Spring is in the air ...now, hang the door watchamacallit!

Spring has finally sprung in Indiana; I really hope Mother Nature isn't playing a joke on us! I think today we're supposed to hit 70!! Woohoo!!!!

In my cost saving and recycling mode, I made this great door hanger out of recycled coffee burlap sack. I lined it with some duckcloth and then used burlap webbing for the handle. It measures about 12" x 4" so it's tall and narrow which is perfect for a bouquet of flowers.



It's also a no-nonsense, easy door decoration. It's just simple; which is how I'm really beginning to like things.

something new....

Here's some of the latest things that I've been working on. These earrings are wrapped in brown waxed linen cord and then I added a red coral bobble. They hang about 2 1/2 inches. These are those pair of earrings that you could wear everyday and never grow tired of.



Here's another angle...



Here's a bracelet that I just finished. The center silver piece is a figure eight and it's flanked by two hammered circles. I joined the pieces by wire wrapping leather; something I've never done before, but it looks great. I added some bobbles -> an artisan silver heart and then a wire wrapped red coral. The gemstones in this piece are orange aqua terra jasper, green turquoise, cranberry red jade, kingman turquoise, chrysocolla, orange sea jasper & sea sediment jasper.


Here's a close up of the wire wrapping

Military uniforms make great handbags!!!

I met with Mandy about two weeks ago and she knew she wanted two handbags made out of her Dad's Air Force uniform. She preferred the messenger style handbags and then left the rest up to me. Here's her Dad's uniform which was in pretty good shape. His uniform had a few moth holes and it was faded, but that only added to the character of the bag. He was an airman.

Here, you can see the fabric has been cut and I've made good use of the pockets and design of the jacket. Mandy brought me her dad's total uniform (even the pants) which I had to use for the back of the handbags.

Mandy was able to find one military patch from her dad and I added it to the detail of the purse.

I used his trousers for the straps of the purse and then added his name tape to the strap and also U.S. Air Force. I love this detail and totally makes the purse unique.

Here, again, you can see the front of the purse. I added a lapel to the flap of the purse along with another front pocket. The silver buttons are a nice added feature.

If you know anyone who would like to have a handbag made out of a purse, please pass along my name. I loved creating this for Mandy and her sister and hope it will be a huge fashion statement!!