Water Bottle Holder

Yesterday I went for a long walk and got a few ideas for water bottle holders made out of recycled advertising tarps. Here's my first prototype all set for a field test. I put a shoulder pad out of chenilled fabric. After my walk I should be able to discern if there needs to be any adjustments to the design.

Update: the prototype works well. Apart from making a larger shoulder pad I'm pretty happy with the design. I like how it sits low on the hip.

Expandable mesh in billboard vinyl

I have been designing different mesh patterns for my soap totes. I decided to create an expandable mesh using cuts designed in Adobe Illustrator, then cut with Sure Cuts a Lot and the Cricut Expressions machine. its a real simple cut pattern as you can see, and it produces diamond-shaped holes.

I am enthusiastic about the possibilities, from garden fencing to bags, to oversized-soap-bar totes. I wrapped the sample around an applesauce jar jusst to see what would happen. A bunch of this mesh would be good for packing or storing glassware, and it itself does not take up much space when not in use, and is reusable. Better than wrapping stuff in newspaper, IMHO.

New design! Travel Soap Bag

Churning in the back of my mind has been the problem that my vinyl soap totes are labour intensive; about 70 minutes to sew if I make them with a lot of detail and the inner mesh bag. (I do think I could get that number down if I did them in production mode).

I wondered if the design could be a simple roll, then I thought about that cool mesh I was able to create. Why not cut a mesh pattern on one end for the drying mesh, and roll it all up for storage? That is what I have spent today doing, and here's the first prototype. I put the mesh pattern onto the handle for added pizzazz and I think it looks just great! It fits a large bar of soap and closes with velcro. The pictures show the roll (1) rolled up; (2) in soap drying position; and (3) completely unrolled.

Pardon the quickcam photos, husband has the camera for his business trip.

Please Comment, I cherish your feedback.

Update: I am working on another design with side wings so the soap can be enclosed completely. I have also been working on other mesh patterns, such as the one I saw on Rachel Ray's shirt.

Find the latest in travel soap bags on my website at http://www.vinally.ca/shop.php

Jar with vinyl sleeve

I converted a plain cylindrical jar to a Mid Century Modern vase. I created a drawing of simple, overlapping rings in Illustrator then cut them with my Cricut via Sure Cuts A Lot. This jar was a simple cylinder but I am going to try this technique on my Method soap jar next.

I can't wait to try this mesh design out on some other things! Stay tuned and please comment!

Vinyl Feather Guard Prevent Window Bird Strikes

I got this idea and I just had to make a video to along with it!

Making "Grow Bags" for plants from vinyl banners

Thanks to SouthCentre Mall for used banners

From Krista Moroz, Public and Community Relations Manager at SouthCentre: "What a great concept and very environmentally friendly. Southcentre often has banners that we are finished with and would welcome the opportunity to avoid sending them to a landfill. "

So I got three CIBC Run for the Cure banners in grey with pink accents.

Here's a picture of my latest soap tote on Etsy.

Shoemaking, hmmm

I wanted to go to a shoemaking workshop in Vancouver, Washington. I think I still want to explore shoemaking after seeing this Etsy seller Zerkahloostra's stuff:

In lieu of shoe school, I bought a book on making your own shoes, and I remade a pair of trainers/runners/kicks after making lasts (foot forms) out of socks and duct tape filled with Great Stuff foam. My friend said they look just like diabetic feet.

I'm going to make shoes out of vinyl, I think.

First Soap Tote Sale!

Yay me! I'm a businesswoman, woot! The client wrote, "I'm excited to receive it! I travel a lot and usually throw my soap in a plastic baggie. I was excited when I found this cute bag instead."

Vinyl Adhesive

Sewing appliques is time consuming, especially since my 1948 Singer does not have a backstitch. Lots of turning. I wanted to find an adhesive that would work for vinyl to vinyl applications on wallets, purses, and my soap totes.

At my local big box hardware store I found Lepage Flexible Plastic Adhesive. Works great, have to be careful not to get it on to the outer dyed surfaces because it removes the finish. Can't wait to make a wallet and field test it. When you try to pull it apart it leaves the outer vinyl layer so that you can see the inner mesh of the banner. Also works for vinyl on glass. So you could use it to stick vinyl letters to glazed tiles. Ha! now I can put "flush" onto the toilet tank!

Billboard Vinyl for Making Stencils

One potential client from Etsy was wanting a custom stencil. So I have been exploring the possibilities of using recycled billboard vinyl for this purpose. Billboard vinyl has internal fibers that do not always get cut by the Cricut Expressions. I experimented with multi cuts as well, but the fibers seem to persist. I also learned that big loops require joins or bridges or whatever the term is for stencilling. Otherwise the large loops will shift during stencilling and produce an unsatisfactory result.

