It's Fall!

Well, we made it to Fall.  I think.  It's still in the high 80's here where I am.  We actually put our little pool back up for the next few weeks!  My son and his fiance got married last month and it was beautiful!  Now it's time to get back to business.  PS:  Full moon alert!  Now is a great time to do a little ritual with the full moon this Tuesday!  Crafty season is upon us!

Here's the link to where I get most of my Magical Tools Enjoy!

Two Years Later!!

Hello!!!

Well, I'm here to say Hi two years after my last post!  Still creating, painting, traveling and enjoying life.  I'm also incorporating Holistic Healing and Reiki into my repertoire and daily living!  Not long after I started this blog I began working with crystals and sage on a regular basis.  We moved every year for seven years straight so there were lots of energies and places to clear!  Because this ritual of smudging and clearing became a huge part of my life I began to explore further.  Where it has taken me is amazing.  I am so grateful for all that I have learned spiritually, emotionally and even physically and how it has changed my life for the better.  I'm learning and practicing Reiki and now am sharing and empowering others.  I want to share with you my go to place for everything from sage and crystals to oils and herbs and full moon rituals.  I have a few teachers and resources, but this was my first place to shop and learn.  If you purchase anything from my link I will get a small commission.  I hope you find what you are looking for and more here.  I can't recommend her enough.  Sage Goddess 

Hello

I'm back!  What a whirl wind life has been!  New move to Florida, new home and a new sewing studio/room!  Which means sewing and a little painting, along with house renovations, mostly a lot of house stuff.  I'm so glad to be back into a normal routine and doing all the things I love.  It feels good.  It is good.  Thanks for reading!  Here's a small sample of what's been going on creatively lately!  =)

I met Amy Butler!!  Such a sweet soul and an amazingly creative lady.  This was back in September at the SHINE conference.  

A little Flora Bowley  Bloom True E-Course Painting going on (I am an affiliate, check it out!).  Only first layers here.   This was something I had been waiting a long while to be able to do.  I have about six or seven canvases going on right now!  The whole process is amazing.  Very therapeutic.  I love it.  You will see more of the progress here in the coming months.

My first attempt at FPP (Foundation Paper Piecing)

 Second attempt at FPP.  Took a Craftsy class this time.

Birthday presents for my Gators fan nephew! 

Baby gifts.  Divided Basket pattern by Noodlehead.

Moo moo on mannequin.  I wanted a night gown, and that's pretty much what I made.  I wear it when I get out of the shower.  Pattern is below, New Look 6889 View D.

Pajama Eater for my niece.  Had fun with that one!

Bunny obsession.  Pattern by Jennifer Jangles, Little Love Bunnies.

Monsters and Bunnies go together right?  Pajama Eater pattern by Sew Fearless.  

Something for me, Zip and Go Bag.  I'm once again obsessed.  Pattern by Dog Under My Desk.

Found a 'Sewing' lady in the window smack in the middle of Bike Week!!  How cool is that!

Took some time to get grounded and energized under the last full moon.  Spectacular show as usual.   Out of a hundred photo shots that I took, this is the best one.  Really need to learn how to use my camera.   Until next time....Good Night =)

Purse Palooza 2015 Entry

October 21already, wow.  It's been three months since I last blogged.  Three months plus since we've moved to Florida.  And three months of absolute craziness.  All that aside, here is my one and only Purse Palooza 2015 entry this year.  

Picked up the leather from a warehouse in NC.  The hardware is from my stash.  Bag design my own.  

Gypsy Life...

Ahh, the joys of traveling.  Well, we have moved, again, even further south from Tennessee to Florida.  We have been living out of our suitcases for the past month and a half.  Getting lots and lots and LOTS of travel in.  Some work, some vacation.  Zero sewing accomplished but I've got the best natural tan that I have had in decades!  I'm sure we will settle in soon enough, until then, we are enjoying this the best we can.  Hope your summer is going well!

This is just my pile lol.  I am getting much better at it though!

Peek A Boo......Traveler Bag with Super Cute Bling!

Made up a few of my Peek A Boo Traveler bags with super cute bling.  These are great for tossing into a beach/pool bag.  Happy Friday and hope you enjoy a long weekend sewing! =)  If you are interested you can find the pattern over here:

Peek A Boo Traveler Bag Pattern

Peek A Boo Traveler Bag Pattern

Here's what they look like!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Beltane and Bags

Spring has sprung around these parts.  Today is May 1 and Beltane, who knew.   Not something I can say I have previously recognized, but it seems to be popping up all over the social media sites I've been visiting.  And, it is fitting.  It has been a long winter.  It has also been a good long run of bag making and blogging for me.  I started making bags about five years ago and really kicked it up when we moved here to Nashville.  Doing a little Spring cleaning here and getting ready for what the future will bring.  Change.  It feels good.

Here are a couple of bags I just finished.  Love them both.  The white leather bag was made from the Lekala #3015 pdf pattern.  I really love how I managed to salvage this thing and am currently using this bag on a daily basis.  I can not however, recommend this pattern to a normal, non crazy person to attempt!  First off, half of the pieces downloaded in Polish.  Yes Polish.  Now I knew that this was a Swedish based company, but c'mon.  Even Google translator couldn't produce understandable words for me to decipher on the pieces.  Luckily, I happen to be an experienced bag making queen ;) but, this sucker took me four days to complete.  There was one sheet of instructions numbered #1 - #13.  Yep, that's it.  No photos, etc.  Guess I'm spoiled by all the really great bag pattern designers and patterns like Swoon Patterns.

