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Monday, May 18, 2015

Car Window Travel Sewing Caddy Tutorial + Giveaway!!!

Hello friends!  

Today I've invited my friend Aniva to share a tutorial with you for this super cute, super handy car window sewing caddy!  She gave one to me as a gift the other day and I loved it so much that I immediately thought I needed to pass along the idea to all of you!  This caddy is perfect for all of us that find ourselves doing hand work as we ride "shotgun" in our cars because it suctions right to your car window and it's just the right size to hold sewing necessities but doesn't take up too much space.  

So without further ado, here's Aniva!


Thanks Amber for helping me to create the tutorial for this little caddy.  I have enjoyed making these caddies as little gifts for my quilt friends, whether for a birthday or just a little "thinking of you" gift.

Sometime back I saw a post online where the blogger had used a shower caddy (the kind with suction cups to stick to the wall) found in a second hand store to create a caddy to use on her car window for when she sewed on car trips--I thought it was genius.  I tried for some time to find such a container at a thrift shop and never succeeded. I did, eventually, find a new container that I really like at my local Wal-Mart in the bath and shower section.  I found it to be the perfect size for a spool of thread and small scissors.  The suction cups adhere it securely and temporarily to the car window without leaving any marks and I can move it about as often as I need to.  The only thing I added to the container was a landing place for a few needles and pins.


Here is what you'll need--
Two - 2" x 2" fabric scraps
hot glue gun and glue
pinking blade for a rotary cutter or pinking shears
tiny bit of polyester stuffing
container of your choice with suction cups
(Please be mindful when choosing your container that since these are made for the bath they are designed with holes in the bottom so that water drains out.  If your container is one with lots of holes you may want to also glue some heavy paper into the bottom so your supplies don't fall through the holes.)

Place your fabric squares WRONG SIDES TOGETHER.  Sew three sides using a 1/4" seam allowance--yes you can backstitch.  Stuff with a tiny bit of stuffing.  Sew the last side together -- be sure to backstitch on this last side to make the whole thing stay together better.  


Use the pinking blade on your rotary cutter or pinking shears to give the raw seam a cute little zigzag finished edge.  


Adhere the small pin cushion to your container with a dab of hot glue.


Have fun filling your gift caddy with a fat quarter of fabric, small scissors, a package of your favorite needles, a gift card or anything you want.

The other thing that I have really loved is making the cute little hexie gift tags.  Just type up whatever fun sewing saying you want to have on your tag into your computer using the word processing software of your choice.  I set my page to have three columns so that I can get more sayings on one page of cardstock.  Remember the tag is not very big so keep your saying fairly short.  You can play with different font styles and font sizes.


When you are happy with your page print it out on the color of cardstock paper of your choice.  Use some paper scissors to roughly cut the words apart.  This doesn't have to be precise it is just so you can get your punch around the words.  I used the  Extra Large hexagon punch by Fiskars (this will give you a hexagon with a 1" side as shown) available at craft stores and websites.  With the punch framing your saying, punch the paper.  You can distress or embellish your little tag anyway you want.  Punch a small circle in one corner so you can tie it on your gift.  FYI- the Fiskars medium punch = 1/2" hexie and the Fiskars large punch = 3/4" hexie.


If you want to buy some similar hexagon papers, I found these darling little paper hexagon Charms made by Laundry Basket Quilts at a local quilt shop, Just Sew in Highland, Utah.  They have the cutest sayings on them.  There are 100 in a package and they come in two sizes.  A 1" per side size and and 3/4" per side size.  The papers pictured above are the 1" size.  The sayings are about family, sewing, fabric and friendship.  All you have to do is punch a small hole to make them so you can tie them on gifts.  Super easy.  If you want to purchase some of these online click HERE.

Amber is giving away a couple of these little caddies to two lucky readers.  To enter, just leave a comment below. We'll pick a winner in the next couple of days.

I want to give a shout out to friends at Riley Blake for the cute polka dot fat quarters...thanks for making so many fabrics we love.
PS. I tried to find the original blog post that planted the seed for this idea in my mind but I was not able to find it so if you are that blogger contact Amber - she will be happy to give you credit on this post.

Cheerio!
Aniva

♥ ♥ ♥

Thanks Aniva for sharing this darling and practical idea with us! I know I'm going to be making quite a few of these for gifts! And thank you for contributing TWO of these cute caddies for our giveaway! Friends, be sure to leave a comment below to enter to win!

Happy quilting!
~ Amber

95 comments:

  1. These are adorable! Thanks!

    lindsayd2630@yahoo.com

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  2. OMG!!! This is exactly what I need when we are travelling!!! Love this idea!!!! Thanks for the chance!!

