For Her - Treasury

My Tapestry Clutch seems to be popular these days...

...it may be since spring and summer have finally arrived....or the fact that this clutch goes wonderfully with a spring dress or with a casual pair of jeans.  It's easy to carry as well, either under your arm or hold with the strap.  Small, but still large enough to carry your essentials.

A fellow shop owner has included my springtime Tapestry Clutch in a new Treasury....For Her...

Please also take a moment to visit her lovely shop Pink Parchment Soap

Experimentation - Flowers

My multiple trips to NYC this winter/spring had me longing to see some blooming Spring Flowers.  Here in Florida, my perennials have been blooming year round, but they are hardy for Florida's heat so they are not as pretty or as dainty as the flowers up North.  Sigh...

Since flowers and spring have been on my mind, I decided it was time to start making some Spring clutches with blooming flowers and stock the Store. 

I searched the web for flower tutorials and found a several few patterns and decided that I would use a combination of two together....

I decided to use the technique of heating fabric for that curling effect, therefore I chose Crepe and Organza fabric for the flower.  Using a fabric from Amy Butler,  Lotus Star Paisley in Sand which has lovely spring colors in blue, purple, green, purple and beige.

Springtime Clutch

The result is a Springtime Clutch accented with layers of crepe and organza fabric sewn into a delicate freestyle sculptural flower.   I lined the interior with a durable eco-friendly un-dyed 10oz canvas and finished  it with a magnetic snap to keep all your valuables safe.

My Springtime Clutch is approximately 10.5" wide, 5.5" tall and large enough to carry all your most needed essentials. 

Strange Sights

My DH and I were driving along the Florida Turnpike along near Pompano when my DH pointed to Mt. Trashmore  (landfill) and asked if I had noticed the Hollywood sign that had gone during the last week. 

Hollywood Sign A WWWWWHHHHAAAATTTTT?

It turns out that Tom Cruise and cast (Alec Baldwin, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Paul Giamatti ) are filming the movie "Rock of Ages" in South Florida.  Apparently the crew needed a replica of the Hollywood sign for the movie and built one along the "hills" of Mt. Trashmore. 
Strange sightings indeed

Custom Orders

When you are the designer, you tend to think that you have the best ideas when it comes to coordinating fabrics. So when a customer sends an email requesting two fabrics that you never considered...Purple Hemp fabric with Joel Dewberry's Chestnut Hill Narrow Strip Yellow...I had a few doubts.
However, I put aside my doubts, because yellow and purple really do go well together.  (Who knew, that color wheel was correct).  As I started construction those little doubts were replaced with wondering why you questioned your customer's idea in the first place.

I did have to make some changes, since the interior was not the typical 10oz canvas that I use...I decided  I had to reinforce the cotton fabric with a strong interface and used a tighter multiple stitching....

...but then when it's all done...you end up with one of those Ah Ha! moments...

So if you would love a Purple Hemp Messenger Bag with a yellow strip interior...each bag has reinforced stitching and can accommodate a large laptop and a book or two.

Do you know the Zipper Man?

One of the great things about going home is the fabric...I can't seem to get enough of the fabric stores.  However during my last trip home I headed downtown toward China town to finally visit my zipper supplier in person.  Last year I was watching the CBS Sunday Morning show and there was a story about a legend that has been selling zippers since 1941.When they mentioned his website, it dawned on me that he was my zipper supplier.

Suzie (mom) and I spent about an hour just chatting with Mr. Feibush and his son...and while they weren't looking, I snapped a few photos...

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In the land of zippers.