Mmm Mmm, Good!

Before I get to the post, I need to let you know (or remind you) about this month's giveaway.  I'm giving away this Harry Potter charm bracelet with the Hogwarts crest and the crests of all the Houses.  To win, you must post your favorite Hogwarts House on my Facebook page.  Each post counts as one "ticket" and you may post as many times as you like.  You can post through Monday night and I'll announce the winner Tuesday (Sept. 20th).  Good luck!

Last month I had the opportunity to make a custom purse for a Campbell's Soup Test Kitchen employee who was retiring.  Her co-worker contacted me and said she already had a book (well, a notebook) and fabric.  I had never made a purse from a book (much less fabric) I had never seen but I thought I'd give it a try.  The fact this was for a Campbell's Test Kitchen employee was exciting!  I, like every other kid in America, grew up on Chicken and Stars (and still love it!).  Campbell's is such an iconic brand that carries a certain sense of nostalgia and Americana.  I'm a sucker for anything "retro" so this was right up my alley.

I got the notebook and fabric and instantly knew I would have to do some "tweaking."  The notebook was a deep burgundy color and the fabric was lime green with tomato red accents.  I knew it would work fine but I needed another fabric to bridge the notebook and Campbell's fabric for a more cohesive look.  I went through my fabric and scored big: a red and white checkered fabric I had used on another nostalgic purse.  Luckily, the fabric had red and burgundy in it.  Kismet, baby!  I decided to use the fabric for the bottom and for the pockets inside the purse.  I was so relieved when it all came together and actually worked!

I use a button closure on all my purses and I try to do something special or different for each one.  There was only one choice for this purse: it had to be a mini can of soup.  First, I tried making a Shrinky Dink one.  It came out really cute but it was so flat.  For the button to work, it needed to be shaped like a can of soup.  Searching through my craft pile, inspiration struck: a mini thread bobbin!  Since it already had a hole running through the middle, it would make a great toggle.  I was able to find a picture of a wrapper online and sized it on Photoshop.  A few coats of Modge Podge and ta-dah!

Cute, no?

The retiree was thrilled with the purse.  I felt so honored to take part in such a big life event like a retirement.  It makes the silly things I do so much more meaningful.  My customer put a lot of trust in me and I appreciate that. She was an amazing customer . . . I wish all custom orders were like this!  I was an absolute dream and I'm grateful I got to do it!

Puh-lease, Angelina

This weekend, Angelina Jolie wore a "fashion forward" Louis Vuitton clutch that was handcuffed to her wrist to the premiere of "Moneyball."  

Puh-lease.  I was making handcuff clutches over 6 MONTHS AGO.

I know it's hard but do try to keep up, Louis and Angelina.  ; )

HodgePodge Sneak Peek!

Well, it's that time of year again . . . craft fair time!  

This year will be my second year with a booth at HodgePodge, my hometown's craft fair.  Last year was my first time and I learned a lot.  I did reasonably well and made a pretty good profit.  I'm super excited for this year since I have a lot of new items I didn't have last time.  I'll actually have lots of jewelry this year: book spine bracelets (which I came up with AFTER HodgePodge last year), book themed pendants and charm bracelets made from book pages.  For this post, I think I'll just show off purses.  I'll post pics of my jewelry soon!

Last week I purchased a special purse hanger on eBay (for $35!).  Check out how cute (and please try to ignore my mess on the table)!

It only holds 10 purses, so I'll have to find other ways to display them.  Speaking of purses, I already have two made especially for the fair.  I wanted to have a better selection of classics this year, so I'm not posting these on Etsy.  Here is an exclusive sneak peek!

I made this brooch inspired button for the purse closure.  The image was cut from the book and I coated it in some sealer.

Yes, that is Alice in Wonderland fabric!  It's covered in the original John Tenniel illustrations--love it!

Here is a shabby chic "Pride and Prejudice."  The book cover was faded and had spots but I think that only adds to the charm.

A similar brooch-like button for this purse, again made from a book illustration.  It's purty.  ; )  Right now I'm working on a "Wizard of Oz" book clutch that is very different from the classic style of these two.  Imagine if Tim Burton had directed the adaptation and you'll have an idea of the style.  I'm very excited to show it off . . . which I will in a couple of days when it's done!

