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Creative Tips & Ideas

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Bow Tote

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Hi there! It’s me, Terra from mama says sew. I’m here today to show you how to make this Bow Tote.
I gave it to my daughter to use as a dance tote {and she was so excited she immediately dumped everything out of her old bag so she could put it in this one}, but you could use it for just about anything. It would make a great last minute Mother’s Day gift as well.
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It’s a pretty basic project, but I love how the bow makes an ordinary tote into something special. Perfect for that special little girl or Mom in your life!

First start by cutting out your pieces. I’ve included the measurements I used, but you can adjust them to make the tote any size you prefer.
From main fabric:
Cut 2 bag pieces, 16.5 inches by 15 inches
Cut 2 handles, 4 inches by 20 inches
From lining fabric:
Cut 2 bag pieces, 16.5 inches by 15 inches
From contrast fabric
Cut 2 bow background pieces, 15 inches by 6 inches
Cut 1 bow piece, 6 inches by 11 inches
Cut 2 bow tail pieces, 5 inches by 16 inches
Scrap piece to wrap around the center of the bow

Cut a 2 inch square out of the bottom ends of the bag pieces.
Do the same for the lining pieces. All four pieces should look like this:
Fold the tail pieces in half and cut a triangle off each end, like this:
Now we’re going to make the tucks. Take one bow background piece, and iron a crease in it the long way, about an inch from the top. Stitch close to the crease, as shown.
Keep going, ironing creases and stitching close to the creases, until one of your background pieces is full of tucks. I didn’t mark them, because I wanted it to have a messy look.
Fold the long raw edges to the wrong side of the fabric on both background pieces so they are the same height.
Stitch the background pieces to the main bag fabric, making sure they are both the same distance from the top of the bag. Make sure to account for seam allowances when deciding where to position the background. 
Fold the bow in half and stitch around the three open sides. Clip corners.
Cut a hole near the center of the bow.
Turn right side out and press.
Sew your scrap piece into a tube.
Turn right side out and press.
Fold the tail pieces in half and stitch down the open long side and across the bottom. Leave the top open for turning.
Turn the tails right side out and press.
Hand stitch the scrap piece around the middle of the bow, making sure to cover the hole you made.
Hand stitch the tails to the bow {you may want to trim them to your desired length first}. 
This is what the bow should look like.
Hand stitch the bow to the front of the bag where you want it. Make sure to sew it securely.
With right sides together, sew the side seams and bottom seam on your bag pieces and lining pieces. Leave the square area unsewn.
Pull the square open and match the raw edges together. Do a double row of stitching. Repeat with the lining.
Fold the handles in half and stitch along the long edge, leaving the ends open.
Turn right sides out and press. You can topstitch along the edges if you want.
Trim the side seams close to the top on the bag and the lining.
Press the top edges down about a half inch on the bag and lining.
Turn the bag right side out and insert the lining into the bag so that wrong sides are together.
Pin the handles in place and stitch around the top of the bag.
I did a double row of stitching to make sure everything was secure.
Ta-da! You’re done!
Thanks Terra! This is the perfect little tote for dance, church or the library!

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Mother’s Day Gifts: Time Out for Mom

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Hi, it’s Amy from The Happy Scraps here again, sharing this fun Mother’s Day Idea.

What are you giving your mom this mother’s day? I wanted to come up with a gift that could be enjoyed my mother’s of any age.  Those that have young kids, those that have teenage kids, or those that have grown kids that don’t live at home anymore.  I asked my mom and mother-in-law for ideas, and what types of things they liked, and I also thought about what I might like for mother’s day and this is what I came up with.
Wouldn’t any mother you know love to be pampered, or take a break when they have a few minutes?  I know I would, and I know of others that would as well. I picked up a few things to put together for such an occasion.

I picked up some foot scrub, a pumice stone, a nail file, and some nail polish.

I packaged them in a cellophane bag, and tied it up with bakers twine.

Using my Cricut, I cut out some fun labels for these cute jars that I had, and then I put some bath salts and milk bath into the jars.

I spray painted the lids and then I used my circle punch to punch out some paper for the tops.  I finished off the bottles by tying baker’s twine around the bottle neck as well.

On the bucket, using the Cricut again, I cut out a label to match the others.  I also tied baker’s twine around the bucket.

I know I always enjoy reading a fun magazine, so I added one to this gift as well, and who doesn’t love chocolate? I don’t know any mom that wouldn’t want to “take 5”. 

What do you think? I don’t know any mom that wouldn’t love to receive this gift!
I know as a mom I definitely have some times where I would like to give myself a timeout! Thanks Amy for such a cute Mother’s Day gift idea!
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Gifts for Mom: Easy Photo Magnets #12MonthsofMartha

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Disclosure: Martha Stewart provided product for this post. All ideas and opinions are my own.

