Peek-a-Boo: Spring is on its Way!

Spring has Sprung 2015 Ellijay, Georgia USA

Spring has Sprung 2015 Ellijay, Georgia USA

Spring is popping up all over the sunny sides of the hills around North Georgia, USA. It makes me smile to see those daffodils (March flowers) in February. Its one of our first signs of Spring’s arrival in my neighborhood. How about yours?

With Spring comes a new season of crafting in my studio.  I love to shop early for summer supplies and there are an abundance of pretties to pick over.  Here’s a picture of my latest treasures found in the holler of Morganton, GA known as Miller Cloth Shop. I can’t wait to get my backlog of custom orders finished, so I’ll have time to play with these pretties.

Pastel Pallette

Pastel Pallette

I also placed an order for basic supplies to keep my ruffled tote bags standing tall.  I love the Peltex (Pellon) 71 Ultra Firm fusible stabilizer.  It’s getting harder and harder to find it online, but thank goodness I can find it locally.  There are substitutes out there, but I love using the best I can find for all my fans.  I want to keep you HAPPY.

Speaking of being HAPPY? What makes you happy? Sassy? or otherwise Smiling all day long? Craft-wise, what are you up to this time of year? Are you itchin’ to be stitchin’ like me? Or are you drooling over digging in the dirt first day of sunny warm weather?  Thankfully, here in my neck-o-the-woods, we get sunny and fairly warm days in between all the cold snaps. So we can actually dig in the dirt earlier than most Americans.

But, my TRUE LOVE is sitting in the Studio Green Craft and letting my mind spin out new creations. I’ve made notes and doodles to work on new projects.

They’ll be on debut during a Spring Craft Show coming up in May, Georgia’s Apple Blossom Festival. 2_2015 apple blossoms

It’s a new craft festival to our town, and the weather will be glorious in May. I’m excited to be showing all my Boho, Chic, & Shabby handmade purses, totes, aprons, & gifts to the locals and those who visit our area the first weekend in May, 2015.

 

Sh-h-h-h-h-h………Here’s the PEEK-A-BOO part of this post!

Coming to My Etsy Shop soon, a new section for you planners and gifters: Weddings . That’s right! A new section for you gals who love to shop! or party! or decorate! I will be working on getting that section filled little by little with all sorts of goodies. Here’s a list I’ve been building for YOU: wedding favors, bridesmaid gifts, burlap decorations, lacy table toppers, & diy kits, too!  (Pics coming soon. Check the post updates in a week or two.)

If you go to that Weddings section NOW (see link above), you’ll see the beginnings of my bridesmaid gifts: sari silk purses.  Later, I will add more styles: frame clutches in lace/satin, snap bags w fabric rosettes in pastel colors, there will be an entire collection of handmade bags in ivory, cottons, linens, lace, burlap added to this section.  The only thing holding me back is TIME; time to cut-out, sew-up, photograph, & list the products.

Be patient. GOOD THINGS come to those who wait.

 

‘Peek-a-Boo’ Post: Chic & Shabby Sari Silk Fringed Bags

Chic and Shabby Sari Silk Bag

Chic and Shabby Sari Silk Bag

I will be very busy this month and next, creating new stock for the fall festival in October. So, today I decided to go ahead and write a ‘peek-a-boo’ post to share my latest craze–sewing w/sari silk.

These little bags are gonna be all the rage this fall, so…..do you want to know where they will debut?  Read on!

Chic and shabby bags made from up-cycled sari silk and vintage textiles! My latest creation… and inspiration …for fall festival preparation.  Since my Flapper Bags, aka/ https://www.etsy.com/shop/greencraftstudio/ (Shabby Country Chic beach/tote bags), have been so popular–online and locally–I chose to create another Chic and Shabby bag to debut at the Mountain Moonshine Festival in Dawsonville, Georgia on October 26-27, supporting Kare for Kids charity (www.kareforkids.us/festival.html)

The Flapper Bag is a large fully-lined, machine washable, tote style bag with layers of horizontal, ragged ruffles sewn into the front of it. Its a real shabby, country chic look. This new shabby bag is much smaller and designed with busy, shopping divas in mind.

Chic & Shabby Sari-Silk Bags come with or without an inside pocket, a flap-over closure, and a removable, cross-body strap. The entire bag is covered in 1 or 2″ strips of  hand-dyed,  sari silk ‘ribbons’ by sewing vertically across the strips, attaching them to the ‘body’ of the bag. (The bag shown in the image is a proto-type; or the first one I made from this new, used material.)

Don’t you just love the raggedy fringe at the bottom of the flap?  The sari silk ‘ribbon’ was purchased from a supplier who up-cycles the product and sells it as ‘yarn’ or ‘ribbon’ online @ Etsy.  (I am so happy to find a supplier who feels the same as I do about using products to keep them out of landfills.) Let me know what color you would like to see for fall… check out all the many color-ways available @Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/FeltBetter. As a matter of fact, tomorrow, I will place a custom order button for this new bag in my Etsy shop. All of you who read this blog will get free shipping when you order 2 or more of these bags, use this coupon code (FREESHIP2) when ordering now through November 2014.