Totes...Totes...EVERYWHERE..!

Ok!  So lately I've been on a sewing kick!  TOTES!  I've made so many!  

I made them all using unwanted, unloved, thrifted, sturdy material!  

Here are some photos!

        

                Bubblelicious Tote                     Groovy Teddy Tote              

 

      Vintage Tote                    Sunny Beach Tote

  

                                                   Mom's Tote

Upholstery Totes 

(I fussy cut the pocket on the tote on the left)

I gave the one on the right as a gift!

Everytime I find nice sturdy fabric, I'll make Totes.  

I'll build a stash and come the holidays,

guess who's getting a tote (or two)?  ;)

I'm going to use mine when I go grocery shopping of course!

The pattern and tutorial is from Crafty Gemini.  

Excellent for beginners!

It's reasonably priced at $3.00 for the pattern AND the video tutorial.

Must Have Tote Bag by Crafty Gemini

Have fun!  :)~

I'm going to go back to sewing... a tote or two maybe?  :)

How to Sew a Pleated Purse!

Well, a WHILE back I watched this video from The DIY Dish on YouTube.  

I loved this bag tutorial and wanted to make one so bad!

How to Make a Handbag-The DIY Dish

This tutorial ^^teaches you how to make evenly spaced pleats.  :)

SO I DID MAKE ONE!  I made one for my daughter.

I added one thick strap to the bag just before closing it up.  

I love it!  I will make one for myself!

Now off to choose fabric!  <3

Embroidery Hoop Pocket Craft

OK.. so... This morning (while sewing of course) I found myself looking for my cutting utensils.  I had one over by the fabric, I had my rotary cutter by the mat, I had my small sissors near the yarn and my stork scissors next to my sewing machine!  gad draddet!  So I decided to search a little (on Google) of course and ran into this cute tutorial.  Although the tutorial I followed didn't involve sewing, I sewed mine with pockets and added rickrack to hide the thread lines.  All of the materials are recycled!  :)  I found the hoop at my local thrift shop, I cleaned them out of hoops figuring that one day I'd "need" them.  I'm glad I purchased them!  :)

I can't wait to hang this up in my sewing corner.  

Here is the new sew tutorial link --->No-Sew Embroidery Hoop Wall Pocket by Blessings Overflowing

The pattern is "sew" easy to follow!

My advice?  leave plenty of fabric room to in the hoop.

Sew Happy!

Free Bag Patterns

Oh my!  Bags, Bags and more bags!
PDF Patterns.
Free Bag Patterns

Instead of my chores, this is what I did today! :)

I decided to upcycle a t-shirt that I got from work.  The fits nice and loose but the neck, ugh, it choked me to death! (not really, but it's uncomfortable)  SOOOO, while looking for things to repin on Pinterest, I found the tutorial I was looking for!  (Pinterest is laggy right now :(, as soon as it's back up I will post the link to the tutorial.

Here is how the shirt turned out (I forgot to take a before picture, but it was a regular t-shirt with a ribbed (uncomfortable) neckline.  For the (new) neckline, I cut off the sleeve cuffs, and cut them in half then attached the 2 pieces together to make one long loop.  The screen print is way up there, but there was nothing I could do about that as it was all the way up by the neckline!  Not bad for a first upcycle though.  I wonder if my husband will miss some of his t-shirts!  HMMMMM!  LOL :D

I made a matching purse with this ARMY fabric I got at my local thrift shop for 50 cents!

The pocket in the front is a remnant from one of the sleeves from the shirt above!

I just went with it and this is what I came up with.  

The straps are extra long so that I can use it accross body. 

I also sewed french seams so that it holds up.

Next time I will make the straps thicker. I like it!  :D 

Now that I have some "new" beach wear....

let me go clean out my husband's closet!  ;)~

Sew Sew Sew your boat.... :)

So, today I did some gardening, pulled out weeds, trimmed some rose bushes (ouch) etc...

It was SOOO HOT out!  I found myself inside... having a nice cold drink of water when suddenly, I made my way to my---> Sewing ROOM!  :)  My coworker gave me an old ass bed sheet of hers to upcycle into pillow covers for HER!  :)  So I did, I made her three!  (that was AFTER I made a little Japanese Knot bag).  I think it's so cute!  I have to practice my top stitching, otherwise, it's a keeper!  :)

Here is my little Japanese knot bag.  It's reversible!  :)

Here is where I downloaded the pattern and instructions.

The instructions are a bit wonky (maybe because I'm a beginner)

I will put it together differently next time.

Martha Stewart Reversible Bag (that's what she called it) ;)

Here is one of the French seam pillowcases I made.  Looks vintage to me!

I followed this tutorial which was so very easy!!!!  

How to make a pillow case by Robin

Well, I'm going to have another drink of water and check on my husband!  I think he's done with the gardening.  OOPS!  he he he

Cabernet Sauvignon and STUFF...

Cabernet Sauvignon! ( ka-behr-NAY soh-vihn-YOHN)

I LOVE CABERNET!! OH MY! 

Barefoot Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon

^^ is my favorite brand of Cabernet for under $10.00 ^^

Not only is this wine good for DRINKING, but it's fabulous for cooking!

I love gazpacho soup in the summer, I always add a cup of red wine to a whole pot of soup!

I use Ina Garten's Recipe!  It's the best I've tried so far! 

Instead of the hot-house cucumber, I used ONE jalapeno pepper (seeded). 

Add the seeds for more heat!

(wash your hands after handling hot peppers and do NOT touch your eyes or face)

I used V-8 Juice instead of tomato juice.  You can use the spicy V-8 instead of the jalapeno pepper.

Since I used red wine in this recipe, I added the vinegar at the end to taste.

I used RED WINE vinegar! :)

(Here is my gazpacho served with swiss and mustard grilled panini.)

I also serve this with chunks of parmesian cheese and warm crusty bread. 

Don't forget the wine!

Did I mention that I LOVE Cabernet Sauvignon?