Lesalicious

 

I got my Swap Swap Gals package from Lesa!  She made these amazing sewn bags with dragonfly and butterfly fabric.  The dragonfly bag is really roomy with an oval shape bottom. 

Book bag-size is actually my favorite size bag for everyday use.  I like the circle handles, too.  They’re big enough I can fit my arm through and carry the bag on my shoulder (a definite plus!)  On a side note, I wonder how she managed to cover the handles with matching fabric without it being loose.

The smaller butterfly bag has this great diamond shape sewn on with gold glitter added as an accent.  The style is great!  This is a really nice evening bag that can double for daytime.  The handles are black on the outside and butterfly-print on the inside. 

Both the butterfly and dragonfly print bags are lined with matching fabric and magnetic closures.  I’m so impressed with all the professional sewing!  Plus, I have not tried magnetic closures yet, so I really appreciate them!

Lesa also included this ruffle top crochet clutch with a gusset bottom.  The jewel-tone yarn feels like suede or chenille to me.  Whatever it is, the yarn is really soft and sturdy.

The clutch has a magnetic closure also.  With Lesa’s magnetic closure tutorial for crochet purses and a real life example, I think I might be brave enough to try it out on my next purse. 

 

Along with the purses, Lesa also sent me this light pink candle.  The scent is really mellow, but sweet.  The candle says strawberries, but I think it smells like strawberries and cream. 

Anyway, it smells wonderful and candles are always useful in this area since we get lots of blackouts with the summer storms.    

Along with the purses and candle, I got a nice card, a set of pens, and matching memo pads.  I love the colored patterns on each of the pens and the flower-shaped memo pads are so cute! 

Finally, Lesa sent me a skein of baby blue, light weight yarn.  I’ve never seen this brand before, but the yarn is really soft and the color is really pretty. 

Thanks again, Lesa for the fantastic purse swap package!  I’m so happy to be your recipient this time around; I hope to get you as my recipient in the future.  Swap Swap Gals is so much fun and I’m so glad that you started the group!

 

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Big huge labs

 

Today I fiddled with the Framer function on Big Huge Labs.  There were a lot of tempting options, but I settled on the ‘brushed edge’ for this photo. 

The pink butterfly is from the corner of the rain cloud picture I posted on Easter.  What looks like a flower is actually a tiny pink butterfly sitting on a blade of grass. 

Whenever you see a photo mosaic here on A Whole Load of Craft, you can bet it’s a product of Big Huge Labs.  There’s so many options I could never fully explore each one, but I’m a fan of the mosaic functions.  You can cram a lot of photos into one cohesive picture. 

The Big Book of Dishcloths by Leisure Arts is something I’ve wanted to buy after seeing Mellissa’s pretty dishcloths on her blog The Adventures of Wondermommy.  Wouldn’t you know, I was off-island yesterday and found it on a rack at Goodwill for $2?  It was a nice little surprise on a busy, errand-filled day.

Some may not like the black and white photos inside the actual booklet, but I found myself admiring several different patterns.  Not only are there some interesting dishcloth patterns, this book doubles as a stitch library of sorts.  There are a number of interesting and unique stitch patterns.  This booklet is a great resource for crocheters and relatively cheap, even at the regular price of $7.95.

Stay tuned for actual finished objects in the near future, including some toddler-sized slippers!

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Rain drops

Happy Easter everyone!  If you have some extra blog time today, vote for your favorite rain cloud over at Knits and Knots.

*That’s cool* a random fact

Wet air is less dense than dry air with temperature as a constant.

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