napkitten's world

Some vintage tags

2011-10-04T17:50:00.000-07:00

I made some vintage tags recently. I've loved and collected vintage things for many many years. I ever made a scrapbook pages to record what I collected a couple of years ago. I am always thinking how nice if my grandpa is still alive. I'll give him my favorite ink well which is more than 100 years old from Europe. My grandpa likes practicing handwriting at his spare time. The notebooks that he used for practicing handwriting is more than 2 feet high. He ever wrote the most beautiful cursive English I've ever seen. Moreover, he also liked writing with Chinese brush with round head, not flat head I saw in stores. He used a special type of paper to practice that. He bound the papers into thick and big books. He practiced more than ten books. I ever saw them in a big drawer when I was little. These vintage tags always make me think of my grandpa.

How cute the kitty is!!!

2011-08-25T08:26:00.000-07:00

I think he's European breed. My husband said he looked like one of his classmates in college. How funny!!

Beautiful clutches and bags from Tracey

2011-06-24T11:26:00.000-07:00

Here are some beautiful works from Tracey (Enter her shop). The fabrics she used are so pretty and sweet. I love the colors that can cheer me up. They look like sweet and cool watermelons, apples....They were really well made. The seams on them are so straight and neat. I think she did an excellent job. Tracey, thank you so much for sharing your beautiful works with me. I love them so much. They are not only bags, but also art.

my tiny baskets

2011-05-30T15:07:00.000-07:00

I planned to make some baskets long time ago, but it was hard to find the material to make a big one. In stores, some were made of bamboo, and some were made of special kind of grass. I love them so much. Recently I tried to make two tiny baskets with thin hemp cord and wanted to see how difficult or easy to make baskets. The hemp cord was from jewelry supplies.

The method and steps of making a basket are easy to understand, but it's a little hard to do because the hemp cord is thin and firm. It was not easy to handle. For the smaller baskets with two ears, I got two small bottles and place the hemp cord around it to get the round shape. That was so hard to keep the cord in place. I wish I had four hands. Besides, the cord was firm and I had to spray water on it from time to time to make it flexible. Making the rim of the baskets had a lot of fun because that was easier to do. I also tried basket with rectangle bottom, but I failed several times and gave up. That was too hard to make. I'll try it again some day after I figured out the correct steps. That's different from making a round-bottom basket.

Tools and supplies: thin hemp cord, spray bottle, sharp-tip tweezers, small wet towel, bottles for mold, two more hands maybe....

Cute clutch from Lisa(littlefluffyjumper)

2011-05-09T08:59:00.000-07:00

The clutch is from Lisa. She made two of them for her two young boys. The clutch is so well sewn and the fabric is so cute. I was very glad when I knew the boys love the clutches mom made for them. Lisa, thank you so much for sharing it with me. I love it too.

A cute guy from Japan

2011-03-16T12:57:00.000-07:00

Original blog: http://kagonekoshiro.blog86.fc2.com/

New pattern is coming

2011-01-14T11:18:00.000-08:00

This is the biggest bag I've ever made. I can put lots of stuff in it. It's more practical. The bag has zipper closure. Inside there are one zippered pocket and two patchwork pockets. Outside the bag, two exterior pockets in the front. The bag can be carries by hand, or by shoulder. The shoulder strap can be taken off or not if carry it by hand. The bags' handles can be folded back while using the shoulder strap. This bag is made of exterior fabric, interior fabric, the decoration fabric (bags' handle, binding on the pockets..), and D rings. The pattern will be listed in several days.

Beautiful bag from StellarStitches

2010-11-03T17:08:00.000-07:00

This beautiful bag was made by StellarStitches (enter her shop) from pattern of the swift summer bag in my shop. I love the excellent workmanship and the pretty fabrics. Sarah, Thank you so much for sharing these pictures with me. I enjoy them very much.

Cute wallet for Halloween

2010-11-02T11:39:00.000-07:00

I love this wallet so much, made by Bodaszilvia (shop, blog) from the patter of the felt wallet in my shop. The colors, the changes she made on it are perfect. Neat overlock stitches on it are beautiful decorations. More space and a zipper inside the accordion pocket are very practical improvements than the original design. It's so cute.

