Winter hat has a new identity

This was a really fun project.  This hat was given to me with a request to make it into a handbag.  It was handmade by my client's mother and she really wanted to put it to use all the time rather than seasonally.  

After a few attempts at integrating this ribbon (which happen to go PERFECTLY), this is what I ended up with. 

a cinched drop carry all with an adjustable strap that can go from wristlet to over the shoulder.   Enjoy Clarissa!

Great with a tank top and jeans.

To detract myself from the fact that I am not keeping up with my yoga I thought some new accessories would be a great way to brighten things up.  

As soon as I saw this Lanvin necklace it reminded me of a piece of my Mom's that I have been hanging on to.

There are two white enameled pieces that came from a necklace and the little "birdie" black and white bits were vintage earrings.  

They are a bit chipped but I love the tracery quality and it reminds me of garden furniture from the 70's

....but I am not so sure about the contrast of the black and white, but I do love the big blue glass beads (I got these in Paris), so I am definately going to keep those.  

Might have to ditch the white pieces and do something else with them. 

to be con't.....

Gift of Love, con't

......and here it is.  I stitched the olive jersey in, using a raspberry colored embroidery thread.  It is nice and thick and adds some texture, as well as color.  Of course because I am paranoid about it going thru the wash I added another round of stitching.  

After a few rounds of washing, not too bad.

Giving a Gift of Love

I wanted to make this shirt as a birthday present.  I saw this technique on Alabama Chanin's site (which I love, check it out www.alabamachanin.com) and figured I would try it.  I got a shirt at Old Navy for around $3.00, input the phrase on the computer, picked a font I liked and printed multiple copies until I found the size I wanted.  You can see below how I cut out the individual letters and placed them on the shirt.  I put a little piece of double sided tape to keep it secure, then carefully and patiently outlined each one in a soft leaded pencil.  

I wanted to outline the letters instead of pinning them to the shirt because it would be easier to move the shirt around when cutting them out.   Here is the shirt with the letters cut out with the other piece of jersey behind it to showcase the letters.  Now I just have to stitch around the letters to secure the jersey in place.  Once I am done I will post the final piece.

Just wanted a new jacket!

We had a warm day today and that always inspires me to clean out my closet.  With that I mean, what can I take that I never wear and then do something to it, so I will start wearing it.  Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't but I never stop trying.  

Here is a brown jacket that I always enjoyed but it was too stiff looking.  I had a shrug from Old Navy (which I never wore) and the color matched great.  I took the sleeves of the jacket and replaced them with the bell sleeves from the shrug.  

I then took the wrap around belt from the sweater and covered the seams to finish it off.  

This was a success and I love it.  A bit more funky and comfortable, perfect for me.  

It's a beautiful day

This is a clutch I made from some spare pieces I had left.  A kiss lock frame recycled from a bag someone was throwing away and some scrap fabric left over from a previous project.  The fabric was only in small pieces so I had to make two panels and join them together in the middle with some black jet glass beads.  This was an experiment that turned out to be quite a nice bag! 

As you will see, this blog is a great way for me to show all the projects I am working on.  My site, for now just shows the bags I design, refashion and make......but there is so much more.  You'll see.  

The idea is to show how easy it is to create from what you already have.  To show the before pictures of the initial idea and to visually see the progress till the final project is done.  

See you later!