Wednesday’s Show and Tell: Sewing and Crafts Projects In Progress!

 I finished the tote bag for my 2nd place winner and will be shipping it in the morning...but I made up a few extra yo-yo flowers while I was at it. Congratulations Melissa of  Oh My Darling!  This was too fun to keep to myself so I've posted it at my favorite home decor blog, Shabby Chic Cottage as part of Gina's Thursday Transformations. Talk about great ideas! You should drop by and see them!

 Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Chic Cottage

**********************************

As I’ve mentioned in the past, for those who love the FlyLady home organization system, Wednesdays are designated “Anti-Procrastination Day!” What that means, in a nutshell, is just to decide to do a few of the projects that you’ve been putting off.

For me, that’s a lot of projects. Actually, some of my projects have been put off, and some I’m addressing right away, but they are the projects that I’m working on today.



To tell you the truth, I’d like your advice!  I’m having a great time picking out fabrics and buttons for the totebag that I offered in the SewMamaSew Giveaway. Melissa wanted the Yo-Yo flower tote bag and since she prefers more subdued colors, I’m embellishing a creme colored bag. I would have done this on Saturday, but I had a cold..so this project had to wait a bit. All the other prizes were shipped off two days ago. 





I need to decide which of these lovely buttons and quilt shop fat quarters to use. I know what to make the leaves and stems from—I’ve got the perfect shade of dusty green. But their are so many choices for the flowers!! I just can’t decide! I’d love to know which ones you think would look best together. I have four fabrics to choose from, but I'm only making three flowers...so I have to leave one of these fabrics out.

Just deciding which buttons to use is hard enough! They are all so pretty!  I have ALWAYS loved buttons and collected them as a young girl.  Wish I had that collection now! I’ll just have to visit Diana at DJ’s Storeroom…she sells some awesome button sets. If you guys could let me know, I’d so appreciate your feedback. I really feel stumped on this one. :o)


Are you wondering about the bag at the top? Well, if you can believe this…I don’t own my own YO-Yo Flower totebag!! I know..depressing isn’t it?  I’ve made so many and sold or given them all away. Click here for a tutorial.  So I thought that I’d make me one too while I was at it. I plan to do a quick machine quilting job on the block I made ages ago for a quilt top that never quite came together.  Then I’ll add a Yo-Yo flower in the middle. Finally, my own tote bag!!





Speaking of buttons, Kylie at AntMee did the most innovative tutorial on how to make fabric covered buttons. I begged her to let me share it with you. Here’s a picture of one of the steps. You can read all about it at her blog, Antmee. Be sure to tell her that I sent you!  And now…what about you?  I know how crafty you all are and I’d love to show everyone what you are working on too! Just send me a photo and link to your blog, and I'll add it to Next Wednesday's post.

Happy Homemaking!

How to Make a Music Tote Bag

Shona bought three of the 'girly' tote bags that I was selling at my craft booth last week. But obviously hot pink just wouldn't suit a boy...and Matthew, her oldest would not go for it...for sure!


She asked me if I could make a tote bag that was 'masculine' enough in style...for him to feel comfortable carrying his music books to class in. My son, Christian, has the same problem...books and sheet music everywhere!

She was thinking that musical notes on fabric and a leather strip on the top of a black tote (preferably) would work well. As it happened, the fabric store was all out of my favorite musical sheet music fabric with a white background and I'm so glad!! Necessity is the mother of invention and it's always true in my case.
Is there anything more masculine and musical than a 'bust' of Bach?!...in black?!

My daughter was shopping for me, since I'm busy sewing Christmas gifts, and called on the cell phone..."Hey Mom--They're all out!--Now what?" So I told her to get what was available--the black fabric with the names of famous composers on it. I knew they had either composer's names or musical notes on fabric. As it turned out, the only other choice was cream with musical instruments all over it. That would be fine for a girl, but I thought probably not so fine for a boy.


I love silhouettes..don't you?! There is something so classy about them..and it's the perfect art for a classical music tote bag.


Plenty respectful...and masculine as can be. (Matthew's daddy loves "busts" of famous people, but I told Shona that he can't have this one!) I'll make him one too, if he really likes it--Ha!



I hope it was OK to write Matt and personalize it.  (Christian loses everything--so names are a must.) . I thought I had heard Shona call him that.

I wrote his name in a as 'masculine' a style as I could think of and practiced several times with gold fabric paint on white paper first. The leather trim I added came out kind of bumpy. I hope we can call that "artistic". It was too soft and stretchy for the purpose. Anyway...I love this bag!!

It was so simple to make!

Steps: 
1. Print out a silhouette of Bach.
2. Iron stitch witchery on fabric of choice.
3.Peel off white paper and lay stitch witchery on back of the wrong side of the fabric. Iron for 15 seconds in each spot.
4. Let cool, then pin the silhouette shape on the right side of the musical fabric and white paper. Cut out silhouette.
5. Lay silhouette of Bach on center front of a black tote bag. Iron on for 15 seconds in each area.

6. Trace outline with gold metallic fabric paint. Let dry.
7. If you like, sew a 2 1/2" strip of fake black vinyl, right sides together, to the upper edge of tote bag.
8. Fold over vinyl and lay edge against right side of very top edge of tote.  Top stitch down using quilting foot.
9. Personalize with an artistic signature in gold paint.