Easter Tote Bags

I am really excited about my newest project. I took a variation of the large tote bags I have been doing and made super cute Easter bags for my kids.

These are awesome, because they are the perfect size for an Easter egg hunt and they will stand up on their own. You don't have to worry about the eggs falling out and some other kiddo swiping them :) I also love the small handles. I debated on this for a while, as to whether they should be short or long and I finally decided short was best. They are perfect for holding and still big enough to slide an arm through. I am working on some ideas for other appliques, but these were my first two ideas.

The bags are natural canvas which is nice and sturdy, a must when it comes to little ones. The chick is made with fleece, so it is soft and fuzzy, and the egg is flannel. I used embroidery thread for the face. Of everything, that was the hardest part only because the material is so thick.

This one took a little more time, only because it has a lot of decoration. The egg is flannel with ribbon and button accents. I think I am ging to make another one with pink, yellow, and purple designs. Some other design options in the works are bunnies, flowers, and maybe even a chocolate bunny :).

The finished size on these is 12 inches wide at the top (with the base being slightly smaller) by 8 inches tall.

I am planning on embroidering the kids names on the back and putting a small piece of velcro on the inside to help keep the eggs in when the fun is done.

I am thinking about selling these for $10 each. If you are interested in buying one, please comtact me at jennuinearticle@gmail.com

Canvas Tote Bags

This is an exciting time for The Jennuine Article. I recently completed my first custom order. A family friend got married this weekend and asked me to make toe bags as gifts for her bridesmaids. Such a great idea, by the way. I made four identical tote bags with custom embroidered monogramming. As a side note, I am in love with my new machine :)

I don't have the greatest pictures, because of course I was in such a rush to make sure they were done and to her in time, that I didn't take photos of them all when I finished. So, the best I have is some pics taken with with my phone.

Here is a close up of the embroidery, and yes I did that with my own machine. You can also see the custom tags I made with my logo on them.

I have had so many people already wanting to buy one, that I will soon be taking orders an putting them up for sale. Here is a preview of the next bag I am making. This one is for my grandmother.

I love these fabrics together. I will keep you posted on my progress.

Baby Doll Accessory Set

I found this really cute tutorial for a baby doll kit. I did make a really cute bag for it, but forgot to take a picture of it. I can't believe I did that. Here is the link to the original tutorial. I am going to be making Chloe one once I get some down time. (Does that ever really happen?)

Sissy is doing such a great job modeling isn't she? The set includes a changing pad, wipes case with wipes, three diapers, powder and diaper cream.

I know the diaper cream looks more like lipstick, but hey it was my first time! Next time I'll make the wipes case a little bigger so the wipes are easier to get in.

The diapers fit a medium size doll. I think she is a 15 inch doll. Small than the large Cabbage Patch doll, but bigger than the small one, if that makes any sense. Does that show my age that I use Cabbage Patch dolls to reference doll size? These were actually pretty fun to make. I'm looking forward to making the next batch.

Car Cozy

I decided to make these for all the little guys this year. Of course, I didn't get them all done, so some of them will be getting theirs for their birthday instead. Head on over here to see a tutorial on how to make it yourself. I love this idea for taking to restaurants. My little guy is almost 18 months and doesn't stay interested in crayons for long. Not to mention they end up in his mouth at some point during the visit.

These can be made with any theme too. I made a dinosaur one for my nephew's birthday. I forgot to take a picture to show you though. I did that several times with gifts this year. I guess I get so excited about giving them their gift that I forget. Oh well. This is what it looks like all rolled up. You can easily throw this in a diaper bag or keep it in the car.

Puffy Christmas Ornament

 For MOPS this year, we had an ornament exchange and I decided to make something special. It came out exactly like I envisioned it, but I originally planned to put decorations on it. However, every time I tried to add something to it, I didn't like it. So I decided to let the design speak for itself.

 

Thanksgiving dress

I have been hanging on to this pattern for about a year. I love the style and the options, but I didn't have the courage to try it until now.

I decided to try it when I found this really cute piece of Fall fabric. I got a great deal on it, of course. I decided to start with the dress and since the pattern was so busy, I looked through my stash and found the rust colored material to use for the sleeves and ruffle. The buttons were in the stash that my mom and mom-in-law gave me, thanks again!!! It was a little harder than I thought, but still pretty easy. Here is how it came out.

Little Miss was so excited about her "photo shoot". She really got into it. I probably took 30 pictures.

The pictures in the shade came out a little fuzzy. I think it turned out well for my first attempt. I probably could have made it a size smaller. I ended up taking in the side a little so it wouldn't be so big. I'm sure I will be making more of these in everyday prints. Here are some more pictures from our photo shoot. Enjoy!



Minky Chenille Blankees

I have been putting off this project for about a month.

