My Crafty Life

I feel bad that I haven't had the time to update my blog lately.  I've been busy preparing for my upcoming Christmas craft shows, and making more bags for my Etsy Shop orders. November and December are always the busiest time of the year for me.  Everyone is getting excited in anticipation of the Christmas Season. As it is for me, I find that it's the most stressful time of year.

I just want to take this opportunatety to show you what I go though in my daily crafty life and the process my bags go through from initial design to finished product.

I usually start by sketching out a rough design on a blank piece of paper. I usually get my idea while sitting in the car, watching T.V., or on a crowded street...I often look like I'm daydreaming...LOL!!. I then sit down to figure out the more functional usage of the bag when I have a quiet moment. I like smart designs, and my intention is that I don't just create JUST a bag...but a multi-functional accessory that you can carry anywhere while still looking stylish. Many people have approached me to ask me what is the origin of the name "FUCHST BAGS".  I tell them that it simply means Functional, Chic, and Stylish.  I always keep my business name in mind every time I come up with a new design.

I then cut out the patterns...

...preparing for cutting

Look at the mess I created!!!!!!!! :D

After all that cutting, I start sewing the bags with my industrial sewing machine.

This was once a nice and neat working studio. Don't worry, I will tidy up the room as soon as the crazy Christmas season is over! ;) Promise!

Have a wonderful day everyone!

Mmmmmmm...Yummy Broccoli Soup

Broccoli soup has always been one of my favourites, but I could only have it in a restaurant since it's so hard to make. At least that's what I thought...until I found this recipe in my "Fast & Easy Cooking" cookbook by Johanna Burkhard.  Now I never have to order it in the restaurant again...woohoo!!

This soup is sooooooooooooo easy to make and it's delicious...even my kids love it. It's a great way to get your kids to eat vegetables too as they won't realize that it's broccoli...shhhhhhhhhh! :)

1 tbsp                butter                                                                                      15ml
1                       large onion, chopped                                                                      1
1                       large clove garlic, finely chopped                                                     1
1tsp                  ground cumin or coriander or curry powder                                 5ml
5 cups               broccoli florets with peeled and chopped stalks                        1.25L
1 1/2 cups        diced peeled potatoes                                                               375ml
3 cups              chicken stock or vegetable stock                                              750ml
1 cup                milk or light (10%) cream                                                         250ml
1 tsp                 grated lemon zest                                                                          5ml
                         salt and pepper
2 tbsp               chopped fresh chives or green onions                                           25ml

1. In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and cumin; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until softened. Add broccoli, potatoes and stock.  Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 25 minutes or until vegetables are very tender. Let cool slightly.

2. In a food processor or blender, puree soup in batches until smooth. Return to saucepan; add milk and lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Heat until piping hot; DO NOT BOIL. Ladle into bowls, sprinkle with chives and ENJOY!

New Lotus hobo bags

These beautiful large Lotus hobo bags are designed with the inspiration of a Lotus leaf that sits peacefully in the pond. It is a simple, yet elegant bag that can take you from day to night in a snap. The full pleatings around the bag is an attention grabber and add some spice to an otherwise simple bag. This bag is large enough to store all your daily necessities and more. It’s a corded double shoulder strapped bag with three magnetic compartment closures. These bags are large enough to use as stylish diaper bags for all new moms.

These Lotus hobo bags are my most recent designs and freshly made this week. I made them in different fabrics and colors... which one do you like? Do you think I should make them in black, white, red, and green? C'mon, I would love to hear your comments! ;)

Beautiful and Cool Autumn

As the warm weather starts to ebb away, we begin to feel the inevitable zest in the air that tells us the seasons are beginning to change. But don’t let the cooler weather discourage you from feeling your best and enjoying nature's beauty around you. I love the four seasons we have in Canada as each has its own unique beauty. I have heard people say that Autumn is the season of death, but I totally disagree with that. Although it's a little cooler, the changing color of the leaves is breathtaking.

I took this photo while on my way to pick up my kids from school. These are the maple trees that change colors in the Fall... the warm rustic multi colors... aren't they beautiful?

It' getting close to Halloween.  This beautiful home in the neighborhood already looks so pretty with its NOT so scary decoration. 

Needless to say, it's pumpkins season! I just love these cheerfully bright orange pumpkins... Mmmmm...now I'm thinking about pumpkin pies. :)

With the change in the season, it’s also time for a change in wardrobe and accessories. I have recently added these interchangeable shawls/scarves along with my bag collection.

Nothing feels warmer and prettier than wrapping yourself with this shawl/scarf. It’s not just a simple scarf…interchanging it into different styles is just a few buttons away.

It can also be worn as a poncho, bolero, shawl jacket, and more… all you need is a little imagination! One more suggestion is that you can wear this as an outer layer top of your black turtleneck. It will look really sleek in the office.

I hope you enjoy viewing my newly designed shawls! You can find these in my Etsy shop http://www.fuchstbags.etsy.com/ for $48.00 US. If you mention that you saw these shawls on my blog, I'll take 10% off your price.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving, Canada! For friends and readers outside Canada, I wish you all the same in the month of November.

Please feel free to leave comments and follow my blog. :)

Extreme Makeover!

Would you like to see how I transformed my ugly duckling basement into a bright, cozy, and functional working studio?

Here it is! "BEFORE", this was once an ugly duckling basement...then BING!...

