Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Instant gifts



Well, almost instant...

Deb's recent post about handmade gifts made me think of these little pocket tissue holders that I made before my sewing fatigue kicked in.

When my big girl had a cold a while ago I decided to make her a cute little tissue holder (can't show you hers as she had it with her at school today when I took these shots). After doing a bit of blog surfing I decided to use this tutorial from Skip to my Lou and quickly found I could make several in a short space of time.



Then followed a stream of thoughts on matching tote bags, zip purses and tissue holders. I made myself one in one of my favourite Ikea fabrics (last photo, left) and then thought of what a cute little gift it would be just as a little filler or thank you. Not a proper gift, more just a little add-on. When making one specifically for someone I go through my scraps pile and try to choose a fabric/colour/pattern that I think suits them.



A nice touch is that as they are lined you can use a contrasting fabric to make it a bit more interesting. And on the one above I've added a strip of the inside fabric to the opening just for a bit of added interest.



And they're great for using up scraps of fabric, particularly if you are (attempting) stash busting ;-) This project would be a great project for a person who's new to sewing or when you're seeking a quick sewing fix (and when am I not!).

When I've handed these over to friends (I've made about 10 so far) I've added, jokingly, "it's toilet roll holders next!" as a dig at myself, but I kid you not, these are actually really useful, cute little things, and if you're a fabric nut like me, you get a bit of joy out of seeing a favourite bit of fabric come out of your bag and make an everyday item cute ;-)

10 comments:

  1. Cute little wallets!
    Thank you so much for your comment on my Pattern Magic dress. It isn't a difficult dress once you have the pattern drawn up; this part is truly the time-consuming part! My advice is to spend time on getting the paper pattern just right.
    If you get the neckline measurement wide enough you can make it to slip over your head, simplifying construction considerably.

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  2. Love this idea Jo!! So much better than having tissues stuffed somewhere/everywhere in ones bag and they look really cute :)

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  3. aha! some gift ideas. I'll have to pin the tute and give them a go. Specially now we are heading to sniffle season.

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  4. wow, I really like those tissue holders . I think I should do some for me too! And,.. another little idea for your stash busting might be to make some wheat bags. I just made one each for George and Isaac out of an old blue bunny rug(flannelette)and they love them each night in bed. They might make a nice gift this time of year too... Vanessa

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  5. ps.. I found out my dad's 'scraps' rug was made on a loom so maybe wont be an option for your stash busting after all.. unless you have a loom and know how to use it of course!

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  6. Gorgeous girl, I love mine every day. Truly do. I think I might have the last scrap of the best fabric? Anyway, it rocks. xx

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  7. Lovely fabrics! I have "learn how to use a sewing machine" on my long list of things to do. You should sell them on etsy!

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  8. So cute - I love making these too!

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  9. These are great! Love the red patterned one...

    You've got a lovely blog here, hope to explore more!

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  10. That red fabric is splendid! I was digging through a box of stuff I had at highschool (don't ask how many years ago that was!) the other day, and I found one that I had back then. Done in funky fabric. So it took a little trip to the wash and is now waiting to be filled with tissues. Where did you get small packs of tissues with center openings? Mine all have them on the ends.

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