Library Tote bags *a sewing project*

Oh hello there Wednesday! Looking forward to this reminder that it's midweek. It makes the counting down to the weekend exciting.

 

Today's post is a share on my latest sewing project.

 

My family and I ADORE our library! We save money by borrowing our books and videos there. You might say that it's one of our "life savers"!

 

About two weeks ago, my Maddie told me that she wanted her own library bag. I have this big tote that I use to carry all of our checked out materials and I also keep their cards for them. Her request made me think that maybe it is time for them to carry their own stuff. I think they can be responsible enough for it.

 

So with that, I decided to create them their own library bags. There's so many cute ideas on how to alter plain canvas bags in Pinterest but with my budget and trying to make the most of what I already have, I rummaged through my fabric stash and had enough leftovers of this yellow and green felt that would fit my project and so that's what I ended up going with.

 

I'm combining some type of tutorial with this post as I'm sure I'm not the only one that adored the final result of this project. :)

 

So when tackling this project, I first made notes of what I need to consider for these bags and they are:
1. It need to be a good size for the kids to carry. Not too big for their little hands but big enough to handle even the biggest books that our library might carry.
2. It needed to have a space/place for their library cards and that this space need to be efficient so the card won't be burried underneath all the books or get lost.
3. The bags need to show off some of their personality so they will be proud to carry it.
4. It needs to be an easy project for this mama to actually fulfill. :)

The supplies I used:
Felt by the yard. I didn't measure mine as it was a leftover from another project but if I were to guess-stimate, I would say, get at least 1 yard of each color you want to use.
Wide ribbon (about 1 1/2") for the top edge of the bag for a finished look.
Matching sewing machine thread.
Extra felt for the images/shape you want in the front.
Template for the shape you want on your bag. Mine was made with a Cricut cartridge. I cut out the shape first on cardstock and then traced that on the back of my corresponding felt.
Pinking shears
Sewing Machine
Wonder under (that thing that helps you stick a fabric to another)
Plastic name tag holder
Chain
Extras: button, needle, thread, marker

First step: I made a sketch of how I wanted the final bag to look like and through this sketch, I made my initial measurements. I then translated those measurements to my fabric which is:
2 pieces of 12 1/2 x 12 1/2" of felt
3 pieces of 12 1/2 x 4 1/2" of felt
3 pieces of ribbon (1- 12 1/2 in length and 2- 4 1/2 in length)
2 pieces of felt strap measuring 2 x 18"

After my measurements, I worked on my shape cuts. I had the children pick the animal shape they want, cut that out on cardstock using my Cricut machine. I added some fusible paper on the back of my felt choices. I then traced the animal shapes and then cut out the shape.

Next, I ironed on the shape/s to one 12 1/2 x 12 1/2 felt piece, centering it. I ran it through my sewing machine to give it a finished look. I also added my final touches like the button eye for my bird and the handdrawn eyes and smile on my dinosaur.

I cut the edges of the bag straps with pink shears and then ran it through my sewing  machine, creating a straight stitch on the inside of the edge, oh about 1/4" from the zigzag end.

I folded the strap in half and one of the bigger blocks of felt. This helped me figure out the center. From the center of the felt block, I eyeballed about 5" from the center and pinned each end of the strap. I then sewn it on the felt block twice (on the back side of the fabric) . I repeated this step for the other felt block.

To cover the sewing of the straps and also to give the edge of the felt bag a finished look, I sewn it the wide ribbon strap. Do this for the two 12 1/2 square felt blocks and two of the 4 1/2" wide felt blocks.

Next I sewn the side panels (4 1/2" wide felt pieces) to one of the 12 1/2" square felt block. Make sure you sew them on the back side of the fabric.  Sew them on the left and right side of the felt block. Make sure you align the tops together perfectly. This is made easier to check by the ribbons you have sewn on the top.

Then I attached the other felt block to the side panels.

The last one I attached was the bottom portion. I added the piece with pins so it won't move around while I stitch the piece to the rest of the bag. Turn over your bag and voila you have your own library/tote bag!

To add the library card pocket, place library card in the insert of the plastic name tag cover and then thread the chain link through the hole on the top. Wrap around one of the straps and fasten to close.

 

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have enjoyed my sewing tutorial. What about you?  What's your next sewing project?

 

Till next time,

Grace

Kid's Field day at school

Befor I start my story today, I want to give a little time to tell you why I share my family's stories here on this blog. I was watching the news this morning and found out that there's a blogger who takes the time to search the internet for parents that "overshare" their family's stories in the world wide web. It was said that this person, rips the bloggers stories and makes fun of their need to over share everything.

 

This made me think....do I overshare? maybe! but there's some personal reasons why I put up pictures and stories for all to read....1. Our dear family is far away from us. We are states apart and through this medium, I'm able to keep grandma and lola (gandma in tagalog) updated with the kid's activities. It's been nice to put up stories and accompany it with photos so they can visualize our life even if they're miles away.

