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That’s my bag baby!!

My latest go-to gift item has been bags – I find a fun and unique pattern, or come up with my own, and then put a bunch of awesome stuff inside! For a few bridal showers I made bags and then purchased small items from the registry to put in it. Saves on wrapping, looks really pretty and makes a great keepsake gift!

Here are some of the bags I’ve made recently…

Nautical themed bridal tote bag ~ designed by Tara White Studio

Bag handmade by Tara White Studio using pattern from the Purl Bee. Apple tree designed by Tara White Studio.

 

Green duck shoulder bag ~ designed by Tara White Studio. Available for purchase on Etsy!

Chipmunk shoulder bag ~ designed by Tara White Studio. Available for purchase on Etsy!

Custom penguin and duck shoulder bags ~ designed by Tara White Studio.

And here are some of the many, many bags that I have accumulated over the years…

Tara's bags ;)

Uh oh, I think I might be hoarding bags, maybe I should donate a few of these, hehe. Thankfully, for my wallet’s sake, most were gifts!

That being said, I definitely enjoy finding unique and interesting bags when I shop. Modcloth actually has an amazing collection of super cute bags. Here are some of my faves…

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

ModCloth may be your go-to for cute dresses and clothing, but did you know they have a flourishing decor department? Think fun and unique adornments for your home, kitchen, bedroom, office space, and more. If that’s not incentive enough to check it out, they just so happen to be having a 20% Off Decor Sale that’ll give your place a pop of personality. No code needed, so just shop ’till your heart is content and there really will be no place like your home! Hurry while it lasts!

If you like bags as much as I do, I hope you found something you like here! See you next post!

~Tara

Pet Portrait Service

Happy Fourth!!

Now that I’m rained in I finally have time to post about the pet portraits that I have done over the years.

All of my life I have had animals as parts of my family. They really make the best companions. They are always happy to see you, they don’t judge and never stay mad at you. This is why I have enjoyed drawing portraits of companion animals. I feel that it is just as important that our memories of our quadrupedal friends last forever. As a former veterinary technician, I have seen many people lose their loyal friends and it can be just as painful as losing a human friend. Although you can go out and adopt another pet, no one forgets their lost companions. They are all unique with their own personalities, just as we are.

Most portraits were made for friends and co-workers, but a few were for some lucky raffle winners.

Dogs…..

(click on the images for slideshow and info)

Chloe in color. 11×14, colored pencil, 2010.
Jackson pop art. 8×10, acrylic paint, 2014.
Commission. 8×10, pastel, 2013.
Sunny Afternoon. 5X7, graphite, 2006.
Rio. 8×10, graphite, 2011.
Sisko. 9×12, chalk, 2010.
Same Sleepy Dog. 8×10, chalk, 2006.
Chloe in the Snow. 8×10, graphite, 2010.
Jack. 8×10, graphite, 2009.
Penny. 8×10, pastel, 2011.
Joe. 11X14, charcoal, 2010.
Australian Shepherd. 9×12, chalk, 2010.
Bruschi. 8×10, graphite, 2012.
T-Dough. 4×6, graphite, 2011. Frame painted with acrylic.
Bailey. 11×14, graphite, 2010.

I use high quality, archival drawing paper for graphite drawings, textured paper for charcoal and pastels.

Cats…..

Skye. 8X10, graphite, 2010.
Le Chate. 8×10, chalk, 2010.
Andy Bear. 5×7, graphite, 2010.
Sweet Pea. 8×10, graphite, 2010.

;)

 

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Become a Stylist!

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

I wanted to share something that I think sounds like a great opportunity from one of my affiliate merchants, Stella & Dot.

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. 

Why can’t work be fun and fabulous? Well it can! You can get free accessories, trips to amazing destinations and join a warm community of inspiring women, all when you become a Stella & Dot Stylist. They have fabulous accessories for you to share by having trunk shows – online or in-home! You have the potential of earning extra spending money or a six figure income, it’s up to you! And to make this deal even better, now through the end of June, when you sign up to be a Stella & Dot Stylist, you will get an additional $100 ($450 total) in free accessories! All you have to do is sell, they take care of everything else. For additional details and to sign up, visit: www.stelladot.com/stylist.

I’m thinking of joining myself or at least buying some jewelry to start!

~Tara

Summer Fashion!

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

Now that the warm weather is finally here, it’s time for outdoor BBQs, vacations, and outdoor festivities. Some of these events can be more formal, such as bridal showers and weddings, so it’s important to find a cute yet appropriate outfit. Most clothing websites are not the most inspiring and also don’t show their clothes on average women, in every day situations.

Well,  ModCloth has the solution to these problems! Not only is this a great site to shop for the most adorable outfits, but now they have a community Style Gallery where normal folks like you and me can upload images of ourselves in our fave summer digs! With each photo you also include specially selected items from ModCloth, that are either featured in the photo or were the inspiration for the outfit. This is really cool because you can view other photos and then shop for the exact clothing or accessories!

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I can’t wait to get some ideas for new and adorable outfits, and maybe even shop for some new clothes too! Here’s one of my favorite outfits so far:

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If you want to join in on the fashion fun, include the hashtag #ModSummer when you’re posting your adventures and you could be featured on one of their social networks.

(This post contains affiliate links which means I will be compensated if you purchase after clicking these links.)

