How to Make an Oversized Beach Bag

Materials:

• Main Fabric 24.5 x 44 inches
• Lining Fabric 24.5 x 44 inches
• Interfacing 23.5 x 43 inches
• Straps 5 x 40 inches
• Interfacing strips 1 x 40 inches
• Pocket Fabric 21 x 14 inches
• Zipper at least 14 inches
• Thread
• Sewing Machine
• Glue Stick
• Scissors

Step 1:  Cut and iron all fabric pieces

Step 2: Iron the interfacing onto the wrong side of the main fabric

Step 3: Create the pocket.  On the pretty side of the main fabric, measure at least 2 inches down and draw a straight line across horizontally.  Mark the center of this line. I marked mine with chalk.

Step 4: On the wrong side of the pocket fabric, measure 1.5 inches down from the top.  Draw a horizontal line.  From this line, measure above 1/4 inch and below the main line 1/4 inch.  Create a horizontal line at these 1/4 inch measurements. From the left side of the pocket fabric, measure in at least an inch and do the same thing on the right side.  This should create a box with a horizontal line in the middle.  From the corner of the box measure a line about 45 degrees creating a triangle at the end of the box.

Step 5: Place the right side of the pocket fabric on the right side of the main fabric matching up the lines created in the steps above. Pin and sew around the box that you created in step 4.

Step 6: Cut on the center line and cut straight down and also cut the lines you made for the 45 degree angle.

Step 7: Put the pocket through the hole you just cut and iron.  The pocket fabric should now be on the wrong side of the main fabric and there is a horizontal hole when you look at the main fabric. Iron both sides of the fabric.

Step 8: Put glue around the right side of the zipper and place the main fabric pieces (where the hole is) over the zipper. 

Step 9: Sew around the zipper 1/4 of an inch so the zipper attaches to the main fabric bag. 

Step 10:  With the main fabric facing right side down, iron the pocket and fold the pocket up and pin around the pocket itself. Be sure not to catch any of the bag fabric in the pins. Sew around the pocket.

Step 11: Pin the right sides of the main fabric together when you fold the bag in half. Sew the two sides 1/4 inch. (Your main part of the bag is complete).

Step 12: Sew the lining fabric right sides together leaving a hole 4-6 inches (so you can eventually turn the bag right side out).

Step 13:  Iron the straps in half (hot dog style) and iron.  Open the fabric back up and you will see the crease. Bring each edge to the crease and iron.  

Step 14: Take interfacing for the straps and iron the interfacing to the wrong side of the strap fabric. Fold the following the creases and top stitch the straps on each side 1/4 inch.

Step 15: Have the main fabric wrong side facing out and put your hand in the bag and push out the corner of the bottom bag as you will be making a triangle and cutting gussets.  Make a triangle about 2 inches, pin, and sew a straight line, cutting off the excess. Do the same thing with the other side of the bag and the lining fabric.

Step 16:  Assembling the bag.  The main bag should be wrong side out.  Attach the straps and choose your placement. I pinned them 2.5-3 inches in from the side seams. Leave the straps inside the bag.  Then take the lining fabric, right side out, and put lining fabric bag inside the main bag.  Sew around the edge of the bag so that the main fabric sews to the lining fabric and the straps are also attached all in the same stitch.

Step 17:  Find the hole that you left in the lining fabric and pull the main fabric bag right side out.  Push out the corners and sew the lining hole closed.  Put the lining fabric bag into the bag and you are done.

How to Make a Lanyard

Materials:

• Fabric 43 x 3 inches
• Hook to attach your item to
• Scissors
• Thread
• Sewing Machine
• Iron

Step 1:  Cut your fabric out. (If you dont have long enough fabric cut 2 pieces of fabric to sew together to make longer)

Step 2:  Iron!

Step 3:  Fold the fabric in half (hot dog style) and press with your iron.

Step 4: Open the fabric back up and fold each outer edge towards the middle crease and iron

Step 5:  Fold again hot dog style and iron

Step 6: Top stitch the lanyard

Step 7:  Slide the fabric into the hook of your choice and sew the the two ends together creating a big loop and DONE!

How to Make a Case for Sunglasses or Eyeglasses

Materials:

• 1 Main fabric piece measuring 8X9 inches
• 1 Lining fabric piece measuring 8X9 inches
• 1 Piece of interfacing 7x8 inches
• 1 Piece of fabric (same as main fabric or lining fabric-you choose) 2x5 inches
• Scissors
• Thread
• Sewing Machine

Step 1:  Cut the main fabric and lining fabric to 8x9 inches.

Step 2:  Cut the interfacing fabric one inch shorter 7x8 inches.

Step 3:  Iron the fabric pieces flat and smooth

Step 4:  Lay the interfacing piece of fabric down on the wrong side of the main fabric and iron. I could iron on the interfacing with it facing me because only one side of my interfacing is fusible.

Step 5:  Lay the main fabric and the lining fabric, right sides together, and sew around the edge 1/4 inch and leave a hole about 2 inches or more so you can turn the fabric right side out.

Step 6:  Cut the excess fabric corners and turn right side out.

