Let's make a Shopping Bag for Valentine's Day

I just finished this shopping bag a few days ago, I've done this kind of bags before but this time I took pictures to share with you the tutorial.

 

 

Actually I don't know whether to say Shopping bag or if there is another

name for this type of bag, the fact is that is a bag unlined but where the

interior is neat, to achieve this I used the French seam. It is a bag that

is quick to make, is practical, and we can carry this practical bag in our

handbag.

 

 

There are two ways to do it, either by cutting two fabric rectangles or one.

First you have to determine the final measure of your shopping bag, my

shopping bag measures 13 "wide by 17" in length. If these measures are

appropriate to you, then you can follow the steps that I used in my

tutorial, but I want you to know that with my explanations you can make a

shopping bag with the measure you want.

 

1) Cutting the fabric

 

If we do it with a single rectangle of fabric

a) The width

 

The width of your bag +1"
 For  my shopping bag, my final measure is 13" +1" = 14 "

 

b) The  length

 

the length of your bag, two times + 4"

My measures , 17"+ 17" + 4"= 38"

 Briefly I will cut a piece of fabric of 14 "x 38"

 

 

 

If we do it with two rectangles of fabric

 

a)The width

 

The width of your bag +1"

My final measure, 13" +1" = 14 "

 

b) The  length

The length of your bag + 3"
In my case, 17" + 3"= 20"

I will cut two rectangles of fabric that measure 20" x14"

 

 

2) Ironing the top edge

 

Fold the top edge 1" down, iron, fold again and iron.
Leave as it and move to the next stage.

 

 

3) Sewing ( the French seam)

 

Lay your fabrics wrong sides together  matching raw edges.
Do not forget to open the top edge that we had previously ironing, I just

ironed it for future reference later, when I will do the sewing of the

straps, make sure that all the raw edges matching!!

Pin edges together and sew with 1/4" seam, then trim seam allowance to

1/8", don't cut into your stitches, press.



 

I decided to use my serger

 

 

 

4)Turn inside out

Turn the bag inside out , now  the fabrics will be right sides together,
press and stitch in a 1/4" seam,  you have to enclose the trimmed seam
allowance. Since I decided to use a serger, I have no need to trim the
edges

 

 

I want to share a tip with you , look at this photo, is the Edge Stitching

Foot, this is a foot that I use regularly. This foot has a flange on the

side for guiding the fabric, we just have to adjust the needle position and

we will get perfect seams along the edges of the fabric.In this case I

position it to sew, to 1/4'' from the edge.

 

 

I have to confess that I use this foot  all the time !

 

(Back to our project) 

Turn the bag right side out.

I cut two straps of 21 ", and fold at 3/4" from the edge.

 

 

 

Now the explanation it will be easier with the photos, remember that we had

ironed the top edge twice, ok, now that the french seam is finished, we will

re-fold the top edge twice and secure it with pins.

 

The next pictures will show you , how I put the straps on the top edge:

 

 

I put the straps 3 "from the sides

 

 

Once both straps are fastened to the front and the back, we will sew.

 

While this shopping bag is easy to do, try to write a tutorial for two ways

to do it, it  was a bit difficult for me. I added several photos to help you to

understand, hope I succeeded!

 

These shopping bags were a commission for the deaf center who frequent my

parents, that's why I embroidered the letters of the sign language. They

are red because they are a gift to people who frequent the center, on

valentines day.
I decided to give them a festive touch and made ​​some tags to decorate them.

 

 

I do not want to bore you with more explanations, but I want to share with

you the way I did the tags, here are photos I took , I think it will give

you an idea about the steps that I did.
To begin, I used the corrugated board, which comes in boxes to protect

fragile materials and here you will see the steps...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the other hand ,I'm having fun with my memories scrapbooking software, I

made another photo montage.
Do not forget that the giveaway for this software remains open until

February 13, it is so easy to use and when it's free why not take

advantage?

 

 

The link where you will find the information  for this giveaway is here.

 

 

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial, I tried to do the best I could. If there

are spelling mistakes, I apologize, I also tried to do my best, my first

language is Spanish and I learn English with all of you.
I look forward to your comments.

