Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Swag bags are WOYWW


It's "What's on your workdesk Wednesday" and I have nothing on my desk today. I'm still recovering from the frenzy of coordinating my son's wedding. I can show you what was on my desk last week though. On Wednesday I was in the midst of embroidering and sewing the swag bags for the wedding just a couple of days away. 
I really, really should have started sooner but the procrastinating side of me came out in a big way as the wedding approached...never a good thing.
 
I love getting swag when I go to a wedding, chocolate, bubbles, Jordan almonds.....it's all part of the fun and celebration. So, I volunteered to make the swag bags. And me being me, of course they could not just be organza bags bought in stacks of a dozen for a few dollars. My creative genius would never allow something so simple as that....oh no, I had to make them special, which of course meant they would take a little time...of which I was sure I had plenty. I searched around cyberspace for a cute, special idea for my bags and found this drawstring bag pattern from In Color Order.  


 Not that a drawstring bag needs a pattern but I always find great tips and ideas in quilter's patterns  and I really love Jeni's blog. Don't you love the use of two fabrics? How cute would this be in the wedding colors? So, I purchased her fabulous bag pattern in PDF form. I did indeed find some great tips and she even included a simple formula for easily changing the size of the bag. I hate math, so I'm always happy when someone does it for me. Her formula made making a custom size bag so very easy, even for me.

 I made the first one and got approval from the bride and proceeded to gather what I needed to make 90 swag bags. That's right, 90! At this point, any shortcut is a good shortcut and quilters are great short cutters. I used the strip sewing method on this bag, it was the perfect technique for completing 6 bags at a time in a flash!.....perhaps "flash" is an exaggeration but it WAS much quicker than one at at time.





Soon enough...there I go again, thinking I had plenty of time....my sewing table was piled with swag bags in various stages and I was well on my way to completing my task.
At about bag 42,  I began to think I needed to shorten this task even more or these bags were not going to be done on time.
Enter the procrastinating genius...Hmmmm, does the bridal party REALLY need a bag? Do the children attending REALLY need a bag? Do my husband and I REALLY need a bag? Well, that just took 23 off the count....and now I only needed 25 more.......there was a light at the end of the tunnel!!  
Don't worry, the kids will not go without swag, I had already come up with a paper swag bag for them in my head, they would get theirs too.


All the bags got completed on time and filled with chocolate, bubbles and and a noise maker to which I attached a message...shhhhh, it's a surprise. We're gonna make some noise when it's "kiss the bride"time!!
It was a fun addition to a young couple's celebration....and the bags were cute too!

I hope to have something new going on next week. For now, I will head over to WOYWW  and share my mess from a crazy, frenzied week of wedding stuff!





27 comments:

  1. What a wonderful addition to the wedding! You did a beautiful job on the swag bags!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Whata sweetheart of a moher you are! I'm sure your daughter in law appreciates all your hard work! Such lovely bags too! :^) patsy #20

    ReplyDelete
  3. Adore the SWAG bags. Reminds me of the totes I offered to make for my son's primary class after they had tie dyed some fabric. After doing his class's 30+ bags in record time I ended up helping out the other class too! Made 53 in the end. Mammoth task - so I know how you must have felt, especially the counting down... Did you do the embroidery by HAND? or machine? I rather hope the latter else your fingers would be in tatters! Thanks for sharing your work - BJ#58

    ReplyDelete
  4. Fabulous Swag bags, what a great idea, Beautiful job!! Happy Easter, Hugs May x x x x No11

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'll bet that went down a treat too! What a great gift to your son and your new daughter in law! Those bags are lovely!

    Take care and Happy Easter,

    Jackie xx #17

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow, thats some serious sewing time you have been doing. Lovely bags that will make the wedding even more special.

    thanks for sharing

    kyla #104

    ReplyDelete
  7. WOW!!! What a brilliant idea. I'm so impressed.
    My daughter is planning to get married next year so I'm trying to be super supportive even though we're 12,000 miles apart. I love this idea :D
    Trouble is I couldn't possibly do such a good job ~ they look absolutely fantastic.
    I don't even sew a button on, but I'll store this idea away.
    Thanks for letting me take a peek.
    Have a wonderful Easter weekend...Enjoy Neesie #32:D

    ReplyDelete
  8. Fabulous bags.

