the farmer's market bags

Ok, time for some of the top secret holiday gifts to see the light of day. My sister is almost always my favorite person to make gifts for. She is a great giver of handmade gifts as well and so I know that she will enjoy (and maybe even cherish) the 'character' in many of the handmade things I make for her. This year I aimed for making things as sustainable as possible. So, using the top of a yard sale cotton shower curtain and the stamps I had carved myself, I made these farmer's market bags.
They came out a little wonky because I used the grommets on the shower curtain as the loops for ribbon handles.

I should confess to really digging these bags myself, I might have to find another yard sale shower curtain so I can be styling at the farmer's market, too.

I told you I was gonna do a beet

Finally got around to trying my hand at carving a beet. Not only are beets beautiful in color and shape (very feminine, I think) but they are so good tasting. I could eat lots of beets, funny thing is I go crazy for them when I'm pregnant but my kids don't like them at all. Go figure that one. The poppies up top were just for fun and really didn't turn out that great, when it's stamped they look alot more like alien people, which is fun, but not exactly what I was going for, ya know?

I'm thinking about stamping the beet and my tree/broccoli onto my shower curtain fabric from the yard sale for tote bags to bring to the grocery store or farmer's market. I'd love to use my dialogue bubble and give these veggies something to say but I'm struggling with what beets and broccoli's talk about. Any ideas?

It just kind of happened

I have alot of craft supplies that I get a little posessive about.  I either really like them or I just really want them to turn out great and so I get a little intimidated about actually using them and, as a result, they just sit there.  This 'eraser' block is one of those things.  I just never had the perfect thing to make into a stamp and the whole stamp-making endeavour seemed like it required an art degree.  I think that it is possible I've had this for 8 years, which means it has moved with me four times, including overseas.  Ridiculous.  Going through my things the other day I ran across it and decided to just start carving into it. 

No plan, and clearly no art degree.  I didn't pre-draw anything just went with it.  It turned out fun. I think I like my little cards-that-have-no-purpose.  I like that my tree could double as a broccoli, maybe that will be handy some day.  It makes me want to make some beets to join the crowd.  Because, yes, I have a second block that I've also had for the same amount of time.  I really like the speech balloon.  I don't really know of the occasion in which one sends a talking tree card but it will come to me.

Now, to get up the guts to use some of my favorite yards of fabric.   

the farmers market bags

Ok, time for some of the top secret holiday gifts to see the light of day. My sister is almost always my favorite person to make gifts for. She is a great giver of handmade gifts as well and so I know that she will enjoy (and maybe even cherish) the 'character' in many of the handmade things I make for her. This year I aimed for making things as sustainable as possible. So, using the top of a yard sale cotton shower curtain and the stamps I had carved myself, I made these farmer's market bags.
They came out a little wonky because I used the grommets on the shower curtain as the loops for ribbon handles.

I should confess to really digging these bags myself, I might have to find another yard sale shower curtain so I can be styling at the farmer's market, too.