Reusable snack bags are a wonderful way to pack small items in larger bags. As the holiday travel season has arrived  I wanted to share a few ways that Stitch Duchess uses snack bags other than carrying food. 
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Snack bags can be used to carry: 
1. Toiletries ( I always keep my toothbrush close on a plane flight)
2. Makeup case (honestly use a lot of makeup but essentials with fit)
3. Small electronics (i-pods)
4.Charging cables for all those gizmos we can't live without

My first collection for 2014 is a selection of Doctor Who themed Snack bags and Wraps.  All fabric is from one of my favorite online fabric sources; SpoonFlower.com. The fabric images were designed by Sandeeroyalty, Sarlazndollz, Studiofibonacci, and insomniac_designs. 

I'm currently working on expanding the line of products Stitch Duchess
offers to include napkins and infinity scarves. The next new lines of reusable
lunch items will include a Big Bang Theory and a Woodlawn images.

I fell in love with this ninja print last year. These little guys promise to bring mischief and fun to every meal. I have mix of snack and sandwich bags featuring different ninja images.

A new line of natural cotton sandwich and snack bags have just been posted to the shop. Each bag features a landmark postage stamp image appliqued onto natural unbleached cotton bags. There is even a Space Needle bag for the locals! 

I'm back, after a long break from blogging and Etsy and best of all I’ve actually got something to talk about, new stuff. I've long played around with this idea and finally settled on a design I love. My new line of snack bags feature and embellished natural cotton exterior and super cute appliqué images.

 

This collection is perfect for architects, engineers and land use planners. Each, wrap or bag in the this collection features high quality fabric designed by Carolyn Friedlander from her Architexture fabric line. 

I have ivory calculations (shown to the the left), green topography lines, blue landscape plans with a grid back ground and blue architectural drawings.   

The blog has been quiet while I have been working through my stack of cool end of the year fabric finds. Here is what is new and exciting in the world of reusable lunch treasures..........................................

2. The last bits and pieces of 2012 Charlie Brown Collection. I had wraps and snack bags that sold out at the holiday show, but this guy endured. 

3. I seem to be attracted to whimsical prints and over the years a few ant fabrics have caught my attention. This lovely picnic ants is one of my favorites. Its a great twist on the traditional picnic. 

Etsy's annual holiday boot camp began three weeks ago. Fortunately it is not too late the reap the benefits of boot camp.  I'm still working on getting caught up. So far I've reached week two which focuses on stocking up.

I've got 5 weeks until the EtsyRain Handmade Holiday show November 23 and 24! (http://etsyrain.com/shows/etsyrain-2012-handmade-holiday-show)  My production plan in the next 5 weeks is lofty but I'm off to a good start and my finished product bin is no longer empty.

Earlier this summer I stumbled across one of the coolest blogs, little free radical, (http://littlefreeradical.com/2012/03/04/20-latt-childrens-table-chairs-makeover-d-i-y-ikea-hack-little-free-radical/)  She took a simple Ikea table and chair and turned them into a stunning personalized addition to her toddlers room.

Now that August has arrived and I'm in full get ready for school mode I finally finished my own version of this "hack". As you can see our set of Latt Ikea table and chairs has been used, scratched and stained in the three years we've had it.  It took me a week to paint, cover, sew seat cushion and talk my dad into cutting down the plexi glass to cover the top. Overall the finished product is great and the project was pretty easy. 

Cautionary notes:
1. Our Loews would not cut down the plexi glass to fit the table top
2. sewing cushion covers for the chairs was tricky to smoothly cover the one inch notch
3.  I would recommend priming the wood first to cover blemishes on the wood so they don't show though.  
4. gluing fabric to  a flat surface without distorting the pattern is not as easy as it looks. 

My bean is turning 5! I've still got a long list of things to make to mark the occasion but I did manage to finish this years party favors. I've been feeling more eco-friendly this year and wanted the favors to reflect that. So each of our party guests is going home with a jam jar drinking cup and reusable travel size chalk board.

 To create this project you will need jam jars, ( I found mine at Ace Hardware), paper straws and decorative lids also called daisy lids ( I purchased mine at Cupcake Express on Etsy) http://www.etsy.com/shop/CupcakeExpress.  A collection of these would look brilliant on a serving tray and patio party. 


The chalk mats were also easy and fast to sew. I purchased a 1/2 yard of oil cloth  and chalk cloth and box of chalk from target and some ribbon.  I tend to sew in assembly line fashion. I cut my fabric and ribbon first. The oil cloth and chalk cloth were 5.7,  the pocket was 3 by 1.5 and the ribbon was 16 inches long.   I attached the pocket first and used a small piece of scotch tape to secure it while i sewed. Then I sewed the oil cloth to the chalk cloth (wrong sides together and secured them with small binder clips ( a trick I read about on oilclothaddict.blogspot.com).  Once all complete I trimmed the exterior with pinking shears. The finished product is pretty cute.