Ninja Jewelry Holder Tutorial

Oh, look, it’s me!

Need a jewelry holder? Well, you’re in luck because I did too and, because it’s me, you know it had to involve ninjas or mushrooms.

Even better, it resulted in a tutorial for you!! You know, because I’m cool like that. :)

Ninja Jewelry Holder Tutorial

Step 1: Assemble your supplies.

For this jewelry holder, I used 2 thrifted crystal plates that I got for $2, an old shot glass, and a ninja toy. Make sure that all of the pieces are thoroughly cleaned and dry. You are also going to need some glue. We had some E6000 at my house, but you could probably use any glue meant for glass and be cool, too.

Step 2: Glue.

Put glue on the center of the plate that you are using for the bottom of the jewelry holder and on the bottom of the ninja.

Step 3: Apply ninja.

Put the ninja in the middle of the plate (on the glue you just put there) and press down for at least 10 seconds to secure the bond of the glue just a little. :)

Step 4: Glue the glass.

Put glue all around the edge of the shot glass. Be careful not to put so much on that it drips down the side of the glass. It’s not the end of the world if it does--it just creates more work for you because you’ll have to clean the excess glue off before it dries.

Step 5: Encase the ninja.

Lower the shot glass over the top of the ninja being careful not to get glue on the ninja. Press the shot glass down against the plate for at least 10 seconds to secure the bond of the glue.

Step 6: Glue, again.

Put glue on bottom of shot glass and bottom of the plate that you are using for the top of the jewelry holder. 

Press down on the middle of the top plate for at least 10 seconds to secure the bond of the glue.

Step 8: The Waiting Game.

Let the jewelry holder dry for at least 24 hours.

Step 9: Enjoy!

Put your jewelry on your new jewelry holder and enjoy!

Have you tried this tutorial? Post a picture of what you put inside your shot glass! :)

Contain my excitement? Never!!

Because I totally suck at acting like nothing is going on when I'm  bursting from excitement inside, I just thought I should let you all  know...

That badge you see above is posted with pride.

I sent in my journal cover tutorial (You've Got Mail!) for consideration and it was accepted and posted over at the Totally Tutorials blog!

This was a fabulous way to start Friday!!

Go show the Totally Tutorials blog some love if you have a free moment.

And of course, thank you for posting my tutorial, Dotty! :)

Arrr, Matey!

The kids and I had a few hours that we needed to kill yesterday so we decided to play pirates.

Except we couldn't just play pirates. No, no. We had to make the stuff to dress up and play pirates with!

So I set my kids to coloring pieces of paper to make hats with. They're nothing special, the hats. They are the same style of hats that we used to make in elementary school out of newspaper. Turns out they make for pretty good make believe pirate hats, too. And since it's been about 15 years since I made my last newspaper hat, I used this tutorial for reference.

While the kids colored, I cut out and sewed eye patches. Because, well, everybody knows pirates have eye patches...or at least so says my 4 year old.

Since the project is very simple, I made two eye patches in under 30 minutes. You can, too!

How to Make a Pirate Eye Patch for Kids

Materials:
Fabric (fleece or felt are recommended*)
Thread
Needle (or sewing machine)
Yarn

*You can use any fabric for this project, but fleece and felt are recommended because you don't have to hem the edges after cutting them. If you use another fabric like cotton for this, then plan to use some fabric glue or a hem to keep the edges from fraying or have ragged edges on your final project.

Click on the picture to view larger version

(Okay, so my scanner isn't working right now so this is my attempt at making a graphic that will print to actual size. If it doesn't, let me know. I'll figure it out!)

Step 1) Using the template pictured above, cut the eye patch shape out of your fabric. Note: The dimensions of this patch are 2.5 inches wide by 2.75 inches tall.

Step 2) Measure 18-24 inches of yarn (measurement depends on the size of the head of the child being fitted) and burn the ends to prevent unraveling.

