Rockabilly purses

I love creative customers!  And this one was a great one to work with.  She decided on seven different purse designs, most of them Rockabilly inspired.  This was the concept collage we came up together.

 

I knew the hardest purse would be the one with the sparrows.  I was fairly confident that I could come up with something on my new Silhouette Cameo.  My ideas were to either use vinyl as a stencil and paint on the sparrow, or to use heat transfer.  This is the free sparrow vector graphic that I found online.  Adam (my husband) and I both have limited vector abilities, but our combined efforts worked well.  Adam simplified the graphic, and then I figured out how to make it compatible with the Cameo software. 

 Here is a progress photo of the purses.

 And after several miserable attempt at cutting out a sparrow, I finally figured out the vector program and got this to cut out successfully (with only a little hiccup on the tail from a lump in the vinyl).

 I experimented with both fabric paint (fail for several reason, mostly that the vinyl really liked being stuck to the glitter vinyl), and heat transfer.  I had to be really careful to not scorch or melt the glitter vinyl.

 Sewing a couple layers of glitter vinyl is tricky, so sewing these purses wasn't a walk in the park.  I'm really happy with the final order.

 Some close-ups.

I think my customer will be happy!

Purse Week Top 10!

My teal purse that I entered into Purse Week got into the Top Ten! If you're interested in voting for me head over to here and cast your vote.  I think voting goes through Monday the 22nd. Thanks!

Purse Week

It's that time of year again--Purse Week!  The blog Lemon Squeezy Home does a Purse Week each year where people can enter with bags they have sewn and win prizes.  I think I've joined each year.  This year my real motivation was to make a new purse for myself.  My son was recently pottytrained and so now I have both kids carry a backpack with their sippies and other stuff.  So I needed a smaller purse!  I have only a few things that I carry in a purse: my wallet, kindle, phone, keys, checkbook, pen, and hand sanitizer.

 

 

I took my machine to the shop on Monday and they told me it would take 5 days to work on.  I got out my old machine, which is slow and clunky and can't really sew a straight line, and managed to make this purse.  The next day I was shocked when they called me and said my machine was done, so I hurried out to get it, because I couldn't handle sewing on my old machine for any more projects!

 This fabric is a gorgeous embroidered wool blend, and sadly I am at the tail end of it.  I didn't even have quite enough for the gusset. The front has a pocket for my keys and phone.  The back has a zippered pocket for my kindle.

 The inside has a small zipper pocket for chapstick or any other small things. 

 And because I have kind of sloped shoulder and purses slide right off at the most inconvenient times, I made a crossbody strap.  I had to knot the top because it's too long, so I'll probably end up shortening it, but I just haven't done that yet.

 The purse ended up being really cute and really comfy to carry around.  It's just a smidgeon too small, so I have to work hard to get everything in it.  Because I also considered this purse a prototype for a new design for my shop, I decided to keep going and make another one.  This one is three inches wider but the same height.  My husband thinks it's a little too wide, but I actually like it.  I do intend to have the gusset go all the way around for the next one I make.  I decided to use the woven style that I use for many of my clutches in order to transfer it from a fun purse to something unique.

 I really love the handle--it's faux leather and slightly adjustable.

 It also has everything the other purse does--front slip pocket, back zipper pocket, inside zipper pocket, and a recessed zipper to look extra nice. 

I'll definitely be making more of these!  I think I only need to make a few adjustments to make them perfect.

So I think the teal one will be my first entry, and for my second I think I'll use one of my clutches.  I'm still debating, but I think it will be this one:

Fun things in my studio

I have known for awhile that my storage system for my purses was really flawed.  Purses were getting squished, finding them was difficult at times, and one of the places I stored them was right next to a vent, so I was concerned about lint.  So I did some internet research, and ultimately decided that shoe storage was the chepapest and most efficient way to go.  I ultimately bought four of these shoe shelves from Target, each with 15 slots.  I stacked them all up in the corner where I used to have a normal bookshelf full of purses.  We bolted it to the wall.

 I love it!  Most slots can fit two purses, but a one style fits 3 to a slot, and one style only fits one to a slot.  I don't have much more room left for more purses, but they are small enough that I could probably fit one or two in my dining room if necessary.

 And I do plan on filling more!  This is a shelf I bought last month specifically for storing in progress purses.  I'm not even sure how many purses and wallets are cut out on this shelf!  I'm having a slow time working through them, because I always have current orders, but it helps a lot to have them already cut out and interfaced.

 Here's a fun toy I bought last month.  I may not use it much for my business, but I already have a few ideas.  It's a Silhouette Cameo, which is a cutting machine.  I know I'll be using a lot for cutting out quilt appliques and Christmas gifts.

 Here's something I made that I may use for the shop.  I use these postcards to close the tops of my packages.  I tried cutting out one, and I think it looks kind of cool!

 Here is a collage of bridal orders for the last month or so.  It was a busy month! 

 And here is a collage of individual purses that I added to my shop or made for custom orders this month.

And lastly, I hit a big milestone this month!

500 sales on Etsy since starting just over 2 years ago!