Pink Sand Beach Catalina Sling Bags

Hi Friends!! For the past 2 days, I worked on these 3 bags using Pink Sand Beach pattern "Catalina Sling". There are 3 ways to sew this bag with 3 different flaps. I decided to work on one style of body and 2 different flaps. I'd like to try the two other styles the next time I sew this bag.

The other style is sewing wedges to give it a "quilted" appearance and the other is to use only one fabric design on the outside of the bag. Because this was the first time for me to use this pattern, I wanted to "perfect" one style first before moving on to another style.

I still need to add buttons to the flaps of the bags. . .I didn't have any cute buttons that I wanted to use so I'm going to need to go shopping for buttons soon.


In most part, I did follow the instructions as written . . .it asked that fleece and Decobond are used for the interfacing but I didn't have a "sew in" fleece. . . instead I used a "fusible" fleece and "Craft Fuse". I do have Decobond but I wanted to see if the Craft Fuse with the fusible fleece would work out okay. Well, it did but not really. The fusible fleece by Pellon was a bit thin so when I applied the Craft Bond, it just made the fabric a bit stiff rather than soft with some body.

With the blue dot bag, I didn't use fleece because it was a home decor fabric and I felt just using the Craft Fuse was sufficient and it was. It held up the body very well. I used one style of flap which is a little longer and narrower than the other two flap patterns provided. I also didn't add fleece to the lining which was called for in the instructions and it worked out okay without it.

The picture above shows how the bag hangs like it would if it was on your shoulder.

There was one modification that I did do with the pattern. The pattern asked for a 1/4" seam and I did not like such a small seam because on one of the bags below, I noticed I had a little gap because the seam was so narrow that while sewing the bag together, I may not have lined the edges completely even and it may have slipped a little so when cutting the fabric I added a 1/2" seam to the bag instead to prevent this problem from occurring again.

I just realized I made a little mistake on the blue dot bag. . .I had sewn the top stitch at 5/8" rather than 3/8" . . .as you can see with the bag below, the top stitch is smaller. It's okay, it's just a different look but I think I prefer the 3/8" topstitch.


Because I didn't have a "sew in" fleece availabe, I didn't like the thinness of the "fusible" fleece, I decided to add a quilt batting to this bag and layered it with the Craft Fuse. It worked out nicely and kept the fabric soft but still had some body. The next time I sew this bag, I will definitely try a sew in fleece instead and see if it works out better but the batting worked out really nicely so I may still continue to use the batting for future bags. I'll compare the two and use the one that is best. I read that a stabilizer may be a good option as well.

This one has a wider flap which I prefer more than the longer narrower flap. There's also a flap with a scallop design which honestly, I liked least of the 3 flaps.

The bag has one large pocket that is divided in the center. I forgot to take a picture of it. The bag closes with a magnetic closure.
The bag is a nice shoulder bag size and has a nice depth to it too as you can see in the photo. The bag measures 11" wide x 8 1/2" tall and 3 1/2" deep. It's quite roomy but the bag isn't too large.

I do recommend this pattern and I really like the bag. I'm going to try the "quilted" style next time. I really like the look of it. I just don't like cutting fabric. . LOL! and the quilted style requires more cutting and more sewing. . .but I'll give it a go anyway.

I'm working on a new bag . . .but I think I'll work on cards or paper crafting today. I'll take a day off from sewing. The design of the next bag is so darn cute. I can't wait to finish it up and share it with you all!

Hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday!!

Vintage & Gift Shop and Boutique Adventure

Hello Friends! Gosh, I've been such a poor blogger the past few months. There was a time when I blogged everything I did pertaining to crafting and once in a while, my personal life. I don't do much of that nowadays. I actually have a bunch of crafting stuff that I've completed. . . crochet projects, cards, sewing, etc. but I haven't been diligent with posting them. I still need to take photos of the projects I've created . . maybe I'll take the time to do so tomorrow.

