowers from their stems and glue a fabric covered button or rhinestone to the center. Last, just hot glue the flower on to the barrette! We probably made close to 30 barrettes in just a couple hours!

Elephants on Parade

After a few weeks of feeling guilty for not participating in my church group's humanitarian project last month, I whipped up some of these elephants to donate. This months theme was soft toys.

I found this charming little pattern here, at Quilt Taffy. I really loved the method used to sew these jungle giants up. Easy peasy. And I used all scrap fabric. The elephants are only about 6 or 7 inches. I loved how they turned out, exept for where I had to hand stitch the opening closed. Does any one have any tips on how to make a smooth transistion there?

Tissue Box Cover Tutorial

Speaking of tissues, have you ever been troubled by the ugliness of Kleenex boxes? (no offense to Kleenex!) I always try to buy the most neutral looking designed box. There really aren't any cute ones to choose from! Here's another solution:


First, measure your tissue box. My box measured 9 inches wide, 4 inches tall, and 5.75 inches deep. Here's the best drawing you've ever seen:


Add one inch for seam allowance. Before you cut out your pieces, add one inch to each measurement to allow for a 1/4 inch seam on all sides.

Cut your pieces. Cut two "face" pieces 10" x 4", two "side" pieces 5" x 6.75", and one "top" piece 10" x 6.75"

Hem the bottom edge of each face and side piece.


Attach the face pieces to the top piece. With right sides together, sew each face piece to the long edge of top piece. **Start and stop your seam 1/4 from each edge.** When finished, press seam allowances toward the top piece.

Cut out the center hole in the top piece. Place your sewn portion wrong side up on top of your tissue box. With a pencil or other marking tool, trace around the box opening.



Cut out the opening 1/4 inch inside of your traced line. Cut a small diagonal slit in each corner. Press the flaps toward the wrong side of the fabric. Top stitch around the opening to keep the flaps in place and to give it a finished look.


Attach the side pieces. This part is a bit tricky. Sew the first side edge to one of the face pieces by lining up the hemmed edges. Stop your seam 1/4 from the end of the side piece. With your needle down and presser foot up, line up the next edge of the side piece with the edge of the top piece. Again, stop your seam 1/4 inch from the edge and line up the last edge of the side piece with the final face piece. Follow these steps to attach the second side piece. Trim corners if necessary. Finish off by pressing each seam crisp to give your cover a nice boxy shape.

Taggie Animals

Did you see Jill's Taggie Animals post? How cute! According to Jill, taggies are "little stuffies that have ribbon loops attached so you can hook them onto tag blankets, stroller bars, bouncy seats, etc. with a plastic ring."

Thanks Jill for putting together this great tutorial!

Pincushion Pleasantries

I've got a pincushion problem. I can't get enough of them!
Here are some adorable tutorials. From left to right:

Wildflower Pincushion via Anna Maria Horner
Tiny Pincushion via How About Orange
Square Deal Pincushion via Heather Bailey
Pear Pincushion via UK Lass in US

And in case that doesn't satisfy your craving, here are 46 more!

Tissue Holder

I've been battling a cold lately. I think everyone I know has also had some form of a cold recently. Maybe we would all benefit from blowing our noses with tissues pulled from a cute tissue holder. I know it would make me feel at least a little bit better. I love bloggers who post tutorials! Check this one out by Craftapalooza.

Cozy Coasters

Small project month is very motivational for me! I've tried out some great new things. This is one my favorites so far. Coasters are easy to sew up and a fun way to add color and function.

What you need:

• 2 five-inch squares of fabric
• 1 4-inch square of fusible fleece

Fuse the fleece to the wrong side of one of your fabric squares. Align the fleece to the center of your square but don't worry if it's not perfect.

With wrong sides together, sew your two 5 inch squares together leaving about a 2 inch opening on one side. Use a 1/2 inch seam and sew right around the fleece square. Back-stitch at each end and trim the corners.

Using the opening, turn your coaster right side out and press. Use a turning tool for the corners.
Top-stitch close to the edge around the entire coaster.

Use your creativity to sew a pattern on your coaster. I used straight lines to create simple squares. Once you're finished with your stitching design, you're done!

Headbands

I whipped this headband up for my little girl in a jiffy, thanks to Hooray for Headbands over at Heather Bailey's blog.

Other great headband tutorials here:
KC Quilts Reversible Headband tutorial. This one has a covered elastic.
Best Band Ever at foofangle. This one is wider in the center and tapers at the ends.