Monday, June 10, 2013

Desk Tote.

I recently did a sewing swap to make a material desk tote and as my partner in Australia had now received it I am free to show. Mandy loves and I do mean loves the colour blue so nothing else would do. I delved deep into my material stash and found strips of material 3" wide with assorted flower and patchwork designs which I sewed together in order to cut out the shapes I needed for the box. 
I then delved into my felt stash and found some dark blue/light blue which I had left over from making an embroidered fish box for another blogging friend (Sherry) a while back.  You can see the lining and box sides here with the start of some appliquéd flowers being added before the bottom was stitched in place. 


The completed box. I forgot about felt having a tendency to stretch so I added embroidery thread ties to the sides to pull back into a box  shape.   



A close up showing the finished flowers.
MIL used to work in a shirt making factoring so I inherited a very large box of buttons I assorted sizes so I used some on the flower centres .

I also used up some seeds beads too.

Entering into the following challenges:
Artistic Inspirations#45:Stitching real or faux.
Handmade Harbour#120: handmade Mondays.
Simon Says: The button challenge.
Crafts and Me #136: Something old(materials,buttons,beads).
4 Crafty Chicks#145: Flowers.
Charisma # 22: Tons of layers.
Hiding in my Craft Room#101: Super scraps.
Challenges 4 Everybody#22: Anything goes.
Pixie's Crafty Workshop#76: .Use up your snippets.











39 comments:

Hettie said...

Lovely lickle box there Mrs A. Love all the little embellies, and I do so love the buttonhole stitching!
Hugs
xx

Catherine said...

This is so sweet Valery Anne ! You are so clever ! Love the flowers ! Hugs, blessings and love from Catherine

Candy C said...

Mrs. A...your little cloth box is so cute! I love the design and the sweet little flowers on each panel. Using a button for the center of the flowers turned out really cute. Thanks for sharing your work with us at Simon Says Stamp and Show. <3 Candy

Margreet said...

Beautiful desk tote...love the flowers!

Ginx Craft said...

Very pretty little box.

Unknown said...

What a lovely little box! Great detailing.

Tamie said...

Whaoooo this is AWESOME!!! I love the quilting and that it is a tote box. Not to mention the fabric is awesome and so is the colors. Awesome flowers!!! Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful inspiration with us at 4 Crafty Chicks.

Lori Turner said...

What an awesome gift!! Thanks for joining us at 4 Crafty Chicks this week for our "Flowers" challenge :D

Sandra H said...

Oh this is fab Mrs A x

Ali said...

Gorgeous box. I love the applique flowers.
Ali x

Christmas Pie Crafts said...

Such a gorgeous box. Love the fabric you have used - very pretty. Hope you have a good week.

Kathleen said...

What a great creation, love it.

Kath x

Bubbles said...

WoW! Thanks for joining us at Charisma Cardz.
Joanne x

Louise@ElsieMayandBertha said...

You've created a lovely box, I'm sure your swap partner loves it. Your appliques are beautifully executed too, especially the neat blanket stitch around each one.
I hope you have a lovely week.

Ann said...

Yes, really pretty and really useful. Love your neat blanket stitched blooms.

MaryH said...

This sweet little box has so many elements to like.Your pretty fabric, your embroidery, your buttons! Made into a beautiful box, and your friend will love it! Rec'vd my Britannia dies today. Can't wait to try 'em out. TFS the place to check on them. Hugs

Lilly's Mom said...

The box turned out lovely. I like your idea of embellishing the flowers with embroidery. Very nice!

Cathy said...

Lovely fabric box Mrs A, you are so clever! :) Cathy x

Loly Borda said...

So cute! Love the flowers, and I love blue too. TFS

Twiglet said...

Great idea - very pretty. x Jo

Ellen Taylor said...

Multi~talented you are! Fantastic desk tote! Love the colors and the fabby flowers!!
Hugs
Ellen

Leanne said...

Thanks for playing our flower challenge at 4 Crafty Chicks, very pretty!

Leanne DT 4 CC!

scrappymo! said...

Oh I so love the snippets of another sort post! This is just so sweet. Loving the seed beads and the embroidery...knowing that the buttons came from the shirt factory was cool!

Lindsay Craftymonster81 said...

Oh this is so pretty, love all those shades of blue and the flowers and buttons are gorgeous
Lindsay xx

Anonymous said...

How sweet is this little box. Love the colors and the design. Thank you for joining us at Artistic this week. Abbie (Owner) xx

Diane said...

What a sweet little box, colors and flowers.

Regards diane

Carol L said...

You're just as handy with a needle as you are with stamps and ink! This is just darling and I too love the blues!

Shaz in Oz.CalligraphyCards said...

Hi Mrs A.

Oh you had me chuckling .. you see had this mental picture of you diving into all these boxes then realised you were writing "delving into boxes not DIVING!", which filled me with great relief!!

no swimming in boxes for you! :D
Imagine Miss trying us to do laps in them :D

Nonsense aside, I love the blue basket and am sure the recipient did also!! well done, Shaz in Oz.x

Bonnie said...

What a sweet little box! An amazing way to use up those snippets of fabric!

Leah l'Orange said...

fabulous! did you HAND STITCH the flower and leaf pieces? they look amazing with the edging and the inside details. thanks so much for sharing with the Charisma Galz - hope you'll join us for this week's new challenge!

Mary said...

Mrs. A. What a great share. You are quite the multi-talented young lady. I always admire those who sew. I am not one of them. I'm sure your friend not only loves the box, but will find a zillion uses for it. Pretty, pretty, pretty!

Sarn said...

WOW - very impressive.

Hugs
Sarn xxx

Unknown said...

Very chic and love the blues too, cleverly made and gorgeous. When I read about your dad, mine is the same, a real gentleman and all the nurses just love him...he never complains and is adjusting to new life well. He is actually now trying to drink by himself and ate a banana by himself...so that's a huge achievement...love annie xxx

Shirley-Anne said...

Fabulous craft box beautifully decorated .
Cheers Shirley-Anne

kel Acopan said...

How cute is this?? I'm so jealous of people who have sewing skills... it's on my "to-learn" list! Thanks so much for playing along at Hiding In My Craft Room!

lovies, =o) kel
HIMCR DT
http://scrap-photograffs.com

JansArtyJunk said...

I just love seeing all your sewing projects Mrs A..( you are so talented)....and your fabric box is so sweet :)

judith@poppy cottage said...

Gorgeous project, love the colours. Thanks for joining us at Artistic Inspirations this week, Judith xx

Sandy said...

What a darling box you have sewn, just lovely..
Thanks for joining us at Challenges 4 Everybody.. Good luck!!
Sandy :) DT

Faye Wynn-Jones said...

Muuuuuuuuuuuuumy! Does your line cover PE Bags? Brilliant desk tote, I really like the materials you chose. X