Lots-o-pics of lots-o-projects :D

Happily, much sewing has been accomplished in the last couple of weeks :)  I wanted to get some pictures outside but the weather wasn't very co-operative - it was either really cold, or grey and overcast, or I wasn't ready to take pics when it was the perfect weather, lol.  Basement dungeon photograph studio it is!

First up we have some simple drawstring gift bags for Christmas - the size of each was determined by the fact that I wanted to use up some Christmas prints I had hanging about ;)  These (boxed bottom) bags were all made using this tutorial, but in varying sizes.

Next up - some zipper bags based on Crafty Staci tutorials :D  I call these my not-a-hotpad zipper bags, as the original pattern was for a hotpad, but I hax0red them into zipper pouches :D  First up are my pink birdies from the Bluebird pattern :)

She published a new pattern this month for a mitten hotpad, so out came the sewing machine :D  I made it about an inch narrower than the pattern - it worked better with the zipper I was using.  This one is a new-to-me project and counts as one of my 52 in 16 (52 new bags in 2016) projects :)



I started these polar bear hand puppets several years ago - I don't even remember why I didn't complete them then, but I thought it would be nice to get them done and into the gift box :)  The tutorial is here - I used washcloths from Costco :D

This bag worked out really well so it's going in my gift box :)  I was making a Retreat Bag for a friend, using some of her fabric.  I hadn't made one in a while and I was a bit nervous about using her special fabrics, so I warmed up by making this one first, LOL.  Both of them worked out very well, so I don't know why I worried :D  And now that I'm thinking about it, I forgot to get a picture of hers - oh well!  It was gorgeous, IIDSSM ;)

This next bag also counts as one of my new 52 in 16 bags, but it didn't work out quite as well as I would like.  The tutorial is here - I bought a pair of kids jeans @ the thrift store so I could cut off the legs for this, lol.  Next time around I'll stitch the bottom seam from the inside instead of the outside - I'm also going to box the bottom to give it a nicer shape.  I couldn't get fabric paint when I was making it so the acrylic paint I used cracked a bit on the fabric - I thought I could get away with it but nope!  This is a cute project - it's a great way to upcycle worn out jeans - I even bought more jeans for - the bag is very quick and easy to make :)

Mickie!  Another 52 in 16 project - my last for the month (5 done in January - I'm impressed with myself, lol) - I'll make one minor change the next time around - I added quilt batting to this one, and it made the project thick enough that I couldn't get it pressed completely pucker-free.  You can see tiny little puckers at each side of the ears - I pressed and pressed but couldn't get rid of them.  Next time I'll just interface all the layers and I bet I'll be able to press it better :)  Tutorial here :)

I'm very pleased with these next new to me items - I got 2 sets of 3 hand puppets completed - one set is for a birthday gift in February, the other set goes into the gift box :) The pattern is Woodland Animals Felt Hand Puppets, a $ pattern from Craftsy here - I haven't made the badger yet (there are 4 critters in the pattern - fox, hedgehog, badger and raccoon) but I will eventually :)  

How's this for cute? LOL!  Reindeer stuffy - new to me, and a Christmas gift - he's a bit bigger than I would like so next time around I'm going to shrink him by 25 or 30% - I want him sized more like a beanbag than a stuffy :D   Tutorial here :)

One last project, then that's it for tonight - it's past my bedtime, lol.   This is my favourite of my finishes - it's just a simple notebook cover, but I love how it turned out :)  I'm not sure if you can see from the photo (and sorry about the different background colours - that's the problem with photographing in the basement dungeon) - the raindrops are little seed beads in different colours :)  I was out with hubby today doing running around, and I took the project with me and beaded most of it in the car!  New to me, and right into the gift box it went :)  (Here's a post from Jennifer @ Ellison Lane - she's the designer!) 

Outside - front cover :)

Inside - there are pockets (trimmed with ribbon) on each side, and a piece of elastic (on the right) holds the pages :)

Outside back - a rainbow without rain :D

WHEW!  That was a lot of photography and typing and link finding - I'm going to get this post uploaded to my favourite linky parties - both from Celtic Thistle Stitches - New to Me in 2016 and Ho Ho Ho and On We Sew - brand spanking new for 2016!