Purple In Process

After five weeks of Alien Landscaping, thought I'd switch gears and make a little something for myself.  I really crave color right now.  Bright, loud, pretty color.  So I'm making a little bag/purse thingie.  Any of you ever start a project without a pattern?  That's what I'm doing.

I got some strips of these beauties and stitched them together, cut them up and re-assembled them - a bit wonky.  It'll be the lining.  I love that the lining will be beautiful and chaotic.  Much like my life some times!

The outside is going to be much more placid, but with huge pops of color.  I LOVE the purples (or whatever fancy schmancy name the designer gave it) in the Terrain collection.  So I'm using some of that.  (Just figured out that this picture isn't great, but it gives you an idea, anyway).

That embroidered detail is the top of the outside pocket.  It is an interlaced backstitch - Spunky looked through my embroidery books and helped me pick out which stitch to use.  Yes, he's my little creative helper.

Here's what he made today on "Drawing with Spunky" (his make-believe tv show).  Yep, he's been side-tracked off aliens - now he's drawing monsters.  At least he's feeling better - that strep was awful!

I'll update you on my Purple project when it's finished.  From our home to yours, be blessed!

:) Caren

Robot Lunch Bag

Hi there everyone!  I finally made a lunch bag for my Spunky boy.  I'm sure he didn't care that his lunch was in recycled bags (a new one each day - Giant Eagle, Ohio Thrift, Schwebels, Kroger, and even a JoAnns bag once!).  It's probably good that we did that for a month (at least), because he wrote his name on a little piece of paper each day and we taped it to his lunch - great handwriting practice!

This lunch bag matches the messenger bag I made for him.  See that adorable reverse appliquéd robot on the front?  I like that this bag mimics the messenger bag but it's just a bit different.  And can you even believe that I have ORANGE bias tape that matches perfectly?  (A thrift store find - in a bag with green and [slightly yellowed] white bias tape - wonder how long THAT's been sitting around?!)

Do any of you remember this post about Spunky's Robot Messenger Bag?  I entered it in an online contest.  They just announced the winner.  It wasn't me.  I wasn't in the top 10 either, but am I surprised?  Nope!  ...I digress...  Back on topic:

I was going to make the closure something different, but Spunky asked me for Velcro - he wanted it to be just like his book bag.

I made the lining for the bag out of a thin vinyl table cover.  (Found it at a thrift store.  I know, you're shocked, right?)  I was a bit concerned that it wouldn't be strong enough to withstand a year of lunches with Spunk, but it's held up for a week.  So far so good.  Just got to remember not to put it in the dryer if I wash it (hmmm...do any of you know if those table covers can be washed in a machine?)!

This is my favorite part of the bag.  The cute little name tag.  I wrote on the other side with a fabric pen (did you know they come in fine tips, just like a real pen?!!  I was so super excited when I found that out!) and stuck it on the bag with a fun little blue cable tie.

So that's all I've got to show you of the lunch bag.  I found a great tutorial for a reusable sandwich wrap, and I have some bits of robot fabric left over (and a TON of that ugly-ish green stuff I used for the lining), so maybe I'll make some of those.  Not today, though.  I'm ready to make some more toys!

Have a Hippity hoppity happy happy day!!!
:) Caren

Picking Photos for Purse Week!

As I said in my previous post, I'm going to enter A Lemon Squeezy Home's Purse Week challenge. It's a sort of on-line competition of the crafty type. So the first thing I had to do was figure out what to enter. My first entry will be this robot bag.

It's a messenger bag I made for my Spunky's first day of kindergarten (which happens to be today!).

The thing is, I can only enter 2 - 3 photos. So which should I choose? I need HELP here, folks. Which photos are the most eye-catching of these? Or should I take different photos? Any input would be appreciated!!!

Did I mention the lining is ALIENS? Talk about a little boys' dream bag!

I love this "model"! He's so...SPUNKY!!!

Which of these photos "sells" this bag? I'd love to hear from you!

Getting Ready to Compete

I am super excited! I'm going to try my hand at a fun online contest sponsored by "A Lemon Squeezy Home", for their PURSE WEEK! I'm working on two entries - I'll post about them soon!!!! I've never competed in anything like this before - I'm looking forward to it (don't really expect to win - there are some AMAZINGLY talented people out there) but it will be (as Spunky says) "FUN FOR ME"!!!

Here's a sneek peek at one of them:

Gotta run - I hear my sewing machine calling...

~ Caren

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The E Bag

Here's my very late post about last Christmas. See, I was very pregnant (I had Sprout on January 7th), so I was in my crazy phase. Some women nest, I sew. Simple, right?
Well, anyway, I wanted to give a special handmade gift to my sister so I made her a monogrammed tote bag.
She came to cold and dreary Ohio (from her cozy home in Florida) to help me out when Sprout was born, and I was hoping to get this super special gift to her for a Christmas/thank you gift.

