Still a productive night!

My Photo Memory Board!

Black Satin, red star ribbon, red plastic buttons, lots of hot glue and a burned finger...

What a night!

What a productive afternoon!

So I bought an old hard make up case from a garage sale a while back. I never really used it for anything and it really wasn't in that great of shape - so I spruced it up with a coat of black spray paint...

And a hip new lining!

White browsing the Internet one day, I found an article on how to make a vinyl record bowl...So the hubby was sorting through our record collection and found one that was never going to play because of all the scratches...I got to try something new today and it worked out great!

Oo Baby Baby...Oo Baby Baby

Name that tune...GO!

Ok, I don't know if you know this about Shannons - but they aren't really "into" babies...so the fact that three babies are going to burst into my auntie life is kind of extreme...

So I have my first baby shower ever tomorrow - what do you do at a baby shower? I hope it's not crumpets and talk of placentas...but I digress.

Here is my feeble attempt at making something appropriate for Isabell (Isabel, Isabelle...who knows), my second niece to be born to the hubby's brother and his wife...

Yes, I understand that a pillow is a sorry excuse for a baby model...but it's past midnight, and I don't think any of you out there are really going to lend me your child for two little pictures...exactly.

So if any of you have babies due in your life and would like to bestow them with this festive hooded bath towel, send me a line! There is also a ducky possibility and a couple of secret posibilities for the other sister-in-law...muahhahahaha!!!

PS - if you are lucky enough to know me in person, please note that I still have three years until I have to think about children...but note even further that I want skulls, booze, and black at my baby shower...

Etsy Treasury

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=72360

So Etsy has this thing where you can make a collection of items - you can just pick items, you can pick related items, things that are all the same color, etc...well a nice person on etsy decided to make a Coca-cola treasury and added my Coca-cola bottle cap hair clips!
Thank you SchneiderGallery, Thank you!

The Tote Bag

This is the new tote bag I made for my awesome friend Jennifer. She actually designed her own large purse, and it was SO cool that I put it on Etsy and a nice woman traded me cool buttons for one (see post)

I learned to fix the pockets on the outside...but it has bright orange lining and is super cool!

So If you would like one of these super awesome large totes, they are $30 and are great for luggin' around your goods, farmer's market finds, the beach, sneaking candy into movies, and as Tiffany figured out - it's good for Kitties too :)

Another happy customer!

YAY!!!

http://moon-doggie.blogspot.com/2009/07/swingin-martinis.html


Rock on!

Aprons!

So until I can get pictures from people I have made aprons for - here are some of the cool ones I have made!

This is one of the first ones I made form a pattern I found online. The pieces were kind of wonky...and I ended up finding the real pattern at the fabric store...but cool nonetheless!

This is the same pattern that I made for Vanessa, I just added some pockets...this is one I used from the pattern online - see how the pieces don't all match!?

This is fun fabric I found in the clearance section at the fabric store and I have no idea why! It's so cute!!! I made this from that same online pattern, but I only made a half apron from it...I ended up giving it to my sister in law - she likes aprons - but I'm jealous that I don't have it any more...

I also made this for my sister in law - jealous again that I didn't keep it :)

This is ANOTHER apron from that online pattern, but I actually used the real pattern instead...I found this beater fabric and it is just too awesome! I piped each petal - which was a pain in my arse, but it looks great! No one bought it on etsy, so I might just keep this one...

Coming soon are pictures of the Dia de las Muertas apron I made plus a few other retro awesome ones!

Another nod from a happy customer!

http://thephoenixfalls.wordpress.com/2009/07/02/swingin-martinis-designs/

Thanks Vanessa!

Here are the fun things I made her:

ELEVEN NEW ITEMS!!! Can you believe it!?

I was a busy panda this weekend! I finally got my alligator clips in the mail from "someone in China" and busted out my new flower hair clips!

Plus, I was able to list all of my foam hair flowers, which I just love, and even during my dance class this week, the kids kept asking about them!

I also finally posted the purse from my awesome new fabric from Japan by way of Australia!





And I made myself a new messenger bag - pictures to come soon!

A Purse for Shannons

So you all remember my post about Ruthie's new Collar? Well, I had some of the belt left over and decided, "Waste not, want not."

I used some black crepe back satin for the outside and the lining, and a black plastic snap for the closure.

My Machine sewed through the leather belt much more easily than I anticipated. I might make more of these!

The Strap is pretty kick ass if you ask me!

