Doubled Up

So tomorrow is my brother’s birthday.  Every year this brings the same old problem, what do I make to give him?  I have mostly aimed to make things that are somewhat practical or appeal to his interests, the later being considerably harder to do.

So this year the practical gift is…a wallet keychain.  It is similar to ones I have made in the past.  A simple zippered pouch with a key ring attached to it.  The difference with this one is an extra zippered section.  It is basically like making two of the pouches and connecting them together.  Conjoined pouches.  Simple to do except for the whole zipper thing, will I ever learn to do zippers perfectly?  The fabric is a nice gray pinstripe print.  It’s not too flashy and definitely not hideous.  I had to fight the temptation to add lace and stuff, I don’t think that would go over well.  Anyway, hopefully he will be able to use it.
Here’s the updated list:

• Sunflower skirt
• Present
• Video
• Little t-shirt redo
• Pincushions
• Pants redo
• Bear pants
• Hair accessories
• Red skirt
• Wristbands

Two down, eight to go.  The next one will be loaded Monday, it’s another special one.

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Flowers and Bills

Remember that cute wallet I made like an eternity ago (see Decorating and Launching).  It lasted a good long time, but it’s gone kaput.  I needed a new one badly, so I whipped up these babies.  I used two different patterned fabrics for each one except for the pink one on the upper right.  They each have a bill fold pocket (is that what it’s called?) and four extra pockets, two on the outside and two on the inside.  The pink one I made specifically for myself so it has a little bonus.  One of the pockets has a zipper in order to hold change.  I actually did it as an experiment.  Let’s just say there is a reason I didn’t add zippers to the other wallets.  Anyway, I now have a fresh wallet and three extra.  I think I probably will put the extra ones in my shoppe.  I’ve really been neglecting it lately.
Here’s the updated list:

• Notebooks
• Little skirt
• Red dress
• Red purse
• wallets
• Tiny wreaths
• Stockings
• Ornaments
• Trees
• Doll makeover

Five down, five more to go.  The next two should be up by Wednesday, hopefully not at like 11 pm.  Wouldn’t be the first time.

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Decorating and Launching

I managed to finish everything on my list within the past few days.  Yay!

 First up, this wallet.  I decided my old wallet was getting a bit cruddy, so of course I had to whip up a new one.

I used some scraps leftover from the skirt I made and decorated it with some bows and a scrap of lace.  It has a bill fold, two roomy pockets on the inside, one on the outside and…

 

…a zippered pocket for change.

This is a necessity for me.  I love getting change, but seldom have a place for it in store bought wallets.  Guess that would explain why I bother making them instead of buying them, not just because it’s fun. 

Next is a notebook.  I got this notebook as a promotional freebie some time ago and I never leave the house without it.  It is the perfect size to tuck in my bag and has a pen holder that actually works.

Of course years of being tossed into my bag has left it a little roughed up.  Easy to fix that.

 

A touch of paint, some adhesive gems, glitter and Modge Podge all come to save the day.  This photo doesn’t do it any justice, it looks so good now in person.  Now I love taking it out to jot something down.

Now this basket, I rescued it from being tossed, a good basket is always handy to have around.  I thought it would be a great place to store all my laces and other trimmings, but it needed some “trimming”.

How’s this?  A glue gun and scraps of lace are all it took to turn it from a plain Jane basket to, well what would you call it? 

I wish I had more baskets lying around now to decorate, these would look lovely on a dresser or in the bathroom.

Now the last and most ambitious project, a forum site.  Click the image to check it out, hope you all like it.  It isn’t too much at the moment, these sort of things are never fully “complete”, but that’s what makes a forum so much fun.  They are always changing to fit the user’s needs, evolving into a better being or whatever.  I just hope I can keep up with the future needs, it should be a blast.

(Update: The forum is closed now, but it was fun while it lasted.)

Here’s the updated list:

Sunflower dress

Black headband

Update pioneer dress

Prettied up shoes

Pleated skirt

Wallet

Makeover notebook

Trim basket

Forum

Nine down and out.  No time to rest though, I now have a forum keep up and two holidays to plan.  My Christmas project list should be up in a few days, look forward to it.

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A+ and Stuff

Yesterday was my first exam at Apollo, and I got 100% on it.  Seriously, it had 100 with a smiley face.  To celebrate, I made myself a new wallet, the old one was starting to look kind of cruddy.  I used some scraps of denim and my Tweety Bird fabric.  The picture’s kind of lousy though.  It has a pocket for bills and three pockets for cards and stuff, one of them is on the outside for convenience.  It’s easier when I need my library card in a hurry or something.  And of course, there is a zippered pocket for change, always a necessity for me.  I’ve always had good luck when it comes to finding change on the ground.  They say it’s lucky to find a penny, what is it when you find a twenty?  That actually has happened to me.  Maybe “Tweety” will make me even luckier.  I can always dream.

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