Summer Clutch

Scarf purchased in China along Silk Road
Denim
Hand Stitched
Vintage 60's Dress Repurposed as Lining
Magnetic Snap Closure 
Inside Zipper Pocket
{sold}

Up-And-Coming Designer: Maison

My daughter, Maison, asked me for sewing supplies for her birthday this year.  She is always drawing designs and asking to use my scrap fabric.  I may have gone a little overboard...  She is now the proud owner of her own sewing machine!!!  ...And fabrics, and Fiskar scissors, and pins, and buttons, and...well, you get the idea.

Maison got right to work as soon as I made a space for her in my work area.  Here is her first creation.  Ladies and gentleman, I give you.....

The Poncho by Maison Spaulding:

Happy Creating!

From Rocker to Vintage

Rrrrrrrrnnntt.  Switching gears from rocker to vintage for this post!  I've been working on some fun Spring clutches this week:

I used vintage handkerchiefs, brooches, and buttons for these.  I love making unique pieces and these definitely fit that bill.  Each clutch has a zipper closure and front magnetic snap. 

grey handkerchief with cream laser-cut leaf details
with gold felt body

vintage buttons, felt and leather detail the front clasp

contrast stitching detail

back

bold 60's print handkerchief,
hand-bleached black denim body,
and leather clasp with vintage pin detail

back

vintage handkerchief with light pink border and paisley design
on chartreuse green felt body

back

vintage eagle broach detail
on felt and leather clasp

vintage handkerchief with bright graphic design
and fuchsia felt body

back

vintage brass brooch and vintage button with rhinestone
on felt and leather clasp

Some great vintage accessories with a new twist...Now we just need some Spring weather to start showing these off!

Rocker Vest

My 7-year-old
channeling her inner rocker

I was so happy with the Rocker Pants I made, I decided to make a vest as well.  NOT to match the pants!  Please do not think that these two items were every intended to be worn together, okay?  Okay.  Moving on.  For the vest, I wanted to stay true to the "feel" of the rocker pants, so I stuck with denim and leather for the fabrics.  I created the pattern for the vest and got to work adding pockets, patches, spray paint, snaps, and hand-sewn stitching details.  I really love how the vest turned out.  I wanted it to be edgy, but also look finished and clean.  It's for the more established rocker whose stage apparel has moved past the $2 vest he found at Goodwill when he was in college...Not that there's anything wrong with that!  I love me some Goodwill. But there is a time for the $2 Goodwill vest, and there is a time for a one-of-a-kind, custom, rocked-out vest that was made just for you.  Well, not you.  It was made just for John Corabi, but you get the point.  ;-)

front

back

front close-up

That's right...SKULL BUTTONS!

John Corabi logo patch

back close-up

Rocker Reconstruction!

My latest project was suuuuuper fun!!!  In fact, I may have found my calling.  I repurposed a pair of regular cargo pants:

.......into rocker pants!

John Corabi sporting his new rockin' pants

I ain't gonna lie--A lot of work went into these!

{The next part is the technical "mumbo jumbo" just for you detail-oriented peeps.  Instant gratification chicas can scroll down a bit to see the close-up after pics.} ;-)

{The nitty gritty}  Instead of using new fabric, I used two "used" pairs of pants I found at a thrift store for all the fabric elements I added to the existing pants.  Here's what was left of them after I was finished:

thrift store pant remains

The first thing I did was fit them to make them a tighter fitting pant instead of baggy cargos.  I took them in at the back seam and the inseam.  Then, I removed the waistband to give them more of a low-rise fit.

the waistband I removed

The next steps all consist of making different elements to add to the pants:  pockets, flaps, d-rings, snaps, patches, belt loops, and belt, not necessarily in that order.  

{Patches}  I printed John's logo onto fabric using my computer and made it into a patch with leather edges.  I also made patches using cross stencils I created and silver fabric spray-paint.  

{Pockets}  I created pockets using denim and leather {my fave materials!} and snaps.  There are a lot of pockets on these pants!

{D-rings}  I added D-rings and strips of denim.  I also cut and roughed up the denim to give it an edgier look.

{Belt loops and Belt}  I created new belt loops and sanded the fabric to give them some wear, then I made a belt and, again,  roughed up the fabric.

{Finishing Touches}

leather around the front zipper.

Hand-sewn stitches

{the final step}

Vahle Creative {hand-stamped by "Hardwear Merry"}

Lookin' good!

Kid's Aprons--with a Vahle Creative Twist!

I wanted to make something for my two oldest daughters for Christmas this year.  I remember when my Mom made me and my two sisters little fabric bunnies one year.  Each bunny had its own little lightweight calico dress, in slightly different shades so we could tell them apart.  Even as a child I thought it was so special that she took the time to do that, and I wanted to give that same feeling to my girls.  I thought about making them a fabric doll, but then it hit me:  aprons!  The girls both love to paint and create, so their craft aprons get a lot of use throughout the year.  This also gave me the opportunity to use the embroidery function on my sewing machine!  

I got to work on designing the aprons.  Of course each girl's apron had to be unique to her.  I did some searching online for ideas, created a Pinterest board, see that {here}, settled on a design, then searched through my fabrics.  I have really been trying to use fabric I already have instead of going out and buying more every time I have a project, unless I need something specific.  I settled on a heavy denim fabric as the "base" for each.  If you've seen my past work, you know I'm all about denim, and I love bleaching it.  I don't like rough, rigid denim, so I try to wash it and break it down a little--that's where the bleach comes in.  I bleached the denim a little, then picked out some cotton poplin fabrics as the accents:  {pink} for Vonda and a hand-dyed and hand-painted (by moi) {purple} for Maison.  I also picked two old pairs of my husband's jeans from my scrap pile and took the back pockets off to use as the front pockets for their aprons.

For Vonda, I used one of my preset Minnie Mouse patterns on my embroidery machine.  I used different colors than what the machine suggested, and I really like how it turned out.  

For Maison, I made a faux necklace by handstitching heavy yarn and attaching buttons and charms that I already had.  In the middle, I used a vintage Scottie dog pin, which she loved!  I embroidered her first initial in the middle and sewed a charm on it too.

I think they are pretty happy with them!  

Happy Creating!