Step 3) Place the patch in the middle of the yarn being sure that the yarn is at the flat top portion of the fabric. Fold the top 1/4 inch of the patch  over the yarn along the fold line (see template above) and pin in place.

Step 4) Sew a hem where you pinned except make sure that you use a wide stitch so your needle also passes through the yarn as well as the layers of fabric. Sewing the patch to the yarn like this is optional, but will prevent the patch from sliding off of the yarn in the future.

I used a cross stitch to sew on our patches, but you could use a sewing machine with the zig zag setting, too. Do what makes you happy!

Step 5) Tie the patch on and go have some fun!

Arrr, Matey!!

Fun fact that I found out while making the eye patches: Fabric glue and fleece do not work together.Heed my warning, friends. It's just a big fat mess waiting to happen.

What have you been up to?

You've Got Mail!

So I had a fabulous idea yesterday that I couldn't wait to share with you!

While cutting the stamps off of my mail for a page in my Wreck This Journal, I realized that the envelopes my mail comes in could be used for something new.

Next time you get bills or other mail from businesses that come in security envelopes, take a look inside and you might be pleasantly surprised like me.

Or, I could just show you right now.

Yeah, let's do that.

Look through the window

See that? The inside of the envelopes have designs.

So I cut open the envelope and opened it up to see how I could use it.

Great timing! I just bought some small moleskin journals and immediately thought of covering one with the envelope paper.

To cover the journal completely, I had to use two envelope halves. Making sure to position the paper where I wanted it before applying any adhesive.

Easy flush edges: Make sure that the envelope paper is bigger than the journal. Wait to trim off the excess paper until after the glue dries using sharp scissors or an xacto knife.

Using my new favorite medium for paper:

I adhered the envelope paper to the outside of the journal.

I have found that the easiest way to do this is to apply the adhesive to one side of the journal at a time, pulling tight and smoothing down each side as you go. Squeegees, credit cards, and other long flat items are also useful for smoothing out any bubbles under the paper.

Then I allowed the journal to dry completely and cut the excess paper around the edges.

Next I added a ribbon which served two purposes*:

1. Covered up the seam between the two pieces of paper.
2. Adds a blast of color to the black and white pattern.

*Plus, orange is my favorite color so I'm always looking for ways to add a little orange to my projects!

See how I made sure to leave the ends extra long? That way there's plenty for wrapping to the inside of the journal cover.

Once the ribbon was positioned where I wanted it, I glued it to the outside of the journal! (I used clear Tacky glue for this part.) And then allow the glue to dry AGAIN.

Next, I trimmed the excess ribbon to about 2.5 inches and folded it over into the inside of the journal to be sure it would fit. Once I was sure it would fit tightly inside, I glued the remaining ribbon to the inside of the journal.

To protect the first pages from the glued ribbon, I slipped some small pieces of freezer paper inside.

Then, because the edge of the ribbon where I folded it over to the inside wouldn't lay flat, I clamped the journal shut.

After an hour of clamping, I removed the clip and placed the journal under a stack of heavy books to dry completely.

There's one less envelope in the dump today!

Got 30 minutes? Let's make a Custom Camera Strap Cover!

I fancy myself to be an amateur photographer.

I love my camera, the Canon Rebel XTi, but the strap that came with it? Not so much.


It's a black strap with CANON EOS DIGITAL embroidered on it in white thread and it's just not my style. I am more of a color person, you know? And as much as I love my camera, I'd rather tell you why rather than be branded by their company logo. It's just a personal preference, really.

So I pulled my trusty old sewing machine and some long scraps of fabric out and commenced the sewing!

The project is really easy and takes about 30 minutes to cut, pin, press, sew, turn out, and press again.

The end result is this!

Picture taken with my cell phone...you know, because I was wearing the camera for the picture...

Isn't that better? I certainly think so.

Actually, I was so pleased with the result that I made 5 more.

Not all of the straps are pictured here. Fooled you!

