We're all goin' on a Summer Holiday!

Finally the week is here !
The week BEFORE the Summer holidays !
Time to take a break from the planning and packing and  share a little summery crafty goodness !

I came home from work last week just itching to make a beach bag, after drooling over the many beach bags online I was really taken with a lovely bag by the beautiful Leanne at Elle Apparel . I used her super easy tutorial as a basis for my own bag -

I made some adjustments to Leannes lovely pattern to create my own 'designer' beach bag. I added an extra pocket on the front (super simple to do !) and lined the interior, adding a few pockets inside too!

I also added a ribbon closure (you can just about see it in the pics !) This allows for ladies who may overfill the bag (ahem! - moi!) and its also handy to tie the car & house keys to so they dont end up buried in the sand !

The fabric came from IKEA (years ago !) and the red and white bow was attached to some slipper socks I bought last Christmas ! I had about 1 yard of the main fabric and just scraps (maybe a quarter yard) of the red and white ticking. I lined the bag with cream remnant fabric making the pockets from what was to hand.



Not content with the bag I sewed up a little document wallet for our travel documents. I found the tutorial at the Sew Delicious Blog where the super talented Roslyn has posted THIS fab tutorial on a zippered wallet. I'm thinking I may need to create one for my make-up next....

The little anchor motif was wholly inspired by THESE fab crosstitch buttons I found on etsy. I chose an anchor to tie in with the nautical theme of the bag AND because we are going to be taking the ferry to France! (Ooohh!! I can't wait !)

 And when I was taking the shots outside I realised that my one and only completed cross stitch has a very nautical theme so it can sit well with this bunch ! I made this little beachy cross-stitch about 2 years ago, it was fun but tough on the eyes (I felt I needed magnifying glasses by the end!)
Think it may well have been my first and last cross-stitch picture ... taa daaa!!!

Have you been on holidays yet ? if not I hope you have a lovely holiday wherever your going !

Thanks for visiting !

Siubhan x x x