Inspiration Challenge 2

This was the inspiration photo and color palette for this week's challenge from

My Life Under The Bus.

Isn't that just the cutest picture?  And the colors are just gorgeous!  This is what I wrote down as

I looked at the picture:

Halloween

Little girl

Cutesy scary

Keyhole

Pumpkin

Blues

There wasn't anything in my stash that inspired me so I headed for the fabric store.  I was really

drawn to the blues in the palette but I just didn't see any fabric that excited me.  I began focusing on the pumpkin color of the keyhole and before I knew it, I had a fat quarter bundle in my hand that was the closest I could come to the palette.  Not what I really had in mind but it would have to do.

Next step was deciding what to make.  I drew a blank here until

the last minute!  I found instructions for a bag that looked interesting and went with it.  After reading through the instructions and getting the general idea, I got started and made it my own.

First I cut a piece of muslin as the base and then tore one inch strips from each of the fat quarters.

I sewed the strips to the muslin and then added additional fabric strips, old and new lace pieces and vintage buttons.  I had fun going through the buttons and finding the different browns and oranges.  I actually found come really cool buttons I didn't know I had!

I sewed up the sides and added the lining.  The instructions called for cording for the strap, which I went and bought later, after I bought the fabric.  Guess what?...it didn't work with the fabric at all!  I didn't want to spend any more money so I decided to cut more strips, sew them end to end and cover the cording.  The nice thing about it was, I could make the seam on the outside and it was okay because of the frayed seams on the bag!

I wanted to do something with the keyhole but I was just drawing a blank.  So I used orange thread for all the stitching since it was going to show.  In the end, I am pleased with how this bag turned out.  This one won't go in the shop but with some tweaking, I might make one that is shop worthy!  The best thing about these challenges is that I'm learning about my personal creative process.  And I've enjoyed it...that's something!!

Have a wonderful weekend!!!

My New Love

Making lavender sachets has been fun and satisfying from the beginning.  It's one of those things that is quick to make from start to finish, so you see a finished product in no time at all.  When I first started, it would take some time to pick out the right fabric to go with the vintage hankie and then figure out which part of the hankie fit best.  Then there was the measuring and making sure corners were pointed and centered and everything had to be perfect.  I didn't mind doing any of this. 

When I decided to donate two sachets for a fundraiser, I wanted them to be different from what I had always made.  I looked at the fabric stash and chose two colors of scrap fabric.  Next, I looked at my stash of everything else and just started pulling out things like lace, buttons, ribbons and beads and just started layering everything together.  It didn't matter anymore if it wasn't perfect.  In fact, the more imperfect it was, the more perfect it became!  It was like someone told me I could color outside the lines and it would be okay!  I have truly loved this new process of creating!  It's okay if no one likes them....I have discovered something inside of me that I didn't know was there and THAT is exciting and inspiring!

These two sachets are my newest creations and are in my Etsy shop, So Many Memories.

I have always believed that I wasn't creative.  That I needed a pattern and instructions, and I couldn't come up with an original idea.  For once, I don't mind being proven wrong!



How 'Bout Some Orange!

Today I'm joining in the blog party 'I Made It' at Everything Etsy!  Click on the button and join the fun.  There are so many creative and inspiring people out there!

Do you remember these placemats?

They were in my Etsy shop and sold a couple of weeks ago.  They came in a set of two and when the customer received them she decided she wanted two more.  Of course I was more than happy to oblige but the problem was I couldn't find the same fabric anywhere.  After some messages back and forth, she decided on a bright orange color with lime green topstitching!

I bought the fabric, pre-washed it, ironed it, measured it,

cut it,

pinned it,

                           

sewed it up,

                           

turned it right side out and pressed it,

                             

topstitched it

and it was done!

                           

And just look how beautiful it looks with the fabric of the fruity placemats!

I certainly wouldn't win any awards for the quality of the pictures, but trust me when I say the orange was a perfect match and looks great!  I'm not a big orange fan but I love how these turned out!

What is one creative thing you have done recently?

Annette