Accordion wallet from Isa

2010-09-25T14:36:00.000-07:00

Here are some beautiful pictures of the accordion wallet from Isa's Flickr (Enter). I love it so much. Isa, thank you so much for sharing your beautiful wallet.

Gorgeous clutch from StitchedBySally

2010-08-20T09:52:00.000-07:00

I was so surprised when I got three pictures of pretty clutches from StitchedBySall. I think they are really well made with such beautiful fabrics. I was told the clutches were made with African wax print fabrics her daughter brought home from Congo. I love them so much. Sally, thank you so much for sharing your beautiful clutches with me.

Some beautiful scrapbook pages from my friend, Marilene.

2010-07-06T11:13:00.000-07:00

I made two scrapbooks before. One was for my new marriage life with my husband; another one was for our new adopted kitten, Tiger. I enjoyed arranging the stickers and photos, writing the stories behind the photos, then sharing the scrapbooks to my families and friends. Several years passed. When I flip the scrapbooks, lots of sweet memories will be back, travel in the rain, red leaves in the fall, ducks and goose in an apartment we ever lived, football games in my husband's college...Beautiful memories are my treasures.

Here are some of scrapbook pages made by my friend, Marilene. I picked some favorites from her blog . I love her creative ideas and beautiful color choices.

Cool blue colors make me think of summer.

She made some pages for my cat, Tiger. This is one of them. I love it so
much. And I appreciate her kindness. These will be my treasures also.

I love the vintage styles of these pages. I cannot figure out how the marks
were made on the background papers. I think they are so beautiful.

Paper scraps torn by hand can make the silhouette of a lady.

3-D flowers come out of the paper. It seems I can smell their sweet scents.

I cannot imagine there is a handmade scrapbook in which each page is
full of creative ideas, unique designs, sweet memories, and touching stories.

Scrapbook is really a gorgeous decoration in life.

Beautiful wallet from Cookyousomenoodles

2010-06-30T09:51:00.000-07:00

The beautiful wallet was made by Cookyousomenoodles. I love the straight stitching, the colors, and the cute key ring on the side of the wallet. The magnetic snap is much prettier than the Velcro. The whole wallet is perfect.

New pattern is coming.

2010-06-21T18:27:00.000-07:00

The bag is with adjustable strap. There is a zippered pocket on its flap and another zippered pocket inside the bag. The bag has lots of space to hold books, water bottles, clothes....Besides, small things can be put in the pockets. I made 2 of this bag. One is green and another is brown. Their flaps can made with one fat quarter. The brown bag's body was made with Debbie Mumm fabrics.

A bag from Sara

2010-06-16T09:40:00.000-07:00

I like recycling my old jeans, sweater, scarf.... I'd like to take off the buttons, zippers, appliques from them for new sewing projects, and then cut them to sew new things. I got some pictures from Sara yesterday afternoon. She told me the bag was made of an old laundry bag that had been used since she was a baby. She still keep that until now. I think the bag has not only pretty colors and nice craftsmanship, but also a lot of sweet memories in childhood. Sara, thank you so much for sharing your beautiful bag with me. I love it.

Beautiful clutch and wallet from Federica

2010-06-03T15:52:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I got a very kind invitation to a beautiful blog from Federica. I was so surprised when I saw some beautiful pictures of bags and wallet made by her. I just love, love, love them.

I love the zipper she installed on the clutch and the binding she made on the wallet. They are the most important and difficult parts for the two patterns. But she made them perfectly. Federica, thank you so much again for letting me see your beautiful creations. I think they were made so well.

Sewing pattern of a new bag is coming!!!

2010-05-05T15:42:00.000-07:00

I love Debbie Mumm® fabrics so much. I selected a piece of Debbie Mumm fabric for my new little bag. I am always thinking the polka dots fabrics are great decorations for bags. So I put them together. The bag is large enough for daily essentials.

