Thunder Up! Preseason Prep.

I'm trying to get started early on my Thunder gear this year.  I will admit that up until the end of last season I had not watched professional basketball in nearly 10 years.  I used to LOVE it!  I watched every game, college or professional, and enjoyed every minute.  My favorites were Charles Barkley and the Duke team with Battier and Langdon (that tells you how long ago it was).  But at my husband and cousin's insistence I decided to watch the last two series of the playoffs...now I'm hooked.  The reasons I stopped watching in the first place seemed to be missing from the Thunder team.  There was no showboating and they actually played like a TEAM.  In order to properly support my team this season I will need to get some Thunder attire.  But I do not want to have the same stuff as everyone else in Oklahoma City so I decided to make my own.  This is what I've come up with so far.  Keep in mind they are just the preliminary projects.

I started off with my poor beat up Rocketdogs.  These were my favorite shoes before I got pregnant an the only thing I've worn since-hence their condition.  I thought they would be the perfect trial pair since they are falling apart (the soles are in even worse shape).  I did wash them before getting started.

My next step was to draw out the pattern directly onto the shoe so I could get an idea of how it would look.  In hindsight, this was not the best idea.  The paint that I used did not cover the marker so I was not able to make any adjustments to the pattern after I started.

I wanted a variety of patterns and prints.  I girl that I went to high school with and am now friends with on Facebook has done some wonderful OU and OSU shoes in the past so I looked to her photos for inspiration.

I toyed with the idea of putting the Thunder logo on the tops of the shoes but decided to go simple since it was my first time.

I also very sloppily wrote THUNDER on the backs of the shoes and was unable to cover it with the paint.  Hopefully the hems of my pants will cover my mistake.

Next I sketched out a quick drawing so I could see where I wanted to put the different colors within each section.

Finally time to start painting.  Again I learned a lot which should make it sooo much easier next time!

I finally came out with these!

Not too bad for my first attempt :)

Boutique Bound!

I have been asked in the past to put some of my items in various boutiques around the state but have never found a place that I thought would work for me...until now.  Starting tomorrow I will be sending (via mail) items to Claremore to be put in a boutique featuring homemade items.  Although I've never been to Claremore before I did look them up on Facebook to get a general idea of how their store is laid out and what type of items they carry.  I was pleasantly suprised by what I saw.  You can check them out for yourself

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Crafted-an-artisan-boutique/206044486147289

For now I will just be sending them a few of my smaller womens items but if all goes well I may try to expand the range of items that I send to them.  I've been working this weekend to get items ready to send their way.

So far I plan on sending them my new Business Card Holders, Keyring Clutches, Foldover Clutches (various sizes), Curvy Clutches (various sizes), Earbud Pouches and whatever else I have time to get ready today.

I do have another project that I have started that I'm really excited about.  Unfortunately Kale hasn't been cooperating so it's taking a little longer than I would like.  I'm hoping to have pictures to share tomorrow.

I didn't get a lot of sewing done this weekend, but I still feel that overall I accomplished quite a bit.  I went to the gym at the instance of my friend Rachel for the first time in about 14 months.  Afterwards I swung by the house to pick up Kale and Ryan to take them to Rachel's swimming pool.  Kale had a much better time than the previous attempt.  He actually seemed pretty content (and he was absolutely adorable of course).

I have to admit that I'm feeling a little sore today but very energetic.  Not sure whether to attribute the energy to the workout yesterday but I'm sure that it's to blame for the soreness :).  I did manage to rearrange my sewing room yet again.  I definitely liked it better before except for the fact that one of the two outlets was inaccessible.  So while it may not be as aesthetically pleasing, it is definitely more functional.  I also managed to use up the left over pieces of fabric from my Moda French General collection on a bunch of fun Foldover Clutches and Card Holders.  Tonight its back to the gym and back to work!

New Style of Diaper Bag!

I have to say that this weekend did not go well in my sewing world.  I attempted two diaper clutches in a new style and was very unhappy with my end results...guess my mother-in-law will be getting a couple of new items :).  The overall look of the clutches were very cute but I used an extra firm stabilizer and since they were so thin (about an 1" wide) it was hard to get them through my machine.  I may end up handstitching them but that could prove to be just as hard.  I'm sure I'll figure out something, lol. 

After those botched attempts I did manage to knock out one new diaper bag.  I have made two of these for myself and love them.  My first one was made with the Meadow Friends fabrics by Moda and the second (the one I'm carrying now) can be seen in one of my earlier blogs was made using an owl fabric by Kanvas.  This newest bag is perfect for a new little addition to the family with a total of 8 pockets it is sure to keep all of your baby essentials organized.

