Did I ever mention how excited I was to hear that Cosmo Cricket's Early Bird patterns were being made into a fabric line? Early Bird is one of my all-time favorites, and I was tickled pink to get a box a couple of weeks ago that included some fat quarters from the new fabric! (There is a card toward the bottom of my post if you are not a sewing aficionado.)
Although I'm not that fond of sewing (except on cards), I really wanted to make a tote bag from this cloth, so I went to the Moda Bake Shop site (a fabulous resource for any of you who like to sew) and looked for a simple tote with instructions. I found this Charming Handbag post that looked simple enough for even me. I tweaked it a bit, but I still followed AmandaJean's instructions for putting a bag together. The Early Bird fabric (shown in real life on this post) feels silky and fabulous to work with, and I'm already eagerly awaiting more--the aqua pattern with the red polka dots. (By the way, just in case anyone is wondering, it took me an entire day to do this--that's how slow I am at sewing. My mother could probably have done it in three hours or so, and to perfection. I'd starve if I had to make them for a living, but I certainly had fun making one. . . or two--we'll see.) Edited to add: I found an e-store that will be selling the fabric here, but you'd have to have them notify you when it's in stock.
I pieced 4-1/2" squares for the front. For the back of my bag I used the border print piece and just machine quilted on some of the lines between borders. I added a couple of pockets in the lining piece for cell phone and keys--two things that I can never dig for fast enough.
Of course, having coordinating paper AND a new Just for You stamp set, I had to make a little card to match my bag! (Sorry that I can't directly link to the new sets, but right now it is on the old home page that is linked, after you scroll down to May Stamps. I'll try to remember to update that link later.) Cosmo Cricket had recently done a product swap with Ella Publishing which resulted in my choosing an e-book from them. I chose Stretch Your Sketches, thinking that I could use scrapbook layout sketches as card sketches too. The Ella e-books are beautifully done, and I'm eying their Picture Perfect book next; I can use all of the photography help that I can get! In case you want to see what the e-books look like for free, there is a Super Sampler here--free for the uploading, and stuffed with ideas.
What do you think? I used a 12" x 12" page layout that had a title bar at the top and three 4" x 6" pictures across the center. I interpreted the pictures to be focal elements (button, EB chipboard, and Chartreuse grosgrain bow). My favorite part is the little banner/title bar. from Papertrey Ink's Daily Designs Sentiments: I chose the Stitched with Love sentiment and bent it into a curve. Then I pencil-sketched a banner, which I then cut out, erased the remaining pencil marks, and used a Copic T1 and o marker to create a little fold shadow. I used three Spellbinders dies for the shapes on front: Petite Scalloped Circle, Plain Circle, and Labels Five. The ribbon and the button are Papertrey's new Chartreuse.
This was such a fun little project that I've caught the sewing bug from it! (Knowing me, it won't last for long, but maybe for long enough to make another bag or two anyway.) Thanks for stopping by, and have a lovely day!
P.S. There is a free Ella eBook giveaway today on the Cosmo Cricket Blog, and there will be one on the Ella Publishing Blog later as well. Good luck!
