my NEW new purse

you might remember a post a did a couple months back about my new bag. well, i showed my mom and she insisted that i make her one just like it! hooray right? well, not exactly...it was fabric that i have been holding on to that my mom had given me Y.E.A.R.S. ago...and there is none left. so, needless to say i gave her the bag with the intention of making another one for me. 

well, i have finally finished it. and it is pretty fabulous. i used a home decorator print by Joel Dewberry that, of course, is no longer available on fabric.com for the exterior and a basic teal cotton that my mom gave me from her fabric stash. :) thanks mom! the hardware i picked up from my local fabric store and the zipper came from fabric.com as well. 

the pattern is my own design and includes a convertible handle (from shoulder to cross-body), tons of pockets inside, two large exterior pockets, a recessed zipper, and top-stitching all over. 

i love it. 

shoulder version

cross-body version

top-stitching detail

view of recessed zipper and interior

diggles the birthday dragon!

it was my nephews birthday a couple weeks ago so i made him a little something from Funky Friend's Factory (my favorite place to get patterns for softies!).  they have the best patterns! i have made a few different ones, but this Diggles the Dragon has been my favorite to make. 
i used a Dr Seuss minky fabric (that fabric.com sent to me in error, but i liked so i kept it!) for the main body and fleece for all the other parts. 
my nephew loved it and i hope you do too :)

another cross body bag

a client i made one of these for earlier this year has requested another one, this time in autumn/winter colors! it is constructed out of sturdy home decorator fabric-which i find perfect for bag making! this bag is my favorite cross body bag to make. it includes side outer pockets, roomy interior pockets all around and a key leash inside to attach your keys to! 

side/front(ish) view

view looking into interior of bag

would you like a custom bag of your own? send me an email and we can discuss the details!

my creative space

it dawned on me that i haven't posted any pictures of the space that i am lucky enough to sew and create in. i used to sew in a little space in the spare bedroom corner, but last year i asked my boyfriend if i could turn an unused room in the basement into my sewing room. he agreed and the transformation began! 

so here is a look at the transformation...

here is the GOOD before picture! after i had cleaned up some of the mess already. there were kitty litter boxes and food in here too. 

here is the gorgeous after! i absolutely love working in here. we painted the walls and the floor to give it a fresh clean look practically all of the furniture is from Ikea, cheap and easy to put together :)

all of my sewing books and patterns are in the upright bookcase. fat quarters and smaller pieces of fabric, along with interfacing and felt are kept on top of the upright bookcase. all of my other crafting books and supplies are on the horizontal bookcase. easel, portfolio, canvases and art supplies are on the floor, in the basket and in the bottom sections of the upright bookcase. the desks contain additional art and sewing supplies. and my dress form is off in the corner by my sewing machine.

ironing station against the wall. my fabric is stored under the cutting table in large plastic bins. my rotary mats and cutter are on the wall ready to go. additional supplies for cutting (scissors, rulers, books, pattern weights...) are stored n this side of the cutting table along with binders of inspiration projects and current projects i am working on.  

i also found this old desk chair and.......

 turned it into this beautiful sewing chair! i love it :) the pattern is little trees. 

in closing i love my sewing space. it is my perfect little getaway to sew and paint and create. i feel very lucky to have such a great place to be creative. 

a new purse

i have made myself a new purse! it is a design i created based on a purse i already own, but wanted to tweak it a little. the original purse had a top zipper and a fixed shoulder strap. for this new version i used a heavyweight upholstery fabric with a cotton lining, made a recessed zipper and included a strap that can be worn on the shoulder or worn cross body. i like having both options and have a difficult time finding a purse that i like with options. the interior also has plenty of pockets to put your stuff, always a plus! the exterior also has two pockets on either side perfect for sunglasses and your phone.

purse with shoulder strap in place

purse with strap extended

interior of bag
(also shows recessed zipper)

a call for costumes

my older sister asked me to make costumes for my niece (10) and nephew (5) for Halloween this year! so exciting to be asked to make them so of course i said yes! 

my niece wants to be a Hershey Kiss. so i found a discontinued pattern that i purchased from a great seller on ebay. i figured that would be pretty easy with a pattern and some fun metallic fabric! she is a size 10 and the pattern i used was a child's 10/12. it just needs to have a bit of tissue paper put in the bottom to add some fullness. but i think it looks great! i think the finished product is pretty fabulous! 

here is the pattern 

McCalls 8376

the completed costume

the plume is made with a bit of lightweight interfacing 

hand lettered with a blue fabric marker

now, my nephew wants to be a Lego Mini Figure of Luke Skywalker. um, what? ya, there are no patterns for that, and no good instructions online for making a costume like that so i was on my own. it took a lot of time to draft the pattern using his measurements and making the costume to scale. lots of math and trial and error. i am very pleased with the finished result. 

my inspiration

the boots

they have a bit of elastic underneath to keep them on

the hands

i couldn't resist taking of picture of mr. bear with them on

he is such a good model :)

the head

being modeled by my dress form :)

 

the body

being modeled by a cardboard tube :)

front

side

back

and view of cape

attached a shoulders

there is a full Velcro closure down the back

a view of the whole costume together

my sister promised me she would get a lot of pictures of the kids in their costumes and send them to me, so i will put some of those pictures up when i get them. 

for now, i am pleased with the results of both costumes and rather proud of that hand drafted Mini Figure costume. :) go me!

