a honeymoon gift or two

i spent the past weekend with a group of girls in the beautiful countryside of my home state, virginia (not too familiar with this part of va, though) for my good friend kim, who is getting married at the end of august. it was gorgeous out there... this was our view from the backyard pool:

since i didn't get to attend the bridal shower, i thought i would make a honeymoon gift for her, using this "dopp kit" pattern as a basis... and uh, adjusting the pattern after numerous calculations and mistakes because i bought the wrong size zipper. sounds about right.

i packed the bag with some bubble bath, cute unmentionables, and a little vial to save sand from the beach. i liked how the bag turned out and will probably make one for myself. this was the first time i covered seams with bias tape, and i like the results, but the corners were difficult, and don't look very lovely. fortunately, they are on the inside.

little did i know, i would be creating another honeymoon gift, one for which i actually won a prize! the bridal party held a "project runway" challenge in which we chose a simple item of clothing (my name was accidentally not put into the hat, so, picking last, i got a pair of light tan boy short underwear). we were given various craft supplies and tasked with making a winning item to be "featured" at the honeymoon. pictured below is my winning design... look out heidi.

oh, and um, this is the back, not the front. the front i left untouched. don't want to overdesign, per tim.

i'm thinking i should try out for the real deal, whatdya think?

p.s. thanks jenn, for being my third reader! maybe now i can stop counting myself! i'm a reader of yours too and love the colors in your latest painting! and what a beautiful post today too.