simplest DIY project ever...OOT totes!

Please forgive me for all the DIY posts lately. Honestly it's all I've been doing the past few weeks! Here's a project that anyone can do...it's super simple! So easy in fact, I'm not sure it requires pictures. But I took some for you anyway!

I'm not sure where I first found them, but for a long time now I've wanted to use canvas bags to fill with goodies for our out-of-town guests. I always seem to be an OOT guest at weddings, and it is so nice to have some snacks already in the hotel room when you are tired and hungry after a long drive. Our guests will find these cuties filled with treats in their rooms!

And now for the super simple tutorial:

You will need:

• Tote bags (canvas, paper, most things will work) I ordered my bags from cheaptotes.com
• Stamp
• Stamp pad
• Something to place inside the bag to prevent bleeding to the back (I used a blank stencil but cardboard would work too!)

Instructions:

1. Lay your bag on a hard, flat surface.

2. Place cardboard or whatever you are using to prevent bleeding inside the bag in the area you want your design.

3. Load stamp with ink.

4. Position stamp where you want your design.

5. Firmly press down to transfer ink.

6. Carefully lift stamp off of bag.

7. Let dry and admire your pretty new tote bag!

Here are all of our bags, just waiting to be filled to make our guests smile!

This is one of those projects that took almost no thought and only an hour or two to finish! So simple and yet so satisfying to check it off the list!

Did you opt to give out OOT bags? Did your guests appreciate them?

guest post!

If you're like me and have a ton of weddings (besides your own) to attend this summer, you are probably in need of a gift! Check out my guest post on the Wishpot Wedding Blog for some handmade wedding gift suggestions! Leave me some love while you're there!

(source)

2 carat cup.

Looking for a little congratulatory gift for a friend or relative who's recently engaged? How cute is this 2 carat cup from Paper-Source? At $16.95, you could add a bridal magazine and some ring cleaner and have a super sweet gift for under $25!

too cute.

Seriously, how cute are these shirts for a little flower girl or ring bearer?

Shirts from MyPersonalizedTshirt on Etsy.

christmas diy project #10: dollhouse.

The last but certainly not least project that was constructed for Christmas was a dollhouse for Adam's niece Aliyah (who is also our flowergirl). At the beginning of November, we had set out to find a birthday gift for Ali (her bday is in Nov.) and after being unsuccessful at finding anything, we decided a dollhouse would make a really great birthday/Christmas combination gift. Adam created the dollhouse out of a lot of plywood, dowels, and paint, without much help from me. I originally intended on doing all of the painting after it was finished, but that just didn't happen with all of the other projects I had of my own. So for the past two months Adam worked almost every day on the dollhouse, building, painting, wallpapering, flooring, and making and painting the furniture. I helped a little with the painting and color choices, but this project was definitely all Adam. It turned out so well, and I'm glad to know that he is an expert in dollhouse-making so when we have a girl of our own he can make another one :) That won't be for a while though, probably a long while!

All photos are my own.

christmas diy project #9: fabric ornaments.

After hand-making a gift for everyone in my family except my mom, I felt a little guilty. The other projects had taken so long I didn't have time to make anything elaborate before I left to go home. I had seen instructions somewhere for making fabric ornaments (I'd give you the link if I could remember where I saw it) so I headed to JoAnn Fabrics for the fourth time in as many days and found some styrofoam balls, red polka dot fabric (I already had the green flannel and the black polka dot cordoroy at home), and red and green rick-rack and ribbon.

I made grooves in each ball to separate it into 6 parts. Then I used the back of the knife to push the fabric into the seams, and when was all in place I pinned some rick-rack to the top, added a ribbon, and I was finished. I made three ornaments: one for my mother, one for my godmother and one for my mother-in-law-to-be.

Photo is my own.

christmas diy project #8: polka dot coin purse.

When I was finished making purses for Dani and Mariah, I wanted to make something for Gaby too. I knew she didn't really use large purses yet, but she might use a coin purse for her money, lip gloss, etc. So I used the same fabrics and ribbon I used for Mariah's purse and made her a coin purse. This was my first experience sewing on a zipper, and it didn't go that badly! On Christmas she crammed as much as she could fit in it and carried it around with her everywhere.

All photos are my own.

christmas diy project #7: cigar journal.

My dad is what some may call a cigar snob. He even has his own humidor. So when decided what to give him for Christmas, I wanted to give him something for his hobby (without giving him an actual cigar, I'd actually rather he didn't smoke!) I went online to find something, and came across a book called a Cigar Dossier. It's essentially a journal for people that smoke cigars. You write down the cigar, the occasion, etc. and place the label inside the book, which is the only thing you have to show for it after you finish the cigar. The book was $35, which I thought was crazy for a notebook with a few titles in it. So I made one myself. I found a really rich looking journal at TJ Maxx and used some stamps I already had to create my own "Cigar Dossier".

After a few hours of stamping every single page while Dana and I had our crafting night (yes, we are lame) I had this:

All photos are my own.

christmas diy project #6: shadow box.

