I made a cute purse.

I love the prequilted, doublesided fabric available today. I used a Sewing For Dummies pattern, but adapted it without a lining for use with the doublesided fabric.

I cut a strip of the brown fabric and inserted it on the turquoise fabric.
The wooden rings were bought at Joann's as was the fabric-when on sale of course!

I need pockets, but now it's just one big open space, but was fast and I like it.
I used a magnetic snap . Those things are pretty easy to install, but seem floppy to me. I put a piece of cardboard in it to prevent the fabric from ripping when pulled open. I saw on another blog that if you treat the opening like a buttonhole and use stabilizer, then the opening won't tear with repeated use. Good idea-I just read it AFTER I made the purse!

I'd be happy to make one for you for ONE MILLION DOLLARS! You can have mine when I get sick of it!

TEASER: Check back for the Halloween costumes I've made for the girls. Go, team!

I've finished! I took too much time doing this project, but it was for the children! These pillows are in my daughter's elementary school media center. The librarian and I picked out the fabric (Calico Corners) and types of pillows to sew. I designed the embroidery and sewed everything.
This is how it all looks together:

Just in case you want to know:
The polka dot cushions are 24" square. The mitered pillows are 16" square. The striped pillows are about 12" X 16" (if I remember correctly). The embroidered pillows are about 12" square. I fused, then sewed, black grosgrain ribbon to add black to the stripes. The black piping was also made out of black grosgrain. The polka dot cushions have self piping. Comment if you want to know how to make any of these, otherwise I won't bore you with the details.

Denim Skirt

Okay, you asked for it! Here's how to change a pair of jeans into a cute skirt.

Find some jeans (sneak them when your child isn't looking or she'll throw a hissy fit because you're "ruining" her stuff). These have some cute embroidery on the bottom.

Cut off the legs.

Cut apart the legs at the seams. Cut out the seams completely.

Cut apart the upper inside seam of the jeans. Cut so the bulky seam is in the front.
Pin the leg part in the V formed by cutting apart the legs.

Pin in the back too.

Sew. I did a topstitch. (Basically, just a double stitch about 3/8 inch apart.)

Trim underneath about 1/4 inch from the seam.

Cut along bottom evenly. Stitch along edge. I did a decorative little sunburst in maroon thread that coordinated with the existing embroidery.

Easy! You really should try this (your six year old will warm up to her destroyed jeans and will eventually wear it!)

I'd love to see your results!