A couple more padded, zippered cross-body purses made this week. Finished size 8" x 12"
Usually I harvest legs from pairs of blue jeans, but this time I received a nice piece of duck cloth with a multi-denim print from a friend. Not much difference in the weight of the cotton duck fabric vs. cotton denim blue jeans. A good experiment.
From another pair of jeans I harvested a back pocket. Lined the pocket, then framed with fabric strips. The body of the purse is 3 layers, duck cloth exterior/batting padded/cotton print lining.
Padding gives the purse shape, and an appreciated weight. It is durable, and won't stretch out of shape. Made to look good and last a long time.
I machine stitched decorative diamonds in a vibrant orange on the front pocket. And, added a hand-painted wooden heart.
The colorful fabric band (located above the pocket) was secured with machined blanket stitching--each spaced stitch bite has a hand-sewn 6/0 glass bead. I like using stacked fabrics to make a durable yet flexible carrying strap. I did all the decorations before add the zipper and sewing up the side seam.
The handmade polymer clay beads were baked in the oven, and later glazed using a liquid sealer (dipping method), and hung to dry.
My signature zipper pull: It is easy to string the beads on 20 lb. hemp cord and attach to the zipper pull. It is fun to zip a handful of beads.
Another purse . . .
My bead glazing method is quite simple . . .
Glazing Beads for my Purses:
Clear Pledge Revive It Floor Cleaner is a perfect glaze. Nice satin finish. I use a double strand of No. 10 crochet thread to string on the polymer clay beads with "smaller" plastic bead spacers. The spacer bead keeps the polymer clay beads from sticking together.
After dipping into the glaze, I put a pin through the loop I made on the crochet thread and hang to drip dry on my thrift shop lamp shade. A plastic bag catches the drips.
Thank you for visiting me today.
Hello Linda, That is a clever idea to use the old lampshade, not to mention the floor wax. I wonder how that product works on stone. My floors are all marble, but when I bought a special "floor wax" for stone floors, it gave no sheen. I don't want the floors to look scary-slick, but something that would bring out the depth of the finish would be nice.
ReplyDelete--Jim
p.s. My small apartment building had all stone floors when built, but now mine is one of the few left. The others apparently prefer characterless tile. (Of course there is no carpeting in Taiwan.)
Hello Jim. Thanks for stopping by. About the Pledge Revive It floor cleaner/shine.--I will look at the directions/information on the label to see if it can be applied to stone floors.
DeleteI think it would work well on any surfce you choose. When I was glazing the beads some drips hit the countertop and dried. But, it was easy to wipe away with not too much effort--I cleaned the drips off the countertop with some some Windex window cleaner and a paper towel. What I mean to say is, I think it would be easy to apply, easy to remove and re-apply with without fear of build up. It gives a nice sheen satin finish, and is not high gloss. I think it is a very good product. When I bake polymer clay it becomes very matte, and the floor cleaner glaze brings out the colors. I could describe it as . . . if you found a beautiful rock and poured water on it--suddenly the rock is deeper and more colorful. Hope this information helps.
Adorable! And, wow...such details! It looks like an incredibly labor-intensive project, but I am sure the purchaser appreciates each and every one of them. ~Robin~
ReplyDeleteHi Robin. Thank you for your kind review. I will be posting soon about making boho denim bracelets. I made 60 so far, and working on another dozen over the weekend. E6000 glue is part of the process. Exciting, but I get impatient waiting for things to dry. A fair amount of hand-stitching beads and charms. Wearing several bracelets at once is a hoot.
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