Weekly Quote

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive.---C. S. Lewis

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Sew, Sew Finale

Finally, I whipped up this little number.

No pattern...I just cut and sew until I get a shape I like.

More old jeans, vintage rickrack and lace, an old belt, a recycled zipper, and lined with an old patchwork cotton skirt.


The front pockets are not functional but the back pockets are.

And the fly is a zippered pocket!

Hanging from the zipper is a tassel of multi-colored ribbon and an animal print scarf torn into ribbons.

Wild Thing nabbed this bag but I will be making more for sale. If you want one of your own you can always contact me with a special order.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Sew, Sew II


This hobo bag features a reproduction mid-century atomic bark cloth with a nubby texture, more of the vintage lambskin leather, and a funky leather and torn silk fabric tassel.  The colors of this bag make it very versatile.
 
Check out this lining! New cotton fabric; this will be some of the last new fabric I will use in my purses. I have been bidding on (and winning) vintage fabrics for my future creations. Soon all my purses will be from upcycled and/or vintage fabrics.

If you are interested in this purse you will find it here.


Sunday, February 20, 2011

Sew, Sew

This past week, inaddition to nursing a cold cast upon me by my evil children, I have been designing and sewing new purses for spring.

This a structured satchel made from a pair of my daughter's jeans and embellsihed with gorgeous lace from a vintage wedding dress and lambskin leather from a vintage coat.

The jean pockets are still functional and very handy for the cellphone, business cards, and keys.
     
Check out the lining. It is a vintage cotton with a western motif!

And the bottom and handles are lambskin leather.
I have claimed this one for my spring bag but I will be making more; each will be a one-of-a-kind creation--different jeans, different embellishments!

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Headpins

The last few days I have been making 20 gauge headpins with red brass (bronze) and copper wire.

I became mesmerized by the melting metal.

I didn't want to stop.




I made several hundred of these ball-end red brass headpins.

 One hundred are on their way to Canada.







Next I hammered the ball to make these flattened paddle headpins.






I loved the paddle headpins so much I made them into a pair of cute little earrings.








And finally I tried my hand at making rosey copper ball-end headpins.

Did you know that the color of the copper ball depends on how you quench them? To get the rosy color you immediately quench in water and to get the black ends you let them cool in the air.

Want some of your own? The headpins can be purchased at Watergirl Supply and the earrings are for sale at Donna Gunn.