Got bottle caps?

I have lots of bottle caps sitting in a cup at home. I have been trying to come up with some uses for the caps. I came across this idea of crocheting over the bottle caps to make a trivet. I haven't tried this yet because I don't know how to crochet.

My Amphetamines and My Pearls has taken the idea of recycling and incorporated it into the trivet design. I learned that trivets have two uses; prevents water rings on the table and keeps hot drinks hot. I learn something new everyday.

Mikalah at Posy the Porcelain Pig used small pieces of fabric to cover the bottle caps. They almost look like buttons.

Great ideas fellow bloggers. Now I'm off to work on my own designs.

Name these aprons

I have 3 new apron designs to debut at the Covedale's Annual Arts and Crafts show this Saturday.

Lea Serron suggested that we give the apron line a better name than just aprons... Here are her suggestions

• 
  
  Foodie Fashionista
• 
  
  Cuisine Couture

I can't decide which name we like best. I need your help to pick a great name. Just leave a comment with your name suggestions.

Thanks to all the wonderful Purdy friends!

The apron Purdy Logo

Custom order week

This is the material I used for the wrist purse

My friend called me to place an order for her co-worker. She specifically wanted 3 pink, purple and lime green wrist purses for her daughter and her friends. Hmmmm.....Not too common color scheme. But I was up for the challenge. So off I went to shop the isles of the local thrift store. Day 1 equaled lots of looking but not finding what I needed. The next day I set out for another store on the other side of town but my google map directions were not very helpful. End result; I didn't find the store. I ended up finding material in each of the colors and sewing them together to make one piece of fabric. The end product was cute and fitting for a 13 year old girl. Unfortunately, I forgot to get a picture of the finished purse because I was so excited to get the order to the customer.

My friend delivered the wrist purses for me. She told me that her co-worker LOVED the purses.  Yay.

Ever wanted to learn to sew?

If your answer is yes, you may be interested to hear that Purdy Everyday will be conducting a beginners sewing workshop.  The workshop will teach you the basic steps of using your machine to actually making something! Don't worry if you do not have a sewing machine. I are working on getting a couple of machine for teaching purposes. If you have any requests or idea send us a comment. I are shooting for the class to be sometime before the holidays. More info to come! 

                                                           We will draw out patterns

 and cut out patterns

And sew them together!

                                                         And everything else in between

Upcoming Events

The Purdy schedule is filling up quickly. We have already been busy working on custom order for Christmas!! Yikes. So if you are planning on ordering a fab up cycled gift for the upcoming holidays let us know so we can add you on the list.

Upcoming events
August 8th Second Sunday in OTR 10-5PM
August 21st Covedale Theatres 9th Annual Arts and Crafts Fair 10-4PM
September 12th Second Sunday in OTR 10-5PM
November 6th Seasonably Chic Showcase at the Phoenix

Do you have talent?

Second Sunday in OTR will be hosting a talent show next Sunday.
Enter to win prizes or maybe even be discovered!

1st Place $100
2nd Place $50
3rd Place $25

Sign up for talent show at http://www.secondsundayotr.org/

Love theatre? Stop by the  Drama Workshop's booth and check there upcoming season.


Second Sunday is always a blast so hope to see everyone there on August 8th.

Creative folks

For some reason I am always drawn to the jewelry counter when I go shopping. I am more apt to buy a new piece of jewelry than a pair of pants. When I get a new piece of jewelry I end up wearing it everyday for a month or so and then I forget about it. I wish I wasn't such a fickle jewelry wearer.

Here are some really cute jewelry up cycling ideas from some fellow bloggers.

