New Bag

I took apart one of my purses (it was looking ratty) and used it as a pattern to make a new one. I should have taken a picture of the original for comparison, but I didn't think of it until after I'd already dismantled it.  I used a navy fabric with tiny yellow polka dots, and I lined it in a solid yellow Kona cotton. I put mid-weight interfacing on the outer shell, I should have used a light-weight interfacing.  Next time. The rings are from the original bag.  It has a zippered closure, like the one Lizy did on my purse.

I even put a little zippered pouch inside.  It my first time ever attempting such a thing, and I'm super pleased with the results!  It isn't perfect, but it works and I learned what to do--and not to do--for the next time.

The pictures aren't the best.  I'll bring it in to the shop for show-and-tell, and for any constructive criticism anyone wishes to offer.  I plan to make several more of these (I discovered this weekend that my fabric stash is a lot more awesome than I thought).  This one already has a home, but I'm hoping to be able to sell some of the others.

Peguy's Maternity Photos

Peguy loved my maternity photos, but my photographer isn't here any more (We miss you Leslie!!) and she couldn't find anyone local who would do it at a reasonable price.  So, I offered to give it a try.  I figured it would be good practice for me, and it would save her some major mulah.  She agreed with me.  Here is a sampling of the results.

I had a lot of fun doing these, and it was a definite learning experience.   And, she is so happy with them that she wants me to do her infant photos when we get to Virginia!  I will have to explore this further...

Peguy and Neil, that you for being my guinea pigs!  I'm looking forward to Round 2 with baby Tyler.  :)

Jessica's Necklace

I finally got the supplies for Jessica's necklace and got it put together.

It can be worn like this

or twisted, like this.

This is the back detail.

Isn't the clasp she picked out great?

Thank you again, Jessica, for my fantastic logo!  It's been a pleasure working with you.  ^_^

New Creations

We still haven't been able to make it back outside to play.  The good news is that it's given me an opportunity to vent my worry over my grandmother through a creative outlet.  Why is it that the negative emotions give rise to such inspiration?  Maybe it's just my way of processing and handling things.  

Anyway, I got a bee in my bonnet and decided to do a bit of painting.  I started this earlier in the week, and I've been working on it a bit every day ever since.  This is the name plaque I made for Elora:

I got the paint, wood letters and wood plaque from the shop, but the wood heart was something that I already had, left over from some other project.  I'm making several of these, but since the rest are gifts, I can't post them until the intended recipients have, well, received them.   Elora's is the only one with the heart, though.

Saturday night, I couldn't sleep, so I stayed up until about 2:30 doing jewelry.  I haven't made any new jewelry in a long time, but I've made quite a bit in the past few days.  Here are the highlights:
 

See the little hand in the bottom left?  Elora didn't want to be left out when we were doing these pictures.

More to come.