4 kinds of awesome: comforting gifts

Kind over Matter shares a printable Exploring Truths Kit.

That would make an awesome gift together with a Scented Room Spray from Under the Table and Dreaming for a little comfort package.

For someone who prefers to explore their truths in writing, the Printable Journal Jar from Organized Christmas together with a heating pad such as this one or this one could make a cute comfort kit as well!

Travel Laundry Bag

I like to organize my stuff into different bags when I travel: socks, underwear and shoes all get their separate bags. I suspect I´m not the only one, so I decided to make some pretty bags as gifts.

These are the materials I used:
2 pieces of light fabric, 10" x 16 "
34" strip of fabric for the drawstring
scraps of fabric for the applique
scraps of trim
matching thread
scraps of Steam-A-Seam

I started by ironing the Steam-A-Seam to the applique fabric and drawing the shapes I wanted to use. After cutting them out and peeling off the paper backing, I ironed the pieces to my main fabric and stitched around them on - this is the "applique" stitch from my Brother but a small zigzag stitch actually worked better.

The ruffle is just some bunched-up lace trimming that I added to the applique (conveniently hiding some of the less neat seams while adding a super girly touch).

Two buttonholes are the openings for the drawstring that I made by folding both long sides of the strip of fabric to the center, then folding the long sides together. A wide zigzag holds the casing for the drawstring in place.

Of course these would make pretty giftbags for almost any gift as well, or could be made to hold and organize all sorts of equipment - and they can be made in less than an hour!

4 kinds of awesome: for the Home

I always feel that the best gifts are the ones that will get a lot of use, and here are some ideas I have found lately that I definitely want to make as gifts this year. I like the idea of some pretty organizational tools, such as these stylish Sewn Baskets  from Purlbee:

A great gift for a guy (or a girl, or a kid) would be the Felt Door Organizer featured on Design Sponge.

Even if I can't work up the motivation to do the patchwork, one block of patterned fabric and cute ribbons and buttons will still make this Memo Board from Moda Bakeshop absolutely adorable:

And finally, I already know exactly what I’ll put into this Ziploc tote  from S.C. Johnson – it will be chock full of birthday cards, thank you cards, blank notes, stamps, envelopes etc. so that the recipient always has the means on hand to send off a note or letter!

Passport organizer

This little organizer that can hold a passport and some travel essentials was inspired by a post on Dollar Store Crafts. I changed up the pattern a bit because I wanted to make sure the passport could not fall out! After some scribbling and crossing out, this is what I came up with: a folded organizer with a passport pocket, credit card pockets and a flap closure that goes all the way around and is secured with a snap button.

So, the materials are

2 fat quarters

1 piece of stiff fusible interfacing, 7" x 11"

7 inch zipper

matching thread

I started out by preparing the inner pockets: doublefolding and hemming the side that would not be sewn into the side seams. For the passport flap, I basted on the small pocket before hemming the flap. For the closure, I sewed the side seams and topstitched along both sides and the U-shaped end.Then I basted all the pockets onto the lining to keep them in place. For the credit card pockets, I sewed down 2 lines to make the compartments.

 

Next I determined where the zipper should to. It needs to be far enough from the credit card pockets that the cards won´t stick out over the zipper, and far enough from the center line so that the zipper won´t make folding the organizer difficult. For a nicer finished I topstitched the zipper in place.

 

Now to the outside of the organizer: first I ironed on the interfacing, then I stitched the closure into place. It should be nice and centered, and the stitching should end about 1/4" before the side seam.This is the seam allowance for the side seam that the  closure should not be sewn to.

 I pinned back the flap to it would not get caught in the side seam.

This is all the prep work, so I joined the outer and lining right sides together and sewed all around, making sure to backstitch over the zipper. The zipper needs to be left open so that the organizer can be turned right side out. After turning, I sewed on a snap closure to keep everything securely together.

And this is the end result: 

 After taking the pictures, I sewed a seam down the center crease to ease folding, and to give the zippered pocket a smaller compartment. I think this would be a nice gift idea for anyone who likes to travel and I´ll probably make a few more for stocking stuffers!

Pleated Pouch

For this little project, I decided to use the tutorials from Skip to my Lou and Craftster to get the best of both worlds.
I love the smaller size and the zipper from the pleated pouch, but also the flap closure on the iridescent pouch. To add more versatility, I added a wrist strap so it can be carried as a clutch or wristlet. And because I really, really love interior pockets I included one of these as well.
Depending on the fabric you use this could be anything from cosmetics bag to evening purse, and it can of course hold a handful of smaller gifts as well!

Materials
½ yard of outer fabric
1 fat quarter for lining
7” zip
Decorative button
snap closure
Scrap piece of stiff interfacing
Matching thread

After cutting out all the pattern pieces, I started out by making the wrist strap and the flap for the closure – it ineeds to long enough to go over both top pieces.  I hemmed the top of the inner pocket and basted it to one of the lining pieces. This way I could treat the pocket and lining as one piece.
Because I wanted a stiff pouch that could hold his own, and to make sure the patterned lining does not show through the outer fabric, I ironed some stiff interfacing onto the back of the lining.
Then I followed the instructions for the pleated pouch, and inserted the flap for the closure before sewing the back top to the back bottom.

