Teen Birthday Gift...Pinterest to the Rescue!

A few weeks ago, we were invited to join the celebration as a friend's daughter turned sixteen.  While I know the young woman casually, I really don't know her well, so I was stumped as to what to give her to celebrate her big day. 



Pleated Pouch and Hairband...Pinterest to the rescue!

Fortunately, I've been dedicated to actually making some of the things I pin onto Pinterest and my "Sewing Board" came to my rescue.

First, I had this little bag pinned from way back.  The original post is at Charm Stitch via How About Orange.  Her pattern is fabulous and her directions easy to follow.  It was a really quick project. 


 

Little pleated pouch with added wrist handle.

 

 I decided to add a little handle to make it a wristlet and used some contrasting fabric for the lining to make it fun.

Love the bright lining fabric...it makes the green pop, doesn't it?

I love how it turned out.  In fact, I enjoyed the project so much, I headed back to Pinterest and found another quick project I could add to the gift, using the fabric I'd already selected!

Love these hairbands from The Long Thread.  These hairbands are technically reversible, but I chose to use the same fabric on both sides.  My only concern was that the hairband fit the recipient...I used Buttercup as my fit model and it worked out--phew!


Sorry for the terrible photo...I confess I didn't think to take pictures until it
was time to leave for the party!!
 

As always, you just never know when gifting a teenager, but as the evening progressed, the recipient was wearing the hairband, so I took that as a thumbs up! 

I put the hairband in the purse and attached the card with a curly green ribbon.
Really bright and fun and really easy!
. 

Best of all, my Pinterest boards are not just a time suck...I really do use them!  What about you?  Are you making stuff you pin?

 

Doctor Who Backpack and Pouch

Normally, I wouldn't show you another backpack made from the same pattern I used to make this cutie, but the fabric for this project was so cool, I just couldn't resist bragging a little.  A friend of our was turning 18 in February and I really couldn't think of what to give her.  She's away at college and I didn't want to give her something that would just be in the way in her dorm room.    I thought the backpack I made Buttercup would be perfect for my friend, but I wanted to come up with amazing fabric (the kitty fabric I used for Buttercup's bag was far too young for this bag).  A quick search at Spoonflower provided the perfect fabric:  Doctor Who fabric!  In case you didn't know it, the Nagle5 are total geeks!  Serious geeks.  As such, I happened to know that my young friend is a huge Doctor Who fan.   Honestly, the most difficult decision at this point was figuring out which fabric to pick!

This one with the Tardis by Studio Fibonacci was my ultimate choice.  I liked the color and the subject material...it is just so cool.   (It is okay if you're not a Doctor Who fan and you just don't get it.  Just work with me here.)

After the fabric arrived, I headed to Hancock Fabric to find a suitable fabric for the lining.  I think the one I found matched beautifully and "girled" up the entire project.

Since I planned to include a check, I sewed this little zipper pouch to go with the backpack and put the card and the check in the little pouch.  All in all, I was thrilled with how it turned out.

Best of all, the recipient loved it (she actually called me to thank me!) and the bag is currently enjoying winter break in the U.K.   Taking the Doctor Who bag to the land of its origin!  How cool is that?