Embellished Cork Messengers

There's no doubt about it--I'm lazy when it comes to this blog! But hopefully, it means I'm being productive in other ways. Right? Well, I don't know how true that is...but I'm trying. Sewing has a way of being edged out by everything else in life.

I am pleased with these new embellished messenger bags. After I made the journals in my last post, I realized that I should be embellishing more of my cork items. Natural themes seem to pair best with the cork. Pictured above is my first leaf motif, a close copy of what I made for the journal cover.

Then, I made this straight stem motif. Both my daughters prefer this one. I have to say, I kinda like it better, too.

The embellishment is time consuming--but I find I enjoy that part best. Although I may not really be able to recoup the time spent in the price of the bag, it's okay for now. If I were making hundreds of these at a time, I might need to come up with a quicker way of doing it than cutting each leaf individually with plain old scissors--but for now, it's something I can do while I watch American Idol or Project Runway. ;)