More Skirts and a Sweet Blog Feature

Before I show the fruits of my skirt to purse making labors, I need to confess that I've wanted to answer the featured seller questions etsy so badly since I first read them.  AND NOW I HAVE!  And it was harder than I thought.  But I still enjoyed the process.  So check me out on the WAG blog!

Ok, now back to bags.  It's been a sew-a-thon here at Found Beauty Studio and I really dig the bags I've made lately.  So for your viewing pleasure, I submit for your approval more before and afters :)

Before:

And after (for sale on etsy):

Before:

And after:

Before:

And after (for sale on etsy):

Before:

And after (for sale on etsy):

I have more coming, as well.  I actually am most of the way through creating a bag from a pair of pants which has been quite the adventure!

They Use to be Skirts, and Now They're Purses

I've discovered a few things as I embark on week three of running Found Beauty Studio full time.  I LOVE not working in an office, I LOVE not having set office hours, and most importantly, I'M SO MUCH MORE CREATIVE NOW!!!  Now that I have the time and energy to create, that's exactly what I'm doing.  And the first few bursts of new creativity are embellished purses made from upcycled skirts. 


Before: 

And after!  I present my Ollie the Octopus bag :)

Before:

And after!  It's my Bike on the Go bag (and as of right now is still for sale on etsy):

Before:

And after!   Ribbon stripes studded with vintage buttons :)

Expect more to come.  I already have three more in various stages of progress...

Purse from Ugly Wool Skirt Update

It sold!  In a mere few hours, the purse I made from the ugly wool skirt sold!  While I'm happy (really, really happy) whenever one of my items sells, I was a little sad to see this one go.  We spent a lot of time together, that skirt and me.  I looked at it for weeks, futzed around with ideas, swore like a sailor while stitching down the pleats, and when it was finally finished I toyed with keeping it.  But it's off to scenic Melbourne, Australia for the purse!  I hope it has a long and happy life. 

So to remind you, here was the skirt before:

And here it is after!

Don't worry, there are many more to come.  But there probably won't be another ugly floor length black and rainbow plaid wool skirt.  Unless you find one.  In which case, let me know!

A Landmark and a Challenge

YESSS!!!!  I've done it!  100 sales on etsy!  For the record, I understand how completely arbitrary a distinction this is, but it's been a goal of mine for 2 years.  I passed the $1,000 in sales this year mark in March, and now in April I've passed the 100 sales.  Triple digits!  WOOT!!!  I can't quite tell you why, but I feel like this gives me more legitimacy.  They like me!  They really like me!  (apologies to Sally Field for borrowing her oscar moment)...

I juggle Found Beauty Studio with a lot of other obligations.  I'm the director of an AmeriCorps VISTA program as my day job, a volunteer guardian ad litem in the VT family court system, a board member for a local arts organization, a mentor, a fundraising consultant, and I try to fit being a good friend, sister, daughter, aunt, and partner in there too.  I also aspire to be a counselor for children and adults with complex developmental trauma, and attend a lot of workshop and read a lot of books and research in that all too elusive spare time.  To sum up, I'm busy and pulled in different directions.  But the studio keeps me grounded.  In a fantastic workshop I attended today on Trauma Stewardship, I heard yet again - yet really heard for the first time - that when we "overdeploy" ourselves, creativity is the first thing to go.  This means that all creative thinking and problem solving, in addition to any sort of art, is beyond our capacity.  And hoo boy have I ever felt that lately.  But I'm trying hard to make this a continued priority in my life.  It keeps me sane.  It exercises a part of my brain I don't use enough.  And, most importantly, it makes me happy.  And for some reason, surpassing these sales goals has helped keep me motivated.  They may be small successes, but I'll take what I can get.

Now for the challenge... A few weeks ago I picked up this absolutely atrocious skirt at good will:

Um, yes.  It is indeed a full length heavily pleated rainbow wool skirt.  I was visually offended and drawn to it in the same breath.  It was my civic duty to make sure no one ever wore this again so I grabbed it off the rack and took it home.  And mere minutes ago I turned it into a sweet purse.  Photos to come :)

From Skirt to Purse

After the previous post, I thought it might be nice to actually show a few completed projects.  Lately I've been obsessed with finding unwanted or unwearable skirts and turning them into bags.  It's such a satisfying process.  Creative, relatively quick, practical, fun.  Can't be beat.   Here are a few of my latest.  Some have been sold, but for those that are still available, the photo will link you to the listing on my etsy site:

This was my first creation.  It sold in 3 hours!  The step-by-step photos are up on my Found Beauty Studio Facebook page if you want to see the process...

This skirt was lovely, but dowdy.  And it was in good will.  And it had been there for months.  This was a rescue mission.  

I found this beauty at Joesy's Resale Shop in Colchester.  Oh how I heart Joesy's!  When I got it home, I realized it had been handmade.  I'm not sure why I love that so much, but there's something really neat to me that at least two of us DIY ladies saw this fabric and wanted it for our own.   You can't quite tell from the photos, but it's fuzzy!

This khaki number is actually a skort.  Seriously.  I didn't know they still made skorts.

This skirt was soooo cute in its original form, but it had a tear in the back panel that couldn't be repaired.

And with four more skirts in the workroom, more bags are on the way...