Some wool purses

2010-04-16T09:39:00.000-07:00

I just finished making several wool purses for a customer order. I am always feeling the merino wool is much easier to get felted than other kinds of wool I used before. But felting is still time-consuming.

Three little birds

2010-04-04T10:37:00.000-07:00

It's Easter today. I made three little birds for decorating the trees in the yard Friday. I picked most brightest colors felts, downloaded pictures of birds from Internet, and then drew drafts of these birds quickly, and cut them out. Just want to add more colors around the house...

Supplies: felts, beads, threads, fiberfill, suede

Tools: sewing machine, needle and thread

Accordion clutch/wallet sewing pattern is coming

2010-03-25T19:11:00.000-07:00

My next new pattern is an accordion wallet (or a clutch). I chose linen instead of cotton prints to make it. Linen is usually heavier and thicker than regular cotton fabric. There are six card slots and a zippered foldable pocket for small or very private things, besides 5 main pockets. There are some places which need to be improved on the finial version of the clutch. The pattern will be listed in the shop next month.

Spring is coming!!

2010-03-14T18:50:00.000-07:00

Spring is coming. The trees around my house start to blossom quietly. It's so hard to describe the beauty of them. I am so delighted to hear the twitter of the birds every morning. They remind me spring is coming.

Handmade sweet cherries

2010-03-12T16:29:00.000-08:00

When I get tired sometimes, I like doing something else, not making purses, not felting wool. It could be anything sparkled in my head, just for relaxation or fun.

Supplies: polymer clay, acrylic paints, wire

Tools: thin kniting needle, brush, oven

Black and white -- Bags from RedHotPolkaDot

2010-03-10T16:47:00.000-08:00

I never thought a bag only in black and white colors was beautiful before I got the pictures of the bags from RedHotPolkaDot (Enter her shop). When I saw them, I changed my mind totally. I think they are gorgeous and unique.

The little purse and a card

2010-03-08T19:42:00.000-08:00

The little purse is my recent design. It's a little harder to make than other wool purses. I had to match many colors of wool well to make the bunny look cute and pretty. I selected colors from a big pile of my wool. Then poke the wools onto the purse with a needle. I spent almost 4 hours to finish poking the bunny and her dress. I got the idea from the "Hello Kitty" cartoon.

Tiger is two years old.

2010-03-06T18:38:00.000-08:00

2 months old, just 1 pound, 7 inches

Now, 2 years old, 15 pounds

New pattern is coming!!

2010-03-04T12:05:00.000-08:00

The pattern will be listed in Etsy shop in several days.

Pretty bags from Carolyn

2010-02-12T13:33:00.000-08:00

I was so surprised when I got pictures of some finished bags made by Carolyn (enter her shop) yesterday. I think they were so beautiful, gorgeous fabric and unique style. Beautiful ruffle is a wonderful decoration. I appreciate she share the beautiful bags with me. I love them so much. Best wishes to her beautiful shop.

Pattern is from artsycraftybabe

Besides, there are three pouches. They match perfectly with the bag. They are great for organizing small things in the big bag. Every stitch shows her excellent craftsmanship. They show so different style from the sample pictures in my pattern. I think I love these more.

There are two other items I love in her shop, the clutch and messenger bag.

Wallets from my customer --- PrettyCoolClothes

2010-02-01T10:51:00.000-08:00

The beautiful wallets was made by PrettyCoolClothes. Every stitch shows her excellent craftsmanship. It's so nice of her sending me the pictures of her finished wallet after finish sewing them. I love both of them so much.

Another favorite bag in her shop is the Buttercup Bag, made by Prettycoolclothes, designed by Rae Hoekstra. I love the style. Moreover I love the fabric she used. Fabric with white background and flower pattern is always my favorite. Besides, I think it's very suitable to be put in the daily essentials, such as keys, skin lotions, cellphone... Thank her so much for making such a beautiful bag!!!

