So as a handbag lover and designer, I was kind of impatient waiting for this new book to arrive.

Handbag Designer 101
by Emily Blumenthal

Handbag Designer 101 is subtitled “Everything You Need to Know About Designing, Making, and Marketing Handbags” and I wasn’t disappointed. There is a lot of great information in this book about the construction and design of handbags, as well as instructions and patterns for making fifteen common handbag styles including totes, bags with zipper closures, bags with frame closures, and even a briefcase. It’s worth noting though that the instructions and diagrams are quite basic so if you’ve had no experience making handbags, you might find them a little difficult to follow.

As well as design and construction, the book also includes information on how to go about setting up a business as a professional handbag maker and designer, and includes information about making samples, how to find overseas manufactures, and of course marketing.

The information in the book is very comprehensive and if you’re seriously considering going into business as a handbag designer, this book covers everything you’ll need to get started.

Even if you’re not planning to go into business, the book is still a wealth of information particularly with regards to the construction of handbags and includes lots of photos of designer handbags for inspiration.

The author Emily Blumenthal also has a great website called (what else?) Handbag Designer 101 so head over and pay a visit.

I love to get your questions, comments and feedback! Leave them in the comments section here: Handbag Designer 101

Over the years I’ve attended a lot of online classes and workshops, and I’ve also bought a lot of craft and quilt books full of fabulous and inspiring techniques and ideas. I know you can relate to this when I say that I always have good intentions of following the lessons and learning some new wonderful technique or project, but somehow I always seem to get sidetracked by other more important things that are happening in my life and in my business.

Subsequently, the online class files are lost somewhere on my computer desktop in the black hole that I call my Personal Folder. And the books sit lonely on my bookshelf as fresh and new as the day I bought them with that “new book” smell. I pick them up from time to time, blow off the dust and flip through the pages, but there’s too much information, too many supplies I have to gather, and I really don’t have time right now, I’ll just put the book back and look at it another time (sigh).

If only I had time

Wasn’t that a song way back in the dark ages of my youth? These days, “if only I had time” is a phrase I hear a lot, particularly when it comes to our creative aspirations.

I believe that as inherently creative beings we need to be creative on a regular basis. It’s not only good for our soul, it’s good for our health as well – they’ve done studies! I believe we need to set aside time time every day or every week on a regular basis, to follow our creative vision whatever that is, and if you’re a reader of my blog then it’s probably some form of textile art. And we need to make time to do this, not use time as an excuse to avoid it.

This is how I do it

You would think having a business that revolves around textile art would guarantee that I would get lots of creative playtime. Sadly not so much. Some days from beginning to end I’m on the computer, or have meetings, or have other business stuff that keeps me from my one true love – my sewing machine.

So this is how I do it; this is the way that I fit creativity into every day. I do it in time chunks. Some days it’s only 15 minutes. Other days it’s a little longer. And some days I actually get to spend the whole day at it.

And the secret is – I schedule my creative playtime in my day planner and I use a timer (yes a timer) and I’m very disciplined about doing it every day.

Each day I schedule an appointment with myself for at least 15 minutes of playtime, or more if time allows. Then when I’m ready to begin, I set the timer. My playtime could be just doodling around with some free motion, or it could be preparing the supplies for a new project. At the end of 15 minutes when the timer goes off, I feel great! I feel great because this is how being creative on a daily basis makes me feel. And I also feel a sense of completion, because I can cross one small task of my list.

I can’t tell you what a difference it has made in my life to be able to connect with my creative source on a regular basis.

Find what works for you

Everyone is a little different, and what works for me might not work for you, but the day planner/timer is such a beautifully simple solution, I don’t know why I didn’t think of it years ago.

Until very recently, I used to schedule my creative time in my head and tell myself I’ll fit it in when I get a free hour or so. But days and often weeks would pass and I had nothing to show for it. Creative playtime, scheduled in my head, somehow kept getting bumped further and further down the list. I’m sure that sounds familiar.

And so as a teacher I’ve pondering for a while about introducing some sort of program to help my students understand how important it is to nurture and sustain their creative spirit on a regular basis, as well as support and encourage their efforts to turn this into a regular habit. And well “duh”, what better program is there than the one I use myself? It’s simple, seamless and it works!

Creative Textile Arts: Weekend Workshops

The “Creative Textile Arts: Weekend Workshop” series of instructional books are fun, focused and fabulous and are designed to help you fit creative playtime into your life with easy and simplicity.

