Tool Time Tuesday...Placemat Easter Basket

Happy Tuesday everyone!! I know I'm a little early with an Easter project, but this is an easy one. You can make them ahead and have them ready to go for gift baskets, Easter egg hunts or just as a present in itself. You'll be making tons of these.

Aren't they cute?

All you need is a placemat. You know I love placemat projects because most all of the sewing and finshed edges are already done for you. Makes a project super fast. CLICK HERE for other placemat projects I've done (there are several pages of projects on that link).

This was a great price...look for them on sale too.

First step is to fold it in half. The short sides of the placemat will now be the open top of the bag.

Sew both sides of the bag. This placemat had a decorative stitch on the edges, so I just sewed right over it.

Turn the bag wrong side out and have the side seams facing you.

Push down on the side seam to form a point like in the picture below.

I sewed across the point, about an inch from the point. See the white thread stitching? Sorry, I should have used a darker thread.

Turn right side out. That point you just sewed forms a bottom on the bag.

This is the inside. You can make a covered card board piece for the bottom if you'd like for more support.

Now take two ribbons any length you'd like.

Pin the four ends on the top of the bag.

I pinned mine about 3 inches in from the outside edge. Sew across the ribbon to secure.

You're all done. Fast, easy and so cute.

Great for Easter egg hunts! Make them in many different colors to match the color of the plastic eggs...that way each child hunts for the color egg that matches their bag. CLICK HERE for another color coded egg hunt idea.

The bag holds more eggs than you think!! CLICK HERE for this bunny project too.

These bags would be great for...

• egg hunts
• filled with Easter chocolate and candies
• filled with baked goods...Easter breads or cookies
• make one for that little girl in your life for a purse all her own
• make them as gift bags for any holiday, not just Easter

Have fun making these,
~Karen~

Tool Time Tuesday and Make A Gift On The 25th...Place Mats

Tool Time and Make A Gift On The 25th on the same day...Woo Hoo, it's a twofer!!

You know Tool Time is where I take something and turn it into something else.

"Make a Gift on the 25th" is a club where we can all make a gift for Christmas on the 25th of each month. If we craft ahead of time, we won't be proCRAFTinating on Christmas Eve. We've been doing this since July here at Sew Many Ways, but it's not too late!! Click here for past projects and join the club.

So here's today's project...a Christmas card holder.

Made from a place mat

Flip place mat over so the wrong side is up. Add ric rac, trim, ribbon etc to one of the edges.

I sewed the ric rac down the center.

Turn the raw edge of your trim over to the other side for a finished look.

Now fold up the decorated edge to about 1/3 from the top or however deep you want to make the pocket.

Pin the two sides on the right and left.

Sew 1/4 inch away from the edge from ric rac down to the fold.

There are different ways to hangs this, but I sewed two curtain rings to the back on each corner.

Quick zig zag to secure.

 Add a little bow and you're all set.

Add your Christmas cards as they start to come in for the holidays.

Another way is to hang it on the refrigerator with magnetic clips.

I started playing around with different designs.

Fold back the 2 corners and sew them down to form a roof line.

You can decorated your gingerbread house any way you'd like!!

even a little button for a door knob.

Pocket is still there for the cards.

Place mats are a very versatile item that are ready made and can be turned into something else quickly. It's hemmed and has finished edges for a fast project.

Look for them in the clearance section...these red place mats were only 50 cents!! Click here for other place mat projects

Have a wonderful Tuesday,
~Karen~

Make A Gift On The 25th Club...Bread Wrap With Warmer

Welcome to another addition of Make A Gift On The 25th Club. Read the original Club post by clicking here. In short, this club is to help all of us who are proCRAFTinators and end up making gifts on Christmas Eve. Well, no more!!

If you've joined the club since July 25th, you should have made a few gifts so far. However, there is still plenty of time to squeeze in some crafting time and get a few gifts made.

I've done two posts and tutorials for helpful ideas...

Click here for the July 25th tutorial for sewing an endless scarf

Click here for the August 25th tutorial for the cell phone key chain case

Click here to learn how to add the button found on the right side bar.

Here is September's tutorial...a Bread Wrap and Warmer. These are perfect for just about anyone on your gift list. Great idea for teachers, neighbors, friends or those gifts you have tuck away for those unexpected guests. Super fast to make up too. Great to add a loaf of homemade bread and jar of jam too!

Supplies...

• 2 place mats
• ribbon
• uncooked rice

I'm using the striped side of this place mat for the outside.

Cut 6 pieces of ribbon 8-10 inches long.

Pin 3 pieces of ribbon on the wrong side of place mat, spaced evenly on each of the long sides.

Sew in place. Don't forget to turn under the raw edge so the ribbon doesn't fray.

Stitch back and forth a few times to secure.

When all 6 are sewn on the place mat...the bread wrap is done!! See, I told you it was fast.

Now to make the warmer. This is a long, thin pillow with a little bit of uncooked rice inside. When you microwave it for a few seconds, it will keep the bread warm during dinner.

The second place mat will be used for this and some rice.

Fold up one long edge of the place mat so you have about 4 inches folded up.

Trim off any edges to have a straight edge on all sides.

I'm using the striped side, so fold right sides together.

Sew down the long side and one short side with a 1/4 inch seam, leaving the other short side open.

Turn right side out.

Now fill with the uncooked rice. Don't fill it all the way. Just enough to have a flat layer on the bottom of the pillow.

Roll up a piece of paper or use a funnel to pour the rice in.

Turn in the raw edge and pin.

Top stitch the opening closed.

Now it's all set to be tucked inside, waiting for a yummy loaf of bread.

Microwave the pillow for 10-15 seconds at a time until desired temperature. Place in the middle of the bread wrap, stack with bread and...

Tie it up!!

The bread wrap is great to hold the bread with while cutting.

and the bread stays warm waiting for the next slice to be cut!

This is an easy one and can be made up very quickly. Look for place mats in the clearance rack too. These place mats were 75 cents. A great gift for $1.50 a little ribbon and some rice!

Don't forget to visits today's Sew Darn Crafty linking party and add your link. Both posts fell on this Sunday, so I did 2 posts in a row.

Happy 25th,
~Karen~