Spring is Springing!

Even though Phil was way off the mark, at least here in Pittsburgh, I'm still thinking ahead to spring and summer. With my kids, that means trips to the park, our campsite, and basically just being outdoors as much as possible. That got me thinking about a new bag to carry all the stuff we need for a day outside -- sunscreen, juice boxes, snacks. When they were babies, I'd upgraded from a regular diaper bag to a diaper backpack that allowed me to be completely hands-free. And that's what led me to my newest design -- The Rucksack.

Now, when I think of rucksacks, I think of the German army marching through the countryside. Needless to say, mine is a little more feminine, but every bit as rugged and ready for anything my kids can dish out. Made from upcycled denim, but prettied up a bit with beautiful embroidery, I think this is a great little bag to get me from sun up to sun down and all the points in between without missing a beat.

Like my other bags, I made it a cross-body design so you can be completely hands free, but it's got a solid bottom and sides, so it'll stand up on it's own when you need to dig through it to find whatever you need. And the front outside pocket is a great place to put stuff like your keys and cell phone for easy finding.

The strap is long enough to do whatever you need it to do. This one was a gift-to-self for my birthday, and I've been carrying it for the past week or so to put it through it's paces. I've carried it both on my back & over one shoulder & it's great. It's easy to get into, & I'm always suprised by how much I can get into it! It's great for running to the gym, because I can fit my Kindle, my iPod, snacks for my daughter and myself, my water bottle, and anything else I might need for that day's workout. And if I've got my big gym bag as well, the straps don't interfere since one's on my shoulder and the other's on my back.

I think it's fabulous, but I'd love to hear what you think. Drop me a note and let me know!

Be blessed! :)

My new schtick

My husband calls me flighty, and I'll admit, I'm a little ditzy and absent-minded, but I also enjoy allowing my creative flights of fancy free rein. Lately those flights of fancy have taken me in the direction of fabric, and more precisely, upcycled denim.

Over the summer I saw a bag my sister had made, and my attempt to re-create it let me to use some old jeans that I couldn't bear to part with, but were no longer functional. They were a gift and had sentimental value, so I didn't want to throw them away. I was thrilled to come up with the idea to repurpose them into a fabulous bag. I had so much fun making that one, that I just couldn't stop! Unfortunately, my Kenmore sewing machine just wasn't up to the task. It really didn't like sewing through more than 2 layers of denim. We were having some serious problems. Around that time, I heard about a sewing machine shop closing, so I went in to talk to the sales people about my options. When I found the BabyLock Sofia 2, it was love at first site! The capability to incorporate embroidery into my designs opened the floodgates of creativity. I had so many ideas running through my head it was unbelievable! :)

Of course, finding time to sew, with my kids, husband, opera & my job as a hairdresser, was pretty difficult. Especially trying to learn something new and incorporate it into an already pretty fluid process. Unlike my sister, I'm not big on patterns. Each one of my wallets and bags is created on the fly. I basically sit at my design table and put together an elaborate jigsaw puzzle of denim.

So being able to finish my first embroidered denim bag was awesome! There's so many pre-loaded embroidery designs on my new machine that I haven't even needed to go online to find anything new. I was so thrilled to be able to create something beautiful out of something worn out and useless. And it's so much fun to play with color!

Originally, this first bag was destined for my etsy shop. I even had a name for it: Eternal Springtime in Shades of Purple. But, I love it so much I think I have to keep it! Purple is my favorite color, and I really love how the embroidery turned out. And my first attempt at using hardware in my bags turned out really nicely as well. I love the adjustable strap! And it was amazing being able to take pictures in my basement in the middle of the night with my new photo setup! So many new techniques all coming together at once :)

I've got another bag that I've been working on that I'm planning on calling Celestial Beauty. It's suns, moons and shooting stars in golden tones. Really fabulous. I really want to keep that one, too! :)