Finding time to Create again!

Wow! Has it seriously been a whole year since I've posted anything here? Life has brought on many challenges but I think that I am finally getting back to finding time for myself and work again. I've been playing with a couple new creations tonight, here is a peak, will hope to have some final pictures real soon. Getting ready for an art show in November so I have lots of work to do! Just in the planning stages and trying to figure out what I want to create. Probably the most important thing for me to remember right now is to play and have fun.
Hope to have more to share with you real soon.

New IPhone Cases- Etsy Front Page, Yay!!!

My shop was featured on the front page of Etsy yesterday, Yay!! Thank you Silvia66! She created an amazing treasury for me and I am so thankful!

Here is the treasury. Click for a larger pop up or visit the following link to view the treasury live. I am not sue how long these things stay up but it may still be there.
Click "ETHNICAL EXPERIENCE"


I have been creating some new IPhone cases for my shop and I am loving them. Here are a few of the designs that I have available so far

Front Page!! Yay!!

Yay! My shoulder bag made it to the front page of Etsy today! What a surprise. I was not aware that if you are using the application "My Etsy" that it will automatically post to your page when you are featured, pretty cool! Thanks to snowinjune on Etsy for putting this beautiful treasury together for me!

What I've Been Up To

Its been about a month since my last post, yikes!! and a lot has been happening since then. The kids are out of school so we've been having fun swimming, biking and enjoying the river. I have made it mandatory to start taking time for myself, even if its only an hour. Its made a huge difference in my productivity and stress levels. I would work 24/7 if I could, but it doesn't make a very happy me.

I have taken a little turn in my designs. I have been thinking for awhile about incorporating some of my leather, vinyl and other fabrics into some recycled materials. I have been hanging on to years of denim jeans and some cargo pants because I thought they would make great bags someday. Well, I finally started digging into my collection and here are a few things that I've created. I am loving painting lots more too as you can see in the next photograph!



and a ...Cargo pant bucket Tote with graphic t-shirt and thread painting on my commercial machine.

and Here are a few more pictures of some denim I have done so far...



This one made it to this cute treasury created by designedbymere on Etsy


I am just now beginning another bag made out of some recycled plaid and camo pants with a graphic t-shirt mixed in. Here is a progress shot.



I hope to have something to share with you soon. I am going to try and be better at posting on my blog.

Celebrating the 4th in California

The 3rd and 4th was fun. We celebrated in Colfax, watched the parade downtown and then Dutch Flat the following day. The kids rode in a train that their grandpa made for the local Lions Club, throwing candy to the crowd. This year they had water guns. Fun!!












My favorite part of the parade was seeing the Budweiser Clydesdales up close. Beautiful horses. Loved the Dalmation! After the parade was over we headed over to see the Mini Dotson and the Soap Box Races then headed to the pool and back to the house for a BBQ before the fireworks.

We watched the fireworks at RJ Miles construction and got waay tooo close!! This is when its great to know someone in the family who can get us front row seats, and not worry about parking. He just moved some heavy equipment and we were in. The concrete below us made the fireworks echo like explosions all around us. The best view ever, shook me up good!! never seen them like that before! Whoa! I was laying flat on my back gripping onto my daughters arm for dear life, when I shot this photo showing how close we were, yikes!!

HandPainted Art Collage Tote

My latest bags included some thread painting and utilization of old scraps that I had painted for some previous work. I had no use for them and had been holding on to them for the perfect project and this turned out to be the one!
I created 2 bucket totes using a large piece scrap of upholstery that I painted with random artist acrylics. (you can see the fabric being painted in my profile pic) Then I continued using some random bits of leather and other scraps to create a collage of interest. I also used some cotton fabric from a recycled skirt that I altered. It was fun to add some thread painted accents as a design element on the handle and also within the bag design itself, something I had a lot of fun with!

Both of these bags can be found online at http://www.uniquehandbags.net/shop_med_totes_1.html

or in my Etsy shop at
http://www.etsy.com/shop/uniquehandbags

Jumping Jack Designs - Custom Designed Invitations

Please Check out my Feature from Jumping Jack Designs.
Looking for custom stationary or invitations? Angie is a local designer who specializes in just that! You will love her new styles that she has recently added, check out her website at JumpingJackDesigns.com

Reno Magazine

Something totally amazing has happened, I was featured in Reno Magazine! I knew that this magazine was one of the most well designed local publications around, but Wow! I didn't expect that it was going to look so beautiful! Cat did an amazing job putting this one together and I am very excited about it! I am very thankful for the great opportunities that are coming my way!

Leather Necklaces

Here are a couple new necklaces that I added to my shop today.
I will be working on more colors and experimenting with different designs. I have been taking some time off to get the creative juices flowing again. Things have been hectic, haven't felt like myself, going through lots of changes. With the sunny weather coming soon hopefully that will all change:)

New Leather Earrings

I've been experimenting with different ways to use scrap pieces of leather and create some new earrings for my shop. This one is a really fun one, I like it. I am already thinking of necklaces and different color combos, possibly adding fabric into the mix.

Ladybugs!!

I've been pretty busy. Not much time to blog lately, but here is a peak at what I have been working on. My mother in law is crazy for ladybugs and I have been inspired by her lately. So lots of ladybugs will be arriving in the next few weeks, I am so excited! A photograph I took a few years ago of a ladybug in my garden.




And some photos of cases I've created.......
Stay posted for some new bags. Some of the first ladybug bags I have ever created are making a comeback!

Featured on Jumping Jack Designs Blog

Please stop by Jumping Jack Designs and see the nice post that she put together featuring some of her favorite pencil cases. You must stop by and visit some of the Etsy sellers in this one, there are some really good ones. My favorite one is the carrots!! and the cat! It blows my mind at how creative some people are! Click on the graphic to visit her blog