Wordless Wednesday

Feeling Stitchy Stitch Along

Such a cute little octopus. I decided to take part in Feeling Stitchy's Stitch-along. This month is an octopus stitching. The text portion was left up to us. She had the alphabet, we had the sayings. My oldest is a huge Beatles fan. So he helped inspire this also. I may even add a small submarine at the bottom. Not sure yet.

I tried some crayon tinting...it did not work out as planned. I may recolor, hand paint a bit or just leave as is. Not sure yet.

And the text color only looks bright enough during the day. I need to remember to pick out colors in the evening.

You can peek at everyone's over at the Flickr pool here.

Biohazard

Another Urban Threads design! I had a hard time deciding some things with this one. Do I fill in the yellow bits? Paint inside the orange circle and bits? Barbed wire - which color? As you can see, I skipped the filling in of parts. Actually, I did start to fill in the yellow and took it out. Didn't care for it. The barbed wire became a compromise...4 grey and 2 black strands :) You can see it better in the angled pic below...

Have you peeked at my shop lately? I have started adding my embroidery pieces :) Yippee!

Sunday Sketches

I went to sketch out some new embroidery ideas that were busting at the folds of my brain...and found I was out. The only sketchbook I had not filled up was a giant one I used to use for landscape or take alongs to the art museum. Way too big. So I went out and bought more. I also nabbed a watercolor pad (or two) since my oldest just got some watercolors. Another thing I want to pick up again...and really, what new thing do I NOT want to do? :P

Anyway, when I went digging for my old pencils, I also found my watercolor pencils. So I played. This is the "before". I have yet to add the water. I decided to divide the larger page into strips for bookmarks. Also inspired by my oldest who asked me to make him one. He keeps forgetting what page of Dante's Inferno he is on.

Now keep in mind, it has been quite some time since these old fingers have sketched out anything other than what I have done for my embroidery pieces. And many of those are merely traces of others' designs.

Now for those of you who may know my son well enough - which one do you think is his?

And big thanks to Blue Chair Diary for hosting the Sunday Sketch on her blog...it was another thing that inspired me to pick up my sketch pad again.

Front Page!!

I woke up to find this on the front page of ArtFire....

What a great way to wake up!!! Depending on when you click over to AF, it may be gone...so just click on the pic here to view the Collection that was featured :)

Backpacks are Coming Back

A while back I sent all my backpacks to a shop in Wake Forest, North Carolina - The Lemon Tree. Last month I decided to make some more for my shop. I know, it has been a long time coming. But my production has been sporadic at best recently. This is the first of the new batch. I am so glad I started making them again...they are so fun :)

This time I tried something different with the straps. Instead of 2 separate straps, I made it into one long strap going through a loop at the top. This way there is some versatility in the way you wear it.

I just love the exterior fabric. It was given to me for a custom clutch a while back and she told me to keep the leftovers :) Didn't it turn out cute?

It is rather soft and pliable, so I made sure the interior was sturdier. I went with a solid red denim. Gotta love red!

Wordless Wednesday

Next New Handbag

This is the first of the new 6 pack of my Karen handbags.

And this is a reminder of what the first Karen looked like.

That is all for now :) Short and sweet. Off to go ad my new pics from Erin to my shop!!!

Photo Shoot

I had the best Saturday last weekend. And now I get to share the results with you! I met Erin at a craft show last December. She is an aspiring photographer and we got to talking. Fashion photography is one thing she she did not yet have but wanted to add to her portfolio. Light bulb moment. A couple months later the snow went away and we lit that bulb.

Thanks to some fabulously beautiful friends of hers - you guys rocked it! - we had a successful day. Made even better by Erin's fantastic ad making.

I am not sure which is my fave because I love them all. But these two give a great example:

Pop on over to her site to check out more of the shoot. And don't pass up browsing through her other portfolios. She has some amazing music and portrait images.

Embroidery Wall

I have spent the past couple days painting embroidery hoops, making the cardstock backings and gluing the fabric around to the back side. And then putting them all up on my wall for display. You can peek on my Flickr to see the wall closer up.

The wall will eventually be used for listing photos. Yes, I have decided to start listing them. Still working out pricing, but hope to start dropping them off in the shop next week.

Now I just need to find a cute way to cover up the hooks I used. I used those inexpensive plastic hooks with the (supposedly) easy to remove adhesive tabs. I did not want to put a bunch of holes in my wall. Especially since once hoop leaves, the next one to go in may not be the same size & therefore need a new location for the hook.

