Super Simple Reusable Sandwich/Snack Bag Tutorial

Warm weather is here & that means taking food to the park, beach, in the car and everywhere else on the go.  Why not transport it in a fun, reusable bag?  My Super Simple Reusable Sandwich Bags are a quick project made extra practical by using laminated cotton for the interior that makes them easy to wipe clean or just toss in the wash.  Perfect for sandwiches, cookies and other small snacks.  And so much cuter than a plastic baggie!

You'll Need:

- 1/2 yard cotton fabric (I used this fun picnic-style ant print from Timeless Treasures)

- 1/2 yard laminated cotton** (I used Fruit A La Carte Strawberry by Hoodie from Timeless Treasures)

- 1 package of double fold bias tape

- Coordinating thread

- Plastic snaps & snap pliers/press (I get mine from KAMsnaps)

- Sewing notions: ruler, shears/rotary cutter, pins

* Using these fabric amounts you can make quite a few bags, so there can be enough for nearly every day of the week! 

** Note:  I try to use laminated cotton that has been confirmed to be BPA free and has passed CPSIA tests for lead & phthalates.  Materials like oilcloth & vinyl do not pass these tests, so they should not come in contact with food.

From the cotton and laminate cut rectangular pieces that are about 15.5 inches high by 7 inches wide (this would work for most "regular" bread sizes).  Using a small dish or bowl, round off one end in a concave shape and the other end in a convex shape, so they look like this:

Place fabrics together with wrong sides facing.  Encase the concave edge in bias tape and stitch together close to the folded edge of the tape.  Don't worry about folding under the edges - this will get hidden when the rest of the tape is attached.

Fold bag up 6 inches, as shown, so that the laminated side is facing inward and pin together.

Starting at the lower left corner, fold the raw edge of the bias tape under and encase all the fabric layers in the tape, stitching close to the folded edge of the tape.  Continue all the way around the bag to the opposite corner, folding that corner under as well:

Now we have some perfect pouches that just need a quick closure added:

For the closure I prefer to use a plastic snap.  Why?  Well, for one thing, they are super sturdy and very quick to install (I use my snap press and it takes just seconds).  Secondly, they are easy to keep clean with a quick rinse, unlike velcro & zippers that can collect crumbs.  And there's no risk of them wearing out or rusting with a lot of washing, which items like this tend to get with regular use.

Attach snap so the male half is on the center of the inner flap, about an inch from the edge. Attach other half of snap on the front of the bag, this time with the female half on the outside.

Now the sandwich bag is all set, so you can enjoy taking tasty treats wherever you go!

I'm also sharing this project with my FAVE LINK PARTIES.

Click HERE to check them out!

A Crazy Craftastic Monday Link Party & Double Giveaway Winners

Hi Everyone!  Welcome to a new Craftastic Week!  Although I've got a real urge to craft, I'm feeling a bit crazed at the moment. Being in the midst of home repairs, planning a bridal shower, helping out with a loss in the family & some annoying seasonal allergies, it is seriously cutting into my crafting & blogging time.  I'm really hoping things will simmer down in the coming week so I can finally get back to my projects - my craft room looks so lonely and I really want to be in there!!

Luckily there are lots of great features from other crafters to share today AND the winners of TWO giveaways to announce.

For the Sterling Silver Blue Nile Earrings Giveaway, our lucky winner is:

For the Arttero Eco Art Kit Giveaway, our lucky winner is:

Congratulations Ladies!  A big thank you to Blue Nile and Artterro for providing these wonderful prizes.  And if you still want a chance to win something fun, head over to my new giveaway for a $25 gift certificate to make some custom goodies at CafePress. Enter HERE.

Now let's see last week's Craftastic picks:

How cool are these REAL bicolor roses!?!  I Love My Style shares how to make these with a quick & simple tutorial.  I just LOVE this!!! 

One of the projects that's been on my to-do list is a mini terrarium for my kitchen counter, so it was serendipitous to see this easy how-to from Like A Saturday:

Revamp a boring lampshade with mini effort thank to this tutorial from vixenMade:

Check out this cute & easy invitation from Phunky Phasions - using your own pic & some free online tools you can make an awesome custom invite to match your party theme:

Make It Easy Crafts showed how to make a plain iPhone look fab using a bookmark & sticker tape:

Got weeds in the yard (don't we all)?  Then check out this recipe for dandelion bread from Saving 4 Six.  I really want to try this:

If you're one of this week's features, be sure to grab my Featured On button over on the sidebar to let everyone know.  I also feature these projects & more party favorites on the Sew Can Do's Craftastic Picks board on Pinterest. Follow me there to see more great projects (and if yours is one of them)!   
  

Ready to link up your crafty creations?

 

Party rules are simple:

• As long as it's crafty, and made by you, it's Craftastic (no links to giveaways, shops, link parties or other people's work).  Add the link to your specific post (not the main page of your blog).
• Grab my party button & put it on your post or blog somewhere.  The code's on the sidebar -> 
• Check out some of the other fabulous links and share some crafty comment love.  We all love getting comments!!

Design Your Own Goodies - CafePress Gift Certificate Giveaway!

Let's wrap up the week with a fun giveaway!  How about chance to pick your own custom printed goodies from CafePress? 

So what do they have?  They offer loads of artist-designed clothing, accessories, housewares & gifts.  They have thousands of options, in every possible theme, so there's something for every style and occasion.

