Meet My Friend...Rachel from Blooming Mommy!!!

Rachel from Blooming Mommy offered to share this tutorial with all of you and well, I couldn't say no becasue when I saw the first picture, I thought she had taken it in my play room! If nothing else, I NEED THIS TUTORIAL!!! So thank you Rachel for helping me out...twice!

 

"When I saw this:

I knew our whole toy storing situation desperately needed to be dealt with. Our one basket just wasn't cuttin it anymore! At first I went venturing out looking for some cute storage bins, baskets or shelves. NOTHING!!! It was either too expensive for what I desired or not what I needed.

So I decided to make "Toy Themed Bags." We have a whole heap of Toy Story toys, Pirate toys, Cars toys, Animal toys, Train toys and so on. You get the picture. So I made some bags to go along with the toy specified. Example: Pirates go in the Pirate bag. Toy Story goes in the Toy story bag and so on! The boys LOVE this idea and it's SUPER easy for them to put their toys away! Works for us! Soooooo, come see how we did it and then make some yourself! It takes about an hour (or more if your a new sewer) to make. :)

Materials:

About a yard 1/2 of material (I used snuggle flannel cause it was on sale....super sturdy too)

Thread to match

Rotary Cutter

Cutting mat

Ruler

Rope for drawstring (Wal-Mart or JoAnns)

Sewing Machine

Iron and Ironing board

Step 1: Measure and Cut

First you are going to measure and cut your material. I folded my material in half wrong sides together to see how big I wanted it... think of it like folding a piece of paper in half. (I measured about 22in. or more cause I wanted them big) You decide how big you want yours to be and then add about 4 1/2 inches to the top for the flap. (see later how we put in drawstrings)

Step 2: Whip It... Whip it good!
You want to whip stitch (the zig zag stitch) all around the edges of your material to avoid fraying. It just makes it look nicer too. :)

Step 3: Fold, Iron and Sew Edges
Fold down your edges and iron down. You can pin if you want, but I just glided it on through my sewing machine. Sew along the edge carefully until all edges are done.

Step 4: Pin and Make a Flap

After edges are complete, fold fabric in half right sides together. Sorry my picture is so bad, it was late. Anywho, pin the edges of your fabric together as seen in my "great" picture! ;) (Follow the arrows)

At the top of your bag you are going to want to leave about 4 inches unpinned in order to make a flap for your drawstring to go through. YOU WILL NOT BE SEWING the 4 inches at the top yet... so hold on to your horses! ;)

After pinning together, start sewing your sides and bottom. See picture for where to start and stop. Remember you need at least 3 and 1/2 to 4 inches un-sewn at the top. Start and stop at the lightening bolts. :)

Step 5: Drawstring Time

After sewing, grab your drawstring and place it at the top of your bag like so. Measure how much you want to use. I layed it on the top and left about 3 inches hanging out of the sides to tie at the end.

Flip extra fabric or flap over your drawstring and pin. You can either keep your rope there and continue pinning of remove it and stuff it through later... it's up to you.

Then pin it down. Make sure to ONLY pin the flap part together, NOT ALL of your fabric. You want to still make it a bag remember, so it needs an opening. :) (sorry I don't have a picture of it)

Step 6: Sewing that Flappy thing

Sew your edges together to make it easier to sew the flaps. Start at arrows and then stop at the cute little lightening bolt. :) (about 2 inches)

After you sew both sides, open up your bag and slide it onto your sewing machine to sew the flap together. Sew it all the way around and viola! Your done with the sewing part.

Then take your cute little snake of a drawstring and start pushing it through. I call it the chinese finger trap...

After the trap, flip your bag right side out. Tie knots in the end to avoid fraying. (You can even burn the tips of you want to go the extra mile)

Now my little A.J. insisted on having a "Buzz Lightyear" bag. So I decided to apply an applique to it when it was finished. I simply sewed around the edges of buzz and through his middle to ensure safe holding. :) Love it!

So there you have it! I made a few and now have a little bit of order to my mayhem! I hope you have fun making yours! Happy Sewing! Muah!

 

 

Don't worry play things-I'll be home to organize you soon! Thanks so much Rachel for sharing such a fun idea.

