Summer Tote-preview for "H"

This is the Summer Tote style that I make for Blossom and Poppy but this particular bag is for "H"!! I drool over these fabrics together- I hope you do as well "H". Thank you so much for everything!!! I really enjoyed seeing you!

xoxo-

holly

Natasha tote

I made this tote back in the summer for a super sweet client,"D" but I never got around to posting it. I'm obsessed with this green and white fois biox (that pretty much means fake wood grain in case you don't know) fabric pattern and "D" had great ideas for the complementary fabrics. As I was going through all of the items that I still need to post, this adorable tote popped out at me and made me hungry for those summer tones and my arms being that tan again!! Mmmmm- pool days!

I have other examples of this tote style here on the blog and I love it the most because of those incredible outside pockets- can't live without them with my lifestyle!

xo-

holly

Miss Karen's Mini-tote

My friend Karen always inspires me when I'm making purses because she is insanely cute and also crazy organized in a way that makes me want to copy everything she does. This style is wide but thinner so the size seems small but it maximizes space. The entire front is a band of outside pockets (which I am finding are a must have on my own purses!). My intent here is to have a tote-ish purse that you can fit a lot into and stay very organized but not so large that it gets intimidating.

This particular one was made for my friend Julie on her birthday ;)- who I know God put into my life as much for her friendship as for her amazing example to me!!

Miss Karen's Mini-tote is $52

The Marcy Satchel (in laminated fabric)

Ok- THIS bag takes the cake as the hardest bag that I have made as of yet ;). That being said- I was thrilled to have the chance to make it because it taught me a lot and I was super happy when it finally came together.

Marcy is a stunning girl who has her degree in fashion design (gulp) so she is more than handy with a sewing machine (double gulp). She has gone back to school- this time medical school (did I already mention that she is stunning as well?!! How can you be pretty, creative, driven and smart all in one? Not fair!!) and she had a great bag that she carried a CRAZY amount of text books in. She could stuff herself into her bag and it wouldn't be as heavy as those books. She loved her bag but wanted it to be a messenger strap style so it would be easier on her to carry and since she is well versed in fabric designers she already knew she wanted it done in Amy Butler's laminated Love fabric.

So I looked over her bag, took a ton of notes, made some sketches and set off to try to recreate it with her new specifications......all with the nervousness of making something for her when I know darn well that she can sew it herself.

This thing has pockets- lots of them. There is a big snap pocket on the outside and on the inside is a really cool flap that contains a small, zipper pocket and two little pockets for a cell phone or camera for example. There is another large inside pocket on the opposite side of the flap and the bag zips closed. This bag is wonderfully huge!! It is about 15 inches high and 18 inches wide at the top.

I was more than relieved when she was pleased with how it turned out ;). I am so excited that I have this large, wonderful bag to offer now as well!

Thank you Marcy!! Xoxo-

Holly

The Marcy Satchel is $75

The Christiane Tote

Don't have much time to write tonight- my husband has been really sick for the past several days (is FINALLY on the mend) and I have realized that me teaching, sewing, raising three kids and keeping us all functioning is NOT something that I can do on my own for very long! My hubby is SUPER helpful and this has been a little smack in the face that I need to recognize that more ;).

So, as always- I'm playing catch up right now.

My sweetheart of a girlfriend who I could not live without just had her birthday on Tuesday. I remember when I first met her at church a few years back it was just a month or two before her birthday. By the time her birthday came that year I was already glued to her and I love her more every day! God bless her, she STILL carries around that old beat up purse that I made her the first year of our friendship!

Christiane is the friend who will seriously move mountains if you need her- she is comfort personified. When I made this for her I got really sappy thinking about her qualities.....as my 5 year old describes tie dyed Silly Bandz.....this one is really RARE.

I start looking months in advance for fabric when I am making a birthday gift- my jaw hit the ground when I stumbled onto this one because it is SO "Christiane"!! I wanted to do something new for her so I played around with the edging structure, I ruched the handle casing and I braided that gorgeous handle because I knew she would eat it up! Christiane is knock out and is super model tall. Making purses for her is a sewing lover's dream because she makes everything she wears look incredible (yes, I am selfishly using her for advertising as well- I can't help it!) and I certainly wasn't let down when she threw this one over her shoulder. I love you so much honey!!! Happy, happy birthday!

This tote is roomy, sturdy and sleek all in one. I lined Christiane's inside with one large pocket on one side and a line of three smaller pockets on the other side but they can be customized to your needs, as always. Christiane loves a long handle but it can be made shorter or longer as well.

My goodness, I write much longer than I intended- I'm off to sew!

The Christiane Tote is $58

A new purse for Miss Jenn!!

My friend Jenn is my go to girl for most things- she is super empathetic, a wonderful listener and has a great knack for problem solving so when I get stressed I call my mom....or Jenn ;). She has been a huge supporter of my business and has given me the confidence and encouragement to do things that would typically scare the panties off of me (my use of the word panties being somewhat of an inside joke).

My usual birthday present for my close friends is designing a purse for them since it is the only thing that I know how to do (the only bad thing is that most of my friends have birthdays in the summer!!! Goodness gracious! get ready for more mushy friend posts this month). I have been waiting to make this one for Jenn for months now- eyeing down the purse that I made for her last year.....her stuff popping out of it but still totally devoted to using it even though she needed something bigger (is that a good friend or what?). So every time I see her I am taking a mental list of the specifics that her new birthday purse MUST have.

It needed to be bigger but she thinks that she doesn't need a big purse so I made it longer but skinnier so it didn't feel bulky. She needs outside pockets for sure and she needed a way for it to close that would still allow easy access- I thought a zipper would be too cumbersome so I chose this flap. It has inside pockets as well, of course! It has a great length strap that is easy to sling over her shoulder and great for toting stuff around for her two kids (that I love to absolute pieces).

It seriously took me hours of pouring over fabric just to find the right one for her. Her style is more classic than mine but she loves rich, vibrant colors she leans towards structured patterns.......I guess pretty, classic, tailored are words to describe it. I was thrilled with how this combination turned out after nearly frying my brain trying to find the perfect one!

This style of bag is really in between a tote and a purse- super utilitarian but I dare say gorgeous as well.

I love you like crazy Jenn!! You are such a rock in my life. The love that you have for your family, friends and your amazing faith make you a dream girlfriend to all of us who are blessed enough to have you in our lives honey-XOXO!!

Miss Jenn's Tailored Tote is $52