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Showing posts with label sewing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sewing. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 21, 2018

DIY Felt Lined Clutch

Although I desperately need to start working on Christmas gifts, first I had to make a gift for a friend's birthday. I wanted to make her a clutch, and decided to use a striped fabric in colors I knew she would like.

DIY Felt Lined Clutch with matching gift bag


Then I just couldn't find in my stash a lining that matched, so I switched to felt instead. And loved the idea.

Monday, November 5, 2018

DIY Bunny Softies - with pattern

Hello, and welcome. Today I'm sharing two sweet bunny softies. I made them a couple of months ago as a gift for my cousin's baby girl and now I have finally finished drafting the pattern and putting together a tutorial.

DIY Bunny Softies - with pattern



They are really very easy to make. All you need is some cute fabric and a little bit of time, and you can create a lovely homemade gift. 

DIY Bunny Softies - with pattern



Monday, October 29, 2018

10-minute double pocket felt pouch

Hello, and welcome. Today I'm sharing a very quick project - just my favorite kind! - the double pocket felt pouch.

10-minute double pocket felt pouch


The one I made is small, just 9 x 14 centimeters, but still very useful as a purse organizer.

Tuesday, October 9, 2018

Dressing up a doll

Today's post is mostly me bragging about finishing another backlogged project...A bit of background: a while ago my mother cleaned out her closet and found a doll. The doll had no clothes and my mother doesn't remember where it came from. It didn't belong to my daughter and it wasn't one of my old dolls either. Instead of trying to solve the mystery, though, we decided to just donate it.

Dressing up a doll

My daughter has too many dolls as it is, and all the other girls in our family are either too old or too young to play with this kind of dolls. So donation was the best way. 

But...does it really make sense to donate a doll with no clothes? Who is going to play with it? So I told my mother I would go through my scraps of yarn and fabric and make the poor doll some clothes. 

Monday, September 10, 2018

The tutu bag

Hello, and welcome. If you've been visiting a while, you already know I love to make bags, so today I'm showing you my latest project - the tutu bag:


The tutu bag


I made this bag as a gift for a little girl turning eight next week. Because I was a bit pressed for time, I didn't take enough pictures to create a complete tutorial, but the bag is sewn and assembled in exactly the same way as the 20-minutes lined tote bag I posted here a while ago.


The tutu bag


Monday, July 16, 2018

Felt & Ribbon Notebook Cover

I love creating notebook covers They are hugely versatile and with the abundance of free stationary and clip-arts you have on the Web nowadays, it´s really easy to create cute, customized gifts.


Felt & Ribbon Notebook Cover

For this one, I started with a piece of hedgehogs themed ribbon I've had in my stash for a while.



Felt & Ribbon Notebook Cover


Monday, July 9, 2018

Felt computer mouse key chain

Hello, and welcome. Today I'm showing you the computer mouse key chain I made as a gift for one my my son's teachers (a male teacher), as it would have been a bit weird to give him a felt flower key chain.




No pattern to share on this one, as I used the pattern from one of my favorite sewing books: Big Little Felt Universe: Sew It, Stuff It, Squeeze It, Fun!:




Tuesday, July 3, 2018

Reversible bag with pocket - tutorial & pattern

Hello, and welcome. Today I'm sharing with you a great summer tote bag - with cute pockets and 100% reversible.

Reversible bag with pocket - tutorial & pattern


Scroll down for the tutorial the link to download the pattern.
 

Thursday, June 28, 2018

Guest room redo

Hello, and welcome. The week is almost over - actually, the month is almost over - and I've finally decided show you the changes I made to our guest room last month.


Guest room redo


Friday, June 22, 2018

My Sailboat Pillow Pattern is now on Etsy!

I'm so happy to finally have a pattern for sale on Esty!


http://redirect.viglink.com/?format=go&jsonp=vglnk_152965971873013&key=fc09da8d2ec4b1af80281370066f19b1&libId=jiprjwgw01012xfw000DA70f8wijhcdpq&loc=http%3A%2F%2Fkeepingitrreal.blogspot.com%2F2015%2F06%2Fsailboat-pillow-tutorial-pattern.html&v=1&out=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.craftsy.com%2Fsewing%2Fpatterns%2Fsailboat-pillow%2F608934&title=Sailboat%20pillow%20-%20tutorial%20%26%20pattern%20%7CKeeping%20it%20Real&txt=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.craftsy.com%2Fsewing%2Fpatterns%2Fsailboat-pillow%2F608934



While I love sharing free patterns with all of you, realistically speaking (Keeping it Real here, remember?) I just don't have time to do it all.



