Gift - Storage Box

We have a new baby coming to the family this September and a baby shower July 14th.  Time really slips away when you are working on several projects at once, which I always say I am not going to do, but totally do anyway.

I made a quilt for the new addition, and some burp rags.  I had been wanting to make a gift / storage box to put everything in as well.  Something that I thought would look good with diapers or other baby supplies in.  I finally got around to it today.

This came together more quickly and more easily than I anticipated (I love it when that happens).

Anyone who knows me or reads my blog knows that I am not a fan of "baby" stuff.  This box was no exception.  I chose colors that I thought would work for a boy but no baby patterns.

For this project you will need:

1) Cardboard box
2) Sharpie
3) Spray Adhesive
4) Scissors
5) Canvas fabric in two patterns (I used a solid and a print)

First, I measured my box.  My sides were about 9" tall, so I called it 10" so I would have a little more than I needed.

Draw a line the length of the height you want (mine was 10") from each corner of your box.  Next, draw a line 1" to the outside of your first line.  

So, you have essentially drawn a square at each corner.  Now, you want to cut those squares off each corner like so:

Where your two lines intersected at each corner, but a slit into it from corner to corner like so:

At this point, I sprayed the bottom of my box and put it on my fabric.  I would caution you that with the adhesive I used, you want to set the box exactly where you want it because it didn't want to come loose when I sat it down!

I started with my narrow sides.  I sprayed the side of the box and just around the corner so I could wrap the fabric around like so:

After I had my narrow sides finished, I trimmed the extra on the top a bit and moved to the wider sides.

The extra width on each side of fabric that I glued around the sides on the narrow ends will be folded over on these ends before they are glued to the box.  I folded the flap in and finger pressed it, then opened it, sprayed the area and folded it back over like this:

Next I sprayed the side and pulled my fabric up like I did with the narrow sides.  The finished box looks like this:

Next, I made my inside cover that also overhung on each side.  I did not actually take photos of this process, but it is pretty simple.

I measured the dimensions of the bottom of my box and added 1/2 inch to each side for seam allowance then cut one. I measured each narrow side plus the number of inches I wanted my fabric to overhang (about 3 inches for me) and cut two.  Then measured each wide side plus the number of inches for overhang and cut two.

I sewed the narrow sides to the bottom, then the wide sides then joined them into a box shape.

Insert the liner with the right side facing you and then fold over your overhang.

These photos were taken before the overhang edges were finished.  I was trying it on to see that it fit correctly.

This is a lot easier than it looks to do and I think it makes a great storage box or even just a gift box!

Sampler Block #5 - Lucky Pieces

After struggling with my last block, I wanted to switch gears and do something a little less complex...haha.

This block turned out nicely and I love all the colors in it.  It consists of 16 HST and went together quickly.

The tutorial is here at FreshLemonQuilts.Com.

Here is a shot of mine:

Here is a shot of all the blocks so far....

Sampler Block #4 - Kansas Dust Storm

Well, all I can say after finishing this block is...."Whew".  This was one of my favorite blocks in the sampler and, by far, the most difficult block I have ever done.

I got mixed up and turned around on a lot of the templates on this one.  My advice is 1) Measure the one inch guide on each template after you print it & 2)  Label all of your template pieces.  I learned both of these the hard way!

After all the work and frustration, though, I was very pleased with how mine came out.  I used a very different color choice than the block in the tutorial at freshlypieced.com.  You can find the tutorial here.

Kansas Dust Storm

Mosiac, Kansas Dust Storm, Star, Greek Cross (left to right....and ignore my Carpentar's Star!)

 The instructions for this one were not written so much for the beginner as the ones for the Star block were.  So, if you are new to paper piecing like I was, I would recommend doing the Star block first before trying the Kansas Dust Storm block!

Happy Quilting :)

Sampler Block #3 - Star

Every now and then something happens that reinforces something that you already know, and this block was one of them for me.

I had been putting off my first paper pieced block just dreading it!  I had this picture of it being so hard and wondered if I had the skills to pull it off.

I bit the bullet this week with the Star block.  Now that it's finished, I feel silly for dreading it so badly.  I was much easier than I thought....looking back to how afraid I was of it, it seems so silly now.

I will say, though, for any of you who have not paper pieced before KEEP YOUR INSTRUCTIONS HANDY!  While the process was simple, I found it a little confusing which fabric faces toward you, which faces away, etc.  I did hit a couple bumps in the road and did some seam ripping on this one.

Thankfully, the instructions on freshlemonquilts.com was very well done with great photos.  I would recommend following her advice and writing your colors on your paper templates before you start stitching!  Click here for the tutorial and templates for this block.

Here is a shot of my first paper pieced block ever!  I know it won't be my last!

Star Block

Here is a shot of all the sampler blocks so far....

Mosiac, Star, Greek Cross (from left to right)

Sampler Block #2 - Greek Cross

It's been a busy week for me and I am a little behind posting block #2 of the sampler series I am doing.

This block is not my favorite shape wise, but it does work in the overall sampler.  It is called Greek Cross and can be found here at FreshLemonQuilts.com.

Here is a shot of mine.  Finished size is 12 1/2 X 12 1/2....as are all of the blocks in this series.  

Block #1 & Block #2 together (Mosiac & Greek Cross left to right)

Greek Cross Block

I had some lovely charm squares from Moda that I though would blend with my color scheme, so I deviated from my solids a little on this one.

My next block I am doing from the series is one simply called "Star".  It will be my first paper piecing attempt so I have my fingers crossed!

Vintage Sheet Quilt Finished (Finally)

I finally got my vintage sheet quilt finished and back from the quilter in Tennessee.  I started this quilt last year as an entry to the county fair for 2013.  I was in no huge rush to complete it since I had a year to get it done :).  

It is finally finished and I could not be more in love with the quilting that was done on it.  

You can find my original post here.  This pattern is called Hopscotch and can be found in Super Simple Quilts #1.  This book is available on Amazon, I believe.

Here are some shots of my quilt.  Binding is yet to be done, but I have not decided on a color yet.  Wish me luck at the fair!!