2013 Handmade Christmas Gifts - Part 2

Happy New Year everyone!  Hope you had a fun and safe New Year's Eve.

This is Part 2 of my handmade Christmas presents for 2013.

A couple of years ago, I made my husband a cell phone case for his Iphone.  He wanted to be able to put it on his belt but he wasn't happy with the one's that were available on the market at that time.  He tried several different ones and didn't like any of them. 

Then I saw a tutorial in a sewing magazine (Volume 2 of Sew it All) for a camera case by Sara Boughner.  I started thinking about how perfect an Iphone would fit into something like that but the case didn't have anyway to attach it to anything.  The camera strap just stuck out the side and that was how you carried it.  So I started to think of ways that I could adjust it so that my husband could wear it on his belt.  My solution was to make a fabric loop on the back of the case that he could slide onto his belt.  It worked perfectly.  He has used his case everyday for at least a year and a half.  I thought I might have blogged about it but I can't find the post.  His case is a lightweight denim fabric with Mickey Mouse lining and a fussy cut Mickey Mouse on the flap.  This fabric was HIS choice by the way, not mine.  And yes, he wears it to work everyday.  He got some flak about it at first but everyone knows how crazy he is about Disney so, there you go.

Anyhoo, my FIL wanted me to make him one for his Iphone but without the Disney characters.  So, I made three.  The first one was too big, the second, too small and the third, mostly just right.  I gave him that one for Christmas.  And here it is:

I used the same lightweight denim that I used on my hubby's but the lining is white Kona cotton.  I embroidered the flap with his initials in a "manly" font, lol.  There is velcro sewn onto the flap and the case to keep it closed.

This is the back of the case.  See the fabric belt loop?  You slide your belt through all your pants loops except the last one, then you slide the phone case onto the belt then put the belt through the last loop on your pants.  This holds your phone right next to your body, it won't fall out if you bend over, it's more comfortable than it would be in your pants pocket and you don't have to put it in your shirt pocket - which drags your shirt pocket down.  It's the perfect solution.  Also, it's not going to fall out and into the toilet - yuck!

My FIL wears a lot of denim so this will practically blend in with his clothing.

Here is a pic of the velcro on  the case and inside flap.  I used a stiff interfacing between the layer of cotton and denim to help it hold it's shape.  I didn't use that on my hubby's and his has gotten a bit "slouchy".

This is how his phone would look inside the case.  He has this same phone and otter box.  This is a great handmade gift for a guy.  I'm about to make my husband another one using up some of the UT Austin scraps I had leftover from his pillowcase.

And my last little handmade was some potholders.  My MIL said she didn't want anything for Christmas and she was very adamant about it.  But I don't like for her to have nothing.  It just doesn't seem right.  So at the very last minute (meaning the night before and the morning of), I made her some potholders out of my 30's reproduction mini charm pack from Moda.  I LOVE those mini charms.

I'm not going to ramble on about how to make these because there are about a million tutorials online if you don't know.  Plus a lot of quilting blogs did a tut on these for Christmas.

So, I'll just show pics.  :)  Everyone needs new potholders right?  I know I do.  Mine all look like crap.  All burned and stained.  So sad.

Backside of potholders.

Cute retro fabric.

There you have it folks.  I'll stop rambling now.  I still have 2 quilty finishes to share so be sure and come back to see.  You can follow my blog with bloglovin (button at the top on the left) or with Google (on right side bar).