Bloomin'

Yes... I've disappeared for quite sometime. I'm not going to tell you I've been busy. But I have been sewing in that time away. I don't have any proof though because I didn't make time to take pictures... but I will.

Tomorrow I'm heading to Kitchener, Ontario (a little over an hour West of Toronto) for the Bloomin' Earth market. I have several totes and zip pouches ready to go in bags by the door. So if you're in the area be sure to stop by. But if not, check back here for photos to come next week.

Happy Weekend y'all! Go on an adventure somewhere.

ok so here's the hot place bag I made

I told you before that I made a bag to bring to the hot place I went to. But this hot place bag made me angry and at times sad because I L.O.V.E the fabric and I feel like I wasted it making this bag.


Yes it looks pretty (sorry this is the closest I have to the final version in pics). I know. I love the way it looks. But the darn thing wouldn't be able to carry much more then my flip flops, towel and maybe my copy of Eat, Pray, Love. (Did you read that book? What did you think?).

I made the bag from a pattern out of that nice book pictured above that my lovely mom gave me for Christmas. I must have stared at the picture of the bag for hours because I loved it so much. So I started sewing, and it all went down hill when I got to the handles. NOW those who know me well, know I don't like to follow patterns or recipes but honestly I followed this one to a T (tee?). Ok one thing I could have done differently is use some interfacing in the handles -- that IS my fault.


For the most part the bag was fun to make and pretty simple but I go confused when it came to the handles. With my bags, I sew all around the outter fabric, then I put them inside out and together and tuck the handles in the bag, sew around the top leaving a 4 inch hole, invert the bag, sew the perimeter including the hole and voila the bag is done. BUT this bag had me making the bulk of the bag first and then building the handles separately and I was to fold the handles somehow over top the rest of the bag and it would all fit beautifully and angels would sing in the heavens. Aawwwwwwww!


But instead I tore the thing apart three times and then just figured out my own way of attaching them because it just wasn't working for me. After some swearing and shots of vodka (not really but it sounds tough), I got it done. It wasn't pretty but at least I was able to bring it to the beach.

Ya win some. Ya lose some!

The Shadow Grass Tote

Wow I guess writing the plan down worked. This is the Shadow Grass Tote. Mark named it. He now refers to himself as my marketing department.

I LOVE this fabric. I mean I liked it when it was in its flat format, but now that it's in its toting-around-the-town format, I really like it. Probably because it's grey-on-grey. It reminds me of being in Hawaii for some reason. I think it's all the spiky, palm tree looking things. Anyway.


If you like it, you can get it here. More photos are available here.

Ciao!

the plan

So I'm not really much of a planner (shh don't tell my boss ;)). I'm a bit of a wing it, let's see what happens kind of person (I barely planned my own wedding!) That being said, I do like to know everything that is going on around me. Everything. But I don't really ask a lot of questions; I just try to figure stuff out on my own. (Yes this gets me into trouble sometimes...)

Where am I heading with this? I think I got side tracked (Remember I have a zillion things running through my head at any given time).

Anyway I think what I'm getting at is that although I don't like to plan, I feel like I'm going to have to plan for what I'm going to sew next because I can't get into it. I might need some fun new fabric to get me going, or maybe I just need to get off my butt and get upstairs to sew. Can I blame my book club book for not having the motivation?

Ok let's see:

• I want to make more aprons (for adults too!) so I'm going to do that. Let's say I'll make 3 by the end of February.


• I want to get more totes sewn and in the shop. I have a few cut out already so I'll start there. I'll aim to make at least 2 totes a month. So by the end of January I should have at least one done; 2 more by the end of February.


• I want to make something out of the fun books I got for Christmas. I'll show you those later this week perhaps. I want to make 1 thing every month or 2 out of those books. There really are a fun bunch of projects waiting for me to sew. This goes for all the fun books I got last year as well.

ok so that's the plan when it comes to the sewing stuff. It feels better to write it down -- maybe I'm a planner after all! Right.

Camo Cool

I was in the fabric store sometime back and I saw this cool camo fabric that was all pixelated (word?) and cool looking. I brought some of it home to make some totes and I showed my sister and she said "Yeah that's what all the soldiers are wearing these days." Oh. I'm not a big soldier or war person, but I still liked it and I still made a tote out of it. I'm glad I did.


This is another one of those me totes. I think I'm going to make all of my totes in this style from now on too. It's kind of cross between this tote and this bag. It's perfect for zipping around town for this and that.



If you think it's cool too you can get it here!

Happy Wednesday y'all

The Fireball Tote and Clutch

Do you have one of those friends who has so much energy and enthusiasm you don't know what to do with it all? My friend Cortney is like that... it's a good thing believe me. Every time I see her she's full of excitement and passion for whatever she's doing, whether it's entertaining a crowd or chasing her adorable son around the house.

