Thrifted for $6.69

I got these two tops at a thrift shop—they were on sale and together they were $3.50. I loved the color of this purple Ann Taylor Loft blouse. I liked the details on this top and the bit of texture of the fabric. I think it will be a nice light blouse for warmer weather.

I also got this navy Ann Taylor top. It's a simple jersey top. The most interesting part is the back that has a gold zipper that goes a third the way down the back.

At another thrift store I got a mason jar, three small bowls and two tops for $3.19. I thought this mason jar was cute.

Three more Pyrex small glass bowls. They match some bowls I bought previously.

This black and white top was interesting to me—it's kind of retro. I'm not sure when it's from, judging by the sizing, maybe a couple decades back.

Finally, I got this navy Banana Republic anchor sleeveless top. I liked the pattern and the detail around the collar.

Vanilla for Christmas

This year I made vanilla for Christmas gifts. Since vanilla is super easy to make (just putting vanilla bean and vodka in a bottle), the packaging took the most time (and truthfully, I didn’t spend that much time doing it either). I kept it pretty simple. I just made a tag that said the ingredients and when it was bottled. And a label that said what it was—vanilla. I have yet to try it…so I hope it tastes okay.

Things I Didn’t Buy 63

I liked this Capital Gain vegetable label.

And here are some more produce labels.

DIY: Button Bag

 
My mom wanted me to sew her a bag for Christmas. I initially did some sketches of bags and picked one that I thought would be simple to sew. I used some fabric I had on hand to sew a draft of the bag. I got about halfway through…and I didn’t like it. So I simplified the design and tried again—this bag I finished and liked.

With my draft finished, I cut and sewed my mom’s bag. The flap can be buttoned in the front or back of the bag. I wanted some versatility, where the flap could be used to help close the bag, or buttoned in the back to make it more open. In addition, since two fabrics are used, buttoning the flap to the back of the bag allows for a different look, with the interior fabric showing.

This is what I did.

—1—
Cut out two sets of pieces, one fabric for the exterior and one fabric for the interior of the bag.

—2—
With right sides together, sew the two strap pieces together. Trim the seams. And turn the strap right side out. Press and topstitch.

—3—
With right sides together, sew the front and back pieces of one fabric together. Trim the seams and corners. And repeat this with the second set of fabric.

—4—
With right sides together, put one bag inside of the other bag and sew the flap pieces together. Trim the seams and corners.

Note: The two sides need to be kept open to turn the bag right side out and to add the strap.

—5—
Turn bag right side out. Try to get the corners as square as possible. Press bag.

—6—
Put a strap end in about 2.5 inch deep into the openings on each side. Sew the strap to the bag. (Sew a square with an X in the middle to help add stability.)

—7—
Sew the openings for the strap down.

—8—
Press and topstitch the bag.

—9—
Mark the position for the buttonhole on the flap. Sew buttonhole. Sew one button on the front side and one button on the backside. Button Bag complete.