To Mothers and Good Literature

It’s a little late, but Happy Mother’s Day.  Maybe not that late, my sister still has people saying it to her.

Anyway, as usual I made a little something for my own mom this year.  And as usual I didn’t have the guts to give it to her directly.  So she received this discreet little pouch as delivered by my niece.

Inside were a couple of my lovely button broaches (see Button Broach: A Tutorial) and a pretty handkerchief.  I made the handkerchief in a slightly different way than usual.  It’s hard to describe, but I think I will definitely be making more like this in the future.

Next, I found myself in need of a case to hold pens and pencils and such, one that would essentially be squish-proof.  The solution?  A hardcover book.

I took an old hardcover book I had lying around and carefully removed the innards.  Don’t worry, the pages are still completely intact.  I stuck them in the dust jacket to read later since the story sounds interesting.  It’s kind of like turning a hardcover book into a paperback.

All I had to do was make the pockets and lining then glue them inside the cover.  Then I made the strap to keep it closed.  It closes with Velcro, I tried to use snaps but it didn’t turn out right.  Of course I glued on a large button just for show.  It was a lot of fun to make.  I thought about making another one, a larger one this time.  The problem is I can’t find a book with a large sized cover that I can remove without causing too much harm to it.  I’m not one of those people that can completely destroy an interesting book in the name of crafting.  Sigh.
Here’s the updated list:

• Gift
• Pencil case
• T-shirt recon
• Pink dress
• Shorts
• Patterns
• Shoes
• Striped skirt
• Mazes

Two down, seven to go.  The next one should be up by Saturday.