Handmade gift for a baby girl

Hello there!

It's hard to believe that September is approaching, and I'm sure that many of the kids are going back to school by now... Although our girls' school year does not begin until later next week, and I can't wait! 

(Confession by a tired mom from California... lol)

Anyways, today, I wanted to share with you another baby gift set that I finished recently.

This time, the gift is made for a sweet baby girl.

I used this lovely strawberry fabric for the bib front.  The fabric is double gauze from Japan, which is super soft and smooth.

I did not patchwork the gingham check and the strawberry print... I'm not sure if you can tell from this image, but this is a *fake* patchwork fabric ;)

The opposite side of the bib is waffle cotton, which is super absorbent.



To match with the strawberry bib, I made a drawstring bag using linen and the strawberry print from my stash.   As with my other drawstring bags, I made this bag by following my dear blog friend, Ayumi's wonderful tutorial here.

 

Close up of the hand stitched name of the baby... Although it takes time, I really enjoy stitching baby names by hand.  While I stitch the name of the baby, I always wish that the baby's future will be filled with lots of happiness, love, and prosperity...

The reversible side of the drawstring bag.  More berries on this side!

 



I just wish that this gift set will be used by the sweet baby girl and her proud mommy and daddy!


Thanks for reading and I hope to be back soon ;)

***With love, Amy***

My patchwork bib was featured in Sew, Mama, Sew! (plus more handmade items)

Ms. Melanie of A Sewing Journal writes a monthly column for Sew, Mama, Sew! and she kindly featured my patchwork bib in today's column at Sew, Mama, Sew! - Sewing Trends and Free Fabric Friday.

Ever since I joined the Internet sewing community a few years back, I've been a big fan of Sew, Mama, Sew! online fabric shop and their fun blog, so I am so happy that my handmade item is featured in their blog! Yay!

Thank you so much, Melanie, for picking my patchwork linen bib from all of other handmade beauties out there ;)

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Today, I'd like to show you few pics of my recent handmade items that I haven't had a chance to post here yet.

First one up is a reversible grocery tote that I made using this beautiful floral print in purple/blue tone.  The floral print is from our local Joann store.

Reversible side is blue chambray fabric in home decor weight.   I like the combination of this light denim color and the bright floral print used for the tie ribbons in the center.  The bag will be a gift  to our family friend who lives in Hawaii.



Second handmade item is a small zipper pouch that I made using leftover fabric scraps.  The brown x pink polka dots used here is a sturdy home decor weight fabric.

I wanted to make a small zipper pouch to carry various cards in my wallet.

After I made the polka dots zipper pouch, I made three more zipper pouches in same size and shape, but using the red goat fabric selected by my friend.

These pouches were made as custom order from my friend.

I also made these matching pocket tissue holders using the same fabric.   According to my friend, these matching pouches and tissue holders will be gifts to young girls.

The last item I'd like to show is this flex frame pouch.  The size of the flex frame is 12 cm (4.7 inches) wide.

This pouch is reinforced with fleece batting, which makes it safe enough to carry small gadgets, such as digital cameras and cell phones inside.

I'm not sure if you can tell from the above photo, but I attached a small matryoshka ribbon tape in the side of the pouch. 

Can you see the small matryoshka?

Well... that's it for today's post!   Thanks for visiting my blog and I hope you have a wonderful weekend filled with lots of crafty moments ;)

***Love, Amy*** 



A new pair of pants for baby

Remember this baby gift set that I made for our family friend's baby (below image)?

  Using the same elephant fabric, I whipped up a simple pair of pants and a matching small drawstring bag for my baby nephew, who is now six months old.



Does this pants look too big for a six month old baby?   Well, you may be right... But I thought it's better to make a bigger clothing than a smaller one for a growing baby, and it turned out like this...!! (lol)

I serged all seams, so it was very simple to sew.  Hope my baby nephew wears this pants, if not now, hopefully in a few months...

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Today, I have a small notice to my etsy shop customers.  I will be temporarily closing my shop from tomorrow, August 19, thru the end of this month, to spend more time with my girls and my hubby, before the summer slips away!

I plan to reopen my shop in early September, hopefully with more new items, so please check back in a week or two, if you can :)

Thanks for visiting my blog, and I hope you continue to enjoy your remaining days of August with your loved ones ;)

***Love, Amy***



My handmade item was featured in this Japanese craft book (OMG)!

