Gathered Clutch...

I'm back. I hope you all had a lovely weekend. We had a fabulous time with family in a never-been-to vacation spot. There will be more about that later. This morning I got up at the crack of dawn -- actually before the crack of dawn. It's not even 9 a.m. and I've already read blog posts and made two clutch purses for two little girls who will be celebrating birthdays soon. Meet a couple of my adorable granddaughters. One will be turning five and the other will turn two in the next couple of weeks...

I love the blog "Noodlehead." Anna is an extremely talented lady, and what's even better she shares her talents generously! For months now I've been wanting to make a clutch she designed, and this morning I finally got to it. Because I was making the clutches for two little girls I tweaked the "Noodlehead pattern" a bit and made them for little hands. Here are the sizes -- in inches -- for the pattern pieces that I used:

 This makes a finished clutch that is about 4 x 7 inches.

In addition to the pieces that Anna has in her pattern, I included a strap (the 2"x11" piece). The dimensions for this little clutch are slightly different than those on the Noodlehead instructions, but you construct it the same way, so go to Noodlehead for Anna's fabulous tutorial to find out how to build this cute clutch.

Normally, we try to give gifts for birthday presents for our little grandkiddos, but this year nothing was coming to mind for these little lovelies, so I decided to make these little clutches and put some cold hard cash in them...

That way they can have their own little shopping spree. Even a two year old can appreciate that. A lot. 

They take after their grandmother and don't mind a little loose change swooshing around in their purse. Dollar bills are even better. Let's just say the apples don't fall far from the tree and leave it at that...

Have a nice day! 

Linked to:
Featuring you Friday @ Sassy Sites!
A Crafty Soiree @ Katie's Nesting Spot

Hookin' Up with HoH @ House of Hepworths

Show Off Your Stuff @ Fireflies and Jellybeans
Strut Your Stuff @ Somewhat Simple
Get Your Craft on Thursday @ Life as Lori

Gift Card Lil' Wristlet

I have two little friends, Dani & Grace, who happen to be sisters with birthdays in the same week. When I was young I always loved a little change in my pocket, so I thought I'd give them a couple of gift cards for their birthdays, but I wanted to "wrap" the gift cards in something special that they could use over and over again, so I made a small wristlet just big enough to hold the cards. Since we all give gift cards at one time or another, I thought I'd share this pattern that I created for this purpose.

The finished dimensions of these wristlets are 7 inches wide by 4.5 inches tall with a 5.5 inch long strap. It's smaller than my other wristlets, but still big enough for the essentials for an adult (cash, a debit card, a license and keys), or in this case the valuables of a little girl!

You will need to cut out pieces of fabric in the following dimensions. (Please see photo below.) Remember all measurements are in inches.

• Strap - cut one 12 inch x 2 inch piece.
  
• Lining - cut two 8 inch x 5 inch pieces.
• Outside back - cut one 8 inch x 5 inch piece.
• Zipper "ends" - cut two 3 inch x 1.5 inch pieces.
• Outside front - cut one 3 inch x 5 inch piece and one 6 inch x 5 inch piece.

Also, you will need (not shown in photo):

• One 9 inch zipper & thread.
  
• Interfacing - cut two 8 inch x 5 inch pieces of fusible fleece.
  

I allow for 1/2" seams. Once you have the fabric cut out, you will need to round the bottom corners of your outside edges. You will only be rounding one side of each of your outside front pieces because you will sew those pieces together. You can do this by taking a small cup, meeting the side and bottom selvages and drawing a line around the cup, like I did on this piece of paper...

Then, trim the bottom edges around the pen line. This will provide a curved edge at the bottom of the wristlet.

Pin the 5 inch sides of the outside fronts together and sew with a 1/2 inch seam. (Make sure you are sewing the straight edges together, so the curved bottom edges will be on the outside edge.)


Now go to Flossie Teacake's fabulous tutorial, follow it, and get 'er done! I add a strap to mine. Just tuck it into the seam before you sew around the outside edges. Then go here to "Emily's Little World" and follow this fabulous tutorial on how to make the flowers! I attach mine with fabric glue. And... you're done! You've got a place to hide some gift cards and the receiver has a wristlet to carry around long after those cards are spent!

Have a great day!

Linked to:
Frugalicious Friday @ Finding Fabulous
Frugal Friday @ The Shabby Nest
Friday Fun Finds @ Kojo Designs