 

The second reason is because I'm a memory keeper and having an ongoing journal to save all the stories while they're still fresh in my mind helps me build my "scrapbook" pages even before I print the photos and pull out my scrapbook products. It helps me be efficient and organized.

 

Everyone has a reason why they "share" stories and those are mine. If this blogger happen to stumble upon my blog and try to rip it and make fun of why I do what I do..I know not to be offended because I'm not doing this for him/her or any other stranger out there but only for me and my family.

 

Sorry for the rant, anyways...so about two weeks ago, on a Friday, the kid's school held their annual Field Day. It was a time for the kids to try out some physical activities and family's are welcome to support and cheer on their students. It had been a rainy week but the sun came out that day and it was a beautiful time to be outdoors...

 

I took lots and lots of photos as I usually do but to save my sanity, I'm posting a collage of photos for both kiddos with highlights of their activities instead....

Marcus did good with his events. He managed to get a blue ribbon (first place) in the feet tied relay race (sorry I don't know exactly what it's called). His ribbons were all over the board getting 3-6th place in the rest of his events. During the "cross country" event, he didn't had any energy or motivation to complete the whole race running. He walked the end tail of it which saddened me a little since I was cheering my heart out for him. I guess his energy was zapped and couldn't pull himself to push through. Oh well, I'm still proud of his achievement and now I know what I need to do to help him be more motivated to finish something and give it his best.

Maddie is my over achiever! She worked hard in getting all of her placements and getting an even number of 2nd and 1st place ribbons. You can tell that she's not going to take the easy way out by how she managed herself during her events. Was so proud of her. :)

 

So that's our Field Day 2012 experience.

 

Now off to enjoy the nice day today which I welcome after a C-O-L-D weekend. Can the Fall season really be over in my neck of the woods?

 

Till next time,

Grace

Ebook Giveaway winner + Layout share

Happy Monday. Today I'm feeling refreshed and ready for what life will throw at me. I just spend the weekend being spiritually uplifted by messages from my church leaders and I am inspired! I hope that inspiration will translate to some crafty projects cause I'm really itching on creating this week. :)

 

Ok so last week I had a giveaway for this great ebook from Big Picture Classes and Ella Publishing

 

We had three participants and the lucky winner according to Random.org is...

 

and that is...

 Kate aka stinkydudette said...

I'm still loving the chevron and hexagon trend!!

 

Congratulations Kate. Please email me at graceelainetolmanatyahoodotcom so I can send you the info on how to get your copy of the this book. Thanks to all that participated and I hope that all of my crafty blog readers will look into this ebook as I've personally enjoyed the read, not to mention the plethora of inspiring pages as well.

 

And of course this post won't be complete without any crafty share so here's mine today...

 

Homemade Easter

I made this page to document how I sewn my daugther's Easter skirt and my son's tie this year for Easter. I wanted them to look sharp and used whatever sewing skills I have to make it happen.

I had this made by hand tag from GCD Studios that I'd been keeping for that perfect project and I was so happy that I finally found a home for it in this page. I misted the doily orange so it can match the page better.

I'm into handwriting my journaling lately. Fast and adds that personal touch as well.

I used some banner stickers from Lily Bee Design to add the "celebratory" feel of this page.

So that's it. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great start to your week.

Till next time,
Grace

Some new items at the store

Hello friends. I'm so glad that this week is over and looking forward to some quiet and spiritual time during this weekend at it is the General Conference weekend for our church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints). For those not familiar with General Conference, this is the time where our latter day prophet and other leaders talk to us members about things that would improve our lives and make us better saints and individuals. I treasure these times as I'm reminded of the value I have as a child of God and at the same time it gives me the needed reminders on how I can better my life.

 

One way I better my life lately is to make things that just makes me happy. No deadlines, no assignments, no pressure.

 

I made a few things that I love recently and had put them in my Etsy shop.

So if you are trying to get started on those Holiday handmade gift buying or you just want to browse to see what I've done recently....check my Etsy store here.

 

Thanks for stopping by oh and don't forget my Scrap Chic E-book Giveaway ends today. To learn more about it, click here.

 

Till next time,

Grace

Lacking cake decorating skills

Hello friends, Today is my daugther's birthday. She is celebrating the big SEVEN! Well it's not really big BUT in her eyes...it is HUGE! I too am feeling that it's a big number since she is my last child and that means that it's been seven years since I had a little person growing in my tummy. Seven years? could it have really been that long already?

 

Anyways she had requested that I made her a cake and/or cupcakes. I have a book that has all sorts of well decorated cakes and I do have a good recipe for fondant but I have to tell you (and for the first time, I am admitting this out loud) that I DO NOT have any cake decorating skills! I can spread frosting on a cake but that's about it. Here are some cake ideas that Maddie and I oohhhed and aaaahhheed over but unfortunately both her and I know that her mama won't be able to replicate it...

