Sunday, August 16, 2009

Flowers and a bag!

This past week I've been a busy girl! I sold my first bag and a few vintage patterns. *insert happy dance here*

I've also been crafting quite a bit. Last weekend, I bought Crafty Pod author Diane Gilleland's book, Kanzashi In Bloom. Her step-by step photo illustrations and concise instructions make this book very easy to follow, and encouraged me to dive right in!


Below are her book and my first two victim, er... volunteer fabrics!



Here are my first three blooms. The top (all red) uses the pleated petal technique, the dark flower is folded in the rounded petal style, and the dual-colored bloom is a mix of rounded and pointed petals.



I'm still busy finishing up a few bags, so I haven't finished and embellished them yet, but I will soon, and I'll make some more colorful friends for them to hang out with!

Speaking of which, here's one of those bags in process. I'm defining it as an "art bag." It will be a wristlet, but it's my first, and I'm making it up as I go. I knew I wanted something pretty and a bit frilly when I picked the little fabric scraps out of my stash. The flower and ribbon fabric was from a friend who was giving away some of her scraps. It's just darling, isn't it?
It turns out that this fabric was actually a fabric sample from a little French Linens shop here in town. It made me feel extra good about this purse to know that I was re-using something that otherwise might have gone in the trash.



I decided I wanted to throw some purple in there, so I quilted the bottom in a harlequin-style diamond pattern. I also used up the last of the purple ribbon that decorated my SIL's purse.



The lace I recently found at a former gas station now crammed full of estate sale finds in a tiny little town 15 miles north of me. It just screamed, "Put me on the frilly wristlet!"

Ok! Ok! Who am I to say no? Sheesh!



The pearls and the ribbon wanted to be part of this particular pretty, so there they are, on the little wristlet. The pearl buttons were from a vintage lot of buttons I purchased a while ago on Ebay.

I've got to get back to it, so thanks for reading, and ta ta for now!


1 comment:

  1. Yaaaaay! I'm so glad you enjoyed the book, and your flowers turned out beautiful. Thanks for showing all those petal styles!

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