Ginger Dots Basket Set and Extra

I finished up the basket set. I just piled them up here to show you. The smallest is pencil width and the largest are 5 inch squares that stand 7 inches high. Not too big and not too small. Some have an olive lining, others have a brighter mustard yellow.

I had a nice rectangular piece cut and leftover, so I made a larger zip pouch. I realized the other day that most of my pouches sold at the show. I need to make a batch of them as I make the next batch of purses...which should be next week.

Brown Daisy Wristlet Duo

I took my sewing machine in for a tune up and to fix some minor concerns last Friday. Firstly - the shop I took it to rocks! It was done that same day. Now I know that it was part luck, but he also did a fab job. So, many thanks to Dan at Clawson Vacuum & Sew!
Now onto the goods...

I wanted to make something before I took the machine in. The last time I had a tune up (at some other place) it took over 2 weeks. Ugh. So I finished off more some grocery totes for myself and a wristlet I had sitting around. I didn't forget about it. Really. It was just under some other things. It never left my mind. Honest. *cough* What? You don't believe me? Me neither :P But I did finish it. Rather quickly too.I decided to have some fun and embellish the front with some brown duck cloth I used for the lining. There were a couple strips cut & sitting with the rest of the material. It had been so long that I am not sure what it was supposed to be. But it worked like this :)


It even has a little buddy to match.

Maybe I need to take my machine in more. Gets my rear in gear.

Fixed It With Buttons

Buttons - sewing's duct tape. Fixes many an oops. Like my front zip pouch I made some time back. I think I may have been on too much of a roll because I skipped a small step when making this one.

The ribbon trim that also serves as the strap. Well, I did not sew it down before I finished off the pouch sides. Oops. First try...glue. But it could be seen through the ribbon. Almost like a mild stain. I do not have a pic that shows it, but the one below does show the gap left by not sewing it down.
Button time! I chose buttons that matched the medallions of the print & added until I liked the look. I am chalking this one up as a "mistake" that led to a better ending.

This happens often in pretty much any media I ever play with. I make sure to teach my kids this also...that we learn from our mistakes...and usually they are not mistakes at all...merely "creative paths".

Zip Pouch-A-Palooza

Feels like a Palooza anyway. They may not be the most fun to make, but they are whipoutable. I am not thrilled with the seams on the teeny ones, but they look no different than those I have seen in stores. Well, not all of them. I know I could do the seam hidden & just turn them right side out, but they are too tiny for me to do so comfortably. They'll be bonus pieces for the backpacks.


The fold over pouches, well, the black one will stay with me. The corners got all wingy...and I did not have black elastic at the time for the loopy part. But it's still workable :)

Next up on the to-do: large giraffe print bag and pillows or coasters...can't decide which.

Holidays Equals Vacation

Hmmm...actually, looking at my recent posts, I'd have to say I already hit vacation made. With my blogs at least. They have been neglected while I gave my attention to the sewing machine. There have been 2 hand painted messenger bags, 3 custom backpacks, one altered backpack, 2 zip pouches, a pillow and a 6 bag set (pictures will be coming later for these 6 & the most recent backpack). So vacation...not really. But it is now, because for the next week there will be no sewing or blogging...well, not much anyway :)


These are the completed messenger bags. I think I may start making more of these...some in a half size. I was thinking about the smaller size for a while...ever since the summer zoo trips. I think it would be a perfect hands free was to carry my wallet, keys, camera & small snacks.

This pink bag was a bit challenging. The customer will be using it as a ballet bag. There needed to be 2 mesh pockets for the shoes and a box pocket on the outside for keys & small wallet. Not having the actual shoes in front of me made it tough to get the pocket size correct. I did have the basic measurements, which helped, but it would be nice to have the actual shoe for testing. She sent me a pic of the bag with the shoes in the pockets - it looked like a great fit. woo hoo!

Have a Happy Holiday! See you in a week or so.

Trading Fun... Fa La La

I have had a slew of custom orders this month. Well, to me it is a slew. And amidst it all, I have a couple trades as well. These are always fun, especially when going to online buds :)

The first one was a zip pouch with a front zipper & a pillow. Pink zebra minky...so soft! I may make another pillow like this for me.

And I made another purple zip pouch. This one is in flames with a standard top zipper. I just hope her crochet hooks fit (they are hooks right? or is it needles?).

