For tired eyes...

My overseas trip is on the horizon and the inventory of necessities is being created. I don't know about you, but I can't sleep on a plane or in a hotel room unless it is really dark. Not always possible...so today I made my own eye masks to help solve a potential problem.

I chose some pretty fabric of course and I had some satin quilting leftover from another project. I freehanded my own pattern and cut out the pieces needed.

I also added some lace for a bit of trimming.

Everything was then secured - right sides together - and the lace needed to be tucked inwards. The elastic to go around the head is also tucked in there somewhere and pinned to each side.

Once sewn and turned inside out, I finished off the mask with some zigzag stitch.

I made two - one for me and one for the gal pal I will be galavanting with. I allowed the lace on mine to be more exposed and frillier and hers a little less so. A lover of all things girly, my friend is perhaps a little more streamlined and sophisticated, so I tucked the lace in a little further. I also chose the swallows for my friend as she is a flight attendant and flutters around the globe constantly...what a life!

And when we return from our trip, the eyes masks are pretty enough to keep on a bedside...

...or bedpost.

It is late, so I am off to rest my tired eyes now. Sweet dreams.

xx

Shabby schoolyard style

I have noticed around the town, people carrying their laptops in fabric bags - all types of bags! Pyjama bags, shoe bags, recycled shopping bags, etc, etc. It seems that the padded satchel just isn't always that appropriate...or stylish. It got me thinking that there could be a market for a prettier version of these...

I stitched one together for my workmate and fellow blogger Mrs Tiff - of Mrs Tiff Living Creatively fame. I really wanted to give her something that would show how much I have appreciate her support and encouragment. She was the one who introduced me to blogger after all...and she landed the job of being my report proofreading buddy (poor Tiff!).

I know that Mrs Tiff loves fabric yo-yos, so I just had to embellish it with a few. I matched the yo-yo fabric with a ruffled bag that I knew she had made for herself. The checkered fabric is vintage and I picked the apricot roses up from a fabulous shop of treasures - Retallack's Creative Sewing in Port Macquarie.

If your laptop did need to be packed away for safe keeping in its proper satchel...the sack could always be used to house important documents and letters.

The same week that I gifted the laptop sack to Mrs Tiff, she handed my reports back to me in a plastic sleeve. It wasn't until I got home to make the ammendments, that I found she had inserted a gorgeous and mysterious little parcel inside...almost too pretty to open!

However, when I did, what a heavenly surprise! A lanyard to hold my classroom keys and whistle. I just love, love, love it and feel so special every time I put it on and waltz out into the playground.

I love placing it on my desk when I'm not using it, somewhere in clear view, as it puts a smile on my face. Takes me briefly to another place of whimsy, birdcages, cotton tape, amazing blogs and creativity! Thank you so much Tiff.

xx