Tie Onesies!

Can I just say that these are adorable?!?! Like, now I need a baby to put one on ;)

My good friend from high school, Arie, just had a baby shower this evening and I wanted to give a gift that had a little crafty flair. One thing that I've found with boys though is that you can't really give them a cute little flower hair clip. It's a LOT harder to think of something practical that has a personal twist. I saw this idea on Pinterest and just couldn't stop thinking about it.

Long story short, all that I did was cut out a little tie shape from a  cute manly fabric and sew it on with a zigzag stitch! I think the more crooked and wonky the better.  Really really easy!! And Arie loved them! I did have to tell her they were handmade though...  :)

Now go make a bunch for all the little men in your life. Linking up to:

Spoiled

That's me.

I just got to enjoy the most wonderful day with my sweet friends. Yes, after I went shopping all day yesterday in the city.

We all went to the spa this morning and chatted the day away soaking in the hot tub and getting pampered with massages, facials, and pedicures. Plus the complimentary chocolate bowl they left out took quite a beating. (No it was not mostly me....pssh)

Follow that up by lunch at my favorite restaurant, Laughing Ladies (in Salida), and you can call it a glorious day! Oh, and presents. For you knitters out there, I am the proud owner of a new set of addi click knitting needles. I love my friends.

This little post is just to show you what I've been doing with my time lately. I promise you I have crafts on the list...I've just been enjoying myself a little too much lately:) Although I did sew my friend Jami a pretty cute little burlap table runner with white ruffles. Compliments of The Beast (that's what I decided to call my new sewing machine:) And of course I didn't take a picture. Bad Blogger.

Enjoy your beautiful weekend!!!

DIY Camera Purse

First of all, I just have to say YAY!!! I just got a new camera! After awhile of lusting after other blogger's crisp detailed beautimous pictures I decided that it was time to invest. My point and shoot was just not cutting it. So I ended up picking up this beauty on ebay...

It's a Canon Rebel XT. Not the best body, but I asked my photographer friend, Sharon, for advice on the matter and for the price, this couldn't be beat.

Anywho, back to the matter at hand. After making the purchase, I decided that I needed something beautiful to carry my most prized possession around in so I started the search. I found a lot of really beautiful bags that looked like purses on Epiphanie and Jo Totes, but they were all upwards of $150!! Um, I shop at thrift stores...hello. So I did what any good DIYer would do. I google searched 'DIY camera bag purse' and there sat my salvation. Vanilla & Lace  had posted a way to make your own!! And it's REALLY simple. If you have ever used a sewing machine, you can do this. 

trust me. My husband is better at sewing than I am. I actually had to enlist his help, but the project did get completed.

First, grab your supplies:

**1 yard of the material of your choice. Make it pretty people. (I ended up not even using the whole yard)

**A purse that you love. Target has some bags that are pretty ideal as far as shape, zipper closure, tapered top (so it's easy to carry). I already had this bag, so score! 

**A couple sheets of foam. I have read that some ladies have used 3/4 or 1", but I thought that would be too bulky and kind of unnecessary, so I just went with 1/2". Also, I found a bunch at the B (thrift store) for a quarter, so I made the best of it. Another score! 

**Sewable velcro $1.60

**Unique Stitch $4.50 (or you can just sew the velcro on, but I'm lazy)

These are the measurements i used for my foam, yours will probably be different but overall it should be around the same size.
Bottom pad: 13 1/2" x 4 3/8" using 3/4" foam
Short sides: 4 1/2" x 4 3/8" (make 2)I ended up deciding that I didn't need these, but if you want extra protection they would be great.
Lens dividers: 7 1/2" x 3" (make at least 2)
Straight divider: 4 1/2" x 3 1/2" (make 2)
Long side pads: 10" x 4 1/2" (make 2)

Now, use all these foam pieces as a pattern for the fabric, adding about an inch to all sides for seam allowance. Cut two pieces of fabric for each foam insert (obviously!)..
Note: For the lens divider, add 2 inches to the short ends so you have little flaps to sew velcro onto.

To start, I sewed one 'pillowcase-like' piece for the long sides and bottom. I started by sewing 3 sides and then I added a piece of foam and then seamed it, added another piece and then seamed it, and then the 3rd piece and then closed it. It should look like one of those accordion sun protectors for your car;)

Then I added velcro to both sides (this is what you will be attatching the inserts to) using Unique Stitch.

                      

I decided that Unique Stitch is my new best friend. The velcro is not coming off.

I have seen people use a double row of velcro, but I didn't seem to think it necessary. Oh, and be sure to put to 'soft' side of the velcro here. You don't want fluffies sticking to it constantly.

I then sewed all of my inserts. I made sure to leave a flap on either end to attatch velcro.

I measured to make sure that the velcro strip would match up with the piece on each insert.

This doesn't look too good, but it does match up, I assure you ;) Excuse my nasty dirty fingernail...

And that's it!! Pretty simple. It took me about 2 hours, but I bet if I tried it again I could do it quicker. I won't lie to you and say I didn't break out my seam ripper...

A few more pictures of the finished product!!

And a point and shoot picture of it fully loaded!

Hope you all enjoy! Feel free to leave a comment if you decide to try this with a link back to your blog