Email me for more info on purchasing one of these bad boys! I don't know if I'm putting it on etsy yet...

Beautiful New Fabric!

Once Upon a Time, I found the site Repro Depot, thanks Mary Daguerre for the suggestion. I found super pimp Alice in Wonderland fabric, that, of course, just happened to be $15/yd. Let me Put this in prospective - I usually buy fabric that is $9/yard...and that's spendy.

So I show my dear friends this fabric, and we all go in on it...

We each paid our five bucks plus shipping, and I made us these matching purses...it was a complete coincidence that we were carrying them on the same night, a year later.

So I am browsing around etsy and find the COOLEST dress made out of that fabric - but she's charging $100 bucks for it! Well crap on that! Until I realized it probably cost her almost a hundred to make it!

Why is this fabric so expensive you ask? It's imported for Japan...it's luxurious! It's the nicest cotton I've ever hung out with.

So this chick lives in Australia and said she would sell me the rest of hers, plus some other stuff she got...how much is "at cost" in Australia!? $5/yard! OUT OF CONTROL!!! She sold me these three prints and I can't wait to do something super awesome with them! A dress? A purse? te he!

I will admit that I don't quite understand why the Cinderella fabric has card suits on them...but it's pretty so I don't care!

USPS and you!

I would like to share with you the glory of the United States Postal Service.

I would like you all to notice what our postal carrier wrote in the upper right hand corner of this delivery notice.

I'm sorry my scanner is being a tool right now and cutting off the "a" from "China", but yes, I ordered something from China, and instead of putting a name there, as usual for domestic packages, they wrote "someone in China."

Brilliant.

Being Crafty with our New Addition!

Meet Ruthie the Dog. She is a two year old Great Dane. We got her from a very nice family in Nampa. Yes, even she was subjected to my craftiness!

Are you from one of these states?

Are you from one of the Pink States? Then Congratulations! You live in a state awesome enough to have people carrying/wearing my creations!

Are you from one of the empty states? Then you get 10% off so that I can color your state in!

Let's fill this map!

Oh yeah, Belgium and the UK rocks and have people rockin' my goods...other countries are encouraged to participate too :)

Another Weekend of a thousand purses!

I had a glorious weekend, heck it's WEDNESDAY and I'm just now writing this, so it must have been GREAT!!! I made four aprons for my father in laws hot dog cart, pictures coming soon, and I also decided to make SEVEN new purses!

Enjoy!

All available on etsy!

Patterns - A bit of Inspiration

So as I sit here reading my local fabric store flyer, I see the glorious Ten Patterns for Ten Dollars Sale! So of course I go down to said local fabric store and I pick out a few, or seven.

So then I start thinking, "when on EARTH am I going to have the time to make all of these things!" Let alone the dozens of patterns I have purchased in the past...and let's not forget the wealth of patterns/tutorials/etc they have on the Internet! What is a girl to do?!

So in a moment for brilliance at work today, I came up with the idea of scanning all of my pattern envelopes and making a slide show out of all of them for my viewing public!

For example, I have four to five different apron patterns. If someone wanted an apron, they could look at my slide show and see what I have at my immediate disposal. Nice, right!? Well, what if I offered to make someone a birthday gift, but they didn't want something necessarily from my etsy store? Then they have to ask, "What all can you make?" Well I can't really tell them EVERYTHING I've made...it would be hasslesome :) and tedious. What a great way to get some inspiration if they had something to look at!

So I spent most of my night scanning pattern envelopes instead of taking pictures of my new awesome purses...nerd, right?

So On this blog, near the slide show of my fabric, you can see the slide show of my patterns! And tell me what you think of it - we tried getting a little creative...tell me if it's lame or not...thanks!

Being Crafty with Johnny the Dog

Yes, even Johnny, the 131 pound half black lab, half Chesapeake beast that is our now only child, is not safe from Swingin Martinis Crafty-ness! July 2nd is Mr. Johnny Cash's 3rd birthday, and he has cheap parents who would never spring for the expensive studded dog collars. But this year, Miss Shannonegans decided to one up the expensive studded dog collar circuit!

I MADE MY OWN!I bought a belt from our local wall-mart (someone gets bonus points if they can correctly tell me why I spelled walmart like that!) for a whopping $8.00 and away we went with the drill and some scissors!

Above is the belt, still in it's belt form.

This is the belt in all of it's dog collar glory!

So now you too, can have a pimp ass, punk dog who, at 131lbs, will scare the shiv out of intruders and other Ne'er-Do-Wells.