amanda and her new custom bag!

custom bags for Amanda

One of my favorite customers, Amanda, sent in a bag she bought a few years ago to the recycled+revamped purse spa. It had been used up and much loved! After taking it apart, I took out some of the fabric and used pieces of it in a new, albeit smaller purse. At the same time, I made this bag from recycled office furniture fabric (and a smidgen of Heather Ross's mermaids) with a vintage button and some zippers to replace the large, much loved bag.

There are loads of pockets inside that make it great for getting all your stuff organized, whether it's for work, baby or travel. The smaller clutches were just a little something extra, because you can never have too many pockets!

For those of you in the Traverse City area, check out Amanda's restaurant, Trattoria Stella. It focuses on using all kinds of good, organic food from local farms as well as locally made beer and wine!.

Thank you Amanda for being such a great customer and allowing me to create this fabulous new bag for you!

recycled wool sweater coat and kids star tote bag

 

Last fall, when Fyn was outgrowing his little fox sweater coat, I set about making him a new one. The fair isle sweater was the starting point and from there, I added the ice skating sweater on the back. With the hood and sleeves layed out, I placed the other sweater pieces in place and stitched them together. Using a fleece vest as a lining, all the pieces were attached and here it is! Fyn loves it and we get plenty of attention when he wears it. 

"You didn't get that here! You must have gotten that in New York!" is my favorite comment to far.

And the pointy elfin hood pulls up to cover his head, while the sleeves roll down to cover his hands when we need a little extra warmth. That means we don't have to keep track of hats or mittens all the time.


Yes, I was able to figure out a way to circumvent the technical issues so I could blog! There's so much to tell you about with christmas and all! I'll try to get you caught up in the next few weeks. And I'm hoping to post a few more tutorials and some new things on my etsy shop.

custom tote bags for wedding planner

You might not know that Northern Michigan is a gorgeous place. And for an outdoor wedding, the counties up here boast incredible views of dunes, islands and fresh water.

Some of us are so lucky, that we live here all year long, in a place where others visit.  You are invited to join us. One of my good friends, Chandra Demers Wheeler has a wedding planning business called Orchestrated Grace. She has staff to help with anything from a small family ceremony on the beach to a huge event for 200+. One extraordinary wedding we worked on last year is going to be in the fall issue of Martha Stewart Weddings!

The large vinyl pocket on the back is perfect for our timelines and checklists!

You might have heard me say this before, but I love pockets! This one has a large zippered pocket on one side and 4 smaller pockets on the other, with a skinny one for pens. There's a hook for your keys too. Very organized.