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  3. of course Aniva did these...she is so creative...you both are! thanks for adding goodness to my life

    paula mckinlay

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  4. Of course Aniva did these....you both are soooo creative and add goodness to my life.

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  5. Such a cute, clever idea! Thanks for sharing.

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  6. those are so cute, thanks for the giveaway

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  7. Oh my goodness, this is GENIUS! I need one. :)

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  8. This is such a great idea. We are heading to Yellowstone in a few weeks and this would be perfect. Thanks for the chance.

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  9. So cute! I really needed this on a 10 hour road trip.

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  10. Brilliant! Yes, please! And thank you!

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  11. I love the idea of the caddies. They look great. Thanks for the lovely giveaway.

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  12. Such a great idea and thank you for doing all the work for us.

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  13. Awesome idea! Thank you for the giveaway.

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  14. What a genius and creative idea!

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  15. What a fantastic idea! I never would've thought of this. Thanks for the tutorial and giveaway :) x

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  16. Such a cuteidea. Thanks for the chance to win.

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  17. Those are really cute and so practical!
    tstanulis@verizon.net

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  18. This is so cute and practical! Love the pincushion on the outside. Thanks for the chance to win!

    Sandy A

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  19. Too cute. I see them as a Christmas gift for my girlfriends!!

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  20. Such a clever idea! I would love to have one!

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  21. Would love to win one. Travels to Tucson in January would allow me to keep all the quilters stuff in one spot. Thanks!

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  22. Would love one for my car.
    Thanks

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  23. I love these!!!! I can't wait to make some of these for my sewing friends!!!

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  24. Very very cute ty for sharing this idea...ps do love the fabric.....happyness04431@yahoo.com

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  25. Sweet! Nothing better than stitching on the go and having everything handy. These are perfect for just that,grab n go.

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  26. Sweet! Nothing better than stitching on the go and having everything handy. These are perfect for just that,grab n go.

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  27. Sweet! Nothing better than stitching on the go and having everything handy. These are perfect for just that,grab n go.

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  28. Really cute. I would love to have one of these. Thanks for the great giveaway.

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  29. The hexies! The car caddy! Just when I think I've seen every cute thing, along comes another perfect thing. Thanks, ladies.

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  30. Oh, my goodness, so stinkin' cute and clever!

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  31. Great idea! It's cute and useful!

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  32. These are darling. Would love to win one. Thanks for the opportunity. Need this so I have stuff all in one place. Thank you for sharing. bettyharden@charter.net

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  33. So simple but so handy and a great idea!!
    sandyzoo45@comcast.net

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  34. I had forgotten about this idea but I think I read the same blog post. I recall the name as Karen but she doesn't post using her name. I just got an email from her yesterday as she asks for people to link in on Sunday. I tired to find it with no luck as my gmail account has changed from a delete account to an archive and I can't find the archived file. She hasn't been posting as often but the next time she does, I'll email you the info. So you can check with her. Meanwhile, I'd love to win one of these as I didn't go looking for a resale one. Thanks for the idea!

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  35. This is adorable, thank you for sharing the idea with us. I have a couple of friends I'm going to make this for right away. Thank you for the giveaway. Hugs,

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  36. I love them Perfect to for any handwork

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  37. These are so adorable! I love the multicolored clips!

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  38. So cute! And practical, too. And with my favorite fabrics - anything polka dot! Thanks for the giveaway.

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  39. Thanks for the giveaway! These are so cute, and practical, too!

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  40. So very handy, would be perfect for vacation. Never like to be without a project.

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  41. I love this idea!! Can see lots of times that this would work wonderfully for the long drives we make!!

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  42. Oh this is perfect.
    I love it. I would love to win something like this since I travel around a lot bringing my 92 year old parents to various doc appointments and checking on them every day.

    Brilliant idea!

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  43. What a clever idea. Those fabrics are so cute! Thank you for the chance to win.

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  44. Love...Love.. This idea..Now I need to find a road trip..so I can sit and sew...Super awesome..

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  45. Love this cute project. I can see how practical it would be on our next road trip! Thanks for sharing this cute idea.

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  46. What a clever idea! Thanks for a chance to win one!

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  47. What a great idea! Love the cheery polka dots! Thank you for the chance to win.

    Have a super great sewing and stitching day!

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  48. Perfectly wonderful and necessary! Of course I would love to win one! Thanks for the chance to win and the tutorial. Blessings,

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  49. This is one of those 'why didn't I think of that!" ideas. Simple but so smart. And so handy. I'm always losing my sewing in the car. A great big Thanks.

