Wallet Pouch Story

Hello,

I have not done any sewing since I came back from my trip to Delhi last week. I have not been well these last few days due to my usual winter rash problem and had a diarrhea for a few days. My friend, mbak Sari in Japan who owned the pretty Kanzashi shop in Etsy, told me that during winter it's better to consume food that grow under the ground. Well, I am not a fan of potato, but upon reading her suggestion, suddenly I was craving for boiled potato and have been eating potato for the last few days. I feel much better today and hopefully tomorrow I can finish my custom order due on Monday.

Anyway, I think have not shared this wallet pouch I made in October. I needed a pouch-cum-wallet which can fit it my phone, a couple of cards and a zipper compartments for cash/change.

This is my 5th wallet that turned out perfectly. There was a few ideas I tried with the previous wallets for the card slots but didn't work out as I would like it to be. Esp. the card slots. 

But I love the flower print. It's so feminine :)

My first idea is to use wristlet that the picture above. But on second thought, the detachable one would be better.

Then decided how many cards should I incorporated. Some people carry a few cards but some carry many. So, I thought 6 cards should be good enough. I am quite minimalist, I carry 2 cards and 4 cards when I travel. We don't have so many shops which offer membership cards here, and if they do, it is enough to tell them my phone number to avail the points. 

Anchor Wallet Pouch 

The blue anchor and the orange patchwork one are made slightly bigger than the floral one. As I was working on these wallets, I thought this will be a good travel wallet too. Especially for those who loves practicality and often going for solo trip.

 and if one want to go for a quick coffee with friends, a detachable medium short strap can always be added. 

Patchwork Wallet Pouch

 I am making the pattern for this Wallet Pouch, but still finalizing for a few details and need to make a couple more to try out which material combination and technique that will work best/easiest even for beginner sewist. I love wallet that is light and sturdy but easy to make.  What about you?

Until then,

Happy Sewing!

Mini Family Trip

Hello,

Last week I went to Delhi for my passport renewal work. It was a nice mini trip with my small family. Of course the boys got more excited. The younger one was a little upset because he had to miss his high jump final round in the inter house competition at school. Anyway, he was later quite happy after he got a new running shoes. 

Here are a few photos from the trip: 

#1. Travel Organizers

Of course we never have enough pouches and wallets. The passport wallet was really handy to keep all my family passports and the necessary documents as live in a foreign land. 

My Travel Must-Have organizer:   small pencil pouch, shoe lipstick pouch,  tissue pouch and the small pouch to keep urgent medicines. 

The patchwork pouch for my phone and hotel keys as we go for breakfast. The red one was for my make up bag. 

Travel Must-Have 

2. Spices and Teas

The House of Tea in Central Mall Delhi Aerocity

Dry Fruits

Pink salt and spices

Arqa at Central Mall

For Tea lovers like me, it's difficult to choose :)

#3 The Delhi Road

Spotted near the Indonesian Embassy

Equal Rights 

Horn Please:)

quick fix 

Embroidered bags and clutches. My boys didn't let me go closer :(
They surely knew my weakness for anything ethnic ^^

We met my hubby's friend for Indian dinner at Karim's in Gurgaon. There were so many grand weddings going on while we were on our way to Karim's. The white horses, the singing and dancing et al really amazed me. I wish I could just take photos. I tried but one could not get decent photo while riding Indian taxi, right? 

We also went to visit hubby's aunt and had a great time chatting and catching up on family gossips. While coming back to the hotel (we stayed in Novotel in Aerocity), the uber driver was really bad. He drove very carelessly, if not dangerously :(

Novotel Green Garden 

two of my favorite things :D

Until Next Time, New Delhi

It was fun trip ( although sans fabric shopping), though the traffic was really bad. Even at almost midnight there was traffic jam!! Maybe next time we should try the Delhi Metro. 

Now all the dirty clothes are taken care of, it's time to get back to (sewing) work. 

Happy Sewing,

Large Pouches

Hello again, 

Here is my report from my DIY Block Print experiment. Verdict: I LOVE IT! I am ordering more wooden blocks and can't wait to make more! 

Many asked me if the color stays after washing. I tried washing a small piece and the color stayed. The thing is you have to follow the manufacturer's instructions. I waited for 24 hrs before start ironing the fabric.  Yes, good things come to those who wait, Bon Jovi said so :D. 

