Rivets

I finally finished a bag I've been working on for almost two months.  I had someone ask me if I made any bags with leather straps.  I had been thinking about it and went right to work.  I found a place that sells the straps I was looking for and ordered them.  The company wasn't very impressive and it took them 10 days to ship and then a couple of weeks before it finally reached my front door.  In the mean time I went looking for rivets to fasten on my straps.  I found some with a kit and brought them home.  I made the bag and prepared the straps.  When I got out the tools I knew something wasn't quite correct, but I just plunged ahead.  I hammered away and smashed those poor rivets to death.  After smashing three rivets I realized I needed to go and get the correct tools...shocking.  I ordered them and they came today.  

Here it finally is.  It's one of my favorites. 

 It's for sale in my Etsy shop.  

It was awfully tempting to keep it.

I like it.  I think I'll be making another.

New Bag Inspiration

I haven't sewn anything for a while.  I finally just went into the sewing room and got to work.  

Here is the result.

A cute canvas bag.

I'm pretty proud of this one.  It has an adjustable strap.  

That way you can wear it on your shoulder or -

 Across your body.  That part comes in handy when you need both hands to corral two rambunctious boys.

I think it would make a great diaper bag 

or just a fun bag to tote around.  

Check it out at the shop.

Plants

Spring has finally sprung.  

Thank goodness.  I was starting to wonder if it would ever come and if my tulips were ever going to bloom.  For some time, they were just sprouts of green leaves and nothing else.  I had to fight the snails off hoping that it would not be in vain and they would flower.  They did not disappoint.

Ryan and I planted a few more plants in some pots for the balcony today.

Not so sure about this set up.  The clouds were starting to roll in so that is where I plunked them down. The geraniums are the new plants.  That other one (not sure what it's called) managed to survive the winter and has sprung up from last year.

It was kind of an emergency planting session.  I realized my hydrangeas were looking a little wilted and need to be planted right away.  So here they are.  Probably one of my most favorite plants to have in the garden.

These next flowers are the last of the new ones for this spring.  I spotted them a couple of weeks ago at the nursery and scooped them up right away.  For one, I like the color and two, they remind me of a flower my grandma Davis used to have.  These are slightly different.  But I'm positive they are from the same family.  They filled a flower bed right off of her front  porch.  And when the flowers were closed the green foliage reminded me of green beans.  I used to wonder if they tasted the same...I never tried it though.  

Here they are in my garden, many miles away from Casa Grande.  Even so, when I look out at them I feel just a little bit closer to home and family.

A Count Down

We are counting down the days to summer vacation.  Adrian and Ryan have been asking how many days it is until we go to Arizona.  So I decided to make another paper chain and mark on the chains the other important dates along the way.  

(Ignore the mess on the counter please.)

We talk about this day quite often.

And here is the very last chain, the whole point of our 

paper chain extravaganza.  

Better go take off another one.  See you soon Arizona.

It's a Purse

I've been trying to stock up my shop with new things.  It takes time.  On most days I'm very motivated.  I enjoy seeing a bag take shape. On other days, it's just work.  This project was a little of both.   Here's why.

I bought this purse some years ago at Target.  Then one day the little wooden ring broke.  I glued it back together and kept on trucking.  Then I had kids and it was suddenly too small.  I stashed it away thinking I could use it as a pattern and make another one.  That was 7.5 years ago.

Last week I started to process of taking it apart to use as a pattern.  

Here's the result.

It was a lot of work.  But I managed.  I kept the lining of the bag intact so I could see how it was put together.  Here's the new bag. 

I like it and I think it was worth the 7.5 year wait.  It's in my Etsy shop if you want a closer look or you think you might need it for your collection.

New Stuff

It is my goal to make something new for my Etsy shop each day this week.  Of course this means the house work will go to pot, but that's okay isn't it?  Everyone still has on clothes and they aren't going hungry, so it's a win, win.

Here is what I've accomplished so far.

I especially like this one - it has a waterproof lining.  I was almost tempted to keep it.

This morning I woke up to a couple of emails for custom orders.  I'm excited and need to get sewing.

Puzzles

In an attempt to redirect my children from all electronic devices and to calm them down before bed, we put together a puzzle.

Funny enough it's a puzzle that we borrowed from my mother in law.  Who would have thought we'd find a puzzle of the United States in her Swiss game cabinet?

We started in the west and headed east. 

 We focused on a rather important state, for obvious reasons.  Then as we moved along I pointed out other states that have friends living in them.  

 The further east we got I started to realize that we know quite a few people scattered all over the United States.  I'm so thankful for our little International Church.  We have made some great friendships.  It sure has widened our sphere of influence.

All done!

There is a world map on the back side of this puzzle.  

I think we'll do that one another day.