So, while I will still be sharing as many free patters as I can here on the blog, an updated and improved version of my sailboat pillow pattern is now available on Craftsy, complete with the materials list and instructions, for a symbolic price.



The original post on the blog (you can find it here) is still up and running and still includes the detailed photo tutorial, but the pattern is now accessible only here

Originally I made these two sailboats for each of my kids, but they make such a cute summer decor that I'm thinking about making a few more soon!


Enjoy,


keeping it real, craft blog




Monday, June 18, 2018

The Hot Air Balloons Bag


Hello, and welcome. today I'm showing off a bag I made a couple of weeks ago for one of my daughter's friends.


The Hot Air Balloons Bag (with tutorials)

I found the hot air balloons fabric at a craft store and knew I had to buy it. It was just a scrap (big enough for this bag and maybe another similar one) and they didn't have more, but I still brought it home with me. When a couple of days later my daughter handed me the invitation for a birthday party for a little girl turning eight, I knew I had made the right decision. 


The Hot Air Balloons Bag (with tutorials)

Because, yes, how cute is that fabric?

The Hot Air Balloons Bag (with tutorials)


Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Pillowcases - quick & easy

As part of my 2018 destashing goal, I've been (slowly) going through my crafts closet, finishing (or getting rid) of long lost projects. This was how I came across a bunch of old crib sheets that I saved years ago, not necessarily for a trip down memory lane, but more because the fabrics were cute and I thought I could re-use them. 

Well, it's been a while but I finally managed to use those old sheets: I made pillow cases.

Pillowcases - quick & easy

I was working on a timeline, trying to get the cutting and sewing done early on Saturday morning to avoid leaving it unfinished again, so I didn't take enough photos for a tutorial, but I basically followed the same method as my 10-minute pillow cover tutorial.

Pillowcases - quick & easy

And there it is: a nice pile of "new" pillow cases that my kids can use.

Pillowcases - quick & easy

All in all, I made five pillowcases. In theory, you can get two pillowcases out of each crib sheet, but the original blue sheet was partially damaged so I I could only get enough good fabric for one pillow case.

Pillowcases - quick & easy

This is really a great idea to use (or re-use) fabrics you have in your stash, and those pillowcases are so quick and easy to sew that you can make a whole bunch in almost no time at all. 



See below my other destashing projects so far:

Destashing #1: Scrappy crochet blanket
Destashing #2: DIY Play Food: cloth napkins & napkin rings
Destashing #3: DIY Doll Diaper - tutorial and pattern
Destashing #4: Zippered Pouches
Destashing #5: Felt envelope clutches
Destashing #6: DIY Felt Book Covers
Destashing #7: Upcycled Fabric Covered Tin Can 
Destashing #8: Felt penguin key chain 
Destashing #9: DIY Tulle Gift Bags 
Destashing #10: DIY Fabric Headbands  
Destashing #11: Two Toned Felt Envelope Bags 

Enjoy, and happy Tuesday!

keeping it real, craft blog






Monday, May 21, 2018

DIY travel bag set


I made this set as a gift for one of my cousins. She travels a lot, and when you travel it's always useful to have an extra bag around, but you also don't want to carry any extra large or heavy items in your luggage. 

DIY travel bag set


So I created this set as a combination of my lined tote bag with the zippered pouch.I didn't make a tutorial specifically for this gift set, but you can check the links above for the the detailed instructions.

DIY travel bag set

Monday, May 14, 2018

Two toned felt envelope bags

These are made almost in the same way as the Felt Envelope Clutches and the Embellished Felt Clutch

Two toned felt envelope bags


There are only two differences: 

First, instead of folding one single piece of felt to make the envelope, I joined two pieces together (the back piece is the largest and folds over to the front, which means I had to sew the sides and the bottom, instead of just the sides). 

 
Two toned felt envelope bags

The color contrast looks good, but mostly I was trying to get rid of bits and pieces of felt (as part of my destashing efforts). 


Two toned felt envelope bags

And second, instead of using a ribbon or velcro to close the bags, I just added a matching button to each and cut a button hole directly in the felt

Two toned felt envelope bags


And here they are: three different sized little cute felt envelopes.