So this wasn't exactly a Christmas present, but close enough. My dad retired from the police department a year ago to the day on Dec. 22. This day also happens to be his birthday. So for his birthday present, I wanted to make him something to commemorate his time as lieutenant. I decided to make him a shadow box, so he could do something with his uniform besides let it sit in the closet collecting dust. My mom gave me his uniform, pins, handcuffs, badge, etc. while I was home at Thanksgiving. I don't think he even noticed it was gone. I found a shadow box from Michaels, which happened to be 40% off (which I was actually mad about, because I had a 50% off coupon at the time that was only valid on regular priced items... just my luck!) I bought some really long floral pins to attach everything to the box, ironed and folded the uniform, layed out everything else in the box, and pinned it all into place. With the exception of stabbing myself with the pins a few times, this project was simple and painless! Love you dad :)

Photo is my own.

christmas diy project #5: polka dot corduroy bag.

Every Christmas, my cousins draw names to determine who we should each buy gifts for. This year, the fiances (3 of them) were added to the mix. Adam drew my cousin Mariah's name. She turned 13 on Christmas, so she's the same age as my sister Gaby. I tried to find her a shirt or something from abercrombie, AE, etc. since thats all Gaby wanted for Christmas, but didn't find anything really cute in the price range. I found this adorable bag at AE that I would've bought for her if it wasn't $50, and decided to make something similar. I couldn't find any flannel fabrics at JoAnn's that weren't hick-like, so I went with the polka dot corduroy instead, along with some raspberry corduroy I already had at home, green flannel for the lining, and a matching green ribbon to tie the bag closed.

I made my own pattern for the bag, and it turned out far from perfect. If I had more time, I probably would have tweaked the pattern and made another one. But I didn't have time so I had to send it as is. Hopefully she liked it, I haven't heard from her yet.

Flannel bag from American Eagle. Polka dot photo is my own.

christmas diy project #4: letters.

The second part of my gift for Dani was a set of sorority letters. My sister (by blood) and I are also sorority sisters. I had not had a chance to give her a set of letters yet after she became a member last year so I wanted to make her a pair. She had asked for a brown t-shirt with teal letters, but I had another idea. I found a cute bright blue sweatshirt at Target and found some plum colored taffeta fabric to make the letters out of. Then I found this really cool metallic pearl thread to attach the letters. I printed out the greek letters in Adobe Illustrator and then cut them out to make my pattern. I cut out the plum taffeta and some iron on interfacing to give them some support to make them easier to sew onto the sweatshirt. Then I started sewing. Many hours and 3 rolls of thread later... I had finished the letters! I think she liked these as well... she put them on immediately after opening her gifts on Christmas morning. Gaby liked her sweatshirt from me too... although I didn't have any part in the making of that one.All photos are my own.

christmas diy project #3: houndstooth purse.

After being successful at making the black purse, I decided to use the same pattern to make a houndstooth one for my sister Dani. I had been eyeing the fabric at the store for a month or so and finally bought it to make the purse with since Dani loves this pattern. I used the same purple cotton fabric for the lining. It was much easier to make the second purse, and I think it turned out pretty well! And the best part... my sister loved it so much she said it was going to replace her Coach purse for awhile! So that made me happy!

All photos are my own.

christmas diy project #2: black corduroy purse.

I knew that I wanted to make this mother of 4 a purse, since really what girl doesn't love a new purse? So I set out to find a pattern online (for free!) that I could use. I found a pattern for the Margaret Bag on BurdaStyle, which is a great website for any of you who would like free sewing patterns!

I chose black corduroy and purple cotton lining for this bag, and a plain black button for the closure. I followed the instructions on the pattern, with the exception of adding a little tag of my own on one of the pockets. Here's how it turned out.

All photos are my own.

christmas diy project #1: fleece blanket.

This year I had the task of making the gifts for a mother of 4 children who was approx. 30 years old. With that being the only information I had about her, I tried to think of things to make that pretty much any women in that age range would like. I don't know any women who don't like blankets, so I made that my first project.

I bought fleece at Wal-mart in two colors. There was a limited selection so I chose brown and mint green, 2 yards of each. Then I bought baby blue and cream colored felt, 1 yard of each.

I started by cutting the edges of each piece of fleece to make a no-sew fleece blanket. I'm sure you can find directions for this online, they are pretty common. Then I made some fabric flowers out of the felt using directions in one of my pattern books, Making Vintage Bags by Emma Brennan. I cut out leaf shapes from the green fleece and sewed them onto the brown fleece in what would be the corner of the blanket. Then I hand-sewed on the flowers over the leaves.

Next I tied the brown and green fleece pieces together and voila! I had a pretty fleece blanket for a very deserving mother.

All photos are my own.

sew excited!

Forgive me for the pun. I just made something on my new sewing machine (thank you mom & dad for the early Christmas gift) and it turned out really well for my first time making anything! I've sewn before on my mom's machine when I was younger, but nothing more difficult than a pillow (which is the most basic project ever). I was a little more ambitious this time. I'd tell you what it is, but you'll have to wait! It's a gift and I don't want to give it away.

Speaking of gifts, it's getting to be that time of year. I have to admit that one of my favorite parts of Christmas is trying to find the perfect gift for everyone...and then wrapping it in pretty paper. I am sucker for pretty packaging. I'm also sad to admit that I want to get a second job as a gift wrapper during the holidays. My fiance won't let me. :( So instead, we went out last weekend and bought most of our Christmas gifts. And then I came home and wrapped them all. In color-coordinated paper that matches the colors of our Christmas tree and decorations. Which I put up on Sunday. I am slightly OCD.

Note: These are not my wrapped gifts. I am too lazy to take a picture, I apologize.

Photo from Flickr.