 

 

 

 

she about screamed with this one....

 

see even this one seems less threatening at first but then I studied the detail on that crown and oh my, my stress level started going up the roof!

 

So after much debate and searching around, we are going to "attempt" to make her something like this. I figured with a flower cutter and some colorful fondants we "might" be able to make something decent. What do you think?

 

Thanks for stopping by and now I'm off to create something that would look decent and still be edible. Wish me luck!

 

BTW, all images found on Pinterest. You can find my cake pins on my pinterest board, link is on the side bar. :)

 

Till next time,

Grace

 

Creative Memories projects

 A while back Creative Memories had a big event called "Showcase". Consultants and Creative Memories lovers from all over converge to this conference to celebrate their passion for memory keeping. I was fortunate enough to have had a couple of projects displayed during this event. Come take a peek at them with me....

 

Taking the Leap

to recreate this project, click here.

 

 A Divine Love card

to recreate this project, click here.

 

Happy Wednesday.

 

Till next time,

Grace

Documenting Documentaries

About two weeks ago we had to let go of Netflix. Although it was a sad time for me as I was in the middle of a new found series and have enjoyed the show tremendously, I had to find "entertainment" somewhere else. So off I went to our local library. We've been borrowing our movies there but this time I spent sometime going through the libraries collection of documentaries. I've come across three. They were all great and so I felt I needed to share my thoughts on them to my blog readers.

 

If you've never liked documentaries, please try these three and if you are on the opposite side of the spectrum where you just absolutely crave documentaries then maybe here's three that are worth catching.

 

(click on the titles to learn more)

 

 The September Issue

 

I am a big "Devil Wears Prada" movie fan. I loved Merryl Streep and all the fashion that was in that movie. This documentary is the real deal. It featured the editor of Vogue and how she and her team put together the biggest issue of the year for American Vogue...the September Issue. I found it fascinating, inspiring and intriguing. The fashion was outstanding and seeing how a fashion magazine gets put together was educational. As someone who is creative, this was a good eye opener for me on how creative people make a living doing what they do best. Another lesson I learned from this one is that everything is subjective. It doesn't matter if I think what I make is good enough, if the editors of the magazine doesn't think so, it'll never be seen in any publication. It would never be about the creator but the creation! A thought I always try to think about especially when a project of mine doesn't get picked up by the scrapbook magazines.  

 

The Medicated Child

 

This documentary was an eye opener to me. Most of you know that I have a son who was diagnosed with ADHD earlier this year. One of the things that we have tried to maintain for him is the decision of not giving him medication. This is a personal choice and I am not judging those that have chosen otherwise for themselves or their love ones. Anyway, This documentary which was years in the making because the Frontline crew were following kids that started medication at 5 years old and at the end of the film, the same kids were being interviewed at 16. After watching it,  I had an overwhelming fear on what medications can do to my child. I knew before watching it that I was not going to go the medication route if I can possibly can, but after seeing the film I knew that medication is definitely not an option. It's just scary crazy of what the side effects can be for my dear child. I would never want to put him in harms way and risk him getting side effects that would affect him for the rest of his life. Like I said, I'm mentioning this not because I judge people that do have their loved ones on medication. I'm sharing this because this documentary had made an impact on how I view medication for children and maybe this might help someone out there trying to get answers like me.

 

Waiting for Superman 

 

Wow, another fantastic film! This one is all about  the American Public School System and how it's needing some major reforms. I was touched by the stories of families putting their children's education and future in the hands of a lottery system because their home school's won't be able to give their kids the education they so need and deserve. I cried a few times when parents that have sacrificed everything heard the sad news that their kids didn't make it to the charter or preparatory school that they've applied for. It reminded me of the time when, back in California, I went in front of my school district's board and pleaded my case to let my, then kindergarten, son to go to another school in a different district because of it being a magnet school. They denied me and I felt so defeated. I cried all the way home. At that time I felt like as a parent, I didn't have any choice on where I can take my child for his/her education. I was brought up in the Philippines where education was a choice. Yes you have to pay money for private schools and might have to travel hours to get to a public school that had better ratings....but you still had a choice! I found this documentary to be PROFOUND, a definite must-see, especially if you are a parent with school age children.

If you're wondering whatever happened to my son's case...I took it all the way to the Los Angeles School board and I won! It was by some kind of miracle of course but I was able to show to the school board that I would not let them choose this for me. I would fight to give my children the best education that I can offer them.

 

If you've read all the way through....THANK YOU....for reading my thoughts and if you have any comments please don't hesitate to leave them in the comment section. I would love to hear what kind of documentaries you've seen recently so I can borrow them from our local library and try it for myself. If you disagree with my points here, I'd like you to share your thoughts as well BUT please be considerate of your words.