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  50. I love this sewing caddy idea! It also has me thinking of other ways I can use it. Thanks for the inspiration and a chance to win one!

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  51. Great tutorial. Super cute sewing caddy and excellent gift idea too! Thanks for sharing and inspiring total #CreativeGoodness

    QuiltShopGal
    www.quiltshopgal.com

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  52. What a great idea! And cute gifts for friends, too. Thanks for the free tutorial.

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  53. Am a caregiver, and this would come in so handy! Thanks for the great tutorial and give-away!

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  54. What a great idea! I could have used one of these last Saturday. Thanks for sharing and the opportunity to win.

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  55. This is brilliant - what a clever clever idea!!!! And I just bought a used car - perfect!

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  56. Great idea, love these! What a bright and useful giftie.

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  57. What a great idea. We do a lot of traveling by car do to that my boys play sport and there school is 3 hour away. Can't wait to share this with my group. No more losing my scissor or needles on the long trip. Would love to win!
    mkbaliani@gmail.com

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  58. Hi there Amber,
    I just love that idea of using your hex punch to make gift tags! I also use my punch to make block labels for when I am laying out my blocks…I number them the same amount of numbers as I have blocks, then pin the #1 label to the block in the #1 position. It helps me keep my blocks in order after I have picked them up off the floor!
    Thanks!
    Quilty Huggs,
    Jacqueline
    snausages22 at yahoo dot CA

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  59. That is such a clever idea. And such a cute gift. I also like those hexies with the sayings.

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  60. Really cute idea for a gift. Would be handy for me also as I love road trips and need to keep my hands busy too. Thanks for the tutorial. kthurn@bektel.com

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  61. Love these, would be nice when waiting to pick up kids.

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  62. I would love this. We just retired and I'm always working on my hand applique ....and losing this between my legs to the floor! Genius Aniva! Thanks Amber for the opportunity to win!

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  63. Why didn't I think of this?? Wonderful idea!

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  64. So cute! What a fabulous idea. I am never going to volunteer to be the Designated Driver again.

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  65. How darling. I didn't take my hexies on a road trip over the weekend because car time was the only time I'd have to work on them and I thought it'd be too fiddly to accomplish anything. This is just a really clever solution.

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  66. These are adorable and a must have for traveling. Thanks for sharing these with us.

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  67. What darling travel caddies! I'd love to use one!
    nikilsend(at)outlook(dot)com

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  68. This is one of the best ideas I've seen in a long time! My husband and I love to take road trips and I spend my time reading or sewing/embroidering. Of course, reading is no problem, but finding a place for needles and pins, scissors, and thread sure is! I can't tell you how many times I've poked myself in the leg while stashing pins on my pants leg. Thanks for the idea and tutorial!

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  69. Great idea. Thanks for the chance.

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  70. Thanks for sharing ! Christmas gifts to be made !

    Love to make some for a fund raiser with your permission...

    Never saw the hexie punch before..thanks for sharing that too

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  71. So cute and very clever idea.
    Thanks

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  72. What a clever idea. Thanks for sharing.

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  73. What a great idea I love it. The nice thing about is you can use it for different crafts, I could keep my colored pencils in it along with my sharpener. Thanks have a great day.

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  74. What a fantastic idea for my quilt guild welcome gifts! Thank you for sharing!

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  75. I love this idea. Very clever and useful. I hope I win one of them. These would make great Christmas gifts for the ladies in my quilting group. Thanks for the idea and chance to win one of these darling gifts.

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  76. Those are great. I will have to make a few for gifts. I like the Hexi tags too.

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  77. Brilliant... this is perfect for the car. This could also be used for crayons for the kiddos in the back seat!!!

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  78. Such a sweet idea! Thx for sharing!

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  79. gosh those are cute caddies...I would love to win one!

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  80. Wonderful idea and so cute. I would also add my knitting and crocheting notions, extra needle and hook markers, small measuring tape, extra crochet hook to pick up dropped stitches and a darning needle.

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  81. Very cute and practical too. I would love to win one.

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  82. These are so cute. Great idea. Would love to make one.

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  83. Ingenious! I am always travelling with my husband for his job, would be great not to have to look under the seats for lost items.
    Keep smiling! Ela Mika

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  84. Oh how cute and a great invention. This would be perfect for when me and my husband travel. Thank you for the chance.

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  85. I am always amazed by the imagination of talented people. I was born without that gene.

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I ♥ to hear from you so please feel free to leave a comment. I read each one and try to respond as often as I can. Thanks so much for stopping by! ~Amber