Scout Messenger Bag

Life has been busy. Nothing fun. Sick kids, laundry, errands, getting ready for scout camp. I have not had much time for anything new or fun. I did get to try out my serger - I love it and I have been using it every chance I get. I was able to whip up 2 pairs of pajama pants in about 30 minutes. Other than doing some mending I was able to make a bag too.

My oldest is heading to scout camp and wanted a messenger bag. He helped design the bag, picked out the colors, the strap and vetoed me every time I tried to talk him into adding a bit of color. Oh well. He likes it as it is, and that's what matters. He packed it ready to go by the time I was able to grab it and take a few pictures. 

 As I was editing the pictures I noticed that the right side of the flap looks all wonky. I grabbed the bag to check - it's fine. Only wrinkles and some of the items in the flap pocket shifted to the side as I was taking the pictures.

Be prepared! Hence the extra pens. 

 Scout book fits perfectly in the large 3-d pocket (I still owe a tutorial on that one, I will do it as soon as I get my house back in order after a week of sick kids.)

Do you like the straps? I got all the straps and buckles and the shoulder pad (did I mention the strap is adjustable?) at STRAPWORKS. I used water resistant cotton duck inside and out. Hopefully he is not going to wear it out too fast.

Paul Street Shop

This post was shared at:

Craft-O-Maniac Monday * Made By You Monday * Today's Creative Blog * Hoo's Got Talent? * Show Off Your Stuff @ Fireflies and Jellybeans * Somewhat Simple * Simply Link Party *Frugal Friday @ Shabby Nest * Sunday Showcase Party * Tatertots and Jello * 

     

Adding Simple Sleeves to a Dress

A friend of mine needed sleeves added to a dress she was wearing to wedding.  This was the right color, just no sleeves.  I hunted all the local fabric resources and found some fabric that was the same color at JoAnn Fabrics.  It was knit, so I was happy because that's what I work with mostly right now with my nursing shawl business.

   

First we determined how far down from the top of the armhole we needed to make the sleeve.

Differently-Styled Paper Suncatchers

Hello again with more experiements in paper cutting to splash up my windows!  I had seen something like this at a friend's house and thought I'd try it out myself.

These two are made from the same pieces of paper - 2 yellows, 2 light greens and 1 darker green, plus one sheet of white for the right design - the 'cut-away' parts were stacked on top of each other to make the pattern on the left, the 'left-over' parts were stacked to make the pattern on the right.

City Tote

 My last tote bag was a  failure. I had to make another and this time I got it right! I am happier not only with the design, but also with the quality of my work.

  Added a 3-d pocket to the front, nice large and roomy. 

The zipper pocket is not sewn shut!

My stitching was even and no more ghastly corners! 

The zippered  recessed collar opening just about killed me and I will never make it again. Just a nice simple zippered gusset next time. 

Before you ask, the pattern is my design and make. I am still trying to decide if I should make a printable PDF version. If I do, I will have to change that zippered recessed collar. Even if it looks great, I am not sure it is worth it. It is way too easy to mess it up! Trust me on that. 

Paul Street Shop

This post was shared at:

Craft-O-Maniac Monday * Made By You Monday * Today's Creative Blog * Hoo's Got Talent? * Show Off Your Stuff @ Fireflies and Jellybeans * Somewhat Simple * Simply Link Party *Frugal Friday @ Shabby Nest * Sunday Showcase Party * Tatertots and Jello * 

     

How to Make a Paper Suncatcher

Here's the photo tutorial to make paper suncatchers!

This is not really complicated - you can cut as you like - but it may be a bit tricky to work out what to cut away and what to keep.  Experimenting is fun and will result in some interesting designs that you may not have even planned.  The results are always exciting!

Good things to remember: 

1. Don't cut from one fold line to the other fold line on the other side because then you'll chop off a whole piece of your paper!

2. There will be 12 layers of paper to cut through, so don't try to make anything too intricate. 

3. Any finer cuts should be made FIRST before the structure gets too flimsy.

4. Be very careful opening up your cut paper.

Start with your regular hexagon.  Use this tutorial to make one!

Fold your hexagon back up again, keeping the folded sides on the right and the left with the center of the hexagon as the point on the bottom.  There are six layers of paper.

Folding Square Paper into Hexagons (for Snowflakes or Suncatchers)

 

Here is a short photo tutorial to prepare square paper into a hexagon shape so that you can make lovely 6-sided snowflakes or suncatchers, as I do using transparent colored paper.  (Tutorial coming soon!) 

 

I'll be back soon!
Janice

Print/PDF Button Code for Posts

All you need is a simple widget! The credit for this great find goes to Ruby from ZAABERRY. I have been reading Ruby's blog, she is one talented lady! Make sure you hop over there.  You will not regret visiting her blog.

So, I installed the Button Code, actually to make it clear, I only clicked a couple times and that was it. Took about 30 seconds. Then I played around a bit.

Here is the button , right next to the comments at the end of each post.

Click on it and this is what will pop up:

Now you can just print it if you wish or, click the PDF button and:

You can download a PDF file of the post! 

A great widget and very useful!  A reader contacted me about copyright. She formatted a post with pictures and I told her it was fine, as long as it was for personal use only. She even sent me the formatted version (thank you!) and on a hunch I went to check out the original post. It was all wonky! A lot of our older posts are wonky as it turns out. Last time I changed the layout of our blog, the older posts did not change with it for some reason. I started going back and slowly fixing things, in case anyone else wanted to print posts off and the only thing that's holding them back is the weird layout.  But until I get to all those posts, just use the new PRINT button on a post that's all wonky....and it will be  automatically formatted for you! 

Paul Street Shop

This post was shared at:

Craft-O-Maniac Monday * Made By You Monday * Today's Creative Blog * Hoo's Got Talent? * Show Off Your Stuff @ Fireflies and Jellybeans * Somewhat Simple * Simply Link Party *Frugal Friday @ Shabby Nest * Sunday Showcase Party * Tatertots and Jello *