Here it is.

I also made a messenger bag.  Something I have been wanting to do for a while.  Love this one.  It makes me happy.  The pattern I used was the HippieGirl Messenger Bag by Redlabel on Craftsy.  It was pretty easy to follow the instructions, there are no pattern pieces included, just measurements, so I just made my own.  I omitted the ruffle on the flap and knotted handle.   Most of the fabric I used is Amy Butler and Michael Miller.  It calls for 15 different fabrics!  I think I will try this in canvas using maybe only two different colors, or one color with some leather trim.

Well, there you have it.  Happy Beltane,  Happy Spring,  Happy Colors =)

Sew Sporadic!

Looks like my blogging is down to about once a month here lately.  Well, that's pretty much my life any, sporadic.  I love it.  I hate it (the sporadicalness part) sometimes too.  Mostly love it =)  Constantly moving around like a gypsy can wear a girl out!  But, I crave the adventure if I sit around idle too long.  So, I stay thankful, and grateful for it.  Over the last month or so I have gotten back into sewing and thankfully my yoga routine.  Note to self-  Never Ever Ever give up yoga!  After a looong bout of sickness, it feels good great to be healthy again and have some energy.  With that being said, here is some photo soup for you of some of the things I've managed to create.  Hope you are doing well, feeling healthy, energized and creating!  Be inspired!

Loving my new pincushion caddy!!  Free tutorial over here at Sewing by Moonlight.

Cosmo Bag Love!  I have had Amy Butler's Style Stitches book for four years and finally made myself a Cosmo Bag!

The bag I'm carrying right now.  Modified the Noodle-head Pool Side tote by printing out the pattern at 75%, left out the cut out and added a zipper closure.  Leather fringe fob embellishment by non other than Shelly Jack Handmade of course :)

Cate shoulder bag by Swoon.  Have I mentioned how much I adore Swoon Sewing Patterns and Alicia?  Seriously, the Facebook group is awesome.  Simply one of the best if I do say so myself :)  this is my version, quilted Cate, love her!  Fabric panel is Sea Spirits by Laurel Burch for Clothworks.

That's it for now.  Hope you are inspired.  Next up a couple of nice beach hats to keep me cool and protected for all that paddle boarding in my warm future!  See you then!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!  It's been a little quiet around here for the last week or so.  The holidays were great and went by like a whirl wind.  Got to spend some great time with the kids.  That was my favorite.  Cleaned up the decorations and house.  Got sick.  Got better.  All good.  Not too much sewing going on.  Managed to whip up an April Rhodes Popover Poncho out of some great cotton sweatshirt fleece.  Looking forward to wearing this when the temps warm up a bit.  It's so comfy!  Have some cool hikes and walks to look forward to this spring.  Lots of change in the air for this year.  Taking it slow at the start and really enjoying some down time.  It won't last long, but for now, it's great.

Popover poncho.  Pic is poor, sorry.  Poncho is great!

Made a canvas and leather duffle for dad before Christmas.  Swooning over how great it turned out.  You can get the free pattern over here at Sew 4 Home.

Next on the sewing front a Poolside Tote by Noodle-head.  Pleated Tote by Jen Fox.  And, because I can never have too many bags or bag patterns, I'm thinking the Swoon subscription should keep me busy in all my 'spare' time lol.  The beauty of all these pdf patterns is that you can shrink and print them to any size you like.  I'll be modifying my Poolside Tote and making it a tad smaller.  I printed it at 70% and it's the perfect handbag size.  Until next time, have fun checking out the patterns.  I love all of them.  Maybe make a few for yourself :) 

Super Tote Love

Super Tote love.  I did it.  Jumped on the band wagon and made myself a Super Tote.  What can I say, I just love it!  I've been eyeing this bag pattern for a while now and finally decided to just make one already!  The pattern is the Super Tote by Noodlehead.  Some how I see a few more of these in my future.  It's a great size for traveling, which we all know I do quite frequently.  I picked up the red quilted fabric and the holiday fabric for a steal at my local craft store.   For the interfacing I used fusible fleece and it worked like a charm.  Instead of making elastic pockets on each side, I made one and put a pocket for my phone on the other side.  I also added a key fob finder.  I can not stand to use a bag with out one of those now!  Everything came together pretty nicely.  It was a nice slow project for me, I really took my time making this one.  It took me about four days.  To be fair, I actually cut out an entire other bag and fused all the interfacing on, then decided to make another our of red holiday fabric.  So three days all in all.  That's in between cleaning the house, showering, eating etc lol.  Now I have to sew and assemble the other one.  It's a great tote!

Holiday Clutch

Yes, I am obsessed with sewing bags!  We already know that though.  Here is my holiday hand bag.  I am in love yet again!  So, with that being said, I will also enter this into Purse Palooza 2014.  This will be bag number six for me.  Six entries LOL.  Do I feel the need to blog every time I make a bag? No.  But this is the only way I could figure out how to post pics of my entries!  Besides, who doesn't like to admire a handmade handbag!  If you are a bag sewist there is still time to enter your bag creation over at Sew Sweetness Purse Palooza 2014.  Contest runs through November 14th.