Go green this Christmas

Go green this Christmas and make your own gift bag rather than use wrapping paper that will be ripped and thrown away.

Anyway, if you haven't noticed how I make stuff by now, I'm winging this. That's why there are no specific measurements. This also means that you can make it any size you like as long as you know the ratios and what to look out for.

Material

• 4 pieces of fabric - outer (1pc), lining (pc), top (2pcs) - the outer and lining are large rectangles, twice the size of your final bag when you fold breadthwise, meaning breadth meets breadth and length is halved. The top parts are as long as when the outer is folded half, as wide as 4 times the cords / ribbons you're going to use. Please remember to include sufficient allowance for sewing.
• cord or ribbon for drawstring top
• bells, charms (optional)
• label (optional)

Method

1. Prepare the materials above
2. Fold in the breadths of the top pieces and sew near the edge. This is so that the ends won't fray. See yellow arrow.
3. Take the lining and fold half breadthwise (breadth meets breadth) and crease it along the length. See red arrow. Fold both top pieces into half lengthwise (length meets length) and place them along the edge of the lining, one on each side of the half where you just creased. All frayed edges need to be aligned.
4. Place the outer piece on top so that you have a sandwich. Bottom - lining, middle - top piece folded half lengthwise, top - outer piece. Sew along the frayed edge of this 'sandwich'.
5. Open the 'sandwich' and top-stitch near the edge. See red arrow. You may wish to add a label at this time.
6. If you want squared off corners, open them up and fold them 45-degrees across. Think tetra packs or milk cartons. Same concept. Trim off the excess. See red arrow.
7. Fold the whole thing such that the outer is folded half on itself, and ditto the lining. Sew round the 3 edges. Remember to leave an opening for turning. Trim the part where the outer and lining meets. See red arrow.
8. Turn it proper way out and sew the hole closed. Cut 2 pieces of cord or ribbon. These will be longer than the length of the outer or lining. Thread one through one of the top pieces and out  the other and knot it. Thread the other through the other end and knot it. Add charms or bells, if you like.

Have fun!

Never too late for blessings

Mum passed me one of her Chinese New Year cards to make into a box when she saw the boxes I made using 'Condo cards' that I get in the mail. The boxes I made in the past had a separate cover and bottom 'cos I used 2 cards. Since this is a greeting card, 'both' are joined so I decided to do a flip cover. Yes, I do waste a bit at the end of the cover but I still like the result. Hope Mum likes it too :-)

BTW, it's also possible to make such boxes with a single condo card. I made one the other day but didn't take a pic. To maximise as in have as little wastage of the card as possible, score both short ends first then estimate the middle portion rather than just fold the card in half. The cover's always shorter. Email me if you need further clarity.

Cheerios!

Blessed Christmas!

My Christmas present arrived early and I couldn’t wait and opened it up and made these two! Do you like them? DS and DD have claimed these already though.

I’d cut the covers and inside pages of blue and white paper some time back but parked them aside. T’was fun punching the holes and inserting the O-wires. I think we’ll be having lots more fun with my new toy from now :-).

May your Christmas be filled with family, friends, fun and food. Also, remember,

Jesus is the reason for this season.

God bless!

ps: Do you like Fat Free or normal? I like mine with marshmallows, fat free or not…LOL!