Gifts for my Sisters

Wow!! This week has FLOWN by! And all I have to show for it are these:

This is for my younger sister. Her birthday was in June... and I am just finishing it! But I was a little busy with things for the Middle Child's birthday! So anyway, this is the same style bag I did for my mom, here. It is the same style fabric, just different colors. My sister is a self proclaimed "River Rat" and loves the water so I used this fabulous Redwork design I got from my favorite embroidery site, Sew Forum!
I was so happy to have the aqua and green dot print in my stash since it went so well with the whole seahorse/ bubbles design! This was a great tutorial from tiny happy, she has some very pretty things on her blog and lots to share! I decided to use a snap closure instead of a button because... I FORGOT to sew in the loop when I was putting the outer bag and liner together!! Yeah, I've been having THAT kinda week! I thought only having the Boy would make it easier for me to get things done. HA! He is a HANDFUL and when the sisters aren't here to play with him.... guess who has to give ALL of her attention, ALL of the time!! So, although the snap closure is not as cute as a button ;) it will serve its purpose!

Next up, a handbag for my OLDER sister! Yes, I love saying that! She is OLDER than me! :) Actually come to think of it, she will be FORTY on her next birthday! Man, only a year left to say, " you are almost 40!" (I've been saying it since she was 38!) But you know what that means... after next year, it will be her turn to say, "HA! you are almost FORTY!" I guess that is fair! But, so far, she doesn't have a blog to tell everyone about it! ;) So enough of the sister-bashing, and on to the sister-love!

Happy belated birthday sister!

This is the Angel bag, I got the inspiration here. I say inspiration because, sadly I did not print out the actual instructions for making this bag, only the pattern pieces! Maybe if I wasn't so scattered-brain this week I would have and my bag would look HALF as nice as Lola's! But in my defense, wait... I have NONE!! Anyway, I did this bag with some remnants I had in my stash, The bottom overlay is off-white denim, and the top is linen! I love this fabric and wanted to make a skirt, but didn't have enough of it so it sat and sat and sat in my stash waiting for the right inspiration!

I decided to do a snap closer for this bag also, but didn't think the linen fabric would hold up very well with all of the opening and closing. So I used an idea I got from an Amy Butler book, and made a flap. To "dress up" the flap I used an idea I got from the awesomely talented Stephanie of MooBear Designs. Now had I stopped and actually used this tutorial, perhaps mine would have been as FABULOUS as Stephanie's. Oh well, next time!

Stephanie and her husband, Carlos make the most awesome clothing using artwork from their oh-so-talented children, then sew it on organic cotton tees using recycled materials! Check them out!

I did not use any type of interfacing for either bag because when I think of summer bags, I think... slouchy. You know, just throw in a few things and go! I am sure I will get LOTS of feedback from my sisters about what they like and especially DON'T like about the bags. But, that is how I learn what works and what doesn't.

So I am off to hopefully finish painting the loft beds before it is time to go pick up our girls from my folks. Maybe I'll take a picture to show you this MAMMOTH of a creation my awesome man made for our children. But only if I can do it without showing how extremely messy the room is! Have a great weekend! Until later...