A new wool purse I made yesterday

2010-01-30T11:15:00.000-08:00

I spent a lot of time in making this purse. When I finished it, it's so different from what I pictured. It's much cuter. I used almost double amount of wool than usual. The hardest job is making the little red hearts on it. I am always using the needle to make the little ball. That's another hard job. I just knew it could be made by a plastic tool in the water. I've never tried that way. Maybe, next time.

A purse from my customer --- Bluecalla

2010-01-15T09:43:00.000-08:00

The beautiful purse bellow was from Bluecalla. It looks so well-made. I also love the fabric she used. Moreover, she added her own design inside the purse, a zippered interior pocket. It can organize the small stuff better than the original design. Besides, I found many pretty totes and dresses in her shop with beautiful colors and excellent workmanship.

This is my favorite tote in her shop. This is her own design. Light blue goes perfectly with dark blue. The zigzag stitching is a wonderful decoration.

A pretty tote from my customer

2010-01-12T16:36:00.000-08:00

This pretty tote was sewn by one of my customers. She made this for her mom. I love the fabric she chose, dark green with beautiful flower pattern. Making the straps of the bag needs a lot of work and patience, but she made it beautifully. I love sewing for family also. There are much love melted into the works, especially sewing for mom, dad, husband and kids : o)

A finished clutch from my customer

2009-12-10T14:49:00.000-08:00

We sent several emails to each other for discussing how to sew the clutch beautifully while she sewed it. After a couple of days, I received the picture of her new clutch. I love it so much, dark blue background with light blue dots.

A clutch from my customer -- Kim

2009-11-13T21:11:00.000-08:00

I received the photo of a finished clutch by my customer, Kim. I cannot believe she made that so fast and beautifully. I just sold her the sewing pattern, and then I got this picture on the same day.

My hand bound journal

2009-11-12T17:30:00.000-08:00

Recently I found hand bound journals are very popular on Etsy. Some artists painted gorgeous covers and toned paper sheets by hand. Some artists use leather covers. I always find hand bound journals on the front page of Etsy. They look so beautiful. One day, I decide to try. I don't have leather, and I cannot paint. I just have fabrics. One layer of fabric is too thin to be a book cover, so I am going to line the cover with two layers of thick linen. I cut and fold 25 signatures for my little journal, because I think thick book is prettier than the thin one. The papers are the leftovers of my sketching book. The thread is thick cotton thread. This is the little journal I made, just 3" tall.

A purse made by my customer

2009-11-08T12:02:00.000-08:00

I was so exited when I received a picture of a finished bag from my customer, Rachael. I love the cute, pink little purse. It looked so different from the sample pictures in the sewing pattern I made. It's totally in different style. It's so nice of her sending me the picture of the finished bag after she followed the instructions on the pattern I made. I appreciate it a lot.

My cats

2009-10-08T10:12:00.000-07:00

I have two cats. One is always in great playful mood. When I am making something, he always jumps onto the table in front of my eyes. He wants me to notice him all the time. He loves playing with the thread on the sewing machine so much. Sometimes he bites the thread and runs around the house, and the thread ball rolls behind him. I chase him and he hides under the bed. I use a bell to frighten him out of the bed.......

See, he's pulling the thread on the sewing machine with mouth when I turned my head away from him.

I was taking pictures for my crafts. He jumped into my camera.

My two cats seldom sleep together, but one day.....

My handmade bags

2009-09-23T16:52:00.000-07:00

I started to learn sewing since March, 2008. During the first several months, I read many books about fabrics and sewing basic skills. Besides, I liked reading some books in which there were a lot of sewing projects. After one year, I put my finished sewing items on my Etsy shop. At the beginning, I made some stuffed toys, wall organizers, small bags, fabric pins.....Not too bad, I sold all of them with perfect feedbacks, even though it was a little slow to sell them. But the feedbacks from my customers encouraged me a lot. I started to design since May, 2009. Then I registered my new shop on Etsy only for the sewing patterns I designed on Augest, 2009. Now I'd like to write down all the bags I made here and I don't want to forget any one of them. Some of them were gifts for my friends; Some of them were for my shops and future gifts.

