Handmade Gifts I’m Givin’

As my last post before the Hubs and I are off to England for the holidays, I thought I’d share with you some of the gifts I’ve made this year.

With my newly acquired calligraphy skills, I had to practice on this year’s holiday cards!

For the addresses on the envelopes, I used a more traditional style and incorporated some ideas from The Postman’s Knock to make them extra fancy {PS: If you’re still working on cards, check out TPK’s post for some ideas – all you need is a gel pen for some!}

Aside from the cards (which are staying stateside), most of the gifts below are heading to England with me! {womp, womp – sorry family and friends at home!}

Noodlehead Envelope Clutch

On Black Friday, I snagged a copy of Noodlehead’s Envelope Clutch at a great discount – I’d been eye-balling it for weeks since Anna released the updated pattern. You may remember Noodlehead from that time I made a Super Tote. Anna is such a talented pattern designer – not only are the styles classic, but she makes them all super functional.

Though it be but small, the envelope clutch was no exception!

I even mastered the wristlet using this tutorial from lbg studio.

Keep an eye out for more Envelope Clutches when I reopen resliced in 2015!

Tea towel turned zip pouch

After a Saturday morning long run, I stopped at a yard sale (which yes – I passed while running and noted the location so I could return 😉 ) and found some beautiful vintage embroidered tea towels (or maybe they were handkerchiefs? Who cares! They were gorgeous!).

I snagged the one above (and a few more) and knew I was going to use the embroidered section to make a bag of some kind. Originally I thought I’d use it as embellishment, but with my recent realization that I was hoarding zippers (the things you discover when you organize your craft room…yet another procrastination project) I decided to convert it to a change pouch.

I have been practicing top zippers for a few months now so I didn’t follow a tutorial during construction, but – this is one of the best I’ve found so far.

Since the tea towel had a few holes and I wanted to add a little stability to the bag, I lined it with lightweight fusible interfacing. I used a 6 inch zipper from zipit on Etsy {find the zippers I ordered here}.

Sunflower change purse

Confession: This was a selfish sewing project. I needed a zipper pouch for cash and change when we’re in England so I whipped this one up for myself!

It’s very similar to the last zip pouch, but it’s a bit larger and I added a D-ring on the side (in case I wanted to add a wristlet) and curved the bottom edges (because the scrap I was using was already curved on one side so I improvised).

Monet shoulder bag

Earlier this year, my best friend Caroline & I visited the Columbia Museum of Art on one of their free admission days. I fell in love with this Monet painting:

Full of inspiration after our visit, I went home and searched my fabric stash because I knew I had the perfect fabric to match this gorgeous painting. I created a pleated shoulder bag using the fabric and quickly sold it to a very sweet Canadian lady on Etsy. Last week I realized I had just enough left for the exterior of another shoulder bag [every resliced bag is one-of-a-kind so I avoid using the same interior if I replicate the exterior – this might be my OCD / perfectionist personality, but that’s my rule!].

The soft minty-blues with a very subtle hint of pink/purple make this “Monet bag” almost as fabulous as the painting (ha! Did I just compare myself to Monet? I must’ve lost my mind – please forgive me).

To make sure the exterior was different than the Monet bag floating around Canada, I switched up my pleats ever-so-slightly by adding a double middle pleat.

And added a fun pop of sunflowers with the interior pockets.

I can’t wait to give this bag to Jeremy’s grandmother! The colors reminded me of her and after receiving 2 knit sweaters from her, I’m excited to give her something I’ve made! 🙂

So now, the Monet shoulder bag by resliced will be floating around Canada and England! How cool!

Stay tuned for more handmade gifts in the New Year!

Since the Hubs and I will be spending the holidays in England, we’re waiting to celebrate with family after we return. Thus, there will be many more handmade gifts to come!

Also – my sister & I made our annual visit to Crafty Feast this past Sunday and stocked up on handmade gifts and new handmade shops we’re lovin’ so stay tuned for that post (likely coming after the new year, but I promise to share all my favorites – just like I did for Vintage Charlotte!).

I promise to share all about #OperationBritishChristmas as soon as I return. In the meantime, you can follow along with my travel adventures on Instagram (@jordslice11).

I’m hoping to unplug a little while we’re there so I may be in and out, but so long as I have wifi, I’ll try to post a few pictures so it’s like we’re travelling together!

I hope you all have a happy holiday season filled with warm memories!