I believe part of the problem is that I upload a lot of photos of my projects and other photos on Facebook so I find it a little redundant to blog them. I tend to post the photos of my crafty stuff on Facebook before I post them on my blog but I'll try to be a better blogger. . .:)

I went on a little "window shopping" adventure a few days ago. In the town that I live in, we have a lot of gift, vintage, antique, and specialty shops and boutiques in an area called "Old Town Temecula". I love hanging out there just looking around. I especially love the gift and vintage shops because I find a lot of crafting inspirations there. It's really fun to just browse around and grab ideas.

There's this vintage/gift store that I frequent. . .they sell a lot of vintage style crafty items like paper crafting, jewelry, wood craft, shabby chic and actual vintage items. In the first photo is a picture of vintage bottles decorated shabby chic style. I love it! I guess you could use it as a decorative piece or even as a flower vase. Maybe I could find some old bottles and decorate them. I think they're pretty. I also saw the cute paper crafting project that I could probably make myself. Just to let you know, I rarely buy anything that I think I can make myself . . .well, if I can find the time to make them.

These are wine bottle charms. . .aren't they cute? This would be a great project to create.

These are painted wood cuts. . .there were a bunch of different types. . .I saw the word "cake" and well, I just had to take a photo of it.

I stopped by the quilt shop and wow, they had a ton of beautiful fabrics but gosh, they were so expensive. Most of the fabrics ran $10 or more a yard. I decided to not buy any....I rather use my Joann's coupon and save a few bucks on fabric. I wish this store's fabrics were less expensive. . I would definitely go to town . . the fabrics are beautiful!

Maybe one day I'll learn to quilt but I'm not a big fan of cutting fabrics. That's the part I like least about sewing. I love sewing. . .just not the cutting the fabric part. . LOL~

I really like that scrap board in the background. Makes me want to go out and buy a vintage frame and create my own scrap board. . .:)

Old Town Temecula is literally an old town that was restored. Many of the buildings are still the original buildings, which were primarily built in a western and ranch style because Temecula was once a "ranching" town and still is somewhat today . . .it's a mix of huge ranches and new construction.

The "Stamping Post" is a rubber stamping store and they sell a lot of products that Joann and Michaels don't sell. I wanted to take photos of the inside of the store but there was a stamping class going on and the store is quite small so I didn't feel comfortable taking photos.

Old Town has a lot of specialty shops and boutiques. This boutique sold jewelry and unique bags like these "jeans" style bags.

This is a strange one. A shoe bag and I mean it's literally a shoe covered up in denim. Honestly, who would wear this? Ummm, not me. . .it's a bit too out there for me. . .LOL!

Last but not least. . .here's a photo of the "olive oil tasting" bar. I didn't go in the bar. . .I'm not into drinking oil. . LOL!

Anyway. . .just sharing a few photos. I do take a lot of photos and I should share them more often. . if anything just to fill up space on days I don't have any crafting items to share.

Well, that's it! Hope you all have a wonderful Monday evening!

Crazy 4 Challenges C4C82 - Color Challenge

Hello Friends! Happy Saturday! Hey. . .I finally posted a card! It's been a while . . .I think the last time I posted something paper crafting was in last week's Crazy 4 Challenge post. Boy, I'm slackin' in the paper crafting area lately! I think I'm going to spend the day just paper crafting . . .I've been so engrossed in sewing that my paper crafting has taken a back seat. It's hard to find a balance.

Well, it's Crazy 4 Challenges time again and Silke came up with a great color challenge this week!! I love the combination! The color combination if you can't tell by my card (LOL!!) is green, brown, and vanilla!

Stop by Crazy 4 Challenges and check out all the fabulous cards the crazy gals created or stop by their individual blogs:

* Barbara Anders

* Cindy Haffner
* Frances Byrne
* Jessie Rone
* Joanne Grzelak
* Joycelyn Pelkey
Lynda Benden
*Silke Ledlow
* Silke Kittmann
* Tammy Hershberger
Vicki Garrett


I used my Unity Stamps this time around. I have a ton of them that still needs to be inked. . .I love this tree image and the sentiment! It's true. . .it's the little things that do make me happy!!