Enjoy your summer!

~Tara

Spring Craft Projects

Here’s a peek at some of the things I’ve made this Spring…

I wanted a beachy but rustic welcome sign for our front door so I painted the word on a piece of old driftwood, attached it to an old, weathered basket and embellished it with scallop shells and vintage mother-of-pearl buttons.

Welcome Sign ~ Handmade by me out of a worn shallow basket, driftwood, shells, buttons and paint.

For Mother’s Day, I knew I wanted to make gifts for my mom and my mother-in-law. I had acquired a huge bag of vintage fabrics, including tablecloths, dish towels and doilies, many, many doilies! So, when a doily bag post from Sew Mama Sew came up in my blog feed, I was beyond excited. I came up with this bag for my mom. I altered the pattern a little by using the trimmed outer edge of my green doily as an accent for the top edge of the bag.

Vintage doily flower bag ~ handmade by me following pattern from Sew Mama Sew.

I was able to use a combination of some fun fat quarters that I had in this adorable little tote, pattern courtesy Oliver + S blog. I gave this to my husband’s Mom along with the Family wall hanging inside.

Multi-fabric tote ~ handmade by me following tutorial from Oliver + S blog.

Family wall hanging ~ collaged book pages, acrylic paint and metal leaves on canvas.

I decided to make something for my Mom to hang as well. She now works from home, using my sister’s old bedroom as an office, so I thought an office sign would be neat. I attempted to make it look old-fashioned, and even painted a vintage rotary telephone on it.

Office door sign ~ collaged book pages, printed text, acrylic paint on canvas ~ a Tara White Studio original.

The wall hangings / signs were relatively easy and fun to make, so you may see some in my Etsy shop in the near future!

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Gift Buying Made Easy with New Zazzle App!

With two weddings and at least two baby showers this summer and fall, I’ve been scrambling to come up with some fun and unique gift ideas for my friends and loved ones. I recently discovered the wonderful selection of gifts at Zazzle, most of which can be personalized. The wonderfully creative folks at Zazzle have now come out with an amazing mobile app.

I just downloaded the app to my phone and it is probably the most fun shopping app I’ve experienced. The search feature allows you to browse gifts by the recipient, the occasion and has a slider to adjust the desired price. It is very aesthetically pleasing as well.

IMG_0043IMG_0042

Check out the Zazzle mobile app featured on the Apple Store in the Graduation Collection. Now you can shop and customize your gifts on the go!

Download the Zazzle Mobile App Now! 

(This post contains affiliate links which means I will be compensated if you purchase after clicking these links.)

Happy shopping!

~TTW

Pattern Making
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Pattern Making

Hello and Happy Thursday!

Back in January I wrote about the sewing machine that my husband gave me for Christmas, and how I was teaching myself the basic techniques.

Since then, I have made a ton of things, mostly from free patterns I’ve found online…

photo by Tara White Studio

Kitchenaid Bowl Cover (Pattern from Keeping it Simple blog)

photo by Tara White Studio

Lunch bag (pattern from Pink Penguin blog)

photo by Tara White Studio

Child’s Apron (pattern adapted from unknown source)

photos by Tara White Studio

Baby boy shower gifts (patterns from multiple sources)

The baby shower gifts in the last photo were made from patterns from the following blogs: clockwise from bottom left – Make it and Love it, Nalle’s House, The Crafted Sparrow (pattern no longer available).

I’ve also made some things from my own patterns…

Photo by Tara White Studio

Fingerless zippered gloves from upcycled pants

Photo by Tara White Studio

Drawstring whale bag (pattern by Tara White Studio)

Photo by Tara White Studio

Owl bag (Pattern by Tara White Studio)

 

The gloves were made from a pair of old pants, the ankles of which had awesome zippers on them.

The two animal bags were inspired by a pattern for a fish bag from Make it Love it blog. I had made that bag for my friend’s daughter’s 2nd birthday and it was so adorable, sadly I forgot to take a photo of it : (

Having designed my own patterns, I was very excited to hear that I could actually sell my patterns on Craftsy! Keep reading for more information!

 

How to Add & Sell a Pattern on Craftsy
(This post contains affiliate links which means I will be compensated if you purchase after clicking these links.)

CraftsyPatterns

In addition to wonderful online courses and craft supplies, Craftsy also has an independent online pattern store that lets anyone upload and sell downloadable e-patterns with no fee!

How do you add a pattern to Craftsy and start your pattern store? It’s easy!

1. Make sure you have a Paypal account. All pattern transactions happen through Paypal, and Craftsy requires that you have a Student, Premier, or Business account in order to sell patterns.
2. Put your pattern in .pdf format. You can’t upload any patterns to the online pattern store unless they’re a .pdf file format, so if they’re currently saved as a Word doc, .jpg, or other file format, you must convert it to a .pdf before you upload it to Craftsy.
3. Include a photo. All patterns must have at least one photo to accompany them, but you can add up to five photos. Colorful, interesting photos tend to work the best for catching our members’ eyes!
4. Fill out the pattern description. We will ask you some basic questions around your pattern making it easier for Craftsy folk to find your pattern and know what your pattern is for. Make sure you have info about your pattern handy for this step.

For more information on how to sell a pattern through Craftsy, or to get started, visit Craftsy today!


Thanks for reading, check back soon!

~Tara W.