DIY Hard Shell Travel Case

Happy Thursday!  I know I say this every week, but boy do the days fly by!  At least the weather is nice... or at least it is where I live.  Anywho- today I want to share with you a project I have been meaning to get working on for quite some time now.

Let me explain:  In high school and college, I spent a low enough amount of money that I could keep track of all my spending in my head and by frequently checking online.  Well, now that I am married, it is harder to keep track of all the money going in, going out, from his card, from mine- it's a lot!  My husband keeps track of expenses using a computer tool, but we have to keep receipts to enter them in manually.  So... for the first time in my life I have to save my receipts.

Thus far, I haven't been doing so well.  Because of that, I decided to take my own spin on the travel baby wipe cases and make myself something to hold receipts as soon as I get into the car.  Clever, right?  I (and my husband) are hoping it works.

{I love how "adult" it looks- no baby wipes here}

{How to Make it}

Gather your materials and a hot glue gun.  From start to finish this took me less than 20 minutes!

I wont go into too much detail, since this basic idea can be found on "how to decorate baby wipe cases" tutorials.  I will however; give you a few hints on things I learned along the way that might help.

First, cut 2 pieces of fabric slightly larger than the case front and back.  Proceed to glue them directly to the case.

This is where mine is different:  Most of the tutorials you see have a piece of ribbon running along the edge to hide the end of the fabric.  I did not want that look, so I made my fabric long enough to fold into the inside of the case.  Before doing this, make sure your fabric is thin enough that the case will close!

{I let the fabric pieces overlap where the front and back meet *just a little* so that no plastic could be seen}

Second,  Finish gluing down all of the edges.  After I had already glued mine on, I wished that I had given myself more fabric to work around the closure clasps.

Third,  Attach any ribbons, buttons or other embellishments that you desire.  As I have mentioned a time or two: I love lace!  So, that is what I used.  It is entirely up to you.

Finish it off by cutting any loose threads or in my case, actually cutting the fabric off of the clasps.  I tested to see that it would close (because of thickness) but did not check the clasp part- oops!  Oh well, it was an easy fix.

{That's it!}

Really.  Quick and easy and really cute (at least, I think so!)  I am using mine to hold receipts so that they don't get lost in my purse, the bag or my backseat but you can use it for anything!  For some really neat ideas check out a post from Tip Junkie.  She has 12 awesome ideas including my favorite, a travel earring case!  I guess these cases aren't just for babies anymore.

P.S.  Are you loving the fabric I used?  Check out this post to see another project I did using fabrics from the same set.  I can't get enough of them!

Happy Crafting,
Kelsie Ann

LINK LOVE!  Linked up to: Every Day is an Occasion

Stay Warm & Stay in Style

Happy Monday!  Is it just me or does anyone else feel like the weeks are flying by?  Can you believe that we are halfway through October already?  Although I am sort of a wuss when it comes to cold weather, I welcome the fall and winter with open arms!  I love everything about the crisp air, changing leaves and yes, in time... the snow.  It's all magnificent. 

What is just as exciting is finding cute "cold weather clothes" to sport during this time.  Today I am going to show you how to turn Dollar Store Gloves into stylish and affordable wear for the upcoming seasons.

{Classic Lace Gloves}

I am a sucker for the "classics":  Classic books, classic clothing, everything!  In my teenage years I bought a typewriter just because I loved the nostalgia of it so much.  The classic thing I think I love most?  Lace. (You should have seen my wedding dress!)  It is so delicate and beautiful that it makes whatever it touches look so... classy.

Materials:

Really, that's it.  Lightly glue the back of the lace pieces to the gloves, let dry and enjoy!

{Vintage Inspired Gloves}

You could have probably guessed this by now, but I love vintage buttons, broaches and pins!  My mom and I love going to garage sales, flea markets and the like to dig through piles of "junk" in order to find a few {real} vintage pieces.  We may have been known to buy sets of earrings just to take off the back and use them for something else. What's great is that now, vintage is IN!  That means that stores are selling pieces that look vintage but you can buy them in bulk. 

Materials:

 {I almost used pieces we had from an old pair of earrings until I found these buttons- aren't they just wonderful?  I love that shape}

How to do it:

{It should be a crime for this to be so easy}

{Red Nosed Reindeer Gloves}

I know I jumped straight to Christmas with this one, but you need to be prepared for wintertime too!  My favorite Christmas movies are It's a Wonderful Life and of course the 1964 Claymation Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer.  So, instead of trying to make gloves with a tiny George Bailey on them, I opted for our favorite Red Nosed Reindeer.

Materials:

  {For the vinyl shape, I used "patterned baby deer" from the Silhouette store made by Alaa' K.  I removed the inside design for this craft}

How to do it:

 Simply follow iron-on instructions that came with your vinyl.  For the nose, I suggest gluing it down first (with fabric glue) and then stitching it on snugly.  That way, his nose wont fall off!

{Your Turn!}

I would love to see the designs that you came up with to keep warm and stay stylish this cold weather season.  And, as always I love to hear any feedback that you might have on my projects, the blog or anything!

Happy Crafting,
Kelsie Ann

Link Love!  Linked up to: Every Day is an Occasion and D.L Art

Baby Gifts for a Baby Boy (or Girl!)

Last weekend I went to a baby shower for an old friend of mine.  She is expecting a boy and this was my first attempt at making BOY stuff!  Given, both of the onesies that I made will work for either sex, but I considered it a personal accomplishment.  Not covering it in pink or putting frills on the butt took all the restraint I had.

I wanted to share my little adventure with you as I made these onesies.  This was the first time I had used the heat transfer vinyl and- let’s just say… learn from my mistakes.

Materials:
-Blank Onesies
-Heat Transfer Vinyl
-Silhouette
-Button

Let’s Begin:

For other projects, I have only needed to cut my design on the Silhouette as it appears.  So I did the same for the vinyl:

 I continued on my way, covering the design with the mesh ironing cloth that I use when I make heat transfer projects.

But wait,   isn’t this supposed to be stuck to the onesie?!

Go ahead, laugh.  I did. 



Apparently for the heat transfer vinyl, you need to reverse the image before cutting it out on the Silhouette!  (Don’t forget to print with the shiny side down since it will be flipped over on your project and so it attaches where it should)

Just in case, when I ironed I used the Teflon sheet that came with the vinyl instead of trying the mesh again (the last thing we need is a forwards “Cute” and a backwards “Cute” on it!  If you do not have this, I do not think it really matters, as long as there is something between the two.

Make sure that you iron the design with the clear cover facing up.
It is okay to move the iron in small circles but mostly just let the heat reach the image.  BUT BE CAREFUL- keeping it on too long will cause the image to melt and bubble around the edges.

After you iron, let the design cool.  Next, peel off the clear covering.  If you are unable to peel it off without the vinyl lifting with it, put it back and iron for a little longer.

 Finishing up…

I finished up the first shirt by adding on the rest of my words, then hand stitching a button to the front.  For the second shirt, I was done after I ironed on the vinyl.

  

          I LOVE how great these look and I got a few good laughs while trying to figure it out.

I hope you all enjoyed this post and had a few good laughs (after all, if we can't laugh at ourselves, what's the joy in messing up?)

Have YOU had any "oops" moments that made you laugh?  Share them with me, I'd love to hear them!