Jane Austen Creamer Bottle

Hand Knit Variegated Flip Flops

They also make it easy to use their "design your own" tool to make custom shirts like this one I created in about 2 minutes:

Or use your own artwork or photo designs and then upload them onto just about anything.  I've created a couple of my own designs to print on some kitchen items for an upcoming review. I'm pretty excited because they have some cool products like cookie jars and ceramic creamer bottles.  I can't wait to share how they turn out in a couple weeks!  

For today's giveaway one lucky winner will get 

~~A $25 Gift Certificate to CafePress!! ~~ 

If you win, you can spend it on whatever you want!

Score things like a fun looking coffee mug, matching teapot or thermos container, so you can make a complete set, in any motif you want.   Like these cute little owls: 

They've also got some fabulous sweatshirts and fun t-shirts like this one.  Craft Ninja?  You bet I am!!

Now how about getting your chances to win & pick out some fun made-just-for-you items?  Just enter below and stay tuned for my reveal & review of my own CafePress creations coming up!



a Rafflecopter giveaway

I was not financially compensated for this post. I received free products to review & giveaway. The opinions are completely my own, based on my experience.

Take A Sweet Peek At Sugar Pink Boutique

How about having a peek at some crafty eye candy today?  Some of those supplies that just make you go "Oooo, pretty..." and brighten your day.  My go-to source for those pretties is Sugar Pink Boutique.

This lovely shop has all the trims, accents & unusual supplies for making beautiful projects of all sorts.  Check out some of these lovelies:

Blue and White Pom Pom Ric Rac.  Great for trimming blankets, bonnets, towels & more. Super soft & sweet:

These Shabby Chic Green Clothespins are so lovely.  Their cute floral design makes organizing easy and adds a nice spring touch too:

Cotton Candy Aqua Candylight Bulbs.  These adorable 5 watt bulbs are hand dipped in frosting-like silicone and coated with faux sugar for a super sweet effect.  Perfect for chandeliers, lamps and candlelights.  I use one of these in a nightlight in my kitchen:

Or for making candy-esque crafts, get a spool of Cotton Candy Pink Divine Twine. This high quality baker's twine is a generous 240yds to give you enough for all sorts of projects: gift tags, wrapping gifts, accenting favors - I've even use it to make pom poms:

And for pretty accenting, try millinery flowers like this Forget Me Not Spring Mix Bouquet. Each flower has a bendy wire so it's easy to use it to embellish favors, hats, dolls & hair accessories.

Boxwood Leaf Garland is also a fab & versatile wired trim.  I got some to make mini wreaths and for decorating my table centerpieces with a green, springy look:

There are loads of other great items too and they always ship fast to get your crafting started right away.  You can also find Sugar Pink Boutique on Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest to treat yourself to seeing even more of their sweet crafty treats.  Head over & see what other little treasures are waiting for you!



I received payment for this post. The opinions are completely my own, based on my honest experience with the items referenced, which I have purchased myself.

Just A Giraffe Fleece Coat + Costume In One!

I love whimsical clothing.  Hats with ears? Adorable.  Bunny slippers?  Love 'em.  Animal-style accents on wearable items make everyday feel so much more fun.  Especially on kids - they look extra cute as a little critter.  And if they're not bold enough to wear them everyday, these items make comfy & easy costumes too.   So when my little guy outgrew his old fleece jacket, I thought it was time to make a more fun one -  the "Just A Giraffe" Fleece Coat was born.

Using anti-pill fleece makes it nice & cuddly and since it's fully lined it's great for all seasons when there's some coolness in the air.  This coat has everything for making a kid-sized giraffe come to life.  For starters, he's got some built-in horns and cuddly ears:

Fuzzy kangaroo (or should I say giraffe?) pockets that blend right into his spots:

Even a swishy tail at the back so it'll look like the real deal:



It's a costume, it's a coat, it's.....jungle animal camouflage!

How I made it:

I started with a basic fleece jacket pattern: Simplicity 5362 & some giraffe print fleece from the fabric store.  The pattern is ideal because it's an easy to sew design (and includes kids & adults sizes) for a standard zip-front hooded fleece jacket.  My main departure was to line the entire thing.  I always prefer to replace the facing pieces on a project with a full lining whenever I can.  It gives a nicer finish inside and is a lot less fiddly than working with a bunch of small, curved pieces that are just for hiding raw edges.  Except I made two jackets - one from the giraffe print fleece, one from solid cream fleece for the lining.  Then I made my own giraffe details.

To make the horns I sewed up some rectangle "tubes" from some tan fleece and left one short end open.  I turned them right side out and slipped a piece of ultra firm stabilizer inside each one (this is what makes them stand up).  Then I clipped a small line on either side of the hood the width of each horn and inserted them in.  I stitched across the opening to close it and sandwich the hood & horn layers together.  The tips are small pompoms I hand stitched on top.

I used the same technique to make the ears (reusing a pattern piece I'd drafted for my wolf hat ages ago).

The tail was created by sandwiching some brown fleece between the tail layers before stitching them together and leaving a small gap on one side. After turning right side out, I cut the brown piece into a fringe, hand stitched the opening closed and attached the tail to the coat's back with a slipstitch:

To put the coat together, I sewed the lining and outer together around the front, hood and bottom edges, leaving a few inch gap at the bottom to turn right side out.  Then I topstitched all the way around.  I folded in the raw edges of the cuffs and stitched those together too.  I deliberately made the sleeves a little long, so we could roll up the cuffs and get some extra wear time as he grows.

We get so many big smiles and comments when he's wearing this out out and about.  I plan to make some more animal styles after the summer, since my little miss has nearly outgrown her fleece jacket.  I'll be looking forward to it!

I'm also sharing this project with my FAVE LINK PARTIES.

Click HERE to check them out!