Manicure, Anyone?

I decided to make a little manicure set for my 8 year old granddaughters who love getting their nails polished.  I was inspired by an old manicure set of my husband's grandmother that sits on our dresser (and I've been meaning to fix for years).

Unlike their grandmother my granddaughters love fancy and glitz. So I dug through my box of fancy fabrics (collected back when I made fancy Barbie doll clothes) and made up a couple of crazy quilt blocks 6.5 x 8

. 

 Then I cut some fabric for the inside and some stiff interfacing 6.5x8 and basted the interfacing to the wrong side of the inside fabric.

I found some elastic at the store with places for buttonholes and some manicure set tools. 

Remembering there is a fold in the middle I laid out the tools, laid the elastic across the top of the tools stretching it a little and sewed on little buttons over the buttonholes. 

I then cut 2 lengths of ribbon about 10 inches long. (It didn't have to be that long but it gives little fingers more to work with when tying their manicure case closed. )  I based them over the elastic, keeping the ribbon to the inside. 

I removed the tools and with right sides together sewed around all side with a 1/4 inch seam, leaving about a 2 inch space at the bottom for turning. 

 Turn right side out and sew opening at the bottom shut with blind stitch.

 I sewed my "handmade by" tape on the bottom of the inside.

And then buttonhole stitched all around the outside edge. (Sorry for the dark, blurry pic. If I'm in the mood later I'll try to take a better one.)

And now my granddaughters have manicure sets that I hope last as long as the manicure set of my husband's grandmother.