Monday, July 30, 2012

Bridal Shower Gift Basket

Today's post is a quick one with a picture of the gift basket. Sorry for the phone picture, bad lighting and mess surrounding it, but somehow I forgot to take a picture with my camera. You can see the two bags, the tote bag and zip up bag, beneath the assortment of travel toiletries.
I enjoyed putting it together, although I had to use a lot of newspaper and tissue to keep everything placed just right. The only bad thing was when I was driving, the basket happened to fall over, so a last minute fix up was necessary.

~JV

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Bridal Shower Gift Basket- Zip Up Bag

This post is the zip up bag I had mentioned in the previous post (here). It's another bag I had made for a class I taught (here), but I decided again to make it bigger, to hold more things. It's got a zipper closure on both the top and the side.

I used the same fabric from the tote bag as the inside liner, and I had some textured blue fabric, from a previous bag I had made, for the outside. The blue fabric and purple zippers match perfectly with the colors in the floral fabric.

Full View: Zippers Closed
 
Full View: Un-Zipped

View of Inside of Bag
Since this was part of a "travel" basket, I thought this was perfect for carrying small items. It fits great in the tote bag too.

I'll post some pictures of the basket put together once I upload them (hopefully ASAP)
~JV

Edit: Here's the post with the picture of the gift basket
Gift Basket

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Bridal Shower Gift Basket- Tote Bag

I was meaning to post this last week, but as always, life gets in the way. This is a continuation of the bridal shower post. As a bridesmaid, we were given the task of creating a basket for a prize. Of course I knew I wanted to make something, so I had to think about it a little. I decided to create a few bags for travel purposes. One was a tote bag (this post) and the other was a smaller bag with some zipper closures (next post) that you'd be able to put in the tote. Then I bought some travel size toiletries and put it all in a basket (I'll post pictures of that too).

Since I didn't want to spend a great deal of money on this basket, I decided to use extra fabric and notions that I had laying around. The tote almost has a "vintage" feel, first because of the print (which I love), but also it basically is vintage because my mom had the fabric for looong time. It's a pretty simple bag, with two straps, two pockets on the inside, a Velcro closure, and it's squared off at the bottom for a little more support.

Full View of Tote Bag

Showing both straps


The inside has a Velcro closure and pockets near the top on both sides, matching the outside fabric.
This bag is from a pattern that I used for one of the classes that I taught, so I have one pretty similar to it, just not as big (I'll have to post a picture of it soon). I use it all the time, so I hope whoever won it will do the same!

Look for the next post with the zip up bag that goes inside of it!

~JV

Update: Here's the post of the zip up bag
Zip Up Bag
And the post of the gift basket
Gift Basket

Monday, July 16, 2012

Bridal Shower Gift

This weekend was a busy one. On Saturday I had a full day of events for one of my best friends. She is getting married in October, and since she lives out of state, we threw her bridal shower and bacherlorette party on the same day.

When it came to her shower gift, I knew I wanted to be creative with it. I bought her a serving tray, utensil holder, and towels for her kitchen. With a little suggestion from my sister, I decided to make her an apron to go with the kitchen stuff I bought her. She's a neutral kind of girl so I based the fabrics off of that, but added a little pop of color to keep it fun. The pattern also was just a design for the lower half, so I had to add fabric to cover the top, with an adjustable strap. It also has darts to fit better around the bust.
 
Full View with bow tied at the front
 
View of side pocket
Button is decorative, pocket opens behind ruffle
The button is made from recycled materials, which is perfect for her. She is very environmentally friendly and conscious of what she does in that aspect. So I thought that was a nice personal touch.

Closer View of Front


Simplicity 0384 View B
Lower Half View

I enjoyed putting this together for her, and I know she appreciates a homemade gift :)

~JV

Update: Here's the post of the apron I had made for my sister in April, View C without a bodice
Floral Apron