Kicking off the craftiness for 2010!

One of the first projects to roll out of my studio this year was for my most awesome pal Knit-Whit. She commissioned a bag as a birthday gift for her mom, with the idea to recycle some of the military uniform cast-offs she had gotten from her brother. Needless to say, I got excited about this great idea rightawayquick because Bro in question is currently serving in Afghanistan and it seemed like an absolutely perfect way for their mom to be able to keep a piece of him close at um...hand.
Anyway, HUGE props to my crafty pal for the great idea!

Here's the finished object, one of my much-adored Flap Bags:

Right from the get go, I knew I had to figure out a way to incorporate the name patch, and that ended up front and center with a D ring for a little bit of flair. Along with a repurposed button placket and a couple of super cute fabrics chosen by Knit-Whit to coordinate with the mil-spec camo, the end result is the perfect mix of tough and girly.
And the back:

That's a pocket taken straight from the pants leg, because something with as genius a design as a military uniform cargo pocket just doesn't need any help. And in this case, it's an added bonus because it almost doubles the capacity of the bag.

I understand it was well received by Mom, and it was so much fun to create that I just couldn't stop!
Here's what happened next:

Another one of my most popular styles, the wristlet clutch.

And the pair, almost too cool to give up!


Happy Crafting in 2010 and stay tuned, because I'll be announcing my first give-away of the year soon. Can you guess what it might be? It's GOOOD, I promise!