I also managed to get a few random keyring clutches ready and got caught up on all of my orders that I had been putting off.  I still have three pillowcases dresses, a carseat canopy, and some wee wee tee pees that need to go out by the end of the week.  Eek!

The most fun I had all weekend was introducing Kale to solid food.

We made a huge mess but he seemed to like it and we had a blast!  We started off with squash and a couple of days later tried sweet potatoes.  He's still trying to figure out how to get the food off of the spoon but it won't be long before he has the hang of it!  The mother-in-law (Linda) is coming to watch him tonight so I get to focus on my sewing!

Skirts for Charity

I just read an amazing post on one of my favorite blogs.  A few celebrities and bloggers have teamed up for Project Run and Play.  Project Run and Play will help out foster care system by donating homemade skirts to the girls in need.  You can find out more about the event and check out a great skirt tutorial at

http://maureencracknellhandmade.blogspot.com/2012/07/drawstring-skirt-tutorial.html?showComment=1342097005354#c2791006392655047691

I put the finishing touches on three of my Swing Bags last night.  I wanted a little variety so I finished one with an applique and buttons (this one has been finished for awhile), one with a large sash/bow, one with small crochet flowers, and one with an owl charm.  I have to put the finishing touches on one more but not sure what I want to do to it...I'm open for suggestions :)

Craft Fair

I spent a good chunk of time on Sunday trying to get together a game plan for the Craft Fair that I have a booth at in November.  After doing a couple of shows this spring with little success I decided to put off doing any more until closer to Christmas and in the meantime work on stocking up my inventory.  That's not to say that I didn't have a great time at the shows earlier this year.  I met some great people and bought a few wonderful items, but I just didn't make much money.  I finally figured out which items I wanted to have for sale and the quantity of each needed.  It is a LONG list!

I decided that the best way for me to get everything done on time would be by concentrate on making all one item in a row...don't think I explained that very well :)  By that I mean that if I want to have 100 earbud pouches then I will make all of those before moving on to the keyring clutches as opposed to just doing a random item here and there.  Tonight I plan to have all of the Swing Bags done so be on the lookout for the finished products!

I hope everyone had a great weekend!  We got to spend some quality time with my dad and brother.  The baby seems to be the magic touch - - my dad (who lives about 3 hours away) has been to visit me more in the last 4 months than in the last 9 years :).  And my grandparents have made their first trip to my house as well. 

I have a few of my items for sale at my friend Kaley's shop The Posh Polka Dot (http://www.facebook.com/ThePoshPolkaDot?ref=ts) and along with being one of my best customers she also sends custom orders my way occassionally.  This weekend she had a woman looking for an OU dress for her 12 month old.  I have a couple of cute OU fabrics so I decided to give it a try.  I just have to put the finishing touches on it so pictures should be up tomorrow.

I also managed to get a few Swing Bags constructed.

The first bag is constructed of fabrics from a box of remnants I ordered from Etsy ( I LOVE remnant and scrap boxes/bags...you never know what your going to get).  When I initially opened this box I was a little disappointed with what I was sent but after looking again I am thrilled.  All of the cuts in the box are big pieces.  I cut the exterior of this from one piece and still have a significant portion left!  The exterior is a Free Spirit fabric, the handles Joel Dewberry and the interior unknown.  The exterior of the middle bag is made of a great bird print from Heidi Grace that I could not resist.  the inside is a coordinating red with small brown polka dots and the handles a solid brown.  The third bag is made from some fabrics I picked up on clearance at Wal-Mart.  I'm really loving the gray, yellow, black, white color scheme (in fact these are the colors that I'm planning to use to redecorate my "shop").  While I love the size and style of the bags and the fact that they are reversible, I feel that they are missing some finishing touch.  I just cannot decide...large bow/sash, flowers, rosettes, buttons?  Maybe I'll try a different thing on each one. 

Tomorrow I hope to have the pictures of the finished OU dress as well as the purses!

I wanted to share a few shops that I found on Etsy that are absolutely amazing:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/rjcharms is going out of business and everything is 50% off of her already low prices.  Lots of great necklaces and earrings to choose from.  This one is only $6!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/BonitaBellita has more jewelry.  this is just one example of the great things that she has.

If your looking for a fun hat for your little one check out http://www.etsy.com/shop/hannamaydhugs

These great hats are only $5.  Kale will definitely be getting at least one this winter!

