Handmade Totes, Bags, laundry bucket and much more. Perfecf for giving or keeping

My Handmade Gifts 

I like to give handmade gifts and I have some to share with you.

This is a set of gifts for a friend. Some of which can be found on my previous blog post -  just click on this link  Lovely Warm Christmas Gifts 

My Bathroom 

I have been decorating my bathroom and want to share the decor ideas and also show you how to sew a laundry bucket. The laundry tub pattern is from this book, you can purchase it from Amazon by clicking this link. There are lots of fabulous things to make in this book and I recommend it either for yourself or as a gift  

That Handmade Touch

There are such a lot of makes in this book , it is one I use a lot and in fact two of the items, my laundry bucket and a pouch to hold make up,  sewing supplies etc is shown below 

The instructions are clear and simple to follow with templates where needed.

I used some furnishing fabric in a nautical design and lined it with calico. I used a stiff interfacing for the base, removing the seam allowance before ironing it in place

Click to read more

This took  just a couple of hours to sew.

The top folds over if you want it to sit on the floor at or a shelf.

Or it can hang up wherever you like. Tbis bag is great for your knitting or sewing project too.

I painted my old bathroom cabinet with chalk paint and sealed it with the wax which can be purchased with it.

I used decoupage glue to attach strips of my fabric to the sides of my cabinet,  I then sealed it with two coats of the glue which is also a sealant.

I also treated the shelf in the same way. Cutting fabric to fit and this time finishing the process with matt varnish. 

I have to admit that I love the clean simplicity of my bathroom The walls are either white tiles or painted white.

As the final touch  I hemmed a strip of fabric just wide enough to slip over my waste bin. I sealed the strip with decoupage glue but left it to dry without attaching it to the bin. It simply slips over the top of my bin tightly making it removable for washing. If you find that it is a touch loose a strip of double sided tape does the job.

These are some gifts I have been making .

 I have two other  books which I use a lot  you can purchase them from most book shops  Nothing is difficult to make 

The first is The Bag Boutique which I have used a lot in previous blog posts

These are taken from the book Bags of Style

Tote Bags 

This is the  book I used for this project is the Build A Bag Book

This is another incredible  book, full of lots of ideas you will want to make

I liked the foldaway shopper and made one in a pure cotton lightweight fabric.

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The templates are very easy to use and are made from plastic.

The bag takes around an hour to sew. I think when I make some more - and I will because they are so useful - I will make them the same width bit slightly longer.

The bag folds up easily and then everything  folds away inside the pocket which is so easy to do 

Then the ribbon tie holds everything  together and it then neatly sits inside your pocket or handbag.

A foldover pouch from "That Handmade Touch" 

Back to "That handmade Touch" by Svetlana Sotak and  to this lovely  fold over purse. This is the book I made the laundry tub  from. Link above.

I absolutely love it. I used linen fabric in the same colour,  one plain one patterned. I interfaced all the pieces as it is quite lightweight.

I love how the base is made by cutting out 1" squares on the bottom of the  bag and the lining. 

The side seams and bottom seam are sewn and then the squares are pinched together and sewn straight across.

This forms a really professional shape to this pouch  

A ribbon is used to fasten around a button to close the pouch

This little pouch is delightful  and so simple to make , as everything  is in these books

                                         This is the front. 

This is the reverse 

I do hope that these ideas have given you some food for thought. 

Anything you make from any of these books will be well received as a gift,  or even the books themselves.

All fabrics and interfacing are from Minerva.com

The links for Minerva.com are,

These  Cotton Canvas Fabrics come in some fabulous designs and are perfect for bags

Interfacings can be found on this link, including  rigid interfacings and fleece etc 

Enjoy!

Angela

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