Here's how I made them:

Step 1)  Choose your fabric, measure to double the width of your camera strap plus 1/2 inch (you could just do 1/4 inch seam allowances, but I prefer the extra wiggle room) and the same length as the camera strap plus 1 inch (for 1/2 inch seam allowances on the ends).

You know, I have a tape measure somewhere...I'm going to have to start using it. It would make tutorials a whole lot easier to write! :)

Step 2)  Lay the cut fabric on a flat surface. Fold the ends over and sew to create finished seams on the ends of the camera strap. Be mindful of your stitches and/or use a fancy stitch for this because these seams will be the most visible on your finished project.

Step 3)  Line up the long ends of the camera strap and pin together. I like to pin long pieces like this even when they're straight because it's one less thing to have to pay attention to when I'm sewing. Sew along the long edge of the strap.

Step 4)  Press upon the finished seam along the long edge. You don't have to, but I found that the seams laid down more predictably when I pressed them before turning the strap right side out.

Step 5)  Turn the camera strap right side out. Press the finished project flat. Put onto your camera and enjoy!

I found that making the strap covers just a touch longer than the camera straps they are going on made for a nice fit once the strap was being worn. If you make the cover exact, then it could slip a little bit and leave one end of the strap exposed. Not a big deal, but could annoy others the way it annoyed me at first. Just trying to help where I can!

I've seen some cool variations on camera strap covers. You could add a pocket to hold a memory card or spare battery pack. Or you could add some ribbon or fringe to the edges and make something really fancy! Seriously, this is the most basic of the patterns you will find. Have fun with this and share your ideas with me when you're done!

PARTY POSTING: Rainbow Cake!!

**Told you I'd be making up for lost posts. You get two today--one with a tutorial!!**

You know one of the things that I love about having kids?

Rainbow colored birthday cake.

Isn't it beautiful!?! I love rainbows and I love cake. So it just seemed like a good idea to put one together. I'm glad my daughter had the idea. Got to love the limitless imagination of a 4 year old. :) I was just happy to be able to fulfill the request.

The whole process was a little bit of extra time from a one-color cake and a whole lot of extra mixing, but all around pretty fun.

It looks so innocent in the vanilla frosting, doesn't it?

And it turned out...rainbow-ish. Yeah, yeah, it probably would have helped if I hadn't accidentally reversed the order of the colors when I poured the cake batter into the pans. Know what? It still tasted just as good as if the colors had been in order. So I'll take it!

Here's how: Rainbow Cake Tutorial

Step 1)  Buy a box of white cake mix, vanilla frosting, olive/vegetable oil, and eggs. Also purchase gel food coloring. Must be gel and not the liquid kind we're all used to. GEL, people. That is where the vivid color comes from. I found it at Fred Meyers (Kroger) in Alaska, you can probably find it at some other comparable grocery store where you are.

Step 2)  Preheat oven and prepare the cake batter as directed on the box. Don't forget to only use egg whites or else your white cake will turn out yellow. I don't know if using them would effect the final color of your rainbow cake, but I figure that it's best to start out with a blank slate and opted to make the traditional white.

Step 3)  Split the cake batter into 6 equal portions. You should now have 6 separate bowls of white cake batter.

Step 4) Add the food coloring and mix well. I found that I had to add a lot of red to make the batter not look pinkish while I didn't have to add much blue, purple, or yellow before the color looked right. Just add the food coloring until you have your desired  color.

Step 5)  TAKE THE TIME TO DO THIS STEP! Grease and line with parchment paper two 8 or 9 inch round pans.

I found that even when I followed the directions and let the cake cool completely, the bottoms were still stuck to the pans. Lucky for me, I was planning on icing the cake anyway but if I hadn't then I'd have been really pissed. Save yourself the pain in the ass. Just line the pans ahead of time.

Step 6)  Slowly pour one color of cake batter at a time into the center of the pans.

For a rainbow, use the following sequence:

Pan 1 - Red, orange, yellow

Pan 2 - Blue, green, purple

(For a cake like mine, reverse that order.)

Step 7)  Bake as directed on the box. Remove from the oven and let cool completely in the pans.