I added a little Stickles glitter to give the trees a little bling. . .gotta have bling. . :)

I do want to talk about the Prima flowers on my card. The flowers are actually 3 layers of flowers each that I scrunched together to give the flowers a rose appearance. I have a lot of the little primas but I don't like using them. I saw a tutorial somewhere. . .I can't remember who created the tutorial. . it's something that someone posted on Facebook that showed how to create roses with your little 5 petal primas! I LOVE it! It saves me from having to buy rose shaped Primas andalso helps me to get rid of the Primas that I already have. The best way to get the flowers to hold together is using a glue gun. . .otherwise you would have to wait for the glue to dry and who has the time to wait, right? Try it out!!!

Anyway. . .that's it for today! Hope you all have a fantastic Saturday!

Stamped and Printed Vintage Pin Cushions

Hello Friends!!! I decided to work on sewing a few pin cushions. I needed a break from sewing bags. My original plan was actually to stamp a few cards but instead I decided to experiment and stamp and transfer an image to muslin cloth.

I was so excited by the results, I decided to create a bunch of vintage style pin cushions!

To stamp the image and have it permanent, meaning washable, I used Versacraft ink. After heat setting the stamped image, it's supposed to be permanent. I didn't test it out by washing it. I'll wash one of them today and see what happens. . .:)

I added Scribbles Iridescent Paint to create the dots on the flowers which is definitely permanent because it is "fabric paint.

I added a few beads to a pin and pinned the seam binding bow to the pin cushion

Believe it or not but you can transfer printed images to fabric. There are various ways to do it but the most common way is to use transfer paper. There are a lot of tutorials on the Internet showing you how to do it. There are different techniques and there are YouTube tutorials showing you how to do it as well.


I decided to use a fairy image that I found on Blanca's blog "Magic Moonlight". She has a ton of free epherema images that you can use for various projects. For the sentiment, I stamped it using Unity stamps. I have a plan to make a bunch of different types of pin cushions and sell them on Etsy. What do you think? Do you think people like pin cushions? I love creating pin cushions. . .they are really fun to sew!!!

Before I go, I decided to change the frequency of my Crafty Friday Mash Up Linky Party to every other week so this week there is no linky party. In the meantime, stop by last week's linky party and share your creation. . .this month's linky party ends at the end of the month. If the participation continues to be low, I think April will be the last month. It was a fun idea but people need to link their creation or it doesn't work. . .it's okay, I tried. . .but I think because my blog was originally a paper crafting blog, paper crafters are more accustomed to "challenge sites". I think linky parties are sewing and general crafting blogs idea of a challenge blog but it's more of a "sharing" concept that card makers are not as familiar with. Anyway, that's my explanation for the low participants. . .LOL!

That's it for today. . . hope you all have a wonderful Friday!!!

McCall 6090 - Poofy Tote

Hello Friends! Sorry I haven't posted anything the past few days. Honestly, I've been too lazy/busy to blog what I've created. I have been busy sewing bags, creating fabric flowers, and I still haven't posted the 18 cards that I created for my card marathon last week. Blogging takes away from creating and I've been trying to be more productive. I'm hoping to participate in a craft fair next month or at least in the near future and I need to concentrate my efforts towards creating.

Okay. . .let me discuss the bags I've recently sewn. For this bag, I used McCall 6090 pattern. Here are a few things I've learned since I've started sewing. . .one is to read the specification of the pattern before buying a pattern and not to rely on the photo. The photo on the package of this pattern is deceiving because the bag looks like a small purse or handbag size. Well, the "small bag" pattern for this bag measures 15 x 11". . . it's more like "tote" size. There are 3 sizes and the "large bag" measures 19 x 11". That's huge.


The original "small bag" pattern is actually the blue/black bag below with no modification to the pattern except for the handle. I'll explain later. The changes I made to the pattern are the "strap" length, the flap at the top, use of a magnetic closure, and the size of the fabric to create the outside body of the bag.

