Organizing is for Animals

Well I hate to stick my neck out like this over a giraffe purse organizer, but I think this looks rather handy for my "more is more" in my purse way of life.

I'm thinking I might need to get something like this to start out my annual New Year's Resolutions to be more organized. (note: I did say annual. Each year good intentions, but never ending the way I'd really like it.)

If you're like me and thinking your purse could use a little help, you can find this organizer and more fun fabric patterns here.

Walking the Fish

In the "what will they think of next?" category, please note that there is now a goldfish tote by designer, Michal Shabtiali.

I'm thinking there are just not enough goldfish getting fresh air these days anyhow, and they would like to go for a walk. It's healthy for both of you.

If you don't have a goldfish, I'm kind of thinking that filling that with margaritas and a really long straw could be rather fun as well.

You can see more of his work on his flickr page here.

Love The Pantone Colors?

I saw these little zippered Pantone Purses and had to show them to you. So many of us artists/creative types follow the trends through Pantone colors each season. So of course these caught my eye.

Under $20, they come in three colors and make great little gifts.

If interested, you can find them here.

From Purse to Bead?

I like looking all over for inspiration. I recently saw this handbag, and I swear, it looks like a bead with a handle to me.

So I thought I'd go over my thought process and how I would approach changing this purse into a bead.

I'd start with a chubby barrel shape in Moretti's dark gray. Next I'd add a swipe of dark ivory for the face and chest, not worrying too much on shape, because I will be adding wings.

I'd add the face next starting with the eyes working from the outside of them towards the center stacking dots and melting them in.

Next, I'd add the eyebrows after warming up the eye area and pushing it into the diagonal shape, then dotting on the beak & chin.

The wings with the original dark gray could be added next and I'd probably use the sharp end of my stump shaper to form the texture. There's probably a tail on the back side, which is an important feature for any bird- probably 2-3 swooshes of glass for that. I'd also add texture to the front body section with a piece of round brass tube or something like that.

Finally, I'd add some large dots for ears and pull them into shape. A final adjustment on the features and bada bing, I'm done.

Now that I've provided a blueprint for you- let's see some owls out there. Different colors, shapes and faces will all be enjoyed. Here's a little lampwork bead that I made before I saw this handbag.

See you tomorrow.

Embellishing Other Crafts

This purse enchants me. I love the whimsy of it, the bright colors, (although I don't tend to wear them), and the pattern. But what I'd really like to do is have this purse, or one similar to it and embellish each of those wonderful dots with a cool lampwork bead. I'm still debating what I would put there. Perhaps some funky disks, or a pocket full of Tera Belinsky-Yoder's fabulous beads, or I'd even love to sprinkle some of my small seashells across it.

How would you embellish this handbag? I'd love to hear about it.
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