Swallowdale

Swallowdale was created by Linda and is located in Phoenix, AZ.
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Bid on this bag by leaving your name and a bid in the comments section. Bidding starts at $25 and increases by whole $s please. Highest bidder at 8pm on Monday, July 13th gets the BAG! Postage extra.

This perky little lavender purse is named Swallowdale after one of my newly discovered children's series by Arthur Ransome. It is made of a tiny denim Levi Strauss miniskirt that was Kenadee's and donated by her mama, Darla. (Thank you!)

The lavender and purple ribbons were all found at my mother's house and I'm not sure where I found the "lacy" light purple fabric? The inside of this little darlin' is a purple cotton with tiny white dots. There is a pocket inside graced with a gingham bow.

The handle is stuffed gently with batting to give it some oomph. I also added a purple polka-dot "scarf" tie on the back belt loop. (I saw a lady with a Coach purse at In-N-Out Burger sporting one of those!)

The three dark purple felt flowers with lavender flower centers and bling-bling are hand-sewn on by yours truly.

The bag measures 15" across the bottom, 11" tall and the strap is 16" long.

This is the perfect purple princess purse for the Lil' Miss in your life.

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The Cricket in Time Square

The Cricket in Time Square was created by Linda and is located in Phoenix, AZ.
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Bid on this bag by leaving your name and a bid in the comments section. Bidding starts at $25 and increases by whole $s please. Highest bidder at 8pm on Monday, July 13th gets the BAG! Postage extra.

I chose The Cricket in Time Square obviously because of the lime green stripe on the bag (maybe not too obviously!) This purse is a black and white wonder with a bold cricket stripe in lime.

The bottom and straps are made of a woven wool. The rest of the exterior is of heavy designer cotton. This chic little number is a lightweight bag so your arm is not burdened down while shopping and looking chic. I did use iron-on interfacing on the entire bag to give it some form and stiffness. The front and the back are identical.

The inside is constructed of a pale lime green polyester that feels and looks like silk. It is roomy and bright. There is a magnetic closure to keep your goodies safe and sound.

Inside there are two pockets just the right size for a cell phone, checkbook or sunglasses.

This purse measures 17" across the top, 11" across the bottom, 10" tall and 3 3/4" wide. The straps are 19 1/2" long.

Did you notice the care and concern I took in matching up the black and white stripes? Inside and out they all line up. (Makes my mama proud). I also did the top stitching by color so there is always matching thread on fabric. :o)

Just a great purse for your matchy matchy days of black and white.

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Anne of Avonlea

Anne of Avonlea was created by Linda and is located in Phoenix, AZ.
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Bid on this bag by leaving your name and a bid in the comments section. Bidding starts at $30 and increases by whole $s please. Highest bidder at 8pm on Monday, July 6th gets the BAG! Postage extra.

Anne of Avonlea is a collection of bits and pieces for that shabby chic look and feel. If it was pink, yellow, green or blue and in my scrap bag, it's on this purse! I love denim mixed with the light colors for that vintage appearance.

The flap is fashioned in a quilt pattern and I'll explain them left to right, top to bottom. A scrap of a Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt stitched by my grandmother or her mother, lime green chenille fabric from Becca, hand sewn embroidered pink flowers and raised "ribbon" from a tea towel, denim, machine embroidered flowers and cut work from a second hand table cloth, denim, cream canvas looking cotton with hot pink roses, buttery yellow and cream striped denim, and again, more machine embroidered yellow flowers form the table cloth, lighter denim and (the grand finale) and hand embroidered pink dogwood flowers from a table cloth that my mother made almost 50 years ago. (Way to go, Mom!)

The front flap is decorated with pale yellow chenille rick-rack, white lace with pearls, green and white striped satin ribbon and hot pink and white gingham ribbon. There are also vintage buttons in baby blue and light green, as well as a newer heart shaped pink button. The front flap is lined with denim.

Under the flap is an edge from mom's table cloth with more of the dainty yellow lace edging. Cute blue and green button mark the line in the center of the two pockets.

The sides and bottom of the bag are two shades of denim. The cell pocket is trimmed with the corner from mother's tablecloth with handmade dainty yellow lace.

