clutches and stingrays and whales, oh my!

I still can't stop sewing, although I had to make myself in order to get some jewelry and Etsy'ing done this week. I made two more of the pleated hobos, one for Erin J (she liked my pattern I came up with...yay!), and another for my mom. I'd already made my mom a bag for Christmas with another pattern, but I like the pleated hobo much better (AND I came up with the pattern myself, unlike the other one). I'll probably keep the first for myself or find another home for it. I also made this clutch, which I'm quite smitten with:
Here's a pic of it on me, worn crossbody with the chain strap (which can be tucked into the bag to carry it as a clutch). Please do ignore my outfit/hair/bare face and focus on the lovely bag. I look like I'd been sewing for a million hours straight, which is pretty much accurate.It's inspired by the Rebecca Minkoff Morning After clutch, which I've been eyeing up for-ev-er but have never felt like shelling out $350 for. Mine isn't quite as luxe, but it did come out nicely and will tide me over. For now. I hesitate to post the original since it makes my bag look less nice (leather ALWAYS trumps fabric), but here it is anyway:


I got some new jewelry supplies this week & was inspired to put together a few things today. It's all on my Etsy site, but here are some highlights:

Brass stingray+ blue goldstone + white coral on 14kt gold-filled chain. I've been looking for a cute stingray charm for a LONG time.

Brass whale + freshwater pearl + lapis on 14kt gold filled chain. Preppy yet fierce.

etsy sale! etsy sale!

Just a quick note to let you know everything, and that means EVERYTHING is on sale for at least 20% off in my Etsy shop. Woot! Also, purchase by this Friday the 19th & receive a free Priority upgrade to get your stuff by Christmas. Just mention "priority" in your checkout notes.

LET'S SHOP!

mama's got a brand new bag (or four)

After much procrastination, I finally took Sewing Basics I at Make on Friday night. My wonderfully encouraging boyfriend, Rod, won me a class card at the October Bazaar, and I finally got around to taking the class.

Now I am obsessed with sewing.

Including the one we made in class, I have made FOUR handbags this weekend. Since I'm not all too fast at it yet, that's pretty major! Here's the first one, from class:

For my next feat outside of class, I used this gorgeous cream quilted drapery fabric. It's much prettier in real life, and I love the contrast with the wooden handles/button. I came up with this pattern myself, and while I like it, I do wish the opening were bigger. Ah well, next time.

...and the lining, which is so cute!

The third bag I did I'm going to refrain from posting since it's a Christmas present. :) The final bag that I finished this morning is my very favorite. I was actually trying to work out a pattern for my friend Erin J who wants a bag inspired by this Gucci, but for <$2000:
I couldn't really figure out the pattern without making an actual bag for myself, so here is my version (I still need to add some big ass gold buttons):

It's not identical to the Gucci, but I'm really, REALLY proud of it. My pleats turned out pretty much perfect, which surprised me since I'm so new to this. I also am in love with the fabric. It's also a drapery fabric, designed by Cacharel, and has a velvety texture to it. Finally, the houndstooth lining is pretty swell. Alright, I'm done praising my own work! I'm just really pleased with how it came out.

I have plans for a clutch that I'll probably work on tomorrow. My next step is learning how to sew garments, and I don't think I'll ever leave the house once that happens!

haute hardware: the blog edition

My first blog post...so much pressure!

Welcome to my little corner of the internet. I decided to start a blog to have a central place to post about all the things I love - jewelry & other crafty endeavors, fashion, travel, and life in general. My main focus will be what I've been working on with my jewelry line, Haute Hardware, with some other little snippets included here & there.

It's been an extremely busy month on the Haute Hardware front - I just did my 5th Urban Street Bazaar this past Saturday. A huge THANK YOU, as always, to Julie from The Make Shop for making this event a success. I honestly don't know how that woman does it all!

I've also got my Etsy site going finally, although I still have miles to go & dozens of pieces to add still. I have a showcase slot on the 17th of this month, so this next week will pretty much be dedicated solely to listing things. People, let me tell you, Etsy is hard. work. I swear it takes me 30 minutes to list one thing, then multiply that by the 70+ pieces I have to post **head spins**. But it is worth it to be a part of such a cool site.

A few weeks back, my friend Grace of highfashiongirl did an awesome write-up on my line on her blog. Check it out here. Her blog is neat and always interesting, and I really appreciate her giving me a shout-out. And speaking of neat, I did my very first advertisement this month in N.E.E.T. Magazine! For those who aren't familiar, N.E.E.T. is an amazing online magazine based out of the U.K. that strictly features independent design. Take some time to flip through it - you won't regret it. Here is my ad that the lovely & talented Stephanie J created for me, featured on pg. 182:



That's about all outta me for now! Thanks for reading, and check back soon for updates. xoxo, Erin