Filed under: Sewing | Tags: etsy, hand made, photography, purse, school photos, sewing
I am SO happy to have time to work again! I’ve scurried around my basement studio space furiously trying to clean in up in order to be more productive. It’s better…I’ve got sort of an “organized hoarder” set up. I keep fantasizing about living in a more “minimal” way, but then all of the things that I like to do are the OPPOSITE of minimal: sewing, knitting, drawing, painting, ice hockey. Why can’t I be more cerebral? Oh well.
Is it time for lunch yet?
I recently finished making a cute bag:
The entire purpose of making this bag is to sell it. Unfortunately, I kind of want to keep it. SIGH. This is a problem that I have often. The inside:
See! I even made a little pocket inside with a fabric label on it!!!
I love the little wood bead zipper pulls. How can I possibly sell this? On that note, I’ve started trying to cobble together an Etsy store. It’s a lot of work!!!! I’ll let you know if I ever get it up and running. How much should I sell this bag for? $1K? $2K? Just kidding…sigh. If you say $20, I shall give you a good whack with a knitting needle. It’s HAND MADE…for goodness sake. You can’t get that at Old Navy! Hmm. Maybe they have cooler stuff at Old Navy? Oh well.
Remember that silk chiffon top that I mentioned in a previous post? I finished that too! It nearly killed me. I vow NEVER EVER to work with that fabric again. It’s worse than silk charmeuse…it’s like trying to sew cotton candy. Here it is:
Sorry about it being wrinkly. I wore it, but couldn’t be bothered to iron it for the photo. I love it! It was a royal pain to make, though…
Don’t you like the cool layering effect? No? Too bad! If anyone has any helpful sewing tips for chiffon, besides finding someone more skilled to do it for me, please let me know.
Does anyone out there in cyberspace have an Etsy store? Or, do you shop on Etsy? If so, what do you think of these product photos? Are they nice, or shoddy? I still haven’t found an available super model to photograph with these items. I realize that deficiency may result in fewer sales. I don’t really want to put MYSELF in the photos, as that will GUARANTEE lower sales. Hmm. Seriously…photo feedback appreciated.
Speaking of photos…my son is having his school photo taken on Monday. I have to select the background that they will use. I have a choice of: corpse grey, two choices of electric blue, electric purple, smouldering ember orange, and sooty emerald green. Not great. I still can’t figure out which is the least hideous. Why can’t the kids stand in front of a leafy bush, or something natural?
Which would you pick? Ech. I’m worried about choosing the blue, as my son has a lot of blue shirts. His photo would end up looking like a floating head if his shirt matched the background…also not good. Maybe the gray??? I wonder if they can photoshop in a smile, as my son tends to scowl at cameras? That might cost extra. He also needs a haircut, but photoshopping in that will probably cost more than the haircut.
We seriously need to find a new place to get his hair cut. The place we go is SO SLOW, and it pains me to even contemplate taking him for a haircut. We ALWAYS have to wait somewhere between 1-2 hours until it’s our turn. Haven’t they heard of APPOINTMENTS??? Why can’t I schedule a time to be there so that I don’t have to try to entertain a six year old for two hours in a barber shop? Nightmare. They do a good haircut, though.
Okay, I’m off to try to do something remotely useful. I’m not sure what that is yet, but I’m sure that it will come to me. If you know of any places to get a good kid’s haircut THAT TAKES APPOINTMENTS near Arlington MA, let me know. And, no, a Flowbee is not an acceptable alternative.
4 Comments so far
Leave a comment
slightly wonky 
Your sewing skills are very impressive Elizabeth and the bag is gorgeous. Just the thing to use as a cabin bag on an exotic holiday. I can feel Fiji or perhaps Mauritius calling already. Good luck with selling.
Comment by Ruth September 22, 2014 @ 6:39 pmOn the more practical side the only time I have ever sewn silk chiffon I was advised to use a layer of fine tissue paper underneath and it certainly helped. Not the easiest of fabrics though the end result in your case was worth it.
Ruth
Thank you so much, Ruth! You are always so supportive. Yes, I tried to pin tissue paper to the chiffon. But I took it off when I was going to sew it. Perhaps that was my mistake!
Comment by slightlywonky September 24, 2014 @ 9:42 amI LOVE your blog if for no other reason than the sheer stream-of-concious writing you do…it’s delightful! I also love the products for your Etsy store. I think the top and bottom image of the bag are Etsy-worthy but not the middle one. Perhaps a close-up of the inside instead?
Comment by growingmuses October 1, 2014 @ 4:08 pmThe shirt is fabulous but I would definitely steam it before photographing it for your store. Not that you can sell it now anyway, having worn it and all ;o) Or you could just sell it at reduced price; I’m sure that wouldn’t make you grumpy…
THANK YOU for your photo feedback!!!!!! That’s so helpful. Yes, I wasn’t going to sell the shirt…it’s just a prototype. The bags can be sold, as I haven’t used them. MERCI!
Comment by slightlywonky October 1, 2014 @ 9:34 pm