Author: denise

I have done beadwork for over 25 years and got so interested in jewelry design that I took two metalwork classes at Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts in Gatlinburg, Tennessee from wonderful teachers Deborah Lynn Gold and Marjorie Simon. I can't choose a favorite medium. I love sculptural work and adore forming and fabricating metals, but three-dimensional beadwork is more colorful. I sew a lot! Lately I've been making lots of purses and wallets as well as upcycling used clothing into new items. Lately I've gone back to sewing and refashioning cast-off clothing–mostly men's shirts, into girls' clothing. I also enjoy making handbags and wallets. They are really fun to put together–like a puzzle.

I Gnome more now

Since I’ve been making hats from wool felt, I have small (and large) scraps of felt leftover.

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Wool Felt Hat
Wool Felt Hat

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was wondering what to do with them. I can’t stand to throw away anything usable, so I searched Pinterest for ideas and found wooden peg gnomes that I fell in love with. Pins lead me to Etsy shops and one Etsy shop in particular, which is closed now, lead me to Painting Pixie’s website. I LOVE HER WORK!

I ordered some wooden pegs in different sizes from here.

These are my results.

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I’m quite happy with them. My darling granddaughter insisted that I put eyes, nose and mouth on Red Riding Hood, but I prefer just some rosy cheeks on the gnomes. I love cutting out new paper patterns for the clothes and trying different embroidery designs.

The Traveling Bazaar

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I will be at Elizabeth Claire’s in Clinton, TN on February 27 with the Traveling Bazaar. This is my first time for this show, so I’m a little excited!  I will NOT have jewelry, but will have hats, purses & wallets, etc., refashioned children’s clothing and some microwave bowl holders. Carolyn Hanson is sharing my booth with her wonderful polymer clay creations. I’m looking forward to seeing you there! ‪#‎TheTravelingBazaar‬.

New skills

I’m developing new sewing skills. I’m learning to sew with vinyl and many, many layers of fabric–sometimes 8 layers. I try to keep it under 6, but sometimes it’s not possible. Here is the lining of my variation on the Kennedy Bag by Sara Lawson.

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The lining is a cute cotton print of owls. Sorry the pic is blurry. I love magnetic snaps. They’re not hard to put in at all and work SO well.

 

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The bag below is probably one of my favorites of all time. I used a man’s suit jacket from Goodwill and cut the back so that one of the large pockets would be centered on it. It’s great for a cell phone. The front pocket is made of vinyl (which I’m not too happy with really) that is lined with the cotton print fabric that I used to line the purse.  The pattern is the Poacher’s Bag by Charlie’s Aunt.

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I made the strap longer on the first Poacher’s Bag I made. The front pocket is perfect for my keys. I think I will make a larger, maybe full-size, zipper pocket in the back lining next time.