Happy Crafting.

Meet My Friend...Moriah from Fuzzy Slippers Designs!!!

Hi, I'm Moriah from Fuzzy Slippers Designs here to chat you up today.  My blog is full of paper crafting, gardening, tablescaping, and travel goodness.  By day, I am a Reading Specialist helping first graders navigate the tricky world of begining reading.  By night I slip on a pair of fuzzy slippers and shuffle off to my craft studio to create little pieces of mail art. :)  I come from a long line of artistic/crafty/creative people and have been blessed to be married to my best friend (who is pretty creative himself!).  So far I have managed to be able to live in NY (the upstate, not the city), SD (love the folks on the Sisseton-Wahpeton Rez!), and SC (go Clemson Tigers!), and find myself landed in beautiful MA (in the heart of New England apple orchard country) But enough about me, let's get to the tut!!!

With the beautiful summer weather we've had on the New England Coast, lots of us have been hitting the beach to cool off.   :)  The summer flies by so fast that this little gem is fast, easy, and a great memento of warm weather days.  Don't let the supply list scare you off though.  It looks like a lot when listed, but the photo below pretty much includes everything I used (and a few items I did not).

Supplies needed:

2- 4"x4" coasters 

(I bought mine, but I've also gotten them from TGIF's/Chili's/The 99)

4- pre-cut 4"x4"squares of pattern paper for the coaster covers inside and out

3- pre-cut 4"x4"squares of kraft card stock

2- pre-cut 4"x4"squares of aqua card stock

5- pre-cut 3 1/4"x3 1/4"squares of assorted pattern papers

1 yard ribbon for tie closure cut in half

1 large parcel tag

additional scraps of pattern paper and card stock for page & cover embellishment

additional coordinating ribbons/twine in various lengths for page embellishment

assorted small beach/summer themed stamps

assorted stickers & rub-ons

coordinating dye ink pads/ chalk ink pads

1" circle punch

scallop border punch or die

acid free adhesives

scissors & paper cutter

corner rounder

Zutter or other binding machine

I'm so much like my 6 year-old students!  I was so excited to start this book that I made my first step (after deciding on which luscious papers to use), adhering the 3 1/4" papers to the 4"X4" card stock squares.  After assembling these I realized I had forgotten to assemble the covers!!!  Be patient, I'll get back to the covers. LOL!

This page lacked a little personality, so before I even adhered the water paper, a little lobster was stamped around the edges of the kraft paper.  Since the covers have wave pattern paper that is slightly different, the additional stamping gives this page a little more stand alone umph. ;)

My next step was to assemble the covers and the back of the pages I had just assembled.  My coasters have rounded corners, so I used my corner rounder to have the pages and cover papers echo the shape.  *Round the corners before adhering the cover papers.  If you don't have a corner rounder, then adhere on side of the cover and trim with your scissors before adhering the other side and repeating.  That way your corners will have a crisper rounded edge.

So back to the covers!  I like my scrapbooks to have a tie closure, so I attach a ribbon with double-stick tape to the inside cover and then adhere the pattern paper over the ribbon.  Then it's all about having fun with inking the edges, adding tabs/ribbon/rub-ons/stamps.

There isn't always much room for journaling in such small scrapbooks, so for this page I added labeled pocket with tag.  Easy to assemble, just edge the sides and bottom with liquid glue or extremely narrow double-stick tape.  The tag could be swapped out for a map or ticket stubs from a water park, but having the pocket labeled with the information rub-on is a great way to remind yourself to include those when/where details for future reminiscing. :)

This page has that fun stamped mini lobster page on the right.  It looks a little naked as layouts go right now, but keep in mind that on a 4"x4" page a picture can take up a great deal of space.  I had to remind myself not to get "too nuts" with embellishments because they may end up covered by pictures later.

In addition to my many addictions (Netflix, Kindle books, fuzzy slippers and tablescapes) I adore dies 'n die cutting tools.  The scalloped edge on the left side is one of my newest go-to dies (just wait to see how cute it looks on a page further down).

