Oilcloth Satchel

After working in the handbag department at Nordies for so long I guess I got a bit of the handbag bug. Of course I often get hair brained ideas about making things so here's my most recent project and first attempt at making an oilcloth satchel.

It has it's flaws, actually quite a few since I did not have a pattern and messed up a few times along the way. But for a protype bag I'm pretty excited about it!!! The oilcloth was suprisingly easy to work with and keeps it shape pretty well. I have some tweaking to do but for now I am wearing it around just to make sure it doesn't fall apart...

How to Make a Corkboard...the Hard Way

As I started to mull around ideas for decorating my new home studio I was reminded of a couple yards of fabric that I've been hoarding in wait for the perfect project and decided this was the time to use it.

I love florals and this fabric was very complimentary to my much loved chandelier that had been previously installed.

After much debate about what to use my fabric on I decided on a corkboard. I've seen a number of DIY articles about covering a pre-made cork board (like here and here) and figured that would be a great tool for keeping me organized. I couldn't be content with simply covering a premade board though as I had my heart set on using an ornate 2 x 4 frame that I had picked up at an estate sale for $5.00.

I searched high and low for a roll of cork or even squares of cork...seriously where does one find these? I've seen them used on DIY shows before but after trying Lowes, WalMart, Walgreens and even the dollar store I came up empty handed. I finally recieved a tip from my sis-in-law that led me to the office supply section at Fred Meyer where I found a roll exactly 2 x 4 which was perfect!

I wish I would have taken more pictures of the process but I will do my best to explain it well. I started out by spray painting my frame a choclate brown ($1 brown spray paint from walmart) then where there used to be a strip of ribbon I decopauged some gingham paper.

I set that aside to dry then cut out a piece of backer board the size of the opening of my frame and attached the cork to it with spray adhesive. Sadly I think the cork I bought was a bit too old as it was quite brittle and cracked a few times but in the end it didn't matter as I cut out a piece of my floral fabric a little larger then my backer board, spread it out over the corkboard/backer board, wrapped it around the edges and attached it with hot glue on the back. Nope it's not pretty...but no one was supposed to see it ;0)

I wanted a little more embellishment so I crisscrossed vintage binding over the board at measured out intervals, pulled them taut and secured them with small thumbtacks.

I then secured the corkboard into the frame with a strong wood glue and a little hot glue to keep it in place until it dried. Lastly I added a couple picture frame hooks on the back and now it's ready to install!!!

P.S. One mistake I made in the process was using a backerboard that was so stiff that thumbtacks would not penetrate the surface easily. I ended up using sewing needles instead and much to my suprise they hold things really well and honestly I think they are kind of a cute twist on the average thumbtack. Anyway, if I were to do it again I would actually suggest using a couple sheets of cardboard or foamboard instead of the backer that I used.

Happy Creating!

Sew Much Fun

After 10 years of sewing projects on my ever so lovely discolored beige Singer sewing machine I was elated to recieve a Singer Confidence 7467 (which by the way is recommended by none other then Martha Stewart)for Christmas!!! I was very grateful for my first Singer that was passed on to me from a friend's Grandma and that vintage model has served me well or at least that's what I thought until I whipped out my new machine and started on a project. I can't believe I put up with such sloppy stitches for so long!!! And now I have so many other stitching options to choose from on top of the new ease of bobbin and needle threading. I have so many projects lined up that I wasn't sure where to start. Since I was in need of an additional gift for a cousin of mine and the weather outside was frightful I decided to head in that direction. After digging through my piles of spare fabric pieces I somehow ended up with this cute little satchel. I wanted to keep it pretty simple with vintage burlap and the embelishment of her intial in a fun floral print. I added some simple vintage buttons at the handles ends and tried out the hand crossstitch stictch on my machine. Of course there's things I would change if I were to make it again...like adding a pocket to the back...but overall I think it's pretty cute. Here's hoping she thinks so as well!