Elephant brief

I've been so busy I've not had a chance to show you what I've been making. Last week I got the chance to make another custom order :) yipppeee. You all know these are my favourite types of order (although any type is pretty awesome too).

For this one the brief was 'elephant fabric'....the fabric was picked after some online searches by the lovely lady that placed the order, which for one of her friends. After rummaging around in my stash I found this gorgeous yellow polka dot cotton and some pink polka dot ribbon. I think its very cheery and made me smile as I was packaging it up.

My worktable is full to the brim at the moment, lots of mid progress projects, cant wait to show you what I've been making.

Special birthday gift

Just before BCTF I unveiled my new version of my cosmetic pouch, how is it different??

Well it has a deeper base and is double lined with sew in interfacing to make it study so that it stands up on its own. I have replaced the felt flower detail with a simple ribbon bow which wraps round the whole pouch and placed a little button at the centre of the bow. This now means that you can machine wash your pouch should you need to.

My lovely twitter friend Michele asked if I would make her one in purples so that her lovely hubby could buy it for her birthday. I said "Yes of course" and here it is....Michele is using hers for a project bag (she makes these gorgeous tiny bears) rather than cosmetics which I think is a totally fab idea.

Want one??? Well you know what to do! emma@bagladee.com or message me on twitter @bagladee custom orders are always my fav :)

Rain dance?

Were still sat here waiting for this so called down pour that was expected. Its been a glorious day today, but I think the rain is needed to clear the air. There's not much going on in the sewing department but there was an afternoon of clearing the garage. Now normally I would be moaning that it was one of those chores I'd rather not be doing but since its a necessity to move on to the next stage of the outdoors renovation I am more than happy to get stuck in.

Last week was spent taking photos of new items for my website, I have started listing some but there are still a lot more to go :)

I seem to have lost my sewing mojo and I haven't sewn a thing since my return from Bath. I'm not in the least bit worried, there are a lot of other bagladee things to be getting on with. One of those being looking for some Christmas fairs. I know some I will be too late to apply for but I'm sure there are still some out there that haven't reached their closing date for applications. Any suggestions?

Cosmetic pouches

Here they are, the eagerly awaited cosmetic pouches, 14 different ones to choose from and they are now all listed here.

If you have signed up for my mailing list then you would already know about these, if not then why not pop over and sign up. Just pop your details in the little box in the bottom left hand corner.

I have been busy and have made stock so they are all ready to be shipped straight away. (There were more than these but I just couldn't fit them into the tub ;)

Today I am....

.....exhausted!! Yesterday C and I filled a builders skip with the remaining rubbish and stuff from the garden (including many bricks, slabs of concrete and about 1/2 ton of soil). Slept like a baby last night.....bliss. And was quite surprised that when I woke this morning I didn't feel like I'd been hit by a bus :D

Today I had to do a full day at the day job and boy did they work me hard.....end of months in the manufacturing industry can be a nightmare at the best of times but a part time worker trying to work 2 peoples jobs = long, manic days for Emma :(

Anyway now I've got that off my chest (thanks guys xx) Here is a pile of cosmetic pouches that I am currently making felt and ribbon corsages for. They were the ones from my photo in this post.

Hopefully (being very optimistic there) they will be listed on my website at the weekend. And the answer to the cryptic phone call will be revealed tomorrow :D

Owee owee oweee

I have muddled through a morning at work with a piercingly sore throat today (without moaning too much). But now I'm armed with throat spray and Strepsils I thought it was time to tidy my studio. It looks soooo much better now, everything is back where it should be, rather than just all over the place (I call it organised chaos). The cosmetic pouches in the photo above were finished earlier in the week but its been so dark on an afternoon that I haven't been able to photograph them properly for my website. Fingers crossed Saturday morning is bright and photo friendly :D

I'm off to get snuggled up on the sofa now with some hand stitching, please, please, please go away sore throat!!!

Mmm mmm mmm

More yummy fabric, all cut out waiting to be sewn into cosmetic pouches (probably while you're reading this).

If I said thank you, you would probably say what for......well thank you for listening to me when I grumble. If I'm ever feeling a bit 'faffy' so to speak where I cant focus or things get out of perspective, a quick trip to blog land, stand in front of you all and say "my name is Emma and today I am a little bit pants!" just seems to be that mental kick in the butt I need to jump start me back into the swing of things.

And why wouldn't I want to get back into the swing of things when I get to play with such gorgeous fabric EVERYDAY!!!!! How lucky am I??

The photos of the new bags are all ready for listing I just have to name the little darhhhhlings and we're good to go. Soooo excited :D

Is anyone feeling even a little bit Christmassy yet?

I l-o-v-e Mrsite

At times it can get frustrating when things don't go your way. Like not being able to make your contact form work properly on your contact and info page, even though you've reloaded it a billion times and still not getting any further forward! And the stupid "chat" thingy not working because 'apparently' there is no one logged in at their end........

However, when you do get it right you get to add things like these little beauties to your online shop :D And that's why I love Mr site, I love the self satisfaction of uploading it all yourself and even though I have zero experience building websites it never looks like a 5 year old did it. I've added 6 new cosmetic pouches, this is all I've managed to get finished so far. I've jiggled a few things around, added a new page 'stockists' which I will be adding to soon. I have some lovely photos of the shops to show you :) and I will be introducing them to you, just in case they are in your area.

