TUTORIAL: Extended Key Fob Plus

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There are two items I am always digging in the bottom of my bag to find: my keys and my gum. So I created a solution to easily fish both out. With this tutorial you can, too!

Fifth Annual Back-to-School Backpack!

You didn't think I let school start up again without forging another shield of protection out of Mother's Love, did you?

PICTORIAL: Seat Belt Cozy Cover

This is one of those projects I didn't think I would ever need, until I needed it. The Peanut had taken to "wearing" her seat belt on her upper arm instead of properly on her shoulder. In one very quick afternoon I stitched up a fix, only slowing down long enough to take pictures as I went. Now you can also sew a Seat Belt Cozy Cover with this quick, scrap-busting pictorial -- perfectly sized for kids!

Sewing Showcase: Lined Canvas Tote

I get an absolute thrill seeing the creations others have sewn from the tutorials I've put out into the webiverse. I may or may not actually squeak when I come across a new one. Get inspired to sew your own by checking out these fabulous Lined Canvas Tote Bags (with a bonus calculator for sewing one ANY SIZE)!

TUTORIAL: Hand Sanitizer Jacket

Always have sanitizer at hand perfectly coordinated with your accessories when you sew up this Hand Sanitizer Jacket.

It's that time of the year, when the Halloween decorations are still up but the seasonal music station is already playing the Christmas tunes. That time of the year when you realize the gift list is longer than you thought (how many teacher's does The Peanut have?!) and your grand plans of going all hand-made are already slipping away before the turkey has even been purchased. I'm here to help with a simple, seriously quick little project that is perfect for teachers, new moms, workplace grab bags, and stockings everywhere. Pull some indoor/outdoor home dec out of the remnant bin, grab a few metal buttons and coordinating elastic, then pull up a chair and follow along step by step to sew a custom jacket for your travel hand sanitizer. You'll have a dozen presents checked off your list before the last leaf falls.

The Annual Backpack, 2014

The annual backpack. It started when The Peanut began preschool at the tiny age of two and half, I wanted to send her with something reminiscent of my favorite school bag ever, a yellow, Snoopy-adorned satchel. I couldn't find anything like it, so I decided to sew one. It was supposed to get her through the preschool years, but she had trouble opening it herself. So the next year I sewed a more traditional, if little-kid sized backpack. And that one was supposed to get her to kindergarten. But then she started a second program the following year which required a tote bag. And that is how the school bag accidentally became an annual tradition. One which I now plan to continue for as long as she'll let me.

She chose the chevron all by herself from the entire wall of Outdoor Fabrics at Joann Fabrics. I chose the yellow.