Easy Do It Yourself Projects for A Novice Sewer
(But Not A Novice Eater!)
So, you're getting two for the price of one in today's post! I'm showing you a tasty breakfast bowl that you can make at home and also a shoulder purse that is easy peasy for a novice sewer like me, and possibly you, to make yourself. If you like quick gratification, like I do, with do-it-yourself projects, then today's post is for you!
First, let's talk breakfast. I've mentioned in previous posts about how I like to put vegetables into my breakfast meal. It just seems like if I don't start the day off with healthier choices, I can quickly go downhill with the rest of the day's eating. So, I'm always on the lookout for veggies that I like eating early in the day. Squash and zucchini are so plentiful right now and I love to simply throw some into a bowl with water and cook it right in the microwave. It only takes between 5-8 minutes to cook tender and it is so delicious!
In this morning's breakfast bowl I included three egg whites/one yolk scrambled to perfection, spinach sauteed in olive oil with a little added onion powder and black pepper and the zucchini/squash that I microwaved. It was delicious! Breakfast bowls are popular in restaurants right now. A few days ago some friends and I ate in downtown Asheville and one friend ordered a breakfast bowl that came filled with eggs, cheese, black beans, rice and avocado topped with salsa. I haven't gone that route yet, but it looked delicious. If I do try one with the black beans, rice and avocado I'll be sure to take pictures and share that with you! Now, let's get busy sewing!
I enjoy sewing projects that are simple and easy and can be completed fairly quickly. Like I said before, I like instant gratification when it comes to do-it-yourself projects! For this simple purse I needed my Janome sewing machine, scissors, straight pins, skewer for pushing out neat corners, cord for the purse strap and, of course, material for the purse itself.
Now, here's my little secret for the purse material. I used place mats that I picked up at a thrift store! As a novice sewer, I like having finished edges whenever possible. This place mat material already had finished edging so all I needed to do was turn two pieces inside out, pin the edges on three sides, and sew those three sides up. I then turned the material inside out and used my skewer stick to gently poke out the corners to neat squares. The place mat pieces were part of a set of place mats that included smaller pieces that could be used either as coasters or as hot pads for dishes. Those smaller pieces were the ones I used for the purse. I then carefully inserted the cord on the inside edge of each side on the open side and ran the material back and forth with the sewing machine to secure the strap.
For a purse closer, I used these Velcro stick on tabs that you can pick up at any sewing store or in the sewing section at Walmart. They come in all sizes/shapes so you can easily find what you want. I used white, but they also come in black, as well.
The end result is a cute shoulder bag that can be worn to carry whatever you like in it! This is not a huge purse, but can certainly carry several smaller items. I see this type of purse for sale all the time at high prices. Making your own is fun and thrifty as well!
This selfie gives you an idea of the size of the purse. And yes, my husband is laying on the bed in the background watching TV. Oh well!
How about you? Are you doing any do-it-yourself projects right now? Have you tried breakfast bowls? Did you like them? Hope you will leave me a comment. I love hearing from you! I like trying new things, like breakfast bowls and simple sewing projects. How about you?
And please be sure to recommend debbiethisandthat.com to others. I'm always happy to meet new readers.....and to re-connect with faithful readers. Also, feel free to follow me on Facebook and Pinterest and to pin photos. Join me next time when I will be shopping my closet to show how to wear orange tones in the summer!
Until Next Time,
Debbie
6 comments:
That breakfast bowl looks delicious!! I love adding vegetables to breakfast (like western omelets - yum!) This looks really good and I never met a vegetable I don't like. Take it back: celery. Can't stand it. Anyway! That looks wonderful and I'll have to try that. I love the black bean and avocado idea too, that sounds wonderful!!
Your purse is just so cute! I love simple sewing projects for the instant gratification aspect. Using placemats is such a good idea, and you get so many different fabric choices that way. My mind started wandering to all the choices at places like Pier I, where you can pick up single placemats. So this is a good project for a rainy day! Thank you for the inspiration! And a perfect size and weight for running a few errands where you don't need to pack a lot of stuff, right? I think I mentioned before that I love something creative to do on the weekends after spending my week like a zombie in front of a computer at work. Nothing too complex, but fun! This sounds like a winner!
Hope you try a breakfast bowl soon, Karen! I do like celery, but like it better raw than cooked. I'm glad you liked the purse. I want to make more using other fabrics. Sounds like work isn't the greatest right now. Hope things improve. I know being stuck in front of a computer isn't always fun.....unless I'm blogging!!
The breakfast bowl looks really delicious Debbie, but because I'm a bit puny in the morning I would probably try this for lunch instead! I'm definately going to have a go at making the bag it looks fantastic!
I think the breakfast bowl would make a great lunch or dinner, Tania! Hope you have fun making your own bag. Let me know how it goes!
Your breakfast bowl looks wonderful, Debbie! I tend to get stuck in a rut when it comes to breakfast and lunch, so this gives me inspiration to try something new while getting those all important daily veggie servings. I enjoyed seeing how you made your purse. It's pure creativity to repurpose a placemat into something so useful and pretty!
Thank you, Sharon, for your kind words. I love being creative and had not even thought about the repurposing idea until you mentioned it! I guess I was repurposing those place mats!
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