Camera Strap Slipcover

My friend, Kristen, celebrated her birthday a couple weeks ago, and since she loves photography and has a nice camera, I decided to make her a camera strap slipcover. I had seen lots of examples of slipcovers on-line, but my favorites had ruffles, and I decided to make a ruffled one for Kristen. I found this tutorial, and then I added the ruffle myself. I used knit fabric for the ruffle to make it feel soft and so it wouldn't ravel.

It is just a long tube that slides right onto the strap and can be easily removed.

This was a very east project, and Kristen said that the cover fit her Nikon strap well.

I am saving for a nicer, dslr camera, and when I get one, I will be making a cute strap cover of my own! One of the ways I am trying to save money for a camera is by using my Swagbucks to buy Amazon gift cards. If you haven't tried Swagbucks, I would encourage you to try it. It is a search engine (similar to Google), and you are randomly rewarded "swagbucks" when you do internet searches. You can redeem you swagbucks for prizes. I like to use mine to get Amazon gift cards, and in the past couple years, Jim and I have probably earned about $200 worth of Amazon gift cards by using Swagbucks. It is free to use, and it is so easy! If you would like to sign up for Swagbucks, I have a link on the sidebar of my blog. We love Swagbucks (and the rewards)!

A Rice Bag and a (R)ice Pack

One of my recent sewing projects has been rice bags. I've made about 7 in the past couple of months! I found the idea and tutorial here (another blog I've been loving recently!). I made them as Christmas gifts for all the ladies in my family, and I've been asked to make a few more. My mother-in-law's apartment building wants me to make some for them to sell at a fund-raiser!
These are very easy to make, and they are nice for aches and pains, or even to just warm yourself up. To use your rice bag, put it in the microwave on high for 2 minutes (with a paper towel underneath it), and then you put it wherever you want it. I've heard that they are also good for women in labor.
I decided to make a small one for Drew and put it in the freezer for when he gets a bump. I cut a 6 inch by 12 inch piece of fabric for his (r)ice pack, and I used a cup and a half of rice to fill it. I made this rice bag for Jim's aunt. I used a 25 inch by 12 inch piece of fabric here, and I used six cups of rice (a cup and a half in each section).

Here they are together.

These are a fun little gift idea or something nice to make to pamper yourself. I still need to make one for myself!

New Purse

A few weekends ago, Jim was gone overnight playing in a golf tournament. I wanted a fun little project that I could do while he was gone, and I remembered a purse pattern I had bought a while ago when Simplicity patterns were on sale at Joann's for $1 each. The pattern I used was Simplicity 2685. I wanted something that would be fun and casual for the summer, so I chose this plaid patchwork and denim. The purse came together very quickly, and the instructions were easy to follow. I was nervous to do the inside welt pocket, so I skipped it, and I wish that I had put a snap in the band (the pattern didn't call for one), but other than those things, I followed the pattern and am happy with the results.

I am enjoying this new purse and am looking forward to making another one some time.

Crayon Roll-Up

I made this crayon roll-up for Drew this week, so that he can take his crayons with us when we go places. I followed this tutorial on the Fiskars website. We chose the Thomas fabric because Thomas is Drew's favorite!

This was a fairly easy project, and I think it is something that will come in handy.

And, of course, anything with Thomas is always popular with Drew!

Tooth Fairy Pillow

After a month of blog neglect, I am finally back. We've had a busy month! My parents were here the first week of July, and then Drew and I travelled home to Greenville, SC with them (by way of St. Louis, MO and Paducka, KY) and then spent the next week there. When we got back, our laptop started having problems, and we've been without it for the past two weeks. We got it back from the computer repair shop over the weekend (while my sister Nora and her boyfriend Clarke were here visiting). Our computer seems to be in good working order at last, and all of our out-of-town guests have come and gone for the summer, and our travelling is done as well, so perhaps I can get back into some kind of normal blogging routine again now.
Jocelyn, our friends' daughter, turned 7 last week, and for her birthday, I decided to make her a tooth fairy pillow. I had seen some cute ones on http://etsy.com, and since owls are so popular right now, I decided to try to make one. I sketched out my own pattern and used it for everything but the pocket. I had bought Drew a pair of brown corduroy pants from the thrift store, and when I got home, I realized that the knees were more worn than I had thought. I decided to cut them up and recycle them as part of my pillow. I used one of the back pockets (which already had the button and the flap) and just finished the edges and attached it to the owl's back. I was even able to use the pocket lining as the backing on the owl's ears (horns?). The eyes and beak are felt, and I blanket stitched around the eyes. It turned out as I had pictured it in my mind, so I was pleased. It ended up being the perfect gift because Jocelyn has lost 2 teeth since we gave her the pillow!