Bows without buttons

In the attempt to start filling my sparsely populated website I've been working on some new cosmetic pouches.

Here are the felt and ribbon flowers before I added the buttons, they are all finished now and ready to be photographed. Now to tackle some clutch bags!!! :D

A day off from it all...

As I was off from the part time job this week, it was my chance to motor through my projects list. And I am very smugly going to say I have. Its been a busy week and I've worked my socks off, but it has all been so worth it.

Today was a 'proper' day off. No sewing (even though I love it), no day job (obviously as its Saturday), no chores, no D.I.Y so I snuck off into town with a friend for a lunch at Pizza Express and some retail therapy :D

Back to it tomorrow then out for some lunch. Yum!

Blogs

This morning I managed to do something that I haven't done for sometime and that was blog reading. I haven't left any comments (sorry peeps) as there were so many posts that I'd missed out on over the last 2 weeks (that's a lot of blogs to catch up on, my reading list is huge). But OMG I have missed out on so many great posts.....cup of tea in hand I was in my element.

When I don't get to read blogs I always have a niggling feeling that I'm missing out on something and 9 times out of 10 I am!! Its not that I'm nosey or anything - well OK I am a little bit, but who isn't. I love to see whats going on out there in the craft world. Its the creative incentive that keeps me ticking.

From my post earlier in the week 'Houston we have a problem', I'm pleased to say that 'I HAVE POWER!!!' (said in a really deep super hero type way) ;) back in the studio. So I can now sew with the radio/TV on and plug the iron in when I want. Aren't I easily pleased :D

This was the scene in my living room earlier this week. These little beauties went off to Peach and Pomegranate who I now supply. Aren't these fabrics yummy, I was feeling decidedly Autumnal when I was sewing the felt and ribbon flowers on them. I do love the Summer but there is something special about the leaves turning golden browns and deep reds that is always my favourite part of Autumn.

Aladdins Cave

Is what Chris said when he popped up to see if I wanted a cuppa and saw Anne's order complete and sat pretty on my work desk. I love, love, love fabric and seeing all these lovelies together makes my heart smile :D I think all accessories should make a statement and what a better way than with some lovely items like these.....

Pause II

The last few days have been quite a testing time for me in the craft arena. Being part time, having a big order to get finished, trying to keep my mind on the job and not being distracted by facebook, twitter ( of which I am a HUGE fan of at the moment, I might add just because I am reading celebrity tweets) and applying some discipline. Very difficult.

Although I think at my first few weeks of changing my daily routines I don't think I'm doing that bad? I have 70% completed the big order that is going out this week and have everything else to be made all planned in to the hour. My studio has seen the introduction of a "Projects Board" ooooooh sounds impressive doesn't it? Well its a white board so not that exciting ha ha ;) So I pretty much know what has to be done and when its got to be done by.......quite daunting if you look at it too long :/

Here is a photo of the new cosmetic pouches that I completed for my order and I have to say that I am totally in love with the two in the front of the photo......the greeny coloured one has tea pots and tea cups on it, its adorable!!

My website is looking pretty bare at the moment and this is stressing me out to no end. But at the moment there is just not enough time in the day. There are sooooo many lovely new items coming soon and I'm just itching to get started on them (there was a maaahhooooosssiiivvvveeee fabric purchase not too long ago). Somewhere along the line I thought that I would have more time on my hands once I went part time???? Where on earth did I get that crrraazzzzzyyy idea from?? ;)

Dinner and cocktails

OK so I've been a good girl this week and have been sewing my socks off. I think its only right that I get a little treat?

Something that I haven't done for quite sometime, a girly dinner and cocktails night!! Oh yes, bagladee is glamming it up tonight. Dress, heels and matching clutch bag (of course!!!) may need to take an umbrella as the weather is yucky, but that wont dampen my spirits. Lots to celebrate and drink to ;) not promising I wont have a cloudy head in the morning...but its not very often so why the heck not?

Here is another sneak peek of a pouch.....lots to show you soon. I'm on a roll!!! Have a fab weekend. xx

Something new

Another quick post I'm afraid....attacking that order list head on!!! Here is a sneak peak of one of the new cosmetic pouches I've been working on. There are lots more to come!

Order part 1

Just popping by for a quick post today, its lovely and sunny outside with a typical English breeze (wind) :D lots of jobs to do today, the washing is in and the house has been cleaned (downstairs) and there are bags to be made....

Here is part of my order which will be travelling to Dorset in the next couple of weeks or so. Cosmetic pouches = done, rest of the order = wip. Hope you're all having a lovely relaxing weekend.

Work in progress

Work on my huge order is well under way and here is what I was up to last night. Felt and ribbon corsages to go on cosmetic pouches. And since my ribbon was all lovely and tidy I had no trouble picking out the right colours.

Tonight is not so crafty, there are lots of emails to read through and replies to be sent, photos to be tweaked and lists to write. But a fully packed crafty weekend is almost here.

Cosmetic Pouches

Some of you may remember that quite a long time ago these were created. Well I thought it was about time they were revamped.

These two have been listed on my website......

There's lots of room for all your make-up favourites.

And these two have been listed in my etsy shop.....

I will finish listing the rest of them this weekend. There's only one of each so they will be split between my etsy shop and website.