Make your own reversible project bag

I've had several requests for instructions on how I make my reversible project bags and I finally finished the instructions. Now, you can make your own, or, if you don't sew, you can visit my Artfire shop and buy one!

9/26/13 - Artfire shop closed, please check my etsy shop.

The bags can be made from any fabric but if you're short on cash, two fat quarters and some cotton yarn are all you need (other than thread and a sewing machine) to make your own bag.

Click on the image below to download the PDF file. You can use the instructions to make bags for personal use or for small business sales, i.e., no mass reproduction by a manufacturing company ... like that would happen ...

Previews of the dresses

Got some photos of my little cousin Anya wearing some of the dresses I sent. The other girls haven't had a chance to see their's yet but they plan on getting together so they can take group photos. Sarah also sent me a short video of Anya in the dress with the green bodice and pink flowers, but not a photo of it. Anyway, here's Anya wearing the roses dress, matching green pinafore, and the pink paisley dress. I added matching reversible purses for each dress (except for the baby) as a surprise.

Sarah also sent me a photo (finally!) of Anya wearing the dress I crocheted for her. She's been able to wear it for three years already and I think that if they add a pink shrug with a button closure in the front, then she should be able to wear it a bit longer before passing it on to another cousin.

Am so looking forward to seeing pics of the other girl's in their new dresses.

Two digital scrapbooking templates

This first template was made at Heritage Makers using textures completely made by me in Paint Shop Pro except for the folded paper which was made in Photoshop following a tutorial I found.. The heart and flower have "stitching" around the edges.

This second template was done in Paint Shop Pro, mostly with textures I made myself. The flowers and vines are from Jungle 3D but not sure where the pearl "lace" tube came from. The button, brads, and ribbon were all made following tutorials I found online.

Not sure yet what I'll do with them. I may give them away but would have to redo the first one in PSP first. I'll have to think on it for a bit ...

Folded Ribbon Script for Paint Shop Pro X3

While making some graphics for digital scrapbooking, I created a script to make a folded ribbon out of a horizontal one. You can create your own ribbon or use a photo of one that you've cleaned up.

The final ribbon will be 230x181 pixels if using the maximum horizontal ribbon size of 773x109 pixels.

The script is free for personal or commercial use. See the included readme for copyright, additional usage information, and instructions on using the script.

Download from Fignations of Imaginment - you do not have to create an account.

Tutorial for a similar ribbon but with angles cut opposite each other: Folding Ribbons in Paint Shop Pro X by Stacey Jewell Stahl.

Grosgrain ribbon made following this tutorial: Birgit's Grosgrain Ribbon Tutorial.

I would love to hear your comments on this script!

Designing 3D Clothing in Marvelous Designer 2

A couple of weeks ago I won one of two first prizes in a review contest over at Marvelous Designer and got a copy of their software as a result. I had used the demo last year but couldn't afford the software but now I've been busy playing with it and first up is a ruffled tunic with leggings. The tunic is loosely shaped with slightly dropped shoulders and low under arm while the leggings are tight fitting. Click on the image for a larger view. Rendered in DAZ Studio with Victoria 4.


Of course, the meshes come out with triangles, which are great for Poser dynamic clothing but not so good for rigged clothing. I've been trying out a demo of 3DCoat and so far have seen awesome results. The image below shows the leggings from MD2, then retopo'd in 3DCoat, then tweaked in Cinema4D to remove the caps, adjust vertices, and UV Mapping. It does lose some detailing during the retopo but it's not enough for me to worry about. I'd rather have the general details that can be emphasized with textures than create more polys. I have high hopes. Click on the image for a larger view.

A few digital scrapbooking things

Since being introduced to Heritage Makers, I spent most of yesterday evening playing with making background textures, a few buttons and embellishments, etc. I have some stuff I'd made last year for an online game but these are all new and thought I'd show them off. These were all made in Paint Shop Pro, including the buttons. Click on the image for a larger view.

A couple of cool scrapbooking products

Okay, I am not a scrapbooker. Mostly because I don't have the time, but also because it can be more expensive than I can afford. However, the kits, pages, adornments, etc., are hard to ignore sometimes. You can find some really cute things at stores and on the internet.

