Mama's Got a Brand New Bag

Hi friends!

I started getting really sick of the bag I've been toting around lately. It's huge, which was great for when I had a younger baby but now it's a little unnecessary and I was in the mood for something fun and summery. So when I saw The Little Apple Seed's anthropologie bow bag knock off I decided to give it a try. I had a few hiccups as this was only the 2nd bag I've ever made, but I really like how it turned out!

I even got a compliment on it today which made me feel good because ya never know when you like something just because you made it and it's not that great right?!? Anyone else have this problem??

I used some red gingham I had sitting around for the outside and lined it with red broadcloth. I wanted the bow to contrast so I used white. I don't know how long it will stay clean, but that's the beauty of fabric. Just throw it in the wash! I added a gingham pocked to the inside for my keys and cell phone since I can never find either.

I would definitely say I learned some things from making this bag. First of all, tuck your straps inside the bag when you are sewing the lining and outside together! I made this mistake and realized the straps were tucked safely inside the bag...which wasn't helpful! Also I would recommend either using interfacing for the bow or a heavier weight fabric. I had to tack it in place in a places to keep the bow spread out. And the last thing I would suggest is sewing the bow to the outside before you sew the lining and outside together. I did it afterwards like she suggests but you can see my stitches on the inside of the bag and it bugs me.

Overall it was a good tutorial and it makes a cute bag! Hope you are having a wonderful (and crafty) summer! Thanks so much for stopping by!
XOXO

My First Try At Embroidery

Hi friends!

So many of you know about the Prudent Baby contest that was going on where you had to embroider words and images onto whatever you wanted to win an awesome sewing/embroidery machine. They announced the winners today so you should head over and take a look! No, i'm not one of them but there is so much creativity and it's so fun to see what everybody came up with!

I had never ever embroidered anything in my life but I thought it looked like fun and the prize sewing/embroidery machine was enough to get my off my duff to do it! I headed to Joann's where I bought a 36 color floss pack, an embroidery hoop and some needles and got to work.

This is what I came up with.

I went to Target and bought 2 of their solid tees. For the first one I embroidered the words "Two Turntables & A Microphone" from the Beck song "Where It's At" which always gets me up and moving!

 The workmanship isn't perfect but I was surprised at how easy embroidery is! I used iron on fusible webbing to cut out the little record out of fabric and then embroidered around the edges of it.

I think Evie likes it! She's my little rock star!

Once I got started I couldn't really stop so I made a boy's shirt too, playing off the famous "mom" tattoo without promoting actually marking your child!

I was originally going to put the patch on the arm but I thought it looked so much cuter on the front where you could really see it.

The stitching is a little messy, half on purpose and half because the heart was a bit hard to sew through. I drew out a heart on white broadcloth and then silk stitched a heart. I cut it out and used fusible webbing again to attach it to the shirt. Then I cut out a banner and ironed that down on top. Finally I went around and stitched all around it.

Did any of you enter the contest? Have you ever tried embroidery before?

Hope you have a wonderful week! Thanks so much for stopping by!
XOXO