Have a nice day!

Marisa :)

 

 

I'm linking this project to Freemotion by the River,delicate CONSTRUCTION, One Artsy Mama (Shine on Friday), Trendy Treehouse, Fluster Buster, Petals to Picots, The Chicken Chick, Made by you Monday( Skip To My Lou), Threading My Way , Creating my way to Succes, The Pin Junkie,  and Happy Hour Friday.

 





My Memories Suite v4 scrapbooking software: GIVEAWAY

For me today is a very special day, because I feel excited to bring you this awesome giveaway sponsored by My Memories.

 

 

My Memories contacted me a few days ago,  and they  have generously give me the opportunity to give this  fantastic digital scrapbooking software,  to one of my lucky readers!

 

 

 

My Memories it is more than a "digital scrapbooking software", you can create

photobooks, videos, custom gifts, greeting cards, calendars, and much more. If you want to ask me why I am so excited, I can tell you, that is because after playing with this software I love it!

 

I can assure you that it is easy to use, we can create beautiful pages from scratch

or you can build an entire album using one of the many templates provided in the software.

 

Here is the link, for you to appreciate what this wonderful software, allows us to

create and why I recommend it to you.

 

 

 

 

The Rules

 

Now I will explain how to participate in order to be the lucky winner of this

fantastic  digital scrapbooking software.

 

 

1)Who can participate?

 

All people around the world who come to my blog, can participate. No need to be a follower of my blog, but if you are follower, or if you follow my by email you  will have an extra entry. I'll explain this later.
If you think there is someone in your family or friends who may be interested, 

point them here so they can participate!

 

2) How to enter:

In order to enter the giveaway, you will visit the site of My Memories,

 here is the link,

and you will choose your  favorite digital paper pack or layout, then leave me a

comment here, telling me  which ones you chose.

 

Here you can see all the "Free Digital Scrapbooking Kits".

 

 

Here comes the interesting part, if you are a follower, let me another comment to let me know that you are a follower of this blog, this gives a second entry, and if you follow me by email, leave another comment for a 3rd entry.
Only 3 entries per person.

 

For those of you who do not know how to comment, please click where it says comments at the end of this page. It will open a window, then  in the lower part of this window, you will find the space where you can leave the message.
 After writing your message you must "Choose an identity" and then you will be able to "Publish your comment".

 

Contact info:Please make sure that I can contact you if you win, if you are not a

follower, leave your email with your comment! If  I can't  contact you, I will have to choose another winner.

 

"The winner will download the software for free, you will receive a promotional

code.You should not be asked for any credit card information, and the total for the

order should be FREE."

3) When does it end?

This giveaway will end on Wednesday, February 13, 2013 at 10h00am.

 

 

4) How I will you choose a winner?

 

The winner will be chosen randomly ,I will use Random.org, and the winner will be announced on Wednesday, February 13, 2013, at 10h30am.

I will take advantage of the fact that I've been doing some digital scrapbooking
to show you a picture with my kids, this is the first time I share a photo of my family, I think it is time for you to meet them. Here are my lovely children
 

So here is the awesome part...For those of you, who just can't wait for the

giveaway, My Memories gave me  a special for all of my readers, they gave me this promo code (STMMMS93768) that I can share with my family and friends (that’s you). 

By using this code at MyMemories.com, you can get $10 off My Memories Suite (you get it for $29.95 instead of $39.95) AND you also get a $10 gift certificate to use in their online store!

 

 

promo code: STMMMS93768

I encourage you to copy and paste the code to avoid typos when using it.
This  code is ONLY good for My Memories Suite v4.

 

 

Before ending this post I want to show another creation I made, this software is so easy to use and has many options, that the only limit is our imagination.

 

I wish you good luck to  all participants and  I look forward to your comments.

 

Good luck!
Marisa.

 

 

I'm linking this giveaway to Freemotion by the River , Giveaways4Prices, homework  and Mommy Only Has 2 Hands. 

 

Let's make a crocheted hat in a weekend.

Here the winter is properly installed, despite sunny days, the cold is intense. For

me it is the perfect  motivation to do crochet accessories, that's why I made this hat and I love it.

