hand sewn shoulder bag

This was a cheap bag that kept me creatively busy for a couple of weeks. I made this last year while I was in the USA. I bought the material from the scraps pile at a local craft store, designed it and got to work. Everything is handsewn, not by choice, but by necessity. The people I lived with didn't have a sewing machine. Most of it is back-stictched for strength; some parts twice. I put the circles on to give it a bit of fun colour purposefully staggering the stripes. I really like the black material, actually more of a charcoal with black stitching. I like the plain but not boring factor of that material.

I put a flap on the inside with two pockets both sides (so the one on the backside can hide the secret stuff), a loop to hang my sunnies on the left end and a mobile phone pocket on the other end. I also sewed in an oversized press stud at the top to enable me to clasp it shut if I want. It's quite a sturdy bag and I enjoy using it.

wire hat

This is me! I thrive when I'm creating. I feel a-buzz with life when ideas are flowing or my creating is coming together. Over my years I have created many things of all sorts. This blog is to share my creations and other attempts with anyone who is interested in creative ideas.

The hat in the picture above is one I made for a 21st party that you had to wear a hat to. I made the basic shape from thick wire and then randomly intertwined it with smaller wire. I decorated it with black sequined string around the brim (smaller than the size I wanted--due to cost) and pink metallic string weaved around the bulk of the hat. I also spotted the brim, beyond the black sequin-string, with pink flower sequins and finished it off with a couple of stalks of sliver and black balls that stick out toward the front on one side. Whilst it does nothing for sun protection, it is quite interesting and the weight of the wire keeps it sitting happily on my head without much struggle. It's now about six and a half years old but I still like it.