Messenger Bag

Continuing the theme of hand-made gifts, here is one I made for a little friend's birthday. I followed this easy tutorial by mmmmcrafts. Sweetie #2 modeled it below (our friend is a few years older and a little taller), before we filled it with a notepad, coloring book, fun pencils etc.


The pocket under the flap was just the right size for the notepad. I only had about a half yard of each fabric, which is less than the tutorial recommends, but it worked out almost to the inch.

Bridal Shower

There is a tradition in our family, started by my grandma. When a couple gets engaged we have a shower for the couple. My grandma just didn't think it was fair that the bride gets all the fun... or maybe she just wanted an excuse to get us all together even more often. It's a chance to meet the other family in a low-key environment. We have a pot luck dinner, listen to the bride and groom tell the story of their dating and engagement, and then "shower" them with gifts. I'm trying to give more handmade gifts. I guess I'm hoping that the time and talent that go into making something sorta makes up for the fact that I can't spend as much as I'd like. When my cousin had her shower a few weeks ago, I gave her a hand mixer, but to make it a little more special, I sewed up another pretty apron.

Flower Clips

It's hard to be the middle child. Big sis gets to go to preschool, and you're not the baby anymore. That's why when baby naps, and sis is at school, mom and the middle child have some one on one time. On this particular day, she wanted to do something special. She wanted to make some hair clips like she'd seen on her friends. We pulled apart some silk flowers and then layered them back together with a paper punch center and held together by some cute brads. A perfect project for little fingers. Mom took care of the hot glue part to stick it to the hair clip. Doesn't she look so proud? She even made one for her sister.