traveling in style

***edited to add:  tutorial available here***

I spent this past weekend with good friends from college celebrating birthdays and babies.  Some of my very best friends were made during my time spent at Penn State, and amidst all the scandal as of late, it was nice to catch up with friends that were the main reason that my college experience was as amazing as it was. We've all grown up, most of us are married, and a few have kiddos, one of which is expecting the birth of her second in about a month and half.  We celebrated one thirtieth birthday, and "sprinkled" soon-to-be baby D with love and warm wishes.

You would think for all the sewing I do, I'd have a bag or handmade container for just about any purpose I could possibly need.  But that's just not the case, it seems I give most of what I make away to friends and family as gifts, and don't keep much.  When I spied my friends jewelry roll she purchased at The Container Store, I thought it was high time I upgraded my ziplock baggie I had brought my jewelry in for the weekend.

After looking at her jewelry roll for a few minutes, my thinking immediately shifted to "I could make that!" so on my way home from work yesterday I stopped off for a few zippers and some clear vinyl, and got to work last night figuring out how to make it work.

I had never sewn with vinyl before, and really was surprised at how easy it was to work with (aside from being a little slippery).  My measurements ended up off a little bit, I think mostly because you really can't pin this stuff without leaving a hole in the vinyl.  I think the trick for next time will be to start with slightly larger measurements to leave room to trim down to a uniform size.  

After trying it out last night, it really can hold a good bit of jewelry!  I'm super pleased with how this turned out, and really love that I was able to make it a little more fun than a plain old jewelry roll by using some fun fabrics.  I immediately knew I wanted to use some of my Riley Blake Chevrons as the "see through" part on the inside, and couldn't resist digging into my new Tula Pink Birds and the Bees FQ Bundle for the outside part. 

I'm excited to give this little guy a whirl on our upcoming vacation!