"Scholastic" is a smidge misleading...

One of the most thrilling things about my childhood was when school would send home the quarterly Scholastic book order forms.

Rewind 28 years...the nearly nine year old me had happily purchased a sturdy set of Anna Sewell's Black Beauty and Johanna Spyri's Heidi along with a fat book on Greek myths for five. wholllle. dollars. (Hey! It *was* 1982- five bucks was a big deal to me)...I paid with my own money after helping my philatelic uncle soak and peel loads of stamps off discarded envelopes (I should have made a bit more cash- that is some seriously dull work) and I was sooooo impatient for these books to arrive. I distinctly remember my third grade teacher's clipped "Not. Yet. Anna. ...I. will. tell. you. when. they're. HERE." in response to my annoyingly constant asking of when my books would arrive...and when they finally did, I had my face buried in them for ages.

It is a pleasant memory for me- so when Liev came home on Friday waving about the order forms, I was immediately intrigued. It's been many years since I laid eyes on one, and my son was so gleeful- I hopped on the couch with him and perused.

What was inside them made my eyes nearly roll out of my head. The paper booklet is about ten pages long with about 15 items on each page. There are perhaps 2 or 3 books that I recognize as having substance (titles by Roald Dahl and Beverly Cleary hidden amongst the dreck) - some are huge sets and very expensive- what 7 year old can get their parents to pony up $70 in *this* economy? The rest are movie tie-ins, Justin Bieber whack material and stereotype-laden activity books with a lot of flash and bang- apparently, girls are meant to sit on the phone and apply glittery stickers to their 3rd grade fingernails while discussing how Miley Cyrus is NOT taking bong hits-  while boys are to invent helpful machines, soar through the cosmos discovering new planets, learn intense mathematical codes and create a secret identity with a kickin' spy kit.

Gee.

THANKS.

(Liev and I will be going to the local book trader instead :)

30 Years Later....

This is a large custom bag and matching cosmetic bag for my dearest childhood friend. :)

Custom- Fantasy Boats

I made this small bag as a custom order. The outer fabric is a Japanese import called "Fantasy Boats", and the reverse is an orange cotton JoAnn exlusive. There is a pocket on the strap, which allows for an iPhone.

Custom II

These two may look identical, but they are definitely one of a kind.

Tabitha ordered these for her bridesmaids Fallon and Sarah. These clutches have a 10 " flexible spring-steel hex opening, are 12" long at the base and are 4" deep.




Tabitha chose a beautiful deep magenta brocade with gold floral accents, and the pattern design was my mother Gwen's brilliance at work. The floral pattern on the brocade enabled for a distinctly separate piece (one pale green floral, the other a dusty pink) on the bottom of each clutch so Fallon and Sarah could tell their bags apart.

Custom I

The following clutches were made for Becky S. to give as a gift to her bridesmaids.



The outer fabric is a heavy espresso satin, while the lining is a cotton print from Anna Maria Horner's collection.






The clutches are 11 inches wide, and is 8 inches deep when opened. When closed they are 6 inches tall and close with matching vintage buttons and crocheted loops. I included crocheted loops on the sides, as Becky is quite the bead artist (I have a gorgeous triple strand bracelet she made me in hues of varying green and it's lovely) and she wanted a way to attach a beaded handle.

Clutch

This is a custom piece that I made for Liev's incredibly awesome Aunt Rachel...she generously gifted me with some stunning brocade and requested a small clutch bag "as she carries very little"...









The bag is eight inches wide at the opening, ten inches wide at the bottom, and five inches deep. There is a hinged spring action metal frame in the interior at the top.

Inked

This was a custom pairing and I had enough left for a second bag.

This is Alexander Henry's "Tattoo" print on black. The reverse is a textured wool blend in a beautiful lipstick red shade. The button is round black acrylic.



Due to the nature of the fabrics, this bag is dry clean only.




SOLD

Yo ho ho

This following came about after Liev asked to "help make a bag". His love of all things piratical helped, and he chose the fabric.

