No Fear

No Fear.  I think of the Terri Clarks song as I type this.  What ever happened to Terri Clark?  Is she still around?  Great voice.  Great song.  Taking the hint from a few of the other blogs I follow, I am pushing past this thing called fear.   Sounds silly, but I guess this is what kept me from doing some of the things I reeeeeallllllly wanted to do with my bags.  Every time I'm in the magazine section at Barnes and Nobel or JoAnn Fabric I scan the shelves for the lates issues of Stitch, Haute Handbags, Altered and the like.  Sometimes I buy them, sometimes not.  They are more like investments (cost) in books rather than the latest issue of a magazine you would just pick up.  Each time I flip through the pages of handcrafted inspiration I imagine my work on the pages.  I designed and sold an awesome, unusual garage sale/vendor style apron years ago.  I wanted to submit it to the Apronology magazine for years.  Years.  Really.  I would look at the magazine, read about the submission deadline, and watch it come and go.  Last month, when scanning the pages, there it was.  My apron.  Well, not MY apron, but a version of it.  What was I expecting?  It had been years.  I sold them to shop owners, teachers, etc.  But never submitted my work.   Well, I guess that was the first kick in the butt I needed.  So, I finally did something about it instead of looking and longing.  I kicked myself in gear and got my "shit" together and submitted some Shelly Jack Handmade bags!   Wooop Woooop!!!!  Three cheers for me!! Lol :)  Who knows what will come of it.  Maybe publication, maybe rejection and nothing at all.  But the feeling of accomplishment that I am floating on right now is worth all of it.  I have to say it was scary, stressful, a lot of hard work, and intimidating.  The very day that I decided to submit my work, I saw a bag almost identical in theory (and a bit in appearance) to mine in a different publication.  Seriously.  And, the persons pic/pattern was from my home town.  Yep.  AND, my bag was created last June, posted all over my blog and store and FB, hers, later in the fall.   I screamed, kicked, cried, pouted, and then said NO..."f%## it"!!  I'm sending it in.  Everything in me was screaming to send MY bags in.  So I did =)  SO I DID.  OMG  LOL.  Stay tuned :)

The smaller bag is my own hand painted sunflower.  I'm taking pre orders over at my etsy shop  if you'd like your very own.  I will also take orders for the larger one as well.  Just send me a message.  That one is hand appliquéd from designer quilted fabric.  Ok, well we shall see where this leads.  I feel braver already.  No Fear.  :)

Seems More Like Fall

...Than Spring time.  So, in sticking with the fall feel, I pulled the paints out and started practicing for fall bag artwork.  Almost finished with a stack of bags and wallets for the shop.  Will be photographing this weekend and have them up in my etsy shop next week.  Busy busy.  Good busy.

Heading North

Making the turn back north. Vaca over. Florida you are good to us.

 Finished painters cloth beach blanket being modeled by my adorable niece Vivi!

Love

My new dress form model!  A giant headless Barbie doll to dress up!!  Lol  I am seriously in love with this :)

Thinking Ahead...

...to warmer weather and the beach!  Finished these two Amy Butler Weekender bags that I started a few years (yes, you read that right, years) ago.  I really love how they turned out.  The floral one I used all the Peltex interfacing called for and broke two needles in the  process.  With the black quilted I did not use a liner or interfacing at all.  I sewed extra wide bias tape around the seams on the interior to give it a nice clean finish.  These bags are awesome.  I can't wait to make another one.

 I'm also working on a beach blanket using fat quarters and a painters drop cloth.  I found the tutorial over here and can't wait to get this going! Here's the fabric I'll be using.

Happy Sunday!  Hope your week is productive and kind.  Can you believe it's already March?!!  Crazy!

Pink Happiness

Settling in and straightening up the sewing space!  I'm in love with my new pink tool box & hammer!!  Perfect for my leather, stud and bag crafting.  Mr. husband put together a new storage cabinet for me and tonight we will be putting together a work bench table.  Good things ahead!

Video!

Video attempt here.  On the road again with Mr. Husband.  Have Vitamix, will travel :)  I can honestly say that this has to be one of the best purchases I have ever made.  The smoothies are so vitamin full and healthy it's crazy.  Yummy to boot!  Hopefully this video shows how easy it is to do this.  Note:  no I am not pregnant, that black bulge is an up close shot of what is known as "muffin top", hence, the Vitamix & walking!! Have a fabulous week!