More Handbags and Toads

I made three more purses and that will be it for this art fair.  I hope they sell because I want...need...to buy lots of wonderful, quirky, retro, vintage material.  And buttons.  And ribbon.

Check out the button (double click on the picture to enlarge) on the red handbag.  It is the weirdest old button and it was made for this retro mid-century atomic tiki barkcloth. 

Out of no where we have toads. Cute tiny toads. Unexpected.  I wish I could get a picture of them but they  hide out behind cans and rocks and things.  And they are driving Jazzy crazy; she is obsessed.





Earrings, Earrings, Earrings

In case you are wondering whether I followed my schedule and made earrings or deviated and made purses, I followed the schedule.

And here they are.......

This week's project is purses, purses, purses.  One down, five to go!

What is your project for this week?

Donna Gunn Handbags

I spent last week making handbags; I'm very excited about them.  You can see them in person at Village Venture.

Hobo Bags from Donna Gunn Handbags


The purse on the left and in the center is made from upholstery material and the one on the right is upcycled from a jacket (I used the material that was left from the first purse I made). 

Each bag has coordinating cotton lining with a large pocket, a D-ring for hanging your keys and is embellished with MOP or metal buttons from my collection.

Remember the handbag that I entered in the LA County fair?

(Here's a picture of it. )

It received a blue ribbon! I'm excited about that too.

Are you thinking "I have the perfect piece of material for this handbag; I want to make it myself"?  You can get the pattern from JCaroline Creatives. 

And, of course you can always buy one from me at Village Venture or contact me at dgunn43 at aol.com.

The cowgirl material has arrived and my intention is to make hoop earrings this week but I can't get that material out of my head. 

Will I give in and make the cowgirl handbag or will I follow my schedule and make earrings?

What would you do?

Barkcloth

I got up early this morning, 5 a.m., to clean the horses' corral so I wouldn't have to do it once the sun came up.  (Yesterday is was 110oF in lovely So. Cal. and today the forecast is 108oF.)  Oddly it was nice being out at that time of day.  Just enough light to see what I was doing, a warm breeze and three of my favorite companions--Max, Breezy and Tank.

I then got on the computer and bought these fabrics from Etsy for handbags. 

 

They are reproductions of barkcloth designs popular in the 1950's.



Can't wait for them to arrive so I can sew them up.

This one is my favorite, cuz I wanna be a cowgirl!

Do you have a favorite? Which one is it and why?

New Autumn Designs

A preview of new designs I am making for Village Venture...is it already less than a month away?

I love charms and the autumn season so I have been rummaging through my bead boxes for beads and such to make into autumn charms for necklaces.  I scored the mother of pearl leaves from a round robin bead box and the vintage brass chain from Etsy. And aren't the bronze pearls awesome?

Hope to see you on October 23 at the Claremont Village Venture.

Are you working on new designs that celebrate fall?