Thanks ladies! Now I need to decide my end of the trade :P I was in no rush, so I told them I'll shop later...let the Xmas buyers go first.

Zip Pouches Galore

My personal goal/project for November was to tame my WIPs (works in progress). I started off only so-so. I finished those 4 purses I showed you last week. I did them in a quick burst & slacked the rest of that first week. But then I had another burst. So I moved up from so-so to pretty good. I just finished a smattering of miscellaneous zip pouches.

A few months ago I told myself I would make a matching zip pouch for all my bags. And I did cut out the makings for most of them. But I never got around to actually constructing them. Until last week. They are all different sizes & slightly different styles. Some have loops, some have tabs, some are flat fronts (where the zipper is in the front, not at the top)...but they are all finished. Woo Hoo!!! I even managed to take pics for listings. And I took this pic for the blog...all of them grouped together at the sewing machine. Too bad some of their matching bags have already sold.
So am I done with my WIPs? Not even close. it may be more of a November/December/January project. Although I really hope to have them completed by the end of the year. But I have so many other ideas buzzing around in my brain that it may soon melt. Let's just cross our fingers that meltage won't happen until after the holidays.

September Challenge Day 25

Okay, so I ran out of time to create something different than the 3 leaf bags I planned on. But at least there were two of them that one day. I won't beat myself up over it though since I have a craft show on Sunday and wanted them done in time. Crossing my fingers for completing my clutches and a few mini backpacks too.

Plus, I thought I'd show you the back sides of the zip bags....

September Challenge Day 23 & 24

I made 2 things yesterday and the day before...but they were the same thing. Actually, they were more of the 3 leaf zip bags I had for my giveaway the other week.

Which reminds me - Congrats to Meri from Merigreenleaf's Elbit Enterprises! It is amusing too because I won some adorable elf ears from her not too long ago :)

Okay, back to the bags. I have 2 more set aside to make today and I am hoping to still have time to create something different for my "official" craft-a-day project.


It's weird, the green piece at the top looks uneven but it measures up even. I think it may just be the zipper - either I sewed it closer to the teeth at one end or it is just pulled up somewhat on the other. Does it look weird?

That pouch had a narrower green piece on the zipper - it's amazing how much shorter it looks, but there is only a half inch difference between them.

They both have this same interior...


Does the material look familiar? Instead of making even more zip bags, I used it for Day 22's project...which I did decide to keep for myself. I plan to make more but with a solid color or print instead of the patchwork since I used up the large piece I made already.

Want to see how Peacocks and Dragonflies is doing with her Craft-a-day? click here

September Challenge: Day 4

Day 4 is my newest zip pouch design. I have been wanting to try some quilting and love the "crazy" quilting blocks I have seen. I also wanted to make something Autumny...I was inspired by a treasury or 2 I peeked at on Etsy recently.

A zip pouch design was in my head, so I gathered up some awesome fall color fabrics & just started piecing things together. I wanted to add felt leaves, but could not decide which of the 4 sketches I preferred. I decided to do them all. Yesterday was the first style.

...wow, those colors look very different inside -v- outside....

Bonus - this zip pouch is going to be part of a giveaway over at Mystic Wynd's blog starting next week...I'll link up as soon as it is posted....and it's posted...click here to go enter

...come see Peacocks and Dragonflies' OADCC (one a day craft challenge)...she got me started on this :)

Finally, More Bags

I have been having so much fun with my monster stuffies and accessories that I have neglected my poor bags. A while back - like just before my vacation one month ago - I had cut out bunches of bags. I have gone back to some of my super sized totes (well, to me they seem super sized...almost 2 feet wide and 5-6 inches deep) but with some hand painting on the center panels. I finished one up the other night and another last night (no finished pics of that one yet). I decided not to pleat them all. Reason one - it's a total pain in the butt because of how thick it gets...I don't want to anger the machine. Reason two - I can never decide which I prefer.


These are the pieces for the other 3 bags-to-be....

That last one was finished up last night. The pink (which looks kinda orange in that pic) are the panels that went on either side of the print panels. And I am proud to say that I am thinking ahead & creating simple zip pouches to go with each bag (that goes for most, not just these totes). Okay, I'll fess up to the whole truth on these...while I am prepping all my bags for some kind of accessory (mostly zip pouches), these came about from a miscalculation. I created one too many panels for each bag. Two to four too many actually. Oops. Oh well - good things come from goofs. Like zip pouches and extra pockets inside. Woo Hoo?