For the "small bag" pattern, the strap is a little shorter as shown below and the bag is meant for you to carry the bag with your hand rather than on your shoulder. My daughter wanted the blue/black bag below but she told me that she would prefer that the bag be carried on her shoulders so I switched the handle by using the "medium bag" strap pattern.

I reduced the fabric size of the outside body of the bag by 1/4 because I didn't like the amount of "poofiness" to the bag. LOL! I just felt it was too poofy. Despite reducing the size, the bag was still a bit too poofy so the next time I sew this bag, I think I'll decrease the fabric size closer to 1/2 the size. Also, rather than "gather" the fabric as instructed, I pleated the fabric instead. The blue/black bag below was "gathered" and the pink bag was pleated.

The pattern didn't come with a closure but I wanted a closure to the bag so I created my own flap pattern and added the magnetic closure. I also reduced the height of the binding around the top of the bag. I didn't like the height of the binding as shown in the blue/black bag below.

For the fabric, I used Calico Keepsake fabrics that you can find at Joanns. The price is reasonable when you use your coupon. I think I'm going to start purchasing designer fabrics online but they are pricey so when I do use a designer fabric, it has to be a bag pattern that I really like. In order to find out which bag pattern to use for designer fabrics, I will need to try out different patterns.

This is the first bag that I sewn using the pattern with no modifications. I guess you can say this was a "test" bag. As you can see the bag's handle is a little shorter, the binding at the top a bit larger and the pleats have a more "gathered" appearance rather than a pleated appearance. With this bag, I didn't add interfacing to the outside body and instead interfaced the inside lining. The pink bag is the opposite. I interfaced the outside (as the pattern calls for) and did not interface the inside which is actually better.

The pattern for the "small bag" requires that you use a " 24" ribbon" for the handle which I didn't want to do so I cut a fabric measuring 24" to create my own handle.

The fabric flowers are not part of the pattern. I decided to add them on to give the bag a more vintage/shabby chic appearance.

What do I think of this bag pattern? I'm still debating whether I like it. The bag is really cute but honestly, it uses way too much fabric and I think there's a way to create the body without so much fabric/pleats and still look nice. The pattern calls for the sides of the bag be tacked on to the bottom of the top band and I think it's a waste of fabric. It would have been better if the pattern was cut rounded rather than squared so that you don't have to gather the bottom of the sides of the bag and tack it on to the band in order to give it a rounded appearance.

Anyway, I need to get back to creating. . .but not before I clean up my craft room! Yikes. . .it's a mess right now. I do clean up after each project but I do make a lot of mess while creating. **sigh**. . .okay, folks. . .I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday!

Crazy 4 Challenges - Sketch Challenge

Hello Friends! Hey it's Crazy 4 Challenges time again and Silke came up with a fun challenge this week! It's a sketch challenge! This challenge worked out perfectly for me. . .I'll explain later. . before I do, come play along in this week's challenge at C4C!!! Stop by and check out the fun cards the crazy gals created or if you prefer, check out the designers' individual blogs:

* Barbara Anders

* Cindy Haffner
* Frances Byrne
* Jessie Rone
* Joanne Grzelak
* Joycelyn Pelkey
Lynda Benden
*Silke Ledlow
* Silke Kittmann
* Tammy Hershberger
Vicki Garrett


Wow, such a simple card, you're saying! LOL! Not much bells and whistles on my card this time around. There's a reason for it. . .:)

I believe, on Tuesday. . .I decided to do another card marathon and this time I actually beat my old record of 16 cards in one day! This time around I made 18 cards. . .of course some were very simple like this set of 2 cards. The goal was to use up a few scrap designer paper and ink up all of the stamps of one of my Stampin Up sets. In the process, I managed to create 18 cards in 3 hour or 4 hours. . .not all at once but spread out through the day. I'll post the rest of the cards tomorrow or at least some of them.

