Make Easy Drawstring Gift Bags - Day 258 of 365, Tutorial Tuesday

Looking for a homemade drawstring gift sewing project? Check out this quick and easy one!

I started this blog back eight months ago with a sewing project. Pincushions. In that first month of writing and picture taking I made a:

• flag quilt top 
• baby quilt 
• camera case 
• pillow cases 
• grocery bags out of t-shirts
• clothespin bag 
• fabric memory game with a carrying bag. 

In the food department, I made:

• M&M cookies 
• St. Patrick's day decorated sugar cookies 
• Coney-Island chili dogs 
• blueberry muffins 
• chocolate-caramel apples 
• chocolate covered strawberries.

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Since then, I've done tutorials on a couple of those things and this week's tutorial adds another. On Day 8, I made the fabric memory game with a drawstring carrying bag.

A drawstring bag is a good way to wrap Christmas gifts, too, so today is all about the bag.

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You can find the step-by-step how to tutorial for the homemade quick and easy fabric drawstring gift bags sewing project right here:

Day 257 of 365

I'm into before and after pictures. I've taken them of kitchen cabinets, the downstairs TV room, and look at them on home improvement websites. Slow and steady changes don't impress me nearly as much as the radical changes that show up in those kinds of pictures.

When I got up this morning, I planned on taking another set of before and after pictures. It's time for us to clip our roses down low for winter, and what better way to document what I accomplish in the garden but with pictures.

So I took that "before" picture, knowing the "after" picture wasn't going to be coming until I was finished with the roses - and that might be a week or more from now. Took that picture, then got to work for a while. Filled up almost a garbage can full of dead canes.

On the way out of the garden, I found something I'd never noticed before. In 10 years. Never knew it.

Usually in the fall, I'm not working in the garden much. School is in full swing and I've always been someone to put my all into it. Which leaves nothing for the garden. Or the family. (Yep, my priorities were out of whack.) Then two years ago, I hurt my back in the fall. Definitely no working then. Last year I was in the sling because of the shoulder surgery and no working in the garden.

So this is really the first time in a very long while I've done any type of work outside in November. And wouldn't you know it, I learned something new.

We have these burning bushes. One is out by the fence (that's the one on Day 224) and then we have a couple right at the entrance of the rose garden. They're a good bush in the summer, and I love their bright red leaves in the fall. But as I found out today, there are more to them than just their leaves.

As I was exiting the garden I noticed these bushes also have gorgeous orange berries with purple coverings.

In all the years we've had these burning bushes, I never knew it. And if I hadn't forced myself to work outside today for a bit, I would have missed such a colorful sight.