Today, my sister Jessica and I went to the Scrapbooks USA show in Sandy, UT. I was disappointed at the number of vendors there as they were all around the edges of the room and the entire middle of the room was set up with tables and chairs. There were people working there and I can only assume they were meeting others they'd met online to work with. Otherwise, I can't see doing scrapbooking in public like that, but then again, I'm not a scrapbooker. I was really expecting a whole lot more than what was there. We heard several people express the same thing.

While wandering around, I found two vendors that interested me.

The first was Perfect Paper Crafting, which had a ruler type device that allowed you to cut perfect lines at a specific length away from another line. For example, you could paste a photo down on a background mat, then place the inside lip of the ruler against the photo with the outer edge of the ruler exactly 1/", 1/2" or 3/8" or whatever away. Then take an X-acto knife and cut a perfect line exactly that distance away for a perfect mat. No more trying to manually place the photo exactly in the center of the mat. They also had a "Tear" ruler that you lay along the paper, wet down with water, then tear the edge away. It's a lot easier than trying to cut it or tear it manually. The third product they have is a tool to make perfect squares every time. They have a fourth product, a marker airbrush set, but I didn't see it there at the show.

The second vendor was Heritage Makers (links to my consultant so if you join, she'll be your consultant as well), which is local to me. Their software is used online where you can select from over 40,000 templates and graphics to create notecards, story books, canvas prints, photo gifts (calendars, prints, posters, playing cards, etc.), recipe books, digital scrapbooks, and more. Once you put your item together, you can order the printed version of your work to be delivered to your home. You also get publishing points that can be used towards your next published item. No having to deal with shopping at multiple stores for supplies, having to cut out papers, glue trims, mess with glitter (gets in all the cracks) or stickers, getting ink all over you, finding more storage for your supplies, toting all your stuff around in huge carry alls, etc. I have enough problems with finding storage for my yarn and paints!

They have a free account that has 2 GB of storage, access to 2,000+ pieces of digital art, and 450+ templates; and a premium account for $19.95/month that has unlimited storage, access to 40,000+ pieces of digital art, 3,000+ templates, and access to special perks. You can also host a scrapbooking workshop or become a consultant to start your own business. A referral program is coming soon. Oh, and you can also create your own templates for you or others to use. If you have a free account, you can only upload JPEG format graphics but with a premium account, you can also upload PNG format graphics that can be used as borders, frames, and embellishments. Once you come up with template that others can use, you can submit it to the gallery for approval. Make sure you watch the training videos to get help on using the software (although it is fairly intuitive, especially if you've used a paint program before). The only thing I found missing was a user forum, where users can help each other and they can show off their work to each other and get advice. You can, however, quickly access your consultant by using the contact form. They respond quickly and do their best to help you.

While both of these products are most likely to be used by scrapbookers, I can see them being used by other types of crafters and artists as well. I like that Heritage Makers has products for business as well as personal use.

All Dresses Finally Finished!

Tadah!!!! Took me long enough but all dresses are finally done.

First, I finished a dress for Kasia that I'd actually almost finished a week or so ago. It just needed a hook and eye added. This is the same pattern as I'd made for her before, but added little ruffled sleeves to it.

McCalls 5835

Next, I made a two dress set for Anya and Gabriella. A rose dress with little caplet sleeves and a matching "slip" dress. I added pockets to the slip dress since you can never have too many pockets. (Sorry for the fuzzy photo of the green slip dress. It didn't want to cooperate.)



Both can be worn separately or the slip dress worn under the rose dress. So cute as the green ruffle of the slip dress peeks out under the rose dress.

Simplicity 5226

Next, a dress for Isabella, to match the outfit I'd originally made for her but I think is now too small and will go to Zosia instead.

New Look 6877
Finally, I made a dress and pinafore for Isabella. The dress can be worn alone and the matching panties can be switched out depending on how she wants to wear them. I also made a pinafore to go with it if a bit of extra warmth (or cuteness) is needed.


Simplicity 9784

Hopefully I'll have all the dresses packed up and shipped out sometime next week.

All total I made 13 dresses, 2 pinafores, 5 panties, and 3 hats.