So what did I make? 

I made one large pouch with the red floral one and I really love how it turned out. Even my boys loved it! The rest are all ready to sew but after I finish a couple of custom orders. 

This time I am using my metal zipper. I always feel wary to sew with metal zipper, but I think maybe I just lack practice. After a couple of pouches (scroll down for more photos), I can confidently sew metal zipper without breaking my needle. 

  

The above photo is to show the approximate dimension of the pouch. The phone is 6.5" phone and all those fit in nicely into the large pouch. 

Isn't that great, I mean we always need a pouch, small one, medium one, a large one, quilted, waterproof, cute, etc. I always picked up a few pouches whenever I travel as a gift and keepsake. And everyone loves it. More so if it's handmade, right? 

So, the past few days, I've been making few pouches using different of material and they all turned out unique and beautiful. I used heavy interfacings for these pouches and love the result. The pouch feels sturdy and you can carry it as a clutch, like when you go out for lunch or going for an errand. 

The yellow pouch is made using kalamkari mud cloth fabric. I prewashed the fabric and really love the vintage look of it. 

This chevron fabric is one of my faves. Sometimes I feel that fabric also has its own destiny. Just like this one. The Chevron Pouch has 2 different print on each side. 

The above brown Ajrakh pouch is another story. The fabric was a gift from my facebook friend, Madhu Mathur of Betukbandi, when I visited her in Jaipur.  She is one talented lady, I really admire her quilts and quilting innovations. Really inspiring. I am so happy to finally able to use it. I still have few more of the fabrics with different prints. Can't wait to use them!! 

Stay tuned for more pouches from my Indian Fabrics collection. Sometimes, you don't need a fancy pattern to turn your fabrics into a pretty pouch. Let the print speaks for itself! And making simple pouches can be a skill-building project for a beginner. I really recommend it. Don't be afraid to make mistake and experiment with new materials. 

Until then,

Happy Sewing

Linky Party: Bagmaker Tuesday on Sotak Handmade

Almost Holiday

Summer holiday is almost here! It's time to pack my bags and make few handmade for my family and friends in Indonesia. 

I always prefer to give handmade stuff even if it's small.

two of my sisters already told me to make them passport wallets :D

Mickey Mouse Family Travel Wallet

 and I already order one Bag from my fave bag-maker bestie, BagStock . My mom loves her Saddle bag that I gave last year. 

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Black and white is always favorite. Last weekends, hubby's cousin came to visit me and she wanted  wallet and pouch set in black and white and Blue. I showed her my photos from my previous custom order and she wanted same combo. 

I really love this combo. I thought black, white and red is perfect but this linen blue and this chevron really look classic. 

If you notice that stone car, it's my current fave photo props. I collected that stone when we went to Umngot River in Meghalaya few months ago. Hubby was laughing when I collected stones to take as souvenirs.

What is your fave photo props? 

Personalized your Wallet with Hand Embroidered Names

Photo props is really important, I feel, esp when you are selling online. But not too much. You have to make props that visually appealing yet not crowding your product that it takes away the focus. 

I love my canvas board white background. And always try to take photos before noon in a room which does not have direct sunlight. 

Ethnic Traveling Vanity Pouch

I have screen door in my sewing room that facing the front porch. I recently put an off-white lace curtain to block the direct afternoon sunlight. And that's my fave photo spot now. Since I got my new 50 mm lens, I love taking photos here. 

Ballerina Small Pouch

As much as you can do not take photos with auto setting. Try to tweak the setting a bit and you will get  perfect photos. Do take a look at your camera setting and try to search for online tutorial. YouTube is a great source of information. 

Here, I give you sneak peek on how I did it. The photo below was  taken using my Sony Pocket Camera. I put my canvas board near the screen door and I put a white card stock paper (it was  bed sheet wrapper or whatever you call it). 

The paper is a bit shiny so it gives perfect reflection. The white paper will sort of block the light from the door/window and reflect it back. It reduces the shades that you normally get when you take photos without one. 

by the way, my handmade shop in Etsy will be closed from next week until end of July since I will be going for holiday. So until then do check my READY to SHOP section in my shop. 

Thank for dropping bye

Until then,