Getting Ready for My Trip

Before I left on my trip to Israel with some of my friends, I wanted to make them a small pouch to put their shekels in!  I found some cork in my craft room along with some travel fabric and put these together.  I drew up my own pattern with a slight curve at the top.  

I didn't want them to be very big and I like the shape of them.  

They loved getting their little gift before we went.  I made each one just a little bit differently, by adding different charms and using various colors for the linings and tab.  They were impressed with the addition of the cork.   

Here we are on an adventure by a stream in the woods.  Like most places in Israel, we were on our way to see some ancient ruins.  

Before the trip I sent my roommate, Barb, a card for the trip.  Ha ha - I looked through my stamps to find something that sort of looked like a vacation and this is what I came up with!  The two of us on the front with our hats and luggage along with a little camera image that I found.  

The card was pretty plain so I added some blue flowers from Regency Park to give it some contrast (because they were laying on my desk).  Note the little "town" of Bethlehem and the Dome of the "Rock" that I added.  It's kind of silly, but she loved it and I guess that's all that matters.  :)

 

Knitting Case with Lavender Sachet & Accessories

I think winter is a great time for catching up on your sewing projects.  I always have so many things that I want to make.  :)

One of the ladies that I work with loves to knit and I thought that it would be nice to make her a zippered bag for her knitting needles.  I took out some older Tilda fabric called Plum Garden and made the zippered pouch for her.  I added a couple of Tilda fabric buttons and a tassel.  

But I thought that it looked sort of plain, so I made a small zippered bag for her row markers and darning needles.  

After working with the pretty purple fabrics, I wanted to add a lavender sachet to the gift.  So I sewed up little pouches to put the lavender in and then stamped on a muslin bag and added a small yo-yo and button.  

Then I stitched up a little purple bird to match.  The lavender smells so nice and it makes a nice little something to tuck in a drawer or put in the clothes dryer to softly scent your clothes.  

When the lavender loses its smell, you can add a couple drops of essential oils to it to re-scent it.  

I love how all of the gifts came together.  I added a matching card made using an old lavender stamp and some pretty purple papers.  (For some reason the card didn't get photographed.)

My friend loved her gifts and said she couldn't wait to get home and arrange her knitting supplies.  :)

What's next?  Now I want to make more items in the pretty Tilda fabrics.