Slow Stitching - Embellishments to Book Bags

I went back and revisited my book bags and chose embellishments for some of the earlier ones. 

1. I added a dragonfly charm on a peice of blue felt

2. An orange cloth flower on a blue bag.

3. A yellow and green circle accent for the masculine striped one.

4. Just a bit of a strip of turquoise fabric with stitching for the first one I made.

You will see that I have added a "My Bag" tag to each of them as well.

"My Bag" Tag Process

I have been thinking about this idea for a while.  I have made many bags in the last few years. Several for myself, others for gifts, still others to donate to good causes. Some are for shopping, some for carrying books, and the latest for wine bottles. They are well finished, made to last, functional and look nice. 

I would like for those who use my bags to think of them as their own special bag.  It protects their stuff, makes carrying stuff easier, it is unique and easily recognizable at a social event when it is time to head home. 

After some brainstorming, I decided to attempt making tags for the bags I make.  I still have a supply of shrink plastic from card making days.  That should work.  Well this has been a process. 

My first ones were "tiny".  After I had the size down and asked for feedback. It was suggested they have round corners, be sewn with white thread to match the plastic better, should have 4 holes and maybe the edge of the bag would be better. The last photo is the model I am going with. I will put them on all my bags in stock and going forward.

I made a paper tag to explain my intention with the the making of the bag and how I hope they will use them.

A pretty shopping bag that you don't forget in the car when you go grocery shopping.  

Using a wine bottle bag at your next get together making bring a bottle easier and remember its your bag so bring it home.

A book bag to protect your book when you commute to work, take a trip, or take it to the park to enjoy the sunshine.

A book to hold your organizer/planner/daytimer and those essential things you need when you are out and about. 

A project bag to hold the pieces of your latest craft project. 

A lunch bag to bring your meal at work, at a sporting event, or at the park.

I am sure there will be different bags in my future.

Cards - Shrink Plastic Flowers

Here are the cards I made with my shrink plastic flowers. Check this post for details on how to make the flowers.

I found yellow buttons to put in the centre of the flowers which I will string into the holes I made in the shrink plastic flowers.  I made a background starting with a white quarter sheet which I sponged with Tim Holtz Distress Stain in Tattered Rose (light) and Victorian Velvet (darker). I stamped the SU Background Builder (script) stamp with Paprika ink in several directions. I glued this layer to a warm rosy ginger card leaving a small border. I cut the stem and leaves by hand and glued them to the card front.  I tacked the flower in place, used a push pin to make the holes through the card front using the holes in the flower.  I strung yellow thread through the button, the flower and the card front and tied in a knot on the front.



For the card on the right I used  Tim Holtz Distress Stain in Antique Linen (light) and Crushed Olive (darker). I stamped the SU Background Builder (script) stamp with Paprika ink in several directions.

These cards likely will not go through the mail without extra postage.

How To: Mixed Media - Shrink Plastic Flowers

I have decided to stretch myself this year and try more mixed media techniques.  Today, I worked with shrink plastic and alcohol inks.  I used Ruff 'N Ready shrink plastic.  I used a collection of Tim Holtz® Adirondack® Alcohol Inks to color the ruff side. I placed a couple drops of each purple, red, orange, green, and yellow then used rubbing alcohol to dilute the colors as I applied them to the shrink plastic.  It dries really fast and you want it quite light because it will concentrate the color when it shrinks.  Once dry, I used the Sizzix Bigz Flower #2 to cut a large poinsettia flower that was over 4" in diameter. I used a 1/8" long reach hole punch in the centre of the die cut flowers.  I then placed them on a pizza pan covered with parchment paper in a 275F oven and waited.  Soon they started to curl and shrink. After a couple of minutes they flattened right out. The final flowers are half the size of the originals at 2" across. Check in a bit to see the cards I made with these flowers.