The first book in the “Titivations Series” is Machine Wrapped Cording. I’ve offered the instructions for the Machine Wrapped Cording technique in various forms over the years as a tutorial and online class, and I’ve taught it to hundreds of students over the years. Now the information has been completely updated and revised for the new book which will be available mid June.

I’m excited about this project and I hope you will be too! I’m very passionate about teaching and I’m also very passionate about motivating and inspiring my students in order that they get the most from their lessons.

You can find additional information about the book here and you’ll be hearing more about this series as the weeks progress.

Photos courtesy Helga Weber,ellie, soartsyithurts

I love to get your questions, comments and feedback! Leave them in the comments section here: Creative Textile Arts: Weekend Workshops

I’ve been a dressmaker for more years than I care to remember so whipping up a little something extravagant to wear is often not a problem for me, but for those who are let’s say, “stitch challenged”, it can be a daunting or even terrifying thought to sew a garment from scratch. So what’s one to do? Back in the day I remember altering my clothing in some way which often resulted in fashion disasters that I’d rather not remember, but now it’s been taken to a whole new level with a whole new generation of DIYers who have reinvented “altered clothing” – clothing that’s already made but then embellished in various ways to make it simply gorgeous.

Isn’t the picture of the cardigan on the magazine just *beautiful*? Can’t you imagine yourself wrapped up in something like that, so soft and feminine and unique? I’ve been following Stampington’s magazine “Altered Couture” with mild interest since it first came out some years ago, and as I feel myself moving away from art quilts and back into wearables, I’m kind of fired up about anything to do with clothing and accessories, and now I’m literally drooling over this beautiful magazine.

If you haven’t yet discovered “Altered Couture”, you can find out more about the latest edition of the magazine on Stampington’s website, or run down to your nearest book store for a browse. Then run back home, rummage through your closet (or pay a visit to your local Goodwill store) and find a few old pieces of clothing to tear up, restitch back together and embellish with paints, stamps, appliques or anything that takes your fancy. My goodness, I think I just inspired myself … today just might have to be declared a playday!

This post is part of the 30 Days of Titivations; a 30 day blogathon all about embellishing and embellishments.

You can find lots of free embellishment tutorials in the tutorials section of my blog which can be found here, and even more techniques can be found on my Titivations DVD. Please visit the Instructional DVD section of the store for full details.

I love to get your questions, comments and feedback! Leave them in the comments section here: Embellished Clothing

This book has *lots* of creative ideas for embellishments using not only fabric, but includes technique for using shrink plastic, rubber stamps, fun foam, paper, plastic, clay, and more .. oh my! And of course, the colors are just beautiful.

Clear step-by-step instructions are included for the technique, plus of course you can’t be without visuals, so there’s lots of lovely photos as well.

There’s more than enough ideas for embellishments to keep you busy for the longest time, and of course the embellishments can be used on quilts, garments, journals, and any other project you might be working on. Very titivating!

This post is part of the 30 Days of Titivations; a 30 day blogathon all about embellishing and embellishments.

You can find lots of free embellishment tutorials in the tutorials section of my blog which can be found here, and even more techniques can be found on my Titivations DVD. Please visit the Instructional DVD section of the store for full details.

I love to get your questions, comments and feedback! Leave them in the comments section here: Creative Embellishments

Decorative elements such as the center of this sunflower;

Abstract floral embellishments …

Filling for cutwork designs on appliques …

And cutwork designs on quilts …

Embellishments such asleaves, flowers, beads …

Soft edges on art quilts …

And lots of other interesting applications.

I learned the technique from the book Machine Needlelace and Other Embellishment Techniques by Judy Simmons.

This book was published some year ago, and as with most of the books published around the same era, is a favorite in my library.

The book covers mainly techniques for using machine needlelace as an embellishment for clothing, but as you can see I use it for lots more than just clothing which is why I’ve included this technique in my Titivations DVD.

The technique is not difficult to learn and can produce stunning results as you can see. If you love the effect of soft, non-conventional type lacework, I’m sure you’ll love working with machine needlelace.

This post is part of the 30 Days of Titivations; a 30 day blogathon all about embellishing and embellishments.

You can find lots of free embellishment tutorials in the tutorials section of my blog which can be found here, and even more techniques can be found on my Titivations DVD. Please visit the Instructional DVD section of the store for full details.

I love to get your questions, comments and feedback! Leave them in the comments section here: Machine Needlelace