    Thanks for sharing

    Miriam #107

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a lovely post! I love all the bags - the strip method looks very clever and time-saving too. And that cartoon! Just about sums me up... I have M.E. and my motto is not "Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today," but "Never do today what you can put off till tomorrow"!!! Lol! So I'm an expert at procrastinating!

    Like you, I love all the collectables at modern weddings. I've never grown out of the enjoyment of blowing bubbles, and I love all the little boxes and bags and fun things to collect! I often recycle things in my art, too.

    Thanks for visiting me blog. Happy WOYWW,
    Shoshi #25

    ReplyDelete
  10. Wow you have been busy, fab bags! Take care, & enjoy peeking at the WOYWW desks this week. Zo xx 78

    ReplyDelete
  11. now they are lush, i love these - thanks for the snoop

    Hugs
    Judie xx NO 121

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oh a labour of love indeed - I'm sure they were appreciated - and will be kept for years to come. Love the idea of the noise makers!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I'd have been swearing after the first ten, so you did really well!!! I loved reading all about your son and his big day, sounds just like the sort of wedding that I prefer! Glad you enjoyed it all too!!
    hugs, LLJ #7 xx

    ReplyDelete
  14. ...what a fab idea but gosh that was a task & a half for you even with the cut down numbers...well done you made the day even more special with a gorgeous keepsake...Mel :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. They were very lovely bags, but I can see how making 90 of them turned out to be a challenge too far! Fun to have bubbles and noise-makers inside. What did the kids get then? Show and tell!
    I'm visiting from WOYWW - #117!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Suzie, the bags are so awesome, there doesn't need to be anything in them!

    WOW!!!

    Happy Easter to you,
    :)trisha
    #38

    ReplyDelete
  17. Wow Suzie - stunning bags! I can now tackle those 80 wedding invites with renewed vigour - they should be a walk in the park compared to your gorgeous makes! Well done, and Happy WOYWW! Di xx

    ReplyDelete
  18. Wow! You did an awesome job on those swag bags! Love the cartoon too.... I can relate! Have a Happy Easter and WOYWW! warmly #28

    ReplyDelete
  19. Thats a lot of sewing, they look amazing x
    Sophie no.71

    ReplyDelete
  20. The bags are great -- a special keepsake. Love the procrastination cartoon. Congratulations on your son's wedding.

    Thanks for your visit & comment over on my blog. For the moment, I've painted clouds with white paint rather than using the music paper ones, but they're pretty subtle. We'll see! Happy WOYWW. ~ Laura #118

    ReplyDelete
  21. Wow...what a lot of work. Good thing you procrastinated for half a moment and shortened the list, even if ever so slightly...it's still a lot of bags!

    Vee
    #156

    ReplyDelete
  22. Those bags are a triumph, especially as there were so many, even on the shortened list. Thank you for your visit to me this week. Have a happy Easter. xx Maggie #9

    ReplyDelete
  23. Suzie!!! I LOVE those drawstring swag bags you made! Oh WOW! I might have a custom order coming your way sometime soon...
    =)
    Hope you're having an excellent week!
    ~Kim
    http://2justByou.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  24. Wow, that a big accomplishment! Those are such cute bags. The guests are going to love them!
    ~Terrie
    www.HearthandWhimsy.com

    ReplyDelete
  25. That is a WOW moment - those bags are fabulous - love the writing on them. What a task but you obviously are a stitcher - I wouldn't know where to start and so many ....
    Sorry I am so late, things got in the way. Thanks for sharing, stopping by me and putting your number (so appreciated.) Happy Easter - Hugs, Neet #10 xx

    ReplyDelete
  26. Love these wee bags - how did you manage to find the time to do all this? I have to make invites etc for my nieces wedding in Sept and I'm trying to get started now!
    Bernice

    ReplyDelete
  27. The bags are so cool! I know just what you mean about cutting them down in number though...I'm quite the procrastinator myself. In fact, I'm off to bed ridiculously early just to avoid doing some college class work! ;)
    Thanks for stopping by my blog and admiring my new ribbon organization set-up.
    ~Deeyll #171

    ReplyDelete

I love, love, love to read your comments! Thank you for taking the time to let me know you were here!