This is a small reversible bag- one side is Alexander Henry's "Jolly Roger" print, while the reverse is a black and white checkerboard cotton.






The button is a small skull- a recent purchase and perfectly appropriate.


SOLD

Batik

I acquired some bamboo handles and I wanted to make a smaller, simplistic bag.



It is 15.5 inches long, 10 inches wide and 10.5 inches deep. There is a center divider inside the bag, which is made from a vintage white and mulberry-colored batik.



SOLD

Owls

The fabrics used for this bag were gifted to me by the incredibly awesome Steph (see her talented work here)...they completely compliment each other.



The owl fabric is a print by Amy Schimler for Robert Kaufman called "On a Whim", and the reverse is a texturally fantastic yarn-dyed cotton stripe. The button is acrylic and perfectly matched.



SOLD

Petals

This is another fabric from Anna Maria Horner's universally beloved Chocolate Lollipop collection, called "Billowy Petals". This is a large bag which fully reverses to a bright pink cotton.



The button is vintage acrylic from the 60's.

SOLD

Harlequin Green

I really wish I would have purchased more of this fabric- it's absolutely beautiful in person and is the perfect weight for a bag. You know what they say about hindsight. I did manage to get three bags out of it, one I selfishly kept for myself. :)

Like here, one side is a chartreuse and espresso upholstery fabric. The reverse is an espresso cotton.




The large button is carved and vintage.



SOLD

So how much does it hold?

I've had a few curious folks pondering what all will fit in the large bag...I have decided to illustrate by removing everything that is lurking in mine. (The Horror!)

Here we have my knitting bag (the great print is Michael Miller and is called "Knitmare on Elm Street"- I made two of these and the lovely Victoria owns the other) with a hat-in-progress peeking out:


and the contents (click for large, and possibly frighteningly detailed image):


There you have it...they hold a ton! :)

Segue

Just for fun-

While uploading the photo sets from the last item, I noticed Rhiannon (previously mentioned model, helper and lovely daughter) with quite a nefarious expression- I bet she's wishing I'd hurry it up and get a dress form already:



She's amazing.

Insert knitty pun here :)

This is a large bag perfect for a knitting stash.

The fabric is from the Michael Miller line, called "Knit Pirates". The pattern consists of a skull and crossbones motif made from balls of yarn and crossed needles. Very clever!

This is hard to come by, and is constantly selling out. (I love it personally and want lengths in all three color combinations- aqua, sage and pink.)

(Note: The faceless model you've seen throughout this blog is my daughter Rhiannon...she's wonderfully patient and such a help to me with this business of modeling bags/accessories. Thanks, kid! )



The reverse is a heavy, deep espresso cotton with a phenomenal texture,



...and the vintage button is nacre (the sheen is lovely with the aqua shade in the fabric).



SOLD

Asian Tapestry

This is my personal fave...the pictures do not do this bag justice.

The fabrics are absolutely breathtaking and substantial- one side is a woven landscape tapestry, and the reverse is a sturdy cotton broadcloth.





The button is vintage- from the 1930's.



Due to fabrics, this bag is dry clean only.

SOLD

Something a little different...

I wanted to try something a bit more structured...

This purse is made from a floral/fruit print woven brocade with leather accents and a leather carrying strap.



The poly lining is a pale silvery rose that matches exactly with the brocade. The bag shuts with a gold magnetic closure.



Dimensions:
14.5" wide
9" deep
13" base
22" strap



Due to fabric and construction, this one of a kind item is dry clean only.

Cherries

I love how Malia's bag turned out- so I set to work locating a cherry print for a large size bag.

The small leaves on the 100% cotton cherry print paired perfectly with a vintage leaf-green ribbed cotton blend.





The button is vintage acrylic.



SOLD

Orange stripe/floral

This is a small bag and fully reversible.



The fabric was gifted to me by my mother, who understands my love of all things orange. It has various lengths of ribbon, trims and contrasting fabric strips, while the black cotton floral reverse is a JoAnn Fabrics exclusive. The mod-style button is acrylic and new.

SOLD