This is a cosmetic bag, not so big and just for daily cosmetics, lipstick, eyeshadow, brushes, sunscreen lotion..... There is Sunbonnet Sue applique on the exterior fabric. The applique was hand-sewn stitch by stitch with fabric scraps. Then I embroidered the flowers beside the girl. The little dog is a button. The small bag was fully lined with thick and hard lining and batting. The piping is made by me also. I did quilting on the zipper area to make it stronger. I made this only for practicing sewing skills I just learned, quilting, sewing piping, embroidering, appliquing, sewing zipper with zipper foot, attaching strap or wristlet for a bag...Not all this skills were learned from the books. Sometimes sewing needs creation and invention.

Another two boxy bags. I made them still for practice. I use the red one for my sewing notions and like it very much.

I made this yellow bag for sale. I learned how to use free-motion quilting pressure foot and walking foot from this project. The leaves were embroidered by hand with punch needle. The final effect of the leaves is just like towel. I like them so much. I remember when my customer received it, she wrote to me and said she loved it so much and would be pretty if carry it in the fall.

I just listed my handmade bags that were not listed in my shop. All the bags listed in my shop were made after I finished above. I experienced learning, practising, imitating, and designing. During this process I run into many many questions, problems, and difficulties. But I solved them by myself through reading books in the library, looking for answers on Internet, or invent new methods. My husband said he was so pround of me and learned something new so fast.

My hand-stitched crafts

2009-09-22T11:16:00.000-07:00

I like sewing by hand. Listening the music, watching my kittens rolling over on the floor, covering the legs with a pretty sofa throw in a cold winter, lying in the cozy recliner, I sew a little bear or a small purse. I feel everything is so peaceful. I imagine deer pass by my window, leaving their footprints on the snow........

Sweet home apron. Totally hand sewn. The appliques, embroiders, bindings......all were made by hands. It's a very big project. I spent two weeks finishing it. This is a gift for my friend, Beverly. Embroidering letters was the most tired and time-consuming job.

I name them "warm bear family" and they don't need hibernation this winter. They were totally hand-sewn. I spent a week finishing them. I remember how excited I was when finished them. They are very small, just 3 or 4 inches, but it's a big project.

The twins were made of felt and not so hard to sew. They are pins. I like pinning them on scarf or pants.

A tiny purse with a green leaf is perfect for coins and gadgets. I spent a whole afternoon to finish only one. It looks simple but a little difficult. I lined them with batting and canvas.

Cute apples. My kitty and I both love them. My husband loves them so much. He doesn't want them to be cats toys. So I put them in my showcase. Very easy project, the important thing is that the fabrics have to match each other very well.

My redwork quilting

2009-09-21T11:16:00.000-07:00

I like red color so much. I have red shirt, red scarf, red pants, red necklace, and red bags, even red sheets and quilt on my bed. My favorite photo is that I was in a red shirt with long hair, sitting on a rock in a famous park in China. Red things can always cheer me up. For me, red means happy, lucky.

It's my first time to make a quilt. So I want to make a smaller one for my future's baby, definitely in red color. I think lovely bear is a good topic for a baby. After everything got ready, I cut the white fabric into 8" * 8" square first, and then embroidered the bears by hand. It was not a hard job but a time-consuming one. When the hardest job was finished, other things were so easy to do. The left works are cuting fabrics, sewing them together, placing batting, and binding.

Taking pictures made me sweat a lot. I wanted to place the quilt flat on the ground and take the picture from the top, but the result was not good. Then I hung it on the yard and tried again. Still not very satisfied. But the quilt is not too bad. I liked my first experience of quilting.

My polymer clay

2009-09-18T15:41:00.000-07:00

About two years ago, I run into some amazing artworks made of polymer clay on Internet. Some of them were very cute; Some of them were pretty. I like the bright colors of the clay, moreover I found some artists made very fine artworks. I loved them so much. So I decided to have a try. I am always thinking yard sale is a perfect place to find awesome deals, especially for craft supplies. On a sunny weekend, I bought two boxes of polymer clays at a lady's yard sale, just $2. I remember she was very nice and generous.