So when Cort asked me if I would be interested in donating a tote bag and clutch to the annual Fireball event she helps organize every year for Sheena's Place here in Toronto... how could I say no? I'm also going to the event which I'm pretty excited about, mostly because I'll get to hang out with some fun friends, but also because I got to buy a new dress...

Alas the Fireball Tote and Clutch.


I've made something like this before here and here... but I just really love this style of bag so why not? The thing about Fireball is that there is an unwritten rule that everyone has to wear something red to the event, so I lined the bag with some bright red fabric and put a little flower pin on the front for some added punch.

The clutch was made with the same fabrics, but I added a vintage button I found at the St. Lawrence Market a few years ago.


And because I liked this bag so much (and had enough fabric); I've made two! If you like it too (and won't be at the event to make a bid on the silent auction) you can trek on over to my shop to get on there. Unfortunately I didn't have enough fabric for two clutches, but I do have an extra zip pouch made out of grey peony fabric that I'll throw in for fun.

Happy Weekend & Fireballin'!
~lealou

off to oxford

I've written about this bag before. I loved it so much I made another one. This is The Oxford Tote.


If you need a bag for all of your scholastic things; get the bag here.

one year and a contest!

So it has been one year since starting up my little lealou shop and I'm excited to share some new things I've been working on. But first... to celebrate my one year anniversary, I'm having a little contest giveaway!


This is called The Fall Leaves Clutch and you could be its owner! How you ask? Become a fan of my Facebook page and leave a comment telling me all the things you would stuff into this thing. If you're already a fan, be sure to leave a comment because you're eligible for the contest too! Now I know some of you don't like Facebook, so if you don't have an account; just leave a comment here and I'll add you to the contest.

The contest closes one week from today at 11:59pm (if you're still up that late!).

---

on to the new stuff...

This is Kaite my 'little' sister.


She's about 10 feet taller than me and I can fit both of my feet into one of her shoes which makes her perfect modeling material dontcha think?

She's holding the Fall Leaves Tote. If you like this little number, trek on over to my shop for a peek. There are more goodies over there that I'll feature on the blog this week and next.

Happy Thursday and don't forget to enter the contest!

~lealou

red tent blues

I had my first official craft market last week and it has taken me this long to talk about it because it was SUCH a bummer. Well the actual craft sale was a bummer; the company was not. It was held in a little neighbourhood unknown to me really, which is strange because I've lived in the city for so long and in many different neighbourhoods.

It didn't help that there was torential rain for the first part of the market. No that didn't help. But I managed to snag a nice red tent from a vendor through work so that was helpful. It was ginormous and we managed to squeeze about 3 other vendors under the tent with us. The other problem was there was construction right in front of the market along with a sign telling people to use the other side of the street. Not good. To top it off there was a festival going on down the street, which we were told would be HUGE driver to our market, but really it was quite the opposite because were about 2 blocks too far east of the festival to make a difference.

And maybe it just wasn't the right market for my stuff. I sold one thing and it was to my friend that I used to work with (thank god she bought something!!) BUT I have to say that the actual DAY was quite fun and a good experience (lemonade out of lemons right??).

First off M stayed with me at the sale. I thought it was funny that he wanted to stay at a girly market, but he was so helpful and admitted to having fun during the day. Also my sister K was there from the beginning and then my other sister S showed up and stayed the whole day. They were all so supportive and the marketing gene that we all got when we were born came out in full force because from the beginning they were throwing around tons of ideas on how to bring more people to the market and to my booth. I love them all so much for that.

Anyway I paid for two more market days which kind of sucks, but maybe it'll be better next time. Maybe I'll look into adding more colour to my craft stash because this time around I focused on LOTS of yellow and grey (my favourites!) and perhaps people are into a bit more colour. Who knows.

So enough blabbing and complaining! I posted some pics below from the day:

Getting ready with K


The construction (and the nice "parking spot" that M scored after he talked "construction" with the workers...)

The goods


K showing off the goods

Two of my sales people ;)

My sister S showing her crafty pipes

My very happy customer V

J Stands for Jolly 'ol Friends

Weew what a week it has been so far! I can honestly say my brain hurts. I've been crazy busy with my day job, so I haven't had much time to do much sewing. I know, I know saying "I'm busy" is SOOO je ne sais quoi -- dumb? Everyone is busy these days.

I DID get a chance, however, to finish a custom order from November. Yes I said November people (I'm sure my friend Scott is reading this thinking about the bag I said I'd make a mutual friend over a year ago but I digress...;)).