We had a great 4th of July.  I woke up early and started working on some of the small curvy clutches that I had previously cut

 then went to hang out with a friend at the pool for a little while.  Which gave me an opportunity to finally try out the beach bag that I made last year.  I used a pattern from Amy Butler's Style Stitches book and Michael Miller fabrics. 

Kale had his first adventures in the pool...

And as you can see it didn't go too well :)  We're going to give it another try this weekend. 

I didn't get nearly as much accomplished as I had hoped but maybe this weekend will be more productive.

Born in the USA

I must start off by saying that I am absolutely thrilled to have a weekday off of work.  I'm hoping to get a lot accomplished around the house.

We went to Ryan's co-worker's cookout last night.  It was a bit of a crash course with kids for me.  They had two young kids with a million questions that were all directed at me at about a mile a minute.  I guess its good preparation for when Kale gets older :)

Before we left to go over there I did manage to finish up my new bag.  I LOVE it!  The fabric is from a manufacturer that I had never heard of- Kanvas.  They only had about 6 different fabrics in the line that I chose but they were wonderful!

I have used this pattern before.  The first time had disastrous results due to the me misreading the instructions-whoops.  

I love the way it is constructed and the abundance of pockets.  The outside has four side pockets which makes it perfect for doubling as a diaper bag.

The original pattern only has one small interior pocket and for all the women that I know, that simply will not do!  I added a large interior zippered pocket with a double zipper.  I decided to sew a seam down the middle to make two medium sized pockets as opposed to the one large.  On the other side I added another large pocket (non-zippered) and again divided it into two sections.  I did not feel the need to add a cell phone pocket or swivel clip for keys since there are so many exterior pockets.  This was definitely my best attempt at a zippered pocket.

Clearing out the Clutter

I have been telling myself for awhile now that I will finish all the projects I have started but never completed...and there are a lot of them! 

I started by finishing the 8 curvy clutches that were ordered as bridesmaids presents.  The pattern is by Michelle Patterns (formerly Keyka Lou) at http://www.etsy.com/shop/michellepatterns?ref=ss_profile.  I have used many of hers in the past and they are all wonderful!

I used Holly Taylor for Moda fabrics from her Simpler Time line.  The interior is a cut log print.  Very rustic and woodsy. 

The next project I decided to tackle was one I started last week.  It was a new pattern ordered at the request of a friend.  She got married last Saturday and I decided it would be a perfect present for her (not really fair to her husband, but what can I say :) ).  The pattern was definitely not the best one I have ever used-unclear instructions and missing measurements.  The first attempt had to be abandoned because of exposed seams on the side pockets.  I ended up making her an entirely new bag out of different fabrics (which I forgot to take a picture of before I gave to her).  I couldn't stand to throw away the original bag so I decided to finish it while waiting for inspiration on how to fix the pockets.  This is what I ended up with...

The best I could come up with was to add a ribbon trim to the bottom of the pockets.  I had some in my stash that had the right colors so I put it on there as a quick fix.  The bag isn't up to my standards to sell in my shop but my mother-in-law will be thrilled to have it.  Poor lady gets all of my sub par items.  Although I was not happy with the pattern as a whole, I was able to adapt it when making the second bag and will be using the modified version again in the future.

My next project is one that is long overdue...a bag for ME!  I found the most amazing fabrics at my favorite local craft shop-The Savage Quilter-and cannot wait to get started! 

I hope to have it finished and pictures posted tomorrow.

Introduction

Hello,

My name is Angie.  I have a handsome 4 month old little boy, a great husband, two very energetic dogs and a very fat cat.  I started crafting at a very young age.  My mother taught me to cross stitch and embroider when I was in elementary school and my grandmothers added knitting, crochet and sewing to my list of skills by the time I was in middle school.  In April 2011 I opened my Etsy shop Swallow Designs by AB (http://www.etsy.com/shop/SwallowDesignsbyAB?ref=si_shop) and my Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/SwallowDesignsbyAB?ref=ts) shortly thereafter.  I focus mostly on women's purses and accessories but will try just about anything once.  I still work full time so I do not get to devote as much a time to my crafting as I would like but hopefully that will change someday and I will get to be a stay at home mom and full time crafter.  About five years ago I became a vegetarian and I would love to be able to start cooking and baking again someday.  This blog will follow me as I craft, bake, parent and live my life.  In this blog I will share tutorials (and may include some of my own), pattern reviews, recipes, and any other little pieces of information that I think are worth passing along.  I am open to suggestions so let me know if there are any projects that you are looking forward to seeing.