Step 8)  Once completely cool, invert Pan 2 onto a cake platter or plate. Spread frosting on top of the layer.

If the cake puffs up in the middle too much to lay flat on the plate, then you can trim the first 1/4 to 1/2 inch off of the top before inverting the pan.

Step 9)  Invert Pan 1 on top of the frosted first layer using the same method to level the cake as in Step 7.

Step 10)  Frost the cake starting from the middle on the top and working your way to the outsides.

Step 11)  Enjoy your creation!

My daughter cleaned her plate completely, but her brother left this behind:

Yes, those are crumbs on the floor. 

Yes, the dogs liked the rainbow cake, too.

And after all that, if you're still feeling fiesty then you can make cupcakes too!

I love how little bubbles of the other layers of color rose to the surface while the cupcakes were baking. I almost didn't want to cover them with frosting because I liked the effect so much. Then I remembered who I was baking these for...

I don't think the kids at daycare would appreciate the colors on top as much as the frosting so I went ahead and covered this up:

Original un-tweaked recipe can be found here: Omnomicon's Rainbow Cake.

A jar for your flowers...and memories

Do you have dried flowers from a special event that you want to remember like a wedding, party, or prom?

Maybe you're tired of the tedious process of cleaning the dust off of your dried flower displays. Or you have a variety of items that you want to show off.

Whatever the reason, today I have a solution:

Make a memory jar!

Pictured are some of the flowers from my wedding bouquet in a 48 ounce square jar

Memory jars are similar to shadow boxes or dioramas and add an interesting visual element to any display. You can embellish the outside of the jar as I did, or leave it plain so that focus remains on the contents. 

The nice thing about memory jars is that they are as diverse as the contents inside them. 

These days you can find just about any shape or sized jar you need for a decent price. There are also durable plastic containers that would work well, too. And hit up a yard sale or thrift store for an even better deal on jars for displaying your memories.

If you look closely at the pictures of my memory jar, you will see that the flowers inside it have a shine to them. The shine is caused by a sealant that I dipped the flowers in before placing them into the jar. The sealant step is not necessary, but I am hoping that it will add to the life of the display. I've already noticed that the flowers are more sturdy and less prone to breaking/flaking now that they've been sealed.

If you're going to use sealant for your flowers, the time to create this will increase substantially. Sealing the flowers isn't a long process, but waiting for them to dry is! Also, make sure you have a well ventilated area set up. The sealant reaks! Thought I should mention that since I'm talking about the pros of using the sealant.

So are you anxious to make one of your own? Well, you're in luck!

How to Make a Memory Jar

 There are an endless amount of variations to the memory jar and how you can make it, but here's a basic how-to to get you started.  

Materials Needed:
  Dried flowers, knick knacks, other items you want to save
  Jar with lid
  Ribbon, beads, other embellishments for outside of the jar
  Marbles
  Glue

**If you are using a sealant on your flowers then you will also need a block of florist's foam, floral picks, newspaper, and latex gloves.**

Directions:

1. Seal the flowers using the directions on your sealant's package. Allow to dry for at least 6 hours.
2. Rinse out the jar with warm water. 
3. Pour the marbles into the bottom and put the embellishments on the outside of the jar. Let stand to dry.
4. Arrange flowers and knick knacks inside the jar.
5. Put the lid on the jar and enjoy your beautiful display!

There you have it. Just as simple as that. You can make this as simple or elaborate as you like.

I only have one request:
If you try this project, please please please please please send me pictures! I want to see the lovelies you create!

Jelly Bean Bunny Pattern

Just in time for Easter, I bring you the first crochet pattern I have ever published for other people's personal use: the Jelly Bean Bunnies.

If you remember yesterday's post, you will remember that I mentioned it took me from Friday evening to Sunday morning to finish these little cuties. This happened because 1) I was making two of them so the creation time was doubled and 2) these are presents for my kids so I could only work on them while the kids were asleep.

