Thursday, February 19, 2015

Valentine Project Revealed

I recently took part in a Valentine's exchange where the rules were that, well, there were no rules.  Just stitch something, and if we wanted to turn it into something, we could.  I took this as a challenge.  I knew that I wanted to stitch something Valentine-inspired, and found a cute heart freebie online.  Then an idea popped into my head.  I could stitch a few hearts and incorporate this into one of my little fabric project bags. 
The stitching was done with DMC 115 - variegated red - on a slightly off white evenweave.  On a visit to my local Joann's I found an amazingly perfect fabric to use for the outside of the bag and also a cute contrasting fabric for the lining.
A peek at the lining fabric during construction.
Insetting the stitched piece into the bag was a little bit of a challenge because I had to be sure to get everything even and straight.  But I think this is very good for a first try.  I would definitely make another one of these.  And FYI, I used Luann Kessi's quilted bag tutorial which can be found here.  I just used her general instructions for this type of bag, not the quilting part.

Now it's time for "Other People's Creations", simply because I'm not the only awesome crafter in the world.  My sister, Sheila, just finished some lovely beaded lanyards for her girls' teachers.
Just look at these.  Aren't they beautiful?  No boring lanyards for these teachers!  And each one features a swivel clasp where they can add their school IDs.  What a nice thing to do for teachers who do so much for kids.  I'm sure they'll appreciate these!

If you're a new follower, welcome!  If you've been following for a while, thank you!  I appreciate all of my followers and love hearing from you in the way of comments.  I had so much fun at the Grow Your Blog party and with my giveaway.  So much so that I'm going to be having another giveaway very soon.  So please come back and visit!

10 comments:

  1. Your bag turned out beautiful. What a great exchange project. And those lanyards are gorgeous. I know some teacher's who would definitely agree!

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  2. Beautiful hearts, I remember these well, they are from Carton-Marie and I stitched them for my cousin's wedding sampler.
    http://comehappydancewithme.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/53-carton-marie-couers-en-boites.html
    Love the lanyards too.

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  3. i love your Valentine project. You did a beautiful job finishing it. And I know your daughter's teacher's will appreciate the lanyards. My DD always has a hard time finding one she likes.

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  4. What a fabulous heart bag you created, Cathy! And your sister's lanyards are very pretty!

    Robin in Virginia

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  5. Very pretty stitching. Incorporating it into a little bag is inspired!

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  6. Such a lovely bag, those hearts look great! The lining fabric is great, at first I thought they were chocolate-covered strawberries, then cherry blossom and now I'm sure I'm trying to make sense of just a random design. I'll settle for chocolate-covered cherry blossoms. :) Your sister's lanyards turned out great too. :D

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  7. What a beautiful bag. I love both the fabrics you chose and your finishing is great! Your sister's lanyards are gorgeous and I'm sure well received.

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  8. Wonderful projects! such creative hands!

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  9. Cathy, your bag is just gorgeous!! Thanks for the link to the tutorial--maybe I'll get up my nerve to try one one of these days :)

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  10. What a lovely project bag! So bright and cheerful! I love that DMC 115--I've used it and it is really pretty!

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