Coupon Clutch and Etsy Pattern!

Has anyone seen "Extreme Couponing?"  I'm not a huge fan of hoarding, but that show gave my husband and I the idea to collect coupons in order to make eating organic possible.  But how do you organize them? Well, I looked on the interwebs for a tutorial, and I found a couple projects that looked similar to this:

The catch?  Either there was no tutorial, or you had to buy an expensive pattern.  I understand that many bloggers sell patterns to help support their families and whatnot, but I am already on a tight budget (hence the couponing).  So what did I do?  I made one up! For cheap!  And I am posting the tutorial for it!  And I am offering the pattern on my Etsy for only $2.00!  

Onto the tutorial!  I used bright white thread and contrasting colors so you can see each step more clearly.  First, cut the pattern pieces.

I started sewing with the dividers and the accordian sides.  Stack them with the two fabric pieces on bottom (right sides together), and the interfacing on top (for the dividers).  Then stitch up the long sides.

Then, turn them inside-out and press flat to open up the seam.  

Next, use a straight edge help turn out the seams and press. Then topstitch the top and bottom to seal it in place.  This also helps keep the interfacing stable.

Next, it's time to sew the cover.  Stack the fabric the same way you did the dividers: right sides together, interfacing on top.  Then stitch the scalloped edges on top and bottom to make the seams.  The curves and turns are a little tricky, but if you go slow you will be fine.

Then, turn it inside out, and push out and press the seams.  You may need some kind of tool to pop out the corners and curves. Then-you guessed it-topstitch.

ASSEMBLY:

First, I attached the dividers to the accordian.  Fold the accordian piece in half, and slide the divider all the way up into the crease.  Then stitch it down about 1/4 inch from the edge--just enough to catch all the layers.

Now, fold the fabric back, and a little farther down, make another fold (how many folds you make and how far to space them will depend on how many dividers you choose to have-on my pattern I have drawn the lines to make 8 dividers--it's a pretty tight fit).  Again, stick the divider into the crease and stitch it down.

Once you have sewn in all your dividers on one accordian side, then repeat with the other.  It may be slightly trickier on the other side, but just start in the middle and you will be fine.  I was able to eyeball the spacing just fine.

Now, you should have some extra fabric at the ends of your accordian sides.  This is what you will use to attach your dividers to the cover.  Decide where you would like the dividers to be inside your clutch, leaving plenty of room for the file to expand (The pattern also has a rough guide to where the folds should be in the cover).  Then pin it down and bast it close to the edge. 

Once you've done this to the front of your cover, roll the cover up around to the other side of the dividers, and attach the other side of the dividers to the back side of the clutch.

Congratulations!  You are almost there!  Now you just have to do a little finishing and you are done!

Take a strip of bias tape and pin it along the side of the clutch, covering the basting work you just did.  

Topstitch it down, then repeat.  Then add a snap or button closure to the front and you are done!  Take a look!

oh snap!

a little peek-a-boo of the dividers

Closed:

Open:

Now, the part you have been waiting for:  How do you get the pattern?  It's simple: just visit my Etsy and put in an order!  I will email it to you as soon as I can!

Check out our link parties link to see where I am linking up this week.
Also linking up to:

A to Z

Insulated Reversible Coffee Cozy Tutorial and GIVEAWAY!!!!!

Okay, so I understand it is the day after Earth Day, but that doesn't mean the planet stops rolling!  Today's Earth-Friendly project: Insulated reversible coffee cozies!  And a giveaway!  (After the tutorial).

But first, let me take a serious moment to encourage you ALL to rent, borrow, or netflix the movie "Food Inc."  If you care for the environment, and you care about yourselves, it will be worth your time to see what's in your food, and what it is doing to your body!

Now, on to the tutorial!
You will need:  a starbucks coffee sleeve, a front fabric, a reverse fabric, some insul-bright, and some velcro!

Take your starbucks coffee wrap, and open it up.  I laid it out on some paper, and then gave an extra half inch around all sides for seam allowances and bulk.

Then I cut one each of front fabric and reverse fabric.  I cut one piece of insul-bright to match the original starbucks wrap.

With right sides together, stitch up one side, across the end, and down the other side.  I used 1/4" seam allowances.