For the cover up, I was thinking of labels. Kind of like the type you'd see in shops or something when artwork is displayed. And done cheaper...probably using cardstock and eyelets to put on the hooks. Still thinking.

Any ideas?

Wordless Wednesday

Peggy Handbags

I finished up some of the more recent bags I cut early last week. There were 6 Peggy's, 6 Karen's and I think it was 8 Anna backpacks. As I may have mentioned, most of my bags are named after their original "owner".

So the Peggy is based off this bag I first made for my mom:

The Karen is for my sis-in-law. I made a 6 pack for her.

Actually, the Anna was for her too, well, her daughter. Originally these were a pack also. They were the goody bags for my niece's birthday party.

And for the first 2 of 6 Peggy's:

A great red floral fabric that I have leftover from a custom clutch some time back...

And for those who like a little feminine floral...

Geo Chocolate Nile

That is the name given to the fabric for my 4th Dee shoulder bag. I decided to accent the blue in the print for the lining and strap contrast. I think it helps brighten it up.

The bottom is blue too, just like all the bags with the contrasting color. The blue may get dirtier than the print would, but if I make all the bags with dirt in mind, most of them would not get made. Lighter colors get dirty, it's just the way it is. I actually snicker to myself a bit whenever I see someone set their bags down on the ground & then get upset when the bottom gets dirty. Um, yeah, it's gonna happen when you set stuff down on the ground.

Anyway...

I am really liking what initially was done because of a fabric shortage...the contrasting top bits of the straps. The underside was always a contrast, but the tops came about from a goof.

And lastly, the inside. This sucker is just huge. Seems that way to me anyhow. Although, my bags tend to be on the smaller side. But I could totally fill this up - easy.

Wordless Wednesday

Resident Evil

I love Alice. She just kicks ass so well and looks great doing it. I plan to make one hoop for each movie. This is the classic red tunic outfit from the first movie.

You can see the lines pretty well in this angled shot. I only tacked each line down in a couple spots. I wanted them to be as straight as I could. Almost floaty.

Ignore the wrinkles in the organza. They should be easy enough to steam out later. I was originally going to hand paint the dress but then I remembered the organza. It was the perfect color. And has just a little bit of a fun sparkle. You can kind of see it in the light stream here...

I may still hand paint the skirt and/or boots. Not sure yet.

And for those who do not know what he image is referencing...a promo shot from the movie.

Now to go find some shots from the next 3 movies. Either that or re-watch them on the computer and get ready to snap some screenshots to sketch off.

Witchy Willow

Willow is one of my fave characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Whether nerdy Willow, Dark Willow or Doppelganger Willow - I love them all! This piece is from Season 8's comic. Full out Witchy Willow.

And this is the pic I took it from...

Things didn't turn out exactly as I had pictured, but not bad. Nope, not bad at all. I will make her again. Actually, I would like to do a four square Warhol'esque type pic with each corner being a different Willow.

This super shiny thread was a pain to work with. But sooooo pretty.

And the misty smoke turned out cool with the blendy thread.

I Had Time

It turns out that I had time to finish up my Dr. Horrible piece. I guess two sick boys at home was not enough to thwart this evil. Too bad it didn't thwart my coughing. That is still here. In spades. Hmmm...spades.....idea :)

Anyway, on to the Horribleness...

It is in a 10" hoop now, but I may see if it can fit into a smaller hoop. And possibly paint either the glove or coat. Thoughts?

WIP Time

My house has been one of ill repute lately...emphasis on the ill. And since I am Mom, I have done nothing beyond caring for everyone else. So this poor bag has been sitting in the sewing area with all it's parts exposed for all to see. Hopefully I will be able to fix her up soon and make her whole.

Until then - have a great weekend. Hope to be back by the end of it.

And maybe with some embroidery completed too. Too bad the sewing machine is right next to the boys' rooms, otherwise I could sew after they go to bed.

Plant Cell

I am still quite under the weather and have not been able to finish up my bags. But I did manage to finish up this embroidery piece the other night. It's the last cell for now. A plant cell this time. Think Spring! On a micro level anyway...

And the fun angle view. I tried some double knots in the mitochondia - that's the dark green ovals.

The backside is a bit blurry. It was difficult to tell when I snapped the shot...darn burny eyeballs :P

When I get back into the groove & will have some actual bags to show you. Imagine that, a handbag shop person making actual bags. Who woulda thunk it :P