Friday, March 23, 2012

Weekend Pinterest Project: eReader sleeve… And a GIVEAWAY!

I, like so many others, have fallen prey to that which is Pinterest.  To the point that my husband, ever the financier, starting asking if Pinterest was a publically traded company so he could cash in on our insanity.

It is probably a blessing AND a curse that Pinterest didn’t exist when I was planning my wedding last year.  I’m sure I would have gotten sacked for pinning stuff all day instead of my real work.

This blog is already “a little of this, a pinch of that”, but I didn’t really have any crafty-type projects a-goin’ on.  Meanwhile, I’ve got an online Pinboard of “Crafty Crafty” stuff that was pulling an Energizer Bunny:

bunny(Puns about Pinterest… Punny Pins?  Pinny Puns? Yes…I’m a dork.)

 

ANYWAY… My mom gave me a Nook for Christmas because I travel so much for work. I LOVE this thing.  I don’t have to have the bedside lamp on to read at night, I can take a book anywhere with it, it fits in my purse… it’s just fantastic.  I’ve read 7 books already this year thanks to that little technological wonder…6 of them were Harry Potter books.

She also gave me a sleeve to keep it in, but the sleeve was made for a bigger eReader tablet, so it doesn’t fit really well & frequently just falls out of it entirely if I’m not careful. Plus…the sleeve is covered in butterflies, and it’s not really my style.  I know it’s SOMEONE’S style, but not mine (FYI, the butterfly sleeve is NOT the aforementioned giveaway, LOL).  So when I saw this tutuorial on how to make my own eReader pouch, I Pinned it like, super-fast.  Like it was going out of style.  Like it was hot.  *insert other clever similes*

image  

Now, I consider myself relatively handy with a needle & thread—even moreso when the needle & thread are already attached to a big automated machine. However, my sewing machine is on the fritz. So I headed to my mom’s house.

I had originally decided to make my sleeve out of neoprene (and I may still—I just have to figure out how to stitch it since neither my nor my mom’s machine can sew it), but over the weekend my mom & I hit up Jo-Ann’s Fabrics, and I found this super-cute double-sided pre-quilted material in the remnants pile ($2.50 for 0.44 yd—SCORE!):

 

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The batting between the two layers of fabric offers up a nice amount of protection for one of these tablets—and it also offers the chance for us to make our case REVERSIBLE.  So we ran with it! 

Project Materials:

Double-sided padded fabric in a pattern of your choosing – you’ll need enough to be able to double it over and have a 3-inch flap.  My Nook is about 8.5” x 6”, so I used a 20” x 7.5” piece of fabric.

1-inch ribbon, or double-folded bias tape (if you intend to make your case reversible, you’ll need it for all the edges…if you’re not making it reversible, you’ll only need it for the flap and the top inner edge of the sleeve.)

Thread to match your ribbon/bias tape

Fastener of your choice: buttons, Velcro, snaps, etc.  Whatever you have on hand that is convenient for you.  I like the look of buttons, but button HOLES are a hassle, so we went with Velcro. NOTE: If you want to use a zipper, you can use a smaller piece of fabric since you won’t need the flap.)

 

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Directions:

1. Trim your fabric so that you have nice, straight edges that match up all-purdy-like, ‘cuz lord knows those ladies at the fabric shop never cut it quite straight.  If you have one of those roller-razor blade things like what’s shown in the previous pic, use that and a good ruler. (I don’t know the technical term for it—it was my moms.)

2. You’ll want to hem the two shortest edges first—that’s these ones:

here

3. If you’re using the bias tape, open one side up so you can sew the innermost part of the tape to the fabric:

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(Big thanks to my mom, our hand-model-slash-sewing-goddess while I snapped photos)

This secures the tape in place so that you can then fold it back up, flip the other edge over the other side, and stitch it in place, and the tape won’t shift.  Essentially it eliminates the need to pin things.  If you’re using ribbon, you’ll still want to pin it (and possibly iron a crease along the edge) so it doesn’t shift around while stitching.