Anyway. . .not much time to chit-chat lately. . .I've been crazy busy creating all sorts of crafty stuff. . .my mojo has kicked up in high gear and I'd better get back to working on my projects in the case my mojo starts to fizzle out! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Crafty Friday Mash Up Linky Party, March Winner and Rose Brooch

Hello Friends!!! Hey it's Crafty Friday Mash Up Linky Party again and I also have a winner for last month's linky party! Before I begin, I would like to announce the winner of the Amy Butler Sewing Kit. . . .drum roll, please. .:) The winner is Esther at Shoregirl's Creations. Yay! Esther can you email me at cardinspired@gmail.com with your mailing address so I can send your prize. Thank you to everyone who participated in last month's Crafty Friday Mash Up. It was so much fun seeing your super awesome projects!!!

Okay. . now, that it's April. . .it's a new month of Crafty Friday Mash Up Linky Party! Last month's participantion was a little low but hopefully, it'll pick up. . . .I'll give it a go again. . .:) I won't give up. . .I'm hoping more of you will link your crafty creations and share your creativity.

It's very simple. . .just link your creation. . .there's no theme. . you may link any type of creation. . .see my rules below. Nothing complicated. At the start of each month, I'll announce the winner. I haven't come up with the prize for April but I'll link the prize in next week's linky party.


For my share this week, I decided to create a lace & satin rose brooch to accessorize my daughter's blouse. The brooch is attached to the blouse with a pin attachment and may be removed and added on to another blouse, fabric bag, or hat.

Here is a close up of the brooch on a printed blouse. I added beads to the rose . . .I thought the beads make for a pretty element to the design. I'm actually working on a bunch of fashion accessories to add to my bags and crochet hats. I'm making different styles and colors of flower brooches using different fabric, lace, etc. It's so much fun to create them!


Here is the brooch on a plain pink shirt blouse. . .it just makes the blouse a little more interesting, don't you think?

Here is the blouse without the brooch. . .rather plain and boring. If you want to create this brooch, I'll see if I can work on creating a tutorial specifically for the fabric/lace design rose but in the mean time, click here for tutorial for the "ribbon" version of the rose.

Now it's your turn to link your craft projects. Come join my linky party and share your creativity!!

Here are the rules of my linky party:

• This is not a challenge . . .create what you want. You may link any DIY crafty project in any area of arts and craft such as card making, stamping, scrapbooking, sewing, paper crafting, altered projects, painting, jewelry making, polymer claying, photography, crocheting, knitting, needlework, vintage finds, refurbishing, home decor. . .you get the picture. . .:)
• Please do not link to your Etsy store, website store, or any store that sells your creations. It will be removed if you do.
• You may link any project past or present. It don't have to be a current project. You may add a maximum of 5 links but they all have to be a different types of craft projects. . .for example sewing, cards, scrapbooking, jewelry, etc. . . .they can't all be handmade cards with all 5 links.
• Extra entry given to projects with tutorials.
  
• You may link up any time during the month. The Friday Mash Up will end at the end of each month.
  
• I will draw up a winner at the end of the month from all the participants in that particular month and make an announcement of the winner at the start of the next month's linky party. The prize will be a crafty project I created, bought or from a sponsor.
  
• I'll feature 3 projects from partipants on the following week's linky party . By linking your project, you give me permission to post a picture of your project and a link to your blog or website if your project is chosen.

Link back to my linky party so others can be inspired by other people's projects. You may grab the html for my banner or just link back to the party post.

<center><br /><a href="www.stampininspirations.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t300/CardInspired/CraftyFriday-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /></a><br /></center>

Okay. . .that's it for today! Hope you'll play along in my linky party this month! Have a wonderful Friday!

KaDoodle Bug Design April Fools Day Sale April 1 to April 3rd

Hey Friends!! Just a little promo for my friend Melissa's Digital Image and Cutting Files store! She has an April Fools Day Sale going on from April 1st to April 3rd. Go check out her super cute stuff!!!

Here are the details of the sale going on:

Spend $20.00 or more and get 40% off your total purchase. Enter coupon code... aprilfools

(excludes chalking tools and chalking balls)

Also spend $30.00 or more and get a FREE Chalking Tool!!!