Bridal Shower Gift Basket

Today's post is a quick one with a picture of the gift basket. Sorry for the phone picture, bad lighting and mess surrounding it, but somehow I forgot to take a picture with my camera. You can see the two bags, the tote bag and zip up bag, beneath the assortment of travel toiletries.

I enjoyed putting it together, although I had to use a lot of newspaper and tissue to keep everything placed just right. The only bad thing was when I was driving, the basket happened to fall over, so a last minute fix up was necessary.

~JV

Bridal Shower Gift Basket- Zip Up Bag

This post is the zip up bag I had mentioned in the previous post (here). It's another bag I had made for a class I taught (here), but I decided again to make it bigger, to hold more things. It's got a zipper closure on both the top and the side.

I used the same fabric from the tote bag as the inside liner, and I had some textured blue fabric, from a previous bag I had made, for the outside. The blue fabric and purple zippers match perfectly with the colors in the floral fabric.



Full View: Zippers Closed

 

Full View: Un-Zipped



View of Inside of Bag

Since this was part of a "travel" basket, I thought this was perfect for carrying small items. It fits great in the tote bag too.

I'll post some pictures of the basket put together once I upload them (hopefully ASAP)

~JV

Edit: Here's the post with the picture of the gift basket
Gift Basket

Bridal Shower Gift Basket- Tote Bag

I was meaning to post this last week, but as always, life gets in the way. This is a continuation of the bridal shower post. As a bridesmaid, we were given the task of creating a basket for a prize. Of course I knew I wanted to make something, so I had to think about it a little. I decided to create a few bags for travel purposes. One was a tote bag (this post) and the other was a smaller bag with some zipper closures (next post) that you'd be able to put in the tote. Then I bought some travel size toiletries and put it all in a basket (I'll post pictures of that too).

Since I didn't want to spend a great deal of money on this basket, I decided to use extra fabric and notions that I had laying around. The tote almost has a "vintage" feel, first because of the print (which I love), but also it basically is vintage because my mom had the fabric for looong time. It's a pretty simple bag, with two straps, two pockets on the inside, a Velcro closure, and it's squared off at the bottom for a little more support.



Full View of Tote Bag



Showing both straps



The inside has a Velcro closure and pockets near the top on both sides, matching the outside fabric.

This bag is from a pattern that I used for one of the classes that I taught, so I have one pretty similar to it, just not as big (I'll have to post a picture of it soon). I use it all the time, so I hope whoever won it will do the same!

Look for the next post with the zip up bag that goes inside of it!

~JV

Update: Here's the post of the zip up bag
Zip Up Bag
And the post of the gift basket
Gift Basket

Bridal Shower Gift

This weekend was a busy one. On Saturday I had a full day of events for one of my best friends. She is getting married in October, and since she lives out of state, we threw her bridal shower and bacherlorette party on the same day.

When it came to her shower gift, I knew I wanted to be creative with it. I bought her a serving tray, utensil holder, and towels for her kitchen. With a little suggestion from my sister, I decided to make her an apron to go with the kitchen stuff I bought her. She's a neutral kind of girl so I based the fabrics off of that, but added a little pop of color to keep it fun. The pattern also was just a design for the lower half, so I had to add fabric to cover the top, with an adjustable strap. It also has darts to fit better around the bust.

 

Full View with bow tied at the front

 

View of side pocket
Button is decorative, pocket opens behind ruffle

The button is made from recycled materials, which is perfect for her. She is very environmentally friendly and conscious of what she does in that aspect. So I thought that was a nice personal touch.


Closer View of Front




Simplicity 0384 View B
Lower Half View



I enjoyed putting this together for her, and I know she appreciates a homemade gift :)

~JV

Update: Here's the post of the apron I had made for my sister in April, View C without a bodice
Floral Apron

New Job!

So it looks like I'm just barely making it to post something in June. But there's good reason for my lack of posts. I was recently hired part time at a bridal salon and that mixed with everything else has kept me pretty busy (although the past week I've put a few things together- I'll post soon). So this is just informative- no pictures :/ (but please keep reading)

I had done some alterations for a prom dress and gotten a call from my client the day of prom. My first thought was "Shoot, something is wrong with the dress and I have no time to fix it." But I was wrong, and very happy to be wrong. She had called to inform me that a friend of hers owned a bridal shop and they were looking for a seamstress to help with the overload of bridal alterations, due to some of their seamstresses being unable to work. How could I pass that up? So I had an interview, the owner willingly took me on, and I started the next week.

It's been a great experience so far, especially the feeling of having a couple extra grandmas. The ladies are Italian with the heavy accents and all. They switch back and forth between English and Italian all the time. I'm going to have to look into learning so I can make sure they aren't talking about me :) One of the first days I worked, I was actually fed by one of them, because my salad was the reason "I'm too skinny" (imagine that in an Italian accent).

The way I figure, even if this is just for this summer, I am getting great experience, an idea of how the bridal business works, and I've got some great stories. It has almost felt like an apprenticeship, or internship, where I've had women with 40+ combined years of experience in that shop to teach me what they know. I am so grateful for this opportunity and it doesn't hurt to get to look at beautiful gowns all day (I am getting lots of ideas too)

~JV

Notebook Pot Holders

At the end of the past few months I think to myself "I'm so glad this month is over. Next month will be much more relaxing." Let me tell you how wrong that is. It would be nice to have a little break, but I'm living the life of a freelance designer; there's always something to work on. I'm not complaining though, because I am so grateful for the opportunities coming my way.

I've just finished with a few major projects I've been working on, so now it's time to move on. Today's post is about some potholders I've made, and now will be my next project to continue working on. If you remember, I had made some a while back for myself (Check it out here). Those were a test run for the ones I made for a client/friend. Miranda of Inner Circle Photography (http://innercirclephotography.com/) asked me to make "Notebook Potholders" for her clients (how cool is she?!?). I happily obliged and set to work for two clients.

The front is a bleached cotton fabric with rows of blue and pink stitching to imitate the lines of a notebook. The names are hand embroidered (for anyone familiar with my handwriting it's pretty obvious). The back fabric is where you can get creative with your fabric choice. We went with fabric that matches her colors on the website. It also has a thermal-fabric layer to help keep your hands from getting hot.

Lana + John: Striped Fabric
Front View

Lana + John: Striped Fabric
Back View

JoJo + Matt Paisley Fabric
Front View

JoJo + Matt Paisley Fabric
Back View

Front View of Both Styles

Back View of Both Styles

I love these! Miranda has given me more names so I'm excited to shop around and see what other fabrics we can use. They are such a unique gift and it shows just how much Miranda cares for her clients (and how creative she is). 

If you want some potholders you may just have to get your picture taken :)

~JV

Purple Paisley Scarf

Today's post is about another scarf. I meant to post about it this weekend. That's because it was a gift for my grandma for Mother's Day. I've made scarves for so many other people that she told my mom she wanted one for herself. Of course I had to make one and it was the perfect opportunity to give it to her for Mother's Day.

My grandma's favorite color is purple and I found the perfect fabric in a paisley silk. I used a purple posh lining for the other side.

Full View- Posh Lining and Purple Paisley

Scarf wrapped twice around the neck

I gave my grandma the scarf early (on one of the hottest days we've had so far, ha) and I must say she loved it. It was an unexpected surprise, which I love.

~JV