in the making...Nightmare reVamp

Finished this bag recently...it's a custom "The Nightmare Before Christmas" reVamped sleepover bag made with  hot pink duck canvas, black and white zebra print & snippits of a special Jack Skelington knit.  We just love this movie, so getting to sew with it was a lot of fun for me!

I thought I'd share some pictures of this bag in the process...here's what it looked like before the reVamp...

Before...a small, flat, canvas tote

I cut up the bag & added strips of fabric to it...

I usually work without a pattern, just a very free & spontaneous flow of cutting & piecing fabric.

I like to have a lot of contrast & interest in my pieces...HOT PINK is just what I was thinking for this sweet tween girl who has a bit of an edgy side too!  =)

B&W striped piping with zebra webbing handles...oh yeah!  I ended up using the zebra lining as piping instead of this striped one...either one would work just fine.

I added a textured zebra lining to this bag by free motion quilting all the black stripes on the zebra print...it's a LOT of sewing, but sooooo worth it!  Every so often I have to stop and change out a broken needle...another one bites the dust!

Here is the sturdy interfacing that I used for this bag...pellon 1-sided fusible 71F - retails for $7.99/yard.  You adhere it to your fabric using an iron...easy, peasy!

 All my pieces are sewn together & pinned to the interfacing...

Finally, it's all finished up and ready to go home with it's new owner...

I sure will miss this bag...it was really hard to let it go!

Tana, I hope you love your reVamped bag...enjoy!  =)

Scrappy Plush Camera Strap Cover

In my last post I showed you the cool new Marilyn Monroe wallet that I custom made for a gal named Kristin.  Here I show you how I've utilized some of the scraps from that project to make another Funky Fresh camera strap cover.

I love the scrappy look!  Yes, it does take more time to piece it together...but I think it is well worth it.  =)

The little strips of fabric are mixed together in a random fashion, quilted with this really cool purple/turquoise/pink variegated thread that I picked up from Jo-Ann...I just HAD to try it out on this & am really happy with the way it turned out.  I love the subtle color changes & the silkiness of this thread...oh yeah, it's funky fresh!

I managed to include other prints that were not in the Marilyn Monroe wallet...love that green splatter skull fabric & the orange snippet of Heather Baily's print too!

Each creation is handmade with LOVE...because you're worth it!

You can find it here in my Etsy shop:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/69973300/victorious-vixen-scrappy-plush-quilted

I hope you guys had a great weekend!

Marilyn Monroe Custom Wallet

My latest creation...

handmade with LOVE...because you're worth it!!

 

 

Capture the Moment

When I got my new DSLR camera for my birthday this past November, I was really excited!  I had been taking pictures with a second-hand Point & Shoot (Fuji FinePix) that I bought from my friend Kristin.  She is the creative genius behind KristinRogersPhotography.com.  

She's amazing, right!  

Let me assure you, I definitely got my money's worth out of that camera...by the time I was done with it, it was being held together with rubber bands and duct tape (not joking)!  I took a TON of cool pictures with it & really enjoyed a whole new world with the macro lens.

Project 365...one of my favorite shots with my trusty point & shoot using a macro lens.

So when I finally got my hot little hands on the new camera, I knew I wanted to make a cover for the strap...something scrappy & fun!  I whipped up this one & was really happy with the way it turned out.  I mixed a bunch of my favorite prints & backed it with plush zebra minky...oh yeah!

It's really comfortable to wear & I've received a lot of compliments on it, so I decided to make another one for my Etsy shop - you can find it here:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/69973300/victorious-vixen-scrappy-plush-quilted

This one measures aprox. 24" long & 1.75" wide & fits most standard straps.  It is designed to slip over your original camera strap...strap NOT included.  Please measure your strap before purchase and let me know if you need a different size.  =)

Photography has been a really fun adventure for me and my neighbors can attest to the fact that I can usually be seen with a camera around my neck!  I wear it all the time, stopping to shoot anything that catches my eye.  I love looking back at the pictures I've taken & recalling how I felt or what was going on at the time.  It is another way for me to express myself...by capturing the moment, the details, the simple & complex.

So for all you photography enthusiasts out there, pick up your camera, seize the moment & get shooting! 

"Sometimes I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter."  -Ansel Adams

Custom Tree Wallet

I recently received this email:

Nani, I was checking out your Victorious Vixen page, and I was hoping you could make a wallet for my wife for her birthday.  I was hoping to have a tree themed wallet. I attached some pictures of some fall trees to give you some ideas. Her name is Violet and she loves the outdoors and most of the fall colors.

Of course I was up for the challenge!  =)

So here are the pictures he sent me, along with some fabric I picked out especially for this project.

I printed the trees out on fabric using my inkjet printer & special paper backed fabric sheets that I picked up at my local JoAnn's.  I framed the trees with a log cabin type block, mixing & matching fabric strips as I saw fit.  I like to add a lot of contrast & texture into my work, so along with these prints, I added brown corduroy & a dotted minky to the mix. 

Here is the pieced top all sewn together & backed with a fleece like interfacing.  I like a lot of loft, so the thicker the better!

loft

/lɔft, lɒft/  [lawft, loft]– noun  

10.  the thickness of a fabric or of insulation used in a garment, as a down-filled jacket.

Next was my favorite part...the free motion stitching.  Unlike an embroidery machine, you move the fabric around in a doodle-like fashion, sketching with thread instead of a pen.  In order to do this on a regular sewing machine, you must have a darning foot.  On my machine, it comes off and on with the screw on the left side.  Another thing, you must be able to "drop your feed dogs."  Those are the little teeth like things under the needle plate that grab the fabric and "pull" it into the sewing area.  Since you'll be the one moving the fabric, you don't want these up and active!

When it comes to free motion, I often follow the flow of the fabric...

and to keep things tidy, I pull the loose threads to the back & tie them up!

Here is some free motion from the front...

and this is the "behind the scenes" look!  There is a lot of stitching goin' on here. =)

I mark my signature "V" on the inside with a blue water soluble pencil & stitch my little heart out!

Everything is ready...time to sew them together!

And she's all done, made with attention to detail & lots of love!

Since this was a birthday present, I offered to include a matching hand made card.  I used some fun animal print ribbon & a picture of one of the trees...add stitching & wha-lah, it's done!

As usual, I used recycled paper packaging & tied strips of fabric to the front and added a stamped sentiment to the tag.

Happy Birthday Violet!  

I hope you are enjoying your custom wallet...I had a lot of fun making it.