Two toned felt envelope bags


I'm still not sure how I will use them, but I'm pretty sure it won't be that difficult, especially since I have lots of family and friend's birthdays coming up.

This post is part of my 2018 destashing goal.  See below my other destashing projects so far:

Destashing #1: Scrappy crochet blanket
Destashing #2: DIY Play Food: cloth napkins & napkin rings
Destashing #3: DIY Doll Diaper - tutorial and pattern
Destashing #4: Zippered Pouches
Destashing #5: Felt envelope clutches
Destashing #6: DIY Felt Book Covers
Destashing #7: Upcycled Fabric Covered Tin Can 
Destashing #8: Felt penguin key chain 
Destashing #9: DIY Tulle Gift Bags 
Destashing #10: DIY Fabric Headbands  

Enjoy, and happy Monday!

keeping it real, craft blog








Tuesday, May 1, 2018

EVA foam gift bag

Have you ever sewn with EVA foam? To be honest, I'd never even thought about it before. But I was out of wrapping paper for a large gift, and on top of that, I also didn't have enough felt to sew a felt bag. Instead, I came across two large sheets of orange glittery EVA foam I bought last year to make Halloween decorations and then never used. And I decided to see if I could make it work.

EVA foam gift bag

Well, I works. You can sew EVA foam with your sewing machine (though this glittery variety will leave glitter all over and you have to clean up afterwards). 

EVA foam gift bag

I joined the two pieces right sides together, sewed off the corners to create a flat bottom and turned inside out. Just as if I was using felt or fabric. The only thing you can't do is pull the EVA while sewing, because it can break. 

EVA foam gift bag

EVA foam gift bag


I cut three small wholes on both top sides of the finished bag, two for the handles (made of ribbon and secured with a knot on the inside) and one to tie a bow (and effectively close the bag).


EVA foam gift bag

EVA foam gift bag


Because I always need to add an embellishment, I cut a bunny shape with my Sizzix using a different color of glittery EVA foam and glued it on the bag:

EVA foam gift bag

And there you have it - one very original gift bag made with simple materials and that you can put together in almost no time. 

EVA foam gift bag

EVA foam gift bag


Enjoy, and happy Tuesday!

keeping it real, craft blog







Tuesday, April 24, 2018

Book felt gift box

If you've been reading this blog for a while you already know I always prefer re-usable gift wrap alternatives. Well, this time I decided to create a sort of gift box for a book. Made of felt, of course. 

DIY Book felt gift box


Because we are traveling this week my kids will miss not one but three birthday parties - seriously, their social life is way busier than mine! As we got the invitations, I still wanted to send gifts and I needed to leave everything prepared beforehand, so I was racing against time to get the gifts wrapped and read to go.

DIY Book felt gift box

Monday, April 23, 2018

DIY Felt eyeglasses case

This padded felt eyeglasses case was made at the request of a friend. She gave me the approximate measures she wanted but gave me total freedom with respect to materials and colors. Because I love working with felt, it was a an easy choice for me. And because I know she loves everything Irish, I managed to find a piece of Irish green felt in my stash and decided it was just perfect.

DIY Felt eyeglasses case

Because I wanted the glasses case to be padded to offer more protection, I added lining and batting.


Wednesday, April 18, 2018

embellished felt clutch

I made this clutch for a friend. She creates jewelry and orders a lot of her supplies online and she'd just received a bag full of pink roses when the story of this clutch started.. I'm not exactly sure what the flowers are make of, as they are heavier than plastic, but in any case, she gave me one and challenged me to incorporate it in one of my sewing projects.


embellished felt clutch


Challenge accepted.


Monday, April 16, 2018

DIY Fabric headbands tutorial

Hello and welcome to another week. This time I'm going to show you my latest destashing project: fabric headbands. In three different versions and entirely made using fabric scraps, of course.

DIY Fabric headbands tutorial



Find out below how to make them.


Tuesday, April 10, 2018

DIY Tulle gift bags

When I wrap gifts I try as much as possible to use fabric bags. They are cute, ecological and the recipient can always re-use them to store other things. For these particular gifts (a set of chocolates for Easter, from a couple of weeks ago) I decided to change a bit the look of my gift bags and make them out of tulle. 
DIY Tulle gift bags tutorial

Tulle gift bags turn out really nice, and there are zillions of ways to re-use them. 

DIY Tulle gift bags tutorial

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