Splash! Poolside Fabric Bucket Tote & Towel Beach Mat Tutorial

Hitting the water this summer?  Be it beach, lake, pool or backyard, today's tutorials will help you make a splash!  I'm sharing some projects: a new Bucket-style Tote and a Beach Towel Mat.  Both with a bit of nautical fun;)

I first shared these last week, as a special guest post for Timeless Treasure's blog, Sew Timeless. They asked me to create some fun H2O-themed projects to celebrate their new Splash collection:

Besides the super cute prints, there's a matching panel design that's just the right size for making a blanket towel mat. By backing it with complimenting green terry cloth it's perfect for laying by the water (be it lounge chair, lawn or sand).  It's also super handy for drying off, so it does double duty as both blanket and towel - one less thing to carry!  

My nautical-style fabric bucket has a useful size for hauling water toys & towels, but not overwhelming for a little helper to carry. It features a bricked, strip design on the outside that makes it easy to mix so many fun prints together.

Fusible fleece gives the bucket a solid structure, but keeps it soft and flexible for whatever get tossed in it. The interior is the colorful sailboat print and the grommet & rope handles compliment the overall sea theme.  

The prints in this collection are so bright & fun.  Even the selvage is super cute!  Now let's get to how to turn them into some stylish accessories for the pool or beach....

Materials:
- 1/4yd each Jellyfish, Whales, Crabs, Fish, Mini Dot Sun, Mini Dot Blue (Fun - c2625, c2629,  c2627, c2623, c2114)
- 1/2yd Sailboats (Fun - c2630- White)
- 1 Splash 24 inch panel (Fun- c2622 - Aqua)
- 5/8 yd terry cloth fabric
- 1 yd Fusible Fleece
- 4 extra large grommets & setting tool
- 1 yd jute rope 
- Notions (pins, rotary cutter, iron, hand sewing needle, matching thread)

With right sides facing, pin the panel to the terry fabric.  I left my terry uncut so it would be easier to keep the layers together while stitching.  Sew 1/2 inch from raw edge of panel all the way around, leaving a 3 inch gap at the bottom.  Trim terry down to panel size and clip corners.

Turn blanket right side out and fold gap opening inward.  Topstitch all the way around.  The mat is now done, let's start on the bucket tote.

Cut the following pieces from the fabrics and fusible fleece:

- 10 1/2 inch diameter circle: (1) Mini Dot Blue, (1) Sailboats, (2) Fusible Fleece
- 33 inch wide by 13 inch high rectangle: (1) Sailboats (2) Fusible Fleece
- 16 1/2 inch wide by 3 inch high strips:  (2) Mini Dot Sun, (3) Mini Dot Blue, (1) Whales, (1) Fish, (1) Sailboats, (1) Crabs, (1) Jellyfish

Pair up the strips with one print and one mini dot.  With right sides facing, sew short sides together with a 1/4 inch seam allowance to make a circle.  Repeat until there are five circles made.

Align loops as desired while flattened.  Mine alternated color and were offset so each mini dot section was 5 inches from each edge and the print would be 11 inches from the other edge (and would then be the reverse on the other side):

With right sides facing, pin together the top long side of the lowest loop to the bottom long side of the loop above it.  Stitch together.  

Press seam to one side and repeat with remaining loops until outer tube is complete.

Fuse fleece to wrong side of tube, starting on one side and working all the way around. Fuse fleece to lining rectangle and to both circle bases.  Trim away the small amount of excess. Stitch together short sides of lining rectangle.

Pin circle base to the outer tube and stitch together.  Repeat with lining, leaving a 3 inch gap for turning later.

Trim down seam allowance with pinking shears or clip around curve:

Insert bucket lining into outer with right sides facing:

Pin together, then stitch along the top edge.

You'll end up with something that looks like this:

Pull fabric right side out through gap and push lining down into outer and hand stitch gap closed.

Now it's time to install the handles.  Grab 4 grommet sets and the jute:

Fold bucket flat and find the center.  Measure 2 inches out on either side and 1 inch down and mark. This will be the grommet placement.  Repeat on other half of bucket.  Install grommets according to package instructions.  

Cut jute in half and insert raw ends through grommets on knot.  Add a little glue to the knots for extra strength:

Load up the bucket with towels, toys & sunscreen, lay out your new blanket mat and be ready to hit the pool!

I was not financially compensated for this post.  I received fabric, to use as I wished, from Timeless Treasures.   The opinions are completely my own based on my experiences.

Make A Cute Nautical Clutch in Just 5 Minutes

Did you know March is National Craft Month?  It's the ideal time to try your hand at new projects and supplies.  A great place to get ideas & see new trends is the Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores®  spring crafting inspiration website.  I've been loving the nautical trend & thought I'd create a project that celebrates this theme and make it really easy to do: a Nautical Clutch Wallet.  If you've got 5 minutes, you can make one too!

Materials:
- Clutch wallet
- Vinyl
- Transfer Tape
- Anchor button
- Wire Cutter/Button Shank Remover
- E-6000
- Optional: Cutting machine like a Cricut or Silhouette

I found all my supplies at Jo-Ann, including the cute striped clutch.  Jo-Ann makes spring crafting easy during National Craft Month with a $5 off $25 or more purchase coupon. So you can make something new & get a deal;)

Start by making the "Ahoy!" lettering out of vinyl.  I used the Pacifico font and made mine about 1.5in high by 5in wide and cut it out on my Cricut machine using the settings 3-2-3.  If you don't have a cutting machine, make a stencil by printing your lettering out on card stock and cutting it out with a utility knife.  Then use that to trace cut out the vinyl.

Remove all the negative vinyl away from the lettering (aka weeding).  Also remove the dot from the exclamation point.

Peel the paper away from the transfer tape and place the tape over the vinyl, burnishing it with something hard like this stick that came with the transfer tape. Pull the backing away and the lettering should stick to the tape (if it doesn't, keep burnishing).

Center the lettering on the clutch and then burnish into place.  Since this wallet was padded, I also pressed & smoothed the lettering down with my hands after removing the transfer tape to make sure it was attached well.

Clip off the shank on the back of the button with cutter.

Use the E6000 glue to attach button to clutch just under the exclamation point:

Now you've got a cute, nautical-style clutch and it only took minutes to make!

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

Click HERE to check them out!

I was not financially compensated for this post.  I received a Jo-Ann gift card from Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores® to use to make a project of my choosing for their National Craft Month Campaign.  The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.  For my complete disclosure policy, click here.