So my good friend from work, Rana, wanted me to make a tote for her daughter, and really Rana has been all too kind in waiting for this order. I really did take my sweet time finishing it and all I can blame is her second order which is a laptop case for work (I've been staring at the fabric trying to figure out how to make it because Rana is VERY particular... in a good way of course ;)).

Anyway, I finally got her daughter's tote finished and trekked over to the office today to give it to her and to see my favourite work clan.

Rana loved it of course, but the first question out of her mouth was "Did you take a picture of it for your blog Stephanie???" Well no because I was too "busy." So Rana whips out her camera and proceeds to have a photoshoot with my friend Shama as the model. What good friends I have, really; they're always looking out for me. I mean Rana DID pay me with Baskin Robbins gift certificates after all -- how does she know about my love for mint chocolate chip ice cream???

Alas, here are some pics of the tote and the photo shoot. Made with some lovely Amy Butler fabrics and a nice denim "J" for Rana's daughter's name.





Now that Rana has her hands on the tote, I'll be back into the sewing room trying to figure out her lap top bag and trying not to pull my hair out But I do have some ice cream motivation, so I'm sure I'll get it done soon... I promise :)

fleur

Isn't she cute? This is my sister Stacey who agreed to be my model for the day. Well there was something in her for her -- she wanted me to take some pics for her website.

I finally finished this tote last week. I'm calling her fleur for all the flowers and for the fact that Stacey is in Paris right now making her way to the Cannes Film Festival. I want to be in Paris right now! Actually, since it's my 1 year anniversary on Friday, I'd love to be in Italy. Man how time flies.

fleur is in the shoppe if you like her.


Until then happy traveling and spring galavanting!

all things earthy

well it's earth day here on the planet and I thought I'd give a few things I do to keep things earthy around here:

say no to plastic. For those who know me well, I don't like plastic. Yes I know it's everywhere: my tooth brush, my printer, my phone: but there are things we can do to reduce how much of it we use.

• Buy glass "tupperware" instead of the plastic stuff. You can reuse it longer than the other stuff and it doesn't leech.


• Get into the tote craze: make or buy a pretty tote to bring to the store so you don't have to shove more plastic bags into your IKEA bag thingy where they sit there until they're eventually thrown out.


• Along the same lines, invest in reusable produce bags...

Buy organic when you can: buying organic food helps to keep pesticides and chemicals out of the environment. If you live in an area where you can add the local aspect even better because even buying organic food from overseas adds to emissions in the atmosphere. It has to get here somehow!

Clean green: Many people think that in order to 'clean green' they have to buy expensive cleaners, but I'm not convinced even those work well. All I use around here is vinegar and baking soda that's it. You can clean your house for about 2 months, if not longer, for less than $5.

Make you're own napkins: the argument here is that you have to use up water to wash them anyway, but if you're already doing a load, throw them in. They don't take up much space.

Related to that, wash in cold water: I try to only use warm and hot water for the whites.

Ok that's all I've got today. Just do one of those things starting today and you'll be set!

~lealou

just beachy

I'm moving in TWO days and I've been packing and sewing trying to get a few things done in and among the countless boxes around here. Yesterday morning I managed to sew together this fun and flashy tote.

I have come to quite like this tote -- I wasn't sure about the fabric from Heather Bailey when it came in the mail because as I've mentioned before, colour is a bit scary for me, but I really love it now. It has been hanging on a nail on the wall where a picture once was so I get to stare at it every day. (I think more people should hang their totes as art now that I think about it!)



Anyhoo -- check it out here in the shop if you like it (more pics on Flickr here). I'm off to sew a couple more totes and then I have to move all these boxes. I have to tell you that I'm pretty pumped about this move because I will have a room of my own to sew and do whatever I want in (eating bonbons & popcorn are first on the list). Right now, I cut fabric on the floor and sew at the kitchen table -- blah!

Have a great night!
~lealou

flu fighters & saturday mornings

I made this noodle soup and wasa cheese toast last night for dinner to fight off the flu... my sister told me to put cayenne pepper in it but everything is in boxes so I couldn't find it... so far so good though this morning.

Since I'm feeling ok, I thought I'd get some sewing done this morning



Happy Saturday!

the casselman carry-all

A friend of a friend, whom I know consider my friend ordered a diaper bag for her new baby. This is her 4th and she didn't want some boring 'ol bag to carry the necessities around in, so she drew me a pic and sent me some very cool fabric to work with.

et voila.


Ain't it pretty? The cool thing about this bag is that it can be used for just about anything. I put lots of pockets on the inside for bottles and gear and a pocket on the outside for a cell phone and keys and snacks cause with 4 kids you're going to need something to give the little critters when they start to cry.


I had a lot of fun making this bag mostly because I had to use my brain to make a pattern and also because of the beautiful fabric. I'll have to make more of these in the future. I could see this as a fun laptop bag (anything is better than those boring black nylon bags!) or just a tote to tote stuff in.

