Custom Doctor Who TARDIS bag

After making this bag, I told myself that I probably wouldn't do it ever again. But it appears that people really like it and with the impending start of me selling things, I might be forced to make some. This bag has the same structural pattern as the Toile bag on a previous post and I'll put a link to the pattern at the bottom of this page. However, for this bag I altered it in a few ways.

First, I added a custom flap to make it more like a laptop bag. I did not include the magnetic clasp this time because I didn't feel it was necessary for the bag to stay closed. I didn't have any buttons that matched the colors so I custom made some buttons from shrinky dinks and a dalek design I created a while ago. The last alteration was stitching the handles directly into the exterior shell. I was worried about having the dalek buttons hold all the weight so doing this worked out well. I had already topstitched the straps (which isn't required but I hate hand slip stitching) so I ended up having to double over that stitching to attach it to the bag. Somehow, I did that really well, but in hindsight I might have done the topstitching and attaching to the bag in one fell swoop.

The final product with a matching coffee cozy!

There is a double pocket inside the bag

There's a pocket with a ruffle under the flap and these are the custom buttons

Just a little before-and-after of the buttons

I sewed in the flap during the process of attaching the exterior and interior pieces

As promised, this is the free original tutorial. I think this project was good to open my eyes to how I can alter patterns to make unique things. I wouldn't have done it if someone hadn't requested this particular type of bag in exchange for something they were making for me.

Purses! You can never have too many!!

It's been a while since my posting-binge where I posted a lot of entries. I've been so busy making things (and trying to make a living) that I haven't been able to post.

Today's entry is for a purse I made for the first time! The hardest part was the ruffles (as you'll see by the shape of the bag) and this would be the only reason I would maybe not make this one again. In the end, it wasn't terrible, but it was a gift so once again I don't get to reap the rewards of a cute project!

These ruffled spots took forever! Two for the exterior and two for the interior.

A nice magnetic closure to keep it closed!

I played a lot with contrasting thread for this one!

The whole purse!

The whole thing ended up being a mishmash of fabrics (which worked out in my favor) and it was definitely bigger than I thought it would be. This was the small version of the purse and so I wonder how big the big version is. Anyhoo, it came from the Bags book I mentioned in another post. Sorry, but I don't have the name at this moment, but I think it's on Amazon if you wanted to look it up (I know, I'm being terrible right now).

Thanks for stopping by!

What time is it??

Crafting with Adventure Time!!!

Over the last year I really got into Adventure Time (the animated show). Something about its oddness and weird humor just resonated with me. After watching some of the episodes I participated in an exchange, via the website Reddit, and I decided to make a lot of the items I was sending. Yes, I know I don't own the copyright but I wasn't selling anything and in this case I would consider it advertising for the show. Plus, I did purchase some actual items from Hot Topic.

For this exchange I ventured into felt sewing by hand to make a brooch. I ended up making another one for someone else. In addition, I made a bunch of earrings and some art work (not posted here).

Sets of earrings using images I recreated on the computer (except for the bottom, middle set)

Princess Bubblegum...in brooch form!

The backs of the brooches look like this.

Decided to whip up a Fiona brooch. I love the rosy cheek detailing!

Since the purpose of this blog is to help teach people, I would love to post a tutorial. However, these were just done by me without tutorial help. I hand stitched the brooches using some thread that was probably not meant for this (it's a bit thick). I only used hot glue if I had to in order to hold the pin. In fact, I think I made a brooch without any hot glue at all and that worked out well. The trick is knowing what accents you want where and where the thread will go to hold it all together. On more than one occasion I have started to make a brooch and realized that I missed a step.

If anyone is interested (or even reading this), I can post pictures of the materials if you would like.

Earrings are a woman's best friend...

...especially when you can make them yourself!!

So this entry is a tad different in that I don't have an exact pattern or instructions for my post (unless you have questions that I can answer). What I do have are some cool earrings that I've made over the past year for myself and some other folks.

Let's start with the ones that I could consider the nerdiest! These were all made using printable Shrinky Dinks. I swear by these things once you've gotten a handle on cutting them in their thinner, pre-cooked stage and then figure out the perfect temp for your oven. I have it down to a science, if I do say so myself!

TARDIS earrings, second attempt! By this time I've gotten much better at this.

Katamari Prince and Princess! This one required a lot of intricate cutting.

I'd be remiss to not make a set of Mrs. Pac Man earrings. More creative wire bending for these ones.

Navi & Link's shield as a gift for a friend.

The graphic designer in me color coordinated these pantone swatch earrings!

Let's take a quick break from Shrinky Dink earrings to see a D20 set I made (with the drill skills of my hubby). I plan on making another set with some amazing D20s as soon as I learn to bend the wire around the dice.

I roll crits every time I wear these dice!

I'll just leave you with some others that I've made with printable Shrinky Dinks. I'm not an expert at wire bending (yet!) but I do have the baking technique down and it's pretty cool when you can make earrings for any outfit and for any interest you have! It should be noted that I don't sell any of these and so I don't usually worry about copyrighted images. If you make earrings using Shrinky Dinks for profit just be careful of laws.

This is the first set I made...these are my puppies. ;-)