Valentine Project Revealed

I recently took part in a Valentine's exchange where the rules were that, well, there were no rules.  Just stitch something, and if we wanted to turn it into something, we could.  I took this as a challenge.  I knew that I wanted to stitch something Valentine-inspired, and found a cute heart freebie online.  Then an idea popped into my head.  I could stitch a few hearts and incorporate this into one of my little fabric project bags. 

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The stitching was done with DMC 115 - variegated red - on a slightly off white evenweave.  On a visit to my local Joann's I found an amazingly perfect fabric to use for the outside of the bag and also a cute contrasting fabric for the lining.

A peek at the lining fabric during construction.

Insetting the stitched piece into the bag was a little bit of a challenge because I had to be sure to get everything even and straight.  But I think this is very good for a first try.  I would definitely make another one of these.  And FYI, I used Luann Kessi's quilted bag tutorial which can be found here.  I just used her general instructions for this type of bag, not the quilting part.

Now it's time for "Other People's Creations", simply because I'm not the only awesome crafter in the world.  My sister, Sheila, just finished some lovely beaded lanyards for her girls' teachers.

Just look at these.  Aren't they beautiful?  No boring lanyards for these teachers!  And each one features a swivel clasp where they can add their school IDs.  What a nice thing to do for teachers who do so much for kids.  I'm sure they'll appreciate these!

If you're a new follower, welcome!  If you've been following for a while, thank you!  I appreciate all of my followers and love hearing from you in the way of comments.  I had so much fun at the Grow Your Blog party and with my giveaway.  So much so that I'm going to be having another giveaway very soon.  So please come back and visit!