A lovely purse as a gift November 12, 2009

 

S- 03, white chrysanthemum with purple and beaded border

It goes without saying that I believe this is my best purse creation yet!

I actually embroidered the design of the actual purse and had sewn it into the right shape some 2 months ago.  But I was missing putting it on the frame.  I knew when I made it that it was going to be for my aunt.  She picked the flower design herself.  However, as I lost my job, I knew that my gift giving would be limited as I’d eventually become strapped for cash.  So this year I know a lot of people will be getting handmade things from stuff I have on hand.  Its a good thing that I’m so handy!    

Tomorrow is my grandmother’s birthday.  I’m going to try and put together a coin purse for her.  They are small and very cute.  Not sure what design to put on it.  The purse my grandmother currently has that I made was the first of my creations.  She is so very proud of it and shows it off every chance she gets.  

A rose by any other name… August 18, 2009

Making these purses has been an interesting adventure.  I’m not sure many of those who heard the idea when I was brainstorming quite got what I was hoping to do.  Thankfully, I’ve been able to create that which I had in mind into what I’ve been sewing up.  My sis in law was probably one of the few who actually understood what I’d wanted to do and was also one of the most vocal about demanding that a purse be made just for her. 

Now, I had a dilemma when making a purse for her.  You see, in my household there are two Dianas (my mother and my sister in law).  We have to refer to them differently and they are actually very different in stature and temperament, so there is never any confusion once you get to know them.  However, both love red roses.  It came as no surprise that my sister in law fell in love with the design I’d made for my mother.  She blatantly hinted that that was what she’d wanted for herself as well.  But, alas, I am one of those individualistic artists that refuses to have two women that are close have the same purse.  I had to then find the perfect design for my sister in law.  I’m happy to report that I think I did just that. 

S-02; white & red rose bouquet

 

I’m a little late in posting about this.  I mailed this to my sister in law together with some Mary Kay products she had ordered at the same time I mailed out the other purse I’d made for my favorite stalker a few weeks ago.  It was quite funny when my sis in law called and spoke to me, all I could hear was her squealing “I LOVE IT! I LOVE IT! IT’S SOOOOOO PRETTY! OMG!!”  For a moment I’d forgotten what she was even talking about! lol  But then I remembered it was the purse. 

She’s been so delighted with it that she pretty much carries it around everywhere she goes.  Someone tried to buy it off of her, too.  So I’ll take that as a compliment.

A purse without an owner July 24, 2009

When I learned of the fact that I was terminated from my job, I was very much upset.  To keep myself together, I decided that I was going to just keep my hands and mind busy.  It helped because I didn’t break down and I was able to keep working to make the purse which I believe is my best work as far as construction goes. 

I had to work with what ribbons I had on hand, as the latest shipment of ribbons had not arrived yet.  I’m very glad I completed it.  I really do love how this purse came out.  There is the possibility of my keeping it but then I know that I’ll be in love with my next purse creation too.  This one should go out in the world.  The purse, unlike the other ones I have to create for the next 3-4 purses, does not have a previous owner.  So if you wish to purchase this design, or know someone who would love it, please let me know!

G-03: Old gold handle w/ gorgeous sunflower; pink lining

A purse for my favorite stalker July 16, 2009

When it comes to friends, I have two girlfriends whom I love more than life itself.  I met them both when I was an early admittance freshman in college.  One of them is my sis-in-law and the other says that, because of that family relation, Dee counts more like a sister and less as a friend… so that makes her my one true best friend.  I let them squabble over me but I love my girlies to death.  We don’t even live close to one another but we’re constantly in contact whether its via MSN or tweets (and sometimes tweets that seem like an MSN conversation).  Recently my peeping stalking friend moved to Arkansas and launched a whole other blog to show her exploration of her new surroundings using her hillbilly alter-ego.  (We all have one! So don’t even pretend like you don’t!  I’m EmmaLee and I can tease my hair and get that hick twang like the best of them!) 

So, needless to say, she’s super supportive of all my endeavors.  She’s one of my best customers when it comes to Mary Kay products and she’s been nagging me to make her a purse since I made the first prototype.  I used that to my advantage and told her she’d take what I gave her and she’d like it too!  I didn’t let her pick her design aside from a choice between daisies or sunflower since I wanted to make a purse but have to work with the threads and ribbons I already had while my latest shipment of ribbons came in. 

The end result is just beautiful.  I have to say that my embroidery work is getting better with every purse I make.  I’m learning new techniques and perfecting old ones.  I still need to perfect the sewing and construction of the purse itself but I’m learning to sew in straigher lines!  seriously, check out the label:

 

(even if the placement of said label is slightly too much to the left)

 

I also put to test the validity of the “washable” part to the fabric marker.  But it is a wonderous thing… just a dab of water and it gets erased!  I had to place and replace the patterns but I’m very happy with the final product.  I had to hand bead each little X but it’s well worth the effect. 

Purse S-01

I hope she likes it, but if she feels it’s not right for her, then I guess it’ll go into reserve until the time I’m ready to sell these beauties.

A purse masterpiece! July 5, 2009

I’m aware that with every purse creation I will likely find it to be my masterpiece.  Since the grand total of purses I’ve made comes to two, this latest one truly is the best one I’ve made so far.  I can say that with all honesty.  Honestly, I can only hope that each purse truly gets my full love and devotion upon completing them. 

Anyway…

Most of you are anxious to see this one.

I made it for my mom.  The first one was a sort of practice purse.  My mom used it for an activity and then I gifted it to my grandmother.  She uses it to go to church and loves it.  With the one for my mother, I had to be rather precise when it came to it’s crafting since she was specific as to what design, fabric and metal she wanted.   I often stopped along the way to consult with her colors for ribbons and design for borders, even doing some designs on the side to practice before actually applying it to the purse pattern.  The new moire material I got is different from the one I got online and it really marked too easily, so it left me no room for error when placing the needle. 

I even managed to get my sewing machine to behave and not chew up my fabric!  So this one was done with the machine in the parts that could be done with it.  Because of this, not every stitch is straight, like here with the label:

Lining & Label

Its better than nothing and SO much easier than trying to do it by hand, lemme tell you!

But let me stop talking about the purse and get to actually showing you:

G- 02 Completed!

I even got the idea of a special little detail for every purse that get all personally made/designed by me:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pretty, isn’t it?