i dreamed up this purse last night, and then i made it!  lol...i am really excited about it, anyway.  it's crafty in two ways, but since most of it's sewing, i thought i'd put it here.  FIRST, though, i made the lil' panel insert in the center front.  it's on organic cotton, and it's printed with a linoleum block i carved, using acrylic paint mixed with textile medium.  then i made the bag; i basically put the lining in using the same method as one would use with those little lined zipper pouches?  you know, minus the zipper.  topped off with adorable, round vintage button.  YAY!  hope you enjoy.

OK--

I am clueless about photography, but I have been really intrigued by pinhole photography lately, and then I saw these photographs taken with Holga or "toy cameras", and the list just seems to go on!  I was just wondering if anyone knew of any good online places or books where I could learn more about alternative photography.

Thanks!!!!!

(perhaps this isn't the right category, but i recall seeing some other people post about pads in the clothing section, i think, so anyway...)

i have kind of a silly question, i think.  i make my own pads, and lately, i have been making a bunch of reusable grocery bags with the fused plastic bag technique...and i got to thinking...if i wanted to make a leak-proof/waterproof pad, would it be wise to use fused plastic?  not the thick, tarp-like stuff, maybe just a few layers.  my instincts tell me this is NOT a good idea, and i probably won't do it, but does anyone know if it would be either good or bad?

i really don't know if i even want waterproof pads, and it would probably be really crinkly, even with a couple layers of bag, but i don't know.  just wanted your ideas.

thanks for your help!

so i have been away from craftser for a while now....a long while...and am kind of catching up, bit by bit.  this here's a little something i made for a christmas present last year.  a very simple zipper pouch with a little hand loop, corduroy houndstooth, waffle knit apple print, and some silk accents.  peace!

um, so...i just realized i never shared this costume!  (ok, i have been away from craftster for months and months now. hello again, by the way!)

i made this for one of the monthly shows we have at the bellydance studio i go to.  (guess what month  it was!)  the great part is i actually made this the day of the show, which is not exactly a wise idea, especially if you are to be DANCING in it the same night.  but it worked!

as far as difficulty level, it was really very simple; it was just a matter of choosing the right style, and of course, accessories! hehe.  i made the striped top, skirt & gauntlets, the veil, and the lime green tassel belt.  (i didn't make Kuchi belt.  duh.)

hope you like it!  these are not very detailed pics, but they are the best i have  and i think the photographer did a good job of making me look good.

i love this so much i just had to share; i took a regular lingerie bra, cut off the straps and added my own strap system, then covered the cups with sari fabric, tassels and beaded fringe.

one of the coolest things about it is that i really didn't plan it; all of the fabric and embellishments were scraps i had around here and there in my stash, and it just came together.

(the second pic is a little weird, i just wanted to get a clear view of the straps.)

haha...um, well, maybe it sounds like i'm a little full of myself.  it's just that i'm really, really pleased with how this came out!  simple elegance meets woodland whimsy....or something.   i love the neutral pinstripe fabric with the dark gray of the mushroom.  first i used the freezer paper stencil technique and some acrylic paint mixed with  textile medium.  then i made a very simple pattern.

hope you enjoy!

this is probably a dumb question, but i thought i'd ask before i went ahead and screwed it up....

i am using a mix of artists' acrylic paint and textile medium to stencil on fabric.  is it alright to mix a big batch of it and store it?  or will it have any kind of bad reaction if it's mixed and then stored too long?  i didn't know if you had to use it fresh or not...

i made these for Christmas, for one of my mom's friends who loves roy rogers.  i think they're pretty nifty.....they were simple enough, but took a lot longer than i thought!  i would be glad to do a tutorial if anyone's interested (thought i can't promise i'll get it up too soon....) 

anyway, i don't have a pic of the back right now but it's backed with calico patchwork.  i used calico cotton for the whole thing, with two layers of cotton batting, machine stitched over the top of that, added bias tape and a little button at the bottom of the loop to top it off.  i stenciled the images on....my first stencil job EVER.....and am hoping they don't come off!  (i am planning to test it out, on another image i printed that night, before i give them to her )  it may have been wise to do that before i sewed them all up, but i'm sure it'll be fine.... 

let me know what you think!

....or octopus.  i don't know.  but, really, i guess it's not an octopus since it has only 3 sad, misshapen legs.....  not a squid either.  i'm so confused.  anyway, i don't know why, but i was so compelled to make a gold lame (luh-MAY, note lame ) sea creature tonight, it took about 5 minutes, looks like poo, but i just LOVE it for some reason....