**EDITED***

here is a picture of the kids in their costumes! i think they look great! :)

RooRoo

my boyfriend Jeff asked me to paint him a kangaroo. you see, he had a rather lovely experience with a kangaroo at Gobert's Pumpkin Farm last year. at Gobert's you can feed lots of different kinds of animals (giraffes included!) and do all kind of other fun things. last year they had kangaroos and we went back twice to feed them. one of them held on to Jeff's hands as he ate and then continued to nibble on his gloves. Jeff pet them for at least an hour and dubbed the little one "RooRoo". so a painting had to be created.

RooRoo (for Jeff) 18x24 acrylic

water bottle holders

it just dawned on me that i haven't posted my water bottle holders on here yet. i have been making them for over a year!

i know that carrying around a sweaty water bottle is NOT what you want to be doing while doing outside activities which is why i designed a bottle holder that is perfect for just about ANYTHING you can be doing outside (or inside!). Jeff and I use ours for walking, running, gardening, yard work, keeping beverages cold and sweat free in car rides and even just while being indoors....the possibilities are endless.

now what makes these so perfect?
1) i made them! :)
2) they are lined with a material called Thinsulate which helps keep yout water ( or other beverage) cold! on my hour long walk in 85 degree heat my water stays cold until the last drop is gone. 
3) because they are insulated they catch any water that would normally accumulate on the outside of the bottle...no more sweaty water bottle! (and no, this does not make the holder soggy. the layers catch any moisture keeping your holder nice and dry.)
4) they are 100% cotton fabric!
5) i designed the handle to be held in various ways. whether you are running or walking or just picking it up for a drink it will be comfortable. you can even slide it up onto your wrist for when you need a hands free moment!
6) they can be customized to any size bottle you need. we drink bottled water in our house so the standard bottle holder will fit a 16.9 fluid ounce bottle that you would get in any typical store. if you use your own plastic bottle to fill with water or whatever, i can make you a customized one to fit it. i can make any size, any color and practically any pattern (as long as i can find fabric!) :) Jeff has an all black one with dragons on the inside!
7) they are washable! i have washed mine several times and it is still good as the day i made it. 

so....want one? want one? :)

just message me and i would LOVE to make one, two, a dozen for you and your loved ones!! maybe you are having a party or an event coming up, i can make them for you to give to all your guests, customized to your specifications. they are a steal at $8 a piece for custom handmade mandy designed goodness!

*** i am also working on a can holder to combat sweaty can! :) ***

sunhats for Julia

my friend asked me to make sunhats for her little girl. she had a pattern and fabric styles in mind so off to JoAnn Fabrics i went. i was able to find everything there except for the eyelet. they had NO eyelet? i couldn't believe that. so i checked Fabric.com and sure enough, beautiful eyelet at a great price. these were all made using butterick pattern number 5056. the white hat with yellow embroidery on it was a bonus hat i made for her. i had the fabric in my stash and thought it would be an adorable hat for little Julia. enjoy!

bridal hanger

this is a special occasion hanger i created for a client for her wedding gown. she said that her wedding was country vintage style and her dress was covered with lace and pearls. she gave me free rein to do what i wanted and so this is what i came up with! lots of hand work, but i think it looks so pretty. it will be delivered later this week and hopefully she will love it as much as i do. it is made with an ivory satin, tea dyed lace appliques, and pearls. all hand sewn. 

very behind on posting....

i did not realize that i had been so behind on posting. i have been so busy sewing that i forgot to post about everything! SOOOO....montage post!

first, these are some shorts i made for myself using a Simplicity Pattern-Burda Young B7550. the top pair is made of a home decorator fabric the bottom pair out of a cotton. 

this is a workout top i made for myself after taking a Craftsy.com class on sewing knits. http://www.craftsy.com/class/sewing-with-knits it was a lot of fun! i actually made the grey sweatshirt below first and thought that a hoodie out of workout fabric would be fantastic. only after it was done and i proudly showed it to my boyfriend was it pointed out to me that it is in Miami Dolphins colors. oh well! i like it! :)

this is the first sweatshirt i made after taking the Craftsy.com class. i think it turned out great. it is out of fleece. super comfy and washes great. i have worn and washed it a dozen time since its creation. 

ok, so i have done a lot of sewing for me and my boyfriend lately! these are a pair of fleece jammie bottoms that i made out of kitty fabric. i made a blue pair for my boyfriend that matches them! they are very warm and snuggly. we have three kitties so we are all about all things cats!

this, i am quite proud of. this is an ottoman cover of my own design that i made for our Ikea storage ottoman. i constructed the top out of a laminated cotton so that it could be easily wiped. with three cats and eating on this thing it needed to be very easily cleaned. it also needed to have pockets on the sides to store all of our various things. i made the remainder out of a grey home decorator twill. it is fantastic for what we need it for, and it is even fully washable! 

 below are two custom bags that i have created for two separate clients. the top bag is actually constructed out of the same fabric as the shorts in the top of this post. i made the bag first and had a bit left over that was the perfect amount for my shorts! so the inner and outer of the top bag are constructed out of cottons and that bag is fully interfaced to give it some structure. the bottom bag is constructed out of home decor fabrics in and out. very sturdy on its own so no interfacing needed. 

ok, so that is it for my huge post. i am going to try to be a lot better about posting my creations here. i am off to create some more fun things! so much in the works! :)