Saturday, June 11, 2011

Super cute ruffled backpack

I love it when my boys are invited to birthday parties for little girls. It gives me a chance to make a girly gift. Tomorrow morning, my little guy will be presenting this ruffled backpack to a 3-year-old princess. I hope she loves it. It was fun and easy to make thanks to a great tutorial at Not Very Domestic. The only changes I made were to add an appliqued monogram and to sew on the cords instead of using grommets at the bottom of the bag. The grommets are an awesome idea, but I didn't have any. Must fix that for next time.



Cute, right? I can see it being used as a snack bag for trips to the park, or a carrying bag for small dolls or books. This project reminded me that I want to sew up some fun boy-patterned drawstring bags for my sons' Hot Wheels, puzzles, blocks, etc. Possibly wishful thinking, but maybe we can do a better job of keeping all the pieces together that way.  (=

Speaking of boy chaos, this is what happened when I tried to get my oldest to model the bag for me:

Blurry? Check! Plumber butt? Check! Shows off toys all over the floor? Check!
Back to the ruffles. Aside from the cording, which was probably less than $2 (purchased a while ago), this project was made entirely out of scraps from my leftover bin, so very budget friendly. Sometimes I worry that people think I'm being a cheapskate by giving homemade gifts instead of whatever is popular in stores, and while it's true that I usually spend less by going handmade, my primary goal is to give something from the heart. What do you think? Can handmade compete with store-bought items?

PS...I found the backpack tutorial while browsing Pinterest. Look it up if you don't know what it is...think the web bookmarking system of my dreams combined with social networking. I'm kind of hooked.

PPS...if you're looking for my Summer Daze Giveaway, it's here.

Linked to:



sew many wayscraft Keeping It SimpleBeneath the Rowan Treehomework

19 comments:

  1. super cute, i bet she loves it.

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  2. Very cute! I love the appliqué too!
    marie
    notverydomestic.blogspot.com

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  3. Cute! Love the ruffles and monogram! Awesome!1
    www.karismaheartsavannah.blogspot.com

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  4. This is adorable. I would have loved to have one of these when I was young.

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  5. I love this and so does my daughter. Thank you so much sharing!
    Jenni
    kissedbyafrog.blogspot.com

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  6. I love this!
    Would you be willing to post it to our family themed link party ~ Playdate at http://beneaththerowantree.blogspot.com/2011/06/playdate-link-party-in-summer-12.html ?

    Cheers,
    Lori
    Come & Play :: Playdate
    www.beneahtherowantree.com

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  7. Ha! Love that pic:) Looks like all the one's of my boys, minus the cute backpack of course. Your sewing skills never cease to amaze me!

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  8. Awww!!! So cute! My Goddaughter totally needs this!!!

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  9. This is fabulous! I love giving handmade because, whether they love it or hate it, it will always be remembered. Not like the Barbies that fall to the bottom of the toy bin after a week.....

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  10. What an adorable backpack. I love the colors. I would love for you to share this project at my linky party.
    http://carolynshomework.blogspot.com/2011/06/inspiration-board-link-party_14.html

    Hope to see you there.
    Thanks for the inspiration.

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  11. Your kidding right? Homemade gifts always rock! At least that's what everyone always told my kids when they took cute stuff to their friends for gifts! People were always asking me if I made this or that... it's a nice feeling of accomplishment too. Especiatlly if I already had the fabric in my stash! After working at the fabric store for soo many years.... I have quite a stash of fabric! Anyway... I figure anything that's been in my stash for at least 1-2 years (or more) means that the things I make out of it are free! I got great discounts and so bought lots of fabric.... good thing I did cause from what I understand, the people who work there now, don't get the same discount we did back about 7 years ago!
    Have fun, use your imagination and enjoy the projects... I have found that it's fun to have some of these things made ahead of time.... just in case you need them for a quick gift! Baby projects etc... I made a Ragg Quilt for a gal I met on line who had a baby girl. They live in Australia.... I live in the U.S. Kinda cool to think that a little cutie is dragging one of my creations around on the other side of the world!

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  12. So cute! My daughter would love that.

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  13. That is beyond adorable!!! I *love* the colours that you used! Completely fabulous! I am sure that the birthday girl and her mom will love it!Angie xo

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  14. That is so cute. My girls would love it. I'm a new follower I hope to see you at http://diyhshp.blogspot.com/

    P.S. I have a link party every Monday. I would love for you to stop by next week and link up your table.

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  15. That's so cute! I have a son too so can't wait to make frilly girly things when he starts going to friends birthday parties.

    www.sewrayme.co.uk

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  16. That is the cutest backpack! And i know what you mean about Pinterest! It's addictive!

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  17. I'm featured! LOL

    It is super cute, and A loves it!! :) (she loves any bags, but this one is HERS, and yes, she's a princess. She reminds me everyday.)

    I don't think going homemade is cheap in any way. I go homemade all the time too! I agree with it being a gift from the heart. Maybe it didn't cost a whole lot in materials, but it took your time and imagination and creativity, and you thought it up (or looked it up, or saw it and thought of her) just for the person you made it for. That's priceless! :) And if it's friendlier for the budget? Well that's a bonus :P
    I made little play turtles for the younger crowd's loot bags from scrap yarn myself ;) (and I pretty much always make my cards)

    Thanks again! I forgot to give you your ty card when you picked up your things, I'll drop that off maybe tomorrow before I leave or next time I see you :)

    Joe
    xx

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  18. Very cute! I always look forward to your creative sewing projects :)!

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  19. I found the backpack tutorial while browsing Pinterest. ... 2cutebackpacks.blogspot.com

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