Purse On Us

I was chatting to a very good friend of mine via an instant messenger! She requested a gift from me for our graduation day [I know, she is quite straight forward and I am used to that]. Agreeing to her request, I asked what gift she wanted from me! To that, she responded that she wanted a pair of shoes from Jimmy Choo! God, Jimmy Choo! I could feel my pulse rate dropping and my body sweating!

Visit – http://blog.buymyshoes.com/luxury_shoe_brands/20100308-174733-She-Wants-Shoes-from-Jimmy-Choo

My breath almost stopped because Jimmy Choo is not an ordinary store for people like to buy! They sell shoes, apparels, handbags which are worth 1000 Euros  each! My goodness, was I dreaming! People with a lot of resources go to this store, not a commoner like me! The quality of their material is excellent, I think that is what makes it costly!

Just a little update on my knitting and felting adventures to-day. I felted three new style pouches they are made with different yarns and therefore will look slightly different.
This is the shape but the three to-day are different colours, lime green, earthy brown and a dark sea foam green, I love to buy new yarns and play with them to see how they will work out.
Finding good felting yarn can be a bit of a challenge around here I used to have a local yarn shop that sold great yarn for felting but unfortunately they no longer carry it.
We have also had a few car problems so knitting and felting have been somewhat sporadic due to the fact that we had to take the van to the garage for repairs. Thank goodness for my scooter !! I love it as you can see, it is pictured above with my knitting is knotty sticker and some skeins in lovely colours.
So my pouches are drying by the woodstove and I look forward to finding suitable buttons for closures although I did have a thought …to make funky felted buttons. Do you do that… have wildly creative thoughts when you are driving along and cannot write them down?… and my mind is not the sort that remembers all that well at the moment ! need I say more.

A gal cannot live on shoes alone. Check out these gorgeous designer handbags available at ShopNewYork.com.au. I’ve selected these to feature for their fabulous colours. I mean, does anyone really need ANOTHER black handbag?!

Go on, live a little ladies…

Botkier Sasha Mini Duffle Handbags
Color: Fuchsia
Details: Botkier *Sasha Mini Duffle* leather handbag. Dual leather wrapped handles with raw seam detailing and whipstitching. Front flap pocket. Top zip closure opens to interior lined with Botkier jacquard logo lining. Inside side zip pocket, cell phone pocket and accessory pocket. Bag measures 11 inches wide, 8 inches high and 4 inches deep with a 5 inch handle drop.

Lucky Brand Sugar Snap Handbags

Color: Mustard
Details: Lucky Brand *Sugar Snap* yellow leather handbag. Shoulder trap with knot detail. Contrast stitching and pinked trim. Hidden pockets on exterior. Enameled flower logo. Magnetic closure opens to a roomy interior with side zip pocket and additional accessory pockets. Bag measures 14 inches wide, 12 inches high and 3 inches deep with a 9 inch handle drop.

Maxx New York Bridle – Degrade Clutch Handbag

 Color: Red with Peach
Details: Maxx New York *Bridle – Degrade* patent leather handbag. Gradient color design. Antique gold tone studs. Needle stitching. Top zip closure opens to zebra print lined interior. Inside side zip pockets on and front and back of interior. Bag measures 17 inches wide, 7.5 inches high and 4 inches deep. Made in Italy. Made in Italy..

Quote:

“Basically we are all the same human beings with the same potential to be a good human being or a bad human being … The important thing is to realize the positive side and try to increase that; realize the negative side and try to reduce. That’s the way.”

Increase the positive. That sounds so easy. Living in New York City, one is surrounded by both ends of the sprectrum-both good and bad. Here, you see some of the the richest and poorest people in the world. So for me, the challenging thing is to notice the positive things more. It’s not that I don’t see them. I don’t really notice them. Let’s try to notice the good things in life. Let’s try to see the beauty in our life.

SOmewhere in the world,. there is a mother without a child there is a family without a home, there is sadness. everywhere. But…there is also a sun that rises and sets, there is air in your lungs, there are birds that sing…my daughter singing the beatles songs to me, my husband playing the banjo in the morning, the sound of the subway rattling by, and the look of my daughter sleeping at night angelically. These are  the things that make me notice the positive things in life.

What are things around you, that make you think of the positive things in life? Notice the things that make you notice. Take time to walk slower, to think about things. Really think about things. When you step out and look at things from the big picture, you realize how foolish you are to only notice the negative.

Anyway, today I made another purse. I used different fabric, and a slightly different style. This fabric is still vintage. I can’t remember where I got it though. Hmm.

Lots of pockets, because I love a purse with lots of pockets for putting little pens, pencils, knitting needles, etc.

Cute, right? I love making purses. I’m a purse person. My mother, she’s a shoe-holic. She litterally has closets FULL of shoes. Me? I stick to a couple pairs of shoes. My thing is jewelry and purses. Handbags. LOVE THEM.

So I really like this fabric a lot. I am inspired now to make a trip to Mood, and purchase some yummy fabric to make more totebags. Maybe I’ll sell a couple. Actually, I have some of this fabric left over. So maybe tomorrow, I’ll make one and sell it.

If you’re anything like me, you’re a sucker for a name brand. Despite wanting to be above it, I die when I see the new Marc Jacobs handbags or Prada runway show at Fashion Week. Also, if you’re anything like me, your bag costs more than what’s in your bank account and realistically you shouldn’t be buying that Chanel watch that costs more than your rent.

And that’s where consignment shops come in. Once you get past the fact that you’re not going to have a Saks-esque experience, these stores are a goldmine of high-end fashion for a college budget. However, rooting through said stores can be a lot of work and not exactly the most pleasant experience. So you turn to Ebay; it’s great for designer labels, but you soon learn (often the hard way) that you never know what you’re exactly getting.