The faded denim on the bag is from a pair of Jill's old Calvin Klein jeans. It is quite soft from years of styling. Thanks, Jilly.

The back matches the quilt pattern on the front and the only addition to the fabrics are two squares from a chenille bedspread (my fave). The quilted part makes up two pockets, with one quite narrow one for pens or reading glasses. The divide is accented by the pink rose button.

Inside Anne of Avonlea is mostly denim, but the pocket front is a vase full of mom's hand stitched pink dogwood flowers. The pocket is trimmed with pink and white gingham ribbon and a light pink and tiny yellow antique buttons.

The strap is knotless and measures 52", the perfect length to sling across one shoulder for hands-free garage sailing. It is made of denim, the yellow striped denim, the chenille bedspread, Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt and the canvas "looking" cotton with hot pink flowers.

All the denim fabric makes this a sturdy little bag! It measures 12" long, 9" tall and 3" deep. I love the look of this bag and some day I will decorate an entire room like this. Enjoy!

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Images of the Past

Bid on this bag by leaving your name and a bid in the comments section. Or you can leave regular ol' chatty comments, too! Bidding starts at $30 and increases by whole $s please. Highest bidder at 8pm (pdt/mst) on Thursday, May 7th gets the BAG! Postage extra. All proceeds go towards Zaza's adoption.

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Images of the Past was created by Linda and is located in Phoenix, AZ.

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Images of the Past is a spunky little handbag with an Oriental flair. The fabrics for this bag were all remnants from a diaper bag I made not long ago. I've been itching to get at them for a BFZ.

The shiny Chinese red fabric is adorned with dragons and other oriental designs. The front pocket on the bag is made of a gold fabric with round oriental motifs and the black fabric has colorful peacocks on it. The trim on the pocket is gold silky braid with dangling clear beads.

The bottom of the bag feels like velvet, but upon microscopically close inspection, it is a corduroy. It is very soft and luscious. It is trimmed with a gold braid that has two lines of black velvet running through it.

The handles are black painted bamboo and are attached with two straps of the red shiny material.

The inside is entirely constructed of a silky gold fabric with a variety of oriental designs of flowers and coins.

The bag is lined with a thin batting so the purse has some form and cush to it.

The bag measures 12.5" across, 10.5" tall and 2.75" wide. The handles are 7.5" x 4.5".

Happy bidding on Images of the Past.

Mom ... and loving it!

Mom ... and loving it! was created by LaVonna and is located in Phoenix, AZ.

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Bid on this bag by leaving your name and a bid in the comments section. Bidding starts at $25 and increases by whole $s please. Highest bidder at 8pm (pacific) on Monday, April 27th gets the BAG! Postage extra.

Mom ... and loving it! is the perfect name for this gorgeous bag because it was made by a frequent BFZ visitor, LaVonna, who IS a Mom... and loves it.

I love the design of this bag! The front and back of the bag are identical, button and all. The black squares are a fuzzy corduroy and the patterned turquoise fabric is a rayon or polyester. (I'm guessing.) The sides, bottom and strap are made of faux leather, or pleather, giving the bag some shape and firmness. The insides are made of a mystery material that feels like faux suede. The front and back buttons are gold with inlaid black enamel in a swirl design that matches the swirls on the turquoise fabric. So cute!

There are two pockets inside of the cute turquoise fabric. Also inside at the top is a bright turquoise glittery button and a little elastic loop to hold the bag shut. The top of the front and back are cinched in with wide elastic giving the bag a slight ruffle along the top edge.

The bag measures 14" across, 12" tall and 3" wide. The strap is 22" long and stays on your shoulder very nicely because it is so wide.

Thank you, LaVonna, for your talent and time and turquoise bag. It is darling and Zaza's Mama thanks you, my friend.

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The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me

How do you like our new format? Any questions or comments?

Bid on this bag by leaving your name and a bid in the comments section. Bidding starts at $35 and increases by whole $s please. Highest bidder at 9am (PDT/MST) on Monday morning, March 23rd gets the BAG! Postage extra. All proceeds go towards Zaza's adoption.

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The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me was created by Linda and is located in Phoenix, AZ.

