Made by Me Mondays - Repurposed Leather Makeup Pouches

I wanted to make as many of my Christmas presents last year as I could.  I saw a friend of mine making leather pouches, bags, laptop cases etc out of old leather jackets and other leather items.  I really wanted to try my hand at it as well.

I went to Frenchies, one of our local thrift shops, and started digging for leather items.  I found a black leather men's coat and started with that.  Then I hit up my friends for their old colored leather purses to add some pizazz to the make up pouches

I made these for two of my niece's that live close by, Bella and Duck.  I added some lip gloss and girly stuff to them.  I think they appreciate the handmade stuff as much as I do they are pretty crafty creatures themselves.

I love that this old nasty coat didn't end up in a landfill somewhere but has been given a second lease on life.

Made by me Mondays -Over the Shoulder Tote for Ducky

My niece got this fabric and pattern from her grandmother last year for Christmas.  She had come over and was planning on having me show her how to make it and help her make it.  Unfortunately we didn't get a chance to do it together and she asked me to hang onto it and to sew it for her.  I had it for a few months leading up to Christmas past but I just didn't have a minute to sew it. 

 I was off between Christmas and New Years and we were headed over there boxing day to spend some time together.  So that morning I decided to see if I could pull it off before it was go time.  It took me only about 3 hours max to sew this tote with the pattern that she had.  Coconuts is modeling it for me.  I think I may try to make her one as well.  Isn't it a darling bag

 This button is an old one I ripped off some clothing I was disposing of.  Does any one else keep old buttons from things before they throw them away?  I love doing that.

Here is a better side shot of the tote.  The fabric choice that her grand mother picked really is adorable.  Next time Ducky we'll do some more sewing together.

Little Girl Brides Maides Dresses

The first thing John & Sue asked us was if they could have the wedding at our home.  Of course I was thrilled with this and we were happy to oblige.  Then the wedding planning started and Sue and I were off to Fabricville to pick out fabric.  She chose this summery floral print with a vibrant blue accent colour.  She asked if I would make these dresses for the girls.  

I was totally freaked out cause if she had seen the black dress I made Coconuts she wouldn't have asked thrilled and happy to take it on.  When it came time for the zippers I really was worried cause that is what I botched on Coconuts black dress.  I made round one of the dress and had a fitting with the girls.  The dresses were too big on all three of them so I had to re-adjust the bodice and take in the sides of the dresses to make them fit.  And they fit them like a glove. 

Here they are on the wedding day Bella, Coconuts and Duck and they looked stunning.  They loved their dresses and they knew they were made especially for each of them and they were so happy to be in them.  Sue you picked out the right fabric the girls looked stunning!

Retro Totes

I promised my "Duck" that I would make a tote with her quite some time ago.  We finally had the chance to get together and get them done.  Isn't she a beautiful girl!  I love this kid!  I previously made a version of this tote here.  I got the tutorial for this tote from Homemade by Jill.

We took the totes up a notch this time and added a pocket inside for her ipod, which she takes with her everywhere.  We also added her name on a home made tag to the inside.  I think that is my favourite part of this tote.  We used a piece of scrap fabric and freyed the edge by hand and then used bubble fabric paint to write her name on it.  I think it's a really fun touch.

This bottom one is the tote I made for myself.  I needed an updated version of this bag as I use it to bring my lunch to work in.

So what do you think?  I think that the best part of this whole thing was making them with my Duck!

Smocked Sundress

I wasn't going to post anything until early next week. However "Earl", the hurricane that is heading to the maritimes in the AM has modified my plans. I have a ton of filing to do for the business, (oh you say filing on a Friday night) yup I'm just that cool. I can do that if the power goes out tomorrow, so here I am.

This is a Martha project that is sooo super easy to make. If you can sew straight lines you can do this one. If you want to give it a whirl you can find it here at Martha Stewart. I've made several of these sun dresses. I also modified the pattern to make a smocked shirt instead to wear with jeans. All you have to do is measure the distance from under your child's arm pit to where you want it to hang on her waist. Then be sure to add your seam allowance and your done. I'll try to dig out some other pictures to show you if your interested.

And who is my sweet model for this picture. She's my "Duck". She's going to kill me some day when she reads this. She's my brothers oldest daughter and I got to spend tons of time with her before my own kids came along so she has a special place in my heart. We worked on this project together for her and she loved it.