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Then you can trim the excess bias tape off (don’t worry about the rough ends, since they’ll be covered when you stitch the front & back together).

Do the same for the other short edge.

Now, fold the fabric exactly how you want it to be for your pouch.  Use a pin or two on each side to hold the fabric in place.  We don’t need things scooting around & getting away from flush.

If using the bias tape or ribbon, give yourself a little extra on each end, so that you can fold it inward before you sew it to the fabric—this will give you a nice finished edge on your corners.

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Now sew the bias tape (or ribbon) like to did with the two short sides:

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And VOILA!!!

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But wait a minute.  What’s that you say?  You’re not loving the orange today? It looks a little too much like a potholder, you say?  (Seriously, my husband said this.)

NO PROBLEM!

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BAM.  How cute is that?

 

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(Pin shown because I hadn’t attached the Velcro yet.)

 

Now, how many of you are reading this and think, “man, that is a GREAT project & I could really use a cover for my eReader---but I just have WAY too much going on right now”?

Fear not.

For I am GIVING THIS ONE AWAY

Okay, well, not THAT one up there—because that was the first one I made & we were still working out our master plan.  So, rather, you’ll receive THIS ONE:

 

reader 038  reader 039

(Nook not included.  Sorry, guys. :D)

 

Yay!  It’s my first ever giveaway on this blog!!!

I actually had enough fabric to make a couple of these, so I’m giving one away to ONE LUCKY READER here.

(NOTE: You don’t have to have a Nook specifically.  This sleeve will fit any reader or tablet that is 6.5” x 9” or smaller.)

How to win?

1.  Do me a solid and either a) “Like” our Facebook Page, b) Follow on Blogger (see the blue taskbar at the top of the page), c) Follow on Google Friend Connect (see the right-hand sidebar), or d) Follow on Pinterest.

2. Leave a comment here telling me which one of the above things you did (or do MULTIPLE options and receive MULTIPLE chances to win! [4 ways to Follow the blog = max of 4 entries per person] If you go the “multiple entry” route, tell me so in your comment so I can get you down for the proper number of entries.)

2a.) In the same comment, tell me your favorite book of all time.

3.) Be sure your comment information includes your email info so I can get in touch with you if you win!

 

The winner will be chosen at random using Random.Org (to keep it all bidness & unbiased).

 

Contest is open until Thursday, March 29, 2012 at 8pm CST.  The winner will be announced next Friday, March 30th!

 

Aaaaand….ALLEZ CUIZINE!!!  Ooh, wait…wrong contest.

Shared at The Shabby Nest, Chic On A Shoestring, Blissful & Domestic, Petals to Picots, One Artsy Mama, Kitchen Fun w/My Three Sons, Two Sasters, C.R.A.F.T., Making the World Cuter, and Everything Under The Moon.

14 comments:

  1. So cute! I followed you on pinterest!

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  2. I love this! I'm so glad you stopped by!!! XO, Aimee

    PS I'm your newest follower!

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  3. DO WANT!! DOOOO WANNNNNNT

    I followed you all four ways. :)

    And you know how to contact me, son.

    My favorite book in the U.S. Worlds is, "A Confederacy of Dunces." I must have read it 17 times by now.

    Love,
    JoJo

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    Replies
    1. LOVE that book. The fact that it takes place in New Orleans doesn't hurt either! ;)

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    2. Exactly!! I bet you are familiar with all the jargon and accents the author writes in. :)

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  4. Thanks for inviting me over and what a fun blog you have!! I am a follower and super cute nook holder :)

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  5. So cute I love you fabric choices, very cheerful!!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! It was such a lucky find. The fabric just jumped out at me from the remnants pile!

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  6. SOOO cute!!! I love the colors:) And I followed you on google+, pinterest, and blogger! So 3 times! Thank you for the give away!

    Check out my new blog-

    www.forcraftinesssake.blogspot.com

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  7. Hi! Thanks for following! I've added your MsComposure blog as well. Love the LOL Sundays!

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