Breast Cancer Awareness & Disney Tote

Here's a totebag I made for a dear friend who is fighting breast cancer, she happens to be a big disney fan so I embroidered Micky Mouse ears in the corner.  I am so pleased with the way this turned out.   Thanks for stopping by!

My First Sew Together Bag

Great patterns & teachers make a world of difference in a sewing class.  Spent the Saturday, the day after my birthday at Stitched With Love (one of our LQS) making this "Sew Together Bag" (pattern by Sew Demented).  

Teacher was Sara H who's president of McKinney Modern Quilt Guild.  Bag has 4 zippers & 4 pockets and what seems like miles of binding.  This was a big step for me because normally I don't follow patterns. 

Here is a picture of the back of the bag....

Here is a close up front, the side ends and the inside with all the pockets and zippers.  

Some of these fabrics probably look familiar, I have been hoarding some of these fabrics for a while, so happy they will live forever in this bag!  The bag was not overly complicated but had many many steps.  Sometime when I have 8+ hours of spare time - I will make another one.  Thankful I finished before leaving the building.   Feeling accomplished, now I am inspired to make more complicated bags in 2015.  Thanks for stopping by!  

On the Go Pillows

Here are several of the On The Go Pillows I made for a customer in Connecticut.  Two are pink & purple princess and one Star Wars.

The fronts had large monogram letters and the backs had pocket and full name.

Thanks for stopping by!

Christmas Sweet Pouch Swap Sent

Here is what I sent my partner Barbra in California for the Christmas Sweet Pouch Swap.

Barbra likes pastels so I went with a pink, hot pink and green color scheme.  I sent a snowman ornament that I made in the hoop, a mesh bag with monogram applique and one of my zipper pouches.  My thought was that the mesh bag would come in handy for Christmas gift wrapping; like storing tape, scissors and gift tags.   Hope you are having a great holiday season... I am doing a lot of sewing keeping up with orders in my Etsy store.  

McKMQG Ornament Exchange

Here is the ornament I made for the McKinney Modern Quilt Guild ornament exchange.  This was a fun little project made in the hoop.  The pattern is my Embroidery Garden.

UPS Zipper Pouch

Here is a UPS themed zipper pouch I made for one of my husband's co-workers that was retiring.  His nickname and route name is LWOD and he celebrated 35 years at the company.  

I was thrilled to find the right shade of brown solid fabric along with the UPS digital logo.   I hope I get more requests to make these from other UPSers.  

Captain America

Sometimes I get requests that I never could have dreamed up.  A friend asked me if I could make a zipper pouch for her grown son with Capitain America fabric... 

Well here it is....  I've since discovered this Capitain America guy is pretty popular and I am seeing comic stuff at many different stores.  Who would have thought?

This pouch like all of the others are available in my Etsy store.   Thanks for stopping by. 

Summer Flip Flop Set

These are a few of the things I made for Miranda in addition to the mini quilt for the swap.

This is a water bottle holder, a plastic canvas bag with a monogram, a zipper pouch (like all of the ones I make) and a beach towel.

Here is a close up of the plastic canvas bag.  I lovew how this turned out, I plan to make more of these for sure.   Thanks for stopping by!

Mini Quilt I sent

Here is the mini quilt I sent to Miranda in Iowa.  Tomorrow I will post the other items I sent.  This is a modified version of the Stacked Square pattern at Moda Bake Shop.

I tried to use bright colors since Miranda said she liked rainbow.  This was a little out of my comfort zone but I am pleased with how it turned out.   Hope you are having a great weekend. 

Swap Received from Iowa

This is the fabulous swap I received from Miranda in Iowa for the Mini Quilt Swap!

The mini quilt is so awesome, she used one of my favorite lines from Sweetwater and of course my favorite "sewing room colors" red and black.

Here is a closeup of just the quilt.

And of course the box zipper pouch. 

Thank you so much Miranda, I love everything. 

Wine Cork Zipper Pouches

Here is a set of 9 wine cork zipper pouches I made for one of my customers in California.  These are for a bride and her bridesmaids.  I believe the couple is getting married in Napa Valley. 

This is the same customer that ordered 9 weenie dog zipper pouches last spring.  I love when customers come back!  Thanks for stopping by!

Graduation Zipper Pouches

Every custom order has a story. A church youth leader in Houston wrote me recently and was looking for graduation gifts for a group of girls she has mentored for several years. All 7 girls are headed to college and she wanted zipper pouches.  I didn't have pouches designed for 3 of the 7 schools so we came up with some deisgns.  The schools were Texas A&M. Baylor, NYU, U of H, MSU, UT and UHD.

Here are all 7 completed pouches

My Etsy store offerings grow because of requests like this.  Here is the pouch for the University of Houston

University of Houston Downtown (mascot is gators)

And, New York University.

Thanks for stopping by.  Hope you are having a great week.

Midwestern State Univ Zipper Pouch

With graduation season upon us, I am getting lots of requests for zipper pouches for graduating seniors.  Only the big schools have licensed fabric so I have started designing pouches for some of the other schools.

Here is the pouch I made for a friend's daughter going to Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas.  Katie is graduating tomorrow and I am so excited for her.  The school colors are maroon & gold and the mascot is a mustang so I didn't have to go on a wild chase for a charm that was out of the ordinary.   This is actually a school I considered when I was in high school. 

