Zombie bags now available!!

Zombie invasion has begun!!!

They're coming for you, Barbara....or at least your dice!

You can now get the Zombie bags through the "For Sale" page with a Paypal button for your convienience.

Limited quantity on hand at the moment, but I hope to be making more soon.

Small and Medium bags

 

 

ZOMBIE INVASION!!!

Ok, what am I going on about?  Zombie bags. 

These bags are going to be made from assorted fabrics with a distressed denim exterior (old, clean jeans) and a grey panne velvet liner.  Sizes will run from small to medium and will only consider large for the future. 

But why am I going on with zombie bags now with Halloween still more than a month away?
One reason;

I've been following @indywoodFILMS on Twitter for a while and what he's doing has impressed the H-E-double hockey sticks out of me.  Basically he's creating a completely fan-funded zombie film, no financiers, no banks involved.   He started with practically nothing and has managed to get some of the film made.  The full story can be found at his site.

How do the zombie bags tie into this?  Easy.  I'm donating 50% of the proceeds from each zombie bag to go towards his film project "Invasion of the Not Quite Dead".  I've a background in theater and have a passion for things scary, so this is something I can get behind.  Please help me out on this venture and get a zombie bag while they last!!

Small bags; $10
Medium bags; $15

They're not much, so why not get one?  I can keep the costs down by reusing/recycling/re-purposing old clothing and jeans as well as adding some deliberately spooky fabrics from Halloween.  Each bag will have it's own personality, regardless of how many I assemble.  If you want to support small business, and believe in the independent filmmaker, I urge you to get one.  This offer is only good through Twitter, so shout @CrazyRedGeek if you want a zombie bag!

A Bag for every season, every reason under the sun...

It's true; the number of ways I can assemble these bags lend them a certain amount of character which is a bonus for anyone who believes in the freedom of self-expression.

The bags are made from a simple pattern I designed and the flexibility coming with that lies in the number of colors, textures and types of fabric that are available to me.  Literally I'm only limited by what is available and even that can be temporary.

I'm planning on brining to my Etsy new sections; Basic Bags, Embellished Bags, Themed Bags, Steampunk Bags and Showcase bags

Basic bags will come in a wide variety of colors and textures in as many combinations as I can devise.  This is  the one section I need the most feedback on from all interested.  I've got a few basic ideas, but I need to know what will sell so your feedback helps a lot!  They will come top-stitched which finishes the seams nicely but little else in the ways of embellishment.  This catagory will also be including fabrics such as faux silk, satin, panne velvet, suede, cotton prints and solids,

Embellished Bags are a bit more restricted on what will be available, but will contain elements like embroidery, beading and sequins.  There will be a few basic designs over all, but there will be variety within those designs.

Themed Bags are similar to Embellished bags in that they'll have little touches that bring to mind a specific character in general.  Characters from Wonderland or Wizard of Oz could be found here among others, like Punk or Zombie bags.

Showcase bags are those that are unique in every aspect of the word.  These would include the Dragonscale, Cthulu, Rose Garden, and the Elvish-make bags. 

Character bags will be an all-ages sort of section and each bag will have a unique personality to it.  The points just lend themselves to "ears" for a critter or moster face and can be modifided to make the bag look like a vegitable.

Steampunk bags will have the Victorian Industrial look that is becoming all the rage and will come in a limited range of colors but keep within the suedes, silks and velvets with the occasional taffeta and brocade for a different look.  There will be pockets and hardware galore on these bags coupled with pencil/pen holders, and clips for belt loops.

Specialty fabric bags will feature limited quantity specialty prints that I have available in specific themes and colors.  This is the section where my current items will be listed once I start listing more bags.

A fresh idea on an old thought

I must admit, it is a bit disheartening to run out of dice bags for the Free Dice Bag Thursday giveaways, but I generally tend to think desperation is the mother of invention.

On top of that I've discovered the potential of customized dice bags.  So with that in mind, the Free Dice Bag Thursday prize for August 11 will not contain a picture...but it will have an opportunity to create a dice bag in your choice of colors.

So here's the deal..the contest tweet will contain the #freedicebagThursday hashtag and the rules link it normally contains, but it will also contain the hashtag #customcolors...and anyone describing your custom color bag with colors in order of exterior, points and liner will get a bonus chance to win!!  That's right!!  You'll gain a second entry in the drawing just by saying what you'd like to see on your bag!

and if you win...you may very well see that bag happen!

Please note, custom color will also depend on the fabrics already available, if you're not sure about a color, just ask!!

Captain America

I'm driven to create something different with my bags, so an opportunity to get sublimely creative arose with the results of asking @symatt what he'd like to see in a bag.

He surprised me with a response of Captain America.  Inspritation struck me pretty solidly with that.
At first I imagined appliques cut from the same panne velvet I'd used on the exterrior in shades of red  white and blue.  Sadly, the appliques failed and I resorted to embroidering the Captain's sheild upon the bag with pleasing results.

at max capacity



I initially picked out the rough shape of the shield with a pattern I initially used for the applique in a single strand of floss which was later covered with the outlining done in a stem stitch.  I filled in the remaining rings with chain stitches and repeated the process for the star in the center, but left the center clear of stitching, allowing the background blue to show through.

a medium bag can hold this much dice!!!

Considering I was embroidering without a hoop on a curve, I hope that alone speaks for my skill.

I'm looking forward to sharing more of these customized creations, it's a true chance to push my limits as a dice bag maker.

The winner of FreeDiceBagThursday

Congratulations goes out to @BlkbyrnePublish for winning this week's Free Dice Bag Thursday!

I'm looking forward to August 11th when I bring the contest back in full force.  Until then, keep track of the blog as I'll be posting regular updates as to the business at hand.

To start with, I'm deciding to let my Etsy expire or sell off the items I have there.  I almost feel I'd have better luck and more control of my items if I were to have a website of my own.  This isn't going to be an easy task, but as soon as I officially launch the site, it will be the only thing I talk about for a while.

I'm devising several lines for future reference.  The bare basics are going to be colorful, but ordinary bags in two to three colors depending on the prefferences and if there are requests.  I'll also have Limited Edition line made with specialty fabrics.  Customization will always be available as well.  Then I will offer my much talked about Showcase line; the Cthulu, Steampunk, Rose Garden and the highly anticipated Dragonscale bags.  This last line will be among my highest price due to the amount of detail involved.  I hope to have these created within due time and have a starting stock developed soon.

Prize for July 21, 2011

This week's prize is a small bag in fuchia with holographic butterflies on the exterior with a berry panne velvet liner.  This little charmer can hold up to three or more sets of dice and/or keys, money and IDs or Credit cards.

Sadly this is the last of the current run of bags that I've designated for the giveaways.  Rest assured I'll have more to offer soon.

items in bag are there to show scale, not included

As mentioned before, I will be taking time off from Free Dice Bag Thursday in order to work on more stock and to enter sewing competitions.  I will resume the contest August 11th with much suprises to be had.

dice not included

Many more options will soon be available for the giveaways.