Christmas Gifting: Embroidered Zipper Pouch

I've completed my first homemade Christmas gift this year! It's a zippered ruffle pouch with the recipient's initials embroidered in the corner.

 The shape looks a little wonky in the photo; it looks a bit cleaner in real life. That embroidery hoop is strategically place, of course, to hide the embroidery (even though I really want to show it off). After all, what if she happens to look at my blog? So much for Christmas surprises. :) If you look closely, maybe you can still get the idea. I printed her initials out in a variety of different fonts, then traced the one I like onto the fabric with pencil and backstitched by hand over it. I've never embroidered before, and I think I'm hooked. You'll have to take my word for it, but it looks pretty slick.

Most of the zipper looks fairly tidy, too, which is a relief.

Now, on to the next gift! and the next...