twice regifting something special. . . .

this past christmas, a friend of mine sent me a box full of amazing handmade goodies, dora stickers & toothbrushes [for amelia, obviously] and a half yard panel of fabric of a very unique japanese print.  she included a note about the fabric which said –

this is a very special fabric that i have had since i was a child & my dad was stationed in japan.  i’ve always held onto it & now want to pass it to you — so you can create something fabulous with it & to know that you have a special part of me.

i seriously bawled my eyes out reading her sweet note.  one thing about moving internationally is seriously — and i mean seriously – missing all of my friends & family back home.  so getting a note like this with a gift that meant something so special to someone i cherish just pulled at my heart strings.

i’ve been looking for a project for the fabric panel that would do it justice.  i thought about an iPad sleeve, but i didn’t want to cover the print with a ruffle…. it’s just too unique & honors the spirit of japan.  once i ruled out the ruffle addition, i kind of just drew a blank for several weeks…. who am i without a ruffle?? –*wink!

i finally came across a unique pouch tutorial by noodlehead that got the whole project back on board again.  i immediately envisioned what fabrics i would want to use [all japanese, of course] & i knew that i wanted to equally share the pouches so that no matter the distance [which is about to grow even more as she prepares to move to the UK!] we would always be reminded of one another when we use our pouches. ♥

and so this past weekend i had another fun “just for me” sewing session [remember how last week i shared my first fun sew session?].

it’s so refreshing & inspiring to be able to step back from shop orders for just an hour or so & work on something completely unrelated to work.  i’ve been setting aside time each weekend to do something like this to keep my creativity peaked :]

i laid out my fabrics, made super duper precise cuts [i only had ONE totally unique panel of fabric to work with!], flipped the switch on my sewing machine & found rest + peace in creating something good.

what was first regifted to me in one form was magically transformed into a brand new item to regift a second time back [or is that once removed?].

these awesome “open wide pouches” can be stood up nice & tall or flattened down into a box style when not completely full.

each one features one of the japanese faces from the panel [cut in half -- so sad how that worked out....], a vintage inspired floral print [now featured in the shop as knotted necklaces], and is lined with a pale pink gingham cotton print.

i also chose metal zippers to give the pouch a more vintage/old school feel.  it was my first time with metal zippers & i think i’ll stick to my regular nylon coil zips from now on.  hah! :]

when the zipper is opened all the way [extending past the edge of the pouch body] the bag opens up really wide — perfect for storing tons of goodies!  i filled my medium sized pouch with a journal, hand lotion, sunshades, snacks & tissues.  and there was still plenty of room for more!

i had just enough of all the fabrics to make a total of four pouches — two mediums & two smalls.  i of course filled mine up right away but i packaged amber’s up with a fabric bow & special card to send back to her in california.

what a joy to have something so special to share between us!