 



This hat was designed by Sara Dudek, I bought the magazine  online, the name of the magazine is "Hooked on crochet Hats II" and  the link to buy it is here, if anyone is interested. ( I just want to warn you that I have no affiliation with that magazine, I just want to share with you the information because I really liked it the magazine)

The name of this pattern  is the "limited sans hats", as I finished it, I tried it 

and since then it's my favorite hat. The most important thing is that other than

being cute, it keeps my ears warm!

 

 

 

Here I are more photos that I took, I was so happy with my result that I took

pictures from the front, side, back, top, sorry I couldn't stop taking photos!!

 





 

I think that is the variegated yarn that I used whom gives to this hat that beautiful look, because  it was by using that variegated yarn that  I could give  an interesting texture to this hat, without any extra effort other than follow the instructions of the pattern. The yarn that I used is "LOOPS & THREADS" Impeccable, and the color is EARTH OMBRE #04001.

 

 

I have other news to share with you, look at the next picture, isn't a nice

montage, right?

 

I did it with " My Memories Suite v4, digital scrapbooking software"

Now the good news!!!!
 I'm super excited to tell you that the company "My Memories" contacted me a couple of days ago, offering me the software "My Memories Suite" to give away on this blog.

My Memories Suite v4 is a fun and easy way to create scrapbooks, photobooks and more, I personally love scrapbooking and have long thought about the possibility of buying a software that is easy to use to create unique pictures, now I found it!

 

I started looking at some tutorials on you tube and discovered that this software

allows us to make buttons and banners for our blogs and create beautiful photos! The information about the giveaway will be in my next post, but if you want to go and see the features of this software, here I leave the link.

 

 

I hope you enjoyed this post, do not forget to leave me your comments, it gives me great pleasure to read them all, and answer your questions.

There's something else I want to tell you, is that everybody can participate in

this giveaway it is not necessary to be follower of my blog, but those who are

followers will have an extra opportunity to participate , OK... I will explain this in my next post so ...stay tuned !!!!!

 

Have a nice day!
Marisa.

I'm linking this project to Skip To My Lou , Trendy Treehouse ( Create and Share), One Artsy Mama, Freemotion by the River , Sew Chatty, Threading My Way, Crochet Happy, Fluster Buster  and The Chicken Chick.







Let's sew a needle case using recycled jeans!

Happy 2013, one year that begins and many projects that I have in mind for this year. My list of things I want to  do keep growing and growing and those who will follow me along this new year will see the variety of projects that I will make.

My first project this year, is this needle case that actually I started last year . I think actually the name would have to be a needle book, you will see why, when you will see the photos

This is the front

 

This is the back

 

The inside of my needle case



 

It all started with the idea of ​​recycling this pair of jeans, when my daughter gave them to me because they did not fit, the first thing I noted was the beautiful pockets, and I have kept them with the idea of creating something whenever inspiration would come. 

 

Look that beautiful pockets!!!!

Analyzing the various parts of this short I found the pieces I wanted to use

 

First stage disassemble all the parties I will be able to use later.

 

 

First, I used the back pockets to create a piece of fabric,  that will become the front and the back side of my needle case.
 The measures do not matter as it depends on the design of the pants,  you can cut a  bigger or smaller piece or just cut two squares. Just to give you an idea, my pieces  are 8 "x9".

 

I cut the two pieces  and between them I sew  a strip of fabric 2.5 "wide.

 

 

Then I started to embellish my project, I used my embellisher machine to add some  roving wool and I also added some scraps of fabric.

 

 

To make the inside of the needle book, I took the measure of my external part already finished, and cut a piece of red fabric with the same measures. I think the contrast of colors is nice. On one side of the needle case I decided to make a pocket, with, what  it was before, the zipper of the pants, and added another pocket I had from another pair of jeans.

 

 

 Now I have the outside and the inside  ready to sew them together .

 

 

Before sewing them together, I cut a piece of interfacing, because I wanted to give a little stiffness to the outside of the needle case and  also sew a button .