VOILA...this is the "AFTER", an extreme makeover. What do you think? As for me, I can't be happier working here now. Here's what I did... I draped a creamy colored fabric to cover the walls.  I then rolled out a lush beige carpet to soften up the room...added a few more light fixtures to brighten up the area and then accessorized with shelving.

Here's my drafting table for creating my patterns and cutting fabric.  As a finishing touch, I cheered up the room by adding some colorful flowers to my sleek vase.

Here's my sewing table with shelving on the right for easy access to all my tools and accessories.

Finally, I'd like to present you my handsome "Juki" industrial sewing machine. He works like a charm...don't know what I'd do without him! ;P

Empty Nest

This is my version of an empty nest. I sketched since I couldn't find one to take picture.

While I was coming home from dropping off my kids to school this morning, I couldn't help to feel a little "empty nested" as soon as I opened the door to our house. I guess it's normal to feel that way since I spent the whole summer with them everyday. But I know I will quickly adapt to a quiet house when I start getting busy with my new bag designs.

I saw turtwig was laying on top of Pikachu while I was cleaning up the toy room, it reminded me of my kids fighting...except they're are alot more quieter. :)

Back to school

Two more days before my kids are going back to school. I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand I'm glad that I finally have more free time to design more bags and to focus on my business. On the other hand, I know I will miss being around them, staying up late and sleeping in. :)

Last week was my older boy's last day of his rookie baseball season. Unfortunately, their team lost and didn't make it to the final playoff weekend. Here are some photos of our Reds team.

They each got a trophy for trying hard. :) Enjoy the rest of the summer folks!

Helllllllo anyboby here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have been posting this blog for over a month now, but I seem to be drawing muc of an audience. I'm starting to wonder what's wrong with my blog????????????? I feel less motivate to write more since nobody is reading. If you happened to come accross my blog, please feel free to leave a message... I promise I won't bite! Lol. You can also follow my blog by just clicking on the following button... easy as 123. It will make my heart pound if I see a message or a follower! :)

Fresh out of the oven!

Looking at this picture and the way these clutches/wristlets line up, they remind me of fresh loaves of bread that have just come out of the oven. Yes, they are fresh in colors and recently made by me. The only difference is that they're made out of fabric NOT flour. :)

Each of these clutches/wristlets are made of 100% cotton print fabric with fully lined interior and padded with fusible fleece interfacing for durability. The strap for each bag is made of leather. They are great for everyday use and carrying what you need for the day eg., wallet, keys, cell phone, lipstick, sun glass.... and also a little room left to fit a small camera.

Back to reality!

Beautiful scenery from Shenandoah Mountain

We just got back from a road trip to the United States. We drove to Grove City, PA for some factory outlet shopping, followed by a couple of days walking around Washington D. C., and finally Raleigh, NC to visit our cousins. On our way back we visited the amazing Luray Caverns in Luray, VA. It was a nice and relaxing trip especially since I wasn't the one driving! Lol.

Life is back to normal now after unpacking and deep cleaning the entire house...and of course the car! It was exhausting! Maybe it's just my bad memory, but I don't recall leaving the house so messy?! :)

It's now back to work and I've started making and listing more bags to put on my Etsy Shop. But before I get too carried away with my work, I'm going to share with you some of our vacation photos.

I met up with two very nice ladies at the Smithsonian Museum of Art.

A peaceful view of the Arlington National Cemetery

John F. Kennedy's burial site. Next to his grave (not shown) was his wife, Jackie O., and their two children who died at birth.

Spectacular scenery from the Luray Caverns ...breathtaking every corner you turn.

Look closely, it's not drapery!

Wouldn't this be a beautiful painting? I wish I owned one like that...don't you?! :)

Stalactites reflecting on the water

Yay vacation time!

I used to get excited waiting at the airport to fly to a destination that I had never been before. But this time, we're not taking a plane. Instead we are taking a road trip to Raleigh, North Carolina. I'm so looking forward to driving through all the beautiful places along the way. Don't worry, I'll take lots of photos and share them with you. Saiyonara!

Have you seen a heart shaped potato before?

One day while I was peeling potatoes, out of the blue I reached in the sack and pulled out a heart shaped potato! I thought it was so cute and took the photo below to share with you.

Isn’t it something?!

This is a sexier side of the potato :)

Believe it or not, it was this heart shaped potato that inspired me to create these beautiful heart shaped handbags!

 

Isn't it amazing?! I hope something splendid comes up and inspires you to do something creative today! Have a great day! :)

My Astronomy side of fixation

Do you wonder why all the names of my bags sound a little weird? It's because I love astronomy. I am fascinated with the sun, moon, Earth, stars, and everything about the other planets. I can just sit up all day and night reading about astronomy. I sometimes wonder if I could do it all over again, will I be an Astronomer and Physicist? Hmmm… nah, I don’t think I'm smart enough for that. :)

I secretly believe that there are other life forms in other planets. There are 200 or more billion stars in our Galaxy. Each star represents a sun and if there are billion of suns out there then it must have a few planets like our Earth. Since each star is 15 or more hundred light years away from us it is impossible for us to reach them. Just because we can’t reach them it doesn’t mean that they don't exist, right? That is just my silly thoughts. :)

Here are my astronomy bags…..

Janus – One of the two irregular shaped Moons of Saturn

Marshia for Mars - The Red Planet. Pluto - Pluto is the second largest known dwarf planet and tenth largest orbiting the Sun. Saturn - The sixth planet from the Sun and is the second largest in the solar system

Euroupa - Is a unique moon of Jupiter So, what is your fixation?