I've expanded my work with fur into apparel.  I posted an Instructable on working with animal hides related to making this coat. The hood and lapel are lined and trimmed with sheepskin. 

The coat is made with all natural materials (excluding thread) and is my first serious project involving hand tailoring.  My intention was to make a heritage piece that I can wear for the rest of my life and I chose materials based on that concept.  The coat is a wool gabardine, interlined with cotton twill, hair interfacing for full hand tailored shaping, the sleeves are lined at the cuff with rabbit fur, the whole coat is lined with knitted wool, and the toggle buttons are antler tips.  For more info visit my Instructables post. 

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I really should wait until I have my full how-to posted on How Did You Make This but I'm excited about how this turned out so I'm posting the preview pick now! 

This is made with white rabbit fur and the beads are glass and mother-of-pearl. 

UPDATE: Make a Fur Handbag for yourself! How-to posted on How Did You Make This

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I will be a speaking about what I make as a featured author at the Instructables Show-and-Tell at the Craftsman Experience on Friday November 18th.  The event is from 6-9pm at The Craftsman Experience Studio - 233 W Huron St, Chicago, IL 

More information can be found by clicking here.

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I haven't dressed up for Halloween in many years.  This year was a perfect mix of reasons to dress up - I had an idea of what I wanted to be for Halloween, great prizes for the Instructables Halloween contest, a Halloween contest on Make:Projects, and Halloween fell on a Monday.  

This year seemed like the perfect time to be a Playboy Bunny.  The only "reality" show I've ever been captivated by was The Girls Next Door and I was one of the very few Americans who watched The Playboy Club on NBC this fall.  A few months back a bunch of scans from the original Playboy Bunny Employee Handbook spread around the internet and, though many people take issue with some of the rules, it was clear the rules for being a bunny were created to keep the women safe and classy.  It was not a strip club or a thinly veiled brothel as so many people wanted to believe. The Playboy Clubs gave women the opportunity to earn a good living on their own at a time when well paying jobs for women were scarce.  

The best Monday night party in Chicago is Rehab Mondays at Debonair Social Club. I went with my sister and my friend Tarah who finally came with us to see the crazy party for herself.  Both floors of the club were open and over 700 people made it in the club that night.  The photo above is from Mad laB Photography and you can see the rest of his photos from the night here. 

Full tutorials including how to make your own custom fit Bunny Suit are posted on
Instructables 
Make:Projects

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This is a quick preview of a bag I made recently. I plan on posting lots of images along with a pattern to download, soon. 

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I do most of my inspiration hunting, mood board creating, and general creative time activities on my iPad. I picked up a Moleskine notebook on a whim and realized it was nearly the same size as my iPad. I made a case for using both of them together so I can keep my creative non-digital thoughts and inspiration in the same place as my digital thoughts. What I worked out is very much a prototype and I would make a few changes in the future but I am happy with the end result none the less. 

I wanted a chambray fabric for the case but did not find a fabric I liked so I ended up using the back side of a piece of denim. 

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Easter in America is anything but based on reality. If you do a Google search for "Do bunnies lay eggs?" you get +71,000 results. While spending Easter with family in Indiana this year, it was a bit too clear that many Americans don't understand the differences between science (nature), religion, and candy. I decided to create an art piece depicting what eggs would look like if bunnies did lay eggs.

A few notes about the project:
- Because I was translating a myth into a theoretical object found in nature, it was important to use all natural materials (the ribbon is the only exception). The eggs are rabbit fur covered wooden eggs. The nest is a stick wreath that I worked dried grass and flowers into.
- A full tutorial on how I made this can be found by clicking here.

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I love maps and it was only a matter of time until I made a map from fabric. In this case, I appliqued a map to decorate a messenger style bag (complete with a viking ship and solar system). A full how-to was posted to my Instructables account.

The bag is big enough to hold sketch books, magazines, headphones, extra camera lenses, and more.

The inside of the bag flap is a bargello style quilt made with all the fabrics used on the outside. Pockets make it easy to access my cell phone and iPad.

I used fat quarter bundles and a few other fabrics for the applique decoration, canvas for the main part of the bag, gray leather for the bottom, and embroidery thread for details too small to be made from fabric.

I used embroidery thread to quilt latitude and longitude lines.

The leather working tools used on this project.

The bottom of the bag. 

A line of stitching to prevent fraying over time.

I used the Speedy Stitcher to attach the leather to the bottom edge of the bag.

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I am a contributing editor for How Did You Make This and posted a tutorial on how to make this feather brooch.

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Click here to downlowad the Free Paper Bunting Tutorial PDF 

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