The Accessories Version of the 3 Bears

I sold a clutch in this fabric the other week and she requested some accessories to go with it. I posted previously the checkbook cover/wallet thingy, zip pouch and keychain...these are the "credit card holders with a back slot/pocket". Scratch that - I just went back looking for the link & realized I never got to it. So i posted them at the bottom here ☺

This was the first pouch made. And there really was nothing wrong with it...until I put a card in the back pocket.

Too Big

See this snap on the back pocket? I had to put it there because it was not snug enough to hold a card in safely. So what's the problem? When I went to put in the snap...only one side worked. The "inside" snap kept getting flubbed. Eventually, there was a ring of small holes where the snap should be. I am keeping this one for me, because, well, doesn't matter to me...but I'd never try to pass it off to someone else. Besides - I am now out of the fabric...which I love. This way I get to enjoy the fabric a bit myself ☺


This is the back of the 3rd pouch...the one that was so hard to do because of the zipper bulk. Actually, the one before this was too gggrrr - it got scrapped. This one just ended up too small to fit credit cards in once I tried to fix some of the bulk problems. But it made a great coin pouch.

Too Small

This next pouch was my last one. I found that making such a small zip pouch is rather frustrating. I kept having a hard time with the tininess of it...so I rearranged the zipper to go across the front. When it was at the top, the bulk was too much for such a small pouch.

Just Right

And here is the first accessory trio...no problems with any of these guys.

Stuff I Made and More Stuff to Make Stuff

Before I start...I am having a Christmas in July sale in both my ArtFire and Etsy shops until next Friday the 24th...15% off all non-clearance items.
Next weekend I will be at a two day art show in Redford. It will be my first 2 day event - hope I can stay awake. So if you live in Metro Detroit - come on by and say hi :) You can read more about the show here.

Okay, got the promo out of the way :) Secondly - I will be "on blog vacation" after this Saturday (but may not post again before that time)...so I'll see you later this month.

Now for the real start of the post:
I say stuff in the title because one, I don't want to list it and two, I don't always know what I will be making with it until it is done :)
The first is a Pink Floral print handbag (one of my Janet bags). I love the handle on this one - it's real fluffy.





And I made a matching zippered pouch ...none of these are ironed yet, or even have that last opening inside sewn shit yet...but the sun was out so I nabbed some pics while I could.

And a few more zippered pouches. I am trying to make sure to have a matching accessory, whether a keyring, pouch or whatever, for every bag.


I am also making some headbands. My cousin is a runner & has very long hair. She found some headbands that do not slip out, but they were rather pricey. So I offered to make her some. These are the first four. Two of them have a velvet underside, which is the type that is great for no slip. The other two have ultrasuede. I am going to have her try them out to test the slippiness. I know I love using that stuff for the underside of straps on bags for the non-slip quality...but not sure how it'll work with the hair.


And I have some more "test strips" cut for some more headbands. I also have 3 there on the left that are some really cool ribbon...I will make these last, when I have the headband assembly more down pat. I have been having trouble finding the right needle & tension combo...and have lots of scrapped tries in the garbage to prove it.

And lastly - some more fabric. My youngest picked out the Firetruck fabric when we were at the store. I asked him what he wanted me to make with it. He said he didn't know, he just liked it for something. And since it sounded so much like myself - I bought it. I think some of it will become a Lego pouch.
The skull prints, well, I just love skull prints. I am trying to work in more fun and/or kitcshy (how the heck do you spell that anyway?) fabrics and styles into my line. There are lots of embroidery & painting sketches I have done with that in mind...can't wait until I can get going on them.


Oops...I was wrong - I have this fabric too, from a swap on Craftster. If you are a fabriholic too, feel free to come on over & check it out. if you are not a member yet but want to do some swaps, join now & build up the posts so you have enough to play along during the next round.

4th of July Special

Okay - I think the graphics speak for themselves...now on to some stuff I have done recently.

Well, the first is the graphics above, along with my new Tilt Too banner:


Sewn stuff:

This first one is listed on my Carried Away Bags team shop on Etsy...
all proceeds will be going to the Herobox charity

And last...my ad for the Artisan Directory. It took lots of image size tweaking
- and thanks to Huck, I finally got it right! Thanks Huck!