Primary Bag

I was called into the Primary in our new ward. I am the new Sunbeam teacher. I am truly excited to see how this adventure goes! As such, I needed a bag big enough to carry all my sweet materials and to act as a diaper bag, as well.


I bought a canvas bag at the D.I. for $1.50. I came home and personalized it! Not only will people know it is my bag, but it perfect for primary!

Sunglass holder

Over the weekend I bought a new pair of sunglasses. Usually I hate spending a ton of money on sunglasses.  But we were at a softball tournament and the sun was blaring in my eyes.  I began getting a headache from squinting, so we while at the Gunnison Market, I decided to buy some glasses.

I spent $11 on them, which I think was way too much. I'm happy with $5 ones.  But I was desperate and my husband was willing to let me buy them.  Because of this, I want to make sure these babies last a long time. I decided to make a case for them so that I can throw them in my purse. My purse is full of everything and I knew they would get scratched up in no time.

It was easy! Things you'll need:

-2 different kinds of fabric (if you like) One fabric a softer one. I had velvet-like fabric
-ribbon
-all your sewing necesities

First, cut your fabric. This is the tricky part, since all sunglasses are different sizes.  But I just measured mine and pretty much guessed. I ended up cutting my fabric 6 x 9 inches.

If you are thinking this doesn't look like the right measurements, you are right. It ended up being really small.

I have 2 different fabrics. I wanted a softer material for the inside, so I took one of each fabric. Right sides, facing in, sew all around, except for the top. This will of course be the opening.

Clip the excess. And turn inside out.  Take the other two fabrics and do the same thing.

Making sure right sides are facing in, combine both pieces and sew. Here is the tricky part. I had to have a seem that was 5/8 so that it would fit my glasses.  Simply measure what yours would be. Then sew all around, except for the top.  Snip excess fabric and turn inside out!

Next, we will make the casing.  Fold 1/4 inch then 1/2 inch, then sew leaving about 1/2 opening for the ribbon.

Take a safety pin, and then pull through.

 Tie knots at the ends. I did double knots. Then pull together and your case will close!

There you have it!

Dresses

I've been dress happy the past couple of days. I found this cute pattern and I've made a few already.  If you have a little girl, or know someone who does, or have to get a baby shower gift, this is cute and simple and cost hardly anything! 

Here are some of the dresses I did.

 My flower child

 She is so happy!

She's mid-chew with banana bread. Love this dress!

You should try this super easy tutorial!

Portions

Big plates usually means big portions.  At least that is what my husband believes.  So, in order to get healthy we have decided to use different plates.  We have 2 sets, a large set and a smaller set.

I can't remember where I heard/saw it, but to help with portion sizes, a simple solution is to use a smaller plate! Makes sense!  So, that is what we are doing now.  It really has helped.  And if you want seconds, that's okay because your first serving was relatively small.

So start small to a healthier you and use smaller plates at dinner time!

Grocery Bag Holder

This is my pathetic grocery bag holder. I'm disgusted that I even bought it.  But I think I was desperate because grocery bags were getting out of control.  It had never occurred to me to make one. My brain can be a bit slow sometimes. Anyway, I got the idea from make it love it
I made some changes and followed the basic concept.  So, I guess I am doing what she did, but with my own twist.





Things you will need and will most likely already have if you are a sewer:

• Fabric cut into16x5 inches (4 peices)
• The top strip and bottom strip, I made wider 16x6
• elastic (1/4 inch or smaller) one piece 11 in the other 6 1/2 in
• Strip of ribbon 14 inches
• Grocery Bags

The first thing to do is sort through your fabric and choose what colors/patterns you want for your grocery bag holder. It doesn't have to totally match-Make it fun!  Cut out the strips. 

One thing I didn't do, and should have done right in the beginning was sew all the strips together. Be sure to sew the seams open as well.  I learned the hard way, but it's okay, it still turned out great!

The next part you will be sewing the elastic to both the bottom and top.  This will probably the hardest part (even though it's not) of the actually trash bag holder.

Make the casing for the elastic, fold 1/4 inch and fold again 1/3 inch over that.  Just eyeball it, I didn't whip out the measuring table. Sew it up and do the same with the top piece of the fabric.

Take the piece of elastic and pin a safety pin through it. Use the smaller piece of elastic for the bottom (this is where the grocery bags will be able to be pulled out) The larger piece is for the top.  

Sew the edge of the elastic to one end of the fabric.  Then pull the rest of the elastic using the safety pin and sew the other edge to the other side of the fabric.  It will look scrunchy. Do the same thing with the other piece of fabric and elastic.

Like I said, I didn't sew my pieces of fabric in the beginning so don't be alarmed that this piece is standing alone. It's my top piece.  Pin the piece of ribbon to either side of your top piece.

 To make it easier (as I eyeballed this) you can pin the pieces together so you can see it as a whole, then pin piece of ribbon accordingly.

Make sure top in in place and then you will sew it in place.

 I made two stitchings. I wanted to be sure this sucker wasn't going to rip off. Sew in several times over to secure in place.

Now all that is left is to sew the sides together. Make sure your fabric is inside out while you sew up the entire piece. When you are done, turn inside out and stuff with grocery bags!

This is so easy to munipulate--meaning you can change the width, the length of your grocery bag.  You can do it all one piece or several pieces. I just really liked the way all these pieces of fabric looked together.