Today, I have a surprising news that I wanted to share with you...

My handmade digital camera pouch that I made a while ago was featured in this Japanese craft book from my favorite author/crafter, "komihinata" or Mioko Sugino!!!

I've been following and reading her inspirational craft blog for a while, and what a honor to be able to be part of her latest craft book...!

Book title: Small Handmade Items by komihinata

Publisher: Shufu-no-tomo-sha

Publish date: May 2011

ISBN-10: 4072766828

ISBN-13: 978-4072766828

Here is the page where my handmade digital camera pouch is featured.   The page is titled "Handmade items made by the author's blog and craft book readers"

I feel so delighted to have my digital camera pouch featured with all of the handmade beauties here (no matter how small the picture of my pouch is on this page...LOL)!



And this is the close up of my handmade pouch... I think I made this item about two years ago, based on the previous book by the same author, but I still use it to this day, because this shape is very cute and practical!



Thanks for reading and hope you continue to have a wonderful weekend :)



Stitching for baby

Last night, while our girls watched T.V., I sat together with them on our sofa and did some hand stitching work.  I made a baby gift set for our family friend's baby boy.  Well, I used sewing machine to make both the bib and the drawstring bag, but the embroidery is hand stitched by me :)

This colorful elephant fabric placed in the center of this patchworked bib is my recent find from our local Joann store.  I think it's perfect for making baby items (both for a baby boy and a girl).

Close up of my hand stitched work...  I used the embroidery pattern of this spoon with a ribbon from this Japanese embroidery book:

"Basics of Embroidery and Applique" by Ayako Otsuka

ISBN-10: 4072589748

ISBN-13: 978-4072589748

The reversible side of the bib is soft cotton flannel...

Here, I embroidered the little boy's name on to the drawstring bag.  BTW this reversible bag was made based on this awesome tutorial from Pink Penguin!

Close up of the baby boy's name... Kaito

Reversible side of the bag: a bunch of colorful elephants :)

As you can probably tell, making handmade gifts is one of my favorite things to do, and I especially enjoy making stuff for babies :)

And the good news is that I will be making two more baby gifts like this one soon for more babies arrived around our family friends.  Yes, it seems like there is a baby boom around here and I'm so happy for them!!



I hope this gift will be used by the baby and his family...

Thanks for reading and I hope you're enjoying your weekend as much as I'm enjoying mine ;)

Kawaii carrying pouches in my shop

I just listed these small carrying pouches with handles in my  etsy shop.  They are all made of kawaii (cute) Japanese cotton fabrics that are imported from Japan.

The exterior of this carrying pouch is "bear with sweet macarons"... So adorable :)

This one is made of Cinnamoroll print (cute dog with large ears character) with baby blue x white polka dots combination.   Our girls just love Cinnamorolls!



Pink My Melody print (bunny with pink ears) with baby blue x white polka dots print.  Very sweet ;)



I attached small wood bead to the zipper pull for all of these pouches.  (Note: not intended for young children under 3 years of age for safety reasons...)



9 inch zipper is used at the opening.  It's a perfect size to carry pencils and pens for young girls, or for grown ups to carry keys, cell phones, and other small belongings as a carrying pouch on the go.

I really enjoyed making these kawaii items...  Our girls gave me lots of inspirations and ideas when I made these girly projects, and I really thank them for their help.



Thank you so much for looking and I'll be back soon for more handmade items... ;)

Handmade apron for my daughter

Last week, my older daughter (11 years) was attending a weekly summer camp that had some cooking activities in the program.   She wanted to bring her own apron to the camp, so I quickly sewed up an apron and a matching drawstring bag for her, using the fabric that she selected from my stash.

As always, she came back from the camp one afternoon and asked me if I can whip up a new apron for her by the next morning...! Talk about rush deliveries around here :p

I didn't follow any specific patterns or instructions to make this one... I simply tried to imitate an apron that we had in our house.  Can you tell that I sewed a little heart ribbon as a "tag" at the front pocket?

To adjust the length of the ties around the neckline, I used this vest buckle that I had in hand.

And here she is... a happy cook with a brand new apron :)



Also, just to let you know that I'm having a sale of selected items in my etsy shop from today, August 1.   Come check it out if you have a chance!

Thanks for visiting, and happy sewing to you all :)