DIY- Sewing Kit

 I have a problem with collecting not only pens and pencils but also cases to hold them in.  During my recent visit to Pittsburgh I went to Kawaii Gifts and picked up this super cute Alice in Wonderland pencil tin (because I must own everything cute and Alice related!).  Knowingly I did not have a set of pens in particular to put in this  nor did I really need it because I also picked up another tin of Sentimental Circus by San-x.  Anywho I didn't need this but I had to justify it being necessary so I decided I would turn it into a small project sewing/embroidery tin.

The nice thing about this tin is that it is plain, most of the other pencil tins I pick up have separate levels so you can't stack pens on top of each other they have to lie flat in a row.  This tin could easily hold about 12 pens/pencils in it because of the open format.

I gathered the things I wanted to put inside.  

• Small spools of thread
• Compact scissors
• Post it note tabs
• Felt pincushion
• Needle threader
• Magnet for pins
• Thread cutter ring.
• Mechanical Pencil
• Eraser
• Seam ripper

I do a check to make sure everything fits inside and that the lid will close before I make some more permanent changes.

Now to make some changes on the inside.  I planed to install my felt ball pincushion into one corner and the magnet into the other corner.  I'm using double sided foam tape to secure the Felt ball.

For my magnet it was an extra from this quirky office magnet set a friend had sent me.  I clipped the plastic open so I could have the raw magnet to put in the tin.  I just felt that it would have a stronger grip without the plastic around it. 

Placing my items once again.  The magnet sticks on it's own since it is a metal tin.

After I take the protective seal on the double sided tape I push the felt ball into it.  Using the foam instead of flat double sided tape also hold the round shape of the felt ball better.  I like to use the Felt ball to hold my needles and the magnet to hold my pins.  The nice thing about the magnet is that if any pins are just thrown inside I can shake it a little and they will be drawn to the magnet. I can also take the magnet off and sweep the area I was working to pick up any stray pins of needles I might of dropped.

Everything in place and in order I have a snazzy little sewing tin.  I took off the backing of the post it note tabs and stuck it to the top of the tin.  You never know when you need to take a note or mark a pattern you are working on so they are very useful. Wasn't that easy?