The making of the stencil required a doubling/displacement/combining/anchor-point-deletion of the words "Love" and "loved" because some parts of the letters were too thin at that scale to cut well. The Arial fonts required joins or bridges on letters like "e" and "a" and "g" because they had internal space within their letters and they needed solid material to anchor those central holes.

I think that a larger design with not too many fine cuts would work well for making stencils, and I'm definately going to use it myself for my own stencilling.

vinyl filagree bracelet

I know Karl Lagerfeld was showing lace-like metal "tattoo" jewelry and lacy vinyl cuffs to in his Spring 2009 collection. That image has stuck in my mind. So I decided to explore making my own version of a vinyl bracelet, and here's the second prototype. It's comfortable and fits on my small wrist. I made a few more more joins from the first prototype so that there's less large pieces to stick out and get caught on things. This one is now an Etsy listing. The blue colour of the vinyl is genuine Calgary Sky, and it's one of the best blues for my skin tone according to my colour theory studies. Now to make some in black and white and other colors.

I'm happy with the way this turned out so now its time to make some different styles. I will put on my twenty-something-New-York-hipster thinking cap.

Using Cricut for my billboard vinyl wallets

I put my paper wallet pattern pieces into Illustrator then printed them onto the Cricut.

The biggest challenge was getting the vinyl stuck to the mat so it was true.

I am delighted with the results. Not much leftover vinyl to go into the landfill. I had always found it a challenge to cut out the driver's licence windows so they looked tidy enough. Now they are cut with precision.

Below is a small video with very annoying Cricut machine sound.

Cricut Machine

I finally got my Cricut machine. A Cricut Expressions machine is a glorified craft knife. I am looking forward to testing this out on various materials like billboard vinyl. I am not into scrapbooking or cardmaking, but I see a lot of potential in this cutting machine. And maybe I will make a card or two!

Update: It works for cutting the thickest recycled billboard vinyl that I have. For those who are interested I'm using a high pressure and a blade depth of 6. I don't know if that's overkill but it works for now.

Now I have more possibilities like cutting filigree patterns into the billboard vinyl. Oh what artistic fun!

Bird Bath Soap Tote

Today I made this birdbath silhouette Soap Tote. This is the first time I tried piping in the seam. I put a heart on the zipper pull as a nod to Valentine's day. Oh, would that I would be featured in Etsy's Valentine's gift guide!

Valentines Day Soap Tote

Well, with Valentine's Day drawing near, I thought I would make an Etsy product to go with that theme. It's done now and here it is:

Mini Travel Soap Handbags

I am excited about my newest product for Etsy. A prototype is pictured at right. It is a travel “handbag” for soap. It will have an inner mesh pocket that folds out so that the soap can air dry before it is sealed up again. The loop hooks onto the shower faucet, and the mesh holds the soap in ideal air drying position. I also like the Maidstone font that I used for the word “Soap”. It kind of has a 50s feel to it. I used the mesh from a yam bag from Christmas holidays. Now I have a use for all the grocery-store mesh produce bags! I am working out the order of operations for making these. I like that it’s different and stylish, and perhaps, affordable.

Now, using one of these, you can save those hotel soaps, or take your favourite soap or shampoo bar. It even works as a soapdish as long as you can hang it somewhere in the shower. I suppose you could take one of those vacuum hooks along to ensure you have a hook to hang the mini handbag on.

Twill Tape alternative: Rolled Hem serger stitch

I had been using twill tape on my wallets as you can see by my previous posts. I decided to experiment with the rolled hem setting on my serger to see if I could get a similar, finished-looking, effect. I can get it up to 1/4" wide. My sewing machine repair man advises against using the serger cutting blade on the vinyl, so I disconnected it.

I think it looks neater than twill tape and it would be robust if sewn in upholstery thread. I am looking forward to using this technique on my latest billboard vinyl handbag project.

Handbag Pattern Design

Just for fun I am copying my own handbag, drawing the pieces in Illustrator, and coming up with an Order of Operations, i.e. instructions. My goal is twofold: one is to have a pattern for making a purse design that will work in billboard vinyl, the other is to make a pattern that I can sell on Etsy. I see that some Etsy sellers make PDF patterns to sell. So far, so good. The pattern here isn't finished; I have to create pattern outlines for the end pieces and the inner bag lining. I'll post an update on this project after I make the handbag from my pattern.

Custom wallets on Etsy

I was thinking of offering custom wallets for sale on Etsy. Here's one of the popular names on Etsy according to the demographics, with a Mid Century Modern font and a nice graphic that celebrates the name. I could do this either by printing the design on fabric then waterproofing the fabric, or by using billboard vinyl and a stencil cutting technique.

Accordian player from Entertainment 1 font by Helen Duggan. Text font is Fontdinerdotcom Sparkly.