Enter, online consignment! The way of the shopping future is here, and it’s named WWW and wearing Gucci loafers.

Consignment is just like picking through a closet that isn’t yours. The closet of that girl on campus who always looks super pulled together and fabulous. The one you want to hate because she always looks so damn perfect, but you can’t hate because she’s just so darn nice. She’s got a smile that matches her flawless wardrobe and handbags, and you would just kill to raid her closet for just one night.

Well, now you can! Christabelle is that girl and she’s opened her closet to you! OK, so maybe she’s not actually letting you rifle through her personal closet, but Christabelle’s Closet, an online consignment shop, is every college girl’s dream. This online shop has new or nearly new designer clothes that would make any savvy college girl gasp. From Gucci Flats to Rebecca Minkoff bags, Christabelle’s got it all, including a fully stocked designer label $10 section chock full of Michael Star tees and Intermix dresses. Yeah, ten freaking dollars.

And Christabelle is as sweet as she is fashion savvy, offering a very haute deal for CollegeCandy readers:

She’s giving you (and me!) 15% OFF ANYTHING in her closet for the entire month of March just by entering the code COLLEGECANDY when you check out.

I know I’ll be using it when I finally snag those Dolce & Gabbana heels that I’ve had my eye on for-ev-er. And probably a few other gorgeous things she’s got hanging in that virtual closet of hers.

With a deal like this, soon you’ll be that girl on campus that everyone wants to hate because you’re always looking so good. And they’ll want to hate you even more when they know how little it cost you to do it.

I’m one of those women that have a real passion for handbags.     I’m constantly on the look out for unusual or unique handbags.  This week I came across, Cloth Magpie, an exciting and unique range of handbags by designer Sam Cross.

One of my pet hates is when a handbag range totally saturates the market…..Yep, I mean brands like, Radley, they all look the same, they have no imagination and are carried by every other woman who thinks they are great just because they have heard of the brand…It’s no wonder,  they are sold in practically every retail outlet in the UK…..Dull.

This unique handbag range that has totally captured by imagination is called Cloth Magpie.  It is a relatively small collection of 4 different handbag shapes with a choice of 4 different genuine vintage fabric patterns.  Due to each fabrics scarcity it has only been possible for a short run of each shape/fabric combination to be produced.  So it’s unlikely your going to bump into anyone sporting the same arm candy as yourself.  Like i say Cloth Magpie is a totally unique handbag range by the brilliant Sam Cross.

Each unique handbag has been hand crafted here in britain either by Sam Cross herself or one of her carefully chosen,  skilled crafts people.

What I love about each of these handbags is not only do they look beautiful but they are functional and practical too.  They are a real style statement and those people that appreciate Orla Kiely handbags are going to devour these designs. 

Currently it is only possible to buy a Cloth Magpie handbag from 5 select handbag retailers.

catfishwomen.com

www.cuckooclothing.co.uk

www.ceriseuk.com

www.mygreenlipstick.com

To see the full range of the stunning and unique handbags visit  www.samcross.co.uk

We work hard to procure sweet items for the shop, wish we could tell you how we got these boots… but we made a promise…

Brianne – wearing her first pair of Cowgirl Boots

Breakfast Sandwiches From the Sweet 16th Bakery – Egg and Cheese on a Cheese Croissant $2.95

Warm Enough to Put out a make shift Mannequin

Sale Rack!

Singing about boots and purses probably….

See you Saturday! 10-6pm – 307 N. 16th St, Nashville TN 37206

I made this some time ago but forgot to take pictures before I gave it away. Basically over Christmas the bigger bottles of Jack Daniels were sold in rather natty presentation boxes. The boxes were covered in leather embossed and printed with the bottle label and evil JD’s distinctive logotype. It seemed an awful shame to throw the boxes away so a project was clearly in the offing here.

First step is to give the box a really good soaking – this should soften the cardboard and make it relatively easy to pull the leather away from the card. You’ll actually end up with a tin layer of paper attached to the back of the leather as the glue won’t dissolve completely but that isn’t going to be a problem so don’t feel the need to get too anally retentive about getting every little bit off. That should get you have a flat piece of leather to work with.

From here on it I shall pass you over to U-Handbag where I found a great tutorial for purse frames. (No point me retyping perfectly good instructions). U-Handbag have an online store but they’re based in the US so it would need to be a bigger order than a couple of frames to make it worth sending over the atlantic. Consequentially, I got the purse frame from Kleins in London Soho.

Finally here’s the finished product.

Let me know what you think in the comments below. I also have a couple more of the Jack Daniels boxes so any suggestions for another projects that I can use the leather for would be much appreciated.

My friend who had just came back from Thailand brought a whole lotta scrumptious goodies to share. some of them were supercute little purses in bright colors and eyecatching patterns decorated with tin animals.
I picked this one:

Red Psychedelic pachyderme

there were other of elephants in this pattern in different colors: lime neon green, shiny magenta, and neon blue. Picking between the magenta and this one was a tricky task. Took me over an hour an a misunderstanding with fellow hopefuls who thought she was going to get the purple one but I ended up giving that one to someone else..whoops.
There were also elephants with paisley pattern background and purses with tin turtles.
I’m happy with my pick

This lovely Prada Saffiano bag caught my eye when I was perusing for a Christmas gift for myself. While I didn’t splurge on this purchase, I still love this bag whenever I see someone carrying it. This bag reminds me of a designer bag that is known for their 10K+ prices but this Prada definitely has less  of a sticker shock. She Fancies the bag in black – classic of course.

The bag is $1,350 and is available in other colors like white, tan, red, blue, eggplant…the list goes on.