Step 7:  Iron the fabric flat

Step 8:  Take the 2x5 piece of fabric, fold in half and iron the crease. Open the fabric up and bring one edge to the middle/where you see the crease and iron that flat.  Do the same thing with the other side. Fold again to make a tab and sew a straight stitch down the tab.

Step 9:  Fold the main piece of fabric, right sides together with the tab about an inch from the top. You will sandwich the tab between the main pieces of fabric. (The lining fabric will show on the outside at this point.)

Step 10:  Sew around the fabric, except for the opening where the sunglasses will enter.

Step 11:  Turn right side out, iron, and DONE!

Wedding DIY

My Wedding DIY's

1. Centerpiece
I was trying to cut costs for the wedding so because flowers can be VERY pricey, I decided not to have flowers as centerpieces.  Instead I negotiated with my venue and they allowed me to borrow their hurricane glasses.

I thought about what I could do with these hurricane glasses, which they told me would be placed on a mirror with candles around it.

So after a lot of thought and many trips to Michael's Craft Stores, I came up with the idea of placing decorative beads at the base (in my colors of course!) and submersible LED lights (also in blue!).

I then decided that I could get cheap fake flowers in white, which I would recommend going to the dollar store, and put everything together.

When I put everything together the day before the wedding, I put the beads in the hurricane glass first, then the LED light, then the white flowers. I filled almost to the top with water and added a floating candle. DONE and it only cost me $20.  Yay for dollar store crafts! The most expensive thing was the LED lights.

The finished product (minus the floating candle-this was the day before the wedding)

I found a good youtube video showing a similar candle.

2. How I broke in my shoes
Buying wedding shoes, I thought... hmmm how about just flip flops. BUT come on... it was my wedding day and I deserve to be a little GLAM! The problem I find in general is finding shoes that I like that are also in my size since I have such small feet.  I generally wear between a 5-6 in women's or a 4 in kids... yes a 4 in kids! I could have had shoes that light up while walking down the aisle, but I thought that wouldn't fit with the traditional church wedding theme.  SO I found a pair of shoes online that I LOVED.  They were wedges and so I thought hey.. I could dance all night in wedges and they were not that pricey. Boom... ordered!

The day the shoes arrived I was super excited and naturally put them on right away. They fit and I could walk in them just fine, but I noticed after awhile, my toes started to pinch. OH NO! I needed to find a way to make the toe pinch stop. I tried EVERYTHING! I put big socks on and walked around the house while doing chores. I must say.. I think I looked pretty good in sweat pants and fancy shoes as I vacuumed the house, but it didn't help long term.  I tried blow drying the fabric as I wiggled my toes, I tried putting water in zip lock baggies and then putting the zip lock baggies in the shoes and then putting the shoes in the freezer overnight.  The goal was to stretch the shoe as the ice freezes and expands the toe, but that didn't work.

The day came where I was thinking man I am going to have to find different shoes, but then I found a shoe stretcher. Now I only needed the stretch in the toe.  I found these lovely miracles.  I stretched the toe out NO PROBLEM.  My shoes were super comfy for my wedding day.  I am not going to lie though.. they did come off during the reception as I danced like a lunatic, but that was more for coordination purposes.

3. How to make a card box
I wanted a pretty card box for people to put wedding cards in during the reception.  I kept finding that these boxes were kinda pricey.  The venue would have provided me a box for a charge, but hey... I'm crafty and was determined to figure it out.

I went to Micheal's..OF COURSE.. and found plain cardboard boxes in different sizes in order to have the tiered look.

I put the biggest box at the bottom and cut a rectangular sized hole in the top lid (so when the top box was glued on, the cards could fall to the bottom.) I purchased pretty paper at Michael's and navy blue ribbon (my colors where Navy and Silver).  I took my hot glue gun and glued the paper to every side of the big box and the little box.  On the top of the bottom box, I cut the paper to fit the hole-again we need those cards to be able to drop down! I then took the top lid and cut a long and thin rectangular slot for the cards to go through and glued the paper to the top matching the hole.  Once all of the paper was hot glued on, I hot glued the top box to the bottom.

Then I took the navy blue ribbon and glued the ribbon around the top sections of each box and hot glued pretty flowes to the finished boxes to add an extra detail!

4. How to make a placecard
If you are not sensing a theme yet... I am a bargain shopper and place cards were super pricey as well! My goodness, everything seemed to be so expensive and I knew that I could make something that I loved and was exactly what I envisioned.

I went to.. you guessed it.. MICHAEL'S... and bought 8 sheets of card stock paper in navy blue and sparkly silver.  They were 12 x 12.

I invested in a paper cutter and scorer, which was all in one.  I cut the navy blue paper 4 x 4 inches and scored at 2 inches so it was scored in half.  I then cut the silver paper slightly smaller, about 3 x 1 3/4 inches and glued the silver paper to the blue. I bought plain white labels and printed the guest names on the label and TA-DA! Done!

I even did my invitations and designed them and sent them to a printer and put everything together. It saved a lot of money and it was so much fun to do!