An Official Etsy Addict

My shop is part of sort of an online "mall" full of only handmade items (and some supplies and vintage goodness) called Etsy. If you have never checked it out, you are missing out of an amazing shopping experience.

What is there to love about Etsy?

One-of-a-kind options it offers.
You are purchasing items that have actually been made by a person, not mass produced.
If you can't find exactly what you are looking for, you can request it, and SOMEONE will be able to create it just for you.
There are so many wonderful and talented artisans that you never would have found without a site like Etsy.


This shop, Dudadaze, is one of my many favorites.

I love the whimsical characters Diane Duda creates. The fun of being a little girl, carefree and happy, shines through her work.



This print, "She Believed in Spontaneous Dancing", is my absolute favorite her shop. It makes me think of my daughter, who can't stop herself from dancing when the mood strikes her. I ordered this one for myself - and every time I see it it makes me smile!




And this adorable print makes me think of my niece. When she learned how to do headstands, she just had to do them everywhere!





The joys of childhood- carefree dancing, and seeing the world the way you want to, so vividly portrayed in Diane's beautiful work!

New Tangled Daisies Goodness!

I have been trying for a while now to come up with a wallet design that I liked. Something that was smallish, so you could carry it easily in a pocket if you didn't want to bring your whole bag with you. But also something that could hold all the cards you use most and some cash. Something that would close securely, but without the bulk of a zipper.

After several attempts (None of which I have anymore, or thought to photograph, which is kind of a bummer, because a couple were pretty comical!) I had a design I liked.

(Drumroll....)









Perfect size. Snap closure to keep it slim. Two pockets inside:




Once I am happy with something I have made I have to put it to the test: Showing it to super awesome friends who provide me with honest thoughts on whatever it is i am throwing at them with the words "what do you think?"

The first wallet was actually stolen from me immediately. (Thanks Lori!) And the next two I gave immediately because their responses were so genuinely excited. (Thanks Claire and Carlie!). So I have to say, I was pretty happy in the end, and think they were worth the tragic results it took to get to the end product!

Why the Happy Dance?

A friend recently asked me what it was I liked so much about working with "found" fabrics. Why these finds would make me do little happy dances in thrift shops. What it was that made them my favorite things to work with.

The best answer I can come up with is that I see the life in inanimate objects. I see old run down buildings or homes that you know were once beautiful. I imagine what it once looked like, what the people who used it once upon a time looked like, what sort of things went on in it, and compare it to the neglect it is facing now. I love the history it holds, the stories of the people and events that once took place there, and value the life it once held in its walls. I can sort of sense the sadness of it now. Not the sadness of the situation, but of the building itself.

Yes, I know. A little crazy. But that is me!

I feel the same way about textiles. That they, especially the vintage things I find, hold a story. About the people who wore them. About the person who bought yards of fabric intended for something that was never made. About the person who spent hours lovingly hand stitching table linens.

I love to take those things, those forgotten things that once meant something to someone, and make them new again.

That's what brings out the happy dance in me!

Fabulous Polyester Goodness!

My absolute favorite places to shop for fabric to make my bags from are thrift shops. I love finding things that someone has grown tired of, and making them into something brand new and fun. The patterns you find in clothing are so different and have so much more variety than those I am able to find in any fabric store.

The best part about thrift store fabric shopping is that you never know what you are going to run across. There is no ad to tell you what is there that week. You may find fairly new clothing to work with, or, if you are lucky, items that are fabulously, fantastically out of date!

Last week I came across this:


Four yards of uncut plaid polyester goodness! It still had the tag on it from when it was cut off the bolt! Yes, I have to admit that I did a mini happy dance, which I am pretty sure no one was lucky enough to see. And, because I am me, a bunch of questions ran through my head, as they always do.

-What in the world was someone originally going to make with this? (I was hoping NOT something to wear! This stuff is all kinds of itchy!)
-Where has it been sitting since it was purchased and not used? It has obviously been hanging out somewhere for quite a while.
-And, most importantly, what kinds of craziness am I going to make out of it?

It didn't take me long to get it washed and start cutting. I have two bags that are ready to be photographed and listed in my shop. One of those bags has been bedecked with flower appliques from a previous polyester find. You will have to be the judge if I went to far with the pattern combinations!

T-shirts Make the Funnest Bags!

Who doesn't love a great t-shirt?

You know, the ones with fun graphics, or funny phrases, or a favorite band.

I love to admire them. I even love to shop for them. But not so much to wear them.

What I love the most is to find potential hidden in some of the great, but forgotten t-shirts I have come across.

For example...

Both of these were great shirts - a favorite band, and a great graphic. But, in my mind at least, they are both WAY better now that they have been dismantled and have had some new fabric added to them. They have been reassembled into great bags that you can carry with you anytime!

The Beginning of Craftiness

I was trying to remember my first "crafty projects."

I tried counted cross stitch. My mom taught me how to follow the patterns. I may still have some of the hankies that I did.

The first sewing that I ever did was on my mom's machine. I very clearly remember that she let me use it, taught me how to run the fabric through, and keep my fingers out of the way! But I can't think of one single thing I may have made!

Before I had a sewing machine of my own, I fell in love with quilts. I completely hand-sewed a baby quilt. My thought was that it didn't matter how long it took me to finish, because we were not having a little one any time soon. It turned out shockingly well, especially since I was self taught and hadn't even bothered to read any sort of how-to info. (It might have been a good idea to at least know to wash the fabric first!)

A few years ago I found a tutorial for how to make an easy tote bag on-line and I was hooked. So many more fabrics can be used for bags. I spent hours in the fabric stores. I made more bags that I could possibly use myself, so I gave them to friends.

And my sewing "hobby" has just spiraled out of control from there!

My first post EVER!

Hello!

Thanks for stopping by!

I suppose I should introduce myself to those of you who may have stumbled your way here, as opposed to those of you who know me already.

I am Lisa, and I am a fabric addict. There. It is out in the open. I feel better.

I love shopping for fabric at stores. I love looking at fabric in clothing and linens, both new and old. And I LOVE chopping it up and putting it back together and making something brand new out of it. I love the thought that I have made something that is one of a kind, that no one else has. I rarely use patterns, so I am never sure what the end product is going to look like, but that is half the fun!