Bunting, buckets and burlap!

As mentioned in my previous post I had been making something for a special soon to be five year old.  Whenever possible I try to make the gifts I give, and for me part of the challenge is coming up with something different to make.  This year, this special boy is getting.....

some bunting, with his name on it.  I have seen this around on the internet and thought it would be great for a boy.  I find boys especially hard to make things for.  If anyone has any more suggestions please leave me a comment.  Below is a photo of the finished bunting.

This was surprisingly quick and easy to make.  I simply chose the size of the top of the triangles, measured the point in the middle, which is the same measurement of the tops and then drew the sides down to this point.  This gave me a triangle that was the right shape.  I backed each of the front triangles with interface to make it a bit firmer, then drew out the name and appliqued the letters onto each triangle using a straight stitch and raw edge applique.  You can see this a bit clearer in the top photo.

I always find that one project leads to another and because I detest buying wrapping paper (it only gets thrown in the bin) I made this cute bucket to put his gift in.  He can then use this to store items in his bedroom.

I used the same fabrics I had used in the bunting and again, used raw edge applique to put his initial on the front, really personalizing it!  Again this project led to another and I have just completed these this morning!

These were made from an old hessian (burlap) bag that my daughter gave me when she moved out of home.  I really love the rustic feeling of the hessian with the neater look of the lining.  The bottom bucket is my favourite. I love seeing the stipe fabric on the handles and just a peek of the lining.  I'm not sure what I am going to do with these but they will probably go into my gift stash for giving away throughout the year. 

I hope you all enjoyed these photos.  I enjoyed making all of these items (can't wait to do more) and the best thing is they cost me nothing as I had all of the materials in my stash!

Take care
Andrea