Fabric Covered Notebooks

The end of school means a stack of teacher gifts need to be thought of, made, and wrapped up.  Fortunately there are some great crafters out there who provide lots of great ideas (and tutorials).  I happened upon this Fabric Covered Notebook idea over at Ameroonie Designs and fell in love.  Her tutorial is easy to follow.  And just to make sure I didn't have to mess things up with sewing math, I made sure to get notebooks that were the same size as hers (5"x7" - thanks Walmart!).  I even ordered in the same fabric that she used - it couldn't have been cuter!

I used the pastels, boy, and primary colored main fabric for variety, since I had to make six of these.

My boys each chose the coordinating fabrics, ribbon, and elastic colors for each of their teachers.

I loved each of them - the dark blue is so pretty.

This pink one on top may have been my favorite, if I had to choose.

There are endless possibilities with all the coordinating fabric choices in this line (Riley Blake Hexis).

The notebooks are simple lined notebooks and can be changed out as needed.  The old one slips right out of the sleeve and a new one slides right in its place.

And here is the finished product, with a pen in the pocket and all.

We added a polished geode slice necklace that the boys helped make to go with each notebook and along with a handwritten thank you note from the boys, we called it a great school year.  It's always so wonderful to have great teachers that are patient and help your children become better at everything they do.  

I love Amy's tutorial - quick and easy.  

The boys each wanted a notebook of their own, so with some BOY fabric (they each selected their own fabric from my stash) and larger notebooks, I made summer writing journals for each of the them.  I didn't think to take a picture of those, but I will and will add the picture later this week.  

Two-Tone Tote Bag

Every trip I make to Hobby Lobby seems to include a walk past the fabric section - am I the only one that happens to?  This fabric had been calling my name for a few trips . . . and on the last trip, the sale sign was up.  So - the bolts jumped in my cart, got cut, and walked themselves out of the store with me.

I knew they would end up in some sort of tote bag.  And I had been "needing" a new, smaller tote bag for church.  So I perused the web and decided on my own version of a two-tone tote bag from Make It Love It.  I used this duck cloth and some fancy burlap ribbon, all from Hobby Lobby.  I made the handles longer and the bag a little smaller than the instructions.

The cute chevron fabric in orange and gray just really, really grabbed my attention.

I added some functional and much needed pockets to the lining.  I also made sure to include some fusible fleece to help with the thickness of the bag.

And look at this cute sequin/burlap ribbon I added on.  The flower was one from my stash and I added in a little rhinestone in the center for just a touch of sparkle.

I used it today and it was absolutely perfect!  Another bag that is just what I needed!