Scraps leftover from page one circle punched and some foam tape give these pages a little drama with only a little effort. :)  A rub-on at the bottom anchors the page while giving 

Here's that fun scalloped border again.  Isn't it cute as a faux awning for this final page?!?  A little foam tape to adhere this one and the picture can slide under the awning a wee bit to make an awesome ending to this pocket sized memento.

Hope you enjoyed this little tut.  I had fun visiting with all of you today!  Feel free to email me with any questions or hop over to Fuzzy Slippers Designs.  I'd love to hear from you and see your creations. :)

Hugs,
Moriah

I was SO excited when Moriah offered to share this tutorial-what a great way to capture your summer memories! Mini albums are my favorite because they are quick to put together and don't take a ton  of supplies or storage space. And my girls LOVE that they can each have their own.

Thanks so much Moriah for sharing this, can't wait to get home to make a few!

Happy Crafting.

Meet My Friend...Ellie from Vanilla Bean Girls!!!

Hi everyone!  Thanks for having me over today!  My name is Ellie and I blog over at Vanilla Bean!  I like to blog about home crafts, DIY, kids crafts, and cooking!  I also host a Show Off Sunday Link Party if you ever want to stop by!  I thought I'd share one of my most popular recipes with you all today. . . .hopefully you guys like to cook!

How about some "white girl" enchiladas, or as my hubby would call them, "Enchiladas Guera".  Prepare yourself for some awesome yumminess! 

Start off by gathering your ingredients:

 - 12 flour tortillas

 - 1 tub sour cream, 16 oz

 - 1 can cream of chicken soup

 - diced chilies (I like the canned Ortega chilies, medium; how much is up to you)

 - 2 pounds grated cheese.  (I like to use the pre-grated cheese in a bag since I'm usually in a rush after work)

(olives if you like)

 - 3-4 shredded boneless chicken breasts (sometimes I used leftover grilled chicken from the night before, or I cook a whole chicken in the crock pot during the day while I'm at work, but it's much more work to debone it.)

I've also used the recipe with ground beef or shredded beef or pork, but the fam seems to prefer chicken so we usually stick with that or just plain cheese! yum!

In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients except for the tortillas and the shredded chicken.  I like to lay all the tortillas out assembly line style and put a heaping spoonful of chicken and a spoonful of the cheese mixture into to each.  You're going to want to save at least half the cheese mixture for later!!!

Once you have them all filled up, roll them up and make sure to tuck the ends inside.  Place them tightly packed into a cassarole dish that is pretty deep.  I use a 9 X 13 pan and they just barely fit!

Smother the top of the enchiladas with the rest of the cheese mixture and stick in the oven until the cheese is melted and bubbly.  The time depends on exactly how full you make your tortillas, and how much you layer on top.  Naturally you want them to cook and melt all the way through!  I usually find that it takes me about 45 minutes or so, at 350, but I just keep checking back.

Try to contain yourself!  It's a long wait with yummy yummy spicy smells floating through the house!

Once everything is melted and golden, take it out and let it set for a few minutes, otherwise, the mixture can be really runny.  Put them on the table, fight everyone off with a stick when they try to eat straight from the pan, and be sure to thank me later!! 

You should have plenty of leftovers for the next day too, which just makes it all that much better!

Thanks so much for letting me visit today Wendy!  Hope to see y'all real soon!  We're always on the look out for guest bloggers for our Tutorial Tuesdays also, so email us at vanillabeancrafts@gmail.com if you're ever interested!

Thanks so much Ellie!

I'm all for "white girl" enchiladas-cause well, I'm a red-headed definite white girl, and I can't take all the heat in the other ones!

Can't wait to give them a try-

Happy Crafting.

It's Officially Christmas...in July at Fireflies & Jellybeans!!!

Fawnda from Fireflies and Jellybeans is hosting a

Christmas in July series starting today!!!

 It will be Christmas before you know it, so why not start with some great ideas from some great bloggers?



I am so excited to let you know that I'll be guest posting as part of the event!

WAHOO!!!!
In fact- that's where I am today!!!

(I'm just a little bit excited!)

The series kicks off today and will showcase different ideas on holiday decorating, gift ideas, ornaments, gift wrappings, recipes, anything that has to do with Christmas. Check back all week, your bells will be jinglin' with excitement in no time!

