sneak-a-peek

john and i took some fotos today of new (+ some older, but new to the cyberworld!) bags for the online shop, set to open friday 8 april! yay! it was fun to use my already fun work-environment to photograph the bags, since i get a lot of my fabrics from there. be sure to sign up for the mailing list to be the first to know! here's a sneak-peek at two of my favorites for all of you out there waiting:

plus, these two cuties were added to gatecitynoise today:

more to come next week!

time machine

my sewing machine is a singer touch & sew from the Seventies that belonged to my aunt B. she paid five dollars a month for it in nursing school and now it belongs to me! it is a simple little machine for learners and does only a straight single stitch. i absolutely cherish this machine and have been sewing with it for about three years. yesterday i had a bit of a scare (the motor wouldn't run, it was sort of a freak incident i guess) and took it to my repair man, mister wilson. his shop is in his home and there is an old singer atop the mailbox post. i love going to see him and his wife and they always comment on how young i am to be interested in sewing. none of their grandchildren are interested in sewing. i love to see all the different machines from the past and the present.

i was wondering if any of you out there have sentimental ties to your machine or a special story about it. i always feel like i should put the seatbelt around my machine! where would i be without it!

nostalgia

for the first few days of spring we have all been waiting for, i thought i would share these sweet little vintage crafts from 1964. they are from a booklet called "99 Plus Plastic Projects" that belonged to my nana. now when you are doing your spring cleaning you can be inspired to do something with that leftover spray bottle, or even the take-out cup from your much-needed snack! i'm sure lots of nanas out there made similar crafts. these bring back lots of memories for me of craft time with my nana, making pom-pom + communion cup "sundaes" and easter "baskets" out of pipe cleaners + tiny juice or yogurt cups.

my favories are the bookends and the napkin holder,
as well as the string holder girl and the terrarium!

how can you resist these 'worldly' cuties!
check out more vintage crafts on craftster.

*attention bargain shoppers*

if you're in or around greensboro, check out the bags at gatecitynoise. they are now on sale! with some bags as low as $15! this is to make way for the newbies hitting the store in the next few weeks!

also, my site was featured on this crafty blog on music for america. smiles all around! she's also featured some other great sites, some that have been around way longer than mine, so i'm super-stoked to be included.

style in stereo

check out the new gallery pages for a few pics from my designs for style in stereo 2004, presented by wuag 103.1 fm. i hand-sequined and appliqued vintage garments with birds, seahorses, velvet forests, and more. my goal is to have some of these garments up for sale here. be on the lookout for cardigans, tops, skirts and dresses with lots of pi-zazz!

a lot of people have requested to see close-ups of past bags, and this will definately be in the works in the future. rest assured new bags will have close-ups and multiple views!

+phew+

there's so much in the works here at flap. i've been tossin around ideas and prospects this week and am considering having a booth at:

• macrock (april): oh-so-soon and a great opportunity
  
• renegade craft fair (june)
• i.c.e. atlanta (june)

this means lots of sewing and crafting for me! which is exciting. my friend tracy and i are also trying to get folks together for a mini-craft-fair here in greensboro in july.

i've got lots of new bags cut out and ready to sew together, so it won't be too long before you can actually buy the bags online!

heevie-jeebies

check out this amazing article in this week's time magazine about crafty hipsters:

it's so inspiring for me to read this. the content of the article verbalises a lot of thoughts i have been having about fashion and clothing in general. i have recently decided to make firm efforts to buy only handmade or secondhand clothing and accessories. so far so good! marc jacobs may be the exception tho, love him as much as the next gal! i work at a boutique that sells clothes from the marc by marc jacobs line, so how will i be able to resist! finding the vintage originals of mj is always fun, which i do at my other job at a vintage store downtown.

i love the feeling of reusing and reconstructing clothing, and the nostalgia that comes with wearing and using secondhand and vintage textiles...imagining who wore the clothes and how they felt at various points in time, pretending that i am not living in the year 2005! i just can't get enough! i even feel a bit odd visiting the mall or shopping centers. there's something about the stacks and racks of multiples that freaks me out. or the thought of passing by my 'twin' on the street. and for some folks the thought of wearing used clothing gives them the heevie-jeebies. so it all works out one way or another.