I'm off to sew some more, so have a great day!

~lealou

all that and a bag of chocolate kisses

I'll just start off by wishing y'all a Happy Heart Day. I don't care if you don't like this day. I do. Yeah sure you should celebrate your love every day of the year, but really how fun is it to have a day full of hearts and chocolate? I'm heading to the Big Carrot today and I'm going to get me some yummy fair trade stuff. Gotta get the real stuff if you're going to be serious about it.

Ok enough of that.


Yesterday I made a tote. Yay! I was thinking of Susan while I was making it. In a recent post, she talks about how the earrings she featured were totally her. Well I have to admit that half the stuff I make isn't really me. I have a slight fear of colour. Maybe it's not a fear per se, it's just that I feel best in black and grey -- mostly because I'm cheap and I think that black and grey will last for years, while colours have more of a trend factor.

I dunno.

Anyway, I was thinking of Susan because when I finished this tote I realized that it was totally me. It's not black or grey, but I LOVE it and I'm going to keep it for myself.

The best part -- as with most of my totes -- it's reversable!


This dark blue denim came from a skirt I attempted to make two years ago. It didn't really work out so I cut around the stitching to use for the bag.

Well I should get off the computer. My house is a mess. I still have to make the card I bought from Patricia a month ago for my Hubster (I tend to leave things to the last minute), and I have to go run some errands...

Take care and eat LOTS of chocolate today. You have no excuses not to.

~lealou

the stacey tote

She probably wouldn't want to have her name on the 'net but I needed a name for this tote, so I named it after my sister Stacey. Oh well! ;)

This tote totally didn't set out to look like this, but I think it turned out rather cute if I do say so myself. It has Anna Maria's Branching Out fabric on the outside (you know the one I'm obsessed with???) and Amy's green Full Moon polkas on the inside. There's a little pocket in there too to keep all your small goodies. This one is in the shop .


Has anyone ever been to Accent on Toronto? We went last night and it was really funny. I was crying, I was laughing so hard. I kinda felt bad for the woman beside me... I think I noticed her every so politely inching closer to her friend and away from me. Anyway it was a good laugh so you should go next year.

later lovelies!
~lealou

bon

Well it seems people love the frenchies! And although I can't sell them according to the fine print of my frenchy pattern, I made one for my friend's sister out of some extra fabric I had from the other frenchies I made this year. I also made one for my amazing photographer friend who is out in BC so Jenn I'll be shipping it out to you on Monday!

Have a great weekend y'all. I have a busy day ahead of me. Right now I'm waiting for the fabric store to open so I can get a zipper for the zip pouch I'm making to go with my tote for the secret auction at the reunion tonight. I've already delivered the tote so I'll have to sneak in with my action moves and slide the zip pouch into the tote before anyone bids (hopefully someone bids!). At noon we're off to see some friends who had a baby a little over a month ago and then the reunion!

later gaters
~lealou

oui, oui à paris!

C is off to London and then Paris this week with her family and needed a bag to bring all the essentials with her. I made this bag...I'll call her Paris... out of the same grey fabric I made my first Frenchy. It's lined with Amy Butler's grey Lacework fabric.



I brought it out to the movies for a test drive the other night (has any one seen Tropic Thunder?? I think I have a little crush on Ben Stiller now...) and it held up quite well... even with my water, wallet, snacks, camera & lip balm, so I think it'll be perf for the big trip!


~lealou

mmm beer.

Has any one else noticed it's getting colder earlier?? I'm not a big fan I have to say. Really, it's still so nice to go outside but I find myself staying put indoors for some reason. I think it's because I need to get some new fall clothes... yes need and I need some socks.

Yesterday at lunch I went outside for the first time in weeks (ok I'm exaggerating) to do a little photo shoot with my latest tote: The Taylor Creek Tote. I'm so obsessed with this fabric and it's perfect for this weather. This one isn't going in the shop though.



A couple weeks from now we're having the 45th reunion for our unversity residence - O'Keefe House . I lived in this small little residence downtown Toronto that at one point in time, was owned by Eugene O'Keefe (ever heard of Carling O'Keefe beer??). I lived there for four years, as did my husband, so we're heading there for the reunion. This little tote will go into the silent auction to raise money for the Ted Brock Recognition Award. Ted was a stand-up guy who was asked to look after the house for a year or so but ended up staying there for 35 years or something crazy like that...



This weekend is one of very few that I'm doing nothing! I'm excited to get back to the gym after my dumb soccer back and hamstring injuries, and I already have a nice list of sewing to get done. What are you up to?

Happy Friday everyone and I'll see you soon...
~lealou