NewlyWoodwards

an unconventional home

Practically free placemat totes (and a quilting sneak peek)

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Pier 1 is hit-or-miss for me. Sometimes you can find incredible sales. But often, I come out empty-handed.
But when I purchased pillows on sale back in November, they were running a deal. If you purchased $50 worth, you received a $20 gift certificate.
I was planning to spend this in conjunction with a 20 percent coupon I had, to get the best bang for my buck. Fortunately for me, when I got to the register, I realized that I actually had two-$20 certificates!
So, I was able to purchase eight place mats (at about $5/piece regular price) and six pillar candles (regular prices ranging from $8- $15) for …. wait for it….

57 CENTS!

(They were all clearance items. Plus, I used my coupons. I was a happy girl!)

I already put up my red glitter candles on my sconces for Valentine’s Day.

And, why would I get so many place mats? Especially since I don’t use place mats. Because I wanted to make more tote bags. I originally planned on sewing a placemat beach tote bag shown in Sewing Green by Betz White (a great book, by the way).

However, as per usual, I didn’t stick to the pattern. I’m very poor at following pattern (or most directions). While the pattern in the book isn’t online, I can tell you that it takes 4 place mats. I though that was a bit excessive, even while using my free place mats. I wanted to get more, figuratively, bang for my buck.

So, I only used 2 place mats for each bag – one on the front, one on the back. I used cotton belting/webbing for the handles.

I have about $3 in cotton belting in each tote. Give or take. It would obviously be more if I had to buy the place mats. And, the best part is that they are really sturdy and lined with a coordinating color.

This is my personal favoritebag. Actually, they are all kinda my favorite. And, I pumped out all four of them within a few hours on Saturday morning.

Ryan’s not really sure why I need so many tote bags. Particularly when I cleaned out the craft closet on Sunday and found… 12 tote bags. That may be a bit excessive?
So, here’s a peek at the other sewing project I’m working on. A cute little table runner. I bought this bright colored charm pack a while back on clearance (notice a trend?). I thought it would make a fun table runner for the summer. If I want it done by summer, I’d better start now. I have a tendency to get distracted.

My friend, Stephanie, recommended trying half-square triangles. (I used the instructions here.) Since I haven’t really quilted for two years, it was a simple way to ease into it. However, it’s quite apparent that either the squares were not the same size, or my cutting was way off. (I’m guessing it was my cutting.) So, there are many imperfections. But, it looks cute nonetheless. I think I’m going to add a white strip around the whole thing before binding and quilting.

What do you think?

Comments

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  3. LOVE your placemat tote bags!! I want one. 🙂 In my opinion a girl can never have too many bags!!

  4. oh man!!! I’m totally excited to try making a tote now:) You are so crafty and clever. I wish I could crank out 4 totes in a morning. Still learning. thanks for sharing this great idea. Oh, and I totally agree with the give-a-way idea lol.

  7. What amazingly cute totes! You are so crafty (and thrifty). A girl can never have too many tote bags, especially ones that are as cute as those.

  10. Kim, you’re amazing! Do you have an Etsy account where you can sell all your cute stuff that you make extra of or don’t use??

  11. Seriously??? You made?? With your own little hands??? They are awesome Kim. See, I had picked up a couple of the orange and yellow placemats but I was just gonna use them as placemats. So boring.

  12. Uber impressed with your deals. I love the patterns on the placemats/bags. I used dishtowels to make purses last year. It is on the blog. Be sure to show us the runner when you’re done!

  13. I LOVE the table runner!! And I don’t see any imperfections! It’s beautiful!!

    And those totebags are GORGEOUS!! You should open up an etsy shop! 🙂

  14. What a great idea! I probablly would have just kept the bags though.. I don’t sew! Great patterns!

  15. How fun are those?! I would have never guessed their humble beginnings…or price tag :)!

  16. How fun are those?! I would have never guessed their humble beginnings…or price tag :)!

  19. I love them all! I’m especially a fan of the table runner. If I ever get off my duff and fire up my sewing machine I will have to make one. I’ve been looking for one that matches some of the colors in my dining room, and haven’t been happy with any of the choice. Perfect solution!

  23. Um, I think you rock!! That’s what I think. 😉
    (p.s. I’m totally supportive of the 12 tote bags for personal use, but you could SELL those and make some cash!!! They are fantastic!)

  25. LOL!, a giveaway is a great idea for one of those totes, but seriously, they turned out great. I can’t wait to see the finished table runner. The colors are great.

  28. I absolutely LOVE the one on the left in the second picture. LOVE IT. And those aren’t even my colors!!

    I see it’s already been suggested, but I was pulling for a bloggy giveaway too! : )

    You are so creative Kim!!

  30. I think that if you have so many tote bags you should do a giveaway on your blog and give one of your cute new ones to one lucky reader 🙂