For the Little Divas on your gift list

 For Christmas I blew the dust off of my little girls crayon bag design! I only make this one a couple times of year and had LOTS of requests for it in the last two weeks. So here they are, in all their cuteness, with a new addition...a ruffle down the front to match Mom's Gathered & Sown Ruffle bag ;)
They are only $15 a piece, so they make a great little gift. If you are interested in one of these, ( I have not Etsy'd them yet)  please send me an email at stuffedmommy at yahoo dot com. Subject line CRAYON BAG ORDER
Thanks! (and PLEASE feel free to pass this on hint,hint!)

Turquoise with Burnt Orange

Mod Swirl with Cotton Candy Pink

Yellow with Grey and White Polka Dot

Red/White Check with Navy/White Polka Dot

New in my shop :) (and some soon to come!!)

I may have been kind of quiet lately in blog land, but I have been busy! Here are some of my latest additions to my Ruffle Purse family :D

In this batch of bags, I'm letting the fabric make a quiet statement. No loud patterns, just subtle, beautiful colors, accented by flirty, fun ruffles. If you see an orange one in Sheboygan, that's me! 

I made one for myself :)

This avocado green is my FAVORITE color for fall!

I finally made my ruffle bag! (and I can't wait to make more)

So for about a year now, I've had this little picture of a ruffle tote bag hanging on my computer in my studio. I always thought it was cute, but never had a free minute to experiment with the design. Fast forward to about two weeks ago. I get an email from a friend that read something like this..."I love this (picture of cute bag) for it's straps. I love this (picture of another cute bag) for the fabric....and I love THIS BAG!" And what was it? Oh yes, the very same ruffly bag idea that I've been looking at for over a year! I took this as a sign. I needed to do it NOW! So I told her I was not only up for the challenge, but excited to give it a whirl. Here is what I came up with:

It makes me want to twirl around!

I kept the ruffles to one side...didn't want to get TOO crazy!

I put a magnetic snap on this bag. I wanted it to have a slouchy,hobo look.
But I do plan to design a double handle- tote style with a zipper for all of you zipper fans! 

Up close and personal with the ruffles :)

My 6 year old took these pictures to show the size of the bag on me.
She may not understand cropping and backgrounds but  you get a nice view of my garage.
Sparkly clean thanks to the hubs :)

I'll have to tell the hubs to get out and pressure wash the driveway. It doesn't look sparkly like the garage!
 But Spencer doesn't seem to mind. He'll sleep anywhere!

DIY Curtain Project

We have a beautiful, solid oak dining room table. It is big, heavy and has 4, yes I said 4, table leaves. These are great when we have a sit down dinner for 16...(read,NEVER) so I inevitably end up storing them. We tried storing them in the basement on shelves, but they took up too much space. We tried standing them upright in our hall closet, but with kids, it was dangerous. I had to find a place to store those monstrous things, so I would not have to look at them ANYMORE :)

So here is what I did, I sacrificed a section of my bedroom closet to make them a home. And also a place to store my American flag, apparently. If I were on the ball, it would be hanging proudly on my front porch, but since I always forget to take it down at dark, I feel disrespectful. So out of respect, it is in my closet. What?!?! Anyways...

Still ugly,huh? And did I mention there is a huge picture window directly in front of this shelf? A window that open to my front yard?  How will I ever hide these things?

On a trip to Walmart it came to me....

Here is how I did it:

I bought a $7 full size sheet in a color I liked. They have about a million to choose from. Just make sure it's a FLAT sheet. But you knew that already, right?

Then you'll need

-a sewing machine (or not, you can also use stitch witchery if you are a sewing machine - phobe)

-a seam ripper

-an iron

-a bar to hang your curtain on (I was able to use a clothes bar from my closet)

I measured the opening to my closet, and cut the sheet to the height, adding about 4 inches for the hem. Also keep your sheet at least twice the width of your opening, or you won't get any ruffle action. (Then it will look like you have a sheet hanging in your closet....)

I folded the bottom over twice to get a little weight at the bottom, as well as a straight hem. And since I was ironing, I stuck some stitch witchery in the hem as I folded  to "glue" my hem in place. It made it much easier to sew such a long straight line later.

I used the factory stitched top of the sheet as my curtain top. I had to open up the sides with my seam ripper, but then you are left with an open tube.

The factory stitching is gray, and I used brown, because I was in a hurry.  
But hey, it's easy for you  to see where I sewed :)

I stitched about an inch from the top of the tube to give a little extra ruffle.

And now I have a pretty, ruffly curtain to hide my hideous oak monstrosity's! Isn't it cute? These would work anywhere, even on a window. It's a low-sew to no-sew project that takes hardly any time at all.

A few new bags I'd like to show off :)

I just finished listing a few new bags I made in my etsy shop. I love coming up with new styles, and this one came to me one afternoon 2 weeks ago when I was bored. I love it when that happens!

Today I got caught up on orders. It is raining a much needed rain here, so I am in comfy pants, and am working on another brand new design. One hint: It is really ruffle-ey! Now I only hope it works so I don't look like a liar. Off I go, I'll show pics when I crawl out from under all the ruffles :)

Sunshine Mama: Ruffle Wreath: a tutorial

When I have a free moment or two...I plan to make myself one of these! How C-U-T-E would this be on the back of my sewing room door???
Sunshine Mama: Ruffle Wreath: a tutorial