One bunny should really only take about an hour to an hour and a half of continuous work.

Jelly Bean Bunny
Pattern
(Crochet)

Work in the round using an F hook unless otherwise specified.

Body:
1) Chain 2.
2) Single crochet (SC) 6 times into second loop from hook (or first loop in the chain depending on how you look at it).
3) SC twice in each SC around the circle (=12)
4) SC in each SC around the circle (12)
5) SC one, then SC twice into the next SC. Repeat 6 times to complete the circle. (18)
6) SC 18 for 6 rows (18)
7) SC one, then decrease (DEC) one. Repeat 6 times. (12)
8) Turn the body right side out.
9) SC 12 (12)
10) DEC around the circle (6)
11) Tie off and resist the urge to stuff the body. You can, but things are a whole lot easier if you wait.

Ears (make 2):
Using an E hook, work across.
1) Chain 3.
2) SC in second loop from hook and SC remaining loop on the chain. (2)
3) SC 2 for 4 rows. (2)
4) SC twice in each SC across. (4)
5) SC 4 for 2 rows. (4)
6) DEC across the row. (2)
7) Tie off leaving a long end for tightening up the edge.
8) Using a children's needle (you know, those thick light blue plastic ones that are perfect for yarn), tighten up the edge of the ears by working in the long end along the stitches on the very outside of the ear shape. Once you've sewed all the way around, pull the long end and tighten it to a nice, neat ear shape. If you don't have a long enough end to attach the ear to the head, cut yourself a short piece of yarn and tie the ear on with that.

Head:
1) Chain 2.
2) SC 6 into second loop from hook (or first loop in the chain depending on how you look at it).
3) SC twice in each SC around the circle (=12)
4) SC one, then SC twice into the next SC. Repeat 6 times to complete the circle. (18)
5) SC 18 for 6 rows (18)
6) SC one, SC one, SC twice into the next SC. Repeat 6 times. (24)
7) SC 24 for 3 rows (24)
8) SC one, SC one, DEC one. Repeat 6 times. (18)
9) SC 18 (18)
10) Turn the head right side out.
11) Attach ears and embroider the face before completing the head.
12) SC one, DEC one. Repeat 6 times. (12)
13) DEC around the circle. (6)
14) Tie off and stuff the head.

Arms and Legs (make 2 of each):
Using an E hook, work in the round.
1) Chain 2.
2) SC 6 into second loop from hook (or first loop in the chain depending on how you look at it).
3) SC one, then SC twice into the next SC. Repeat 6 times to complete the circle. (9)
4) SC 9 for 5 rows (arms) or 6 rows (legs).
5) Tie off leaving long ends for sewing the legs to the body.
6) Stuff the legs if desired. I left mine unstuffed and the bunnies transition quite nicely from sitting to standing. I think that stuffing the arms and legs would make them a little harder to move around, but I could be wrong. Try it out and let me know!

Tail:
Make a small pom-pom and leave long ends for tying to the body.*

*How to make a pom-pom with your finger:
1) Wrap some yarn around your pinky finger close to the fingernail (for bigger pom-poms, use a bigger finger) about 10-12 times. Cut the yarn.
2) Cut another piece of yarn of the same color about 8 inches long.
3) Take the circle of yarn that you just wrapped off of the end of your finger.
4) Wrap the short piece of yarn around the middle of the circle of yarn and tie a knot.
5) Cut the loops on each side of the knot. (Do you see the pom-pom taking shape now?)
6) Trim the edges of the pom-pom until it is the desired size and shape.
7) Roll the pom-pom in your hands to fuzz up the ends of the yarn a little bit.

Assembly:
Attach the arms, legs, and tail to the body. Then stuff the body. Last, attach the head to the top of the body.

And you're done!


I hope you get a chance to try these out. Let me know if you have any questions, concerns, comments, corrections, etc.

Happy crocheting!

Freezer Paper Stencils

I tried out freezer paper stencils this weekend. I love designing clothes for my kiddos and this little project was a lot of fun.