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Here is the perfect bag for this Roald Dahl book... if a giraffe was going to be lavender, it would indeed be Dahl who would imagine it!

This looks like our typical BFZ carrier bag, but it's not. It measures almost 12" across, 11.5" tall and only 2.5" wide. With the narrower width, the straps are a bit thinner and the cell pocket is a cell pocket if you have a razor phone. If you do not, it is a lip-gloss or small-ring-of-keys pocket.

The fabrics were mostly a donation from my mother's friend, Cheryl. The giraffe print is a silk with velvet patches in two shades of lavender. It was a sample piece with the coordinating lavender, tan and black stripe fabric. The price tag was still on the silk and it actually said $180/yard. Holy smokes! The spots change colors with the direction you look at them and are so soft!

The front flap and the lip-gloss pocket are trimmed with a black and tan braid for added texture and flair.

The black bottom, sides and straps are a velvety soft corduroy. We thought it was velvet, but if you look very closely, it has tiny ribs. It is some of the softest fabric I've ever run across my cheek.

The back pocket, the lip gloss pocket and the insides are made with a tan ultra suede with a diagonal decorative stitching on it. My friend Donna donated yards of that beautiful fabric.

And the inside pocket, bottom and sides are from a decorator pillow that used to grace my mother's living room. The lavender velvet is a bit stiff so it holds the shape of the bag nicely.

I tried something new with the ends of the straps... circular! It compliments the shape of the giraffe patches and worked rather nicely. They are tied at 45" but could easily be tied 3 or 4 inches shorter or longer.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie ... Take Two

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie was created by Linda and is located in Phoenix, AZ.
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Bid on this bag by leaving your name and a bid in the comments section. Bidding starts at $25 and increases by whole $s please. Highest bidder at 9pm (PST) / 10pm (MST) on Saturday, March 7th gets the BAG! Postage extra.

If this bag looks familiar - it probably is. The original sale fell through, so it's back.

This sweet little morsel reminded me of one of my favorite books, If You Give A Mouse a Cookie. It started out small but turned into something really BIG!

This Mary Kate & Ashley denim skirt was a donation from Darla! It was already adorned with the brown lace applique and most of the bling. I did add the hearts to the front and the back pocket.

Along the bottom is hot pink ball fringe that is so fun to run your fingers along. The flower on the front pocket is made of the same sheer ribbon as the belt.

There is silver sequin trim on the belt loops and on the back pockets. The back pockets look like they button, but they are actually snaps that still work to keep little treasures safe.

The insides and the straps are a thick pink denim with a black pattern. There is a large denim pocket inside with a cutesy pink button on it.

This Cookie purse measures 14.5" across the bottom edge, 9" at the opening, 12" tall and the straps are 14" long. It's sure to bring a smile to a little princess's face.

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A Postcard to Heaven

A Postcard to Heaven was created by Grace and is located in Phoenix, AZ.

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Bid on this bag by leaving your name and a bid in the comments section. Bidding starts at $25 and increases by whole $s please. Highest bidder at 9pm (PST) / 10pm (MST) on Saturday, February 28th gets the BAG! Postage extra.

A Postcard to Heaven was a fun purse to make, but also a challenge because I designed it and made my own pattern. This always takes longer as unforeseen situations arise.

It is a garnet colored evening or special occasion bag, which calls for something daintier.

I used a silk and cotton sample for the flap called Lacquer, with the pile being 100% silk. A silk striped material was used to make a corded edge. (It as one of the pieces that was over $100 per yd – so special). I gathered the main polyester, scrunchy material onto a striped silk band on the back and front of the bag. The sides and bottom are striped silk with beaded trim for a fun finish

The flower I made to decorate the front is a silk and polyester knit with a beaded center. I used shiny rayon thread to outline the flowers and to top stitch on the bag for added pizazz.

The lining is a decorator fabric with a dragonfly pattern which I padded for a softer feeling bag. It has a pocket topped with striped silk.

A Postcard to Heaven features a gold colored magnetic clasp to keep your treasures safe. NOTE: The clasp is strong and works better if you put a fingernail in it to release it, so as not to tear the material.

The straps are 42” long. The bag measures 10 ½" x 7" x 1 ½".

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