Birthday Pressie for a girly girl

This is a birthday gift I made for a friend for her daughter. Shes 18 on 12 June and I really hope she likes her present :) Her mum was very happy so that makes me very happy !!!

christening gift for my norwegian niece

This week I got an interesting call from a friend who asked me about bandana bibs & a potential business opportunity. Well this got me thinking big time !  Baby gifts !! of course, everyone is having babies these days, especially my age group so at the moment I'm researching fabrics etc for cute bandana bibs....... Its going pretty well. this evening I've finetuned the pattern  and next is to show my product and hopefully start discussing fabric prints etc :)

But in the meantime I decided to make my niece a little christening gift as we're heading over to Norway for the June bank holiday to finally meet her and go to the christenng. so I made this ....

Cute arent they!! :)

Now as a result my mums friend has asked me to make a set of 3 girlie bibs for her grandchild :)

Skerries Mills Farmers Market

I grew up in a gorgeous seaside town called Skerries in north county Dublin, about 25km from Dublin city.
http://www.skerrieshomepage.com/

Every SAturday there is a Farmers market at The Skerries Mills. http://www.skerriesmills.org/
This is where I bought some beautiful fabric recently from a lovely lady called Sarah on a stall called The Stash Cupboard. Her fabrics were so vibrant and colourful I will have to get out to her again soon.
Anyway I made this lovey tote bag and I just LOVE the colour

LOVE Turquoise !!

PicMonkey !!

I've just discovered PicMonkey.com!!! Of course I'm probably the last to know about this handy site that allows you to edit your pics but "yey" I've no photo editor applications on my laptop so this site is gonna come in so handy :)
http://www.picmonkey.com/

Flower Power

A couple of weeks ago I got very excited when I got my hands on this gorgeous print

and in none other than Ikea (omg I love that store)
So all Im thinkin is omg Cath Kidston :) only half the price hehe :)
Dont worry not planning on fooling anyone.... just love the print so chuffed I get a cheaper version cause cash aint in full flow with this damn recession :)

So ended up with

first time doing an magnetic clasp which worked out fab!! and pretty easy :)

Even fitted and little pocket inside

This is a great shoulder slouch bag. Throw in a few nappies, wipes, phone, wallet and your good to go. Going to be making a lot more of these I reckon!
In fact already have a order from a friend for one with a matching make up bag. cant wait to get started on it!!!

My other latest obsession..... Zumba!

Completely unrelated to bags or crafts but tonight I have my first Zumbathon and I'm struggling to find the energy!! This is not usually a problem I absolutely LOVE my Zumba class. Mondays & Wednesdays !! but I think being stuck indoors all week with my little boy who's been sick with chicken pox has made me a bit lethargic :( 

Come On girl WAKE UP !!! you've 2 & a half hours of zumba ahead of you!!!!

Update: Zumbathon was Zumbatastic!!! amazing where ya find the energy from?

Great cause MDI : Muscle Dystophy Ireland.

Heres to the next one !

where would we be without ebay??

I found this great ebay shop selling beautiful oriental cotton prints. The colours were fab so I thought I'd try it out. I ordered a few fat quarters and they were delivered in about a week & a half from Thailand. They were even nicer in the "flesh" with lovely gold print running though them. I was a happy bunny :)
So I put together a couple of different style bags.

I will work on better photography. These pics defo do not give the fabric justice!

I'm now awaiting some more fabric in the post..... excited.com!

lightbulb moment!

This tutorial turned on the lightswitch!!  I loved what she did and she made it look to easy, I thought I HAVE to make one of those right now.
So huge credit goes to .....
http://youtu.be/O7ARJWsPVXY

name it

Myself and my 6 year old daughter sat down last night and I asked her what she thought of a few name ideas I had...... I named off a few "no" "no" "no" was all I got...... I wanted something girly, a bit cute not too cute, had pastel shades in my head so was thinking florally??? anyway I said Cherry Blossom Bags and the quick firm response was YES!!! And so Cherry Blossom Bags was born :) 

Note to self: must work on a logo!

And so my love for making bags was born

I have read so many inspiring craft blogs and tutorials over the past few months that I feel like my mind is just crammed full of ideas its going to burst!! And I just have that "I can do that" feeling!
Its even invading my dreams at night :)
Anyway I just wanted to show you my very first bag that I made from a couple of fat quarters I bought from my local craft shop. I was so eager and impatient I just couldnt wait to get started. So I examined a little tote my daughter had and figured out how it was put together.

And this was the result!! I have to admit I was so proud lol :)
Now dont get me wrong its very rough, pretty messy hems, handles are crocked but all in all I thought it was a pretty good first effort.
And so it begins !

It never leaves you

Whatever possessed me to start a blog I have no idea???  But I’ve been toying with the idea for a few weeks now and I've bitten the bullet. After all who the hell is going to read it right J the one thing that would fill me with dread in school was having to write English essays!!! I was horrendous!! This going to be a complete hit and miss project for me. I'm completely winging it but sometimes that the best way to learn right?

My strongest subject however, was Art <3 I love it!!  I was always crafty, making things, painting things….. Then somewhere along the way I’d forgotten that! Between leaving school, going to college, getting a job, travelling the world for a year, coming home getting another office job,  getting married and having 2 fab kids I thought the arty side of me was gone…… well I was wrong J  I have discovered it again J

So now between school runs and playground trips I squeeze in the time to make a few bags, necklaces or whatever my latest obsession happens to be.

Now the first time I even touched a sewing machine was probably about 6 months ago and to be honest I found them a bit scary. The thought of your fingers being so close to that needle hammering away just gave me the shivers!!! But I had grown up with my mum always at the sewing machine, making a lot of our clothes as young kids and making her own fab dresses. She was pretty impressive! Wonder why it’s taken me 34yrs to come round to sitting at a machine?? Anyway I’ve since discovered that I may just have the “knack” J I no longer fear the sewing machine but feel pretty comfortable sitting at it. Pushing myself to stretch my ability and try new techniques. And all I can say it thank goodness for the internet!! It’s been a fountain of knowledge!