I made a couple of mushrooms and I think that they turned out nicely.

And it was super simple! The hardest thing to do with this project was wait for the paint to dry.

Close-up of my finished shirt design

Freezer paper is great for many reasons. It is readily available at any of the larger grocery stores and you can cut it to any shape your heart desires. In application, when the plastic coating on the freezer paper is ironed, it makes a nice seal to fabric and doesn't leave a residue after you peel it off. And you don't just have to use it with paint either--I used it on a bleach distressed shirt and it also worked like a charm. This stuff is magic!

Supplies Required:

• Fabric (I made T-shirts this time around)
• Freezer paper
• Scissors and xacto knife
• Iron (with the steam function turned off)
• Permanent fabric paint
• Paint brush, foam brush, and/or squeegee
• A flat place to dry your stuff

Here are the super simple steps for applying a design using freezer paper:

1. Draw design on the freezer paper.
2. Cut out the parts of the design that you want to print using scissors and/or an xacto knife. NOTE: Cut in the paper = Color on the fabric: The freezer paper is the guide to where the paint will end up. If you make an accidental cut in the paper, either plan for paint to show through there or start over from scratch.
   
3. Iron freezer paper to fabric.
4. Squeeze paint onto open section of stencil and use a paint brush, foam brush, or squeege to cover the hole in the stencil and paint the fabric. Using the brushes/squeege will cause the paint to lay more evenly on the fabric than if you were to just squirt it on.
   
5. Allow paint to dry completely.
6. Peel off the stencil and admire the product of your not-too-hard work.
   
7. Repeat steps 1-5 for additional colors.
8. Iron the paint for 20-30 seconds to set it to the fabric.
9. Allow to stand for 72 hours before washing the fabric inside out.

It is easiest to work the color on multi-color projects in layers starting with the lightest color paint when you want multiple colors on a project.

For instance, on the mushrooms, I wanted a white background so I used the white first, then added the color to the cap second. I had it easy because all my color was going to the same place.

If you are doing a multi-color project where the colors appear on different areas of the stencil, then you could potentially do all of the painting at one time while being mindful of not mixing the colors or going into areas that you want other colors to be. That would certainly make the drying time for the project less because you wouldn't have to wait for layers of paint to dry before adding more.

I have read that you can use up to 5 layers with success, but I only tried the 2 so I can't give you any real life feedback on that. Perhaps in the future I will be able to, though. This was fun so I have plans for more freezer paper stencil projects.

I made these in about 2 hours, with only about 30 minutes of that spent actively working. The rest of the time was spent drying.

My inspiration for this project came from:
Made - In this post, Dana made super cute toddle pants with Goldfish stencils.
Craftster Forum - A place where tons of really creative people have made all sorts of things and then posted pictures and wrote about them.
Neither Hip Nor Funky - I used this post to check myself during the actual process.

If I made these in my free time, you could crafts some serious works of art in yours!

Try it out sometime!

Shrink-a-Dinks: Not just for kids anymore!

Today was fun with Shrink-a-Dinks!

I happened upon them while at our local craft store and couldn't help myself.

A few of the things that I made today

Do you have about 30 minutes to an hour of free time? Then this project is right up your alley!

I didn't take any pictures of the process but it basically goes like this:

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees (F)
2. Stamp, draw, and/or color your desired images directly onto the textured side of the Shrink-a-Dink plastic
3. Punch a hole in the top if you want to hang the finished product
4. Cut out your image making sure to leave clean edges
5. Place the cut outs on to a baking sheet lined with a brown paper bag
   
6. Bake for anywhere from 1-5 minutes until the plastic lays flat on the baking sheet plus 30 seconds (the 30 seconds is to cure or set the plastic)*
   
7. Pull out of the oven and press flat with a folded up piece of paper to ensure the plastic is completely flat. You only have 10 seconds to do this. If your finished product isn't the right shape/flat enough after it has cooled, then return to the oven until the plastic heats up enough to flatten down and reshape again. **
   
8. Allow to dry completely.
   
9. Use as desired. I think that a pair of tiny mushrooms might make for some really cute earrings. Most of the things that I made today are going to be keychains and zipper pulls, though.
   

