The Bag Lady!

Inspired by a show on Create and Craft TV

last week I got my sewing machine out -

not something I do very often!

This is where I sew.

It's the other end of my craft room.

The lady who inspired me on the tele was

Mandy Shaw of Dandelion Designs.

 She was selling her kits for small

bags/fabric folders and demonstrated

how easy it was to make one.

I remembered I'd bought one of her books

a while back and sure enough in it 

was the exact pattern for her bags.

They really were very easy to make, although

mine are far from perfect.

This is the first one I made and I think it's the best one.

The ric rac is very wide so shows up much more than

on the other bags where I used narrower ric rac.

I used Tim Holtz fabric for both the main and lining fabric,

as it was only 10 x 10" the finished bag is only

8" wide by 31/2" deep - so could be a pencil or

cosmetic case.

 

I made another again with Tim Holtz fabric.

 

I like the wooden buttons especially on this

fabric with the wooden ruler design on.

(The buttons came from a firm called

Button-It)

I then raided my fabric stash and made one

slightly larger.

 

 Made up, this one measures 10" wide by 6" deep.

(I've yet to add a decorative button as I couldn't

find a suitable one in my button box)

I added a strap to the side - making it a 'wristlet'.

I think this will make a good passport holder

which I'll definitely use.

Onwards and upwards - 

  

This is a similar size to the previous one,

just a bit deeper.  This is a cute one - not

sure what I'll use it for, or who I'll give it to yet.

Finally, I made a couple of gadget folders -

 IPad size.

 

Again, this is from my fabric stash, I wouldn't

necessarily have chosen this particular lining

fabric if I'd had more to chose from.

This could double up as a little cushion or pillow - lol.

I used a layer of wadding which turned out to

be far too thick - at least the IPad will be safe.

For the next one I used felt instead of wadding

which is much better (not such a comfortable

cushion though!)

Now, what else can I sew while the machine's out!!

 

Thanks for looking :)

Hello & Etsy!

Hello Blog mates!

It's been that long since I last blogged, I'd 

almost forgotton how to do it!

Hope this finds you all well and happy.

I haven't been doing much craft-wise apart from the

obligatory family and friends' greeting cards.

I did buy some fabric a few months ago though

from the Tim Holtz Eclectic Elements range

 

I bought the 'charm pack' 5" x 5" little squares

and it's totally lush.

Then I couldn't decide what to do with it and it

sat on my desk for ages and ages.

I finally decided it'd make great little outfits

for paper dolls - what else would it be for me!!

So I busily got to work and made

 ten lovely mixed media dolls.

I'd often thought about opening an Etsy shop but never did -

these little dolls I made gave me the push to go ahead.

I'm useless at self promoting as it feels so un-natural to me.

However, the deed has been done so here's the link

 If the link doesn't work (when you click on the pic)

there's a link near the top of my side bar.

I've called the shop 'GemstonePaperDolls'

because as well as loving making paper dolls,

I've also been buying a lot of genuine gemstones recently to

be made up into jewellery - although I don't know how

long that's going to take me to get around to! 

Got to start somewhere though I suppose.

I'll leave you with one of the dolls - she is actually

wearing a tiny little coral gemstone around her neck.

Her boots are real leather -

an upcycled old purse of mine.

Thanks for looking - 

I'll try not to leave it so long next time xx