Emergency Chocolate Bag from Old Shirt <$2

Materials needed:

Old shirt to use as fabric

Fusible interfacing (Pellon 808 = what I used, $1.25/yd and this was less than 1/8 yd)

7" zipper (What I had to buy...about $1.25 at Walmart)

Embellishments to attach to zipper end if desired

Sewing machine

This is the tutorial I used to sew the zipper to the fabric and lining. Follow the tutorial roughly and just ignore how she's using vinyl and a longer zipper. I followed her instructions until the picture where it starts with "Use a safety pin...". Once the zipper is in, unzip it, keep the project inside out, sew the side seams, and then turn the whole thing right side out. You're done. I used a crochet hook to poke the corners out. You can start with any sized rectangle you want, but my rectangles were 7.5" wide and about 7" long.  

The shirt was pretty sheer so I ironed interfacing to the outer panel and let the lining remain thin. I added a crystal fob for the zipper pull with fishing line and crimp beads. You know, from my endless stash of fishing line and crimp beads.

I don't want to say a caveman could do it (because zippers scare me) but it wasn't bad.

I made this for my mom for Mother's Day. I call it the "Emergency Chocolate Bag" and it is for her purse. Every woman needs some chocolate at the most inopportune time whether it's in traffic, waiting at the doc, sitting in a meeting, after a hike, to enhance a flight delay, etc. Sometimes we need chocolate and we don't have any. Hence why I made the bag and a dozen refills. Also, sometimes you come across someone during your errands that is having a massively horrible day- like a grumpy checker, a mother of children having synchronized tantrums, or someone that looks lonely. Voila! You can give THEM some chocolate (still sealed...less creepy when coming from a stranger) and make their day.

I also made a "Kate & Will" version for my aunt that holds a bag of Haribo gummi bears, because she always has those in her purse. This isn't a ReDEUX since I had to buy the fabric...

Clamshell Box from Game Board $1

Materials needed:

Game board (I scored all of my boards for $1 at D.I.)

Hot glue gun

X-acto knife

Straight edge

Cutting mat

Extra game cards, game money, playing pieces

Flat super-strength adhesive magnets (only if you want the box to snap shut)

Printable tutorial here.

During my third year at BYU I took Bookbinding from Chris McAfee, possibly the world's coolest teacher. Our final project was a clamshell box. I sliced the tip of my middle finger off with an x-acto knife the day before it was due and fainted. Then I had to go to the Campus Health Center to get it sewn back on. My hand was all bandaged up and Chris took pity on me and said, "I'll give you an A...just finish your box someday." I'd like to think of this project as some sort of redemption on my end for the free A I was graciously given.

I make these to use as birthday gifts for my daughter's friends. We fill them with goodies and so far they have been a hit. I like odd boards from games I've never heard of as well as the classic boards I grew up with. If I can ever get my paws on a vintage Candy Land I might die of delight. The games were so much better when I was a kid. Just sayin'.

Denim Skirt from Denim Jeans $0

Supplies needed:

Pair of quality denim jeans (well, nice from the knees up)

Seam ripper

"Jean Yellow" thread

Sewing machine

A minor dose of patience

My neighbor Mary taught me how to do this (and gave me the jeans...nice neighbor, right?) but I think there is probably an infinite number of internet tutorials available. Here's one.

The unpicking takes longer than the sewing. I enjoyed watching the "Jane Eyre" with my neighbor while I unpicked. The hardest thing is finding thread that is similar to jean thread...marigold yellow and super thick. I matched as well as I could, but it is clearly not identical. The black skirt was originally stiched with cream thread, so that one was easy to match.

I learned that if the original jeans are too small for you/skinny leg jeans you have to insert the cut-off leg pieces to form an a-line skirt. If the original jeans are too big for you, you can just cut off the legs and shrink everything down to a nice, sleek pencil skirt. Don't stress. Either way they are jeans you don't wear, so you aren't out anything if you screw up the first time. I want to remake this with wide-leg jeans so I can make a pencil skirt with a slit in the back.

Italian Sampler Pillow $0

Down pillow insert: from a beaded pillow that Lucy chewed the beads off of when she was teething

Ruffle for pillow: the lower half of an old linen-hemmed shower curtain

Main fabric for pillow: a holey Italian linen tablecloth that was a little too holey to use any longer

Gorgeous embroidered ABC sampler: a gift from my aunt that went to Italy

 

It appears this was sewn in 1911. Why else would the embroideress stitch "1911" on it? So now Greg has to flip the pillow around and put his head on the back side if he wants to use it since I don't want his hair product to damage the heirloom. Yes, I'm that fun to live with.

I think the embroideress started a lowercase "r" and then realized she already did the "r" but couldn't pick the red thread out because it stains the fabric so quickly. The mystery of this bonus letter haunts me every morning as I make the bed. What. Was. She. Thinking!?

Back of the pillow. I was proud of myself for aligning the red stripes. Love the little embroidered initial detail from the tablecloth. They just don't make things like they used to! I am absolutely bonkers for old linens. I also really want to sew a sampler now. Been looking on ebay for a neat one. Who doesn't love the alphabet?

 

Lucy curled up next to the new BEADLESS pillow. Tough break, Luce. Enjoy those adult teeth and your Blue Buffalo dog food. It's all you're going to get for the remainder of your lifetime. Shot this photo before I sewed up the openings in the ruffle, but trust me, it is finished.

Grain Sack Appliance Cozies $3

Grain sacks purchased at a consignment store in Santa Ynez, CA; $1 each.

Some were holey and flea-bitten, but I worked around it. Here we are just giving the ol' Blendtec a custom fitting.

Very thankful for the serger. I read that "serging prevents handmade from looking homemade." 

Around here we appreciate a decent letter "G" since I married a Greg.

This turned out so well that I made one for the toaster, too. I love grain sacks! Look at all the cool typography on them!

The Drifted Snow Flour man (that was holding the sheaves of wheat) was very handsome. I mean, look at his forearms. I saved his head in my scrap pile. He kind of looks like Ken-doll meets the Green Giant. I suspect he was going out with Martha Meade. I'm sure it was all sorts of scandal at the flour factory.