Projects Storage Solutions 
Once fall weather arrives, it's easy to pull on sweats, followed by holiday splurging, avoidance of full-length mirrors and the same old New Year's resolution to fix the damage. Instead, this year vow to keep your summer activity going by inspiring yourself with an always ready-to-go tote to hold everything you need for your workout.
Read me a story! Read it AGAIN!! Keep all your favorite bedtime books handy with our cute caddy tutorial. You'll notice our sample includes some well-worn classics from our own libraries... the ones read over and over, bringing delighted smiles each time. The caddy slips between mattress and box spring, held in place by the mattresses themselves as well as some gripper fabric. Two generous pockets are wide and deep enough to hold plenty of lil' literature. This is just one of the eight projects in our new Storybook Lil' Boy's Room Series sponsored by Moda Fabrics and featuring the nostalgic Lil' Rascals collection by Chloe's Closet.
Packing your kids' school lunches is the loving way to go, right? You can make sure they're full of delicious, nutritious food. According to a recent study, they might also be full of bacteria if that food cannot be kept at the proper temperature once it gets to school. Use our easy tutorial to create your own insulated lunch bag then, as the study suggests, pop in two ice packs instead of one. We used a stylish cotton laminate for the outside fabric, which is available these days in an amazing array of wonderful colors and patterns from a variety of manufacturers.
Fall is upon us, and with it comes the classic sights and smells of the season: golden falling leaves, cool foggy mornings, and freshly sharpened yellow pencils. This clever pencil case tutorial is based on our original wristlet project, but we increased the size and added a cute front-buttoned pocket and a bright key ring. Try it in a soft, tiny wale corduroy like we did or experiment with washed denim or crushed velvet. Your pencils are looking forward to it.
Backpacks are safe and stable... all well and good for the color-inside-the-lines crowd. But if you want something comfortably soft and slouchy, go with the book bag: the wild child of school totes. Our back-to-school book bag tutorial uses a beautiful tiny-wale corduroy, and while we did use a lining – we didn't stiffen it with interfacing. I love the little gold rivets that attach the straps and the cord and button closure. Don't let its laid-back exterior fool you, this bag is roomy and tough enough to carry plenty of books and supplies.
I love travel size toiletries. I think this may date back to my days of playing with Barbie® dolls and trolls. Everything was so little and cute. In fact, most things are more adorable in a mini size: people, puppies, muffins... and little bottles of shampoo, deodorant and lotion. Our Travel Tidy Cosmetics and Toiletries bag is the perfect size to fit all those tiny bottles and jars and more. We used one of the four lovely laminates from Anna Maria's Loulouthi collection as our inside fabric choice so if anything leaks, it can be quickly wiped clean and won't bleed through to the pretty exterior fabric.
This handy case is not only great for travel, it's also dandy for everyday storage of your make up brushes. We used one of the four pretty laminates from Anna Maria's Loulouthi collection as our inside fabric choice so if any traces of make up rub off your brushes and onto the case, it can be quickly wiped clean.
