Guest Post: My Mother & a GIVEAWAY!

First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my wonderful husband!!

Cake made by Kerry for his birthday last year

Today's post is brought to you by my mother. Her last guest post about her troubles finding a mother-of-the-bride dress was wildly popular, and she's back now to talk about making the bags for my bridesmaids gifts! Take it away mom!

Sewing is as much about creativity as it is an expression of love for me. While sewing I am concentrating meditatively on my creation while at the same time reminiscing about the person I am sewing for. So when Laura asked me to make tote bags for the bridal party it was a labor of love. Most of these girls I have known since they were toddlers and teens and therefore, there are many memories stitched into those bags.

The actual process was an adventure. First, we needed to decide the style of the bags which led to a two hour drawing and coloring session with Laura.

Next we went to Joanne Fabrics and Crafts to "audition" fabrics for the totes. That was at least another two hours of comparing and contrasting color and pattern choices. We finally settled on three fabrics; a solid green, a striped green, beige, and brown, and a paisley brown and green (My favorite). Once all of that was figured out it was time to begin construction.

I decided the easiest thing to do was to make a patterns of each section of the tote out of interfacing. Then I would place the pattern on the fabric, place my rotary square on top of it carefully lining up the edges and squaring the corners. Then I’d swipe the edges of the rotary ruler with my rotary cutter making straight, clean cuts like magic (the rotary cutter is the best invention in the world!).

I used an iron on interfacing on the lining of each bag. I ironed the interfacing onto the lining of my first bag and the heat from the iron damaged the fabric! UGGHHH! But this is sometimes my favorite part of sewing. My favorite saying in sewing is “There are no mistakes only opportunities to embellish.” So rather than waste the fabric I salvaged most of it and turned it into an outside pocket for the bag. Once I got that first tote done I took a picture of it on my phone and sent it to "The Boss" for approval.

She liked it and I was on a roll from that point on. Making seven identical totes would have been too boring for me so while each bag is similar in design they are also individualized for each girl.

(Here's mom with all the bags ready to go!)

While making these bags I came across a tutorial on Noodlehead for a lined make up bag and decided that would be fun for each girl at the Bridal Shower as a little teaser to the bigger bags they would eventually be getting.

That meant another seven bags (plus one for a give away on Laura’s blog) and then I also decided to make one for each of my sister’s three daughters. I am really addicted to these bags!  They go together pretty quickly and easily and they make a really nice gift.

Now on to my favorite giveaway I've done so far!! My mom has made one extra Bag for one Saying "I Do" Reader!! (Thanks Mom!)

To Enter:
1. Leave me a comment below why you would like this bag AND/OR leaving a comment trying to convince my mom to open her own Etsy Shop and sell these bags! (I mean come on, RIGHT?!)

Extra Entries: 
2. Follow my blog, and leave me a comment saying you do.
3. Follow me on twitter @Lwoodsny and leave me a comment saying you do.
4. Tweet about this giveaway mentioning @Lwoodsny in your tweet, and leave me a comment saying so.

Contest will end next Wednesday, August 31, 2011 at 12:00 MIDNIGHT, and the winner will be announced on Friday, September 2nd! Good Luck!

Wedding Recap: Bridesmaid Gifts

Here's all the things that went into the Bridesmaid's Gifts:
Initial necklaces from Eria Designs on Etsy:

A bottle of Trader Joe's wine wrapped in a handmade wine bag and tied with white tulle (My mom made these!):

A Green hoodie from old navy for pictures (all of which are now missssing, arrrrrrg!):

The Flip Flops that my mom and I made:

And finally the crème de la crème of the gifts! All of this stuff was put into these amazing hand-made tote bags that my own mother spent HOURS/days/weeks working on leading up to the wedding:

I couldn't wait to hand these out to my bridesmaids at the rehearsal dinner!!

 Here's Mal with hers:

 Cassie enjoying her new bag:

 Molly models her bag

 Smith is SUPER excited to be getting hers!

 Mandy: cute as always!

And Sister striking a pose with hers!

I love my mom's face here, she's so happy and proud of her bags, and she should be:

And guess what?? Mom made an extra bag for one "Saying 'I Do'" Reader!! How cool is she? Check back here tomorrow for a guest post from my mom as well as an amazing homemade bag giveaway!