I find gifts for mom to be somewhat of a challenge. My mom is not the “crafty” type but I still like to give her something that is personal. My parents are leaving on a mission for the LDS church right before Mother’s Day so I wanted something I could ship easily and would not take up a lot of space. My kids adore their Grandma so I thought it would be great to make something with their cute little faces for her to take along, but would also be useful. I thought handmade photo magnets would be the perfect gift.
Not only are they super cute, but they were unbelievably easy to put together. You can get the jest in the photo below.

Gifts for mom have never been so easy! Now if you are the type who likes a bit more detail I’ll include the full tutorial below.


SUPPLIES:
  • Martha Stewart Crafts Layering Punch {Flourish Frame}
  • Martha Stewart Crafts Craft Glue
  • Martha Stewart Crafts 12×12 Essentials Paper Pad {Brights}
  • Cricut Magnet Material (I am a Cricut affiliate)
  • Clear Contact Paper
  • Picasa (or other collage software)
  • Printer
  • Tin, Ribbon, Sticker and Gift Card Optional
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Find some pictures of the kids and put them in a collage using Picasa or another software making each picture a little over an inch. Print the collage.
2. Using the Martha Stewart Flourish Frame Punch on the setting shown below, punch the pictures. You can slide the pictures in upside down and look through the bottom to make sure they punch in the right place.

3. Punch a piece of magnet material for each picture. I couldn’t believe how easily it punched through this thick medium!

4. Peel the white layer off the magnet to expose the adhesive and carefully place the picture on it. Switch the setting on the punch and cut a little frame out of the paper.

5. Use the Martha Stewart Craft Glue to adhere the frame to the picture. This glue is great for this because it is a little thicker so it doesn’t wrinkle paper and it has a really thin nozzle that is the perfect size for the tiny frame.
6. Punch out a little piece of clear contact paper to finish off the magnet and protect your mini photo and frame.
7. Wrap them up however you like to make the perfect little gift for mom or grandma! I put them inside a little tin with a gift card and tied it up with a bow.

Michaels has a great coupon for US and Canada right now for 40% off a Martha Stewart Crafts Item if you need anything!

Any One Regular Price Martha Stewart Craftsâ„¢ Item. Excludes Martha Stewart Craftsâ„¢ Jewelry

Do you find it hard to decide on gifts for mom? What is one of your favorite things you have given or received as Mother’s Day gifts?

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Reverse Applique Superman T-Shirt

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Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Cricut. This project and all ideas/opinions are my own.
When Cricut issued their Fashion show challenge I knew I was up for it. We were given white t-shirts and iron-on material with the assignment to make something wearable. Being the mom of superhero obsessed boys I knew just what I wanted to do, a Superman t-shirt. But, not just any t-shirt. I decided a reverse applique would be perfect to look like Clark Kent tearing open his white shirt to reveal his Superman suit.
I am pretty darn pleased with how my little hero looks and was surprised how easy the whole reverse applique process was.

SUPPLIES:


Two white t-shirts
Evening Blue Rit Dye
Washing Machine
Iron
Small sharp scissors
Pins
Sewing Machine
White thread
HOW-TO:
1. Wash the shirts to remove any shrinkage and dry without fabric softener. (The film it leaves can effect the wear of the iron-on.)
2. Dye one of the shirts blue using the washing machine instructions on the bottle.
3. Cut out the Superman symbol out of the red and yellow iron-on by opening the free file below in Cricut Craft Room. Don’t forget to reverse the image if you aren’t using my file! With a Cricut mini, cut with the iron-on’s clear protective coating side down on the mat with the depth at 4. and the pressure at 2 with a speed of 3 (other machines may vary).
5. Weed your images. 
6. Iron on the yellow first with the clear coating facing up. Cover with a piece of scrap fabric and iron for 15 seconds, then flip over and iron the back for 30 seconds. Flip it back over, remove the clear coating and place the red image on top. Cover with scrap fabric and iron for 30 seconds. Check to make sure both layers are secure and remove clear plastic.
7. Cut out the images from the shirt leaving about an inch on each side.
8. Decide where you want it placed on the shirt.
9. Turn t-shirt inside out and pin the image in place.
10. With a washable marker trace around the image where you want to sew. I did my line 1/2 inch out from the iron-on all around so a good bit of blue would show.
11.. Sew around image using a straight stitch. Remove pins and trim strings.
12. Turn the t-shirt right side out and make a small slit through just the white t-shirt in front of the image. Use this to trim close to the seam to reveal the image.
Put it on your little Superman and let him fly!

I have used a lot of iron-on/heat transfer and this by far went on the easiest. I did not have to keep ironing edges over and over and hold it for a minute or more like others I’ve used. I can’t wait to get my hand on some more!

If you want to get your hands on some, they are running a great deal!

Get the Cricut Iron-on Bundle for $199.99 (normally $319.95)!

or if you already have a craft cutter and just want to try out the iron on…

Get $15 off your Cricut Iron-on Sample Pack!

So, what do you think? Have you tried iron-on before? What about reverse applique?

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