I did not take pictures of this bag before I gave it to her, but she is an awesome photographer, so when I asked her to send pictures she sent these. Sweet, huh? I love the monogram, it was all done by hand. Glad my name doesn't start with an E or I might have been tempted to keep it. (Kidding - only kidding! Sheesh, what kind of person do you think I am?!!!)

(I really love this photo)

My First Messenger Bag

A friend saw some of my work and asked if I'd make her a pink messenger bag. I've never made one, but I'm always up for a challenge, so I said yes (enthusiastically - she watches all three of my kiddos for fun)! My friend and I both share a love for God and a gift of music. If you look closely, you'll be able to see a bunch of references to the musical theme...

I started with a plaid upholstery fabric (from my "big find" at the thrift store) that reminds me of a picnic. I wanted it to be a "pink" bag, but my friend is not a huge ruffles and lace girly girl (kind of like me) so I went a little less frilly with this one - but cute, none the less! Here's the front flap. I wanted a design that made sense both right side up AND upside down (for when you open it up). So the flowers actually look like flowers right side up, but upside down they are actually eighth notes!

Here's what it looks like when you open the flap. On the pocket is another cute little flower, complete with treble clef!

And would it be complete without a bass clef? I think not! We are, after all, pianists.
All of my stems and clefs are hand-embroidered with a "wrapped stem stitch", which is a two part process. First, I did the stem stitch, then I went back over the stem stitch and wrapped the thread like the stripes on a candy cane. The flower stems are all the same color, but I tried something different with the clefs - stem stitch in one color, and wrapping in a contrasting color. Pretty cool effect - I was impressed, as I had never tried that before!

Here's a better view of the sweet interior pocket. It's made out of an upholstery fabric sample. Too bad I only had one sample - I would have loved to make this into the exterior of a different bag. I'm really excited that it matches so well, though.

One thing I will explain here (because I've been asked) is how I construct my handles/straps. Here's a picture. This is how I did my twins Iris Bag (see my previous post), and how I've done a few others, using a grosgrain ribbon. I am not big on making tutorials (I save that for the pros), but I've never seen one for this type of construction, so since a picture is supposedly worth a thousand words, here you go:

See? In this strap I wrapped some quilt batting inside a stretchy jersey knit (REALLY STRETCHY!), then sewed that fabulous grosgrain ribbon on top of that "batting burrito". I don't usually use batting for the handles, but a messenger bag usually sits on your shoulder with only one strap so there's only one point of contact - might as well be comfy, right?

And lookie lookie! The flowers match my peonies! Yay for ant plants and fun sewing projects (not necessarily in that order)!

So Sierra, thanks for having fun with my kids - I hope you're really truly blessed by this bag!!!

By the way, this is the first time I've joined a link party, so if you're visiting from A Bowl Full of Lemons, WELCOME!


PS - I got the straps too long originally, so I ended up shortening them. I added another fun little monogrammed flower, as well as my very first label! Check 'em out!

I know, it's hard to tell from this photo, but it says "cadamsCREATIONS"!

My Twin Loves Irises

Irises make me think of my twin sister. Last month I inherited two tops with irises on them, so I decided to make "something" for her. But what? After thinking about it for a while I decided to make the irises on the white cable-knit sweater into some kind of applique. Knit is tricky - it unravels quickly! I serged the edges and attached it to a plaid pillowcase that I had made out of an oversized button-up shirt. And as Spunky says "voila!" (actually, he says "wall-LAH" - he's only 4, you know?!).

I am learning a bunch of embroidery stitches right now, but this is not my handiwork (I'm pretty sure this one is machine embroidered, but it's pretty!).

The other top was a butter yellow t-shirt with an assortment of flowers (including said iris). My twin loves yellow. I hate yellow. But neither of us can WEAR yellow. So I made this adorable bag. Yes, adorable - even if it IS yellow! And the interior is a purple cotton with a textured look, with a VERY dark purple pocket.

You can't really tell from the picture, but this bag is about the size of one of those recyclable bags you get from the grocery store. What's that? About 18"x15" with a 3" bottom or so?

Check out that great ribbon - I got it at Hobby Lobby for 50% off. Gotta love a sale!

I experimented with a different type strap construction for this bag - I sewed the ribbon on one side and the other side is just the yellow cotton jersey left over from the t-shirt. I made it so you could see a little yellow on either side of the ribbon for contrast, and the ribbon (grosgrain) helps keep the jersey from stretching. I think it turned out pretty good. The only thing on this one that was a bit wonky was the graphic, which did not end up completely centered, and the magnetic purse snaps, which were kind of mis-aligned.

Oh well - I never said I was perfect :)

Hedgehog Bag

My sister has hedgehogs. Yes, real pygmy hedgehogs. So I made her this bag. All the fabric (houndstooth on the outside, and pandas on red background for the lining) was donated by a friend (who also helped me put it together). The cute little Anne Geddes hedgehog in the picture was a thrift store find (what a find!).

This is the hedgehog applique that I put on the front. Cute, huh?

Doesn't that hedgie look comfy?