Leopard Print and Zebra Print Pillow and Leopard Print and Zebra Print Purse

As Promissed, here are photos of the leopard print and zebra print purse and pillow too. While I'm at it, below is statistical information on both.

Leopard Print and Zebra Print Purse

Size excluding handle: about 13.5 inches wide x about 7.5 inches tall by about 4 inches deep (at the bottom) and about 3 inches deep at the top

Handle size: about 11 inches tall

Outside colors: Black, Brown, Tan and Cream in squares of leopard print and squares of zebra print or tiger stripes

Lining Colors: Tan and Black

Features: Zipper closure at the top of the purse body. Three pockets without closures on one side of the purse. The larges pocket is about 8 inches at the widest and about 3.75 inches at the tallest. The two small pockets are about 3.75 inches at the tallest and about 3.5 inches at the widest. Three pockets on the other side of the purse. The large pocket has a Velcro closure and measures about 8 inches at the widest and about 3.75 inches at the tallest. The other two pockets do not have closures and measure about 3.75 inches at the tallest and about 3.5 inches at the widest.

Leopard Print and Zebra Print Pillow

Size: about 10.5 inches long by about 10.5 inches wide

Colors: Black, Brown, Tan and Cream in squares of leopard print and squares of zebra print or tiger stripes. The pillow has a trim of black cording.

My kitty Lincoln wanted to be part of the photo shoot so he jumped up and threw the purse over his sholder.

Leopard and Zebra Print Purse

I just finished my first item for sale on Etsy.com. It is a leopard print and zebra print purse. I'm quite happy with it. I made two small pillows out of the same fabric and I intend to make a bean bag chair from the same fabric.

Tomorrow I'll set up and take some pictures of the purse for Etsy and I'll post them here too.

Finished Cutting Out the Renaissance Dress Pieces.

I finished cutting out the pieces for the Renaissance dress (skirt and corset actually).

I need to figure out what to do with all the fabric scraps I have been accumulating for the past several years. Crazy quilt teddy bears and tote bags sounds like a good idea right now. I will probably change my mind a billion times before I actually do anything with them.

I don't really want to cut anything else out right now but I want to get started on the leopard/zebra pillows and purse. So, I guess I will start cutting again.

The Wrong Pattern Size

I finished ironing the fabric for the Renaissance dress. I don't really feel like sewing and I haven't all morning but I need to get the project started. I laid the fabric out accross the livingroom and started pinning pattern pieces. Then, I realized I have the wrong size pattern. Fortunately it's a McCall's pattern and McCall's patters are on sale at Hancocks Fabrics right now. So, I guess I'm headed for Hancocks.

How does one get a job blogging?

I'm ironing fabric so I can start another Rennaisance dress. Martha Stewart is on in the background. She has a bunch of bloggers on her show. The lady instructing Martha on a recipe said her job is blogging and writting. How does one make a job of blogging?

I guess I could say my job is writting (pleadings and agreements that is). To have a job blogging about sewing, knitting, crocheting and jewlrey making with metal clay...now that would be a job! Hmmm...

The grass is always greener on the other side and I like my real job. I also like having extra time off to enjoy my hobbies. :)

Meet Voir Dire the Knit Bear

I got a lot done on the knit bear today during breaks from jury duty. I think I will name this bear Voir Dire.

I didn't find courthouse friendly knitting needles last night at WalMart. So, I put rubber tips on one end of two double pointed plastic knitting needles. Those were courthouse friendly.

I was excused from the jury so it is very unlikely I will finish the bear this week.

Some Photos

Before I run off for jury duty I thought I'd post a photo or two of some past projects.

These two photos are on my Facebook page and have been for a while but they belong here too becaues they are the first two rings I made in metal clay. I made them in the metal clay ring making class Matt got me when I graduated from Law School in May 2009.

Tying Pearls and Courthouse Friendly Knitting Needles

My pearls arrived in the mail from Fire Mountain Gems yesterday. I was very excited to see them. They look so good for the price. I'm stoked.

I started tying them last night. I finished tying this evening. I was going to use super glue to finish off the ends of the pearl strands but I didn't want to leave the house to go buy super glue. So, I decided to use 5 minute epoxy. DISASTER!

5 minute epoxy doesn't dry fast enough and I snipped the extra ends of one of the strands and the end came untied. Trying to tie string ends that are only a few millimeters long is VERY difficult. However, I made it happen. Now I'm off to WalMart to buy super glue to glue the ends so they don't come untied.

On the plus side, the necklace is beautiful. It is a three strand pearl necklace. It is a reproduction of QVC's reproduction Jacqueline Kennedy three strand pearl necklace. I can't wait to wear mine.

On a tennuously related note...I have jury duty tomorrow. Hopefully while at WalMart I'll find size 8 plastic knitting needles so I can work on my bear project in the courthouse.

I don't understand why mental knitting needles and crochet hooks are allowed on airplanes but not in the courthouse. They aren't a security risk but if they were, they'd be more of a risk on a plane than in the courthouse. They are far less of a risk than those expensive metal pens some attornies are allowed to take in the courthouse. I just don't understand but it is what it is. So courthouse friendly size 8 knitting needles, hear I come.

Welcome Everyone

I post a lot about my projects on Facebook. One night I went posting crazy and one of my friends told me I need a blog. I started posting my projects on my own web page, www.jessicaryanphotography.com, but I decided I need a real blog where people can leave comments. So, here I am.

Right now I'm waiting for my most recent metal clay project to cool down enough in the kiln so I can pull it out and look at it. I sure hope it looks good so I can wear it to work tomorrow.

The project is a pendant made of three disks. One side of each disk is made of steel metal clay and the other side of each disk is made of copper metal clay.

I fired the steel metal clay first. (It was my first time playing with steel metal clay.) Then I fired the copper metal clay. The copper shrank way more than I thought it would. Therefore, the two sides of the disks didn't match up in size. I had to resort to Plan B. Hopefully it works.

In addition, this project is my first time combining two different types of metal clay in one project.