 

Thanks.

 

Till next time,

Grace

 

Scrap Chic Ebook Giveaway

Hello friends and hello October! I still can't believe that we only have 3 months left for 2012. And looking at my calendar, it seems like it's gonna go fast with all of the days filling up with holiday activities and such. Oh just thinking about it makes my head swirl!

 

Anyways, today I'm sharing an ebook I recently read with you. Part of the perk of being an Ella Friend this year is that we have access to some really good ebooks this year. Big Picture classes and Ella Publishing recently released their newest title and it's called...Scrap Chic.

Here's a little info about this read...

Learn how to avoid "trend takeover" with help from 14 of the biggest names in scrapbooking, from Ali to Zielske!
Honoring trends can make you feel inspired and energized, truly reinvigorating your scrapbooking. The trick is to keep the trends in check and make them work within your own personal style, so they don't overwhelm the story you're trying to tell.
In 36 inspiring pages, you'll learn insider secrets for showcasing your best stories using today's top trends. You'll also enjoy plenty of bonus tricks, from design ideas to product tips to journaling solutions.
See our designers' takes on: clotheslines, hexagons, ombre, sunburst, wood grain and more—plus a dozen bonus trends to add to your scrapbooker's toolbox.
* 14 top trends with 2 examples for each
* 14 diverse, well-known scrapbookers
* 36 pages of ideas and inspiration

The 14 contributors to this eBook were all featured in the 2012 Big Idea Festival (2012) at bigpictureclasses.com. They include: Ali Edwards, Amy Sorensen, Angie Lucas, Becky Novacek, Cathy Zielske, Courtney Walsh, Karen Grunberg, Lisa Dickinson, May Flaum, Nichol Magouirk, Rebecca Cooper, Stacy Julian, Stephanie Baxter, and Wendy Smedley. (sorry I couldn't get the picture any bigger)

and here's a little peek for you of what you can expect inside this fantastic book...

 

I personally immersed myself with this book early last week and I have to say, reading and seeing all the wonderful projects featured in this book made me want to create right away. It's filled with insights and ideas to make trends work with our story+photo documentation, whatever style that maybe.

 

So here's the fun part for you, my lovely blog readers....

 

You have a chance to win this ebook

 

So here's the deal-yo.... there are three chances to win this great class...

1. Comment on this post telling me what's your favorite scrapbook trend right now.

2. Subscibe to this blog, by adding yourself in the Google Friend Connect tab on the right side bar (if your already a follower, just leave a comment saying so)

3. Share this post to your facebook and/or blog.

 

Make sure you comment on each one so I can count each comment as your entry. Giveaway will be open till Friday, October 5th at midnight (Mountain time). I will announce the winner on Monday October 8th.

 

so for now if you want to learn more about this book and any other titles from the Ella Publishing library, click here.

 

thanks for stopping by and Have a fantastic fall week!

 

Till next time,

Grace

Altered Cigar Gift Box

Hello friends. It's Friday and thank goodness! This busy bee is looking forward to the weekend and hopefully the "break" that comes with it.

 

One of my favorite things to do is to visit my local thrift and antique stores. I can spend hours in these stores and I'm always on the lookout for that great find. I was very happy when I scored this wood cigar box for $2 in a recent visit to an antique store. I love the shape and because its wood I know that whatever I do with it, it will last for a long time.

 

I decided to give it some paper love and turn it into a gift box. I figured the gift box is pretty general, I can fill it with treats or a special gift and the box itself would be an extra gift as well.

 

So after some measuring, cutting the papers to the measurments and a few more embellishments for extra measure of cuteness this is what I turned it into....

 

PULLED OUT FOR PUBLICATION

 

I used papers from Handmade collection of Lily Bee Design. I love the bright, fun colors which is perfect for a gift box. I made a big rosette flower for my title and added white paint on the edges for some texture and added design. I love how the banner stickers emphasize the celebratory feel of this project.

 

Now it's ready to be filled with goodies.

 

So now it's your turn....what kind of thrift store/garage sale/antique store treasure have you scored lately?

 

Till next time,

Grace

Marcus' Scout Bike Rodeo

I love having a cub scout for a son. He's learned so many things through the program and he's extra handsome when he's in his Scout uniform. :)

 

Last week our pack had their annual bike rodeo. The boys got to ride their bikes around the church's parking lot for 1 whole mile without stopping and they got to practice their hand signals too. They even got to ride around cones and learned what were the different parts of a bike. Over all my little man accomplished a lot in a span of an hour. Here's some photos of the activity...

 

at the end they were given some popcorn balls and handmade chocolate treats for refreshments. My son gave this activity an A+.

Do you have scout in your home? What is your most unforgettable scout activity?

Till next time,
Grace