Before joining the side seams, I sandwiched the wrist strap between the layers of outer fabric and finished the little pouch according to the tutorial.

The final touch is the button, which really gives the pouch some character, and the snap closures (for faster and easier opening than with an actual button and buttonhole). I can’t wait to make this out of different fabrics and maybe some fused plastic bags?

Scented Pouch

I made this little scented pouch for a slightly musty-smelling closet, but it would be a nice hostess gift, a little something to dress up a plain gift box, or even a pretty ornament if made with Christmassy colors. You will need fabric scraps and some matching thread, half a cup of rice and a few drops of essential oil (this one has Vanilla&Lime and it smells heavenly).
I used an old dress to make this that already had some fabric yoyos on it, but those are so easy to make and there are plenty of tutorials such as this one on Zakka Life.

Use a round object such as a teacup to trace two circles on the fabric. Cut a strip long and wide enough to make the hanger, fold in the sides and stitch down the open side.

Sandwich the hanger between the two layers of fabric and stitch around the perimeter of the circle, leaving an opening for turning and filling the pouch. I backstitched over the hanger to make it a bit more secure. Now for the fun part: mix about half a cup of rice with the essential oil of your choice and use a teaspoon to fill the pouch. Handstitch the opening closed and you are done!
An alternative filling with a great scent is coffee beans, and they smell even better with a bit of cardamom mixed in. Other options include dried lavender or rose petals, dried orange peel or a store-bought potpourri.

4 kinds of awesome: Ornaments

Scandinavian chic fromHaabet: The Woven Christmas Heart which is a classic decoration in Scandinavia and can be hung from the Christmas tree or filled with little treats.

Paper Lantern Ornaments at The Creative Place:
I am absolutely in love with those since I bought something similar at Ikea last year - now I can make them myself, in just the right colors and patterns.

Scoutie Girl answers the question whether old Christmas Cards can have an afterlife: they can, and look gorgeous on a Christmas tree!

Design Sponge shares a super simple and super pretty modern ornament. I envision alternating these and the paper lantern ornaments and hanging them from a curtain rod or clothesline.







All of these would not only make great decorations, but could also beautify any gift in lieu of a gift tag or bow.

4 kinds of awesome: Wrap it pretty

How about Orange shares a tutorial for super cute gift bows from recycled newspaper:

Those could be made out of anything from magazine pages to wrapping paper or origami paper to go with any gift wrap.

Better Homes and Gardens has plenty of ideas for embellished gift tags:

They all look incredibly professional, but can be whipped up with scraps and ends, and don´t take more than a few minutes to make. And those pretty parcels can then be topped off with a Dior Bow:

Less holiday-specific are these printable gift tags from Whisker Graphics and they could hint at what´s inside :)







As much as I love the gift tag section in any stationery store, all those ideas seem so pretty, personal and easily doable! Definitely on my list for Christmas this year.

Baby Bliss

With the help from great tutorials and patterns at Sew4Home , Homespun Threads and Chickpea Sewing Studio I made a little Baby Shower set that I think would make a beautiful gift for a new mom or a new baby.

I used the same fabric, a flannel with a monkey and leaves print, on all three items and that brought all three designs together. The bib´s back is made from a hand towel to make it more absorbent and the ruffle for the blanket is made out of a polka dot flannel. Soft and lovely.

The blanket took me a few hours to make (no ruffler foot....) but the shoes and bib are ridiculously easy to make and can be sewn in less than 30 minutes each.

Cup Sleeve

Tutorials for Cup Sleeves are all over the internet and it is easy to see why: they are so quick and easy to make and can be adapted to any taste and style. I really liked the different options in Kinda Crafty´s tutorial:

To make my own sleeve I decided to go an even easier route: I made the back of the sleeve out of a thick fleece I had left over from another project and so did not need any batting.

Because I wanted to finish the sleeve with a snap fastener, I made the the sides a little longer to have enough overlap.
To make the seams less bulky I cut back the fleece except where I left the opening for turning, and the topstitched around the whole sleeve.

Total time for this project: less than 30 minutes, which makes me think that this little craft will find its way into the stockings of all the coffee lovers in my life!

Stationery Organizer

Quilt Fabric Delights shares this pretty and useful Stationery Holder  by Malissa Goodsell. I had someone in mind with a passion for writing letters and postcards, so this seemed like the perfect gift!

I wanted a less playful look, and went for some matching, sturdy fabric from Ikea. Instead of a button closure I went for ties, and really liked the end result:

It holds a lot more stuff than I thought, including 3 boxes of notecards, some individual postcards and notecards, little gift tags and of course, stamps!

Fabric Basket

Two years ago,  as I was looking for last minute Christmas gifts to make, I found this super cute  Fabric Basket from Orange Flower Patterns:

I still really like the design because it is a great gift by itself, and also a great way to wrap or present another gift.
Because this was a last minute project, I used some fabric scraps I had one hand, and did without the handles because I did not have any matching buttons! But, I was still really happy with the results and have made several versions since, including a smaller bedside table version.

 This one has been in heavy use for a year now, so it´s looking a little wrinkled, and it hold all the extra little things on our dresser. I may have to make some more for this upcoming Christmas!