Every year I want to make fun Valentine's crafts, but sometimes the nice ones take too long to make lots of, and I don't like leaving anyone out. So I decided to make up some key fobs: they're quick, and pretty, and useful too. I made this cute free printable to turn this quick sew into a gift for your Valentine!

It's super cheesy, I know, but hey, isn't Valentine's Day the perfect time to be cheesy? You'll find download links toward the bottom of this post.

For this project, you'll need

• Key fob hardware (I get mine from Emmaline Bags)
• scrap piece of fabric at least 5" x 11"
• scrap of fleece or foam
  

My key fob hardware is 1.25" wide, if your hardware is a different size, just adjust the measurements accordingly (cotton will be 4 times the width of the hardware).

Now insert the foam or fleece into one of the folds, and bring folded edges together; press in place

Insert into key fob hardware and clamp closed with pliers or a vice. If you're using metal pliers, make sure to cover the key fob hardware with something like a tea towel or  scrap fleece, to prevent scratching from the pliers. You may also choose to add a small amount of glue before squeezing the hardware shut.

Once your key fob is done, print and cut out your Valentine, punch a hole and take a pretty ribbon to attach it. Voila! A unique and useful Valentine!

I'm including 3 downloads: 1 with pink text, 1 with black text and 1 blank, so you can fill in your own sentiment. The ones with text are PDFs and include 2 keys, side by side. The blank is a jpg, so you can plop it into a Word doc and add your own text or print as is. The PDFs should be printed in landscape.

I'm happy for you to use these files! Please do not distribute or claim as your own; a link back to my site instead would be awesome, thank you!

As I mentioned above, I get my hardware from Emmaline Bags. If you're in the UK, you can find them at Bobbin Girl.

This year has been off to a busy start! I'm busy behind the scenes working on lots of exciting content to bring you all! When I did my Happy New Year post, I realized there were several projects I hadn't blogged about, so I figured I'd share them now.

First up is this gorgeous Swoon Evelyn Market Tote I made as a diaper bag for my friend. If you've been here a while, you may remember my first Evelyn, which looks very different than this one. That's one thing I really love about making bags: you can use the same pattern and come up with a completely different look!

This bag was so special for me. I've been friends with the recipient since Kindergarten! I thought about what I liked and disliked about my own diaper bag, and came up with Evelyn. I only made 2 small additions; one was to add a large elastic pocket inside. The other was adding a loop with a swivel clasp to keep keys handy and easy to find.  I know a lot of diaper bags have cross-body straps, but in all my "diapering" years, I can't ever remember carrying my loaded diaper bag cross-body.  I love the recessed zipper because I found I was always wanting quick easy access into a diaper bag, but also appreciated the security of a zipper when I wanted it.

I made sure to have a vinyl bottom and feet, because, let's face it: diaper bags get put down in a lot of yucky places! Plus, it looks pretty awesome with black vinyl and silver feet against the gloriously bright colours of the fabric collection.

Of course, this isn't as big as some diaper bags, and that's just how I liked it, and how I envisioned my friend would like hers. I found that I never really carried too much in my bag, and I would have appreciated a stylish large purse, big enough for my wallet, phone, keys, and the baby essentials. 

This stunning fabric is from Alison Glass' Ex Libris collection (from Fabricspark.com) plus a few prints from her Sun Prints collection. The Art Theory panel is the main focus of the bag and I think the stark contrast of the black vinyl and silver hardware is a perfect combo.

For this bag, I used a foam interfacing instead of craft fuse and fleece, like the last one, and I really love the structure the foam provides. All the fancy bag bling, aka hardware, came from Emmaline Bags, don't you just love it all?!

I also made a matching teether blanket and keychain, plus a Swoon Coraline in coordinating prints from the same collection.

It looks like this post is long enough, so I'll save some other projects for another time! Until then...

Back in November I was excited to share with you that I had an article in One Thimble, a digital sewing magazine. Now, I've joined a blog hop to show some of the great patterns from Issue 9.

As I mentioned in my November post, I've been wanting to try FMA - Free Motion Applique (or free motion embroidery, as far as I know they're the same thing, at least they are in this situation), so when the opportunity to join other bloggers and sew up some items from One Thimble Issue 9 came up, I decided now is the time to give it a try. I put my name down for Vincent the Victor free motion embroidery pattern, and as luck would have it, the very next day, my son asked me to make him a fox bag. The stars aligned in my sewing world!

The pattern was really great and walked me through everything. To be honest, I wasn't even entirely sure what free motion embroidery was! I just followed the steps, and voila! A fox to go on the front of a bag! I took a few pictures as I went to show you the process:

For the actual stitching, I used my free motion (darning) foot and had quite a bit of fun with it. Once that was done, I assembled my bag like normal. I used Thread Riding Hood's Forest Glen Satchel, without the flap and side accent pieces; it was the perfect shape and size for this fox, and for my son, who requested a bag to carry his dinosaurs around in.

Of course, Vincent can be added to many different items: T-shirts, pillows, fabric baskets, or even a quilt!

This was such a fun project! I really enjoyed rummaging through my scraps to find the perfect "clothes" for Vincent. There's so many variations that can be done too! Issue 9 offers 2 Free Motion Embroidery patterns, which you can buy individually, as a bundle, orjust get the whole issue for best value.

Check the links at the bottom of this post to see what everyone else was up to! Here are a few pictures of my finished bag - and one happy boy!

I'd love to hear what you think! Have you tried FMA yet?

If you're on Instagram, you've probably seen many of these #2015bestnine; they're so much fun! I just googled and found a site that generated my most liked Instagram posts for me. It was a great way to have a quick look back through my projects.

1. Noodlehead Caravan Tote 2. Noodlehead 241 Totes 3. Thread Riding Hood Cat-Eye Pouches 4. Swoon Evelyn Market Tote 5. Blue Calla Tansy Tote 6. Noodlehead fabric basket 7. Mrs. H Companion Carpet Bag 8. Emmaline Manhattan Mamma 9. Swoon Sandra Saddle Bag
   

2015 was this blog's first year and I'm happy to say it's been a great ride! I created some tutorials, worked with amazing designers for sew alongs and testing, played with gorgeous fabric, and even made some videos! Thank you so much to everyone who joined me. I hope to have an even better 2016.

I don't usually do New Year's resolutions, but this year I decided on one: I'd really like to focus on learning new sewing skills by trying some different things. Don't worry, I'll still make plenty of bags! I'm thinking of taking a few more Craftsy classes* and signing up for Creative Bug*, plus trying some different designers' patterns and this WILL be the year I try garment sewing.

Do you have any New Year's resolutions this year? Sewing, or otherwise? I'd love to hear them! Leave me a comment if you want to share.