the anatomy of a bag.

according to our itinerary for the weekend, we were told that there would be a special "project" to work on.  oh the suspense!

to start off, we each got to choose a box.  it was decided that the youngest would go first.  wait...did I hear that right?  the youngest goes first?  cool.  guess that would be me.  I did a quick once over and decided on the cute polka dot one.  although the high heel one looked awfully tempting as well.  ack!  too many decisions! 

finally, after much debating and hemming and hawing, we all had our boxes. time for a group picture.  smile, everyone!

I carefully unclasp my box and peek inside.  gulp...fabric?  uh oh.  this is looking like it might be more challenging than I thought.

yep.  our project for the day was to sew together a tote bag.  me, sew?  ha, now that's a good one.  talk about a disaster waiting to happen.  me and sewing machines just can't seam to get along.  fortunately, I can always count on becoming fast friends with the seam ripper.

the first step was to embellish the pocket.  use buttons, make flowers out of fabric, do some embroidery...just be creative!  uh, okay then.  help.  can someone please show me how to sew on a button? 

so, while I got a quick tutorial on sewing buttons, I conned my nice aunt Becca to sew together the handles for the bag.  isn't she sweet?  and aren't I such a conniver?  hee.  

slowly but surely, and with a little a lot of help from the novices, I meddled my way through. 

Becky making yo yo's (?) for her pocket. 

here is Heidi's bag.  she got all fancy with a fabric flower and some embroidery. so cute! 

I finally get to the last step...the top stitching around the top of the bag.  and my eyes are about to glaze over.  so I designate Kim to finish that up for me.  isn't she nice, too?  LOL.  this was a "group" project, after all.

and here it is.  the finished project!  I embellished the pocket with a few colorful buttons...that's about all my creativity would allow.  I think it turned out pretty cute, don't you?  and hey!  quit inspecting my stitching, will ya?  thinking it will make a nice overnight bag for my girls!  

the after picture with the completed tote bags. (did we all manage to find our respective spots?)  they all turned out so unique.  and most got downright fancy with their pockets.  uh, except me, that is.

I have to say that it was very satisfying to start a project and finish it all in the same day.  that's a rarity for me!  

have a great tuesday!

-jessica