 Now, take some scissors, and cut the corners at a 45 degree angle, like this:

Why cut the corners?  It helps you get crisper corners when you turn it inside out.  So, as you might have guessed, now you will need to turn it inside out.  Now, I have learned this cool trick over time to help you get really crisp corners.  You know when you go to get a pedicure and they use that wooden stick to push your cuticles back?  Well, instead of letting them throw it away, ask to take it home this time!  I have found it is extremely useful in getting crisp corners.  (You might want to wash it first, though).  They sell "corner turners" at the craft store that look just like these, but I like the free version better.  Check it out below:  I used my finger for the corner on the right, and the pointy stick for the corner on the left.

Now, slide your insul-bright into the pocket!

Now, take the open end and fold the ends under, ironing to help them stay put.  Then take the fuzzy side of the velcro, lay it on the edge, and stitch it down.  This way you get two birds with one stone; you finish the edge, and you sew on the velcro at the same time.  Then flip the cozy over, and sew velcro on the other side!

Then fold it together and Ta-Da!  You have a coffee cozy that you can change based on your mood!  A sampling of my different varieties:

These are a quick, easy, and green gift to make, especially if you use scraps to make them!  Enjoy!

And the Krafting with K Earth Day GIVEAWAY!!!  We will be giving away a Reusable shopping bag and one of today's coffee cozies to help encourage you, our readers, to reduce waste!  I will also throw in some Bath Sea Salts and a Bath Bomb Fizzy for fun!  Winner will be chosen via Random.org.  How do you enter?

*****Become a follower of Krafting with K (and leave a comment letting us know you did)****

Additional entries:
1-Leave us a comment letting us know what you did or are going to do to help the planet this month!
2-Leave us a link to a Earth-day friendly project of your own!

That's it!  Giveaway will start today and the winner will be drawn Wednesday at 9pm.  Good luck everyone!  I can't wait to see what "green" things you are up to!

Crafting weekend fun

Wow. I haven't really crafted in a while!

To be fair, I started a Master's degree and a job, so I've been really, really busy. The last thing I made was a christening outfit for my nephew in April. I started working on a yellow dress, but the fabric is very thin and I needed to get stabilizer so that I could sew it correctly without it bunching up. Oh yeah, and I got a new sewing machine! It's a Brother electronic machine. I wasn't sure if I was going to like it, but the more I use it, the more I like it.

So here are some things I've made over the past few weekends. I needed to take a mental break from school work!

I made a great teacher binder out of an old binder and some pretty yellow fabric. The best thing about it is that it's refillable because I made all the pages in Excel. I simply laid out the binder open on a piece of fabric and cut it so it was about an inch larger than the binder on all sides. Then I fired up my hot glue gun and started making lines back and forth across the cover. I pressed the fabric on, then moved to the spine and the back. I then laid the binder open and folded over the flaps, gluing as I went. The glue cooled pretty fast! I cut some scrapbook paper to size and then hot glued that into the interior. I made a word cloud on Wordle about teaching science for the front picture.

Did I mention this binder is red underneath? Can't tell, can you?

I've been wanting to make one of these for a while, so I followed the tutorial on Crafting with Orange. I like the idea of making gift bags out of something recyclable and earth-friendly. The gift tag is from an old greeting card someone sent me. If it's a sentimental card, I scan it or take a photo of it, then cut the front picture up for gift tags.

I've also gone on a plastic-free kick after reading Life Without Plastic. I've never really been comfortable eating from or drinking from plastic things, so this has been a feel-good move on my part. It's been a lot harder to implement, though, because EVERYTHING comes in plastic at the grocery store. Mostly convenience items, but really...anyhow, I found this cute soap pouch tutorial on WhiMSy love and decided to give it a shot. I used a boring old washcloth for mine, but it worked out great! I can't wait to give it a try and get rid of my old nylon scrubbing thing. The nice thing about it is that it can go through the wash after I'm done with the bar of soap, and be reused again and again. I'm thinking about adding a rope to hang it up with.

Soap pouch! The flaps overlap so the soap stays inside.

That's all I've made so far, but it's more than I've done in a long while. My next project is going to be flannel 'tissues'. We'll use them once, then throw them in the wash and use them again. Hankies, basically!

Have a great day!