A special order

For the past few weeks I've been working on a special order of Gingerbread Men Decorations. There are 50 of them and them and they are special because they will be wearing the 'Theo' inspired glasses that i created for Theo Paphitis himself.

Where are these ones going? Well they will be adorning the Christmas Tree at the Ryman Stationary HQ 's I'm so excited and hoping that I can get a photo of Theo standing next to the tree once its decorated.

So far they have eyes (50 pairs of brads) and as you can see I hand folded 50 bows, which can be quite fiddly as each one is only about 3cm (folded).

This morning I've been busy sewing the bows on and adding a smile to each of them.

I've spent most of this weekend watching the Olympic events, wasn't the opening ceremony amazing!! I felt so proud to be British. Go team GB!!!!

Hello Russia

I noticed these last few weeks that the traffic coming from Russia has increased and taken over my visits from the UK and USA, which surprised me but I'm delighted.

So if you're visiting from Russia *waves* Hello to you, why not leave me a comment telling me where abouts in Russia you're from and how you found my little corner of the blogisphere :)

Mission Acomplished - Collaboration Completed

Now that Maya has received her custom baby bag I can show you (lots of) photos. Some of you already know that I have a base pattern for a changing/baby bag that I adapt and change depending on the specifications of the customer. Maya supplied the fabric which she hand printed especially for this project.

Its the first time I have taken on a collaboration project. I couldn't think of anything better than working with a textile artist. I was a little nervous and I was as precious with Maya's beautiful fabric as I am with my own creations. I had to make sure it was perfect.

The bag has an adjustable strap which can be worn over the shoulder, across the body or can be hung on the buggy.

I love these chrome buckles and sliders, clean and simple.

I decided to add two heights of magnetic fasteners, which means the bag can be compact for short journeys or expanded when you want to pack loads in. An addition to the original pattern I added two pockets to the front of the bag, well you can never have too many pockets when you're carrying the kit you need in your baby bag. I used the lining fabric that Maya chose to add a little detail to the pockets.

Inside there is a central divider with 3 medium pockets at the back for bottles and two large ones on the inside front of the bag for nappies etc. Plenty of room for everything.

Of course there had to be somewhere to put my signature Bagladee tag!

I also made a matching wet bag to pop inside when needed, which has a waterproof lining.

We discussed 'buggy' handles/straps and after quite a lot of sketches and sleepless nights (yes really, cant switch off when I'm trying to solve a sewing conundrum) I came up with these nifty little straps. Now they may not look that clever or exciting but.....

When you shorten the bag strap to the shortest length and hang over the handles of the buggy (these were designed for the type of Urban Buggy Maya was having)....

.....the straps then go around the straps and the buggy handles keeping the bag safely in place. So no sliding down the side of the buggy!

So there you go, from fabric to a complete changing bag set. Custom made for Maya and her baby, Luca. Congratulations to you and Marc on the birth of your beautiful baby boy!! xxx

Right off to get on with my next project!

**If you are interested in a custom changing/baby bag why not pop me an email (emma@bagladee.com)**

Changing bag progress

After having a well needed lie in this morning its time to get cracking on the final stage of Maya's baby bag. These were photos from earlier last week where I had all the pieces completed ready for constructing the bag.

I've loved working with Maya's fabric, the fabric weight is similar to upholstery weight, which is very durable and will wear nicely over time. And the print design is just so fab, I love the little birds and nest elements.

So here we are ready to sew the lining in now, this is a photo of the front of the bag which has two pockets and the flap folds down over the pockets. By the time I'm ready to post on Monday morning, Maya's baby should have arrived. How exciting!!!

Ooops there it goes again...

...another week has flown by and already its Wednesday tomorrow crikes!! I cant believe we in July!!

This week progress on Maya's baby bag is coming along nicely. I have the main body of the outer bag made and the lining with all the pockets and dividers done too, just the strap to sort with something a little extra on it and sew the 3 components together. Which is just as well as Maya will be going in to be induced tomorrow so baby will be arriving a week earlier than planned. I will show you some photos tomorrow.

Today I was emailed a sketch. Maya is making me into a cartoon!! I am so excited the sketch looks amazing, it still has to be inked and coloured but I cant wait to see it. I'm planning on putting it on my website on my 'About' page when its finished. She really is a talented illustrator, its so exciting I cant wait!

When you dont have one to match...

This weekend I went to my OH's cousins Wedding reception (they got married in Mauritius a couple of weeks ago). I'd bought a dress and luckily had some shoes that matched but didn't have a bag to match.

Thankfully I seem to have the nack for making bags ;) so I decided the day before I would make this little cutie. As my dress had a flowered pattern I decided blocks of colour would be better.

Now she may look small and dainty but in my clutch bag I had x2 Blackberry phones, tin of vasaline, house keys, car keys, bank cards and money. Its all in the pattern cutting ladies. Small but deceiving :)

Already had requests for this style to be added to my website, so watch out for some new bags coming soon!!