Lately...

 Lately I've been creating some digital patterns to be printed onto fabric.  It first started out as a hand drawn sketch and then I scanned it into the computer and manipulated the background.  I have a couple of screens being made for a few other designs that have been swirling around in my head.  I think a good mix of screen printing and digital printing is where I'd like to be.

What have you been up to lately?

Arrow Coin Purse

I made a new coin purse from this beautiful fabric that I adore so much!  When I was teaching myself how to sew, the first thing I made was a framed clutch and at that time framed purses were the only thing I wanted to learn how to make so I bought all kinds of frames.  Do you remember the way bubba talks about shrimp in forest gump?  Well, that's how I feel about my stash of frames.... I have tiny frames, wooden frames, skinny frames, silver frames, flexi frames, gold frames, round frames, square frames... see what I mean?  So in honor of the "use what you have" approach I will be making framed clutches here and there until my stash is gone.

Are you a use what you have kind of girl?  Or do you tend to buy over and over again like me?

A dose of pretty...

This fabric makes my heart sing.

Hand Printing

I've finally cracked open my Field Guide to Fabric Design book to learn a few things about hand printing on fabric.  I feel like I have a lot to learn but I guess that feeling is a part of the journey to  learning something new.  Have you done block printing before?  Any suggestions on the best route to go?  Rubber stamps vs. linoleum?  Any particular brand of ink that works best?  Would love to hear your suggestions.

Classic

thinking of all of those fancy parties and festivities for the holidays, this clutch will be in the shop sometime this weekend   Now! : )

Pinterest Moodboard

I just finished putting together a moodboard for something a little special  that's going on.  After it's complete I will share everything but until then have a look at the rest of the lovely images I put together over on pinterest.

lately...

Lately I've been working on a clutch for my very best friend whom I've known since kindergarten(29 yrs).  She recently pledged graduate chapter of a sorority (delta sigma theta), and their primary colors are crimson and white.  She's been trying to get her hands on any and everything with red on it, so I'm making this red clutch for her, and the brown and black clutch was experimental.  Any interesting projects you're working on?

# icandoit365

There is a chat going on today at 1pm eastern time on twitter with Oh My! Handmade Goodness and Brett from iamthelab.  The chat is about how to build a blog you love and following through with your vision.  The part that I'm curious about is the #icandoit365 project.  Meaning you can blog 365 days with careful planning.  This project is geared towards shop owners, or people who intend on opening a handmade business, but I imagine anyone can benefit from it.  If you are reading this post after the fact, #OMHG posts the minutes a couple of days after making it easy for you to catch up on what you've missed.

I'm not sure if I will commit to 365 days of blogging but it definitely sounds like a great networking opportunity and a great way to connect with other people in the handmade community.

Sewing: Americana Clutch

Inspired by the fourth of July and the olympics, I made this clutch.  I love how it turned out especially the zig zag stitching down the middle : )

I also wanted to share a few business links with you guys that I thought were pretty helpful.

the key to success that most designers fight to avoid

your product: sell what you love

9 tips for opening your own etsy store

Happy reading!

Sewing: Hand Embroidered Floral Pouch

What I'm realizing is that it's much more enjoyable for me to embellish/alter fabrics rather than just sewing up the fabric as is.  I think that's why I love the idea of embroidering.  It's a simple way to convey a message big or small.  I made this hand embroidered floral pouch because I love all things botanical and I love collecting artwork, books, and clothes with some sort of floral aspect to it. So you'll probably be seeing a lot more floral work but this time I think I'm going to use brighter colors.  With this pouch I was going for more of a very feminine and sweet look : - )

Opening Up Shop

I have a few sample sale clutches that I will be putting in the shop over the next couple of days.  This clutch above was made from 70s vintage fabric and the black band is made from organic canvas.

