One! Two! Three Halloween Bags! Ah Ah Ah!

A Halloween bag? For me?

This is the first of a series of three Halloween-y bags I had planned to make this weekend. So far I've only completed two but I'm too eager to show them off to wait for the trio to be done. Weirdly, my husband not only wanted to spend time with me this weekend (I know, surprising, right?) but he was also willing to leave the house. Once I got over the shock I figured I'd take advantage of that so my sewing schedule got a bit behind.


This first one's all for me and I've had the fabric picked out for months looking for just the right pattern to use. Finally found a cute little tote pattern I thought would highlight it best. I made a few changes including interfacing the outer fabric, which is the slightly eerie-looking Ikea Saralisa fabric. The inner skull fabric is one of my favorites currently offered at Jo-Ann Fabrics, not only because of the cute but not too cutesy pattern but also because of the price tag. At only $5/yard I was able to snap up several yards the last time I had a 50% off coupon for an even better $2.50/yard. It is a little flimsy but I think it'll hold up just fine with the interfacing and thick Ikea fabric to back it up.


I also sewed on some of this fantastic ribbon for sale at A.C. Moore for only $1 a spool. Needless to say, after seeing how neat it looks here I went back and bought a few more spools for future projects.


I'm definitely recommending this pattern because it's near perfect as written. The bag's a little smaller than what I usually carry, but there's a time and place for a smaller bag like this. I did add a magnetic clasp for a little more security, lengthened the straps (to about 23"), and fidgeted about with the bottom pleats to make it match the bag in the photo but otherwise it was smooth sailing.

A Photo A Day [Day 7]

Day 7

Last day of the "many faces of me" theme. This is my "happy to have a new purse" face. More info about the bag to come once I get around to finishing up all of my purse sewing projects this weekend.

A Photo A Day [Day 6]

Day 6

This week's theme: "The many faces of me." This is my working out face. Similar to my regular face but upside down and with messier hair surrounding it.

I think Loofy's determined to appear in at least 30% of the pictures I take during this project. Next thing I know she'll have an agent and she'll start demanding royalties. She's going to be the real star of the show.

Halloween Fabrics

I haven't mentioned my absolute favorite Halloween fabric here because I wanted to make sure I stocked up on enough before letting the masses know. Yes, all 52 of you followers. I'm sure you could single-handedly deplete the world's supply of Alexander Henry's "The Ghastlies" fabric. Now that I've seen it in person and have mine safely stashed away I can wholeheartedly recommend this amazing fabric:


As soon as I saw it I knew I had to have it! It's slightly Edward Gorey-esque, which I love, and the sinister details like the cute little girl wielding a hammer really make it for me. I found a good deal on Etsy and bought yards and yards of the stuff with no idea yet how I'll use it. It's selling out online in certain stores but I found a pretty good selection and the best prices on Etsy so check it out there.

The rest of Alexander Henry's Halloween line is also enthralling and I picked up a few yards of these as well:






That last one reminds me of our dearly departed black cat who won't be with us to frighten people this Halloween. Although she wasn't that thin until she started wasting away from cancer. Ok, that was a little depressing but it's how I cope. At least she had a nice long life full of (often unwanted) love and delicious food, which was her only interest in life.

Because Halloween is my favorite holiday I'm letting myself splurge a bit and pick up creepy fabrics that come my way. Today I made some great finds at Jo-Ann Fabrics taking advantage of the extra 50% off red tag (clearance) fabric prices plus an extra 10% off coupon. I cleaned them out of most of their skull fabrics in the hopes of one day using them for bags and aprons to sell in an Etsy shop. Until then I'm sure I'll use a few yards of these bad boys for myself:

Only $1.35-$2.25/yard!

Happy Halloween hunting!

A Photo A Day [Day 5]

Day 5

This week's theme: "The many faces of me." This probably qualifies as a silly face.

A Photo A Day [Day 4]

Day 4 - Two Cool Cats

Today I was going to take a photo of my "tired after a long, busy week at work and when, dear god, will the weekend get here" face but then little Loofy showed up in the middle of the photo shoot and cheered me right up. Even though it meant I was roped into what we call "Loofy Time," a period of 5-10 minutes that have to be solely devoted to petting Loofy and letting her lick my face and hands with her rough kitty tongue. Running away is not an option as she is persistent and will follow until her petting quota has been met. It's kind of cute in a sometimes annoying way.

A Photo A Day [Day 3]

Day 3

What? I'm just hanging out with my roomie, Donna. 'Tis a typical Wednesday night around these parts.

P.S. Click on the image for a larger view of my glowing yellow eyes. If you dare...