Simplicity 2396 Review

I have made at least 10 purses, most of them with the same pattern. I was getting tired of that pattern & looking for something with a quicker assembly. I had been wanting to buy this pattern for the last few months, but the $15.95 price tag for the pattern kept me at bay. Finally Hobby Lobby had Simplicity patterns for $1 each, so I bought just a few..

The pattern that I used. You can buy this pattern at Jo Ann Fabrics, Hobby Lobby, & many other places.  This week I made the style of purse pictured in the bottom right:

Here is my finished product! I'm trying to pick more basic colors for myself these days:

 Here is the inside of the bag. Its hard to tell, but the inside of the bag is dark black with gold on it. It looks very nice in my opinion. I know that i am breaking the keep the inside of your bag a light color, but oh well.  I also added a magnetic snap to the inside pocket (this was not included in the pattern) because I like to have my pockets closed off a bit so that things do not fall out easily.

How my bag looks when almost full:

Here is how I feel about the pattern:

Likes: Overall, its a great pattern. There aren't many pattern pieces needed to cut out for this bag. The less the pattern pieces that you have to cut out, means less fabric to cut out, and less to sew together. I was looking for a purse pattern that made me feel like I wasn't walking around with a purse that screamed "I'm homemade" which is how I feel at some of my purse attempts for myself in the past. I like the shape. The proportions on the bag are great. Sometimes I have to adjust the straps on a bag because I don't think that they are made long enough, but this one was great--no adjustment needed.

I have to hit on it again, I love how quickly I was able to sew the bag. Normally patterns suggest that you sew your straps & then pull them inside out, that takes forever. This bag simply had you fold them in a few times & sew. No reversal needed.

Keep in mind this bag is on the medium size. You could figure that out by looking at the measurements on the back, but I think often people are fulled by the picture on the front & they figure that the bag will be bigger. I normally carry large bags, but I wanted to make a medium bag because I am trying to get used to carrying less personal items around with me. Once I have my baby in November, I very well may not be carrying a purse at all on a regular basis and just throwing some of my items in a diaper bag. That is why I want to start figuring out now what I really need to carry with me.

The instructions called for an interlining, which I have not done before. I ended up using a thick stiff white bed sheet as my interlining material. It gave the bag just the right amount of stiffness and I am very happy with the result.

Dislikes: Not too many. The everyday price is pretty steep, but so are most patterns these days. I think that this pattern makes certain assumptions that you know exactly what to do with no instruction. For example, it will tell you to baste something (which is temporarily sewing something), actually it mentioned basting A LOT, then it never tells you when to remove the basting. Not to mention, with how many times the instructions said to baste material together, it seemed like the bag hardly required any permanent stitching. I ending up ignoring the "baste" instructions for the most part & went ahead and just sewing the material together. Other than that, I loved the pattern & I plan to make a dark denim version of this purse as well as a few out of the random material that I already own...in the near future!

Crafts

I've been a very bad craft blogger! I haven't posted anything since this summer. I've been unemployed for the last several months and spent a lot of time going to interviews, updating my resume, and looking for jobs. Luckily, I have a job starting in a few weeks! Hopefully this means more craft posts in the near future!

Meal Plan

(*Skip the paragraphs preceding the meal plan if you have already been following my meal plans.)

Not in any regards do I consider myself a chef, food guru, or anything of the like. However, I have found something that works for myself and my husband. It all started once I became unemployed and was looking for avenues to amuse myself. I decided to scrutinize some of my frequent tasks and decide if I could improve their efficiency in any way . My old way of grocery shopping was going to the grocery store with maybe a meal or two in mind, but for the most part just grabbing some meat, some sides, and hoping for the best. This often resulted in my husband and I saying "What do you want to eat? I don't know, what do you want to eat?" One person might not feel like eating a certain side or making the decision, so making dinner got kind of annoying at times. I started to think about how cafeteria's usually post the meals that they will have for the week on a chalk board, calendar, or something like that. If you liked Taco Day and you knew it was on Thursday's.. you could plan not to pack a lunch that day. Long story short, I decided that whenever I would go shopping, I would plan out 14 meals in advance and print them out on a list for the fridge. We eat the meals in whatever order we wish and we just cross them off when we make them.

I wasn't sure if the meal plan was going to work out, it was just something to keep me busy. 5 months later I am still printing out my meal plans and posting them on the fridge! It may sound like a lot of time dedicated to meal planning, but it the long run, it saves me time on a daily basis. Not to mention that I also end up buying less food at the grocery store because I know what I am making for dinner. I plan on continuing my meal planning even as I get busier and start to have a family. I can plan the meals anytime that I want to before I go out shopping and then I don't have to think about what to eat again until our next meal plan.

Sometimes my meal plans are pretty simple, other times more demanding of time. They are often nothing special, but if they inspire someone else to make something different or become more organized with their meal planning, that is fine with me.

My Meals: My goal is to make most things from scratch. I try to avoid (for the most part) making frozen foods for dinner (other than frozen pizza and vegetables) to avoid the preservatives. I have at least 2 "easy meals" out of each 14, and possibly more if I am expecting a busy week. I usually list 14 meals out in each meal plan, but I will sometimes list less if I know that we are eating out one night or if I made something leftover from the last meal plan. Most often my meals include a meat, a vegatable, and another side to be well rounded!

Meal Plan

1. Skyline (plus spaghetti, onions, cheddar cheese, & oyster crackers on the side)

*The Skyline that we use comes frozen in a tub and has several servings of Skyline.

2. BLTs (the usual, other than turkey bacon instead of regular bacon)
3. DIY Pizza

*This time we will be using Kroger pizza dough (in a bag), Kroger Pizza Sauce, Onion, and Shredded Chicken

4. Frozen Pizza
5. Spaghetti, Homemade Garlic Bread

*Homemade Garlic Bread is made by taking a slice of bread, spreading butter on it and garlic powder, and it putting it in the oven at 200° until butter is melting and crispy

6. Hillshire Farm Turkey Kielbasa, Green Beans, Macaroni & Cheese
7. Taco Salad

*Salad is made of Lettuce, onion, and tomato, topped with cooked beef, shredded cheese (taco or cheddar), Catalina Dressing, Sour Cream, and Salsa

8. Tortellini with Pesto, Salad
9. French Onion Soup (A), Soup Of Choice (J), & Panini’s
10. Steak, Baked Potatoes, & Broccoli
11. Soft Tacos, Refried Beans
12. Hot Dogs (with Buns), Cream Corn, Au Gratin Potatoes
13. Hot Dogs (with Buns), Cottage Cheese, Home Made Fries

Questions? Comment below or email me at mybrothermadethis@yahoo.com

I'm still learning...do you have any tips for me? Any healthier options to what I am making?