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Wednesday
Jan062010

Crafts we made for Christmas

DateWednesday, January 6, 2010 at 1:36AM

The best memories I have of the past two weeks off with the kids include Kaluha, drawing, shrinky- dinks, classic movies and hours and hours of sewing.

My brother and his wife can always be counted on to send great gifts and in lieu of spending as much money as they generously spend on us, last year we began the tradition of reciprocating with sweat equity in the form of handmade bags for my four and six-year old nieces (last year's bags pictured here).

I was going to make vinyl messenger bags but I couldn't resist the adorable oilcloth that I found locally at Bolt. I also found some kick-ass vintage tablecloth vinyl at a local "discount" fabric store. This place was so sketchy you wouldn't send your mother-in-law in to ask for directions. But besides feeling like I was shopping in Pakistan the store was an amazing "find." Frankly I'm not ready to share it with anyone!

Click on photos below to enlarge.

 
Piper modeling Oilcloth and Vinyl bag for cousin Darby Piper modeling an oilcloth and vinyl bag for cousin Darby
Darby's bag close-up Darby's bag close-up
Zipper pull Cute zipper pull
Sadie's bag front Sadie's bag
Sadie's Bag Close-up Sadie's bag close-up with vintage vinyl pocket sewn over a corduroy pocket from an old jacket.
Sadie's Bag Back Sadie's bag (back). I used a button and strap from the same corduroy jacket to hold the strap of the bag.
 
After we shipped off the cousin's bags to Connecticut, we made three more bags, all for boys here in Portland. Skyler drew the skull for one bag, I sampled the joystick design from some clip art and Piper came up with the idea for the fin that secretly spelled "Finn" for Fiona's son. I adhered the designs initially using Liquid Stitch and reinforced them with stitching around the edge. The most important thing I learned with this go-around of vinyl bags was to use generous amounts of baby powder to keep the sewing machine from sticking to the vinyl.
 
Finn's Bag Finn's bag
Fin spells
Fin spells "Finn" (Piper's idea)
Charlie's Skull bag Charlie's skull bag
 
Henry's Joy Stick Bag Henry's Joy Stick Bag
Saral Paper works like old-school carbon paper but erases easily Saral Paper works like old-school carbon paper but wipes off easily. To create our embellishments I traced the designs onto the back of the vinyl and cut them out with an Xacto knife (I'm sure scissors would work fine as well).
Saral Paper works like old-school carbon paper but erases easily Piper took a swing at it herself and made her brother this pencil case (I helped her with the zipper).
 
Piper was just as enthusiastic as I was. As if she needled an excuse to spend quality time in the sewing room with me, she mad lots of stuff she should be proud of. Remember, she's only seven and she can use her little Janome machine like a pro.
 
Piper at her machine Piper at her machine
Piper makes Stuffy for Margot Piper made this stuffy for our little friend, Margot
Piper makes Stuffy for Aunt Joann (and decides to keep it) She also made this stuffy for our Aunt Joann (and liked it so much she decided to keep it). She made her a pillow instead!
 
Nantucket Picture by Piper Fabric collage by Piper for my Dad & Stepmom who live on Nantucket. This required no sewing, she simply cut out fabric and glued it down. It looked pretty sharp when sealed with a frame.
Compliments Drawing by Skyler Skyler came up with the idea of writing everyone's name and coloring it on watercolor paper. What we liked most was his sweet quote: "a perfect peanut for any brother" (we call Piper "the peanut")
Copy-cat Compliments Drawing by Piper Copy-cat "compliments" drawing by Piper (for Skyler) included "artistic, cool & perfect." The kids ended up making these for all our Holiday guests.
 
Compliments Drawing by Skyler Skyler made these cool Lego sculptures that spelled "Dad" and "Mom"
Copy-cat Compliments Drawing by Piper On top of each sculpture he had a figurine for each of us. Hubby was cooking at a stove, with chef hat and beard for authenticity.
Copy-cat Compliments Drawing by Piper Thank God the Mom was sewing. I was afraid she might be drinking or watching a movie on the couch.
 
The day after Christmas Piper and I made this apron/utility belt that she insisted she needed so she could carry her corn-cob pipe (don't ask, I don't understand it either), her swiss-army knife and her new camera (among other essentials). We used a pair of green corduroys she had recently outgrown with some vinyl and fashioned an adjustable belt. Also note that when I needed belt clips and bag clips I often cut up some junky bags we didn't care about anymore.
 
Piper's Utility Belt Piper's Utility Belt
Piper's Belt - Close-i[ Piper's Belt - Close-i[
Piper's Belt back Piper's Belt back
 
 
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AuthorStacey K | Comment2 Comments | |
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Reader Comments (2)

These pictures don't do the Finn bag justice. It is truly spectacular!

January 6, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterFiona

This is pretty spectacular and I'm truly impressed with all of this crafting! Tell Piper to send me one of her monster creations...i'm absolutely in love with them!

January 22, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterTeal