Tag Archives: sewing

My Photographs on Bags

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Lately, I have been taking some amazing photos of my previous trips and hikes. One day I discovered a website called Spoonflower.com, where I can upload my own pictures and have them printed on fabric! Once I receive the fabric, I have been making tote bags and zippered pouches with my printed photographs! The first tote bag I made were from a couple of pictures I took on my Paris trip. I made an instagram collage of pink roses and the Eiffel Tower. I thought this bag came out great.

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The next two tote bags are pictures of flowers I took during my hikes here in Colorado and in Michigan. The first bag is a collage of lilies and flowers, and the next tote bag is a close up picture of the Colorado flower.

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The two zippered pouches I made were from pictures I took of the Colorado mountains! The first picture was from back in Fall. I thought the pictures printed on the fabric perfectly. I have been interested in photography recently, and I love that I can show off my bags and my photographs at once!


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Up-cycled Materials into Bags

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So, last month we moved into our new place. We kept our brown leather couch, however, we decided to get rid of the ottoman. But I didn’t just want to throw away good leather material, so we decided to cut up the leather and I made several new tote bags and cross-body bags out of the up-cycled fabric.

I also included regular fabric to the bags including canvas and cotton. I think the bags turned out really great with the brown leather.

I have also included a couple more bags I currently made, and of course one of them is sugar skulls!

Spring is Here!

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I can’t believe it is already April! After having a very warm February and March, it feels like spring came early this year. Nothing new going on in the last couple months, just continuing to stay busy with my sewing. I am excited to have my first craft show of the year coming up in May, so of course I have been preparing for that. I have included examples of creations I have made the past two months, including more Colorado bags, a CO cross-body bag made with up-cycled denim, and Broncos bags!

Other bags I have made including a Honey Bee drawstring bag, Paris Zippered Pouch with up-cycled denim, and another sugar skull bag! More updates on the upcoming craft show and other new creations next month!

The First Creations of 2017

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Happy New year and happy February!  I have had a busy January with sewing new handbags.  I have made more Colorado flag tote bags and more awesome skull bags!  I have also made two tote bags from canvas fabric, and another zippered bag from up-cycled fabric.

January also was a busy month with more skiing!  A few of our friends visited us for about a week and we went skiing in Vail, Keystone, and Breckenridge Resort.  We also received a fox visitor at our mountain house.

This month, I continue to sew and I am beginning to apply to local spring craft fairs in the City.

Valentine’s Day is coming up!  Which means I have been painting more recycled mason jars with Valentine hearts!

heart-jar

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Holiday Creations

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It is the holidays in Colorado, and it has been cold and snowy!  The past few weeks, I have been super busy with sewing and craft fairs.  I have participated in two holiday craft fairs that took place in the suburbs outside of Denver including Aurora and Castle Rock.  I made a whole new banner for my booth and I sold more of the CO tote bags that I began to make, and I continue to make more of the CO flag tote bags, and sell them at future craft fairs!

For the past few months I have been spending a lot of time making custom orders, sewing little Christmas bags, and preparing for the holiday shows, now I am taking a break to enjoy the holidays.  Last week we went up to Keystone to go skiing, and this week I started a new position at my company.  The view of the mountains from my office building is beautiful.  The week before Christmas, I will be flying into Virginia to visit with my family, and for Christmas I will be here in Colorado.  After the holidays, I will continue to sew and begin to prepare for future local spring craft shows!

I hope everyone has a safe/happy holiday and New Year, and check out my new listings on my Etsy site!

https://www.etsy.com/shop/JuliesJewelz086

November Creations

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The Holidays are approaching quickly!  I will be participating in two holiday craft shows in the next few weeks, therefore, I have been busy as a bee with sewing this month.  I am very excited with how my bags have been turning out, especially the two new Colorado flag tote bags I recently made.  For the first Colorado Flag bag, I experimented with the non-traditional flag colors to make it more unique.  The second Colorado bag, I only used the C symbol but attached it to a cute fox pattern.

The other handbags I have made came out great too…I believe my bags turn out more unique each month!  I especially love the panda bag, the Paris bag (outside of the bag was made out of up-cycled fabric from a curtain), and the sushi cross-body bag.  I have also been busy making more zippered pouches; including the grumpy cat cosmetic bag which I love.

I cannot wait to show these off at the upcoming craft shows!  I hope everyone else will appreciate them as much as I do.

I also want to mention that winter has arrived in Colorado!  A couple weeks ago, Walter and I went on another hike in the mountains where we spotted some snow!  It was beautiful but a bit chilly, and after a few days of unseasonably warm weather, today Denver had it’s first snow fall!

Of course, I made Lilly a new doggie fall flower for her collar!

dog-flower

Autumn in Denver!

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So far, Fall has been unseasonably warm these past few days in Colorado.  Halloween is approaching, so I have been busy making trick-or-treat bags, mainly for my niece and nephews.  Last week, I participated in my second craft/vendor fair here in Colorado.  This fair took place in Centennial, and I had fun meeting other vendors and makers.  Last week we visited a couple haunted house attractions and pumpkin patches.  I didn’t carve a pumpkin this year, instead I painted a large sugar skull.

Of course, I am continuing to sew more handbags!  I have been working on a new design, which is sewing the Colorado flag onto the tote bag using felt fabric for the C and the yellow sun.  The first bag turned out good, and I am working on a few more bags using the Colorado flag inspiration but experimenting with different colors.

I have been shopping at my favorite local fabric stores, and buying so much unique fabric that I think my new handbags are better than ever!  I also think I have found a new hobby, which is the paint and wine nights!  On Friday, I painted an awesome picture of “Colorful Colorado” which is hanging up in my living room!

 

Spring is in the Air

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This past weekend daylight savings began and temps have been in the 60’s to low 70’s…I can say that winter is finally fizzling out!  I am continuing to make more creations for the store and for an upcoming craft show in May.

A couple weeks ago I have made several reversible scarves for dogs that are currently selling at “3 Little Black Birds.” In case you haven’t noticed already that I am an animal lover and an owner to one beagle/weiner mix.  I love dolling her up in pretty scarves, and I love making dog scarves for other people’s dogs.  I make the doggie scarves in all sizes, colors, and patterns.

dog scarf dog scarf 2 dog scarf 3 dog scarf 4

I am also beginning to make springtime bags.  I have noticed foxes are a trend right now, therefore I made a large fabulous tote bag with a fox pattern.  This bag is perfect for school books or as a beach bag!

fox bag

I am also continuing making new zippered pouches that I plan on selling at upcoming craft shows.  These will be perfect as wallets or even make-up bags!  The next few weeks I will be making more spring/summer bags and many other accessories.  The Blu Js’ have also been busy preparing for the craft show in May.  Details coming soon!

wozbag 3 pouches 4

New Tote, New Fabric!

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I made this tote bag yesterday on my day off and I am pleased how it turned out.  The bag is mostly cotton…I made the handles out of an old belt, and the bottom of the bag is leather. This is the first time I have sewed with leather fabric.  I am used to working with just cotton fabric but lately I have been getting a little bored with it, so I have decided to switch it up a bit.  The tote bag from my previous blog entry had denim fabric from a pair of jeans, and now I am working with some leather.  It was more challenging to sew but it wasn’t too difficult, it was a little harder to keep the seams straight.  I will be practicing sewing with this fabric for now, and soon hopefully I will be selling more leather bags in 3 Little Black Birds!

leather bag leather bag2

My first Blog entry!  

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Hi everyone!  I have never had an online blog before so I figured this would be a good way to boost my side business.  I hope you all enjoy it!  A little bit about me! My name is Julie, I live in Norfolk with my boyfriend and my dog, Lilly. I graduated from Old Dominion University in 2008 with a degree in fashion and merchandising, and now I work full time as a legal assistant and spend a lot of my free time focusing on my sewing.  My business started out with my handmade jewelry, but then I wanted to expand and make handbags.  I started sewing and making handmade bags in 2009, a little bit after I graduated college.  After making several handbags I decided to expand again and make other products such as credit card holders, doggie bandanas, and aprons.  I have sold my products in local craft shows and now I share a space with a friend in 3 Little Black Birds which is a local crafter store located in Chesapeake, Virginia.  My friend Jen makes coffee cup sleeves, produce bags, and tiki torches.  After a year in being in the crafter store, we decided to combine both of our businesses into one called “Blu Js’ Designs.”

Fall is my favorite time of the year and Halloween is my favorite holiday! So right now I try to make sure our space is filled up with trick-or-treat bags and halloween doggie scarves.