Small Scrap Cases

Using the small left over pieces from yesterdays bags to create some smaller pouches today. I also have a sketch of a clutch that I will be taking to the final construction stages today too. Or at least starting on it:) I will share more with you as it develops. Burrr, It suddenly got colder in here. We are suppose to get some rain today, good day to stay inside, drink hot tea and sew. More progress pics coming soon

Large Patchwork Bag

Yesterday was the perfect opportunity to break out some of these old fabrics I have been holding on to. I love the designs on the screen printed fabrics, called the "memoirs collection" consisting of cotton and linen. Reminds me a little of Alice and Wonderland with some similar elements and feel. I mixed things up by adding some ultrasuede in cow and leopard print and some upholstery as well. I have been working on the last details this afternoon and I am excited; its almost ready to list!

New Patchwork Duffel Progress

I started working on a new patchwork design bag this morning. I was inspired to try and utilize more of my upholstery and random scraps to go for a real colorful and funky design. So far I am liking how its coming out. Here are a couple pics of the beginnings of my creation. I chose some brights along with some black and whites and added a zig zag in red thread. Since this is a new design I am not sure how this one will come out. I am hoping it will be similar to a duffel style; only without the rounded ends. I will be adding pockets to the sides with a dring closure. I hope to have a finished photo to share with you tomorrow.

Leather Mosaics

Armed with a nothing but a hand full of black and light yellow leather scraps, a bottle of glue and a piece of raw silk fabric, I am challenging myself to create a piece of art today. This one reminds me of the mosaics that I've done in the past and puts the itty bitty pieces to good use. When I first began laying the pieces down I was going to do a mixture of black and light yellow, then decided that it looked better with just black. I wasn't even going to originally have the raw silk upholstery background part of the whole,I was planning on covering the entire piece, but things just sort of developed on their own. Now that I have everything in place its time to start glueing. Stay tuned.... I hope to post the completed piece by tonight. The funnest part will be sewing around all the little pieces.

More Progress

Here is a little progress picture. I like the direction its going so far. Got the zippers in and added some accents. I will post some more pics later. Right now I am taking a little break from things and going to pick up a book and lounge for the evening. When my back muscles begin to tighten up, that tells me its time to quit for the night:)

Hand Painted Tote Progress

I will be working on a new tote later today. Last night I began some thread painting of a red flower and thought it might be a nice touch to add a yellow one too. I will be adding 2 red vertical zippers along the outside edging and apply decorative stitching to the lime strip on the front. More progress pics coming soon.

Bird Wallet

Not sure why I have been so into birds lately:) I think this will be cute. I am making a few wallets in between my fabric painting.
This is the first of the series. Will post more photos here when its completed.

Hand Painted Tote Progress

I am preparing the base fabric for some new totes that I will be making next week. Here are some pics of my first 2 sets. I will be choosing more fabric scraps tomorrow and preparing their surfaces using a variety of acrylics and hand made stamps.

More photos to come...

More Progression

I changed directions again and I will be constructing this one into a clutch instead of a tote; I am laughing at this because it just seems to be developing all by itself; I am just here to let it do what it wants:) Not do exactly what I imagined it to be. I guess that is the great thing about experimenting. I am learning what works and what doesn't. Hope to post photos of the final piece tomorrow.

Progression on Work

I have no idea where this one is going! I am playing with it at the moment. It was going to originally be a large zippered case but I suddenly changed my mind this morning and decided to make it a tote bag. I can do that, right:)! I added 2 more feathers, randomly found room for them; hopefully it will all work out. The only real problem with doing a reverse applique is cutting away so much of the vinyl, that it does lose its foundation and strength. With a little stabilizer behind the work, it should do the trick and when I get to the stitching this also does a lot for strength too. Things have been slow going today, didn't start work till after noon, as I have many New years resolutions to attend to as well. So far things are going very good. Received an e-mail from my mom and she wants a peacock case, so I began to work on that one as well. There is time for everything!! Balance is the key isn't it?

Beginnings of My Next Creation

The beginnings of my next peacock art piece. I am freehand cutting the feathers; this design will look completely unique and different than the previous one.

More photos coming soon.

Peacock Feather Reverse Applique Pouch Progress

I mentioned a of couple days ago that I was going to try something "peacockish." Well here is the progress on it. I have been stitching accents around it for awhile now and I think I have it the way I want it now. I will be sewing my label into the lining and completing it very soon. This one is a reverse applique; not something I do too much of these days, but will more than likely be creating more.

Random Applique Design

I am working on a applique bag with a random freehand design that I cut out last night. Right now I am working on stitching around all the curves and will be constructing the rest of the bag this afternoon, hopefully I will have some more photos to share with you soon.

More Progress on Mini Messenger

I am really enjoying the progress on this one. I added some birds and beads in some areas. Next I will be choosing the backing color and materials and finishing the final construction. Hope to have it completed along with more photos tomorrow.

Leather Applique Work

One of my favorite things to do is applique work and to be able to utilize the smallest bits of leather and create something beautiful is worth so much to me. Here is a picture of a zippered case I started this afternoon. First I secured the leather to the vinyl background and stitched around the petals with my commercial machine. The next step will be adding the flower center and securing it with a metal rivet. This will hide where the stitching joins together in the middle. More photos coming soon.

New Black and Red Star Bag

I just posted one of the rose bags I was working on last week. The other darker red rose bag is for a custom order so it wont be listed in my shop but I will post it here when its completed. Here is the latest bag I am working on. (far left) My favorite color combination! I started cutting flower shapes and hollowed out the centers giving more of a star shape to them. I like how its coming out so far. I completed one side of the bag; working on the reverse side this afternoon. This is going to be a small hobo style bag with heavy duty upholstery fabric, leather and vinyl accents.

From Wall Art to Tote Bag

Here is something I have been holding onto. It was going to originally be a wall hanging but last week I decided that it would make a nice tote bag. I will be working on it this evening and give you some progress photos tomorrow. There is something so cool about giving the scrap upholstery fabrics and leather a new life. This is why I enjoy working with these materials so much. I would really like to get back into more of the art form of sewing and doing more fabric art and applique work. This one has a leather tree trunk and I used microfiber and ultrasuede for the flowers and upholstery for the bird and some of the leaves. The background is a piece of scrap upholstery that I prepped with acrylics.

New Bag Progress

Making progress. I like the darker gray a lot. Seems to separate the colors better than the previous tan one. I even started working on a small coin purse with mini applique. A little trickier to sew this one with the smaller size.

New Progress Photos

Here is the start of my newest project. I decided to use some light distressed leather and mix some upholstery fabric into the design, adding color that I couldn't get with just leather. So far its looking nice. I will be posting the final work here maybe by tomorrow

Back online - New Designs

My internet has been being crazy for about 2 weeks now and I finally picked up a new modem this afternoon and I'm online again. There is nothing as frustrating as not being able to get online when you need to. The modem I was using was ancient and I am sure it was going bad. I was able to get online in the mornings and check e-mail and maybe have a few hours in the afternoon, but it would then suddenly disconnect for no reason and I'd be in the middle of uploading or something, uggh, so annoying! I realized how much of my business depends on the internet. Glad that is all taken care of:) I'm all good now. I have been working on a couple new bags, creating some new applique designs. Here is a little peak at what I am doing tonight.