 

 

Take the two pieces, place right sides together, aligning the row edges, added a

hair elastic in between the outside and inside of the opposite side to where I

added the button and sew, leaving 4" or 5" of the bottom open.

 



 

Turn right side out by pulling the fabric through the opening , and sew the

opening, I did with my sewing machine.

For the inside I just added two sheets of felt I had, cut them to fit the measure of my book and sewed with the machine.

 

 

 

I have sewn them in the center, in the place that would be the spine of a book, simply by using a running stitch.

 

 

 

Everything is now ready to fill it with  needles and other sewing accessories,

I show you the final photos.

 

 

 

If any of you makes this project I would like you to share it with me, and if you

publish your creation on your blog I would appreciate if you can add a link back to this article.

I hope you enjoyed this post, for my part, I enjoyed it immensely while I was creating this needle case, the beauty of these projects is the improvisation, everything can be used and I guess you will agree with me, recycle, reuse and repurposing is the best gift we can give to our planet!

Have a nice day!!!!!

Marisa :)

 

 

 

I'm linking this project to Threading My Way( Refashioning with denim), The Chicken Chic, Sew Chatty, Trendy Treehouse(create and share), Skyp To My Lou, Freemotion by the River, Trendy Treehouse (Create and Share), One Artsy Mama , Fluster Buster , Take it on Tuesday, The Frugal Girls in  Chic and Crafty and  Creating my way to Succes.

 

These project was featured at Craft Gossip

 

    and also at Totally Tutorials !!!   

Some beautiful news to begin this new year!

My first post of the year begins on a note of happiness. I have two nice news to share with you. One is that the scarf that I made in November last year to participate at the Ring Your Neck Scarf Challenge, was the most voted scarf! and that allowed me to winning the first place! 

 

I want to say thanks to  Rikka for hosting this challenge, all the scarves that

have been created for this challenge are beautiful. Congratulations to Linda and

Fiona, your scarves are terrific, and also to everyone who participated, because

each one of us has tried a new technique, we have learned something new and created

something unique.If you want to see the photos of the other winners are here. I

feel honored to have the first prize, thanks to all of you who voted for my scarf.
Here is the beautiful new badge I received
 

These are the pictures of the scarf that allowed me to take the first place in the
challenge:

This scarf is made out by using water soluble stabilizer, yarns and threads and the
tutorial where I show how to make this scarf is here.
 

If you want to find more inspiration I encourage you to visit Ricochet and Away is

another blog I visit regularly and where I find inspiration in every visit I make

there, here is the link

The second good news is that my wine gift bag was featured on Threading My Way,

thanks Pam for giving me the honor of place my wine bag with such beautiful

creations. I invite you to visit her blog,here is the link, if you look for inspiration, ideas for new projects, I give you the guarantee that you are going to find all what you are

looking for there!

 

Here is my other badge:

 

 

 

This is the wine gift bag I made, and the tutorial is here.

 

If you have projects that you want to share in Threading My Way, this is the link,

all  the link parties at Threading Your Way are themed and ongoing. You can add as

many projects as you like throughout the year.

I wish you all a beautiful and creative 2013, I have many ideas of projects I want

to do, I am currently working on a tutorial for a needle case I made using an old

pair of jeans, the year will begin with the topic recycling and reuse, something we

all love, as we return to give life to something that is no longer useful to us and

we make a nice gesture for our planet and our wallet ...

 

See you soon

Marisa.

Happy Holidays!!

Another year ends, and for me is the time to give thanks.

Thanks to all of you  who take the time to visit my blog. Thanks to every one of my followers, the fact that you are here with me is what makes me want to create new projects, I also want to say thanks to  all of you for  the nice comments you have left me over this year, this year was beautiful, he allowed me to discover new

friends and especially several bloggy friends who bring me inspiration in each of

their post .

Thanks to all of you, who follow me by email and let me come into your homes

 with my posts, thanks!

 

To all of you, I want to wish  a wonderful holiday time with family and friends.

I hope  that peace reign in your homes throughout the year 2013
I have created this postcard for you, hope you like it.

 

 

Thank you for being here with me  along this year, and Happy Holidays!!

 

 

 

Marisa :)