The two clutches below have a leather band with a recessed zipper.  If you are interested you can always e-mail me here or wait for them to go into the shop : )

Weekend Sewing: Liberty of London

I just love this print from liberty of london!  It's so happy and summery but of course I'm a sucker for anything floral really.  Have a wonderful weekend! : )

Sewing: Illustrated Tote Bag

It's still cloudy and rainy here so getting a good picture in natural lighting is almost impossible.  However, I couldn't wait to show you the tote bag that I've been working on and I've decided on a date to open the shop which will be June 12(final answer).   : )

Setting goals through blogging

There's a tropical storm hovering over us on this fine memorial day so there's nothing but on-again off- again rain, and little bursts of sunshine here and there.  Rainy days like these makes for the perfect time to get lost in blog land.  In doing so, I found this post: What's Next? So you quit your day job now what?  by Melanie of Inward Facing Girl.  She had very detailed goals on how she was going to get from point A to point B with her start-up business.  Needless to say it got me thinking...

Do you believe that blogging about your goals is more effective than writing them down in your personal notebook?   I'm assuming it might hold you more accountable, what do you think?

Summer Ready {Cosmetic Pouch}

I'm working on some cosmetic pouches for the shop.  I don't really have an official launch date so I think I'll just gradually add items in to kind of get familiar with everything.

Tulip Coin Pouches {personalized}

I finally finished up the coin pouches for mother's day!  I've packaged them up and shipped them out to North Carolina this morning.   After doing french knots for the S I decided to do an applique version for the B and then I hand stitched  around the edges.   I really LOVE  the overall feel of these pouches, kinda classy you know?   It's perfect for holding cards, money, lipgloss and your phone. I will definitely be making one for myself.

If you are interested in one for yourself, a loved one, bridal party or just as a thinking of you gift,   I have decided to start taking custom orders for this item.  I will be selling these coin pouches in the applique version.  You can e-mail at [toridw@gmail.com] if you are interested.  Here are the specs:

Personalized Tulip Coin Pouch
- Zip Top
-Genuine Leather, Linen
-Interior- Linen
-5 1/2"H, 6"W

Sew Cool

alright, don't laugh ; ) but this was my attempt at sketching out this idea I had of a really cool girl carrying some fabric and her sewing machine. I contacted Brooke, who has a wonderful shop on etsy full of beautiful illustrated artwork, and asked her if she could do a custom design for me.  She said yes and got right to work.

Here are a couple of rough sketches Brooke did.  When she sent the first set of images over it was almost perfect.  The only changes I wanted to make were to take away her smile, and I wanted the sewing machine to show instead of it being in a case.

after the artwork was finalized, it was time to add color.

This was the final image that I decided on until I started shopping around for a screen printer.  Come to find out, we had way too many colors and it would have been way to difficult to print every color : (  

I would hate to see her go to waste so I'm thinking about doing some note cards/stationary with this print.

 We changed the color palate to something a bit more simple  and voila!!  She's ready to be printed on to some fabric so that I can make some tote bags : )   Now, if only I can come up with a name for her.  Any suggestions? 

Thanks again Brooke for all that you've done.  You are very easy to work with and your quick responses to e-mails are much appreciated!  

Brooke elsewhere:

Shop:  Brooklit | Twitter | Blog | Facebook

Movin' on up: Canon EOS 1000D

So I got my Mother's day gift a little early this year and I literally feel like a kid at christmas time!  I've been plotting on getting a new camera for quite some time now so I figured mother's day would be the perfect time to get one.  Besides, who could say no to that for mother's day?  It's Mother's Day!  The other thing that's on my list is a new sewing machine that embroiders but after reading  Nancy's post on her camera recommendations, I decided to get the camera first.   So glad I did : )  How about you?  Do you prefer getting your gifts the day of or are you anxious like me and try to get it as soon as possible?

Work in Progress: Sewing with Leather

I just received a small shipment of leather in the mail today (so excited!).  I'd really like to incorporate more leather into my clutch designs.  I think a good mix of fabric and leather would be perfect!  When I finish with a few designs I will share them with you (as always)  : )

Going out

Today is me and Chip's 9 year anniversary so I made a fold over clutch with some of my favorite fabric to take with me to dinner.  I used the inspiration board that I made here as my guide : )