I found a white piece of this fabric as a remnant and planned to make a blankee for my new nephew due in February. I am still going to make it, but a week later I found two more pieces of white and a piece of blue on remnant. Score!!! I payed around $2 for each piece and still have leftovers for bibs and burp cloths. The most expensive part is the binding. However, I have seen blankets similar to these selling for $64!!! Can you believe it. Click here to see for yourself. And that is without a binding. I think I spent around $10 for each of them.

As you can see, it looks great even without a binding. I haven't put the binding on the pink one yet because I didn't have the right color thread. I plan to get it done tonight or tomorrow. It is purple with Disney princesses on it. 

Here is a close-up of the material. It is so soft and comfy, but not too heavy. Being that we live in Florida, I didn't want a really heavy blanket for the kids. I did make it a little bigger than a baby blanket though so It will cover them better as they get bigger. The kids love them and now I am excited to get working on Baby Ryan's. It will have to wait until after Christmas though :)

Paper Bag Skirt

I found a great tutorial online for a "Paper Bag Skirt".

 I love finding cute ideas and it's a bonus if someone is going to show me step-by-step how to do it. It came out really cute and it was so easy. I found the Owl corduroy as a remnant at Joann Fabrics for $2 and only used half of it. The pockets were brown cord left over pieces from another project, so only $1 for this super cute skirt.

The shirt and leggings were on clearance at Walmart. I am not quite ready to make knits yet. That is a whole other level. I couldn't get her to cooperate for the pics, but you get the idea. I am so ready to make another one, but Christmas presents first. I am excited though. I found a really cute piece of Zebra print corduroy that I can't wait to use. I am thinking hot pink pockets for it. What do you think?

Halloween Costumes

Here are the kids costumes for Halloween. This year I made a Tinkerbell costume for Chloe and Pirate Costumes for Logan and Gavin. I also made trick-or-treat bags for all of them and Sydney. Yes, I might be a little crazy, but I love it anyway. I am finished with everything except Logan's bag. I am going to whip it up tonight. Sorry if these aren't the best pics, but I plan to get the best shots on Sunday. I will update this afterwards and get some shots of all the kids.

These are Gavin and Logan's costumes. I wanted to make them the same, but not exactly so I switched the colors and patterns around. Mark thinks they look like theme park pirate costumes, but I think they look cute for a 3 year old and a 1 year old.

 Not the best picture of Gavin. I found really cute hats after these were taken, so the Halloween night pics will be much better.

This shows the back. Ignore the strawberry stains on Logan's face :)

I bought the pirate hat at Goodwill for 75 cents and this is the bag I made for Sydney. She is dressing up as Cinderella.

So I did a lot of bargain hunting for my materials and I really scored. I used remnant pieces for both pirate costumes, Sydney's bag, Chloe's bag (not pictured yet) and the tulle tutu for Chloe. These are just estimated, but here are my totals per costume.

Pirate costumes and bags for both boys - $3

Dress, tutu, & bag for Tinkerbell costume - $10

Cinderella bag - $1 or less

Accessories (hats, wings, wands and swords) - $3-4

Not bad for 3 kids considering store bought costumes are between $20 & $40 a piece. Crazy huh. Yes it did take some time and effort, but I love doing these kinds of things for my kids. Post your comments below and let me know what you think.

Fabric Pumpkin Tutorial

If you like the picture of fabric pumpkins I found for my background, go here for a tutorial on how to make them. They look really cute. Let me know if you make them and share your pics.

The Ruffle Purse for kids

I made my first sewing gift. I'm pretty happy with it. I made this purse for Taylor for her second birthday. Here is the link to the pattern and directions if anyone wants to try it out. It is pretty easy if you have some basic sewing know-how. It took me a few hours to make it after I cut out all of the pieces. Next time should be quicker though since I am familiar with it now.

I did find that I had a few glitches with the pattern. The next time I make it, I will wait to cut the fabric for the lining and fusible fleece until I have the outer layer done. I don't know if I made my seam allowances too small, but the inner lining was smaller than the outer layer. Not too difficult to fix though.

 Sorry about the lighting and picture quality. I forgot to take the pictures at home and had to take it right before I gave it to her. I hope she likes it.

I bought plenty of fabric, so I could make one for Chloe too. I'm hoping that I have enough material left to make a matching dress too.

Welcome to The Jennuine Article

I am starting this blog to not only document my journey as a crafter, but help myself and others. I am wise enough to know that I don't have enough wisdom in this area. I feel like I have been crafting my entire life, but there is som much I don't know. I know there are more of you out there that feel the same way. I also know, there are some very wise people out there that have been doing this much longer than me that I would love to learn from. I am new to blogging, so please forgive me if I haven't figured out all the specifics of this site yet. I am a quick learner and will soon get the hang of it. This is definitely a work in progress. Thanks for visiting my blog and come back often to see all the exciting projects being highlighted.