This pouch and others are all available in my Etsy store.  Thanks for stopping by. 

Love to Dance Zipper Pouches

I had a request from one of my Mom friends for 5 zipper pouches with a dance theme for her daughter's dance instructors.  Right away I started looking for fabric and found one that matched the colors used throughout the dance studio.

Here are the five zipper pouches.   I could not find a "dance" charm so we opted for name initial. 

 

I used a hot pink dot fabric for the lining. 

 

I used the "Love to Dance" fabric for the back. 

Thanks for stopping by. 

Wedding Pillows

'Tis the season for spring weddings.  Here are two pillows I made and shipped to Arkansas earlier this week.

The first one is what I call "Stamped Suede", this is going to a couple who had a country themed wedding last month.

 

The second pillow is what I call "Cream on Cream", it is a cotton printed to look like taffeta. The Ampersand is a taupe colored suede.  This is for a wedding THIS weekend. 

These are available in my Etsy store.

Baylor University Zipper Pouches

The Baylor University Zipper Pouch is now the top seller in my Etsy store.  All the ladies that order tell me they are happy to find something girly promoting Baylor.

These are a few of the pouches I have made in the last few weeks.

These and all the pouches in my blog are available in my Etsy store.  Thanks for stopping by.
 

Texas Woman's University Zipper Pouch

Here is a zipper pouch I made for my own alma mater, Texas Woman's University.  The school colors are maroon and white and the mascot is a pioneer woman. 

This is what I came up with for the first version.

I have had my eye on this scrolly maroon fabric for a while, I think it looks good as the topper and lining in the pouch.












I got some feedback from some sister alumns on what I should change for the next one, hopefully I will get around to making another one very soon.  Available in my Etsy store.  Thanks for stopping by.

Orca Whale Zipper Pouch

When I first got my embroidery machine, I said I would make "every gift we gave as a family".  Sometimes making the making of these gifts drives me a little nuts but all in all, I enjoy it.

One of Micaela's buddies is a girl named Raven (cute name), Micaela and her have known each other since preschool.  Raven is facinated by sea life and loves Orca Whales.  When Micaela got invited to Raven's birthday party TOMORROW, she quickly told me we had to make her something with orca whales.  You know what I was thinking-- Yes, darling I have orca whale fabric in my stash--- Not!

Well, I went on a hunt and found some online and had it quickly shipped in so I could make our standard zipper bag gift. 

Tada!

Needless to say, this is unique and Raven loved it.  I got it done right before midnight, she's headed to the party in the afternoon

I embroidered Raven in purple because it is her favorite color.

Here is the back of the zipper bag.

I used a black and white dot for the lining.  I really think it turned out cute!  I love how you can find fabric with just about anything printed on it.  This and all my zipper pouches are available in my Etsy store.

 

 

An order of 9

A total of 9 zipper pouches is what a friend ordered last month.  I remember my first order of more than one zipper pouch just over a year ago, I was so excited.  Now 5, 8, or even sometimes 12 has become the norm. 

Wow, I never dreamed I would sell these little zipper pouches the way I do.  I simply started making unique gifts for family, friends, teachers and even acquaintances.  Fabric is really endless and when you find a perfect fabric for someone, you just want to make them something.  A simple little zipper pouch seemed just like the perfect thing and before I knew it, a fun hobby turned into a side business.   I've truly lost count of just how many zipper pouches I have made, but I am confident it's more than 500 in the last 18-20 months.  Who would have thought!

I've had a lot of people ask me about why I do this and how I manage.  I do it because I love the creative process and I secretly and openly LOVE fabric.  I simply love making useful unique things for people.  More than 85% of the items in my store were a gift I made for someone initially.  The reward comes later when someone I don't even know thinks it's the perfect gift for a loved one and makes a purchase with their hard earned money.   If you really look at all my bags, they are the same, I am not reinventing the wheel for each pouch, only the fabric and charms are different.  It's amazing how a little simple but unique zipper bag in the 'perfect' fabric with name personalization can become a treasured item for the recipient.

I have a demanding fulltime job that requires me to work way beyond 8 to 5.  I mostly do my sewing at night as a way to wind down, it's kinda like therapy.  Yup, I am crazy that way.

I've just finished a busy season of Mother's Day, Teacher Appreciation and Graduation orders.  Yes, I lost some sleep getting orders out the door and some of the requests were a little out of the ordinary and hard to fulfill but at the end of the day I really feel touched that customers picked ME to make a little zippered pouch for their mother, grandmother, teacher or graduate.

Here's the order of 9 I just made for a friend.  These are all for graduating seniors girls going off to the following colleges: New York University, University of Kansas, University of North Texas, University of Texas, Texas Tech University, Stephen F Austin State University and the University of Tulsa.  I wish all these girls well and I hope the little simple pouch I made reminds them that someone opted for a thoughtful handmade item to celebrate the beginning of the college chapter of their lives. 

New college zipper pouches.

Here are a few more college zipper pouches I have added to my Etsy store.

University of Kansas

Stephen F Austin State University.  Had to improvise on this one, their colors are purple, red and white mainly and the mascot is a lumberjack...  Found an axe for the charm and I think it works...

Kansas State University.

Louisiana State University.

Oklahoma State University.  Did you know their mascot is a cowboy named Pistol Pete, thought the "pistol" charm would be a bit much but an OSU alumni thought it was right on...

All these pouches are available in my Etsy store.