Curioser and Curioser

Sorry it's been awhile. I'm up to my ears in projects. In celebration of the LDS Temple in Atlanta being rededicated, the youth are performing for the leader of our church, President Monson. I've been asked to be a dance coordinator which entails teaching teenagers choreographed numbers . . . not the easiest task but it should be fun. So I'll be doing that for two months. Then, I'm trying to finish a screenplay for the Nicholl Fellowship Competition. The deadline is May 2nd. Did I mention I'm also trying to potty-train my toddler? Or that my husband is on a three week business trip? Have I squeezed any sympathy from you yet?

ANYWAY, I had to share a project I tried the other week. I got it from The Felt Mouse blog and it was really easy and neat. It's a tutorial for an Eyeglass Brooch. As Jennifer points out, all old eyeglasses should be donated to the Lions Club or other organizations that collect used glasses for those in need. I got my lens from an old pair of my mom's reading glasses . . . she buys a pair, loses them, then buys another pair. This happens about every other week so she has lots and lots of glasses! If you don't have any old ones laying around, plenty of stores carry reading glasses for cheap (some even for $1!).

I followed Jennifer's directions, only I used E-6000 as my adhesive instead of Diamond Glaze. From the look of it, I think E-6000 is much easier to use. It's a gel and so it doesn't run. I just squirted a generous amount on the inside of the lens and evened it out with a foam brush. I did have a few air bubbles but I still like it. I used an illustration from a copy of "Alice in Wonderland" and I love how it turned out. Instead of painting the back of the brooch like Jennifer, I coated the back with matte ModgePodge (one of my favorite things in the entire world! LOVE that stuff!) so the text of the page showed.

I still felt the brooch looked unfinished so I glued a blue ribbon around the edge and tied a bunny charm to the top. It still looked a little off so I glued a ruffle as well. It's a little more fussy than I intended but I think it all works.

Going along with the Alice-themed post, I've got to brag on my "Alice in Wonderland" book purse. Yeah, yeah it's cute and all but what I'm really proud about is the button closure. It's ELASTIC! I finally made a button closure I can be proud of! I usually use ribbon but it's kind of a hassle to get on and off. I didn't want to use just plain elastic because it's not cute and it could get caught and tear. So I made a little tube of fabric to protect the elastic and frankly, it's just cute because it matches with the rest of the bag. YAY! Every bag with a button closure will now have a fantastic elastic loop. I'm in the process of "updating" my current bags so they all have elastic loops, too. I'm just so happy my bags are functional as well as cute. That's very important to me.

Natalie Portman's Book Clutch Moment

Happy New Year! I hope each of you had a wonderful holiday season.

I got a special gift this year in the form of a convo. A wonderful gal sent me this link about Natalie Portman's look at the London premiere of her movie, "Black Swan." To my surprise, Natalie was carrying . . . (dramatic pause) a book clutch! A Hollywood starlet at the peak of her career carrying a book purse to a premiere the movie everyone knows will win her an Oscar?! The fashion gods have indeed smiled upon me! Not to mention, said wonderful gal requested me to make her a similar clutch. Hooray!

original images from here and stylebistro.com

While Natalie's Olympia De-Tan clutch is gorgeous (and pricey!) to be sure, I was disappointed that it's not actually made from a real book. Not to mention, I don't think the design is very user-friendly. (Yes, this is the part where I talk about how my purses are better AND cheaper. Just so you know.) The clasp is darling but it looks like it would be difficult to stick your hand in and pull something out. No one wants to have a tampon fall out of their purse on the red carpet. Not that someone as perfect as Natalie Portman would have need for a tampon, but you get the point. I use magnetic snaps on the inside of my book clutches for closure. The De-Tan is also missing a wrist strap. I add straps to all my clutches because I know how clumsy I am. But if you prefer a strapless clutch, all the straps I make are removable.

I explained all this to the gal and she agreed on my design. Yay! I wish I could share which book she picked for her own clutch because it's beautiful . . . but, you'll just have to wait until she sees the finished product and approves. This clutch will certainly be the most elegant purse I've made to date. I'm waiting for the book to get here . . . I can't wait to get started!

In the meantime, I'm going to contact Rachel Zoe (celebrity stylist) . . . one of her clients definitely needs a BiblioBags "moment" at the Oscars. ; )