Back to School....almost

I have been working on a bunch of custom orders recently, and among them were these three kids backpacks for two different clients. One of them came out a bit off, which means I need to do some dreaded math to refigure how to make it work better (stinking directional fabric!!), but all in all I think they are pretty cute.

My client Heather sent me a bunch of fabric to make backpacks for her twin daughters. She also designed where she wanted each fabric to be used, so it was pretty easy for me!!

A friend I've had for 25 years (YIKES) wanted me to make a backpack for her son who is also entering kindergarten this year....he lives in the country and my dad gives him rides on the tractor when he's over near their house...Both he and my dad are big John Deere fans. =)

Hope they like them!!!

Orange and Fabulous

As I lazily enjoyed my more-or-less last day of summer (did you know that teachers have to go back to school a week before the kids????) I worked on the last of the t-shirt bags today...and for the first time, sold an item on etsy in less than 24 hours! Cool stuff! Here's the bag that sold today (I didn't even have a chance to post it on here!)

And here is the t-shirt bag I finished today! It is lined with very soft sky blue flannel.

Weekend Projects

I can't take pictures of everything because I am running out of buttons (and thread and fabric and ribbon, etc) and I didn't finish everything I needed to this weekend, but here is a preview of what I've been working on...hopefully soon to be posted in etsy.

I also did work on and finish a taggie blanket....I think it's pretty cute. We'll see if it will sell or not. If not, I am getting Christmas presents done left and right!!! =)

School Bag for Me

I bought some material a few months ago to make myself a school bag, but I wanted something a little different, so I waited until I had some ideas and had drawn up a plan. Here is the finished product. There are still a few bugs to work out, and it would hang better if I had a normal sized chest, but I still like it. The color is kind of wrong in some of these pictures, it is a moss green corduroy, lined with very light tan-colored linen, and trimmed with black and gold brocade ribbon.


My first college major was interior design, and my favorite class was drafting, so I tend to use graph paper to sketch out all my designs.


this is pretty close to the actual color


I am kind of proud of the top closures, the design is totally my own. I also borrowed an idea from a blog I saw recently (I can't remember which one, sorry!) and used hair elastics for the button closures. I also learned that you should not iron hair elastics.



I found some 3 packs of caribiners at JoAnns a while ago for a dollar a pack and used one of them for the connection ring.

Finally!

I finally got motivated! I screwed up almost every single thing I worked on, but I did something!! I started with something easy... a pillowcase dress that I think turned out really pretty. I didn't do a traditional pillowcase dress, I threaded the ribbons through the armholes instead of around the neck, and I like the way it looks. And in addition, I didn't have to roll the hem around the armholes...which I HATE doing. Woo hoo!! It's posted on etsy.com if you want more info...

Then, I put together another Gracie Backpack, which is also posted on etsy. I love the colors together and have had the material for a while, so I pulled it out and looked at it, and then realized that the purple material is actually kind of directional, and I of course hadn't gotten the right cut of the fabric. Grrr. So, I had to piece things together, and cut two equal pieces for the shell....and then realized that due to the flap, the seam would not be at the bottom of the bag, but partway up the back. ARGH! Oh well, it all worked out all right. I am getting better at these and I like the way this one turned out. Very sparkly. After sewing the last button on and admiring it, I then realized that since the lining is flannel, I should have prewashed it, because it will shrink if it is washed. Sometimes I get so frustrated doing this it makes me want to poke my eye out.

I also forgot to post this from yesterday. I saw a girl carrying a bag like this and liked hers, so I bought a rug at Big Lots and tried my own. I am not sure how I feel about it yet. I like how heavy duty it is and the fact that it has some give in it, but not too much. On the other hand, I am not a huge fan of the color and I wish the handle was a little different. I am going to let it sit for a while, maybe it will grow on me.

The Gracie Bag...

A few posts back, I talked about a little girl's backpack that I made for a friend of mine. After some discussion over the phone (complicated by the fact that I have no friends with kids that I can use as models and she lives in Texas), we worked out the details on a backpack that will hopefully delight the hearts of small girls everywhere, down the bottom of their sparkly pink and purple hearts. I call it the Gracie bag, after the girl it was originally made for, and I have sold 3 of them so far...here is the updated version!

This is the only picture that shows the back, but all the bags are the same pattern, just different colors and degrees of sparkliness.