This is light pink color clay, just like the skin's color. Besides, I bought some colorful clays at Hobby Lobby. I didn't buy any tools because I didn't know what tools I needed. I wanted to make a doll with my husband's face.

During making the doll, my favorite tools were thin knitting needle, a sharp knife and a needle. The hardest part was how to make a realistic face, and the face looked like his face. I found two pictures of my husband taken in different directions.......

After a week, I made it, not too bad. It was just a little higher than the can. When I made the head, I started with a piece of aluminum foil kneaded into a head shape. Then I covered a thin layer of clay on the foil. This could save on amount of the clay, and prevent cracking during baking.

The second hardest part to make is the little hands.

I failed many times until I made satisfactory hands. The fingers were separated with a knife. Then they had to be smoothed by a thin knitting needle. The wrinkles on palms were made with needle tip.

Other parts were easier to make, such as hair and shoes......

The body inside the clothes was not made of clay. I used the wire to make a shape of the body, and then covered a layer of cotton to imitate muscles. Last, put on the clothes for the doll.

I knew some sewing skills, so it was easy for me to measure the doll and make a jacket and pants for him.

My paper quilling

2009-09-14T15:57:00.000-07:00

I knew what paper quilling was about 3 years ago. On a sunny weekend. I found a box of colorful paper strips in an old lady's garage sale. I was so curious about them and asked her. She was so nice to tell me what paper quilling was and gave me the whole box paper strips just for 2 dollars. Since then, I started to work with those beautiful strips everyday.

I went to the libraries, book stores and websites to learn everything about paper quilling. I fell in love with it very quickly. I learned basic skills, researched a lot of artworks of paper quilling. I imitated them and created my own works. Sharing them with my friends is my happiest thing. So I made payper quilling cards for my friends. I made thank-you cards, happy-new-year cards, happy-Christmas cards, farewell cards............

I made this card for my Japanese friend, Megumi. She and her husband were going to New York.

I made this card for Barbara. She sent me some gifts, and I sent her this thank-you card.

(The little pink flowers was made by my scrapbook punch, and I love them so much..... After several days, I received the email from her. She said the card was so pretty.)

I made this card for my best friend: Beverly. She was my teacher. After she got the card, she put it on her fireplace during Christmas.

I made this card for my friend: Heather. She is an art teacher. We had a lot to talk when we get together. I sent this card to her when my husband an I visited her house on Christmas Eve.

I made this card for my family's friends, Connie. She gave us a lot of help and we appreciate her helps from the bottom of the hearts.

My husband loves colorful wild butterflies. He always says he is so proud of me and gives me great support whatever my hobby is. I made this for him.

My Handmade Life

2009-09-14T15:21:00.000-07:00

When I was 5 years old, I started to make crafts and loved it so much. In my whole family, I had only one fan, my grandma. At that time, I could only make some simple origami, such as bird, boat, pants… Every time when I finished, I would show them to my granny. No matter how ugly they were, my granny always said: ”Wow, how beautiful!!! My granddaughter is the smartest girl.” There was no internet, no blog, no crafts forum then, so my granny was my only audience. Her smile was my only encouragement.

Little by little, I started to learn sewing, crocheting and knitting. I was so glad I could spend boring and hot summer holiday in crafting. At my 12, I became able to crochet hat and sock. At my 14, I became able to sew pants.

Afterwards, I had less and less spare time to make crafts. I had to spend all my time and energy in schools and universities to get degrees. Moreover, life is not always happy and beautiful, sometimes full of stress, sometimes full of tears, sometimes full of pains.

Ten years ago, my dear granny left me forever. I cannot stop missing her even now. How sad…

Now everything has been settled down. The happiest thing in my life is that I have such a nice husband to support, understand, and love me. So I regain my peaceful life to wakeup my faraway and happiest memory from my deepest heart. I start to make crafts again. Everyday, I enjoy the designing and creating. It seems I returned to my sunny childhood and I saw my granny’s encouraging smile again.