Baby Bags

Good morning Bloglanders

It's very, very busy at Hamman HQ.  We are 2 months away from THE WEDDING and the rest of the world seems to be having babies.  As we have our own business, I did some "gifts from the heart" to give to all our "expecting" clients.

Here they are:

I used all my scrap fabric to make these  "little house bags", then packed it with a spare onesie, nappy, wet wipes and a little toy. Perfect for the new mum to tuck under her car's seat for emergencies!!

I did them X20 and we need more.  Did I tell you that the whole Sunny SA are having babies?? Maybe it's the sunshine!

I'm off to my (very) busy life. Thanks for visiting my blog today and please come back to play as I have lots more to share right here.

PS. Remember to try something new today!

DIY Gift Bags

Good morning Bloglanders

I hope you are feeling summery.  It's a beautiful day and I just can't wait to get some stuff done. This time of  the year I go into "Gift mode" - it's Mother's Day, my mum, a friend from university and my sister's twin boys birthdays. So, I start to stock up on gift bags and cards well in advance.

Do you make your own gift bags? Well I do and this one will be for my mum - not too girly but still charming and elegant - like her!

And the color inspiration: The Play Date Cafe:

I did the heart speech bubble in  felt and used this die set from Spellbinders:

I'm sure you all do your own party bags but I decided to share how I do mine for those who need some tips. Normally I recycle old wrapping paper, calendar pages or just office scraps. It is the perfect canvas to try out your stamps, stencils, die cuts and masks. This is what I do:

Top left:  I use a box (about the size of the party bag that you need) and a piece of paper. I fold the edge of the wrapping paper over and glue it down as I like my bag to have a sturdy edge.

Top right: Continue wrapping around the box like a present leaving the upper, folded edge as it is. Glue everything in place.

Middle left: Remove the box.

Middle right: Fold in the sides and bottom to give it a "bag look" and this also helps to fold your party bag flat to store.

Bottom left. Use small ring reinforcers on the inside of the bag. (use scraps, circle punch and a hole punch) Left over ribbon for the handles and I like to use a sturdy piece of cardboard to reinforce my bag's base. (Use the box to draw a template) In this instance, I used a recycled cereal box. (just slip it inside the bag - no need for glue)

Bottom right: Add a tag and you're done!

That's it - 2 party bags done and dusted - 3 more to go!  I think I'll convert all my leftover wrapping paper to party bags and use them in my mini wrapping stations that I can give away to family and friends. I hate leftover wrapping paper and always try to think of ideas to utilize it. If you want to have a look at my mini wrapping stations, just click here to get to that post. 

That's it from me. I'm off to make covers for my sewing machines. I just love beautiful fabric. Thanks for visiting my blog and please come back to play as I have a lot more to share with you. Have a great day!

Welcome new baby girl.

Good morning Bloglanders

I'm off to the west coast of Sunny South Africa for a few days as Wynand has business there and I have decided to join him as all the children have their own lives now and it's time that I claim mine back as well.  I just love the west coast - stormy seas and wonderful summer weather all year round.

Before I go - this is what I did this week:

I've made these "Ballerina bags" before but this is my first "pink attempt".  They do look like candyfloss! We have our own business and whenever one of our clients have a baby, we deliver a goodie bag.  This is IT for the baby girls for the rest of the year:

I love giving something handmade.  To this I'll add a soft toy, a gift card and something for the new mum.  I try to give small and useful things like a Kit Kat with a message "take a brake, have a Kit Kat" and for the dad - Red Bull!!! With that sorted, I have to start packing for my few days at the beach.

I hope you have a great week and I'll be posting my "tag effort of the week" over the weekend.  There are 5 layouts on my craft desk as well - we will see what gets done first.

Thanks for coming out to play and please check back!  I love playmates.

Take along Barn Part 2

Me again Bloglanders

Let's try again to show you what my finished Barn looked like. If you missed how I did it, just scroll down to my previous post.

BACK:

SIDE:



TOP:



OPEN TO PLAY:

OPEN TO PLAY:

AND PACKED TO GO:

When I've finished my doll's house, I'll share with you.  I hope you ejoyed my project.  I loved doing it and how it turned out.

Today I have to do some mending, shorten pants, file away the month's invoices and write a letter to our local council. Yak!! Maybe if I get going, I'll have time to fit in some fun stuff as well.  Please come back to play!





Take along Barn Part 1

Good morning Bloglanders

It is nearly the end of the week so hang in there - just one more day and you'll have some time to spend playing.

As promised, my version of a take along Barn.  My son used to have one when he was small and he took it everywhere. We had it stocked with some little toys and wherever he (we) went it tagged along and it kept him busy for hours. It's not easy raising an only child!

Well, when I saw the idea at UK lass in the US, I just knew I had to make one for a friend's little boy. I think hers was bigger and she used wood inside. I adapted mine to the size of our original (25 years old!) and used mesh that you get from craft stores.

I made my patter for a tin of similar size as the barn I wanted to cut a pattern out of old newspaper.

Cut every pattern piece out of fabric, lining, iron on batting and the mesh.

I appliqued everything like the dam, road, windows and doors onto the pattern pieces.

Now for the sandwich. Remember - you have and outside and inside - my picture is of a dolls house I'm currently working on. (forgot to take one of the barn).  I sew the batting onto the mesh and then iron on the fabric pieces.

Now start sewing. It if basically a little house with a lining. I kept the back seam open to turn it inside out.  My barn closes with strips of Velcro that I've sewn onto the front flaps as I find it works better for little hands. I didn't do any top stitching and only ironed on the seams to keep everything flat.

OK, my pic's of the finished product doesn't want to load - I'll do a separate post!  Keep reading.