*WARNING* lengthy post ahead but with pictures so then it’s okay right? :)

First of all, I decided to finish 2 purses last night but by the time I got done it was too dark to take pics so I had to do that this morning before work when the sun was shining. I think every time I finish one it’s somehow my new favorite. Not sure how that’s possible. These two are a bit of fabric GENIUS if you ask me. Both fabrics are very different but both of them somehow pull off both black AND brown with some fun colors. How great is that in a purse?! Now, I’m not one to switch purses with every outfit but, if you’re the type of person that does, these are great because they go perfectly with both black and brown. The green & blue one even has some navy in the stripe so – black, brown and navy are all covered. Seriously – fabric genius!

The green/blue floral/paisley purse is a great size for someone who likes to carry quite a bit of stuff with them or could be used as a small diaper bag. Would be great as a carry-on purse on the plane (if they’re letting you take those again yet). It’s made with the sturdiest lining I’ve used so far from my favorite interfacing source. Not my favorite to work with but well worth the extra work for those that want a larger fabric bag that still holds it shape when you set it down. Blog pricing on this one is $37. Nancy’s got first dibs since she requested something with blue and green but no idea if this is the size or style she’s looking for so if you’re interested comment here or email me. If this one is gone I’m sure I have enough of this fabric to do something similar.

This one is made from fabric I found at my favorite walk-in store called Home Fabrics. It’s a GREAT fabric for purses and the pattern is gorgeous. Great shades of red and green with brown and grey and black detailing. Personally I think it’s the perfect coloring and pattern to carry end of summer into fall (so right now!). :) I found this gorgeous flower button that matched perfectly and added that for a pretty closure. The interior is a rich red with a pocket that perfectly matches the grey on the outside. It’s so fun pulling all these colors and patterns together. :) This one is a bit smaller but because of the special (and pricey) fabric and the hand-detailing with the button closure the blog-price is the same as the larger blue/green bag at $37.

And then, just so you don’t think I’ve completely abandoned the scrapbooking thing – here’s a little project I’ve been fiddling with after seeing the coolest bottlecap keyrings at a little boutique in a really great area of the town that I work in. This boutique is selling these things for $25! I fell in love with them but immediately thought they’d be fun to make and would go perfectly with the purse selling business since 90% of the time your keys are in your purse. :) I made some personalized initial ones for Jill and I to practice and some ephemera and vintage sign ones with a little real glitter added for fun. The epoxy part to give them that glass filled look was a little challenging and quite smelly. Definitely need a better ventilated area to work in next time around but I love how they turned out. I’m pretty sure everything I used in the personalized ones is from Scrap Artist. Jill and I have 2 craft shows coming up that I’d like to have a bunch made up for. I can’t imagine anyone at a craft show will pay $25 like you would at a trendy boutique but how should I price these ya think?

Kay, started this post this morning before work & finally got a little break at work to finish it up. Better get back to work so I can get home and do some more sewing tonight. Hoping the striped fabric is in the mail so I can finish up the last of my orders (yes Marcie and Beth that’s you) and then Jill has a couple more fun combinations cut for me to work on. One in black and khaki that I’ve started this morning that would be great for those of you waiting for some fall/winter purses.

Oh, and remember this little picture that I was supposed to post on the blog each time I did pilates?! Yeah, I haven’t posted one since and I think that was a month ago. I have done pilates once or twice since but didn’t get around to posting them. Being sick for 2 weeks got me way off track but I did do them this morning and it’s my goal to do it every day this week to get back on track.