Here's a sneak peak at what I'm sharing...

Are you a Christmas shopping early bird?

You're so in luck! In conjunction with the Christmas in July series you will also find

the Christmas Shoppes at F&J.

 

Starting Friday morning you'll be able to find fun online shops featuring handmade gifts and decor.

And DISCOUNT CODES!!!! for even better shopping.
(Look for the coupon code from my shop, it's good for 10% off your entire order!!!)

Be sure to check it out, Santa really wants you to!

Happy Crafting.

T.G.I.F.-Thank GOODIES it's Friday Linky PaRtY!!!

Hey all! Happy Friday to each of you!!!

I so hope you're enjoying all the fantastic guest posts going on-aren't there just some great goodies to try? And there are more to come next week.

Do let's get you in on this sharing action going on here at Craft Goodies...

No rules, just fun. Be nice to others and keep it friendly-that's all I ask.Please visit each other and comment where you can, we all need a pat on the back sometimes! Get the word out that this is the place to go and let's see this party grow, grow, grow!Share whatcha got cause we want to see it... By linking you allow me to feature your greatness at a later date giving all credit to you with a link back to your post of course.

<a <span style="background: yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">href</span>="http://www.<span style="background: yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">wmcraftgoodies</span>.<span style="background: yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">blogspot</span>.com" target="_blank"><<span style="background: yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">img</span> <span style="background: yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">src</span>="http://i1140.<span style="background: yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">photobucket</span>.com/albums/n563/Wendy_Gardiner/<span style="background: yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">tgifbutton</span>.<span style="background: yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word">jpg</span>" border="0" alt="Craft Goodies"></a> Have fun, can't wait to see what you've been working on and...Happy Crafting!!!

Meet my Friend...Kelly from Running with Glitter!!!

Hi! It's me again! Kelly from Running With Glitter!

 I did a blog swap recently with Wendy and it was a blast.

 So here I am again! 

This is one of the simplest and most inexpensive projects to do. I love to make these when I'm feeling like making something but don't want to really spend any time doing something. These are also great to keep the buttons around in case you can't find any hair pretties to match an outfit. I guess you could say these are my craft fix..lol

These hair ties give the basic tie back life! You can mix and match and even have you daughter join in to help!

Supplies Needed:

Small Fabric Scraps 

Scissors

Thin Hair Ties

Dritz Cover Button Kit

On the back of the Button Kit there is a Button Pattern. Cut this out.

Fold Fabric in Half. Positioning the pattern where you want and cut.

 You should have a Circle like this. I like to iron mine just to get any folds out. Something I have learned with crafting and sewing is it really is worth the few extra minutes it takes to iron. It gives your project a more finished look and keeps things even. With something this small I can just heat up my Chi flat iron and pull it through that.

Center you fabric on the white rubber thingy. This was included in your kit. Be sure to keep this because after you buy the kit you can just buy refill buttons. You get like 2 extra buttons that way. Push the center of you fabric down just to make sure everything is even.

Take the rounded metal piece and place on top of the fabric. Make sure that all your fabric is evenly distributed around the disc.

Place the metal piece with the eye on it. Once again make sure things are where you want them because once you push this baby down it is permanent.

Take the Blue piece, place on top and PUSH until you feel a pop.

How absolutely adorable are these!!!!!!!

This is what the finished backs look like.

This is the reason I said to use thin hair ties. The thick ones will not fit in the eye. Work the rubber band thru the hole. You may have to get tweezers to help pull it thru.

Take the long tail and put in the small hoop. This secures the hair tie.

Pull it tight to secure

Now bask in your creative juices! These are so cute!

I made these to match a skirt that I have had cut to make for months! I buy most of my patterns on etsy print them cut my fabric and put in a folder for a rainy day.

This is a reprint of a vintage fabric I found at the local fabric store. I love it!

My daughter was more than excited to wear the fox. She was asking me if I was done yet while I was making these.

Don't forget to check out my tutorial page here for more great projects!

Thank you so much Kelly for another great idea!
My girls would LOVE these, in fact I know once we started we would soon have a set to match every outfit!
You rock my world girl!
Happy Crafting.