Emu's Upcycled Ring Pull Bracelet

Ring Pull Bracelet

Jewellery Made from cereal boxes

Cheerios Bead Necklace

For the love of Dogs

When I was a kid I wanted an animal so bad. My neighbor would say, "I think your parents will get you a pink pony." I never got that pink pony, but I did get a dog named Benji. He was a scruffy terrier mix that I loved more than anything in the world. I thought that I had this special bond with him that would never be filled by any other dog. Since Benji I have had a handful of other dogs, each one just as special as the last. My current puppies are Tito; a crazy, confident, easy going Setter mix. I got Tito when he was only 10 weeks old and was he ever a handful. I felt that I had a toddler except for the fact that I could lock him up in a cage. With lots of training classes and diligent work, Tito has become one amazing dog. I couldn't ask for a better baby. Tito's best friend is Curly a Border Collie mix. Curly was my first dog as an adult. I adopted him in 2000 and we have grown together through good and bad times. He will be 10 years old later this month. Where has the time gone?

 Tito and Curly posing for the camera

My dogs are a big part of my life and I like spending time with them so I am always on the lookout for dog friendly venues. Cincinnati is starting to really embrace our furry friends. 

Here are a couple places we frequent:

1. Neons in Over the Rhine - This bar has a beautiful courtyard great for lounging with your fluffy friend. I really love the sign on the front door that says "Dogs welcome".

2. Findlay Market - Good spot to enjoy some lunch outside and listen to the street performers play guitar or sing. Doggies have to stay outside but there are plenty of outdoor vendors to browse with your pups.

3. The Comet in Northside has a couple of tables outside to eat and drink. I took the dogs up there on Sunday. We hung out with some friendly people and had a grapefruit soda...yum. Poor dogs just had water.

Does anyone else know of other places that are dog friendly?

Happy customers

We love our customers. Just wanted to share some smiling faces with you!

Summer fun

We have had so much fun this summer and it has only just begun. Here are a few pics.

Hula hooping is a great break during shows.

Messenger Tie bag

  Lately, I  have been working on bags made out of ties. This one is a huge messenger bag that was made for my hula hoop instructor, Brianna. She wanted a bag that would fit her laptop and still have room for books.

I really get attached to these bags. Sometimes it is hard to part with them. With that said this is my favorite tie bag. The pink makes it just a little feminine but not over the top. It fits just under the armpit and holds a good amount of stuff.

So if you have some ties in your family that just sit around in the drawer, send them my way. I will create a fabulous, everyday, useful bag for you!

Hope you enjoy the tie bags....

Aprons in nature

These are aprons that I made back in February. Originally, we were just going to make upcycled aprons but it kind of got put on the back burner once we started making bags.

 

I just got the aprons back from a teacher that wanted to try them out in her classroom. While she had them her photographer husband took some pictures.

photos by: Tim Stegmaier

Purdy on What I wore Today

We will be hanging out at Second Sunday in OTR on July 11th. Festivities will start at 12 and go until 5pm. So come down and celebrate your Global Groove, drink some beer at Neon's beer garden and stop by the Purdy booth to say "hi".

Special thanks goes out to my super friend, Kasmira, for featuring my bags on her blog What I Wore Today this week.

Ugly Pants Equals Cute Purse

Over Memorial Day weekend I was shopping at my local second hand store where I found an interesting pair of pants. The pattern was very loud and crazy, not good for pants, but perfect for a purse.

I was showing my mom all my purchases and she said, "I really like everything but I am not sure about these pants."

I said "Don't worry, it will look great refashioned."

Inside of bag is made out of a men's button down shirt and black lace trim is from a skirt.

Waste not

Every time I cut out a new pattern I put my scrap pieces of material in a basket instead of throwing them away. Just waiting for the moment when I think of something great to do with the pieces. I normally am not a pack rat but since I started Purdy I feel like I need to keep anything that could possibly be reused. So on Monday, I sat down on my floor with my material pieces, hoping for some idea to pop into my head. After folding and pinning and cutting, I had a prototype.

I wanted to create some decorative embellishments for my bags and I thought the scrap material would work. I rooted through the scraps for long slender pieces. I used these pieces to create my new design.

I would call this my first official purse. Everything I have made up to this point has been more of a multipurpose bag. But this is definitely a purse. Personally, I don't like to carry a purse, but I used this purse last night and found it to be pretty comfortable. Maybe I will convert from bags to purses.