Oh, which bag?

I'd like to get a vintage leather carry-on bag. Don't tell me husband - he thinks I have too many bags already >_< Oops! But I don't have any leather bags and I think it would be super handy and awesome :-) Annnd one of the Style School projects is to take something vintage and remake it as your own, sooo....

Help me choose?
I've narrowed it down to a few...

 

I've always wanted a bowling bag!!

(from VeroVintage on Etsy)

 

Love this color!

(from Coldfish on Etsy)

 

(from lookwhatifound on Etsy)

 

(found on ebay here) 

Or maybe one of these...

(from SFMissonFinds and Coldfish on Etsy)

These won't work for this project, but I love them and wanted to share ;)

(found here and here on Etsy)

So many beauties to choose from....Which do you like best?

Panda Cosmetic Bag ^_^

eeeheheheeee.....panda ^_^ (I might as well add "panda" as one of my tags, haha)
Here is Project #8! I wasn't sure how much I'd like this project to be honest, but I'm so happy with the result! I'm glad I decided to go with one of my favorite animals :-)

(Don't be fooled. The colors are actually gray and a very dark navy blue!)

It's Happening!

1. I've already jotted down a schedule to try out!

2. Wanna help? (kidding...sorta ;)) shop

3. Paintings that inspire me:

Susan Hazard

Marcelo Pambo (via artnet)

 Takashi Murakami (via Art Radar Asia)

4. Something like...

(via knitty - patterns: holla and surface)

5. I'd love something like these from Anthropologie

6. Craft Riot by Etsy Austin, definitely! Looking into others, too :)

7. Definitely would be more organized. (And I love organization.)

8. I'd been thinking about it, and then seeing this:

...put my over the edge. I'm doing it.

(work of Elsie at A Beautiful Mess)

9.This one is pretty:

(tutorial via Film in the Fridge)

10. It's started with my bestie, but not quite ready to be viewed yet ;-)

Graffiti Bag

Finished the second bag! Thought I'd go ahead and upload a couple pics, because I love it sooo much ^_^ I designed a bag like this a long time ago, but never got around to making it. It fits a sketchbook perfectly, with room to spare for my billfold, then has pockets for phone, keys, pens, etc. And it has the amazing graffiti fabric, with an A on front :D

Things to change on the next one:
- Make the strap a little wider.
- Maybe add depth for ease of packing/unpacking.
- Add lining to make it a little stronger.
- Maybe add a closure for the flap...nothing too hard to get open.

But those are all little things that aren't too important - just to make it more personalized to my lifestyle. I love the bag as it is!

Tammy's Bag: Finished

Alrighty, the bag is finished! It's much like my Batman bag, but is a slightly different shape, and with different pockets. I love using the contrasting fabric for the inside of the pockets! I think I did a really great job on this bag, I must say. And I'm getting faster, too! It only took me...maybe 6 hours? to complete. That doesn't include shopping for materials, of course, but that was really fun as well. Take a look - I hope you enjoy!





(Can you tell I had fun with the photoshoot again? :D)
(PS: In the background are the bookshelves Alex and I designed and built. Aren't they beautiful?)

And I just uploaded it to my etsy shop! Can't wait to finish some more projects!

Sneak Peak!

Here's a quick sneak peak at the new bag I'm making! It's for Melissa's friend Tammy, who likes blues and greens. I'm in love with the patterned fabric. Doesn't it look like a 50s clock?

Birthday Bag!

So you may remember my Batman bag (based off this tutorial), which I still love dearly and use frequently. My best friend asked me a while back to make her one, so I decided to for her birthday! I learned a lot from making the last one, so it only took me about a day this time >_<
I absolutely love the fabric I found at Hancock. I was looking at half a dozen patterns, but Alex helped me narrow it down. I like that both have interesting prints without being too bold. Contrasting colors and prints for different moods!
I did the pockets differently on this bag. For one, they are laid out symmetrically. I also decided to line them for strength with the contrasting fabric. I'm really happy with them! In fact, I was tempted to keep the bag. In addition to the pockets, I also changed the shape of the bag some, too. I made it shallower, and I really like the result. I hope you like it, too!

Batman Zippered Pouch!

I forgot to post about this project :) After the huge success of my Batman bag, I decided to try my luck at making a matching zippered pouch! I'd never made anything with a zipper before, but I inherited a shoebox full of them from my grandmother last fall. Unfortunately most of them are pretty long, so I picked the smallest I could find (6") and made a little bag off of that. Luckily I also inherited a sewing machine and a zipper foot :) (I did have to google zipper foot images, because I had no idea what they looked like!)

I cut out a great Batman and Batplane from my Batman sheet to use as the outside. I lined it with the same linen I used for the opposite side of my Batman bag. If you've never sewn with a zipper before either, there's a great tutorial at twelve22. One thing I learned (that should have been obvious, but I make silly mistakes) is that you want the fabric to be longer than your zipper! Mine was, but just barely. Next time I'll give myself a little more leeway. For the strap I'm just using my camera case strap! Haha - I wasn't planning on using a strap, but decided to take the pouch as my "clutch" downtown last weekend and it definitely helped!

I really like it. It's the perfect size for my phone, credit card, and lip balm. It also perfectly fits pens and pencils. And it feels great in the hand. I hope you like it :)

Batman Bag!

I've been sitting on this pattern by Lula Louise and this amazing Batman sheet I picked up at a thrift store for a while now. Finally I really needed another bag, and have the time, and decided to make it! It started off by me emptying out my giant box of sewing stuff. Since I'm an amateur and very poor, the only things I really keep on hand are scraps from old clothing and thrift stores and a few pieces of sale fabric I couldn't pass up. After sifting through, I cut the pattern out of the Batman sheet and some white linen. The pattern doesn't call for pockets, but I need them. I used yellow t-shirt sleeves to back a couple villains; I made a double pocket with a flap; and I made a couple invisible pockets on the Batman fabric.



After getting the pockets on, I was back to the pattern. Sewing the two pieces together wasn't bad (well, curves are slightly problematic). The bottom of the bag was really the hardest part (besides the pockets). It called for a basting stitch to gather it around the short ends, but that didn't really work too well for me. I did better when I just gathered it by hand. Of course, at this point it was 2am ;) I also actually pressed the fabric every time I was supposed to!! I'm so proud of myself for actually trying to make something pretty... (Also, notice my beautifully color-coded pins *swoon*)




Once I had the bottom sewn on, I turned the bag right side out and whip stitched the hole closed. Isn't she beautiful? *tear*



I'm really jazzed with how it turned out.


*note: I had to cut the Batman side in two pieces, because I wanted the pattern to be right side up on both sides! *pats self on back for foresight*