My new favorite Bag Maker!

I have to share my latest Etsy obsession. I bought one of The Bag Basement's backpacks earlier this year. I absolutely love how they are made from recycled jute rice bags that are hand dye cut out with patterns. It is huge and has tons of pockets. I use it for an overnight bag/workout bag to bring clothes to work, etc. It really has tons of uses come to think of it. I will also bring it with me to NYC to carry my purchases for the long days out shopping on my back.

The second bag is very similar to the bag I just bought as my summer handbag. I love the cool tie dye effect and it is the perfect size for everyday use. The strap is adjustable so it can be worn across your front if you want which is a great feature.

I also just bought a necktie for my Uncle's b-day. I didn't choose this I love nerds one but how cool is it. She has a bunch of unique designs that you won't find at the mall for sure.

Last day to Enter!

Just a reminder that today is the last day to enter my Bag It Up Giveaway. You could win one of three prizes. Each has a gently used handmade bag with a matching wire wristcuff made by me. See the details here. I haven't been doing a lot of promotion, or really any, so there are only 31 entries as of today. So your chances of winning one of them is really good.

Bag It Up

So I finally made my purchase for my new winter bag. I actually went with one that was not part of my post yesterday. I ended up with the Skull Tote in Damask and Paisley by Moka Designs . I really love the rich red and browns and there are a total of 8 pockets and tons of room inside which is what sold me.

I'm sure I will be buying from the sellers in my post from yesterday in the future as I am such a purse slut. I am always shopping around and rarely go back to the same seller twice. Mike says I have a serious bag problem. When I told him I was shopping for my winter bag he asked if that meant I was going to get rid of some of my previous ones. He said "why don't you pass some of your other handmade bags on so that someone else can enjoy them?"

This really got me thinking and I have a giveaway planned that I will be announcing later this week. If you like handmade goodies you should definitely stay tuned for this one.

Big, Bold, and full of Crap

• 

  Recycled Embridered Tribal...

  MadeYouLook2

  $49.00 USD

• 

  Large Wool felted Peace Tr...

  PEACEandLOVE...

  $38.50 USD

• 

  Large - Reversible - Hobo ...

  retrofied

  $48.00 USD

• 

  Miyabags Shiny red--Embroi...

  miyabags

  $52.50 USD

• 

  The Melanie tote-Autumn le...

  SilkandPurpl...

  $50.00 USD

It's definitely time for a new handbag in my world. I've been carrying the same one for over 6 months which is almost unheard of for me. And on top of that it's not even handmade, gasp. I bought it in a moment of weakness at the mall on one of my first trips out of the house after my surgery. I've tried to get my monies worth by carrying it for longer than usual but it's time to let it go and get myself a handmade winter bag. I've gotten it narrowed down to 5 choices. If you want to see all the ones I have considered check out this treasury.

My requirements in a bag are such: It must be big. I carry a lot of crap around and must have something capable of fitting it all comfortably, preferably with lots of pockets to attempt to keep me organized. I need a long and sturdy strap. Too many handmade bags have little straps which just aren't practical in the real world. I prefer if they use upcycled materials as in the first two bags in my choices, but this is not a requirement.

I'm still really torn between a bold pattern like number 1 or 4 and something more earthy and natural like number 2 or 5. I guess it is the classic contrast in my life, between say Mondo's designs and Gretchens' to tie it in to my last post. Number 3 might be a good compromise I suppose and it is reversible which is nice.

So which bag would you pick? I'll tell you tomorrow which one I'm decided on. I know that the fate of the world does not depend on this but on a day like today when many of the decisions we are making in the polling booth are so important a frivolous choice seemed like a nice diversion.

My new Favorite bags

I am a bit of a bag whore. I was recently talking to the woman that I bought this amazing 1940's hand tooled leather bag from at a consignment shop near my work. She asked me if I collected bags and I told her that my husband probably would say I do. It isn't intentional but I just love purses of all kinds. I have several hiding places where I stash my out of circulation bags. Some friends were over to play games with Mike when I was out of town once and one of them was looking for a board game and had an avalanche of purses come down on her.

I took the picture in my craft room with my Nana's handmade knitting bag that I have displayed on the wall. It was actually made by my great grandmother around 100 years ago.



A blog I frequent, Audrey's Country Crafts, recently had a fun bag swap. I sent a bag that I had bought on Etsy that I really loved but I thought would be perfect for my recipient along with a headband and wristcuff to match. I'm pretty sure that Dragon's Den reads my blog so if you see this I promise it will be there soon!

Today I got in the mail the absolutely stunning bag at the top of the page from Hip Chic Designs along with a matching key fob. I had told her my favorite colors are purple and orange and she combined them in the most gorgeous way I've ever seen. The details on this bag are really what impresses me. She even embroidered my initials on it and chose the perfect button to compliment the patterns. If you are in the market for a new spring bag I totally recommend checking out her new Etsy shop. This Colorful Flowers bag would be perfect to brighten things up!

The prints in the picture are by one of my favorite Etsy artists Allison Strine, who I blogged about here. Her pictures smile down on me every day and give me encouragement.