Christmas gift done and preview of another gift, almost finished

I have finished one of my Christmas gifts for one of my nieces! I decided for the kiddos that I'd make crayon rolls. I would give them that, with crayons, along with a tote bag (which will have their initial on it, in the same fabric as the crayon roll) and a coloring book. I've not yet gotten the bag done, but I did make my first crayon roll. Until I finished, I had forgotten that I had mentioned making one of these before. Mine might have turned out cuter had I remembered and used the instructions! Oh, well........

I made this one using decorator weight fabrics. I used a ribbon to close it up, but I'm thinking that I may try sewing a button on and using some elastic for the boys ones (a little more 'masculine' than the ribbon).

The picture below best represents the true colors of the fabric used!


I like how it turned out - but, I learned several things ...

1) I need to make my fabric wider than to allow only for 1/4" seam allowance (with just 1/4", it makes it kind of 'curl' on the ends once the crayon is in place)
2) I may need to add a 'flap' to the top of the crayon roll - so that I don't have to worry about the roll being tipped upside down and the crayons falling out. I don't REALLY see this as an issue, as the crayons fit rather snug - but, it might be a good idea.
3) I really want to use a thinner ribbon - today I just used what I had on hand.

I hope that the kids are going to like this little gift - it's always so hard to find something that all the kids will like - boys and girls!

Now the preview..... I'm still working on an afghan for my Mother In Law for Christmas. I've committed to myself to finish this over the Thanksgiving break ... so, look for the final pictures soon!!