*The Shrink-a-Dink plastic will curl and twist and move while it shrinks. This is normal! When it has shrunk as much as it will shrink, it will lay down flat on the baking sheet.

**If the plastic isn't flat after you've cooled it, please do as instructed here and in the directions that come in the package. If you try to force it down, the plastic will crack/break and all your work will be ruined. Yeah...I had to find that out the hard way...argh...

One of my creations in action

I mean, if this was all made in my free time, then imagine what you could do in yours!

Reversible Pouch Tutorial

I made reversible pouches for my kids recently and thought that I'd share the pattern.

They are super simple and take about 45 minutes to an hour to complete.

This pattern is very versatile for a couple of reasons.
1) The pouch can be made to virtually any size.
2) The pouch can be made with a drawstring close, snap close, zipper, and I'm even thinking about putting some rivets in one someday so a caribeaner can be used to attach it to belt buckles or a backpack.

The tutorial that I'm doing today will feature a basic open pouch.

Materials Needed:
Fabric
Thread
Pins
Scissors or rotary cutter
Sewing machine
Iron and ironing board
Needle

How to Make the Reversible Pouch:

Click on pictures to see a larger version

Choose your fabrics and iron them flat before trimming to the desired size.

Cut the fabric to about 2 inches larger all the way around than you would like the finished bag to be. I cut and then iron--do not make this mistake as I had to go back and straighten my edges after I got done ironing.

Flip outside pieces and inside pieces facing the rights sides together (pictured left) and pin 3 of the 4 sides.

Note: I had to cut all 4 sides of my fabric because I was using a print that had a top and bottom. If you don't care that one side of your bag's pattern will be upside down (or you are using a fabric with no distinguishable top and bottom) then cut a long rectangle double the length of your bag's desired size plus 2 inches. That way you won't have to sew the bottom shut because it will already be closed. Save yourself some work.

Sew the outside pieces together leaving one of the sides open. This will be the top of the pouch.

Sew the inside pieces together leaving one of the sides open and a 2 1/2 inch gap in one seam for turning the bag out in later steps. My gap was smaller than that and it was tough to turn the bag out. Don't make my mistake!


Once the sides (and bottom, if applicable) are sewn, turn the inside pouch right side out and work it into the outside pouch. Pictured below left.


Line up the seams as pictured above right. The orange arrow points to where the seams are lined up. Pin the pouch so that it doesn't twist while you sew the top closed.

Sew along the top of the pouch. You may need to stop a couple of times to adjust the fabric so that it doesn't twist as you sew. I've found that the smaller the pouch, the more it twists.


Once you've stitched all the way around the top, pull the inside of the pouch out as pictured above.

Find the opening that you left in the inside fabric (pictured above) and pull the whole bag through it so that the right side is on the outside (pictured below).

We're almost there! Hang in there. Oh, and...

That's right. Fold over the edges of the hole in the inside fabric (iron them down if they won't stay on their own) and sew it shut. You can sew it shut the easy but visible way: via sewing machine. Or you can sew it shut the more time consuming but less visible way: by hand. I've done both and they both work well.

Push the inside of the pouch into the outside of the pouch and stitch about 1/2 to 1 inch away from the top edge of the opening. This is the finishing hem that will show on the outside of the bag, so take care to make it straight! If you're really worried about it, then I've found that using a zig zag stitch sometimes helps to camouflage my inability to sew in a straight line.

Sidenote: Do you ever have days like this where no matter what you do, you can't sew in a straight line to save your life? I certainly do...


And there you have it! You've got a reversible pouch. Perfect for little hands with little things or big hands with little things. Protect your cell phone or Ipod, a book, anything really.

Here are all of the pouches I made that day

These were made in my free time. Imagine what you can do in yours!

Happy sewing!