I’ve been on the lookout for a new coupon organizer. I hate using the plastic and paper ones because they never last and most of them are kind of ugly. For a while I used the binder system, but found it difficult to maintain. I just couldn’t be bothered slipping each coupon into its own individual slot. I do use coupons pretty much every time I shop, though, and pulling them out of a mailing envelope just wasn’t working for me.

I thought I could find a pattern for a coupon organizer that folds over the handle of the cart, but I didn’t have a lot of luck. I found this pattern, which I used as a starting point and I eventually came up with this design.

This is the front. As you can see I opted for a rounded flap. I used the curve of a dinner plate for my template. I sewed in a short length of elastic to use as a closure.

And here’s the back. I hand-sewed the button onto the organizer. To close it, bring the elastic around from the bottom. To attach it to the handle of your shopping cart, just bring it around from the top.

Another front view (image my dining room chair was a shopping cart):

And from the back:

I had a chance to try it out over the weekend. I used it once at CVS and once at Stop & Shop and I have to say that not only did I feel quite frugal and organized, but I also felt pretty stylish because I really like this fabric. Oh, one other thing. Instead of using fusible interfacing, I sandwiched a piece of cotton flannel between the inner and outer fabric. Because my bag tends to contain things like sippy cups and snacks, I wanted the organizer to be washable in case when it gets stained. This was a very quick and easy project.

Did you know that September is National Sewing Month? Well, it is! And, fittingly, I’ve been sewing a lot lately. My latest projects came from my favorite book, “Bend the Rules Sewing” by Amy Karol (of Angry Chicken). After borrowing this book from the library a couple times, I deemed it a worthy purchase for my craft library. There are so many cute and easy projects in it. I decided to make the Scalloped Baby Blanket for my sister-in-law’s baby shower.

I originally bought this paisley fabric during the summer, intending to make myself a skirt. But I decided that, paired with a charming polka-dot print, it would be a great baby quilt that wasn’t “cutesy.” The pattern was very clear and overall it was not too difficult. Sewing all those scallops took patience, but it was worth it.

The worst part was sewing shut the two scallops left open to turn the blanket inside-out. You’re supposed to just top-stitch them closed, but I clipped the fabric too close for that and ended up hand-sewing them. It didn’t come out exactly as perfect as I wanted for a gift, but I was very proud of the end result. I just reminded myself that it’s not perfect, it’s handmade. All told, the project probably took me about 6 hours (including the bibs). I did it when I had chunks of time, though, so it’s hard to tell. I worked slowly because I didn’t want to rush my way around all those corners. I imagine the next one would go faster.

I made a couple matching baby bibs to round out the gift set. I love making bibs! Quick, easy, and fun. Plus I really am not fond of all the character bibs or babyish bibs that you always end up getting. They don’t take much fabric and they’re about as stylish as a bib can get!

I fell in love with Babylegs long before I had a baby girl of my own. When I was doing 365 Days on Flickr, they’d occasionally show up in people’s photos. There are so many cute patterns and I think they’re all-around great. Except for the price. So I decided to look online (of course) for a tutorial to make homemade babylegs. Most of the instructions basically called for cutting off the foot of a sock and either leaving the edges raw or just sewing under the raw edge. That’s OK, but I really wanted a cuff at both ends. A couple days ago I found this baby legwarmer tutorial on Nannygoat and decided I just had to make some.

That also meant that I had to set up my sewing area, a task I’d been wanting to cross off my to-do list, but really hadn’t had the time. Well, I made the time. Over the weekend I’d purchased a few pairs of women’s socks. Not knee socks, not anklets… those in-between sock. Crew socks, maybe? Anyway, they were cute and it’s never to early to introduce babies to fun socks! Not wanting to ruin the new socks, however, I first tried out the tutorial on a stray to make sure I understood the steps. (I’d suggest you do this too, though the instructions are quite simple). In less than 15 minutes, with barely over one-dollar’s worth of materials, I’d made this pair of baby legwarmers! I’m going to sew up a bunch for the fall and winter. Lulu seems indifferent to them in this photo, but I think she likes them 🙂

When my dad put up my new clothesline earlier this week, I knew I had to make a cute clothespin bag to go along with it. The first one I made came out great! I was really happy with it and sent it home with Dad to give to my mom. I wanted to use a little funkier fabric for the one I’d make for myself. Unfortunately, mine did not come out perfect 🙁

I have been having a crappy day since the second I woke up was woken up by a small child this morning and should have held off on this project until I was in a better state of mind, but oh well. The top is obviously not cut right, the fabric is upside down where the bag folds up, and although you can’t tell, the sides of the opening hang really awful. I’ve fixed this with some safety pins, so it’s fine, but… really, I consider this project a total FAIL. I can’t justify redoing it because it does serve its intended purpose, but it’s such a disappointment. Oh well. Lesson learned.

As I mentioned a few posts ago, my sewing machine arrived late last week and I was really looking forward to setting it up over the weekend. I practiced a few stitches but didn’t dive into any projects. However, I did bookmark a couple dozen ideas for future use! For my first project, I decided to make a crayon roll. Currently I keep crayons in a baggie in my purse for when we are out with the kids. Utilitarian? Yes. Cute? No. So this was something I could use, and basically it’s all sewing straight lines. I’m a real learn-by-doing person. I don’t bother with classes because even when I take them, I usually have to re-learn everything by myself when I make mistakes. So this project took me all afternoon, but I think in the future it would be much faster! It was made simple by the fantastic tutorial at Chocolate on my Cranium It’s not perfect, of course, but considering I had never done any kind of sewing before, I’m happy with it and encouraged to try more projects! The tutorial spells out everything really well. I highly recommend it if you’re interested in making one of these crayon rolls! And now, on to the pictures!

All rolled up! Jake picked out the pirate fabric the other day, but didn’t know my plans:

The outside, opened flat:

The inside, with crayons:

These would make adorable (and frugal!) last-minute gifts or stocking stuffers. I’ve also been thinking that I’d like some labels for when I do my crafts. Ordering personalized labels can be expensive. I suppose I could buy sheets of iron-on paper and print out my own, but then I thought that maybe I could order a custom rubber stamp. Then I could stamp on twill tape with Staz-On ink in whatever color I want and not have extra labels that are just bound to get lost. I might look into that.

For some future projects I have been thinking about bibs, a changing pad, and burp cloths. With three babies in my family this year (me, my cousin, and my sister-in-law!), I’ll have plenty of opportunity to make stuff!