It was a bug.

It was a bug. 

Okay, so I haven't been sick for the last month and a half.  And we did not have an infestation.  I caught the "I'm too busy to do anything creative" bug.  But now that I have a few minutes of PEACE while the baby is sleeping, the men are finishing a job in the basement and the pre-schooler is at a play date... I can finally write.  And it feels good.

This past month I've been reflecting on how addictive the crafting world can be.  I started off wanting to sew my daughter's clothing, because let's admit it the clothing for 7 year olds is for the most part not appropriate.  And we just can't dish out hundreds of dollars to pay for the nice stuff that is.  But once I started I couldn't stop there!  The boys needed cool stuff too!  And then the Esty shop came.  Facebook came.  The blog came.  PINTEREST TOOK OVER.  {haha, I <3 you Pinterest}  And I did a craft show!  I was overwhelmed with the information I was finding and I wanted to DO it all.  And be the best.  Well, we can't have our cake and eat it too after all {in this case}.  I had to give something up.  I took a break on crafting and my kids seem happier.  I took a break from my Etsy shop and I felt like I was breathing easier. 

 But now that the holidays are over, I have more time! 

So HELLO Pinterest crafts!  I'm back!

I found the cutest bag at Pottery Barn for Valentines mail. 

PBK mail chair backer

So cute, right?

I had a ton of extra felt from Christmas, and some white ricrack and some left over cardstock (because I'm not THAT crazy to applique the letters on a bag that will be used ONE day a year) and I got to work on my version.

At first, I was just seeing if I could figure out how to make the thing.  But after I sewed one panel together, I realized it was going to be pretty easy.  I finished with what was a pretty cute chair backer mail bag...

Then I looked up at the Pottery Barn photo again.  Sigh.  It was a mail bag, but not like that super duper one from PBK.  Well, let's bring in the ricrack and cardstock and see what we can do...

Alright, not shabby at all!  But then I again looked up at the other picture.  Wait!  There's a mail slot on the top!  That's genius!!!

Well, now you have it.  A little bit of time sewing.  A little bit of time thinking.  A little bit of time resewing and rethinking and there it is.  My first mail bag for Valentine's Day.  The first grader was giddy when I showed it to her.  {almost as much as her mama was!}

So then my pre-schooler asked where his was.  Oh boy.  Here we go again.  He doesn't like hearts you know.  So I had to come up with another plan.  A stamp works, right?  I mean it is for mail isn't it?



And seriously, how cute is that envelope?

Yeah, it's safe to say I'm back.  I will try {really really hard} to remember to update my blog more often!  There are some really great ideas out there! 

These bags and envelopes are for sale in my Etsy shop right now!