Dr. Suess canvas tote

I made this cute library book tote for my future step-nephew, Ethan. I was inspired by this version on Ucreate (one of my favorite crafting blogs) but I decided to make mine more topsy turvy-it seemed more Suessian like that. I also accented the crazy topsy turvy by stitching the felt with a zig zag pattern. The entire project cost about $3! I used a Hobby Lobby coupon to purchase the canvas tote.

Do you ever watch Cake Boss? Making the basic design for this bag I felt sort of like I imagine those bakers must feel when they make one of those crazy ass cakes. Except for the fact that there was no possible way 10 layers of baked goods could flop over on me. Winning. Especially considering the Pirate Cake Disaster of 2012-ship wrecked pirate cake anyone? (My sister doesn’t want to talk about it.) Though I will proudly tell you that the blue “wave” to the forward of the watercraft is none other than a roll, added purely for structural reasons. This was a split level pirate cake, if you will. But I digress.

Materials:

• Canvas tote
• One sheet each red and white felt
• Sewing machine and white thread (or thread and needle if hand stitching)
• Fabric marker
• luggage tag (to act as library card holder, optional)

Instructions:

Print out the Dr. Suess hat template.

Cut out the topsy turvy felt pieces from felt and pin in place on your tote. Leave space for your quote if desired. Sew felt in place by hand or using a sewing machine. If you’re using a machine, a zig zag stitch lends a whimsical feel.

Pencil your Suess quote on the tote. The Ucreate tutorial I linked to above has a link to a neat Suessian font, but my handwriting sucks, so I decided to go basic on this. Go over your quote with a fabric marker and done!

I chose to make a library card holder out of scrap fabric, but it was really a pain, so if you want to add a card holder, I’d recommend using a spare luggage tag of some sort. (I did successfully sew a button/buttonhole in the process which seemed like a big deal for a beginning sewer like me-woo!)

 

So that’s it! I hope you enjoy crafting a tote of your own.

Cheers,

Christine

Cheers to 2013

Is it mid-January already? Oh well, belatedly, here’s to a joyful and peaceful 2013!

I’m not into resolutions, but I just read The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, and it really made me think about the little changes I can make in my daily life to be happier (even though I’m already pretty happy). Worht a read if you are (or aren’t) into new year’s resolutions.

Cheers,
Christine

Photo above taken just West of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on Christmas Day 2012

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